Wednesday 9/6/17 Part C

We woke up at 5:30 this morning to make our 6 AM drive through the bush.  OAT certainly does treat us well.  There was coffee or tea before the drive and then when we boarded the jeep, we had blankets and hot water bottles for our hands as it was quite cold.  We were lucky again as we saw a white backed vulture nest.  Apparently there is one chick, but it was hunkered down due to the chilly morning.  We also saw a Burchell's coucal (bird), a tawny eagle.  AND then we saw a LEOPARD!!  And not just one, but a mother and a 7 month old cub.  Chewie explained that the mom had made a kill early this morning and she was teaching the young male how to smell out where she had hidden it.  We followed them for quite a while and saw when the cub discovered the dead impala hidden behind a tree.  The mom relaxed while the cub ate his fill.  It was totally amazing!  We stayed there quite a while and watched.  We did not stay long enough to see, but the female would eat after the cub.  She was very patient with the cub, but she knows he has to learn all aspects of the hunt as he will be on his own when he is 3 years old.  We also saw a red-billed quelea (bird), a crested Francolin (bird) and a slender mongoose.  We stopped for bush coffee, tea or hot chocolate with ginger biscuits or lovely muffins cooked by our chef, Godsave.  We eventually made our way back to camp about 9:30 and then had breakfast, although I just had yogurt and fruit and I was quite full already.  For those who were hungry, there was a full English breakfast available with eggs cooked to order.  We have until 2:45 until lunch so I went to shower and then have been out here working of the blog, but being interrupted by the most magnificent sights:  a tiny baby nyala, a group of warthogs giving themselves a mud bath in the water hole, and a monitor lizard.  Apparently our days here will be similar: 5:30 wake-up, 6 game drive for 3 hours, time on your own, lunch at 2:45, game drive at 3:30 for 3 or 4 hours, back to camp for drinks and then dinner.  Last night's dinner was a BBQ with kudu being one of the meat options.  It was a tiny bit gamey so I stuck with the butternut squash soup, homemade bread, spiced cabbage and roasted potatoes with a lovely fruit dessert.  BTW. on the topic of food, yesterday's lunch was homemade lasagna, salad and fruit shortcake for dessert.  I hope you all will recognize me when I come home weighing 400 pounds!  Today's pictures are of a tawny eagle, a yellow-billed hornbill, and two shots of a Cape buffalo.  More to follow.