17 November 2017

Giraffe are the most ramp models of the bushveld.  They are so graceful with their super-long necks and leggy lope.   We had an almost spiritual encounter with a beautiful journey of them early this morning.  There they were just standing quietly in the middle of the road and the did not move for ages.  They just stared at us and we at them.   It was awesome.

The Lilac Breasted Roller is another beauty of the bushveld.  Who can resist taking a million photographs of this stunning bird.

And below is his close cousin – the purple roller

The yellow-billed oxpecker enjoys grooming his buffalo clients but sometimes he is in need of some pampering himself.

The male and female red-backed shrike are quite different in appearance – but both are rather pretty

Our route this morning did not come near to a picnic site so we decided to pack a finger breakfast, stop at a water-hole and have our morning meal in the car.   It’s difficult to concentrate on eating with creatures keep grabbing your attention while you’re trying to pour the coffee!

As we left we observed a large herd of buffalo heading to the waterhole and mud holes behind it.  They seemed to want the mud more than the water.

We spent some time watching them until they moved off.  They needed to get over the road and certainly took their time about it.  Talk about a road block!

Once you are through the Stop/Go don’t become complacent – something else might stop you in your tracks before your journey’s done.

As usual we had a midday break and planned to go out at 3:30.  But The Earl woke early from his nap and insisted we get going earlier.  He got no argument from the rest of us.

Just 3km from the camp is a loop that takes you to a waterhole that you can see from the main track.  Something attracted The Earl’s attention and we turned down to investigate.  We found some interesting waterbirds including a hamerkop.

A buffalo emerged from the bush but seemed reluctant to come down to drink.  He just stood and stared at the pond.

And then Patricia Mary called out excitedly – A leopard – I see a leopard slinking through the bush. He was gone and then we all spotted him briefly before he disappeared again. Is that why the buffalo was nervous?  Maybe – but a leopard is unlikely to tackle such a big animal.

We were the only car there and we held our breath hoping the leopard would appear again and he did!

 

We were enthralled watching the leopard lick his paws and wash his face. He had not a care in the world and was content to give us a lovely show.

Then he got up and climbed to the top of an anthill where he continued to stare at us for quite some time.

We were alone with him for 20 minutes before another car appeared.  They were birders and stopped their car a short way from us in a position from which they could not see the leopard.  The Earl and I waved our arms and tried to attract their attention to no avail – then The Earl flashed his lights and indicated that they should come closer.   They did and were thrilled that we shared our find.

We were euphoric for the rest of the afternoon.  Nothing could beat our leopard sighting but we did enjoy our other creatures too.

It was another perfect evening.  We had a braai and then went to the waterhole where we had fun watching elephants swimming and drinking – too dark for piccies but it was awesome.