April 26, 2025
Another safari day starting before 6AM to meet at the lodge for 6:30. The sun had just come up when we left in the truck.
We wanted to see if we could catch the hippos out of the water this early. Joe had told us they come out at night to go eat when the sun isn’t out. They were not out of the water but much closer to the shore so we got a good look at them, especially the one cute little guy. Joe got out of the truck which got their attention and they all stared at us and let out a very loud deep moo-like sound.
We stopped at a little crepe station the lodge had set up for everyone out in the bush. The boys both loved them as they were free to cover them in chocolate, caramel, and cinnamon/sugar. Lenny asked during the evening ride if we could stop for them again, thinking there is a person out in the wild turning out crepes at all hours.
After our snack we got word of a cheetah sighting so we decided to give it a shot and drove to that area. The cheetah was walking through the brush but Joe spotted it. It wasn’t a great view but we were glad to have seen it. Before we knew it the cheetah was walking out to the road and gave us a great thrill. She crossed back and forth a few times giving us a great view. Joe said she was on a hunt.
We returned to the lodge where we had breakfast, though not much after all those crepes. The boys made friends talking about bugs and our trip with two Danish kids who were a bit older. The kids were very interested in our trip, I had talked to their family a bit the night before at dinner, and Ollie was happy to chat.
After breakfast we talked to Joe about taking the kids out on a bug hunting walk, then Ollie would go shoot the pellet gun again and Lenny would go make cookies. Joe asked if Kayleen and I would be joining which I quickly said we would not be. An hour of solo time to relax and do some life admin was much needed.
When Lenny returned to the room with Kayleen, I laid down with him and we took a nap for a bit over an hour. Hopefully this will help his mood during the evening drive and dinner.
We went to grab a light lunch before planning to head out at 3PM for our evening ride.
The cheetah we had seen hunting in the morning had made a kill, a young kudu, which drew a lot of attention. All the guides, from our lodge and others, where trying to take their guests to see it and we heard some accusations of cutting the line over the radio. There is a limited number of vehicles allowed at a viewing spot so others need to wait til one leaves.
We really just wanted to drive past, as we heard the hippos were out of the water, but had to wait to even get around the cheetah viewers. We eventually did but the hippos had gone back in, likely startled by all the trucks looking at the cheetah.
We stopped briefly to see the cheetah who was resting under a tree. Joe said she had already eaten and was now on alert while she rested because of all the noise likely made when she took down the kudu. He told us that most other predators, or even scavenger groups, would be able to kill the cheetah so she would move on shortly.
After the cheetah sighting it was a mostly quiet drive. Everyone was excited when we noticed a dung beetle trying to roll his prized poop ball up a small incline. Joe explained that he was doing it blind since he stood on his front legs and pushed with his back legs. We were all cheering him on.
We stopped for our G&T sundowners and the boys played with the slingshots. Everyone, Joe included, took turns shooting them into and over a pond we stopped near. Once tired of this the boys pretended to be Pokemon where Kayleen and I were their trainers. We made up crazy names for their attacks and they would scream them at each other. Ollie has not stopped planning new attacks for tomorrow night since we stopped playing…
The best part of the drive came surprisingly on the ride back, in the dark, courtesy of Joe’s spotlight. He spotted a chameleon on a tree as we were zipping past! I could see it as soon as we backed up and held the spot light while Joe cut the little branch it was sitting on. Can you find it in the first picture? Ollie was thrilled to hold it and let it crawl on him. Lenny said he wanted a try but quickly reversed.
We had our normal dinner with some Uno at the lodge. They made me a manhattan to drink which I was told was the first one they can recall making. No one drinks bourbon here! Joe told us it was either brandy and coke or beer but I think everyone drinks wine too. They think of it more like water so don’t include it in their list. Goodnight!
