Safari and Guides Services Blog

Roelof x2 trip report September 09

Met in Chobe but drove straight to Savute then Moremi.

Little did we know when we left Chobe that this was going to be the trip filled with Predators. My clients had already spent a whole month traveling around Namibia and had some amazing experiences along the way but they had not seen a Leopard.

Leopards are not easy to see, not only because they are shy but because of their ability to blend into their surroundings. They are stealthy and agile predators that are able to take down large prey due to their large skull and strong jaw and neck muscles.

I have had clients that have been to Africa many times and have not seen a Leopard, and when they finally do the joy and excitement that comes over them is a great feeling for me. At this stage I was feeling confident that we would see a Leopard at some stage on our Journey.

With Savute being so dry and no rivers in the area, the value of water can not be underestimated. A big male lion with a lovely mane tried to bulldoze his way through a group of bull elephants in order to have a sip of water. Unfortunately he was not successful at all, it left us all thinking ‘Who is the king of the Jungle?’  I guess any smart king would not mess with a group of thirsty Bull Elephants.

That night we had some visitors into camp, a couple of Honey Badgers decided to raid our picnic bag that contained some of our supplies. I heard the commotion in the middle of the night taking place in the vehicle and managed to chase them away with a lot of caution.

Moremi was our next stop with a lot of interesting water crossing points, this is always exciting for the clients as it is completely different. The day was hot and there were pockets of scattered game such as elephants, kudu, sable, impala and plenty of different birds.

That night I thought to myself that I was getting slightly worried that we hadn’t seen the Leopard yet, but I had a feeling that we would soon.

We decided to head out in the early hours of the morning, and we were approx 15 minutes away from camp and we came across a Leopard. The clients were over the moon and I was very much relieved, he was stalking impalas, which left us guessing of its next move. Unfortunately the Impalas eventually saw him and took off in a hurry, the Leopard then went into the bushes were we couldn’t see him. What a great thing to see the natural beauty of a Leopard in a truly wild place.

We were on our way to our Mokoro trip, and four kilometers down the road from the Leopard we saw a pride of nine lions which had just finished a Wildebeest. They were grooming each other and some of them played which kept us amused. The older ones with their bellies full were just lying back they looked very uncomfortable as they had just stuffed themselves.

We decided to leave the cats in peace and carried on for our Mokoro trip. The tiny Painted Reed frog stole the show. The clients had even asked if they could take one home as a pet as liked them so much, the answer was obviously no.

The last night of the Safari we heard the lions roaring in the distance and the Hyaena’s came into camp and tried to steel some stuff. I had a great time and felt really happy when we saw the Leopard. Safe travels on the rest of your journey and all the very best.

By Frank Chikosi