Travelogue from Kenya: Chui means leopard

Our colleague Winnie tells us about her experiences in Kenya in October 2018.

I just manage to hear the magic word over the radio before my guide and driver shouts “hold on tight”.

Chui.

We hurtle along Masai Mara’s potholed and bumpy roads. I hold on for dear life, and at a particularly big hole, the guide slows down a bit and gently manoeuvres the car around the hole while asking if I’m okay in the back – and if it’s OK that we’re driving so fast. Yes, I’m quite OK – and yes, it’s OK that you’re speeding!

I don’t know all that many words in Swahili. Karibu means welcome. Asante means thank you – asante sane is thank you very much. Jambo means hello, and hakuna matata – yes, hakuna matata, we all know that one. Simba is lion, duma is cheetah and twiga means giraffe. But what about chui?

Well, chui means leopard!

The leopard is without doubt my absolute favourite animal of them all of on safari in Africa. I love its beautiful coat, its long tail, its broad, muscular neck, which allows it to haul its prey up into the tree, while the opportunistic lions sit under the tree and sulk. I love the fact that it can be found everywhere – but that it’s shy, so you’re incredibly lucky if you actually get to see it. I love its bright eyes and its superior walk. It pads along so elegantly on its paws. Lions tend to plod along. The leopard almost floats its way through the world.

One thing that leopards and lions clearly have in common; they can’t bear getting their paws wet from the morning dew. So when we get to the four other cars parked near the animal, we find it sitting in the middle of the road. My driver knows what he’s doing, so he also parks in the middle of the road, a good 60–70 metres from the leopard. And sure enough, after a few minutes, it gets up and slinks its way over to us. Right past our car. It’s so close that if I stick my hand out the window, I can touch it (I don’t, however, because it sees me as part of its food chain…). My goodness, it’s beautiful!

The lion might be the king of beasts, but in my eyes, the leopard is the most majestic of them all.

Winnie, TourCompass