Sabie
River Camp gates opened at 4.30am to let the guests out and we were
one of the first on the road this morning. It was going to be a
long day as we had nearly 150kms to cover to reach Olifants Camp near
the Mozambique border. I had tried to book a camp closer to Sabie,
but they were fully booked. However, the route we needed to take
proved to be fortuitous.
We
stopped for breakfast at Tshokwane cafe, got bugged but not mugged by
the resident troop of monkeys and carried on the north road. We'd
stopped to view giraffe when a car pulled alongside and said the
magic word. Leopard. Three kilometres on there was a leopard in a
tree next to the road! It was really easy to spot – ten cars and
safari landrovers huddled together with cameras pointed left showed
exactly where to look. We were able to park on the side of the road
away from the leopard and had a grand view. I took some photos then
first one car moved off and then another. The safari trucks with
their guests would stay for ten minutes maximum before needing to
move on while we, in our self drive, had the luxury of time. Within
twenty minutes of arriving luck gave us the prime spot next to the
tree, closer for our little point and shoot camera, while we waited
for this female cat to move. First her head came up, she shifted a
bit. Was she going to come down from her snoozing spot. No. For the
next two hours we were there she did no more then lift her head and
swing her tail. Miss Leopard won the game and we left to find new
treasures.
Further
along on one of the side loop roads we had a wonderful encounter with
giraffes.
And
coming to the river crossing below Olifant camp we found two male
hyenas on the river bank drinking the water, giant kingfishers, water
buck and plenty of bird life.
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