A few weeks ago I posted a blog story here, how I had the impression that our reserve might be on the way of becoming famous for cheetah sightings. Well, I believe that this impression was more than justified. In fact, I counted, and over the last 10 days, we saw cheetahs an astonishing 7 times. So if you stay with us for 5-7 nights, then you have to be unlucky not to see cheetahs at least once. And what cheetah sightings these are! They are very relaxed, not bothered in the world by our presence, and happy to show themselves for photos. We even saw a mother cheetah with her cub a fortnight ago, so the population is definitely doing very well, and we expect more cheetahs on our reserve going forward. We don’t quite know how many it is, but it is probably over a dozen. Given that only about 300-400 specimen are estimated to be living in free nature in South Africa, this is an astonishing success.

I have decided to post photos of several sightings over recent days, to give you an impression of the high quality and proximity of these sightings.

Gilles, our tech guy, has been working on the lion kill video over the last 3 days, and here it is! What a sighting! It was indeed a very, very bad day for a wildebeest. But such is life. And sometimes life sucks.

Jesse had stumbled across the lions with our guests, as they (the lions, not the guests) were approaching an unsuspecting wildebeest. Within seconds they rushed towards it and took it down. The video shows the moment after they took it down, and putting it down. One of the female (how hungry is that?) is trying to start eating on a leg before the wildebeest is even dead.

For those that are of a more sensitive nature, or about to go and have lunch/dinner, viewer discretion is advised.

And here the video:

 

We see so much of the large game (in fact quasi on a daily basis) that for quite a while I have not introduced anything “new”.

I noticed an incredibly beautiful photo of a White-Breasted Cormorant that Jesse snapped a shot of about 3 days ago. The photo was also posted on our Facebook page (do check it out, by the way: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vuyani-Lodge/160291423981740)

Now, here’s the shot! Just stunning. In fact this is a more beautiful shot than any of the photos I found online while doing research about this particular bird. Hat off to Jesse, great job!

 

So, what about this pretty bird? This one is a very unusual sub-species, as we usually see cormorants as sea-water birds. But not this one!

The White-breasted Cormorant is the only form of Great Cormorant found in the sub-Saharan part of Africa, and it is the only sub-species that has strictly freshwater populations and also the only form with a white breast and throat. Interestingly, it does interbreed freely with dark-breasted forms from Central Africa though.

It is not that rare, as one can find them from as far afield as the Red Sea in Egypt, Angola, all the way, of course, to South Africa. It is a bird that needs clean and fresh water for fish hunting, so it is a great satisfaction to see them now as well on our reserve. There certainly are a lot of dams here, and a lot of food for them, so they are certain to be seen time and time again. So, to all you birders out there: there’s yet another species that you can tick off your bucket list during a visit here. We have over 400 species of birds here, so this is birder’s paradise here!

… on a reserve that takes your breath away. First off a photo of the reserve that Jesse took yesterday. Beautiful, let’s admit it! A glimpse of African magic.

Jesse also “surprised” a napping rhino. I had myself only once seen a crash of rhinos sleeping in the morning, but I didn’t manage a photo that close. This one’s adorable though.

Rhinos have become very rare in Africa, and it is estimated that only about 16,000 or so are still in existence in Africa. As such that is an amazing success, as there were only about 50-60 left in the 1950s, so as such, the fact that their numbers are back up to this is great. But poachers are causing more than a dent again (thanks to China). 90% of Africa’s rhino population lives in South Africa, which is the result of policies adopted by South Africa many decades ago. The country is now reaping the rewards for these decisions.
Let’s hope these policies are not undone!!

If you want to experience rhinos up-close, there are not many places like this one. And yes, rhinos are much bigger than one can imagine by looking at photos. They can weigh as much as a pick-up truck, so you can begin to imagine the power and size of this magnificent animal.

Kim sent through a very interesting photo, of a phenomenon that’s called “Giraffe necking”. When male competitors meet, and they want to protect their ladies (well rather their sole access to the ladies), then they start this “necking” game, whereby they swing their heads towards to other giraffe’s neck, which is very painful. This looks quite scary sometimes, but does in almost all cases not lead to lethal injuries. It is more a fight of attrition, whereby the male that cannot take the pain anymore decides to move on and fight another day.

Because of this necking habit, males giraffes do not have their hair tufts on top of their horns, as they lose these in this rather brutal practice.

So, here a photo showing you what that looks like. Very unique thing to see and experience. We do see it now and then, and with a bit of luck, you will be able to spot this happening in wild nature here as well.

But the way: we had a lion kill yesterday! We are busy working on the video footage, so I will publish the story very shortly! A rare and super exciting event, so that’s the sort of luckier-than lucky experiences for our guests.

Some might think I may be a little bored in my office, posting blog stories every day. Not true! I am always busy bringing the beauty of our reserve, and the excitement of our safaris and lodge as close to our fans and future guests as only possible.

But sometimes when I get the daily sightings report, with all the photos, then I feel guilty not posting all of them. But I have to be selective, as there is just too much. We see lions now, for instance, on average at least 3 times each week, and, from what I estimate, cheetahs at least twice a week. That’s a lot for rare animals (especially cheetahs), on a reserve of this sheer size (over 36,000 acres). By only having one pride of lions, we have allowed a lot of space for rare and endangered animals, such as hyena, leopards and cheetahs, and it comes as no surprise that their numbers have increased steadily over recent years. There were no cheetahs as recently as 3 years ago, while now we may have close to 10, and we know of one mother at least who is successfully breeding in the wild. We recently saw her with her newest cub who is doing very well. She’s great!

