WE nearly missed the cheetah, although it was right out in the open. All the big cats are such masters of camouflage.
A small movement caught my eye and there it was, stalking some unseen prey, slowly, slowly advancing, step by cautious step, towards a bushy thicket. Like a domestic cat preparing to pounce on a mouse it was totally focused. Its fur bristled and every muscle was taut and ready for action. What a gorgeous creature it was. And were we just about to see a cheetah chase and kill?
It was such a lovely sighting of the spotted cat, but unfortunately, it did not last very long. The creature suddenly picked up speed and dashed into the bushes. For a while we sat waiting to see if there would be any further action, but we waited in vain. Whatever the prey, it must have escaped the spotted hunter who had by then completely disappeared from view. Peace returned to the tawny landscape and we continued on our way.
We’d seen cheetah in the park on a previous visit, soon after they had been released into Mountain Zebra. Since then, lions had been reintroduced and we hoped to spot them this time around. Anyway, the cheetah sighting was a thrill and it was the highlight of the two 4×4 routes we did on our first afternoon in the beautiful Mountain Zebra National Park. We knew most of the regular routes so well as we had visited Mountain Zebra a number of times but we had yet to try out the new self-drive Juries Dam Loop, Sonnenrust and Umgeni 4×4 routes.
First we did the Juries Dam Loop, a scenic and particularly good game viewing route, that took us up some quite steep slopes onto one of those golden Karoo plateaux with views that go on forever. It offered just enough of a challenge for us to take it slowly and enjoy it. This loop is situated fairly near the park gate, where the vegetation tends to be drier and more scrubby than the more mountainous southern section. At this time of year the drab Karoo khaki and olive veld was enlivened by tufts of blonde and autumn copper grass and splashes of vivid summer green.
Though not as dramatic as the mountainous section this area is more typical of the Karoo, with the crisp air, big skies and wide empty spaces for which that magical hunk of South Africa is famous. There were plenty of the park’s namesakes, the mountain zebra, at the waterholes, the first we’d seen since arriving. The national park was originally established to protect these striking creatures when they were hovering on the brink of extinction. Their return from this abyss is one of South Africa’s conservation success stories, We also saw a lovely herd of eland, some kudu and red hartebeest and plenty of springbok.
While negotiating the steep descents at the end of this loop, we notice that storm clouds had gathers and quite a few sections of the park seemed to be experiencing heavy rain. One of the patches of rain looked like it could be pouring down on the camping area. Should we leave the Sonnenrust route for another day and return to camp to ensure everything was well battened down?
Our tent is pretty sturdy so we decided to carry on, ignore the rainy threat and do the Sonnenrust Loop – and it was a good thing we did, for a couple of reasons.. About halfway round this equally scenic and interesting route, we found the cheetah and although the first route had offered a bit more variety, Sonnenrust also gave us lovely sightings of gemsbok. They are always such a joy to see.
After completing the loop we drove into a spectacular Karoo storm, complete with lightning and thunder and sheets of pouring rain. For a while we sat at the side of the road watching the bucketing down and enjoying the drama. We could almost see the thirsty Karoo veld drinking up the water. In Africa, isn’t rain such a blessing? As these storms tend to be, this one was all bluster and the clouds soon dispersed taking the rain away with them.
We drove back through the dripping veld back to camp, a bit worried about out tent, and found it completely dry. Surprisingly, in spite of showers almost ringing the horizon no rain had fallen there at all. Later that night, though, the clouds returned, along with a howling wind. The storm rocked our tent and small rivers cascaded off the canvas. Then the rain stopped and we went back to sleep, snug and dry.
Those two fierce storms were the harbingers of an extended rainy, misty period and by the next morning the muddy conditions forced the park authorities to close all three 4X4 trails. They remained closed until after we left so we were really pleased we’d done the first two routes that afternoon.
We never did get to do the third one, the Umgeni trail, but at least that gives us a good excuse to return to beautiful Mountain Zebra some time in the future, Not that we would need an excuse to revisit such a magical place.
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