Thank you
Alf, PRWIN, Richprins, Flutterby, Lisbeth, Bushcraft, Mel & Pumbaa for all your comments
It was a really great leopard sighting which we figured wouldn't be topped for quite some time. Yet again we had somehow managed a Big 5 sighting day
Wed 26th June
We were keen to spend a bit of time at the house enjoying the proximity to the fenceline, so we opted for a morning drive with the aim to be back in Marloth for the afternoon. We had learned our lesson from the previous day and did a pre-booking to ensure that there wouldn't be too much waiting at the gate... it was a very nice feeling driving past the queues and we were through to reception in no time at all
Whilst sorting out the day permit we saw that the resident bushbuck was wandering around near reception
We were into the park in great time - I think it wasn't much past 6:30 - and almost immediately saw a hyena loping off in the distance. He was possibly travelling over towards the Vurhami bridge as there were some fairly flat and difficult-to-see lions parking off there with very full tummies so we assumed there was a kill nearby
We planned to head up the S28, H4-1 then to the S79 causeway before heading back out, so we didn't stick by the lions for long as it was already getting a bit crowded. At the Shishangeni turnoff some movement caught my eye - a hyena on the move
I initially thought it would walk off away from us, but it changed course and wandered parallel to the road and pretty much through a herd of nervous impala
Eventually he popped out right next to us before both we all continued on our ways
Most of the S28 was again very quiet. A kudu and bateleur were about all the highlights along the way
Yet again we had our daily dose of ground hornbills - quite possibly the same ones we had seen the day before
Near the end of the S28 someone stopped to tell us there were lions up ahead but by the time we had got there the lions had been replaced by elephant
It was still early so we went up the H4-1 past sunset dam where a monitor was parking off again, and this time we found a marabou stork on the far side of the water
