Eugene - Welcome to Djuma. Glad to hear Ngaire and Ken arrived safely. Mary Ellen, Jim, Gary and I are staying over at Lion Sands for one more evening. The others should be in Johannesburg by now, awaiting their flights back to the US. We wish them all safe travels, and enjoyed sharing a safari with them.
Today's report can be summarized by "don't get your pants in a bush". We started out getting sunrise pictures, followed by an expected follow on search for leopard. The radio crackled, and our plan was quickly changed. We were looking for lions from a different pride. Evidently they are less habituated, so knowing their movements is important to the trackers and rangers. We came across the Southern Pride, who were wide awake. Their numerous cubs were quite playful, and we enjoyed watching the pride move out amidst much cat-engagement behavior.
Next up was a different leopard sighting. A male was traversing a different section of the park. We all worked hard, and came across him settling in for a short rest. He let loose with a full roar not once, but twice. I got one of them on my video. Along the way, we spotted the uncommon ground hornbill birds. Something for everyone this morning.
We headed back for our morning coffee stop. The new menu items include Susan's special - Greek yogurt, smoothies and granola in a glass - and the GlenGary - coffee, hot chocolate mix and amarula. For those who haven't indulged, it's closest cousin is Bailey's Irish Cream. We arrived after Ngaire, Ken, Paul and Susan's vehicle, where they were strangely sitting in their jeep. It turns out the bush bathroom inspection went a bit awry before our arrival. Ken and Ngaire took advantage of the comfort break, only to find two bull elephants a bit put out with our trucks stopping on their most direct route to the water hole. Midstream, ranger Trevor called for Ken & Ngaire to get back into the range rover - NOW. Ken looked over his shoulder, and saw the closest bull getting waaayy too close for comfort. Ngaire did not have the same physiology, so needed to get a move on it whilst attempting to resecure her panties and zip up her trousers. The world's worst wedgie if you ask me.
Ranger Trevor got the rifle out for any further comfort stops amongst the group of us. Ngaire wisely opted for the opposite side of the vehicle for her further territory markings. The bull elephants did, indeed, decide their water break was more important than ours. We scooted up into the vehicles, where they put on a considerable show whilst taking on water and letting us know they can and will charge.
We ran into the two elephants again after leaving the coffee stop, and they were still of a mind to assert their superiority. Brandon had a fine time getting us safely home and letting the elephants know to behave.
We enjoyed a leisurely lunch, where Jim demonstrated his considerable management skills. It's the first time the vervet monkeys have braved the outdoor lunch deck. A quick score of two rolls emboldened the little rascals. This required stern measures: the slingshot came out. Monkeys are not only wily, but smart. They know the slingshot is just not worth the possible food rewards. Jim was most satisfied seeing the monkeys keep a respectful distance as we enjoyed our food.
It's time for our next game drive.
Pleasure, Malachite RM
