Christmas Fever in Stripes: Video

What a magic day. Sunshine, heat and animals all over the place.
The herds of zebra, impala, wildebeest and giraffe are just loving life on Banyini. There’s no reason for them to go anywhere else. All the grazing they could ever eat, water and safety in the open.
And when the late afternoon light set in, temperatures cooled the zebras were just full of it, galloping all over the place and challenging each other to a sparring session. Nipping at each other’s ankles or rearing up to meet each other face to face before charging off at a gallop.

When we got to Chekwa pan the girls wanted to stroll around looking at birds. Slowly they edged their way into the mud not too keen to get wet or muddy. But of course that didn’t last and before long they swimming, wallowing and wrestling each other in the mud. Dad was keen to join but instead for a change I turned the camera on them.

Getting them back in the car was quite a performance. Well not that so much as just getting them into some sort of ‘clean’ state without muddying the car and all my camera gear.
We found a small breeding herd of elephant south of Chekwa but the ground was too soft to follow. As it was we nearly got stuck in a muddy patch in the road with an elephant bull watching over us.

The grasses have gone absolutely wild with all this rain and heat and in a week are already knee high. This really is going to make my life more difficult for filming. And it’s going to last for the next 4 months.
The white rhino are just loving all the grazing too.

And of course conditions are just perfect for mopanie worms. Although they’re not out in huge numbers some trees are being totally decimated of all their leaves.

In some areas they can totally decimate vast woodlands of mopanie and are collected by the basket full by the local people. A great sustainable source of protein. And a delicacy.

Heading back home after dark we were treated to our very own Christmas lights in the bush. Driving by the light of the full moon on the horizon, fire-flies flashed like Christmas lights in the bushveld. It was truly like our own little fairy land. So special and so stunning.