We headed out today full of hope and anticipation for a full dance card. We have seen so many animals and birds, great flora, magnificent trees. But there are two things we need to make the trip complete: a leopard and a rhinoceros. Is today the day?
We had been out for at least an hour, enjoying the Reserve. The tracks are smooth (on the whole) and you don’t feel like you’ve just got off a rocking boat when you get home, like we did in the Mara. We saw the baboons descending from the trees, a group of cuddly Waterbuck antelope,

and then in the distance we saw two black rhino! They were a long way from the road, but distinctly different to the white rhino. They have small tusks, and are usually solitary. As there were two, they must have been a mating pair.

There are no boab trees in this area, nor the Masai Mara, as they only grow below 1000m, and we are currently at 1860m. But below is an acacia that is picture perfect. They look similar to the Balonite trees in the Mara.

Nearby there was a group of Rothschild Giraffes. These are endemic to this area, and have white legs.

Here’s one of the elegant African storks that abound around the lake here.

We were heading back to the lodge when we got a call on the radio that some vehicles had seen a leopard. So we raced to the spot – a narrow one lane track, already packed with cars from both directions. A log jam to behold. All cameras were pointed to a tree that was out of our view. After some argy bargy, and much slipping and sliding in the mud, everyone regrouped in a parallel track, to try and see the leopard as it crossed the dense bush. But super-guide William decided we’d leave the pack and stop about 300m down the road where the road bends round, saying the leopards would cross there. AND THEY DID! We were the only car to see them. A mother and two cubs. As they appeared from the foliage, I was speechless (I know, it’s hard to believe) and could only fumble to point the camera at them. First the mum, then the two cubs. They were spectacular. I only got one good shot as the second cub headed into the bush:

Our hearts were racing for at least an hour afterwards. Even William was excited!

So leopards – check.
We started for home, and what do you know? There’s a white rhino. It was at least 200m from us, but we sat quietly and watched, and snapped what photos we could. I think Harry took a shot every 15 seconds. The rhino slowly but surely made its way towards us. The photos got better and better. Until he actually came right up to the road and crossed just in front of the car next to us. William had his fingers on the ignition keys, ready to make a getaway.

Wow, what a morning. We still can’t get the smiles off our faces. Africa has delivered its big five and more.