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Roar… apparently that’s all the camp at Nossob heard last night, all night, not much sleep to be had. I must have been dead asleep because I slept like a baby until Erica woke me up at 4 to go to the toilet, after that we were awake until 5 chatting in the bed and watching the stars shine on our bedroom roof, wonderful invention night lighhts.

Phil and I have gotten very clever, when we want to get up early we sneak out of bed and pack everything not needed for breakie in the car. Erica has been eating her oats porridge on the go while in the park.

We worked out we have driven 700km inside the Kgalagadi Park. We have been in the car from the time they let us out the secure camps at 7:30 until 5:30 in the afternoon. We’ve enjoyed every picnic spot available. Stopped at every watering hole, driven to the top of every lookout point and taken every loop. We’ve sat undaunted by time and distance and just drunk in the Kalahari with the car off and the windows open.

We’ve listened to buffalo grunting, watched springbuck hopping, watched a mouse climb a stalk of grass, been witness to the rather weird mating ritual of the pale goshawk, been amused by the skittish antics of the black backed jackal, seen how gemsbok just have the need to pose on the top of ridges with red dunes beneath there feet and listened to a cheetah calling and purring. Oh yes I did say cheetah.

We have not seen Lion today, but we have been treated to a superb half hour with a cheetah and another superb half hour watching giraffe lope along at there own speed.

The cheetah was the highlight today, we’ve never seen one in the wild. This male was quite chilled out, and not at all bothered by his audience. Listening to his purr was thrilling and hearing him grunting and calling was just amazing. I really sat in silence just enjoying the experience while Phil took photo’s. My turn with the camera and I got some wonderful shots.

We’ve even seen Kudu which is new in the park. The guy from Picketberg comes here all the time and he’s never seen them. Perhaps a small population.

The yellow mongoose and the slender mongoose were in the mood to pose, so sweet to watch them foraging and mongoosing about. I’m not entirely sure why the slender mongoose is called slender its as red as a red hartebeest. I would have called it a red mongoose, nice and easy.

We don’t feel totally happy with our sightings, lion would have been nice, leopard even nicer. But this park is not that far and now that we have a feel for the distances and places to stop we feel pretty positive that we could get here in less sleeps and rather spend more time in the park.

Kalahari Trails is nice place to stop, we are staying in the self catering house, its the property of Professor Anne, from the UK, I hope we get to see her and her Meerkat’s tomorrow.