16 June 200 – Marie, the only female game guide in Botswana, who knows almost as much about wildlife as Jacque Cousteau knows of sea life, happens to be a stunning, funny twenty-something African woman, as opposed to the mostly White game guides imported in from Europe and South Africa. Driving us under cloudy skies through woodlands, Marie explained the rarity in the numerous watering holes remaining from rain that fell a week ago – odd, since this is winter and dry season. During our drive, we witnessed monkeys, Francolin birds, Guinea fowls, crocodiles, Burchell’s zebras, impalas, kudus and a leopard. Immediately upon seeing the tail of the leopard high in a tree, I reached for Jim and then looked back only to have lost sight. Finally using powerful binoculars, we found the spotted animal and watched him for another 15 minutes before driving to the other side of the tree. The sleek cat raised his head in our direction a time or two and I was jubilant, internally, over this sighting.