Again, this morning, just as we were getting ready to head out Bheki got another report…this one of a cheetah. So, it was another race across the sandy roads with us arriving at an open space (along with a half dozen other vehicles) in time to see the cheetah surveying the area from the top of a termite mound.
She was on the hunt, and she eventually headed off to a distant herd of impalas hidden in the bush.
After much following, we eventually lost her as she headed into the bush. But after repositioning (based on where it looked like she was heading) we found her again.
By then most of the vehicles had headed off (reports of a lioness with cubs at a watering hole) but we decided to stay with her for a while. And we were rewarded when we saw her launch into a sprint towards the herd. We saw much of the chase but the it ended deep in the bush so we have no idea whether or not she caught the young antelope she had isolated.
The rest of the
morning had many of the normal animal sightings. But a highlight for Mary was getting a clear
photo of a Swallow Tailed Bee Eater.
This tiny bird is fast and hard to photograph but it is an absolute
jewel of green, blue, yellow and white.
Plus we ran into a pride of lions...several adult females, a few teenagers and some fairly small ones. They were headed off across an open space and heading to some woodlands.
Some of the park landscape. This section is pretty dry and desolate looking.
We had a good lunch and rested a bit in the afternoon before the next game drive. By then Mary’s back was sore from all the bouncing on the safari vehicle so she opted to stay in the camp. She did see a small herd of kudus that walk right past our cabin deck.
Most of the afternoon sightings were of the usual animals and birds but they did sight one new, large bird, the Southern Ground Hornbill. It is very distinct with a bright red ring around the eyes and on the chest. Hard to miss.
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