That afternoon we still have Ranger Matt and Tracker Terrence to ourselves and we’re looking for big cats. Driving along a dirt path, Terrence somehow spots something in a tree at least 50 yards to our left. Well, that is his job and his talent. Matt drives off the path through bushes and bumps and stops under the tree. Hanging on a high branch is most of the carcass of a kudu. A female leopard had killed the kudu and dragged the carcass to the branch and left it there. As the meat rotted, Matt suspected the leopard had had another kill that was better. We went back to that tree on the next two drives to try to see the leopard. It never returned. Matt assured us it will and when finished it will push the carcass from the tree for the vultures and hyenas to finish. “Nothing goes to waste.”

The rangers have more than the tracker to find animals. They have other rangers. Each Rover has a two-way radio so when a big cat or other hard-to-find animals are sighted word spreads quickly and you’ll see multitude of Rovers on the scene. That’s what led us to our first lion sighting. Matt found two young adult females sunning themselves on the edge of a large clearing. We had seen an enormous herd of impala in that clearing. The lions behaved as if they didn’t know what we knew. One, Matt said, had a full stomach and wasn’t interested in a hunt. We sat watching them for five minutes. The other lion suddenly became alert to the impalas. First, her ears went up. Then she raised her head to turn in the direction of the herd. Then she stood up and looked directly at me and Ranger Matt in front of me. I felt small bolt of fear zip down my spine. The lion started to walk slowly toward us from about 5 yards away. She got to the front of the Rover and just plopped down in front of the tires and used the truck as camouflage to patiently stalk the impalas. Matt said he never saw a lion do that. A Rover driven by a Londolozi owner appeared and the occupants were enthralled by the situation. We all sat. The herd never moved closer. Matt whispered that the distance was still too far for the lions to attack successfully. We waited more. Then Matt decided there would be no lion hunt this afternoon. He started the engine, put the gear in reserve and drove away. The lioness never moved an inch. We found a spot to have a Sundowner and allowed our close encounter to sink in.