Not sure what title to put in … maybe “Lovely day out on safari”?

Because that’s what it was, most definitely …

We started our safari with a warthog vigorously digging for juicy roots with his snout, we watched him for a good 10 minutes and then pressed on in search of “The big Ones”. Well, the guys did not disappoint.

We tracked and found a White Rhino in a dried up riverine near Pieter Janneke’s Khaya, he rolled around in the sand for a bit and then got up and strolled off …

We decided to make our way to Porcupine Dam and on the road we “bumped” into Mr. Grumpy Pants. He was actually quite relaxed for a change and even posed for some great photos. We stayed with him until he disappeared into the brush. Amazing, and our guests got quite some stunning shots.

Next moment we saw some movement along the track and it turned out it to be two Leopard Tortoises.
Big and Small….. They were on a “mission” and trudging ferociously over the “hills” 😉 . They kept us entertained for a good 15 minutes. It’s acually super cute.

Togara and Aggy stopped near the Leadwood boundry for sundowners and went to inspect the Hyena den…but there was no movement. We captured a stunning sunset and some cool group photos with our Fisher/Arnett/Paskin & Muir group all the way from Canada.

The next morning we set out to look for the cheetahs – Aggy had been tracking them for quite some time on foot and along with the MRL guides we found them near the Khaya Ndlovu cutline on a kill. They had taken down a young kudu bull. The two boys were thoroughly enjoying their feast and you can see how round and full their bellies are. They obviously flopped down for some serious nap time after their meal and we left them sleeping soundly.

Hendrick filled in for Togara on morning drive today and he was determined to find the Lions. They were on Leopard’s Bend hidden in a VERY thick area down a riverine. Hendrick made his way through the thicket with the “Tank – Land Cruiser” and true to his word the guests had their Lion Sighting. The guys most definitely go to all lengths to show our guests the animals they want to see … 🙂

What can I say? After a few days of on and off rain, it’s all back to nature’s best … and yesterday was, again, one of those days when it all comes together, and our guests return with big smiles on their faces. And that for very good reasons.

The cheetahs were tracked and found on Leopards Bend – They were taking a nap (as usual), not very interested in the vehicle – we decided to press on after about 10 minutes. We see cheetahs nowadays almost every day … and that’s one of the things that makes us famous.

We tracked and found a rhino, he was very relaxed and was munching away at the newly sprouted grass shoots. We spent around 15 Minutes just watching him graze. It was a cool sighting as we got pretty close (pretty is a massive understatement). It is hard to imagine the sheer size of these things … but just to give you an idea … they weigh about 7-8 times more than a cow. Rhinos are truly huge!

We then saw Vervet Monkeys crossing the road. Always good for some laughs, they are very entertaining animals indeed. We know why 😉

Along with MRL we tracked and found the lions on Moria near Jackal Plains – they were on the move and then suddenly fell down to take a nap. We eventually left them moving into the thicket near the Big Jackalberry tree on the southern part of Moditlo.

We also saw Dwarf Mongoose peeking out of a termite mound and white Backed Vulture scouting the afternoon sunlight for some food.

Actually we saw loads of other animals: giraffes, eagles, knob billed ducks, …

But I think you get the idea. When you go on safari with our guides, you’ll see loads of animals, and that’s guaranteed. One never knows exactly what, but it is always lots.

We have had some drizzle – again! We have had such a long dry season, and we were getting very concerned.  Then 4 days ago, for the first time ever in living memory, we got a huge hale storm, which caused a lot of damage to many cars in the area. We were spared though, so lucky us. Since then, the weather has been extremely unpredictable and can change in seconds.

This morning was the first sunny morning we have had in days. We tracked the elephants deep into the south of Moditlo, it took us around 45 minutes to find them – so the reward was fantastic! We had a great sighting and the matriarch was cool, calm and collected. We spent quite a bit of time with them as we worked hard for this sighting.

Uyai tracked the lions up into Bloubank and found them on a fresh wildebeest kill. Two of the females and the cubs! The kill must have happened in the night. They were not phased by us and had eaten most of the carcass already. Clearly, all help came too late for this wildebeest. 😉 The lions were taking periodic naps and we sat with them for quite some time. Amazing memories for our guests …. this is the sort of sightings for which you fly all the way over here.

With the sunshine today and the rain we’ve had we are sure that the bush will be flourishing this afternoon. The cycle of life begins anew!

We achieved 2000 fans on our Facebook page a couple of days ago, and currently stand at 2018 fans … and getting to that amount of fans kind of made me sit down, and reflect on all the many things that have been going on here at the Vuyani Safari Lodge, the thousands of guests we have hosted here … it’s staggering what has been achieved here. The reserve is now one of the most vibrant wildlife sanctuaries in South Africa, with many of the world’s most endangered and rarest animals thriving and growing in number: Southern Ground Hornbills, wild dogs, White Rhinos, the super rare black Rhinos, elephants, cheetahs, and so many others … It’s a life’s worth of achievement, it certainly feels that way.

So when I looked at the photos of yesterday’s sightings, I had a big smile on my face. What we have done here might only be a drop in the ocean, or maybe it’s more than that, but all the years of hard work, worries, everything, it was worth it. We have done our bit to change the world, and we are not only proud of that, we are even more so immensely grateful for the many thousands of guests who have visited us over the years. It’s to them that we all, and also the reserve, owe everything. Some guests might not be aware of it, but they are the real heroes here.

