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The trip is now more than half over and both Dries and I were "itching" to get in a leopard blind. For the 2nd straight day the male at our river blind did not show up. Both of us still had hope that it would happen somewhere but just in case a 3rd bait location was setup in the morning. The female ate again and while I had my heart set on a big tom, this may be an option for the last couple of days - but not yet.

I went back to my "ostrich" blind since Zebra had been seen in that area. The waterhole was buzzing with kudu, waterbuck, wildebeest, impala and even a mongoose who snuck in and walked by my blind. Of all the plains game, be it here in South Africa or my previous trip to zimbabwe, a zebra was my number one goal. To me they are one of the most beautiful animals in the world and they represent Africa more than any other.

So with great optimism and patience I sat and waited. The first animals came in cautiously. But once that group came in, the plains game just kept coming and coming until I actually was reading a book inside the blind while outside there were kudu, waterbuck and hartebeest. In fact, there were animals outside my blind for a full 3 hours straight! Unfortunately no gemsbok and no zebra.

There must have been something in the water because everything seemed to be sparring. Three kudu bull got into a shoving match, same with two waterbuck. Finally, as darkness was setting in, 2 herds of wildebeest piled in and they were chasing each other around in cloud of dust.

It was quite a spectacle, and it continued well until "pick-up" time. But as the dust cleared, the unmistakable image of the striped ponies came out of the brush. Five zebra were on the far side of the waterhole with one moving in to drink.

I grabbed my bow and waited for the right shot. The light was not good, but plenty to shoot with at close range. But before I had a shot, all ears perked up and the great herd of plains game - kudu, zebra, wildebeest, and waterbuck ran into the bush. A few seconds later the truck pulled up next to the blind. I was so close...