Night Drives

After sunset, a guide takes you out by vehicle to look for the animals that stay hidden by day. Leopard, genet, civet and porcupine turn up regularly, along with the giant eagle owl, and lions are often more active once the heat has gone, sometimes caught mid-hunt. Honey badger and African wild cat show up too, and now and then a pangolin, rarely seen anywhere else. Between sightings, the guide points a torch skyward to trace the constellations of the southern hemisphere. It is a slower, quieter way to read the bush, driven by sound and eye-shine rather than daylight.