The group woke up at 5 a.m. to go on an early morning game drive when game are more likely to be active. It definitely paid off. We saw some springbok young males runting (clashing horns together) and others running around chasing each other. A little farther down we saw a jackal at a watering hole and later on we saw four gorgeous cheetahs! They walked slowly from one shade patch to the next until they got to the watering hole. We watched them drink, and could see their reflections in the water. It made me wish I had a nice camera. With binoculars I could see up close their intricate coats, tails with black tips at the end, and striking amber eyes.
At breakfast we saw some mongoose (look like ferrets sort of, have bright red eyes). We learned that the Kalahari dunes used to be mobile but now they are stationary as they are highly vegetated. Factors that affect whether these dunes might become mobile again are wind, moisture, evaporation, vegetation cover, and carbon dioxide levels. A student presented a paper about lions and one of the sad things facing this species, probably along with a lot of others, is genetic bottlenecking.
We stopped by Mata Mata and were able to cross into Namibia thanks to Diana sweet talking to the border patrol. We saw some more great wildlife as we drove from here to Twee Rivieren Rest Camp, our fenced off accommodations for the night. We saw five more giraffes and spotted a kudu- we saw a female, males have long curly horns, they are brown with white vertical stripes. We saw four lions sleeping under a tree with a cheetah that was watching them close by! There was a secretary bird too. They are large and grey with red eyes, looking similar to the koribustard. They trample snakes with their feet and eat them. Someone spotted a korhon bird, which are medium sized, black with white speckles. We saw a leopard, which was my favorite part yet! They are extremely unusual to spot. We took another game drive later that day in the early evening and saw a massive male lion, just chilling by the road!
We had another great braai tonight. Star gazing was amazing again and we enjoyed each other’s company, telling jokes late into the night.
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