Mapungubwe National Park

December 2nd, 2008

We headed to Mapungubwe, a National Park basically in the corner bordering Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, on the Limpopo River known for its leopard population due to the rocky landscape. We felt hopeful, especially as we haven’t seen any of the big cats yet. Receiving a map once we checked in at the park gates we noticed the babab tree landmarks. It turns out Karel’s “turn left at the big tree” isn’t as much of a joke as it is a reality. These trees were phenomenal and in flower, extremely rare and as Andre explained you’ll see that once in a lifetime if you’re lucky. As we drove on we noted once tree had a wire hanging from it with a metal pole looped through- it was a swing! Super fun. Parking alongside the babab you can see just how big it is. It dwarfs our car.

Without any leopard sightings we decided to sign up for a guided night drive. We obtained special permission to drive in the park after hours as the park closes to general public driving after 6:00pm, and we were only due to finish the game drive around 9:00pm. All sorted and excited we met our guide, an amazing man with a gift for the bush. Spotlight in one hand, shifting gears and stirring with the other he pointed out Mopane tree leaves which would soon be covered with worms – a local delicacy served with onions and tomatoes, elephant bulls, zebra, impala, a smaller spotted gerevet, wildebeest and more. We also saw baboons clinging to rock faces in hopes of avoiding becoming the leopard’s lunch. Several times our guide stopped the vehicle because something didn’t smell right or feel right. It was incredible to spend time with someone so knowledgeable. Our best spot of the night was seeing an African wild cat, a cat which looks like a domestic cat who should be sleeping on a windowsill or playing in a garden not with the big boys. The closest we came to seeing a leopard was seeing two green eyes on a hillside, reflecting from the spotlight.

After thanking our game driver and wishing him well we started our drive to the campground. Prayers were heard as we didn’t meet any elephants or other potentially aggressive animals. We did see a larger spotted gervet in action though, climbing up a tree and a gorgeous bush baby. We arrived at the campsite, set up our tent and fell fast asleep. It was just as well we weren’t able to set up camp beforehand as we later encountered a German couple who stayed in the campsite two days previous and had baboons unzip their tent and cack all over their sleeping bags. Ewww!