This is my story about my trip to South Africa.
The plane ride to Johannesburg South Africa was 15 hours. When we got there it was hot. After arriving we had to drive 4 hours to our fancy lodge.
The lodge was called Madikwe Hillhouse Lodge. It was made out of stuff around the area like grass for the roof, wood, and rocks.
We saw many animals. There were many Zebra right by the lodge.
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| Zebra |
Impala jump very high and run vast to get away from lions and other predators.
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| Impala |
We visited a store near one of the villages close to the lodge. The prices for food is much less, and there was not much to choose from on the shelves.
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| Store in Obekeng Village |
The warthogs run fast and are very funny too. Their tails stick up when they are running through tall grass you can only see their tail.
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| Warthog |
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| Water Buck |
When the Giraffe eats food it sallows the plants and pukes it up and chews it several times and swallows it again. You can see the food going up and down it's neck. The giraffe has 4 stomachs like a cow. It's type of digestion is call "Rumination".
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| Giraffe |
The cape buffalo is very afraid of the game vehicles. They run away and hide in the bushes. But they are also very dangerous. If you get out of the vehicle they will chase you and try to step on you or hurt you with their horns like a bull.
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| Cape Buffalo |
The kudu are very large and have really big horns.
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| Kudu |
We could hear male lions territorial calls. This does not sound like the lions roar in movies. They make about 10 loud but short calls in a row to let it's enemies and also female lions nearby know they are in his territory. Only male lions have manes, the hair around its neck. They have big teeth. Female lions do most of the hunting and share with the male lion and cubs.
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| Male Lion |
Elephants like to be together. When they drag their feet or puff out their ears this means they are not in a good mood. The elephants tried to chase the game vehicle. It was scary and I tried to hide under my seat. But the driver was very careful and knew how to be safe if an elephant chases the vehicle.
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| Elephants |
Below is a picture of the game vehicle we rode in. That is my sister and brothers and our friends. Our guides name was Vincent. He taught us a lot about Africa and animals.
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| Game Vehicle |
Young lion cubs don't go with the females when hunting. They wait by themselves in the dark. Lion hunt mostly at night.
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| Lion Cubs |
The cheetah can run as fast as 62 miles per hour. A leopard at the game reserve we stayed at killed one of the cheetahs. Cheetahs hunt during the day.
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| Cheetah |
The male sable antelopes horns can get as long as 54 inches. That is taller than me.
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| Sable Antelope |
The white rhinoceros eat grass. When they eat their mouth looks like a vacuum when they chew the grass. They are very good at smelling, but they have very poor eyesight. If you stand downwind of a rhinoceros you can run up to it quietly and slap it on the butt. But you better be able to run fast because a rhino can run 30 miles per hour. That is faster than the fastest person on earth can run. There are two kinds of rhinos - white and black - but they are not white and black like their names. They are both brownish red color.
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| White Rhinoceros |
The dumb beetle collects animal poop and rolls it in a ball. The female dung beetle lays eggs in the middle of the ball. When the egg hatch the baby dung beetles use the dung for food until they are old enough to survive in the open.
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| Dung Beetle |
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| African Savannah |
Preschools in the area are called a kreech. We visited a kreech in a village called Obekeng. The school runs on $250 dollars per month. The money has to buy food for 45 students for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Sometimes this money does not arrive for a month or two. The teachers get paid whatever money is left over. Often there is no money left over and the teacher does not get paid. The lodge we stayed at collects donations of toys, school supplies, food, and money to help improve the school. We delivered some supplies and also bought a big bag of corn flour for $15 at the local store and gave it to the school as well. The students sang songs for us.
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| Obekeng Kreech |
We saw an ostrich running fast. They can keep up with a car. They can not fly like other birds.
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| Ostrich |
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| This is my family and friends. |
We had a dinner in the African Bush. This is what they call the outdoors in the African wilderness. The people who cooked the food at the lodge are very good chefs.
We saw many termite hills. There is a king and queen of the termite mound. The queen lays many eggs. The eggs turn into worker termites and soldier termites. The works build and fix the mound. The soldiers protect the mound.
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| Termite Mound |
We also saw and insect called Ant Lions. Ant lions dig holes that ants fall into and get trapped. The ant lion throws sand at the and to make it slip to the bottom of the hole. When the ant is at the bottom of the hole the ant lion grabs it and eats it.
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| Ant Lion Holes |
That is what I saw in South Africa. I had a good trip to South Africa and learned a lot about the animals, people, culture, and country. I would like to go back to South Africa some day.
