Some days are just off the chart here at the lodge!

The guys went out with all our guests yesterday, and they found the entire elephant herd. They were not too far from the lodge, and they were crossing the dirt road in front of them, in a very relaxed manner. Amazing photo opportunity!

That alone would already make this safari outing a great success. But this was nothing compared to what was to come!

The lions had made a kill near the staff village (a zebra and fowl at the same time), so the guys headed down there, and, fair enough, the lions were to be found. They are hanging around the lodge these days, and we see them very regularly.

So far, it was a great day, no doubt about it. But there is always potential for more excitement: during the afternoon safari, Mike and Uyai found a fresh cheetah kill, ironically very near the morning’s lion kill. It seems to be the perfect spot indeed. They were found in the “Jackal’s Plain”, having taken down a young wildebeest. Both brothers were enjoying some truly tender meat. Bon appetit.

And, true to its name (Jackal’s Plain), soon there was keen interest to be observed by a local jackal, intent to make for the remains of the carcass. Nothing goes for waste in nature!

Speaking of which: the vultures were out en masse, as they are the ones who clean up the very last bits that carcasses leave behind.

Wow, what a safari day that was! Hard to match, and amongst the hundreds of photos taken, I chose some at random but I could have posted any, they were all great. I will try to go out myself on safari later this week, and I will attempt to capture some footage (and film footage) of my own.

I’ll keep you posted!

We had a great day yesterday, between our reserve and the Kruger Park, all Big 5 were seen in one single day, and dozens of other species. This does happen regularly, of course, but it is still amazing when it does occur especially as we offer a very exclusive and traditional way of going on safari. There is no zoo-like ticking off the boxes here! With us it is all old-fashioned high-skilled tracking. And that’s what our guests love us for. The excitement rises steadily as you get closer to an animal, and the reward when it is finally spotted is many-fold compared to a cheap and quick sighting, shared with 3-4 another game drivers. That’s the sort of Formula 1-safari that we avoid here at any cost, and that’s what gives the experience here that very special touch.

Uyai didn’t get to take a photo of all sightings, as he was busy tracking and also entertaining our guests, but see below some really cool shots. The leopard is out of focus (and only half in the frame), I guess Uyai was a little over-excited. 😉 all too understandable!

We do see cheetahs unusually often, for sure, but then we see the lion pride even more regularly. Last week though was an exception in the sense that we saw them quasi every day. The increased safari volume, as well as increased knowledge about their movement patterns helps a lot. And they never fail to impress our guests!

The male is now approaching fully grown status, but still 1-2 years of slight growth in him. He is a true giant now already, a real sight to be seen! And he is here to stay, as the master of the only pride on the reserve. Lucky lion indeed! Most lions get more competition than that. But because of the lack of infighting, he has no scars, which makes him all the prettier. Many male lions have injury scares all over because of the constant fighting against other males, a detail little known to many. Also interesting detail: the male lions’ manes are actually there to protect them against injuries sustained in infighting, not because they are lazy hippies. OK, they are that too, very often, by the looks of it, as they hunt very little, but eat lots (mostly what the lionesses have killed for him), and think that’s ok. So yes, it is true, a lot of males are a bunch of mooching machos, for the most part of their lives, and doing very little in the domain of rearing cubs either. But the females don’t seem to mind. Go figure. hmmmm   😉

Jesse took some nice footage of the lions, on various days. Enjoy!