Cubbies at Kruger

The first time I went to the Kruger National Park, I was six weeks old. We go at least once a year and every time I leave the park, a piece of my heart stays behind.

On our last trip, I left the camp early to drive the S147 road. We’d heard rumours about a leopard and cub on that road. I know that the animals don’t stay in one place, but I also know that leopards are territorial, so it was worth a shot.

I drove at 10 kilometres per hour, determined to find them. I took a loop which went closer to the dry riverbed, and looked all around and in the tree right next to me.

I felt like all my years of going to Kruger had built up to this: the moment I saw a small, fluffy, black-and-white tail hanging out of the tree. It turned around and the leopard cub was staring right at me. I wasn’t sure how long I would have with it, so I grabbed my camera, barely able to hold it as I was shaking so much, and took a few photos.

In the end I spent four hours with the cub and was lucky enough to see it again the next morning, filling his tummy with an impala his mom had caught. I can’t wait to go back to see what else Kruger has in store for me.

– Lize-Mari van Niekerk, Johannesburg