November 2, Letaba

A pleasant, breezy morning on the veranda of the restaurant at Letaba.  I’m having the “Continental” buffet – meaning cereal and yogurt.  On my second double espresso so there’s little chance of my heart just stopping in the next couple of hours.

Got up at 0445 and was on the road by 0515.  Left the camp and didn’t turn left toward the lions.  Instead I turned right on the main road and took the first unpaved road to the left.  It’s a lovely road that parallels the Letaba River.  Sun had just risen and there was no one on the road.  There are numerous little turnouts that enable you to take in the vista on the high bank over the river.  At the first, I shut the car off and just sat back and enjoyed the morning.  Really beautiful – soft sunlight, cool breeze.  As I watched I saw something move through the reeds below.  Sort of a feline shoulder working along the reeds on the bank.  Lion occurred to me first, but in that instant I caught a glimpse of a white tail and I knew I was watching a leopard.  She moved cautiously through the reeds, carefully stopping to sniff here and there.  A pair of Egyptian geese were making a hell of a racket on the shore – obviously they’d seen the leopard and wanted everyone to know.  As an aside – there are two problems with Egyptian geese.  First, they’re everywhere – at least anywhere there is water.  Second, they make a hell of a racket about everything and mostly about what other geese are doing.  I think it’s mating season here so the males are constantly carrying on and chasing each other away.  So complaining geese doesn’t seem to draw much notice in the bush. 

The leopard poked around quietly and then proceeded to lie down in a small clearing directly in front of me.  I was probably 50 meters away – not as close as I’d like for photography of course – but she was right out in the open.  And she proceeded to take a nap.  So, instead of lions, I had almost an hour of alone time with a leopard, surely the most beautiful of the cats.  Eventually, she stood up and quietly moved back into the bush and out of sight.

The rest of the drive was uneventful.  Saw a nice martial eagle, various bee-eaters and a big bull elephant with enormous tusks.  And now I’m here, finishing breakfast.  It’s 1020 and I’m thinking it’s time for a short nap.