This morning I learnt an invaluable lesson – never go on game drive without a camera! We went on a short game drive and after around forty minutes we passed a dam and my tracker waved his arms in the air and pointed into the bush. Far away lying in the long grass was a female leopard. Though my tracker could see the leopard my guests and I struggled to get a visual. Eventually after being patient we were all able to see her, but not very well. We reversed a bit and to our amazement on the other side of the road we saw 2 young cubs playing next to the road. As we watched in complete silence they climbed onto a termite mound and were playing happily together. They are around 3 months old and they were stalking each other, biting one another’s tails and rolling around on top of the termite mound. There are no words to describe how incredible this sighting was. We left the area on a high and drove to some open plains nearby where we saw a medley of animals – buffalos, egrets, blue wildebeest, zebra and a yellow billed kite. On our way back to the lodge we saw two rhinos in the distance, running up and down the road. It was a notoriously nervous female with a young calf so we watched them turning in circles from a distance, knowing that if we approached too close they would move into thick bush for cover. We returned to the lodge buzzing with excitement. I learnt an important lesson – never go into the bush without a camera as you never know what delights are in store. In spite of not having a camera to record this adventure I know that the image and memory of those two leopard cubs playing on a termite mound will stay in my heart and mind forever.
Story by Sarah-Estelle Sangster – Kapama River Lodge Ranger