CHASING THE GREEN DRAGON: 09/14

The garden project here at Makutsi has kept me so busy that I did not even get around to writing. The project is now nearing completion.
I am going to place a few pictorial style articles, they say a picture speaks a thousand words.

The first in the "series" will be all about our wild visitors.

Barbarosa, our "resident" Giraffe, intimidating the staff, or maybe it is the other way around? He wonders in and out of the camp and you can easily recognize him by a long scar on his left hind leg.

The winters are long and dry and by the end of September green leafy things are rather rare, so the Nyala's starts visiting, we feed them old spinach and cabbage leaves and sometimes the greens from carrots we harvested.

Warthogs, such "badly designed" creatures, they have to stand on their knees to eat, the necks are to short and thick, but they make up with charm and snorts and the occasional fight with the Water buck over the mud puddle.

Warthogs and Water buck

Water buck, such beautiful creatures, but you can smell them a mile away, not a very pleasant smell. In Afrikaans we call them Kringgat, which translates to "circle backside", it is a very descriptive name, I think.

Every more you make... I will be watching you...

Baboons! The problem with baboons is that they are intelligent creatures, not afraid of an electric fence and they work in teams and are experts at "hit and run".

Close encounter, crossing paths. At this point me and Mr. Cheetah was only about 20 meters (if that much)apart.

Another rather tense moment, with only a very flimsy little fence between me and Mr. Elephant, but all went well en he was just passing by...

Our paths crossed just about every morning, all Jackal acts as if they should be on medication, completely hyper active and always on the move and because of this, it is rather difficult to get one descent photo.

Bush buck, we see a lot of them, especially during winter months, they come and eat the green grass around the lodge. When you hear a dog barking out here, it is more than likely not a dog, but a Bush buck, they "bark" like a husky old dog.