DAY 67: Finally - Five out of Five!

Good morning! Before I tell you about one of our best game viewing-days of the trip thus far, let me tell you a little bit about Mashatu. I used to work in this incredible reserve between 2004 and 2007 studying the local leopard population. During those years I fell in love with the landscape, the people and of course the animals. Few South Africans know about this wonderful safari destination a mere five hours’ drive from Pretoria. You can read more about Mashatu on their website www.mashatu.com. I’m sure you’ll agree that the room we’ve been staying in is a bit of an upgrade from our little tent!? 

Larger, cooler and more comfortable than our tent

The man to thank for this unforgettable visit is my good friend and camp manager, Bobson Kontle. He and his partner Caroline have kindly offered some of their bed nights so that Ji and I could stay here these three days. Thank you also to Mashatu, and in particular to Pete and Jane le Roux, for the opportunity to visit. It has also been fantastic to see Hannetjie, Fish, Bashi and all my other old Mashatu friends who made my stay here so memorable! 

Villiers, Bobson and Ji at Mashatu Main Camp

Since the beginning of the trip Ji and I tried our level best to spot not only the Grand Slam of cats in one day, but also the Grand Slam of large carnivores: Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Spotted Hyena and Wild Dogs! If it was ever going to happen it was going to happen here…and it did! Our very first sighting of the day was of five spotted hyenas close to Main Camp. They had stashed a carcass in one of the riverbed pools and were resting close by. Soon after we came across a big male lion with only one good eye. He had killed a zebra foal last night and was busy finishing the last morsels. 

Ji and Fish in search of large carnivores...

One of five spotted hyenas in the Majale River

I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark ally!

We were desperate to find a leopard and searched in all the best places on the reserve. We would have to wait for the afternoon drive before we found one, however. Soon after we found the female cheetah again, Fish lead us to a young male leopard resting in one of the few forest areas of Mashatu. We were able to stop less than ten metres away from him and must have watched him for a good fifteen minutes. As luck would have it a couple of wild dogs were spotted very close to camp so we raced there to complete our large carnivore Grand Slam. The two males were on the move and only gave us one or two opportunities to photograph them. It was an unforgettable day in the bush and we have Fish and Aaron, our tracker, to thank for it! 

We also had some amazing elephant sightings this morning!

A cheetah resting in the tall grass

A young male leopard very close to our vehicle

One of two wild dogs close to Main Camp

Last night I took the time to scan through all 66 previous posts (thanks to Mashatu’s free wifi) and I was astounded at what we have already experienced on the Serengeti Trip 2011. So I got an idea: As soon as you get bored at work again today, take ten minutes to scan through some of the previous posts and please let us know what your favourite photos of the trip are. These are the four categories: 

1) Your favourite wildlife photo, 

2) Your favourite road-trip photo, 

3) Your favourite photo of Ji, and 

4) Your favourite photo of Villiers. 

Category one has to be of an animal or bird, category two can be any other photo taken during the trip, and categories three and four are obvious – they just have to capture either Ji or Villiers. You can post your votes as a comment below and use a short description of the photo and that day's post name for each category. Please, we need your participation in this one! We want everyone’s opinion! Thanks you very much.

Tomorrow we go on one last Mashatu game drive before heading to Mzanzi (for sure!)... It will be weird and absolutely wonderful to be back in South Africa. Before we drive home to Pretoria we have two days in one of my favourite South African National Parks - Mapungubwe!

Have a great week! (and don't forget to tell us which trip-photos you like the best!!!)

Villiers

The perfect way to end the day!

Highlight of the day:

Villiers: Mashatu, Mashatu, MASHATU! Driving through it makes all my senses work overtime - I love it!

Ji: The whole day! We had to incredible game drives and fantastic sightings!

Lowlights of the day:

Villiers and Ji: There were none!