Reminds me of the jungle

Yesterday afternoon, I took a moment and had my afternoon tea on the garden lawn. My dress blending in nicely with the lush green grass. Sending my mind into a drift of thoughts, just like the floating feathers on my dress. Daydreaming… I was in the Amazon  Jungle, on a new expedition looking for new bird species. Picturing their colourful feathers gliding down between the tree canopies onto the Amazon River as the feathers become magical colourful racing feather boats, down the river before a brightly coloured piranha mistakes it for a snack. Never too young to daydream or to use your imagination, especially in this busy era we are living. So literally stop and smell the roses once in a while and daydream 🙂

For the love of trees

My title says it all 🙂 I love trees! I visited a very special tree in the Knysna area in South Africa called – The Big Tree. It has a lot of history. You can read about it in my article found at: http://www.wildcard.co.za/visit-knysna-big-tree/

Majestic old giraffe

 

“Oh my, what along neck you have… the better to reach you with… Oh my, what a long tongue you have… the better to lick you with…”

Last week, we took a mid break and went to The Pilanesberg Game Reserve in the North West province of South Africa. The Spring rains have not begun yet and that was evident seeing the dry, dusty landscape of the reserve. Entering the reserve, a friendly by passer informed us that lions were around the corner. And sure, there they were. I have been privileged enough to have visited several reserves in my lifetime and I can still honestly say that each visit and reserve is different and has their own unique characteristics and for me, memories. What stands out for me the most as a memory of this trip was the old-looking giraffe literally having a lick at the education centre. We stopped here for a much-needed toilet break after game driving around the reserve. The education centre has a stall to buy refreshments, curios and there is a restaurant. These all in a “u” shape with a waterhole in the middle. This is where the salt lick was for the animals to come and enjoy. For those that don’t know what a salt lick is, it is a solid block of minerals that animals in the reserve can enjoy so that they can get some essential mineral nutrients. When we first entered, the blue wildebeests were having a good lick, sharing the block among each other. Then slowly but surely, the majestic tall old giraffe approached the lick, age showing with wrinkles on her neck and weathered skin. I absolutely love the heart shape noses of giraffes! ❤

She had a cautious look around and elegantly widened her legs apart to get a better position to lower her long neck down to have a lick. After a few licks, she lifted her neck and continuing to lick her lips. Whilst doing this, we got the opportunity to see her long dark coloured tongue. She turned slowly and walked back between the trees as the wildebeests eagerly returned to the salt lick.

#giraffe #saltlick #PilanesbergGameReserve #gamedrive #dryanddusty #Northwest #SouthAfrica #heartshapenose