Of the "Big 5" animals, we saw 4 of them (rhino, elephant, lion and buffalo). We did not see the leopard, which is extremely rare to see; although, we were told there was a small one in the reserve that occasionally feeds on the antelope.
The buffalo were well hidden down in a ravine in the tall grass. We almost missed them. There were about 12 in the herd and we saw a baby one too. They were wary of us in the beginning, dead still just looking at us with a sort of blank stare. Some of them finally got bored and started moving about, yet very aware of our presence. I must admit, the buffalo do not intrigue me as other animals do. My husband, on the other hand, was fascinated with them. It could be based on my first encounter with buffalo. It was on our first safari about 9 years ago. Our first ride out we came across buffalo just as the sun was setting. The jeep got stuck in the mud and the buffalo started milling closer to us as we made much noise trying to get unstuck. I remember that night vividly because we thought that was the most beautiful sunset we had seen and it could be our last. Our guide had to throw sticks at them to get them to go away. When they got as close as they did, you realize how big they really are. They hide themselves well in the tall grass and look much smaller than they actually are.