The day started early at 5:15 am. I was excited to be up at 4:30, showered and headed to the reception area since that was the only place where we had wifi. I checked and updated FB and a quick check on work emails to keep myself abreast of activities back home.aid hello to mum and texted Jose. We had rusks with hot coffee and headed out for the bush walk.
We drove for about 30 mins. Enroute saw giraffe, Impala and a beautiful sunrise. We they disembarked around 6:15 am. Instructions were to stay in one file, and head back if we encounter any dangerous animals. 2 mins agree we started we turned back immediately. Ran into an elephant. They took a detour and walked around for the next 2 hours before a snack break. First sighting was a baby croc, then we saw a few billowing hippos followed by another massive croc sun bathing to control its body temp.
Enroute we saw elephant, giraffe droppings. We saw lion tracks and even heard a low dull roar. The ranger said there was a lion in 2 km proximity. There are 4 prides in West Balule where we were bush waking with a total of ~ 50 lions. Unluckily for us the closest we got to was hear a roar. We have another 2 hours ahead of us - walking the bush.
7:45 am break: Hoping for luck to spot lions!!!
We had a snack of dry fruits and water, heard the sound of jackal at a distance. We turned back and headed to our hotel.
We had a great breakfast at about 9:30 am and later headed down to our rooms to rest. I checked email FB and edited a few pics using Lightroom. A few turned out to be stunning.
We regrouped for lunch 1:30 talked a bit about American and Brit cultural differences with the ever entertaining Guthridge brothers. At 2:30 we headed for one last drive into Balule with Tanya. She was the most knowledgeable of all Rangers. Answered a lot of questions about elephants and wildlife in general. We were treated to a herd of 4 elephants by a water bed.
Fun facts: elephants have excellent acoustic memory. They will not hesitate to charge at a person who may have yelled/hurt ages ago.
Flopping ears = relaxed
Ears open = listening
Trumpeting and swinging head = get the hell outta the way.
Enroute with Tanya we saw Impala, antelope, giraffe, zebras.
STILL NO LIONS!!!! crocs were the only carnivores we saw
We head back to camp, took a pic with Tanya and drove to Marc's treehouse in Kruger at 4:45. We had a snack and then I sat down to have a drink with the brothers who taught me how to play card game scum. I lost all 3 games 
with Jason winning all of them. We prepared to have dinner at 8...it was a hearty meal with fun conversations with other members around. We went back to reception, checked emails and retired to our treehouses for the night.
The hope is to encounter the king of the jungle tmrw 
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