On Safari With Gert 12 September 2016

12 September 2016

We started our morning with a very lucrative birding walk around camp, during which we added many species to the list and also got some very good picture opportunities of amongst others Grey-headed Bush-Shrike, Natal Spurfowl and Red-capped Robin-chat.

We then loaded luggage and headed of on our drive. We found a few nice birds of prey including Gabar Goshawk and the majestic Martial Eagle; soaring over some rocky outcrops in search of a snack.

It then turned cloudy and started cooling down, just enough to bring out the predators!

We were extremely lucky to come across a pride of 12 lions in an open area close to a small waterhole. There were a few playful sub-adults in the pride. A few old Buffalo bulls were grazing nearby and one wondered off closer to the water. The Lions watched it intently, as the Buffalo seemed unaware of their presence as the wind was in their favor. As he got close enough, some of the youngsters couldn't contain their excitement and started the chase! The entire pride joined in and for a moment they gained ground on the Buffalo and it looked like they would get it, however, the bull managed to stay ahead of them and eventually escaped with a very close call! No luck for the Lions, but a spectacular sighting indeed!

We could not have ended our day on a higher note than when a large male Leopard came out and slowly crossed the road in front of us and continued into the bush, stopping off now and then to scent-mark along the way! A brilliant day of birding and game viewing!