After the great start yesterday who would have thought that things would only get better? Last evening we decided to see the three cheetah brothers again and on the way there saw this lovely herd of elephant. When we got to the cheetah they were still lying around so we opened a chilled bottle of white wine, sat on the roof of the car and enjoyed a sundowner! As we settled in the cheetah got up and started to stalk a herd of zebra with a young foal. They sprinted into the herd hoping to scatter the family and separate the foal but he stuck to his mother like glue and she was able to fend the cheetah off. We went back to camp feeling very satisfied!
Early the next morning we were up at first light and shortly after the sun came up we found a beautiful female leopard walking back towards the Talek river after a night of hunting. The morning sun shone off her coat and we stayed with her for several minutes before she disappeared into thick bush.
About half an hour later we came up with the three brothers again, almost seven kilometers away from where we had left them. They had still not fed and as we came up to them they cantered off towards a mother topi and calf. The topi out ran them and left them panting on the top of a ridge.
After breakfast we arrived back with the cheetah as they were setting off on a stalk for another mother and calf Topi unit. We positioned the car and sat watching the slow and patient process. After an hour the cheetah had progressed by about 20 meters and we were getting hot under the sun. However patience is a virtue and eventually the mother and calf started feeding their way towards where the cheetah were hunkered down in a patch of longer grass. We waited with baited breath as they got closer and closer until it seemed that they should be standing on top of the cheetah! Suddenly all hell broke loose as the cheetah made their charge, again hoping to panic the mother and calf into running in separate directions. Again the topi pair stayed together at full pelt with the cheetah alongside them the calf bleating in fear and the mother firmly keeping herself between her baby and the predators. Eventually the cheetah gave up and panting hard they made their way right towards us and plonked down in the shade of our car!
Jonathan and Andi were delighted as you can see! What a first 24 hours for Jonathan and Andi’s first ever safari, I wonder what the next few days will bring?
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