It doesn’t always have to be a kill by a lion, cheetah or leopard … all sorts of kills are interesting .. and this one was one of those that get even the most seasoned rangers such as Togara excited: A Goshawk on a fresh kill!

Turns out, on closer inspection, that this Goshawk had killed a Plated Lezard. This is a very rare thing to spot in nature, and Togara was beyond excitement. Our guests took some nice shots too. Let’s be honest … when have we ever actually seen a raptor bird on an actual kill? Probably not many of us … one can see it here, that’s for sure.

We saw lots of really amazing stuff yesterday: Cheetahs resting in the riverbed, lions, a resting rhino, cooling off in a lake, giraffes, loads of zebras, … but this one stood out! 🙂

It is often said that male lions aren’t good hunters … that might be true for many of them, but definitely not for our big boy! We found him at Groendoring on the Leopards Bend section of the reserve, and he had caught himself a tasty wildebeest as a snack. We sat with him for nearly an hour – watching him munch away. Awesome sighting, our guests were delighted. See the photos, took my breath away. What a handsome lion he has become.

We also tracked and found the cheetah brothers on a two track near Muruti. They were on the move and we got some stunning photos. We followed them for around 30 minutes before they disappeared into the thicket.

Definitely a day heavy on big cats, with a quality second to none. Great day!

It doesn’t always have to be the Big 5, a silly obsession anyway, given that most people can’t even name all 5 of them.

For experienced safari travelers, it is more seeing the very rare, and endangered, or the very special little moments in nature. And we had both yesterday!

We found a Southern Ground Hornbill, a very rare and endangered bird. It is the largest of all Hornbills, and also the most endangered. These birds grow very old, up to 75 years, so about the age of a human, in fact pretty much exactly that, and they are known for their low fertility rates. They only lay one or two eggs every 4-5 years, and if conditions aren’t perfect, not at all, and this explains their rarity. They just need very good nature conditions to reproduce. If both eggs hatch, one of the two chicks kills the other, that’s the sad way it is. Survival of the fittest … or the lucky.

It takes the parents 2-4 years to rear one chick, and then the chick stays to help with the rearing of the next chick, before leaving. That’s how complex their range of required skills is. These are clever birds, and their longevity is explained by that. Fascintating birds, really. We have more and more of them on the reserve, which is an extremely good sign. But it takes years to see the population rise, for reasons just explained. Good things take time, and this is an excellent thing.

We then ventured further, and with the help of the MRL guides and trackers, we caught up with the elephant herd. What a moving sighting, our guests loved the cute little baby elephant, always close to his (or her?) mum. What a beautiful little moment of bliss. Priceless.

Our guests were, again, really spoilt today. They are so in awe in terms of what Aggi and Hendrik are finding and showing them every day, that the word “legends” is making the rounds. Well, if one looks at what they “presented” to our guests today alone … they might just have a very good point. In any case, it was a truly outstanding day out on our reserve, full of excitement and beauty.

They found white backed vultures in the trees just having a snooze.

Then they stumbled into a young elephant bull displaying his gorgeous features in front of the cruiser. This is as exciting as it gets when out on safari. Takes your breath away, it literally does.

As we were having sundowners at Groot Dam we noticed a croc on the bank sunbathing. We went there with the guests to take a closer look. Impresive animal indeed!

Next thing we knew we found the lions at the Wildebeest Dam playing and our guests took stunning pictures of the cubs drinking water. Just take a look … wow. I am myself stunned. This is nature as beautiful, as raw and as powerful as it gets. Such a pleasure to see them do so well.

Sometimes I am actually still quite blown away myself by the sheer amount of stunning sightings and photos I receive every single day, especially with that sort of uninterrupted continuity. I don’t remember actually a  single “quiet” day, if I’m honest. The quality and quantity of truly mesmerising sightings has definitely reached a new level as of late. We see lions now 3-4 times, every single week, with almost no fault. And that’s just one example … and then there is all the other game, kudus, impala, wildebeest, there is always something new to see, especially for first-time safari guests. Every minute has its own sighting.

Well, here just 4 of the best photos taken today … let me know what you think!

It’s also a lovely time of year, and the quality of the air and low humidity levels make for crisp and as “African” photos as it gets. Truly iconic animals, in an iconic setting. Enjoy!

October is the beginning of spring time, and it usually has perfect weather. Mid-to late 20s (that’s Celsius degees not Fahrenheit), that sort of weather.

Well, we have had a major heatwave for about a week now, so it certainly doesn’t feel like spring, but more like the warmest days of summer. So a lot of our guests are chilling in their air-conditoned suites, or at the pool in-between safaris. Of course the early mornings and late afternoon/early evenings are much better when it comes to climate conditions.

