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Hi ndloti,

very special meeting the big grey´s on foot. Was it on a morning walk..?

Did you see any other animals on this trip ?

Ert

WOW, Great luck and sightings. The best I have had regarding the Big 5 is the 4 out of the 5 in my only and just a day trip to Satara in which I entered Orpen Gate at around 11, had a drive to Satara and back. Saw a Leopard which killed an Impala and they said we missed it by 5 minutes which we wasted looking at a rock in the distance thinking it was a LION

We had a sighting of an elephant, Buffalo, and even the King of the Beast sleeping. on our return trip we saw the Beauty Queen the Leopard crossing the road. That was my best day.

Really good luck by everyone. looks like Satara is a fav to watch the Big 5 in 1 day.

Depends on when Breakfast is, I have a beer at gate opening time.

That was early Scipio, but not bad...

The Malelane road towards the exit gate always delivers some good sightings for us early mornings long before breakfast time. The last two times we had excellent sightings of leopards, and we have seen 4 of the big five on different occasions on that road very early mornings. Another “good for big five before breakfast” road is the Orpen-Satara road although we are not specifically looking for the big five and have never seen all of them on that road during one single “before breakfast” drive.

You are lucky indeed. I have never seen the big 5 before breakfast before. In fact of all my trips of going to Kruger in 18 years I have only seen the big 5 in a single trip once. The leopard always aludes me. Having said that my bad luck with leopards is compensated with plenty of sightings of cheetah and wild dog.

Which camps have you stayed at for your last couple of trips if I may ask?
The best camps for leopard sightings are in the South

Last year we stayed mainly in Satara but also stayed one night in PKop enroute to Satara and then one night in Skukuza on our way back. This year we will be going to PKop, Skukuza and LS. In my experience LS is the only area where I have seen leopard. Which area in the south is the best for spotting leopard in your opinion?

Hi Canis Lupos

I read your question and I believe you couldn’t stay in 3 better camps for spotting leopards. Anywhere near the Lower Sabie and Skukuza area you have a great chance of seeing a spotted ones, you don’t have to travel far as they are often quite close to camp (especially near Lower Sabie) To the North of Pretoriuskop the S65 and S1 are also great roads for leopards.

Wish you luck on finding this elusive animal .

Thanks t-bal. I go to KNP for the tranquility and overall experience of a pristine wilderness but seeing a leopard now and then could not hurt

I have seen quite a few leopards within 10-15 km of Croc bridge. My best ever LOG walking alongside the car. And lots of doggies too. In fact today they were on the S25 (according to reports) almost exactly where I saw them a few years ago.

We have many fantastic leopard sightings and even lions and wild dogs, but never have we seen a cheetah. Last year we saw on the S90 its droppings on a large stone, certainly a good place to look for prey. But that's all. Cheetahs are spotted on the streets S90, S41, S100, and in the south at Pretoriuskop and S28, but we never had luck. What about you guys? Have you seen cheetahs and where? Next time I will

We had not seen Cheetah for about 15 years, but two weeks ago we saw one at Croc Bridge chasing Impala, and then the next day saw three walking right next to the road on the H3.

Strange how that happens...... don't see them for years and then they turn into the flavor of the month. Same happened to me with Wild dogs. An absolute drought for about 20 odd years and then three different sightings
over two days !

Hope you will be lucky on your next trip.

The H7 is a good cheetah road, especially the area around the Timbavati turnoff.

Hi Granny and Bush baptist,

Many thanks for your reply, I hope, next time we have a bit more luck to see cheetahs.