Kapama River Lodge (Day 2), Hoedspruit

People talk endlessly about the Big 5—Elephants, Leopards, Cape Buffalo, Rhinos, and Lions. We must be incredibly lucky because we saw them all in our first 12 hours. Then we nearly did it again, seeing 4 of the 5 in one game drive. Our guides Collins and Nico show us their expert tracking skills, explaining what they see and hear along the way.

The mating pair of leopards we saw the day before have invaded the territory of another female. She’s pissed, as identified by the tracks of all three. We catch up with her as she marks her territory and continues driving the mating pair away.

Later, we catch up with a delinquent adolescent Rhino and his two female chaperones. They in search for someone else to dump this troublesome kid on to while he demands attention at every moment.Read more