People always say that the weather in the lowveld area is always so nice and warm that we can’t really call our winter, winter. That might be true most of the time but this last week Mother Nature just showed us ones again how unpredictable she can be. We’ve been feeling the cold, especially on the game drives and we even had a few cloudy days somewhere in between.
It’s on days like these that the cats are usually a bit more active. My tracker turns around in his seat and says to me that this is “ingwe” weather. (ingwe meaning leopard) That always puts a smile on my face as that is my favourite animal. We’ve had some amazing sightings of lions and even the illusive leopard this week. We are so fortunate to be able to still see these animals in their natural environment. They are fast disappearing in their natural habitat and in some areas are even extinct.
This afternoon we saw a beautiful female leopard lying on a termite mound. It looked like she was there just for us, posing for the perfect picture. We sometimes forget that we are actually in their environment and that we are there for them and not the other way around. I savor every moment spent with these incredible animals and every time I get to see one of them, I consider myself lucky.
Story by: Marilize Minnaar-Kapama River Lodge Ranger
