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Indeed a good spot for a final resting place Dream Weaver!

That is quite a abig Spiders' nest!

So enjoying reading about your trip and looking at your photos.

Meandering Mouse - I had a good laugh at your comments. Thank you.

Philip1 - You are welcome. Thank you.

hilda - I believe they have to be big enough to accommodate all their occupants.

Stampajane - Hello and thank you.

Back on the S146 to Mopani, a large male elephant was walking slowly towards the road.

Now it could be said that Chacma and I do not share an identical view on the best place to be in relation to an elephant. Words such as “paranoia” and “gung-ho attitude” have been known to pass between us on that subject. My preference is to get in front of an elephant with plenty of room to spare and only then stop to take photographs.

Chacma was driving that day and I mentioned that right then we were lagging a little too far back for my liking. It looked as if the elephant would cross the road in front of us rather than behind. Chacma began talking about triangulation and how the elephant’s speed and position were relative to both us and the road ahead (or something along those lines).

He said something about the EPI and I asked if that meant estimated point of impact. He laughed and said “No, estimated point of intersection.” Then he promptly stopped and began to photograph the elephant who, although still some distance away, was definitely heading our way.

Chacma’s head and shoulders had blocked my view of the elephant, so I turned to look out of the passenger window.

It was as I was turning back, to try and see where, in the imaginary triangle, the elephant had got to, that I saw something through the windscreen that literally took my breath away. I was rendered speechless.

The only sound I could make was “a”. So I kept on repeating it until at last I managed to say “Look!”

Ok ok Im enthralled captivated sooooo what happened???

I feel like im sitting on the edge of my seat??????

Wow! What happened Dream Weaver???

I'm also on the edge of my seat

??????Wonder how long the suspense will continue.

Dream with this amount of suspense im beginning to think an elephant stampeded you to death I don't have anymore nails left

We're all anxious to hear what happens next. I think we are all nervous around elephants and are imagining the worst!!

Just caught up from page 4 . Awesome sightings Dream Weaver .

I am so happy to at last found a 'mite that also uses a Pentax . Hilda use a Pentax K7 with a 120 - 500 Sigma DC lense. I currently uses her older Pentax K100 model with a 70 - 400 Sigma DC lense and Hilda just bought me the Pentax Kx model which I fitted with the new 18 - 250 Sigma DC lense with Macro HSM fuctionality for macro photograpy purposes .

Wonder if Chacma's EPI was calculated correctly . We will find out sooner than later .

Thanks for sharing .

You certainly know how to frustrate!! Enjoying your report and photo's. Hope you get going soon!

Sheenaugh-Lee - all is soon to be revealed.

hilda - I shall tell you what happened.

noel - not long now.

Trrp-trrrrrrrr - not much longer.

Stampajane - next installment coming right up.

barryels - Thank you. The camera has gone on a business trip with Chacma today. I will ask what model it is when they return.

hoyle - Hello and thank you.

A leopard had stepped silently out of the bushes on the right and was crossing the road about three metres in front of our car.

Now we had an elephant proceeding steadily towards us in a direct line from the right and a leopard in front of us who was heading equally steadily towards the bushes on the left.

We were faced with a dilemma.

What to do?
Who to turn our backs on?
How to keep an eye on the elephant and at the same time marvel at the beauty and grace of the leopard?

Chacma thrust the camera into my hands. Shaking with excitement, I pressed the shutter button. It would not click. I pressed it again. There was still no click. I pressed again and again, but it just would not click. The button seemed jammed.

I shoved the camera back at Chacma, just managing to catch a quick glimpse of the advancing elephant before it was hidden from view again as Chacma stretched towards the passenger window. His attention was now firmly fixed on getting a photograph of the leopard. I dared not get in the way of the camera by craning to see the elephant. I gazed in awe at the leopard.

It was a magnificent creature. Its coat was bright gold, the spots on it the deepest black. Its tail was long, the tip a fluffy white curl that almost brushed the ground.

Afterwards I learnt that the camera needs time to focus between one press of the button and the next. In the excitement of the moment I had not been listening for the little beep by which the camera says “OK, I am focussed, you can go ahead and take the picture.”

Luckily Chacma knew what to do. He managed to capture these parting shots before the leopard slipped silently into the vegetation and vanished from view.

I LOVE your description of the incident with the Leopard and Elephant Dream Weaver!

Awesome pictures of the most beautiful Leopard!

What happened to the Ellie? Was he still around after the Leopard has gone into the bushes?