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Published: October 23rd 2010
Friday 22nd - morning drive - BEST SO FAR!
We could easily have missed the drive as it's pretty standard to have breakfast in bed after your wedding here, but we didn't want to miss a drive, and how right we were!
We headed out at 530 as usual and spent the first 2 hours trying to find a leopard called Metsei. There were drag marks from a kill, and prints in a certain areas so we set about trying to find her. Dan the Tracker had gone off on foot and we kept circling a particular area for signs that she'd come out of the bush. Our ranger Greg has so much patience, or is it stubborness!?
We'd got to the point where we were ready to give up and head in for breakfast when we pulled up in the sandy riverbed not far from the lodge. We parked nose to nose with another Ulusaba Land Rover and they got their coffee and goodies out. Greg went off to have one final look for himself, and as soon as the other guys set up their drinks the leopard ran across the river bed. We shouted out and I don't think their ranger believed a bunch of amateurs. Seconds later some Impala ran frantically in the opposite direction. Metsei had killed one within meters of us. So there the 2 Land Rovers were. We had no driver, and the other one had coffee cups and biscuits all over the bonnet! None of us could reactive very quickly!
We followed Metsei into the bush and watched her dragging the Impala to a position she felt safe in. No mean feat dragging that! We watched while she licked the fur away and took her first bite. If you're squeamish stop reading now. She tugged until she pulled out the colon. As she bit through the lining and ate the contents, the droppings were falling out. Sadly the next thing she found was the womb. The impala was a month away from giving birth. It looked as if she ate the young one. You could hear her lapping at the blood falling into the cavity. We watched all this while we were just 8 feet away!
After hiding the kill in some undergrowth she walked back out onto the sandy riverbed. Lying under the shade of the tree where we'd been parked 10 minutes earlier when she'd been spotted, she started to call out. She was making gentle cries and soon her two cubs came to join her. She'd left them somewhere safe while she'd made the kill and was now calling them to join her. The cubs were both believed to be male and about a year old. We sat in the glaring sun and watched them play and stretch out in the shade. The cubs clearly showed different personalities, with one staying close to mum and the other one cheekily running off and exploring, only to be called back by an anxious mum.
This was the last drive for Mark, Julie and Callum, and I don't think they could have experienced a better one! Let's hope that the good luck's not with them.
Ulusaba rocks!
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Ian HB
non-member comment
How much do you think we could sell Jack for and come and join you? I'm so jealous!