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Arks,
Your description of the location is exactly where we saw them!!
At the time, 2 males were seen lying about 50 metres directly behind "the" bush where she was with these cubs

(Wish I was as clever as MN then I could have posted a video clip showing the proximity of these males to the cubs in the bush!!)

One of the males from the above pic that was seeking some attention

Thanks for the pic, Dreamer, but it's not the same bush. The bush the cars were parked at that day was wider, rounder, larger, thicker, and greener — IIRC, a kind of bright apple green.
(Way past time for me to be abed, now nearly 01h00 here, but I can't get to sleep )

I agree that Dreamer's cubs are older than the ones that we saw.

The one we saw does seem to be in the right area though, at the northern end of Maries se Draai.

We did also see another female with swollen teats on Maries se Draai, and this was not the one with the cubs, so there is a good possibility that there are two females with cubs in the area.

Cheers
Craig

Yip Wander and Craig. Most definately after this it confirms that there must be 2 sets of cubs

wanderw asks:

Oh yes it is. It is at least 50 m behind where we both saw the cubs. I was showing Arks that under this tree is where we saw the 2 males, I have checked and also don't have a pic of 'the' bush
Hope to be able to post some more report tomorrow.

26 September
This am we decided to go up north, that decision was taken on the last minute when we saw all the ‘circus’ from the hide the night before going south!
Beautiful morning, quite quiet with sightings BUT we did see another lovely brown hyaena. This time definitely no pic, he was far to quick. He came dashing out, ran across the road right in front of us and disappeared as quickly as he appeared.
We drove up to Langklaas, unfortunately this waterhole was dry.
Walking around the camp in the afternoon, we had a lovely sighting… a yellow ribbon!
Met wanderw and family, chatted away exchanging experiences. It is really great to meet our fellow mates that we chat to on the forum. Wander says she almost did not recognize me.. the last time we met was at WCNP and it was a cool chilly day. This time we had no winter woolies, it was probably a very hot 40 plus?
Our afternoon drive was to Maries se Gat and back. On our way there we saw this female having a drink at Rooikop.

Went past ‘the’ bush with lioness and cubs. This is what Mum thought of all the onlookers trying to get a glimpse of her cubs!

A quick look and we went on towards the waterhole before returning to camp.

On our way back just before Rooikop we came across another lioness going for an evening stroll.

Back in camp, another beautiful sunset (proving that every cloud does have a silver lining!)

This evening looked like a possibility of some rain. No luck, quite stormy looking and a bit of lightening, but soon that passed with a rain drop. Tried something different with my camera.. a long exposure, however I do not have a SLR so was limited with what I could do. A couple of pics of my attempts.



We met Wanderw and family in the hide that evening and stayed there till about 1.30am. We felt quite sorry for the smaller game that came down to the waterhole. It barely had any water in it and made it extremely difficult for them. More often than not, they would start sliding down into the waterhole and get such a fright they would take off!!
I think it would have been longer if only we had not had an accumulation of late nights enjoying the sounds of the night and the night skies. It certainly pays off to try keep awake around the clock. A beautiful female lion came down to drink. Couldn’t help imaging all the other wonderful things we miss by sleeping!! I went back to the chalet to fetch a flask of coffee in the hope that we would ‘perk’ up, however, sleep deprivation got the better of us and we decided at 1.30 am that it was bed time. Isn’t it strange.. , as soon we make the decision to call it a day.. we feel wide awake !! We hit the sacks feeling satisfied with the day and looking forward to what the next day had in store for us.

@ wanderw,
How about April 2008?? Booked, confirmed and paid for
27 Sept

Up early again this morning and headed south. Spent some time at Rooikop watching three lioness stalk a gemsbok but once again a kill wasn’t to be. Near the exit of Maries se Draai we saw this Cheetah on the crest of the dune. Although she did not come any closer we still watched her through binos and were very happy to have seen her. Have cropped this pic so not the best, but you can see it's a Cheetah!!

The rest of this day we thoroughly enjoyed in the camp. I must say that this is what we so enjoy about Nossob. There is always something to see in the camp and then also enjoying time in the hide with few other folk is for me .. just the best. I also took a drive while the rest of the family were ‘chilling’. The lioness and her cubs were quite active probably because there they had no excessive audience. I was alone on the loop for more than an hour, spending quiet time at the waterhole. By now you all probably think I am totally anti – social. That’s not so, I just cannot get rest, no matter what the time of day is.. there is always something to see.


The hide this night was quieter than the previous two. That is with guests, not game. Think our ‘circus’ bunch had tired themselves out! Plenty of Gemsbok and Eland came to drink and we spent ‘quality’ time watching them sparring. With it being full moon the evening before, it was still well light up and viewing was magnificent. Did not see the lion tonight, but sure heard them!