But there is news: in due time 7-9 additional elephants will be introduced, as the reserve’s fauna can carry a lot more of them, and in due time, we should have two massive herds. Great news! Also on the rhino front, there is movement, and we are hopeful to add to the number of super-rare black rhinos. All in all, on the conservation side of things (as well as many others), we are blessed with exciting success stories, and the continued support of our guests (by visiting us) means that the future of this highly endangered animals looks more and more sustainable and secure. So my personal thanks go out to our many guests. You are pivotal to the preservation of this area, which I consider as one of the prettiest in the world. A lot of good has been achieved here, and you should all feel proud of it. You made it possible, and you continue to make it possible.

Far from it!

We are lucky to be located in an area that boasts some of the world’s most famous and stunning sceneries: the Kruger National Park, one of the oldest and largest nature parks in the world, the Panorama Route with canyon views, waterfalls and Graskop (for those who love to shop for African handcraft), and then of course the breathtaking Blyde River Canyon, the world’s third largest, and only green canyon!

I never understand why other lodges never show these truly awsome sights to their guests. It is beyond me, as our guests are left in awe when they see the canyon on one of the river cruises we organise through the canyon. These are some of the most famous and compelling nature beauties to see not only in South Africa, but worldwide. And we offer this trip every day, so there are plenty of opportunities.

Kim went with guests on one of these boat trips, and she took some lovely pics to share with our fans and future guests.

Just looking at them made me realise again how blessed we are, and what a beautiful planet we live on.

… and sometimes that is a little too far, as Jesse demonstrated yesterday. He got totally stuck while crossing a riverbed. Due to heavy rainfalls over recent weeks, the sand was so loose that there was no hope, the wheels just dug themselves in, and our Landcruiser met with its limits. Kim and Rex had to go out and “rescue” the guests, who quite enjoyed the entire adventure. This doesn’t happen often, and it is probably the first time most ever got so horribly stuck out in nature.

But it was all worth it! Jesse found the two young cheetah brothers hanging out in the river. They are so relaxed that, for poor little Savanna’s hope, they won’t decide to move into the lodge too. 😉 (we had a resident caracal for a long time that visited the lodge frequently, but she hasn’t been seen in a long time, we fear the worst has happened to her. Poor Pixie, we loved her very much. Hopefully Savanna will be with us for longer. I think she is pregnant now, so soon-ish we will have lots of little Savannas at the lodge.)

So yes, it was worth it, definitely. Mike and Uyai had to work hard to dig out Jesse’s game driver, but thank God we have three game drivers, so we can always get it sorted. Great adventure for our guests who got both an amazing sighting, and a feel for what off-road adventure really means, also the downside of it. It made for lots of laughs in the evening.

A couple of days ago we had a fantastic elephant sighting. Of course, bad luck would have it, I had skipped that drive, and so I missed it. But the photos that Uyai took compensated for that. It is always nice to see the elephant herd doing so well, and growing in size over time. The herd is now a third larger than it was 5 years ago, and seeing them is one of the most breathtaking experiences our guests can enjoy here. They are so much bigger than photos reflect. An elephant can measure over 5 meters in height, so they tower over the vehicles, and that is a deeply humbling experience for any human. A 7-ton elephant never fails to impress! It looks like we may introduce more elephants to the reserve, as the reserve has grown in size (over 36,000 acres now), and more land is expected to be added to it. But as it is, the reserve can easily handle over 30 elephants, so that’s why it makes sense to introduce more. They are paramount in clearing over-grown portions of the reserve, but then again every animal plays a pivotal role in the whole eco-system. Personally, I just enjoy the sighting of a large and happy herd of elephants, going about their lives. They make the world a beautiful and wonderful place.

It is well known that elephants are extremely loving and kind to their offspring, and with a gestation period of well over a year, the birth of a new baby elephant is big news in the herd. All females take interest in the event, and support the mother and new-born. These moments are very touching, and it shows that the differences between humans and animals do not really exist. Raising her child is an utmostly important and enjoyable task for any elephant mother, and this bond remains way beyond the childhood age. They will always recognise each other, and share tender moments when they meet later in life, or stay together in the same herd if it is a female elephant baby.

Here some of the lovely photos that Uyai has taken. What a great moment.

Caroline and George stayed with us very recently (in fact they checked out last Friday), for 5 nights. They had a great time here, and, to judge by the photos they took, an amazing safari experience as well.

In fact I would say their photos are most definitely some of the best I have seen in months! We should start a yearly Vuyani price for best picture taken, because some of these photos are true gems.

It is easy enough to take a photo, but it is much harder to capture a special moment or something peculiar in an animal’s life, just at the right time. It is hard to catch the aggressive nature of a lion, the placidity of a rhino, or the curiosity of an elephant. The rest is composition. lighting, setting of course. But Caroline and George nailed it on each one of these photos. Amazing! Many thanks for sharing these with us, and allowing us to share them with all our fans and future guests.

So, without any further ado, here they are! Enjoy! 🙂