23/07/2025
A Chance Sighting to Remember – Chobe National Park
A drive through Chobe National Park today gifted me with one of the top 10 chance sightings of my entire safari career.
I’d been invited on a quick trip by my niece—just a short drive along the upper road to a small village near Ngoma Gate. I jokingly told her I’d only agreed because I really wanted to see a cheetah. She laughed and said the chances were slim to none; cheetahs are a very rare sighting in Chobe. I knew this off course but I was adamant. There’d been one sighting in the area last year that I knew of.
The drive itself was beautiful—we passed sable, impala, giraffe, monkeys, and kudu on our way to the village, soaking in the wild beauty of the park.
On our return, coffee in hand and spirits high, I reminded her to keep an eye out for my cheetah. A short while later she gasped, “Cheetah! Cheetah!”
I honestly thought she was teasing me… until I looked to the roadside—and there he was.
A stunning cheetah, calm and composed, watching the world with quiet confidence. He barely seemed to notice us as we spent a magical ten minutes observing him. Eventually, the spell was broken by the roar of a speeding government vehicle, and he slipped gracefully into the bush.
Sometimes a manifestation can be so intense, the universe cannot help but to comply!
A rare and unforgettable sighting—shared with someone special, in one of the most extraordinary parks on earth.
