Colette's Grand Detour

Day 12 (8th August 2025)

The last of the big 5 we had not yet seen until today was the elusive leopard.  Our guide had managed our expectations that this animal was going to be tricky to spot but that we would try our best. 

It’s not just a matter of luck – these animals are super-camouflaged with a rosette-patterned coat that blends perfectly with rocks, trees and yellow grass.  You could easily drive past one sitting in a tree right by the road and not spot it.  They are solitary animals and occupy a large territory so if you only have 1 day in the park, you are likely only going to travel across 1 or 2 leopard’s territories for the entire day.  And they are mostly nocturnal with some activity at dawn and dusk, to avoid the heat of the day, and so as not to bump into its competitors such as lions and hyenas. 

We had been scanning trees for the last couple of days, especially ones with big, fat, horizontal branches that the leopard might retreat to with a kill.  But no luck so far.  So when we saw a group of land cruisers stopping at a Kopje granite outcrop this morning and all looking at something way up high in a crevice, I did not think it might be a leopard.  But luck was on our side and it was a female leopard stretched out along a thin lip of rock jutting out near the top of the Kopje with its huge paws drooped over the side. 

We sat for about 20 minutes watching the leopard, and using binoculars to get really close up.  It occasionally shifted, lifting its head, giving as an awesome opportunity to take photos. 

I’m so glad we saw this amazing creature! And completed the big 5! (Leopard, Cheetah, Lion, Buffalo and Elephant).  We have also completed the ugly 5 and we even got 1 of the small 5 today – a White-headed buffalo weaver.