They were their normal, pleasant selves when we met them at the vehicle. Insisting that Mac and Prince take us back to the mama leopard and her cubs first thing, because they expected better photos, we quickly learned our plan of attack for our morning drive. And despite Mac's best efforts to educate them on the wild dogs and where they can be found in South Africa - as in, NOT where we are currently located, they went ahead and added that mandate to their list as well. One. More. Drive...
We just could not come to grips with the fact that anyone could possibly be disappointed while on such an incredible journey. It was almost as if they were missing the beauty in everything we encountered, because they were so focused on checking off the boxes in their safari booklet to say they saw as many animals as possible (true story, they had actual booklets and pens on every drive...). I digress...
I'm not sure how Mac pulled it off, but we very quickly stumbled upon not a wild dog, but the next best thing (and something Trip & Fall had not yet seen - thank God!): a hyena. So that set the tone for the remainder of the drive and we were certainly off to a great start....on to the leopards!
When we pulled into the area where the mama and her cubs
were last seen, we discovered that they had relocated. What we also soon realized
was that there was yet another hyena scoping out the cubs and also the mama leopard’s
impala kill. We ended up spotting the mama leopard perched on the branch of a
tree, where she had also hung the impala carcass as to ensure it was out of the
hyenas reach. Such an amazing sight – a leopard, with a kill, in a tree. The cubs were nearby and the mama leopard was
watching that hyena like a hawk, making absolute sure it got nowhere near them. One of the
coolest things was to hear her calling to her cubs. It was almost like a bird
call, really unique and you could tell by the sound of it that she meant
business. The cubs, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around them, were
being so playful – climbing trees and pouncing on one another. We got to spend a
lot of time with them and the stars definitely aligned for Trip & Fall to
get their perfect angle for a shot. Victory!
The drive was by no means cut short, but we definitely got
back to camp a little earlier than we had been in past days. I think we were
all really excited with the possibility of having a relaxing afternoon to
ourselves, with no requirements until lunch. With Trip & Fall gone, we were
very much looking forward to our private afternoon drive with just the 4 of us.
We knew the vibe would be totally different – way more relaxed and enjoying the
company of the animals and one on one with Mac & Price. We were so excited!
When we met prior to our afternoon drive, Mac asked us what
was left on our “wish list” of sightings before the end of the trip. The 4 of
us had spoken about it earlier in the day, and were all aligned, we absolutely
would love to see a lioness – and if we are getting greedy, a pride of lions
would be incredible (if the Gods would allow such a sighting…). That being
said, we fully understood how fortunate we are to have had the safari
experiences we have had thus far. Every drive is a new adventure, and every
encounter is different – even with the same animals. We truly appreciated every
single one of them, which I think is the best attitude to have in a safari
setting.
Nonetheless, Mac seemed eager to find us a lioness and off
we went. We drove in a direction that took us across the river from Exeter
River Lodge (the first lodge we stayed in). It was kind of cool to get the
reverse view from our rooms! As we proceeded to drive off of the trail and into
the bush, we made a stop at an enormous Hippo skull. It was fully intact and
quite impressive. Brandon, of course, made the request to take it home with him
if he was able to figure out the shipping options. Sadly, it was a no go… We were making our way out of the thicket when
Prince pointed off to the right of the incline we were about to drive up. We all looked,
but saw nothing; however, Mac turned the vehicle around and there they were – a
pride of lioness and 2 youngsters.
While it was not as intimidating as a male lion per se,
their presence was definitely known. I spoke previously about the sense of
respect demanded by a male lion’s existence, but a female lion has the exact same
in her own right. I cannot express to you how close they got to us. When the
largest of the females got up to walk, she looked us directly in the eyes and
proceeded to walk on by. Such a humbling
encounter, knowing she could have easily had her way with our entire vehicle if
she so desired. While they were laying, the lions were seemingly invisible –
their fur matching the dried grass of the bush exactly. We nearly drove over
them and they didn’t even flinch! Such a cool animal to see in the wild, a
predator at the top of the food chain like they are. They were on the move though
and we were lucky enough to be the only game vehicle to spend a short time with
them before they crossed over into another reserve’s territory.
The other highlight
of the afternoon drive was a vulture sighting. There were two of them, atop a
very tall tree and in a giant nest. We did not get to see them fly, but man
they were enormous! This particular encounter was one that we hadn’t even
thought about, but was so cool to see in person! You kind of got the same eerie
feeling in their presence as with the hyenas – they are symbolic of death in so many ways.
Aside from the animals, the mid-drive happy hour was
probably the best of the entire safari. We parked in an area overlooking the
river and acted like children, competing with Mac and Prince to see who could
throw a rock across the river first. It was definitely a great bonding
experience and so refreshing to see Mac and Prince in a more relaxed
environment – ya know, sans Trip & Fall!
We got to learn a little more
about Mac personally and how he become a guide as well. Turns out, he has a
pretty ridiculous story – he was a marine scientist, working for the government
and getting death threats regularly, who ultimately had his brother talk him
into becoming a safari guide to not only get out of the corrupt government system,
but because his true passion was always wildlife. This is exactly why I enjoy
the mid-drive coffee breaks and happy hours – it makes the overall experience that
much more personal.
Towards the end of the evening, we learned that a new couple
would be joining us the following afternoon. So we had one last private game
drive with just of the 4 of us tomorrow morning. We had such a great time
today with Mac and Prince, we could not wait to learn what the following morning
would hold for us!
Animal Sightings: Hyenas, Rhinos, Zebra, Impala, Inyala,
Dika, Leopard (mother and cubs, female hunting outside the camp), Bushbok,
Kudu, Water Buck, Elephants, Buffalo, Giraffe, Vulture, Lioness and youngster
lions (two females and a male), Warthogs, Mongoose, African Spotted Owl and
various birds!
Interesting Interactions:
1, The female leopard was on such high alert, never losing
sight of the hyena that was nearby. I found myself so concerned for the cubs,
because the hyena was closing in on their location, but I think he was actually
more interested in the impala carcass than anything else. Still, the thought of
witnessing a hyena kill and eat one or two baby leopards was not something I wanted
to see play out in front of us.
2. On the contrary, seeing the cubs play in the manner in which
they were almost allowed us to forget that they were not domestic cats. They
seem so innocent, until you focus in through the camera lens and come to the
realization that they have ever so slightly blood stained fur around their
mouths – a reminder of the predators they will soon become.
3. Finally, the sight of a female lioness was truly amazing.
Sure, the male lion reigns “king,” but the females do everything – they hunt,
provide and make the success of a pride possible. We learned that the
coalition of male lions we had been seeing throughout our trip were actually
one that ran out the previous dominant male to this particular pride. As such,
the youngsters that are not offspring of
the newly dominant male are often run off and, in many cases, even killed by
the males taking over a pride. In this particular scenario, the female mother
was with her older female offspring (very close to being a viable mating option
for the new males) and the other two were younger siblings – a male and female.
The sad reality is that the male youngster does not have a great chance of
survival under the reign of the new coalition; however, the elder lioness was
doing everything in her power to make sure that does not happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment