Thinking back over my last couple of trips to Southern Africa, the rhino sightings have been a bit more limited than during previous trips. A lot of the places on the tours I have taken recently aren’t known for having rhino in the area, and sightings are very rare, so it was my pre-tour safari stops that offered rhino sightings.
Rhinos can be challenging to spot in thick bush and seem to be able to disappear rather easily; which can frustrate guides that want to provide their guests viewing opportunities of the Big 5. We had followed tracks on and off over several game drives, looking for two rhino travelling together. While the tracks would surface and disappear, we couldn’t find the animals leaving the tracks, much to the dismay of our guide. We did come across this lone individual and had a brief sighting before it turned on its heel and disappeared into the trees.
Then, on the way back from a leopard sighting on a neighbouring property, we were on the paved road and were flagged down by a passing car to warn us that there were a couple of rhino on the road ahead. Finally, we had located the pair that were causing such consternation for our guide.
The only other rhino sighting this past trip was a quick view of an individual crossing through the riverbed at Klaserie Sands. Our guide spotted the animal in the distance, and even though it was getting dark and the view was brief, we followed as much as we could as other people in our vehicle had never seen a rhino before.
