Birds of a feather...

 Yellow-billed hornbill...

 Kruger always surprises me with the gorgeous bird life.  Jake is fascinated by them and knows so many random facts.  He's great with identification and can remember things he was told years ago.  His passion for these feathered creatures is a little contagious and I think we're becoming bird watchers.  Definitely while we're in the bush!!

We were lucky to spot a few rare birds, including this purple touraco, which came down to feed on the lawns outside our bungalow on our first night.  He stayed for a long time and had the most stunning crimson wings when he flew of.  A real highlight for Jake...

 There were lots of little birds that I have taken pictures of, that I can't name and will need Jake to help me identify them sometime...

 We came across these vultures cleaning themselves and sunning their wings, obviously after a feast that we missed somewhere...

 A pied kingfisher, fishing for his supper...

 A something-thick knees...

 We really did see lots of vultures this trip.  This is a white-headed vulture...

 He was watching his buddies schnarfel off a dead croc...

 A Cape Vulture...

 Even the starlings in the bush are prettier than what we have here.  This is one of the many glossy starlings...

 A fish eagle, fishing...

 Look!  More vultures.  This time they were enjoying a lion's leftover kudu bull...

 This pretty vulture is a lappet-faced vulture...

I tried so hard to catch one in flight - this was the best I got...  Unfortunately I missed the top of his wing - he was huge...

 Landed and ready to eat.  These guys are like the kinds of the vulture world.  I think the one in front is a hooded vulture, but I might be wrong...

   OK, one last one...

 The ground hornbill is one of the endangered birds, so it's always nice to see them...

 Oh goodness.  I hope this one isn't choking on his food...

A brown hooded kingfisher, also fishing for his dinner...

 This is possibly one of my favourite birds in the park - it's a lilac breasted roller.  His wings are a striking blue underneath...

 Jake spotted this Marabou Stork at the top of a tree.  They are probably my least favourite bird - I mean what is that disgusting thing hanging from his neck???

 Spoon bills...

 Another magic bird moment, was this giant kingfisher.  He seemed almost tame when he landed on the railing of a bridge right next to us...

 I managed to get fairly close up...

 Before he spotted a little fishy and was gone in a flash...

 This magnificent eagle is a Bateleur.  It's also endangered.  This, by the way, is Jake's favourite bird...

 During our last trip to Kruger, on a long drive where we'd seen very little, Jake stopped the car and made us reverse to study some tiny birds that we'd all passed by.  They turned out to be blue waxbills.  These birds are the reason for me learning how much Jake actually appreciates the smallest things in nature...

 Yellow billed storks in flight, as spied from our balcony at Olifants...

 A young bateleur (apparently)...

 A grey heron...

 Jake also spotted this woodpecker at a picnic site...  Look at those colours!  The light was perfect...

 Another hornbill...

Jake also loves these open billed storks.  I know it's not the best photo, but it's fairly unique...

 A Goliath Heron in flight...

  One of my favourite bird photos - an African Fish Eagle...

 A yellow-billed stork using his wing to create a shadow, to help it see the fish in the water...

 A white fronted bee eater...

 And last, but not least, a verreaux eagle owl, peeping down at us from a branch.  This was the only owl we saw this trip...

 And he was sleepy...

 We saw plenty more birds, I just didn't manage to get photos of all of them.  As I told you before, I bought a new lens before my trip and hadn't really had a chance to play with it before our holiday, so I have a lot of not-so-great snaps.  It forces me to narrow things down a bit.

Love,

Sue XXX

The Rhino Rescue...

Just when he thought things couldn't get any better, Jake was invited to help with a rhino rescue!!  With so many being murdered for their horns, the men and woman of the Kruger National Park are doing massive things to save as many as they can, by moving them to safer places.  It's literally a race against time for this species.  Jake was beyond thrilled to be getting close to these magnificent, endangered creatures and it's a real honour for him to be able to tell his friends that he helped to save a rhino.

