Today is #MarketFriday, a project initiated by 
To learn more about this project and participate, visit this post by
Last week I started to take you on a journey through the Tala Collection Game Reserve, enjoying the freedom of nature and seeing some wildlife the way it should be...roaming free.
Let's start this week by telling you what animals can be seen in the Tala Collection Game Reserve, just outside of Camperdown, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa.
This is a list of the game that can be found in this game reserve (according to their information brochure):
Banded Mongoose, Black-Backed Jackal, Blue Wildebeest, Blesbuck, Bushbuck, Bush Baby, Caracal, Dwarf Mongoose, Eland, Giraffe, Grey Duiker, Grey Mongoose, Hippo, Impala, Kudu, Large spotted Genet, Nyala, Oribi, Porcupine, Reedbuck, Slender Mongoose, Vervet Monkey, Warthog, Water Mongoose, Waterbuck, White Rhino, White Tailed Mongoose, Zebra.
Yes, they even have one of the "Big Five" here: the Rhino.
Let's Get Started.
We started our journey last week by looking at some zebras and some of the smaller animal species...
But let's go bigger this week...
I'm not going to share the photos for this week as we progressed on our journey. I would rather group my photos for this week by animal type instead of time sequence.
Let's whet your appetite first...lol.
Our first stop is at the Hippo Dam.
Although we didn't physically see any hippos, the name of the dam says it all. We might have passed a spot where hippos might have been seen, but after all the rain, it was so muddy that several cars got stuck in the mud...to the extent that some staff from the reserve were also on the scene, trying to get these people unstuck.
It wasn't my plan to try and get our car out of the mud for the day...I wanted to see wild animals...lol.
There was no shortage of birdlife when we got closer to the water though...
The board on this tree is a reminder that there are dangerous animals on the loose... rhinos to be exact.
Are you ready to move on?
Let's get to the bigger animals!
The first one was a fun experience.
Giraffe.
As we came around the bend in the road, we caught a glimpse of a giraffe ahead of us...it looked as if he was busy crossing the road. Can you see him?
We didn't want to scare him away, so I just kept the momentum with the car, trying to approach as quickly as we could but without disturbing him...
We soon found that the road we were traveling on, was actually making a sharp bend to the left and he was still on my side of the road...perfect to get some nice shots.
He then moved in behind the trees, enjoying some juicy leaves from the other side... It then almost became like a game of hide-and-seek...Peek-a-boo😄!
He then decided to come toward us...
I was getting ready to move out of the way, when he turned away, deciding it was time to do some modeling for the camera...😅!
Giving another step or two forward before graciously making a full 180 degree turn back toward facing us again...
From there, we continued down the road...
Kudu.
I was hoping to see some kudu as well.
According to Wikipedia, there are two species of kudu; the greater kudu, with a large male standing 5ft. (1.5m) tall, and the lesser kudu, with a large male standing 4ft (1.2m) tall.
Animals.net says that... "One of the most prominent features on Kudu bulls is their long horns. For adult bulls, the average horn length is about four feet long, but the longest horns on record measured a whopping six feet long!"
For more interesting information about the kudu, you can visit safariafricana.com
As I have mentioned last week, slowly does it...
Because suddenly...they are right next to you.
Some beautiful young ones...
But do not mess with them...
Because, not too far off, their big brother is watching you...!
White Rhino.
One of the "Big Five" that is freely roaming in Tala Collection Game Reserve, is the rhino...the white rhino to be exact.
Before I even share any photos of the rhino...let's start this section with me supporting this call 110%!!
Yes! Please, STOP RHINO POACHING!!
Back to our journey for the day...
If you can remember, I mentioned the incident last week where, while we and several other people were admiring zebras in utter silence, some people got out of a taxi (against all rules obviously), making a huge noise while taking selfies against the background of the zebras behind them.
I doubt if they were even aware of the group of rhinos that were grazing just a few meters behind the zebras.
When we returned to the same area late in the afternoon, the rhinos came closer to where the road is.
I saw this massive guy slowly coming even closer...
...and still closer...
He then turned and it looked like he was heading toward the road we were traveling on.
I slowly let the car roll forward to see how close we could get.
When I felt it was close enough, I turned the car sideways. I wanted to leave enough space that if he would block the road and come closer to us, I would have enough space to turn and get out of there...
We got even closer...and I couldn't help to see/feel all these opposites...or contrasts...however you want to call it.
What I saw was that, with its size, this animal was so intimidating, yet so peaceful. This animal was a beast, so strong, so powerful, yet it was so sad to see him without his horns...and yet, it's for his own safety that those horns had to be removed...to protect him from the greed of man!
As I said, we got even closer and I hope the next three photos will give you an idea of what it felt like to be so close to this beautiful creature!
In the background the rest of his group was also having a relaxed afternoon.
As we were able to pass him, we also passed a vehicle with members from a anti-poaching unit. They were clearly observing and monitoring the scene all the time. We were greeted with a warm friendly smile and a wave as we headed back for the gates after a wonderful day in the reserve.
That's it for today, folks!
Thank you for reading my post. I do appreciate it.
Note:
Next week I'll show you scenes of nature and some smaller species of wildlife that we also saw during our visit to the reserve.