When we got to the approximate vicinity of the last known whereabouts of the wild dogs, we looked around and stopped to listen. Often other animals and birds will give away the presence of a predator with their alarm calls. Sure enough, we heard some elephants trumpeting in the distance. We went off in that direction and found the pack of wild dogs, seventeen strong including six pups. Just after we arrived to view them milling about excitedly, they set off on a hunt. More rare than spotting wild dog is seeing them hunt and make a kill. Wild dogs are very successful predators, but seeing a kill is not very common for any of the predators. These wild dogs were in a frenzy and killed not one but three impala in quick succession. When they had rushed about feeding until their bellies were full, they hung out in one spot socializing and we were able to observe the pups playing tug of war with some leftovers. Sorry if this is not appetizing for some, but it's the way of the wild I guess. Here is a series of pictures of the wild dogs. It's hard to capture them as they are constantly moving. I did my best.

Well, after that excitement we were being congratulated on having extraordinary luck for our first safari! After we left the dogs we wandered off and found a good spot for sundowners, the South African term for cocktail hour. Kate and Life produced much appreciated gin and tonics and nibbles in the middle of the bush!

The remainder of our first safari continued after dark with Life using a spot light to point out nocturnal animals. We saw a few hippos after dark when they came out of the river to feed, a chameleon hanging out on a bush, and bush babies' eyes peering back at us from the treetops.

When we returned from our safari we quickly went to change for dinner and returned to our camp's main lounge and dining area. To our surprise we were informed that a special dinner was planned. We were treated to a five course dinner with wine pairings prepared especially by Londolozi's Executive Chef Anna, who is normally in charge of the staff of 27 chefs that work here. Wow, was that incredible! We were a bit weary but rallied to enjoy the springbok carpaccio and porchetta stuffed pork belly. The wines were terrific too. I enjoyed learning about some wineries we might visit later on in our trip. All in all it was an amazing day and we stumbled off to bed feeling satisfied if a bit overwhelmed.