And finally, on our (most probably) last game drive in South Africa we saw it! The one missing from the Big 5 of Africa. We had travelled 13 thousand kilometers in 4 countries, visited 20 National Parks and game reserves, spent countless hours in the bush – in the car of course – and on the very last day we caught a glimpse of it: the leopard.

The big 5: Leopard hiding in the tree

You don’t see it? Don’t worry, we show it to you.

The big 5: Leopard hiding in the tree

So this is our BIG 5th for this time. :) But it leaves us with something to look forward to for our next safari trip.
Until then, here are the big 5 (actually big 4+1) as we saw them in the last 2 months.

The most endangered one: the rhino

The king of the animals: the lion

Etosha lions

The grey giant: the elephant

Etosha elephant

The one with the smartest look: the buffalo

The Big 5: Buffalo drinking

And the +1 from the Etosha Big 5, the most elegant one: the cheetah

The Big 5: Cheetah in Etosha

But let us tell you: it is not about the Big 5. We have seen so many beautiful (and less beautiful) creatures during these 2 months, breathtaking landscapes and interesting people. We drove over 13 thousand kilometers (about 2 thousand of it in deep sand), slept in a tent, picnicked with lions, got mock-charged by elephants, found new friends – we would not change a day of it.

Here are some highlights from our Africa trip – if you have missed them (click below links to read more):