The sighting of a leopard undoubtedly is a major highlight on any African safari drive - it certainly is for me. Unfortunately their numbers—like those of many other of Africa's iconic animals—are decreasing and leopards are also particularly good at hiding. When you do see them, it is often only a fleeting glance or at some distance.
Neither was the case with the one pictured here. It was sitting on the verge of the road and just gave us a brief, slightly disdainful look when I stopped. There were no other vehicles around and we had not seen anybody else for quite a while.
Although we were only about two metres away, the leopard did not appear to be bothered by our presence. Eventually, though, it got fed up with the clicking of our cameras and ambled slowly towards the grass beyond the road.
We followed its progress for 10 to 15 minutes until it was finally too far away for a good picture.
We had not driven more than a kilometre or two onwards when my wife spotted another relatively rare sight—a rhino (with a calf, hidden in the long grass).
Having managed to get quite close to a couple of herds of elephants earlier, we ticked off the drive as a particularly successful one. However, although the sun was getting close to the horizon by now, the day had further surprises in store for us.
As we were approaching the rest camp where we were staying for a couple of nights, we spotted several lions - again just by the side of the road. The pair below appeared to take an unusual interest in the passing vehicles and their occupants.
After a while, however, they found something else with which to occupy their time.
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