30 September 2015
After collecting
our 2 guests for their first day on safari, we headed straight in to the
park at around noon time.
As it was the
hottest part of a very hot day, we weren't expecting a great deal, but shortly
into out drive came across two magnificent Sable Antelope bulls.
A little further
on after turning onto a small dirt road, we saw 2 vehicles parked and then noticed
a leopard under a small bush, close to the road... It was sitting up and
looking around disturbed as there was a large male giraffe close by. Eventually
the leopard was unsettled enough by the presence of the giraffe, got up,
crossed the road in front of us and slowly moved out of sight.
The next stop was
at a waterhole, which was the hub of activity. 4 White Rhino, 2 males, a
female and a calf were lying in the shade around the water and 1 of the males
was wallowing in the mud, a few meters from a large bull elephant drinking. A
few more elephants came down to the water while at the same time 2 lionesses
were approaching a giraffe that was standing closely. The giraffe kept a very
close eye on one of the lionesses, who were just trying to find a shady spot
and trying to avoid the elephants. We eventually left the scene and moved on
finding yet another leopard lying in a shady spot close to the road. Further on
we found some buffalo to complete our big 5 for the day and then, just before
closing time, found our third leopard for the day. It was sitting on a termite
mound keeping an eye on some young waterbuck closely at a waterhole. It stalked
the waterbuck, crossing the road in front of us in the process, but
we lost sight of it in the tall grass. All in all a surprisingly successful day
in the very hot conditions...
1 October 2015
After a
spectacular sunrise set the tone for a perfect day, we set off on our short
morning drive. We had quite an interesting sighting first up - An African
Harrier-Hawk or Gymnogene raiding some hole-nests in the trunk of an Marula
tree. We watched as it hung upside down, using it's long, flexible legs to grab
whatever was hiding inside.
Our brilliant
Leopard-luck continued as we then came across one of these beautiful cats,
lying high on top of a nearby granite outcrop, surveying the area below while
basking in the early morning sun. It got very comfortable and we left the
sighting after it had put it's head down for a snooze.
Continuing from
there we found a few species of general game, including a large herd of
buffalo. We also followed some lion tracks for a while, but to no avail...
A little later,
we saw 2 cars parked and on approach spotted, unbelievably, another leopard!
This was a youngster, sitting in a tree about 10 meters off the road, keeping
an eye on a nearby Impala herd. It sniffed the air trying to establish a
direction of approach before getting down and moving on to the next hiding
place, which was the low fork of another Marula tree, about 20 meters further
in. Here it sat waiting very patiently as the Impala grazed, ever closer... The
Impala got up to about 15 meters from the cat, oblivious to its presence...
Then one of the more vigilant Impala, must have spotted the leopard getting a
bit eager and sounded the alarm call; blowing the leopard's cover...
The young
leopard then nonchalantly sat in the fork, paying them no more attention, before
jumping down and heading in the opposite direction and back to the drawing
board! The Impala, still alarm calling, kept a very close eye on it and
followed it for some time, making sure not to let it out of sight...
After that we
visited a nearby waterhole with the hope of finding a crocodile and there was
one out sunning itself on a sandbank...
Mission accomplished, it
was time to head back and say goodbye to our guests, who left with expectations
exceeded. A short, but very sweet, 2 days!
