Summertime at the Leopard Mountain Waterhole

Summertime at the Leopard Mountain Waterhole

Relaxing in a cool, well-sheltered hide with a drink in hand is the best way to spend your morning at Leopard Mountain Safari Lodge.

After the morning game drive and a much-needed breakfast, Leopard Mountain offers a unique waterhole experience.  Think of it as ‘Reflection hour’, where one can sit back and enjoy a cold one whilst watching the bush come alive around you. The tranquil sound of the birds is enough to send you into a trance, and watching the animals interacting in their natural environment at a waterhole is truly amazing.

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The hide at Leopard Mountain is very special in that the walls are made up of large one-way windows as well as wooden walls with elongated slits making viewing and photography a breeze without the animals being able to see you.

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The 15-minute drive to the hide can sometimes turn into a mini game drive on its own. Zebra, giraffe, impala, wildebeest, nyala, and warthogs are amongst those commonly seen, with exceptional sightings of herds of elephant or buffalo as well. This female lion is often seen lounging about at the hide, and on the rare occasion, even hunting. Other lions on the reserve occasionally stop by for a drink as well, and recent guests enjoyed a sighting of seven lions drinking down at the waterhole.

The reserve “old boys” can often be seen bypassing the hide waterhole whilst doing boundary checks.

More often than not, there are spectacular varieties of birds showing face and catching midmorning snacks along the surface of the water. With some other smaller visitors also interested in seeing who’s coming down for a drink.

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These small critters are accompanied by our more permanent residents, the terrapin, which are seen swimming along the surface snacking on the fallen fruit of the sycamore figs on the water’s edge. The overhanging branches are often filled with vervet monkeys that like to feed the underlying terrapins by dropping the fruit.

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Maintenance at the hide becomes quite an adventure for our maintenance team, with bull elephants hassling them and keeping them busy with their inquisitive behaviour – fixing pulled up water pipes as well as constant road clearing.

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The daily hide trip is a relaxing way to spend one’s morning while connecting with nature, practicing your birding, or even reading a book whilst having that well-needed pre-noon drink – after all, you are on holiday.

Contact Leopard Mountain
Web. www.leopardmountain.co.za
Email. info@leopardmountain.co.za
Tel. +27 35 595 8218