Lightning & The Leopard

Yesterday afternoon showed great promise. Blue skies, warm temperatures, High Tea at poolside - sunglasses & shorts weather for sure. Maybe even sunscreen for the upcoming afternoon game drive. Anticipation of our first Sundowner out in the bush. 

I noticed dark clouds forming on the western horizon as we climbed into the 4-wheeler and took off. No one seemed to think much of it, so I looked off elsewhere and hoped it was no big deal. 

Sam swiftly headed off, determined to find us lions. We nonchalantly breezed by impala, even a few elephants. Ho hum to our now "experienced" safari eyes. Our minds were onto the big cats, and Sam headed pretty far afield from the lodge to find them. 

He and Lock sighted tracks and climbed out to see where they led. Sam left his rifle, but removed the bolt, a safety requirement no doubt. But we laughed that he might be afraid we would turn on ourselves. They headed off into tall grasses, giving us ample time to take in the view of the gathering storm.

Black clouds lined the horizon, and rapidly expanded toward us. We speculated that the storm might miss us to the south, but donned ponchos "just in case." I put my phone in my bag and put that into the seat pocket in front of me. We heard thunder growing closer, but no lightning - yet.  And where were Sam and Lock????

They returned just as the rain started. They donned ponchos, and we took off swiftly - I assumed we were headed back to the lodge. Well, not exactly, but more on that in a moment. 

Sam drove as fast as road conditions would allow...not all that fast...and we bumped all around. The rain pelted us. Huge drops that stung our faces.  Then Sam turned the vehicle toward the worst of the weather,  and it got really worse. My glasses fogged up. I doubt if I could have seen 6 feet ahead anyway. The ponchos began to leak. I pulled the weather proof blanket completely over my head. It felt like hail was beating on my head. When I peeked out, the ruts in the road had turned into rapid streams. The lightning came along about then. It all seemed much longer, but this madness only lasted maybe 15 minutes. 

As the rain began to subside, we came alongside an elephant.  He must have figured we were crazy to be out, so he walked over to check us out. Straight toward us, stopping maybe 3 feet away. His ears were all puffed out. His wazoo was hanging under him about 3 feet long. (A young male, obviously.) Satisfied that we were harmless, he then strolled off. 

I'm still thinking we are headed straight back to the lodge. But no, another funny turn, and we pull up along a high hill with large black rocks running up it. 

And there, among those rocks, was a leopard!!!!! 

It took us in, then moved around a bit, and finally settled on a large boulder. What a beautiful creature!!!! And big. Yet, somehow still acting like your housecat, it laid down and looked a bit bored by the attention. 

A real safari highlight!

Finally, Sam did head home. Tommy was hurrying him and threatening to pee in the vehicle if we didn't get there FAST. That got us all laughing like crazy about being so wet already, no one would even know he wet his pants!

The whole adventure lasted maybe 3 hours. We got cleaned up for drinks and dinner. Another 5-star feast with South African wine. I had impala. Yes, it did make me remorseful about eating Bambi, but boy, was it ever good!

One more game drive this afternoon before leaving in the morning.  Hopefully, there's a lion waiting for us, and a great Sundowner happy hour.