Mata Mata Day 5

I was awake 2 minutes before the alarm went off at 4:45am. I wasn’t in a rush to get going this morning I thought I’d let most people go first do we could drive slower do we left just after 5:30am.
Just 10 kilometres down the road our 4 cheetah came up over a ridge top right next to us, The sun was just coming up so it was still a little dark for good photos but they were quite close and started to walk in the direction we had come from. Just as I went to turn around a land cruiser came steaming up the road ahead of us and drove straight past us and stopped blocking the road. I then had to move further down and did a U turn and came back but the Land Cruiser and his mate in a hilux were blocking the road and hogged the whole sighting. Even when the cheetah moved off they drove right next to them not letting anyone get past and nobody else could get pictures. There was a herd of giraffe nearby and they were going mad running about, and then big male stopped right in front of the cheetah to stand his ground and the cheetah just slowly walked by, It made for a great photo but I was annoyed with these Italian idiots hogging the best of the sighting.
We turned around once the cheetah started heading across the pan and went to look for the African wildcats someone had told us about and we just got there and who should come charging up behind us? The land cruiser and his mate again. The land cruiser overtook us and then pulled right across in front of us while his mate sat on my bumper. Now we were hemmed in and couldn’t see that cats that we had found and they were taking photos.
As soon as they moved I drove away hoping for some distance.
At the next watering hole there was a big male lion sitting next to a bush with his back to us. I positioned the car to get photos if he came to drink and just as the land cruiser came down he got up and walked off.
At the next watering hole there was a martial eagle on its nest with a chick. Just as we pulled up the land cruiser came charging up behind us and parked in front. We managed some photos and then we drove on to the picnic area and got there for 8:30am spotting 2 hyena in the distance just before we arrived.
We are our breakfast and then made for camp stopping at every water hole on the way back. Without the idiots that had hindered us all morning I managed to get a shot of the martial eagle chick, then as we got closer to camp there were 2 cars blocking the road and in front of them at the edge of the road were the 4 cheetah.
They were laying in the shade so no photos, but the car on the left moved forward and pulled up right next to them. I moved up next to the other car and he said I could go next so we slowly rolled forward and stopped just 3 feet from the cheetahs. I grabbed a couple of shots and then they got up and moved into the sun. It was an unbelievable sight, a mum and 3 cubs glistening in the sunlight walking across the pan.
After the cheetah we stopped at the wildcat tree again and I managed a couple of shots of 1 wildcat while he had his eyes open.
We got back to camp just after 11am and went straight to the shop to get water. It was already 36°c in the shade back at camp. I went for a cold shower while Ellie went for a nap and when I came out the toilets there was a huge dust devil spinning across the desert so j grabbed my phone and videoed it quickly. Nobody else in camp even noticed it.
By 2pm it was 47°c in the sun and we decided to go out in the car to use the air conditioning. We got lucky almost straight out of the gate spotting 2 short toed eagles at the side of the road eating a bird. Then we saw the wildcats in the tree sleeping and then we got to the Craig Lockhart waterhole where we waited for a giraffe to drink but he just kept staring at something. We gave up waiting and slowly drove out of the waterhole area where we spotted a Gemsbok also staring in the same direction as the giraffe. Then I spotted it, 800 meters up the hillside and in the grass a black lump and a yellow lump. A male and female lion. It was a really good spot because everyone we told about it needed binoculars to see them.
After that we turned around and made for camp as the clouds got darker and it looked like rain falling ahead.
We got back to camp just after 5pm and people were already starting there Braai which meant they knew it was going to rain so I quickly got the charcoal chimney lit just as a huge crack of thunder went off overhead.
We were lucky to have finished dinner and washed up and then we put the side bed away and the awning all before it rained. We are moving back to Twee Rivieren tomorrow and I wanted an early start and didn’t want a wet awning.
Just as we got in the caravan to watch tv the rain started, nothing heavy but the thunder and lightning was really kicking off and we were glad to have everything away and out of the weather as we settled in for the night.Read more