Leopard Hills

 On Sunday afternoon after a rather bumpy bush flight we arrived at a landing strip for Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve. Our guide, Morne (pronounced Mornay) picked us up in a 3-tiered open air truck, and I had my first harrowing experience climbing in. The steps are much narrower than I remembered from Botswana. You have to put your feet sideways to climb. Getting down is much harder than getting up. Each drive features two times getting in and two times getting out, and we are going on a total of eight drives, so I am already dreading this cumbersome task. 

We arrived at the camp about 15 minutes later and were greeted by the friendly staff offering drinks. Nick had a gin and tonic, but I just had water, not feeling too well after the plane ride. We were shown to our room which is a separate thatched structure (not a tent) featuring a large living room, spacious bedroom, indoor and outdoor shower, large deck and private plunge pool. The back is floor to ceiling windows looking onto the bush, including a small watering hole where we watched several impala come to drink. There’s a fully stocked mini bar including Pinotage wine that we enjoyed last visit to South Africa. Best of all on this 95-degree day was the air conditioning. Incredibly luxurious compared to the tented camps in Botswana. 

We skipped lunch but at 3:30 went up to the lodge for high tea. There are a number of steps and a steep path up to the second floor where food and drinks are served. There we met the two couples who will be sharing the truck with us, at least for part of our stay. Paula (originally from Kilkenny, Ireland) and Frank (from England) live outside of London. Carl and Jackie are from Houston. They all were extremely personable and funny. On our first game drive there was a discussion of methane gas and how much the animals produce. Morne joked that there would be a huge drop in methane gas if all the South Africans stopped eating meat. I replied that if they did, someone might be able to beat them in rugby, to which all of them roared approvingly. Apparently, Morne is a rugby player. And Paula is a big fan. 

Along with Morne as the driver and guide, we also have Advice, a young African who acts as tracker. Advice sits in a jump seat at the very front of the vehicle. He and Morne regularly converse in another language to discuss strategies and routes. Morne also talks in this language with other guides, trying to coordinate the best sightings. 

From the deck of the lodge we saw several Cape Buffalo. About 10 minutes into the drive we saw a herd of zebra, including a baby taking a dust bath. We saw dozens (hundreds maybe) of Impala which are ubiquitous here. We saw several groups of Brindle Gnu; Morne said some people call them poor man’s buffalo. We came to a dam in the Sand River and saw a pod of Hippos and 2 crocodiles. Next we saw a White back vulture and juvenile in a nest. Morne said they are common, but it’s unusual to see them in the nest. 

We then came upon a large White Rhino bull. This was the one animal in the big five that we did not see the last trip, so we were very excited to check it off our list in the first game drive. As the photos show, the white rhino is not white in color. Apparently the Dutch described them as the wide-lipped Rhino, which the English misheard as white. Morne said the rhino’s skin is 2 - 4 inches thick and they are 2.6 tons of pure muscle mass. They have removed the tusks from the rhinos to discourage poaching. It doesn’t harm the animals as they only use the tusk to fight each other for territory. They have no natural predators due to their thick skin. We had gotten quite close to the rhino, but he was not bothered by our presence one bit. We next saw some kudu which are the second largest antelope in Africa. They have cool curly horns. 

We stopped for a sundowner, Nick had a gin and tonic and I had a Sauvignon Blanc. The sunset glowed orange. It was very hot.  Back on the truck, it quickly got dark and Advice used a torch to illuminate the path and watch for animals. We drove off-road and came upon a group of lionesses, including two 1-year old female cubs. They had fed on a kill for a couple days and were almost all completely passed out digesting.  One was eating the leg of a gnu, Morne suggested this was all that remained of the kill. It was a very cool experience though photos were difficult as it was so dark and the only light was Advice’s flashlight. Still it was something to see. 

After that we returned to the lodge for dinner in the Boma. We were seated with our group around a fire and enjoyed lively conversation. The sweet potato soup and the cake for dessert were the highlights for me. The lamb curry had good flavor but the meat was on pieces of bone that I couldn’t carve off. Nick had a made-to-order stir fry. The wine was flowing. 

We retired to our room around 9 as there is a 5:30 am wake-up call tomorrow.