Well … no matter how hot the weather, the sightings are as cool as ever.

And before I go into them,  I must say that I am impressed by the photos that Aggy takes, there are a lot of gems amongst them. The new camera also helps, of course.

Well, first off some of the best shots of our lion pride I have seen in a very long while. Iconic spots, iconic poses, to the delight of our guests. It’s worth coming all the way from Europe and America for those shots alone. I think it’s hard to disagree, if you see below.

Our lion pride, with the three lion cubs (who are really no babies anymore now, I’d say) has now grown to a very respectable size. They are, with one of the prettiest male lions south of the Kilimanjaro, most definitely a sight to be seen.

We also saw rhinos today (again!), but then bumped into two hyenas on the way back, on the Nyala road. Amazing sighting! They gave us a funny look … but then again, that’s what hyenas tend to do.

What an amazing sighting late in the day … it was a perfect time to end it there, and go for a much-deserved dinner. 🙂

 

Aggy has taken some remarkable photos of yet another outstanding day out on safari!

Togara and Aggy tracked down the cheetahs in the Mbezi river (dry at this time of the year) and got some cool photos with the Vuyani Landcruiser in the background. And why stay in it? Let’s get out of it, and walk up to the cheetahs, and take a closer look! And loads of photos in the process. You won’t get that in many places in Africa. This is as exhilirating an experience as it gets. The reason why you don’t see guests on the game driver (we are fully booked these days) is because they are right behind Aggy who took the photos. So you can imagine the excitement …

We also stumbled upon some rhino at a watering hole. The weather is hot at the moment so the rhinos are enjoying their time in the water and mud, bum in first! First things first. 😉

We also saw a beautiful Goshawk and then in the afternoon MRL radioed in that they had found some fresh Lion tracks and were going to investigate. Great news!

Steven and Diff found the male and two younger females at Caracal Pan. They were having a drink of water (what else?) and lying down. They really did not do much but sleep and sleep and sleep. We stayed with them for nearly an hour until it was fully dark. Well … there was LOADS to talk about at dinner time … this was yet again one of those amazing days out with our guests, showing them the best and most beautiful that African nature has on offer. What a privilege.

We started off the month of October with a very much deserved elephant sighting. Vuyani Safari Lodge and MRL have been tracking them for more than 5 days (which is unusual!), so this morning the guys set out determined to outsmart them today, and they did! MRL picked up the tracks and Vuyani went to assist.

In no time they spotted the herd just off the Madrid cutline (Madrid is one of the many pieces of land that constitute the huge reserve we traverse on for our safaris). The sighting was on and off as they were feeding in some pretty thick bush – but we sneaked some very beautiful photos. Also seen was the little baby elephant, who has been growing up nicely over the last months. Our guests loved that in particular.

We ended it off with a great rhino  sighting on the way back to the lodge. The rhino sighting was mind-blowing as it was very close (and in the open). Our guests took loads of photos from many different angles. Very, very cool indeed.

See the photos below and judge for yourselves! Let me know what you think, comments are always welcome! And if you are a past guest, please do feel free to email in your best shots (Bernard@vuyanilodge.com), and I will be more than happy to share them with our many fans. There are lots of guests with footage that really deserves to be shared with as many out there as possible. These are rare and endangered animals, so raising awareness, in any way, can only be a good thing. We all want our children and grand-children and in fact all future generations to witness these stunning creatures as we still do now.

What a day, what a day …

It’s been an unusual month … first high temperatures, much higher than average, and then a cold spell with rain, which is also very unusual, so early on in the season, and then it was followed up again by very high temperatures, and that’s how the month of September ended.

But on the last day it ended beautifully. Loads of sightings, lots of happy guests!

What did we see? Well, loads of giraffes, and Uyai managed a stunning photo of a giraffe journey. Beware: these animals are MUCH bigger in the flesh than on the pictures. They are a sight to be seen!

And what would an African safari be without seeing a huge croc? Well, you certainly get to see them here!

 

And last but not least, a crash of rhinos! Super rare, super impressive, a sighting that is a pure privilege, especially if it is this up-close. We sat with these white rhinos for about 20min, taking loads of photos. Amazing, just amazing.

We then heard on the radio that fresh lion tracks had been spotted on Muruti and we decided to investigate after drinks stop.
MRL beat us to it and Diff found the female with the cubs on the move. We followed them for a while and they settled near a little water pan – we stayed with them for about 20 minutes or so and then turned down for dinner at the lodge.

Wow, what an amazing end to September. We are looking forward to spring time in October. This day was a very good omen indeed!