Sept 28th
This was a sad day. We were to leave Nossob and head off the Kielie Krankie for our last night in the park.
Saw this gorgeous Wild Cat. Looked as if she was growing out of the tree

Between Cheleka and Kampfersdraai we had a magnificent sighting of a Brown Hyaena and about 25 jackal on what looked like a baby wildebeest kill. Yip, we all confirmed this….. 25 jackal!!




Some lovely hartebeest. Once again, as per our last visit last Sept, we felt we saw very few hartebeest.

We decided to go to TR, hoping to see mum leopard and cub close to Leeudril and then up the Auob to Kielie. On route, we passed Craig and Caroline again and enjoed a long ‘chat’ Pity it was not at a picnic spot where we could have enjoyed an uninterupted chat. We kept reversing to let others pass with ease. Never mind, perhaps we should plan it better in the future to meet at a designated spot!
Oh dear, shortly after that, disaster struck. I was not even going to mention this because it left me so darn scared! Now, after I have taken the plunge to speak about it, I will take a break and tell you all tomorrow!!!!

I’m an embarrassment.. say I’ll do something tomorrow and now its more than a week later.
Sorry.. and thank you to all of you who have encouraged me along alone and asked for the rest!!
Just as we neared Rooiputs, I remembered a discussion with a fellow forumite which prompted me to suggest that we go a have a look at the Rooiputs Camp Site.
We had read plenty about it and also heard stories in the various camps so if we had a look for ourselves, maybe one day we would give it a try. We had never thought of looking before because we had a 2 x 4 and not a 4 x 4 which is the requirement.
It was a hot, hot day and was around midday that we arrived at Rooiputs. The intention was to drive in , have a look at the camp, continue along the Nossob to TR in search of the leopard and then up the Auob to spend our last night at Kielie Krankie.
WELL, after driving in and getting STUCK, I was “Krankie” and wanted to “Kielie….”
Why on earth did I suggest we have a look?? We had plenty of water so that was not a problem and also if we were to ‘stay over’ we were in a campsite with facilities, so what was the problem?? The problem was, it was hot, nobody else in the camp and we would just have to wait and hope and pray that someone else would be coming to have a look or even stay for the night. We struggled for just over an hour when… in the distance we saw a vehicle and it was coming in our direction!!! Well, we thought it was. They did not see us as we were on the extreme end of the camping area, fortunately under one of the lovely A framed structures providing shade. This vehicle stopped quite a distance away and it looked like they were heading for what probably was a wash up area or loo. Decisions, decisions, do we just stand and watch and hope they see us, or does my SO walk to them, we chose the latter. The difference in being stranded here and walking alone here than at one of the regular picnic areas is that at least at the picnic area you know that sometime someone will pass. Well, we were finally spotted and cutting a very long nerve recking story short, we were rescued. All I can say is…. How lucky for us!! I don’t remember any other time that I have felt so nervous and unhappy. I suppose there is no point in harping on about it, it happened through no fault of anyone. For you reading this it may seem no big deal, but trust me… you do not want to be in that situation in predator territory. And, another thing for sure, I do not want to return to Rooiputs unless we have another vehicle with us. I know this was not planned and if it didn't happen I may feel differently, however it DID and I cannot change how I feel!!(Think if my SO reads this I could be in BIG trouble!!) For those of you who have not been there, we were not in forbidden territory, it is a camp very easily accessible for those in a 4 x4, ... if the 4 x 4 is working It's just very sandy in some areas. What we did establish on our return home, was that something had gone wrong with a sensor in the vehicle and the 4 x 4 could not engage. No points to anyone guessing that this was not one of my happiest memories of our trip. I did not take a single photograph, I think at the time I thought that any reminder of this experience would not be necessary. I can say for sure, that prayers are definitely answered.
We got back on to the Nossob and with half an hour spotted what we had set out to see that day… a leopard!!!
If it wasn’t for a couple of vehicles in the road we would never have seen him.
This was the first clear pic, will post a couple more once I have done my homework and read the new posting rules.

