Last week we shared a bunch of photos we took while doing both self-drive and guided safaris in Kruger National Park (see 50 Animal Photos From Kruger National Park In South Africa Taken With Our Phones).
We managed to get some pretty good photos considering they were taken with our phones, but Shae also had her Nikon D5600 camera and Tamron 70-200 lens (our affiliate links) with her, along with a pretty good zoom lens.
As a result, she managed to get some great photos with that, particularly of wildlife that was further away where the zoom on our phones wasn’t adequate. Here are the best of those photos:
Warthogs
This is one of Shae’s favorite photos. Warthogs – particularly baby warthogs – were surprisingly cute. We visited at the end of January/beginning of February which is soon after many animals in Kruger National Park have given birth. That meant we got to see lots of baby animals including these two baby warthogs nursing from their momma.
Buffalo
Warthogs weren’t the only kind of babies we saw. There were quite a few young buffalo, including the one in the first couple of photos below which had a milk mustache!
There were plenty of non-baby buffalo too who were sometimes joined by winged friends.
Zebras
Giraffes
The giraffes were my personal favorite animals. We’d gotten to feed them lettuce leaves at a zoo before and they’ve always been a fascinating creature due to how they look, but there was something about seeing their gentleness in the wild which I loved.
Lions
Lions were interesting; we didn’t see a ton of them, but it seemed like where there was one, there were several.
Elephants
Another of my favorite animals was the elephant. There’s something magical about them, especially when you get to see them up close.
Rhinoceroses
Rhinos were one of the animals hardest to find which made it even more exciting whenever we got to see some.
Cheetah
Another animal that was hard to find in Kruger National Park – at least on the days we visited – was the cheetah. Thankfully we were taking a guided safari one day and our driver got the heads up from another guide that there’d been a cheetah spotting and so we raced over there.
Hippopotamuses
An animal that wasn’t so much hard to find as hard to see was the hippo. Although we occasionally saw them on land, more frequently we saw them mostly submerged in water.
Impala
An animal that’s not at all hard to spot is the impala. They’re everywhere in Kruger, often in herds with dozens of them or possibly even 100+ at a time. They’re also one of the cutest animals there, even when they have something green stuck in their teeth 😉
Kudu
The impala is a type of antelope, as is the kudu. The male kudu is very majestic and has some amazing corkscrew-shaped horns.
African Red-Billed Hornbill
There were several times during our week in Kruger National Park where one of us (Shae’s mom and stepdad had joined us) shouted out “It’s a Zazu bird”, Zazu being one of the characters in The Lion King.
Zazu was an African Red-Billed Hornbill and Shae captured the one below seemingly tackling a stick insect. We weren’t sure if it was trying to eat it or if it was trying to take it for construction of its nest.
Hyena
We didn’t see too many hyena on our trip. They’re slightly strange-looking animals – not cute, but not ugly either. The one below looked like he had boots that were made for walking and they’d walk all over you.
Dung Beetle
Something weird that we’d been keeping an eye out for was the dung beetle. It was wet season when we were there and that’s apparently when you’re more likely to see the dung beetle as it’s much easier to break apart and roll balls of poop when they’re damp. Sure enough, we did end up seeing several dung beetles working on stuff, although the one below looked like he was using it as a stage.
Question
Which of these photos was your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
See All Posts From This International Trip
- Lions & Quokkas & Scorpions, Oh My: A Month In Australia, South Africa & More
- We Were Denied Boarding To Australia – Here’s Why
- Flight Review: Lufthansa Business Class – Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) To Frankfurt (FRA)
- Flight Review: Eurowings Discover Business Class – Frankfurt (FRA) To Mauritius (MRU)
- Some Thoughts On Mauritius
- Hotel Review: Hilton Mauritius Resort & Spa
- Hotel Review: Le Méridien Ile Maurice (Mauritius)
- Restaurant Review: Sunset Filaos In Pointe Aux Piments, Mauritius
- 20 Fun & Interesting Things To Do In Mauritius (+ Many Bonus Ideas)
- Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Mauritius Mon Tresor
- Flight Review: Air Mauritius Economy Class – Mauritius (MRU) To Johannesburg (JNB)
- The Awesome Drive Between Johannesburg & Kruger National Park
- 50 Animal Photos From Kruger National Park In South Africa Taken With Our Phones
- Kruger National Park: 13 Tips For A Successful Self-Drive Safari
- Elephant Kisses – Meeting Tswale In South Africa
- Kruger National Park: 30 Photos Taken With Shae’s Nikon Camera
- Doing A Kruger Park Bush Braai With Royal Safaris
- Marloth Park: Like Living In The Best Zoo Ever
- Hotel Review: InterContinental Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Airport, South Africa
- Flight Review: Qatar Airways Business Class (Qsuites) – Johannesburg (JNB) To Doha (DOH) To Miami (MIA)
- Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha, Qatar
Did you get close enough to the giraffes to see their long eyelashes & dark blue tongues?
My favourite animal is the elephant. I love listening to their low rumbles.
We weren’t quite that close to the giraffes, although we did get to see them that close when feeding them at a zoo in the past – they’re so cute!