And it possibly would have been had she not suddenly lost her nerve when a large buffalo bull ambled past her.

She just lay there watching, hoping that her camouflage was good enough to avoid detection. We then spent another ten or 15 minutes watching as the herd drank within ten metres of the leopard … then seven metres … then five metres. Literally one minute later, my colleague called me to tell me to come back, a herd of over 100 buffalo was now approaching the waterhole. I spent some time with her before conceding that she was just not going to be as obliging as the lions were, and left to go have coffee (damn that coffee!). The herd of zebras seemed reluctant to come and drink, although I doubt they were aware of her presence. Selfish, not for us, for all the other animals that wanted to come and drink at the waterhole where she had chosen to spend the day lying beside a fallen log. Unsurprisingly, I guess, she was selfishly sleeping.

I then decided to go and see what was happening with a sleeping leopard after she and her mother had polished off an impala kill. This doesn’t require that you see National Geographic moments around each corner – those things only happen a handful of times in a guides career – but one just needs to see nature’s beautiful creatures doing beautiful things … nothing more than a case of ‘right place, right time’. But then you get days where everything just seems to fall into place. But it is here where no day is ever the same, and it is this very aspect that makes each new day an exciting prospect not every drive is easy in fact, they can be quite challenging when all the animals appear to be conspiring against you to stay hidden. Roll out of bed after two snoozes at 5:12, morning coffee at 5:30 (which I have always thought was a menial task seeing as I don’t drink coffee), game drive at 6 am. Oh wow, did I just say that? That has got to be the most clichéd thing a game ranger can ever say … but it’s absolutely true!Įvery day starts out the same. My first thoughts often involve a few foul words, questioning why on earth I am waking up before the sun – baboons don’t, so why should I? – but then I realise that while I am waking up from one set of dreams, today I am once again going out to live my very own childhood dream.

Dream gameranger