August 19: 2nd Day - PM Drive (3rd game drive)

Leopard feeding on bushback, originally uploaded by Andrew & Yvette's world travel.

We start our PM drive in high hopes as our drives so far have been spectacular. It doesn’t take long when Ashleigh stops the car and asks us a question. ‘Are we willing to drive 30 minutes to see something that might not be there when we arrive?’ We’re all of one accord and the 5 of us agree immediately. To what, Ashleigh wouldn’t say. Thirty bumpy minutes later, we’re off the main roads. We spot a clump of trees ahead and the LR heads towards it going over bushes and trampling over trees showing us what off-roading is all about. Ashleigh then cuts the engines and directs our gaze to a spot in the middle of the trees. It takes our eyes a couple of seconds but soon we spot a mama leopard eating a mama bushback. We’re beside ourselves again. How many people are witness to such acts??!! As we continue our mesmerized gaze, we notice the look of intense concentration on the leopard’s eyes. This concentration is also mirrored on the 2 year old male leopard that is still with its mum. As it pries its prey open, the baby leopard too is forever looking around ever alert to the sounds of hyenas and other predators that could be lurking in the bushes. As it turns out, the only thing in the bushes is the baby bushback who has returned to look for its mum. As the mama leopard hears the alarm calls of the baby bushback, she leaves her cub behind and goes on the hunt. The cub continues to eat and soon its whiskers and paws are stained with blood as he rips through skin exposing intestines, liver and all other manners of bloody body parts.

After an hour or so of watching, it is time to leave the cub behind (his mum is still out hunting) and head back to our lodge. Drew and I are in a state of bliss. In addition to the Big 5--buffalos, rhinos, elephants, lions and leopards-- we’ve seen and learnt so much about a plethora of birds, antelopes, giraffes, insects, etc. We feel like we are on a National Geographic Expedition! How many times have we both dreamt of being wildlife photographers?