Day 101: First full day on Timbavati — Nonstop Eating — Male Lions — Leopard Cubs — More Birding!
Rockfig has a more structured approach to the daily routine and game drives compared to the two camps in Zimbabwe.
Today we got a 5:30 wake up call / knock on the door.
We then meet a few minutes before 6am for coffee, a muffin and a fruit kabob. This would be the first of *three* breakfasts operations each day and kicks off what seems like a 15 hour non-stop stream of food delivered by the staff at Rockfig.
It was really fun to be in the vehicle with Al and our tracker Sydney.
Al loves his job. He’s wanted to be a guide since he was a kid. He loves the bush, wildlife, taking photos, and educating his guests. He had been on leave for the previous two weeks leading up to our arrival so he was stoked to be back in the bush. His energy is infectious.
Today he told us about a competition among bushmen to see who can spit impala poop the furthest. Then he demonstrated!
Sydney epitomizes a quiet, confident, eagle-eye bushman. He worked in anti-poaching and had to live in the bush for weeks at a time. He would get out of the vehicle and follow animals tracks with no weapon. Stud.
We stopped to stretch our legs and have a second coffee and mini-breakfast around 8am. Al and Sydney would mix up the drinks, poor hot drinks and juice and crack open tins of homemade cookies or granola squares (a “crunchie” as Al would call them with a rolled R).
Towards the end of the game drive Al followed a lead he heard on the radio and we found two male lions. This was our most close up and extended look at these beautiful beasts. They were resting in the grass — totally chill.
We returned home to a yogurt and fruit spread with the option of getting a hot breakfast too. I accepted chef / host John’s offer of a Spanish omelette and was delivered an incredibly delicious mix of egg, sausage, veggies and chili peppers. Amazing.
A storm rolled in soon after we got back. We did some school after Breakfast v3 and James fell asleep on the couch in the main sitting area while we were waiting for a book to download to my iPad. He racked for 90 minutes or so.
Lunch was served around 2pm, then we had iced tea and a tasty snack of some sort before heading out around 3:30 or 4pm on our evening game drive.
Al was determined to track down Marula and find her cubs. We found her tracks earlier in the afternoon but didn’t find her.
We had sundowners at this little watering hole where the kids and Al skipped rocks, kids roaming about despite our calls to stay close to the truck.
Then as we were pulling away we heard something snort in the bushes and saw our three rhino family come for a drink. They had been waiting for us to leave!
On our way home in the dark we had our first of several strokes of luck on our Rockfig game drives. Marula the Leopard and her cubs were walking in the road right in front of our vehicle. We followed them for a bit, watching the cubs playing tag and pouncing on mom. Here they are getting a drink…
And after that we still spotted a chameleon and a bush baby on the way home.
What a day!
