Many guests ask myself and Tracker Advice Ngwenya what our best sightings are. We always say it’s so hard to choose because in actual fact every sighting has been amazing for us and we can not just disregard them all to choose one. However, deep down inside we probably both do actually have one favourite.
Myself and Advice shortly after a recent morning game drive.
When we start to narrow down the better sightings, we are often drawn to the sightings with the most action in them, but this doesn’t really highlight what happens behind the scenes or in the build up to the sightings. By this I mean that these sightings often take hours to track and find, and many end up with the trackers alone on foot following a leopard or a lion’s tracks. Tracking, in a sense, is trying to be like a lion or leopard. It’s trying to think the same as they would, move around the same way that they would and to become one with the animal they are tracking.
Advice may have a different favourite memory in the bush to me, and this is due to his countless hours spent tracking and the experiences he has had. This lead me to chat to him a little further to find out which experience is closest to his heart.
“Jess, the one I can think of now was the Xinzele Female in the beginning of the year. In the northern part of Londolozi around Nanga Road. When we were driving we found the tracks of the Xinzele Female leopard on the road.
“I stopped you and jumped off the tracker seat, bent down lower to investigate if the track was fresh or what story it could tell me.”
“I could tell by the track that she had just walked here early that morning.”
“We followed the tracks on the road until the tracks cut off into the long grass.”
“This was just after cyclone Eloise, which brought a lot of rain to Londolozi, which meant the grass was thicker and longer than usual.”
“I knew it was going to be a difficult track.”
The grass levels were just as high if not higher.
“I took the radio and asked you, Jess, to drive a road on the opposite side of the thick block, so that you can check and see if her tracks came out on the opposite road as she was heading in that direction.”
“Now that I was alone, I had to really think. Think like this female leopard. The tracks were so difficult to see, so I had to step back and look for the slightest difference in the way the grass was bent. I had to really concentrate because once I had walked through the grass I would bend it in a different way and would ruin the evidence.”
“I followed that route until I found a small part of a track on an open patch of ground.”
“She was on the hunt.”
“As exciting as this is, it makes it very challenging to follow as they do not move in a straight line and walk lightly so there will be little evidence. I got the direction she was going in and took it from there.”
“I needed to think like her even more now, going to each bush as she would. Using them as for cover to try ambush her prey.”
“I felt the pressure because we had not seen a leopard in a while and tracking can go wrong when you cannot actually see the track. Tracking with just grass and looking at how its flattened can be hard because even an impala can flatten the grass so you have to trust your intuition and become a leopard.”
“My feeling from inside lead me to the right path because I then heard a squirrel alarming, knowing that it could be alarming at the female leopard. I got excited to only find out it was alarming at an eagle.”
“I decided to go back to last track and had to believe that if the last track goes north then I must track north. So I set a goal to head to a Marula tree in the distance and if there were no tracks there I would need to come back and start all over again, making it harder.”
“Seeing a termite mound ahead, I thought she must have used the height of the termite mound to scan the herd of impalas, and maybe there was a chance of seeing tracks in the sand there. There was a single track.”
The Xinzele Female peers over the top of a termite mound at a herd of impala.
“When I was on top of the mound I saw a herd of impalas. I decided to not go further because she may still be hunting them and I did not what to disturb her.”
“I started to scan a thicket line because she could be hiding anywhere close.”
“But it was in looking beyond the herd of impala that I saw something that did not look normal.”
“So I moved to the other side of the termite mound and that is when I saw her lying in Marula tree with a fresh impala kill.”
“I remember radioing Jess, taking a breath to calm my excitement and said,”
“Jess, I have found her!”
The Xinzele Female lying in the Marula tree with her kill, the exact view of her that Advice would have seen.
A small female often found in NW Marthly. Similar spot pattern to her mother the Ingrid Dam Female.
I love hearing Advice tell his stories. It is the most fascinating thing to hear about how he tracks and how his mindset needs to be in order to find the leopard. It’s a process using all of your senses and a process whereby you have to keep your head clear. It is no wonder Boyd Varty does a retreat on this experience – so many life lessons can be derived from this process. As you can read, it is definitely not a simple task and requires many hours of practice and determination. When you get the opportunity at Londolozi to ask a Tracker about his best stories – take it! You will not be disappointed…
Loved hearing Advice recount his favourite day tracking Jess. I’m in awe ..the patience, clear thinking and training certainly turns trackers into the cat they are pursuing. Thanks for sharing 🙏❤️
Thanks Advice and Jess for telling the tale…and keeping the suspense building!!!
Thank you Jess, tracking is always difficult… especially when you are not like Advice and suddenly find yourself in front of a huge male brown bear claiming his territory! Thanks for sharing, the Xinzele female looks beautiful and skilled
We have been fortunate to have had great experiences with the trackers.
Boyd Varty’s book, The Lion Trackers Guide to Life, emphasizes the similarities between tracking and life experience.
What a wonderful story about tracking. Patience, practice, intuition and becoming the animal yourself, leads to a great reward. Love to hear more stories about tracking.
Fascinating story and love the photos.
Xinzele is a beautiful cat! We recently spent 5 drives, over 20+ hours tracking Hosana on the Othawa property and it was quite a process! Our tracker spent a lot of time moving through thick bush while we were driving circles on the roads…..but when the success comes, it is particularly sweet!
A great story! I would really love to accompany a tracker and have the same experience he has. The most exciting thing in the world and so rewarding.
Hi Jess, the many hours spent on tracking a specific animal is astounding. Not to talk about the patience and determination to go all the way until you find the animal you were tracking. Well done Advice, I’m sure you have many stories to tell. Jess and you the Ranger that makes up the team are also fantastic in finding these magnificent animals. Your training as Ranger and Tracker are grueling and it brings the best out of you people. Thanks for this wonderful story.
Wonderful story and thank you to Advice for sharing it! We will follow your advice and ask the same question over morning coffee on our next safari!
An amazing story with such insights into tracking skills! Following Xinzele in that tall grass was a daunting task; what a thrill for Advice to find her up on the branch of that Marula tree.
A really nice blog Jess and Advice is an amazing tracker. I would dearly love to meet him and hear the stories he has to tell, however I will never get the chance. I can read his stories on the blogs though. Thanks Jess and Advice.
So great to have a story about Advice. He and I have done over 40 game drives together. Some magical moments with this wonderful person. One morning we saw 7 leopards! Can’t wait until we meet again.
Thanks Jess for highlighting Advice’s tracking expertise. Each drive I have taken while on safari, I’m awestruck by the knowledge of the trackers, reading the most obtuse clues that we guests completely miss.
Jess, thanks for a great story! It felt like we were walking just behind Advice! We send our very best to both of you. We miss all of you and hope to see you again soon!
Having visited camps where there are no trackers, I can truly appreciate their skills and how much they add to the safari experience. They are invaluable!
Cool discussion! Makes me think of early humans tracking their prey for food. It must have been quite a similar experience.