PLEASE NOTE:  You may not phone the park and ask to take part in these activities, they are not available to the public.

 For obvious reasons, these rescue missions are kept as much under wraps as possible.  The less people who know about when and where they're happening, the better.  It all happens a lot faster than with the elephant sedation and it's really within 15 minutes from the time the rhino's sedated, until it's boxed up and ready to ship out.  There's not a lot of time for pretty pictures, but we managed a few...

 The rhino is actually not out cold either, so it's a bit riskier for all at work too and boy do they work fast.  Within moments, they've taken samples and temperatures and tagged the rhino.  You can see by her lip that this is a white rhino - the black ones have a pointy upper lip...

 This cow is about 5 years old...

 Steven was there too and he ensured that Jake and I got a few pics with the rhino...

 But aside from these few pictures, we didn't really even get to touch her much...

 So very, very special...

 Big feet...

 Jake and the rhino...

Jake had to step aside, while they got the rhino up.  This is him with Steven...

 And then it was time to go...

 You can see how the team works together to keep her moving forward without injuring herself or anyone else...

 And she's up...

Steven sent Jake to go and help on the rope...

And boy did he work!!

 I will treasure these pictures and these memories...

 And Jake will NEVER ever forget about the time that he helped to save a rhino...

 It's a full group effort to move her to the container...

 Nobody stands around watching (besides me)...

 And then it was time to get her into the container (there's Jake pulling through the window, behind the red and white pole)...

 Easy does it...

 One final shove...

 And the gate is closed up...

 Everyone was so kind and gentle with Jake.  They made him feel like royalty.  Here, one of the students is helping him to have a look at the rhino in the container...

 Up she goes...

 A snap of Jake and I in the bush...

 This was a very special gift that Steven gave to Jake at the rhino rescue - a bangle made from the tail hair of the elephant that we spent the morning with, the day before...

 We were spoiled with ANOTHER helicopter ride...

 Look how dry everything is...

 And look there!!!  There goes the rhino off to her new home...

 Go safely, sweet rhino...  good luck...

 Back at Steven's house, we were introduced to his other baby, Benjie, who was very happy to have some company...

 Jake is adamant that our next dog will be a blood hound, Benjie is THAT cool...

 Steven has a lot of amazing things at his house.  These two kudus died when their horns got entangled during a battle...

 Benjie was full of kisses for Steven...

 But when her handler, Difference, arrived, she went completely nuts.  Talk about love...

 Steven took Jake and I into the bush to show us how Benjie works at tracking...

 I love how gentle and patient Steven was with Jake.  He took time to show him different spoor and dung.  He made Jake feel so special...

 And Jake was on his very best behaviour, which made his mommy very proud indeed...

 Steven left (!!) us behind a tree, probably about 10 minutes from where we'd parked the truck.  We were in the middle of nowhere, where lions do roam.  Steven wasn't actually too far away, probably about 200m and he had his rifle with to protect us...

 Benjie found us, no problem...

 And then she was off to go and find Steven, who was just behind that tree on the right...

Once she'd found everyone, it was time to head back to the truck...

 Us with Benjie and Difference...  What an amazing team!!!  Benjie is the first dog, which they are attempting to train to track poachers.  She's incredible...

And then it was time to head back to Steven's house to say our goodbyes.  It was time for us to move on to our next camp.  Seriously though, this boy had the BEST 2 days ever...

Jake was so lucky to have been able to take part in these adventures.  He has seen and done things that most people only ever dream of and his passion for the bush and love of nature has grown in leaps and bounds.  Jake is more convinced than ever, that he will work with wildlife one day (he wants to be a wildlife vet at the moment).  He is passionate about saving our endangered rhinos and has a lot of not such nice things to say about poachers.  He has met incredible people and made many new friends.  I am eternally grateful to Steven and his team for making Jake feel so special and taking the time to explain things to him.  Jake will never forget these experiences, nor the kindness expressed towards him.  And these memories will last him forever.

Love,

Sue XXX