Here some of the best photos taken yesterday. Greetings to all our fans! You are always welcome at the Vuyani Safari Lodge! 🙂

The herd of Ellies kept us entertained as one of the little ones decided that it is just too hot and flopped down in the middle of the herd. It was amazing how carefully the adults stepped around it and protected the little one.

Two young bulls were play fighting and showing off for us. The matriarch made sure we didn’t venture too close
making her presence known. It was a great sighting just north of MRL and we were the only vehicle in the sighting so we spent nearly an hour with them, with all our guests. Amazing quality sighting of the world’s largest mammal. Actually, that’s not quite true … largest mammal living on land! Quite some whales are bigger.

We also saw lions, and quite a few other animals, but yesterday’s sighting du jour was the elephants – top quality, and amazing footage too. Our guests had loads of smiles on their faces when they got bacl to the lodge.

Usually the rainy season starts in October and builds over November …. but this year, temperatures got unusually high in August and September, and the rainy season hasn’t gotten going yet … so things have gotten awfully dry. If we don’t get some good rain soon, then first animls will start being in trouble.

Until then … of course, it’s all about tying themselves over, and that only works by means of getting regular water supplies at waterholes, and they are now also starting to run quite low. So they are getting busy. For us and our guests, this is actually very interesting, because we tend to see a lot of game, quasi queuing up at these waterholes, and it makes for stunning photos.

See some of the ones we took yesterday … gives you an idea of what’s going on. From a safari tourist point of view, it’s fascinating stuff.

Some days start off a bit quiet, and as things get going, it keeps getting better and better, and by the end of the day, you know that it was one of the best days out on safari that month. And today was one of those days.

But see for yourselves (and these are just the highlights!)

After three days trying to track the elephants, finally we got to see them crossing the road at the Essen cutline and bok- makiri. You could see that they were having a get together family moment along with the small baby elephant. Cuter than cute. Our guests were ecstatic about seeing this little cutie pie.

A few minutes later after our coffee break, east of cotton field Hendrick & Aggy spotted again two cheetahs (we had seen two other cheetahs earlier that day, how crazy is that?) who had killed a baby wildebeest, and who seemed to be having a good breakfast meal.

On our way back to the lodge, we then picked up fresh lion tracks (male & female lion) and we found them south of the River Lodge on a dried riverbed, just relaxing there. Our guests took loads of stunning photos …

Well, this was a day to treasure for our guests, for a lifetime actually. And I didn’t even mention the rhino we saw, chilling in the water, or the giraffes we saw, and the many birds, … the blog story would just get too long.

This reserve keeps getting better and better, for all our guests who have visited us in the past … come back, and enjoy some of the best safaris you can get in South Africa. It’s never been better than now!

If you’re hot, and you don’t have high tech solutions, and it gets desperate, then desperate measures are called for … and that’s what that looks like!

What a way to chill, literally. Hilarious. Our guests were very amused, and understandably so. To see such a “cool” rhino is as such already exciting enough, but in this pose, that’s quite special.

That said, he’s been seen like that before (obviously only in the warm season), but that doesn’t mean it isn’t special to see such a rare rhino. There are not even 20,000 rhinos left in the world anymore, and of those 20,000 about 90% live in South Africa. So this country, with its odd 50 reserves or so, plays a central role in the long-term conservation of this seriously endangered species. It is a struggle that is taken very seriously here, and with the de-horning program here, as well as anti-poaching units, so far, we have done very well. This is also thanks to our many guests which are pivotal long-term funders for all conservation efforts here.

So when you visit, don’t feel guilty, not for one second, but actually the opposite. We are not only delighted to welcome you here to this small piece of nature paradise, but we appreciate you also as a part of the long-term solution. Without our many guests, this reserve would not survive long-term, and that’s something we are always mindful of and grateful for.

Our guests are more than welcome here, and the wildlife is thanking you for your visit! 🙂

Today, we had some cool Lion and rhino sightings … and some seriously happy guests.

We tracked and found the Lions in a pan area on Leopards Bend – it has been VERY hot with the temperatures going up to around 37 Degrees. The lions were so lazy and hot that they had flopped down in the watering hole trying to cool down. Nice.

We also saw a crash of White Rhinos – near the vehicle and we found a half munched Kudu that was overtaken by Vultures. Gruesome, but how interesting is that? That’s nature … nothing is left over. Fascinating stuff.

Our guests posed for us on drinks stop and we got some cool “viewing” picks with Tom and Kim.

I have been immensely busy with new bookings over the last few days, and so it has been a little frustrating to not being able to share the many outstanding and beautiful sightings we have had last week. Time to catch up!

No better day than yesterday, our guests really enjoyed some very unique moments, to say the very least.

We had a cool sighing of Giraffe lying down and spent a while with them as this is quite a seldom sighting.

The highlight of our safari yesterday were the lions – the male is truly magnificent and we had quite a “show” as he was mating with the older Lioness. Naughty boy! 😉

After all that excitement, it was off to the Porcupine Lake, to enjoy the sunset, and a few lovely gin and tonics! 🙂