Packers On The Road

More Than I Ever Bargained For!

Our very FIRST day at the game preserve and I find myself in for an adventure I had never imagined!!! We are at Zulu Nyala which is east of Johannesburg, South Africa, and not far (maybe 25 miles) from the Indian Ocean. It is a relatively small game preserve (3,000 acres) which has some real advantages to it. Within minutes, we are spotting wildlife and taking photos! Chris, our ranger, tells us there is a female cheetah with three cubs on the prowl for food. Her cubs are five months old and her last "kill" was two days ago, so she is hungry. Our mission today is to find her! Thankfully, Chris is so knowledgeable and experienced, (plus he and his cousin, Monte, another ranger, work together so they cover twice as much territory and tip each other off as to where the great sightings are), he figures out where to locate her without much difficulty!

The female cheetah and one of her three cubs -- is that not just precious??? (I think you can click on the photo to enlarge it).

The female cheetah is on the hunt for some food!

Look closely for the three cubs in the grass!!! :) They are SOOO cute!!!

In the afternoon, we are still expecting to follow the female cheetah and see if she can find some food. As we are out driving and looking for her, we happen upon a GREAT find!!! Chris spots a lone male cheetah resting in the tall grass! He is huge compared to the female and we are so excited to find the male! As we pull up and park, Chris looks back at ME in the range rover and says "get out!" . . . ME???? GET OUT???? . . . Ooo-kay!!! Not understanding what we are about to do, I climb out onto the ground and meet Chris at the front of the vehicle. He tells me to follow him!!! I'm starting to get a clue what we are about to do, my heart is beginning to pound pretty fast. I am starting to feel pure fear for my life! (Did I do something wrong to warrant this fate???) As we walk off the road and into the grass, Chris tells me to follow him closely, stay calm, move slowly, and stay quiet! We quietly and slowly move in the direction of the cheetah (remember this is a large male cheetah!!!). We stop several times to take photos and give him time to adjust to us being out there. As we approach the male cheetah, he is on high alert and he stands up to get a better look at us and to see where we are. Again, we move quietly and slowly GOING CLOSER!!! We finally get within about 20 feet of the cheetah when he hisses at us and shows his teeth! Did I mention my heart is about to explode at this point??? We crouch down in the grass in front of the cheetah and take a few more photos of this amazingly beautiful animal. We have just a few moments there in front of him before he decides he has had enough of us! This male cheetah has given me the thrill of my life as he turns to run off in the opposite direction!!! What a rare opportunity to photograph a wild animal like this!!! I was shaking like a leaf, but thrilled beyond imagination!!!