Wednesday July 1st

We were very very sad to say good bye to our friends at Djuma today. We learned that Djuma means l"Lion's Roar".
Let me back up to last night. Three guys from Britain joined our jeep for the evening safari run. Aside from our usual viewings of impala, wildebeest, zebra, kudu, etc... We saw a herd of elephants. It was fun being with people on their first safari. Suddenly we were experienced! Imagine that!
Next Greg and Patrick (our beloved guide and tracker) used more of their amazing talents and tracked down a mother leopard who had left her cubs behind to go mark her territory and hunt. We followed her through the bush for awhile. It's absolutely amazing how focused she stays on things she is seeing and hearing-very intent with a jeep of people by her side. These animals on the reserve have grown up with jeeps always with them. Only the babies pay any attention. It was a thrill to follow with her. After that we saw a small herd of Whit Rhinos. The sun was setting, but we didn't stop for our sundowners because we were all too excted to come across the three young lions we had found that morning. We drove into a meadow right up next to them and watched them in the spotlight Patrick held. We were so lucky to see the unusual sight of two of them wrestling around and cuddling with each other. A female joined the group and they started to move through the bush. Because it is winter and things are dry and more sparse, Greg was able to use all of his amazing "Indiana Jones" skills to stay with them off road. As Patrick was intensley following them with his spotlight and Greg was skillfully avoiding thorn bushes, the rest of us watched for limbs and branches and giggled our way through the bush. They gave us quite the adventure for our last night run. Unfotunely it got too late and we had to go back for dinner.