The Leopard that popped In and Out...

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Patrick one of our German guides just returned from a South Africa Rainbow Route SAag17 and a Cape to Vic Grand Explorer CVag21 and had the following experience in Mkuze Game Reserve that he wanted to share... We had an amazing trip!! Starting off in Johannesburg, game driving through the Kruger NP, enjoying the scenery in Swaziland we finally arrived at Mkuze game reserve. It’s not a very big reserve, nor is it very popular. But it is definitely worth your time spent there.

We had a quick border crossing into RSA, had a lekker lunch at the Pongola Game Reserve and moved onwards to Mkuze. We were good in time, but as we want to see as much as possible for as long as possible, we game drove right after dropping our bags at camp. Our destination was the closest waterhole to our Camp. The waterhole was undergoing renovations, so usually that would disturb animals meaning lesser sightings. But with our luck, our sightings were amazing. We sat for about an hour and a half, first some Gnus visiting the waterhole, then some birds. There wasn’t happening very much.

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But then we were visited by a mother rhino with its little one, and we were all stunned. Then there were two more couples coming as well and we were all so excited. But then the unthinkable happened, and a leopard approached from behind the first mother and baby rhino. It was sitting just behind a tree, hiding away from all the other rhinos. And suddenly there was a break in the clicking sounds of the cameras, and there came a large herd of Cape Buffalo from the right side, chasing away the leopard, who by then had no better option than escaping onto the tree next to him. But as we only have limited time, as the gate opening times are binding, we had to move out of the waterhole and drive back to our camp to enjoy some delicious well deserved dinner and to chat about what we had just experienced.

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