April 2025 Kgalagadi holiday part 1 - big cat sightings!

In April this year we went to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park - one of our favourite places to visit. We have been going since 2022 and are mesmerized each and every time with the raw beauty that is the Kgalagadi desert. The wildlife and birdlife we have seen each trip have filled these holidays with unforgettable memories.

That said, I have to admit that our April trip will be very hard to beat in future. The sightings were out of this world. Some days we were speechless from the encounters - especially as we had been told that the weeks leading up to our holiday had been quiet with the exception of the birdlife.

So we drove up (11.5 hours) with much hope but limited expectations. Also we knew that the grass was long in areas which would add to to the challenge of spotting wildlife. But as we reminded ourselves - any day in the Kgalagadi is a great day!

You can imagine our surprise (understatement) when this trip gave us the most spectacular big cat sightings.

In nearly 3 years we never thought we would have SO encounters especially with the long grass adding to visibility challenges.

MALE LEOPARD AT THE NOSSOB RIVER BED

This beautiful male Leopard was spotted early on in our trip. Just seeing a Leopard is always extremely special but this one was close to where we had parked and our views were relatively uncluttered while he walked past. I’m including my favourite photo of him licking his lips as he strolls by.

To give you an idea of how green the park looked compared to our October 2024 trip, I’ve included a photo from the previous trip below.

LION SIGHTINGS

We had an extremely memorable encounter with a pride of Lions one morning. It still raises the hairs on my arms when I think about it.

The Lionesses were SO close to the cars and completely unfazed by their awestruck spectators. One of them sauntered past us and I held my breath as she walked by my (open) window. It was the closest I’ve been to one of these majestic creatures!

the cheetah

We were extremely fortunate to enjoy some beautiful Cheetah encounters. I will share photos from 2 of our experiences.

One afternoon we got to watch this male Cheetah walk slowly past a row of cars and meander towards the Samevloeing Waterhole. Hubby positioned our car perfectly to get an amazing view and we sat watching him drink thirstily for ages.

cheetah on a hunt

Another amazing encounter was when we spotted some Cheetah which were patiently watching Springbok grazing nearby.

Slowly they inched their way closer. We were holding our breathe - wondering if the Springbok would notice they were being stalked. Before we knew it, a chase took place.

The Springbok fled quickly and the Cheetah had to continue looking elsewhere for food. It was over in a matter of seconds but a huge reminder on how wild nature is.

xx