Leopard!

Day 5 Wednesday March 5th 2008
From Central Kalahari Game Reserve to Maun

Dawn saw us up and packing. We wanted an early start to drive to the gate, hoping that we would see lots of animals this early. The side roads beckoned and we followed them into the Pans, looking out for some interesting wildlife.

Jackal, gemsbok, springbok. Hmmm.... there is no shortage of these animals here. Definite dearth of anything else though! We saw two gemsbok/oryx fighting in the distance and Simon drove up very carefully so that I could get some photos. Just as I snapped the camera, however, they pulled apart and looked at us as if to say "Excuse me? You're not part of this!" In the photo they looked like two bookends, I thought it was really funny! We waited for a bit, but they decided that whatever they were fighting over was not fit for an audience and wandered off.

Eventually we found a nice open spot where we could stop and have breakfast, again with plenty of viewing space. We set up our cooking equipment on the tailgate of the truck and relaxed while our oats simmered quietly. There were oryx and springbok grazing around us, the air was clean, the sun was warm ... I could have stayed here much longer!

Back on the road again after we cleaned and packed up, but there was no more excitement to be had for the day. Until we almost got to the turnoff to the gate. There was a large cluster of vehicles around a couple of trees. We drove up alongside one of them and a lady leaned out the window and told us "Leopard, in the tree. There! See?"

Well, the tree was quite a distance from the track, but with binoculars we could see. The leopard was laying across one of the branches and looked very relaxed. Due to the distance, I used maximum zoom on my camera and some digital enhancements to get these photos.

The leopard watched us for a bit, then got bored with all the attention and got up and moved further into the foliage of the tree. He was very difficult to spot by then, so the photos really aren't that clear. Simon keeps teasing me with "what am I looking at?" ;o)

We heard a strange sound, a yipping noise, that we could not identify. Simon said it sounded like the call of a cheetah's young. Using the binoculars we scoured the area, but could not see any young, or any cheetahs. There were oryx, looking very concerned, and jackal ... then I noticed it was the jackal making the noise! My digital camera has a recording option, so I took a recording of it, although the jackal decided to stop making the noise after that! I'm not sure how to post video on this blog, and Simon is concerned that some folks won't be able to download it if I do, so I think I'll have to put it up on a Picasa web or something. I'll edit this post when I get it up.

With the leopard almost out of view, we decided to press on and head for Maun. Once again it took a while to get through the paperwork at the gate and, while I was processing it, Simon noticed a small sign that said "Maun" and pointed to the right. He checked with the gate sentry who confirmed it was a road to Maun that followed the veterinary fence in a straight line all the way up. As the road to Rakops had been so claustrophobic, Simon thought it was a good idea to try this route. Have I mentioned what a brilliant man he is?

The road was a huge improvement with more visibility, better road condition, and it cut our trip short by over an hour! We worked out that it shortened the drive by about 100km/62 miles - a vast difference in 4x4 terms!

In Maun we bought meat and ice, then made our way to the Island Safari Lodge camp site. The lodge looks pretty good. The camp site has seen better days. However, it was acceptable and had the enormous advantage (to me) of hot showers! The ablution facilities were clean and pleasant and we were the only campers, so it was all ours! I spent ages in the shower, revelling in the hot water and washing my hair. We had arrived around 14h30 so we had plenty of time to relax, eat and pack things ready for tomorrow. Simon repacked the back of the truck, something he did every time we had spare time. I found it most amusing, but he was happy, and that was all that mattered.

The road to the camp is dirt, and two hornbills had a great time giving themselves a sand bath in the dirt. It was fun to watch. For the first time, we saw monkeys as well. Simon gave them some Wasabi Peas, which they ate at first, then decided they didn't like. LOL




Unfortunately, the night was disturbed by barking dogs, loud music and traffic. However, we did have our own personal security guard assigned to us, so although we did not have a good night's sleep, we did feel safe!