We headed north this morning with the plan of at least getting to the Olifants River. The bridge over the Letaba River is washed away and you cannot go past that point. We thought we would go as far as we wanted and then just turn around and head back. We were on the road at 5:40am. It was a slightly misty/overcast morning so the birds weren’t yet as active but we managed to see a rare Montague Harrier within the first few kilometers.
The whole night we could hear lions contact calling. They started just after sunset and when I woke briefly at 2am, I could hear them still. Unsurprising then to us, we came across two male lions on the road about 5 kms from Satara. There were a few cars ahead of us but a very good sighting. At one point the one, got up, walked down the middle of the road and then flopped over in the middle of the road. Literal road block. He only got up slightly when a car arrived to the sighting and heard them and sat slightly up. That gave us an another car an opportunity to sneak past with H driving so close to him that the Landy’s side camera actually showed his paws! We were off to a good start.

There were herds of elephant, zebra & wildebeest and the occasional giraffe to be seen. But then I saw a leopard in the long grass. Just briefly stopped. Then it set off and vanished into the long grass. It is incredible that one moment you can see it clearly and the next it is entirely gone. The car in front of us never stopped and never saw it. It suddenly re-appeared ahead of us and we quickly caught it up and drove alongside it as it walked parallel with the road. After about 5 minutes, our German friends arrived and H informed them it was a leopard and they were greatly excited but took some time to actually see it. Once they did they joined us in the tracking of it. At one point to veered toward the road and just when we expected it to cross the road it vanished. But then our friends pointed out it popped out the other side of the road. It must have used a culvert that it clearly knew was there.

Shortly afterwards it crossed the road this time not using a culvert and then continuing to walk north. It stopped from time to time to scent mark against a bush as it walked. It looked in very good condition so while not really the terrain we would expect to see leopard living in, it clearly was thriving. We must have tracked it for about 1.5 kilometers. Leopards are my favourite animal to see in the wild so spotting it myself and then being able to track it for so long was a real pleasure. It would be hard to beat that.
We stopped on the Olifants River bridge and it is crazy so wide the river is at the moment. What is even more insane is to think that the river was in such flood that it covered the bridge entirely. There is some damage to the barricades and a lot of sand deposited on the bridge but otherwise it seemed fine. There is a lookout over the river shortly after the bridge and across from where you would turn to get to Olifants camp. That turning is closed as the camp is closed. We went up to the lookout to have breakfast up there (and saw buffalo in the river – number 4 of the Big 5) and then we headed back to Satara.

The biggest problem of the morning was where to relieve yourself of the morning coffees. No picnic spot and no camp to go to. I used the bridge when I could see no cars in either direction. A little more difficult for H but we found a ‘relatively’ secluded spot for her and used the doors as barriers for viewing. We both found success without exposure. More successful than earlier in the trip when I tried to do the same thing, was midflow and another car appeared out of nowhere driving straight at me. Managed to stop that one with urgency and jump back in the car only slightly embarrassed. Turned out they were elderly and so probably didn’t notice (or at least that is what I like to believe).
Our record for a trip is 234 birds and currently we are on 229 birds. Obviously much harder to add them now as we have seen a lot but still adding every day at the moment. I think we should safely break the record given we still have a few more days left in the Kruger and then a couple of days on the way home when we have a chance to add a few more as well.
We also figured out last night why only us are braaiing in our circle. The reality is that the bulk of the people staying in this circle are actually Kruger Park staff. The staff village was damaged during the floods (the staff village itself flooded). At the time I said to H that I wondered why they don’t just use the rest camp for alternative accommodation for them and now we know that is exactly what they have done. Also explains why there is someone staying next to us yet they have no car. Mystery solved.

The camp is definitely fuller tonight and more local (South Africans) rather than just foreigners. Our new neighbours are a father/son (older son not young) and they at least attempted a braai tonight. I say ‘attempted’ – if you look at the size of their fire versus mine you will see why I say ‘attempted’. It is embarrassing to think fellow countrymen produce a braai like that. One friend who I sent the photo to in advance of the publication of the blog commented “They’re not braaiing. That’s just peer pressure trying to fit in” 🙂
Until tomorrow … P & H

























