April 13, 2014.  Today we were up at 5:30 again for breakfast and to go to the Moremi Game Preserve and see more wildlife.  After a two hour drive, we reached the gates, where we all had to sign in.  They wanted passport numbers.  I didn't have mine with me but they didn't seem too concerned and we set off in search of the big five animals.  Lots of birds again, I should have been writing them down, I guess, but I didn't.  Anyway, we stopped frequently to see them.  Even some kind of starling is here. 

We saw a cheetah!  Our guide spotted it first.  I don't know how.  It was in tall grass, far enough away that you needed binoculars to really see it.  It was laying down, it's head in view and the tip of its tail flipping around.  It stood up after awhile and started walking parallel to the road.  Now we could see the entire animal and it had a radio collar on it.  Beautiful animal.  It's sunny today so we had a good view.  We also saw a jackal.

Oh, and I forgot to mention giraffes.  Yesterday, we had looked and looked for giraffes but didn't see any.  This morning, we hadn't even made it to the main road from the camp and we saw giraffes.  Probably 10 of them in a 3 acre area.  They had come in during the night.  That started it.  It was a giraffe kind of day.  They were everywhere it seemed.  They're fun, but they just stand there usually and walk at a slow pace when they decide to move.

We saw elephants today, more zebras, lots of impalas, a wildebeest, giraffes, and steenboks.  Steenboks are the smallest member of the antelope family.  They only stand about 18 inches tall.  We saw them quite a few times on the trip.  We have been looking for kudu but haven't seen one yet.  We ate springbok in Capetown but we did not see one on this trip.  Warthogs, we saw them today.  Some running with their tails up, like in the "Lion King", some just rooting around in the grass. 

When we left the game preserve, not seeing a lion, which was a disappointment, we came across a family of baboons just outside the gate.  We had seen a family of them yesterday as we were returning to the camp, but not as close up as these.  They were sitting in the road, they were in the shrubs and up trees.  Lots of babies, and some big males. 

Another couple of hours to get back to camp, where we could hear the hippos but couldn't see them.  Tonight the camp staff entertained us with native songs and dancing.  It was great.  The food has been plentiful and good.