November 9, Letaba

Last night here at Letaba before the girls arrive.  Head north tomorrow to Mopani and then Shingwedzi. 

Today was another long day with little to show for it.  Honestly, I didn’t see any animals at all this morning until maybe 1000 except for a few impala.  That means hours of driving with nothing to show for it. Seriously, not one elephant, not a zebra, not a giraffe, not a kudu.  Nothing. In the end, did see a few of the usual suspects, but doing nothing unusual and no cats at all.  The weather was changing all day – I don’t know if that has something to do with it.  But it’s demoralizing for sure.

It’s hard to explain, but I spend maybe 8 hours a day and sometimes 10, driving slowly down roads – often pretty poor roads – with 95 degree air blowing in my face, trying to watch the road and constantly scanning the area around me.  And, the truth is, lions could be 30 yards off the road and it would be easy to miss them.  Leopards – forget about it.  Hell, I’ve even driven right by elephants without seeing them until I was past.  It’s the nature of the bush.  And then if you do see something, whether you get much of a shot depends mostly on variables out of your control.  The distance is the biggest.  But also, is there a clear shot without intervening brush?  And light? You can position your car a little bit here or there, but your range of movement is severely limited. Oh, and animals move.  And they know what’s normal, you know?  In other words, you can drive by an eagle sitting in a tree all day long, but the minute you stop your car, or turn around or, especially, the minute you point something like a lens at them, they’re outta there.  They’re not stupid and their lives depend on noticing the details.  So much luck involved, even if you do see something cool.

A good meal at the restaurant here helps.  It’s by far the best restaurant I’ve found in the park.  Now, two beers down, showered and it’s almost 8pm.  I think I go to bed early, get up early and hope for a better day tomorrow. 

In general, fewer animals up north.  But, it’ll be different and my luck’s got to change.  Hopefully I’ll see some nyala.  One of the loveliest antelopes.  A real charmer.