Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 68 – Sabi Sands

Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 67 – Sabi Sands can be found here.

Today is our last full day of game drives. Where has the time gone? Though we certainly can’t complain that we haven’t seen or done enough – it feels like each day has been an entire safari holiday in miniature. It’s greedy of us, but we hope today will be no different.

Dawn creeps upon Sabi Sands, and we are ready for it:

The river level has risen overnight, and it’s no longer safe to ford. Even if we could cross, any further rise would means that we’d have to take the long way back – a three-hour drive through the nearest settlement, neither shade nor roof, with a gun on the dash. Not ideal.

Instead we’re searching for rhino on the south side of the river.

The dominant rhino in this area is known as Mike Tyson for the hole in his ear. (Though upon further reflection the name Evander Holyfield might be more fitting.)

Rhinos defecate into a midden, which is their way of marking territory and potentially encountering a mate. A female rhino who encounters the midden of a dominant male might defecate in the same midden – the scent of which may encourage the male to seek her out. We soon term this the “Rhino night club”.

We spot the midden, but not the rhino. We carry on up the road and – success!

It looks like Mike is sleeping one off. Perhaps a challenge from a potential rival?

Indeed, we find another male rhino in a similar state of repose just up the road. Seems as though their battle ended in a stalemate.

Rhino horns are regularly removed to limit incentive for poachers. While this has done little to stop the illegal market, it has made these kind of territory battles less lethal for the rhinos involved.

Nathan stresses that the rhinos are still able to use their strength to establish dominance, but they (mostly) no longer gore and kill their opponents.

We carry on down the road and encounter another baby elephant, this one younger than 2 months old.

Did you know that baby elephants get the zoomies? They do, and it’s adorable.

We also have some giraffe in the area, one of which manages to photobomb our shot.

More zoomies!

And some playing with a slightly-older sibling.

Some adolescent males are trailing the group, and engaging in some shows of bravado.

Which culminates in an unexpected way.

Sigh. Boys.

We carry along, spotting a hippo as we go.

And then a hornbill, who very kindly poses for a miniature photo shoot:

These are ridiculously photogenic birds.

We then attempt to stop for our very first round of “sun-uppers”, only to find that virtually every watering hole is already taken by another vehicle. It’s the first time the park has ever felt “crowded” – though the limited access to the north end of Sabi is likely the driving factor.

Eventually we choose the high ground for our stop. You can see Dulini Moya from here:

And we get down to business:

Where the kids thoroughly enjoy some peanut butter and marshmallow cookies, and I learn that Amarula and coffee is a winning combination.

It’s the same spot where we enjoyed our “bush breakfast” a few days earlier, with the same stellar view:

Back to Dulini River, where I order my first round of traditional eggs benedict:

Then off for nap time, followed by writing and homework.

Back to the lodge for lunch under the sausage tree – though this time we’re being closely watched by a troop of vervet monkeys:

The staff shoot empty slingshots to scare them off, and we enjoy another delicious lunch of ostrich and mussels:

Then off for a swim and to play a bit of skip-ball. The pool is perhaps the only miss here at Dulini River – too small, too murky, and quite a few leaves and bugs on the surface. (But it’s not so bad that I bother to ask the staff to address it, so not a deal breaker.)

Tea time! The kids have persuaded the chef to make caramel cupcakes again, and they are once more fantastic.

Off on our penultimate game drive. We start by encountering another troop of baboons:

And a kudu in the distance:

Plus a wildebeest that is apparently attempting to set the record for the greatest number of oxpeckers:

Then more baboons – this time with babies:

On we go, and Nathan has another surprise for us – another visit with the mother cheetah and her cubs:

They killed an impala in the area earlier. While we’re too late to see them dig in, we are just in time to watch them lounge and digest:

Meat sweats have never been more adorable.

Nathan gets another call on the radio, and we’re off again – this time to track a leopard.

But first, we encounter a huge elephant – a massive male that Nathan estimates is more than 55 years old.

His tusks are incredible – each one is about the size of my thigh.

The leopard search resumes. It feels like we keep getting closer and closer, but we just can’t find the spot. It’s getting late and we’re losing light.

Nathan and the other guide on the radio finally settle on a landmark – the tallest torchiere tree in the area. With that last piece of the puzzle, Colbert finds the track and sets out with laser focus.

Even so, it’s a long bash through the woods to reach our destination. But just when I’m giving up hope:

We find Tsela, mother of the youngster we spotted earlier. Her name means “patience”, which is rather fitting for a leopard.

Leopards on the move are phenomenally difficult to follow, and so we count ourselves lucky to have this encounter. It’s also the first time the other guests in the vehicle have seen a leopard – though Tsela proves difficult to photograph in this low light.

The dim lighting does offer one advantage, however – she sets off to hunt, and we get to follow.

It’s soon too dark to see anything, but we settle in to listen as Tsela takes up a prime position and waits for a heard of impala to move through – including a baby. We listen for some time, wondering if we’ll hear the sound of a kill.

But no luck. The moon is remarkably bright, which works in the impalas’ favour.