5 cute moments during a game drive

Two’s a company and three’s a… herd, flock, pride, dazzle?… whatever’s a crowd in the bush. There’s nothing like the intimacy between two wild creatures spotted on a game drive that makes us go “awww cute” before we start snapping away with our cameras.

Is it [the] weekend yet? (Etosha, Namibia)

If you’re turned on by zebra, you’ll love the flagship of Namibia’s national parks; there are said to be more than 20 000 of them in the reserve and, by the time you’ve driven from one end to the other, I guarantee you’ll never want to see a zebra again.

The black and white striped ponies congregate in vast herds on Etosha’s major roads when the days are at their hottest, blocking them from all other traffic on a game drive, primarily because being out in the open provides the best protection against predators.

They often pillow their heads on one another’s rumps to provide better all-around vision.

Cuddle when it’s cold (Kruger National Park)

The joys of the morning game drives offered by the more exclusive lodges and camps are manifold.

There are usually fewer people in the vehicle due to the ungodly waking hour, which means there’s less of a mad rush to spot the Big Five and you can often concentrate on the smaller gems, and the light gets better and better (most times) – a boon to photographers.

Of course, it’s often bitterly cold, especially in the dead of winter in the Lowveld. These two white-fronted bee-eaters – seen during an excursion from Jock’s Safari Lodge near Skukuza – seem to be sharing the discomfort.

The Sistahood (Kariega, Eastern Cape)

In the lion world (for large parts of the year), males drop in on the pride only for sex or to cadge a meal, leaving the Sistas to do all the less glamorous things by themselves.

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This does not seem to bother the pride lionesses un-duly – many of whom are actually siblings – and such signs of sisterly love are common. To be fair, male lions also often demonstrate sibling affection. These two females were happily minding their own business at Kariega outside Kenton-on- Sea until a large male arrived to spoil the peace and quiet.

Buzz off, we’re necking (Pumba, Eastern Cape)

Just looking at giraffes, you’d imagine them to be ungainly creatures and indeed they are until they start their courting ritual. Then they’re all sinuous and sensual, their twisting necks seeming to indicate the proverbial vertical expression of a horizontal desire.

Their faces, on the other hand, give no clue to how worked up they’re getting a few metres down below. Look closely and you’ll see the “rabbit” on a giraffe’s face (around the upper lip and nostrils). This was first pointed out to me at Pumba and I’ve never been able to un-see it again.

Pumba is a little gem of a reserve outside Grahamstown (Makhanda).

Too cute for words (Sanbona, Western Cape)

I’ve had an affinity for cheetahs from a very young age, with their graceful movement and wistful-sad faces capturing my heart when I first saw them up close in what was then Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia).

I have been on two “walk-in” safaris at Sanbona near Barry- So happy together! There’s nothing like intimacy pairing up in the wild dale in the Klein Karoo and both times I’ve been fortunate to get up close and personal with groups of Acinonyx jubatus.

The first was when a super-chilled mom showed us these equally unperturbed cubs, the second when two young males who had earlier pulled down an antelope and gorged themselves till their bellies could hold no more approached a ranger and myself and plonked down beside us.