Wildcast

Still looking for Whisky.

First thing in the afternoon the girls and I climbed Sosigi hill. Of course it was fun for them. When on top we checked for Whisky’s signal but still no joy. The girls were really upset now that they weren’t going to see him before they left tomorrow.
As dusk set in we were on Khayeni’s trail. She was hunting near Nhoro pan but being her usual self having no direction, moving in zigzag’s all over the place. And of course taking us through tough country all the time. The girls have mastered the art of avoiding all the branches that rake over the vehicle by taking cover in their sleeping bags. No such luck for dad, he has to take cover under the steering wheel and still try and drive.

Khayeni was on to something. As we cornered a bush there was a stand off - Khayeni and a porcupine with its quills all erect. Khayeni knew it spelt danger but was still very tempted by this meal that was right there. She circled the porcupine several times but just couldn’t find a gap in its defence. It moved on and she followed for about 50m before eventually giving up and realising it was far too dangerous to tackle. Those quills once embedded in the skin are impossible to remove as they have tiny barbs that wedge them permanently in there and can become fatal.

When Khayeni moved into thick country we called it a night and headed back to camp.
Dawn saw us out again looking for elephants and the new Hwata pan was just the place. It’s proving to be a great pan and already becoming quite productive. The elephant were really there just to drink but not this youngster who was having a whale of a time in the mud.

Penny seeing all of this decided she was keen too. But dad talked her out of it, as she would have frozen on getting out. Boring!