You will need to 'click' to enlarge to see him

Ok folks, now I feel better, no more skeletons in the cupboard, or BB... should that be.. no skeletons in KTP

We stayed with this leopard for over just under 2 hours. My son needed a bit of humouring as it was extremely hot and I think all his hard work and the stress had given him a HUGE headache. Some cold drinks and FOOD was the best I had to offer
Patience pays off, we watched the leopard move off, and stalk a springbok. I now know that I have a stong heart , firstly because of the 'excitement' of our Rooiputs episode and then spotting the leopard that was on top of my wish list




The stalk was not successful, it did appear rather half hearted!
He then jumped up into a tree right along side the road. My first LIT sighting!! This is not the LIT pic that you were all probably hoping to see, however, it is proof ... spots in a tree

We could not stay around much longer as we needed to get to Kielie.
Luck again.. just before we reached Auchterlonie. I know this will make a few of you all I can say.. do not give up on your search. Go slow, very... very slow along this stretch of the Aoub and you may get lucky





We then headed toward the Auchterlonie Museum in search of out first Geocache find. Thanks to Michele Nel who introduced this to us, we successfuly completed our first in the best possible location... KTP (I'm not too sure right now, but for those who don't know of Geochaching I think there is a thread in Chit Chat)

After completing this, we made way to Kielie Krankie and I'm sure that those who have been there will agree with me that it is breathtakingly beautiful. Just what we needed after all the exciting events of the day. What an awesome place to enjoy your last sundowner in the park (at least till our next visit in April )
No promises... I could get caught out ..but will try post the last couple of pics tomorrow, it's now time

We were looking forward to Kielie Krankie and we had heard and read so much about it. We were aalso hoping that the weather would be kind to us as when chatting to Craig and Caroline they told us of their very windy experience.
Once again, I will refer to ourselves as been lucky. The evening was absolutely perfect, a slight breeze early on but not for long.
The attendant, Edward, was friendly and very efficient
We watched the sunset, popped open my treat that I had specifically kept for our last night.... a bottle of Moet & Chandon and enjoyed our last braai of this trip.
A herd of Eland came to say their farewell

Later, we also saw three spotted hyaena come down to drink.
My son says his farewell before we left the next morning

Decisions, decisions.. do we get to TR via the Auob or the Nossob? We chose the Nossob and we relly pleased as the dunes in the morning were beautiful.


As we got to Kij Kij this gorgeous male came to say cheers. Sadly for him when he got to the waterhole it was bone dry


Oops I'm now not sure how many pics I've entered on this page and I need to quickly do supper, will be back to end off shortly.

Thank you to each one of you who have taken the time to read and comment on my report. I really do hope that for those who have never visited the park before, that somewhere in my report you have read something that inspires you to make that reservation!!!
After seening the magnificent male lion at Kij Kij we continued slowly along the Nossob towards TR , hoping to maybe see the Leopard again. No luck, but that did not matter, we had been so spoilt through out our trip. We did however wonder why no cars had passed us on their way to Nossob.
Just after reaching the confluence we understood why. There was the biggest traffic jam ever seen. The reason quite clear. Folk leaving TR were no sooner out of the gates when that came lions across featsing on a kill. I am sure they must have heard the commotion and noise from the actual kill while they were still in TR We could count 5 male lion and 2 female. We did not stay around for too long as there were far to many cars and we needed to cover a fair distance to Namaqua National Park where we were to overnight.
This was the female that we saw as we left. What a way to end one of our best trips ever.


We arrived at Namaqua National Park after 6 o' clock and it was really cold and windy. The cold and wind could not detract from the awesome views and sunset. This park is most certainly one that we will return to. We are just sorry that it is a bit too far from CT to quickly nip up to for a weekend
We arrived too late to get the benefit of the remaining wild flowers, but from what we saw, the flowers must have been magnificent. The accomodation is stunning. Just one little niggle!! They advertise that the cottage we stayed in is a 4 sleeper, 4 adults at that!! There is a pull out couch in the lounge, however, this couch is no ways enough for 2 people. Our recommendation is that this couch is only suitable for 2 children under 12. We made a plan, it was only for one night.
Besides the couch, these cottages have to be the most tastefully decorated that we have seen. They are also superbly equipped. I felt I could have stayed there for a week in total comfort. The kitchen had more equipment than one would wish for. Well done to SANParks. We were unable to do any drives etc because of time limitations, therefore , we must and will return!!


[img]http://i14.tinypic.com/8g8un1d.jpg[/IMG[IMG]http://i13.tinypic.com/71mh6b9.jpg[/img]

@wanderw
After out chat at CT Christmas Meet on Friday, I have done some 'rude' checking
You asked the question: How do we know that the leopard we saw between Rooiputs and Leeuwdril was a he and not a she?
Well, I ZOOOOMED in on this pic and could see nothing more than spots around the back legs
So, now I am feeling that perhaps it was the female, BUT where was her cub??? We were with her for close on 2 hours!!!
Just goes to show how excited we were to see a leopard. At the time it didn't matter if it was a he or she or heshe
Thanks for asking this, next time we will check carefully!