To me it often still feels like the Vuyani Safari Lodge is a relatively new lodge. But that simply isn’t true. We have been running for over 7 years now, and that can only mean that we are not really the “new kid on the block” anymore. About 30 lodges have opened in the area since we launched, and we are now ranked No.1 of all safari lodges in the Hoedspruit area on Tripadvisor, so no, we are not really a challenger lodge. Far, far from it.

What I have noticed this year is that the density of sightings is totally different from what it was as recently as 2 or 3 years ago, as well as its reliability. We used to have “quiet” days, sometimes 2-3 in a row. No more! It’s 2-3 of the Big5 now every day, and then so much more … cheetahs, hippos, crocs, …

The last 2 days show what I mean. Loads of amazing sightings, and this is only a portion of what we managed to show our guests.

We saw the elephants just west of Lodge Road – they were in the thicket and munching away.

We tracked and found the Lions twice near Nyala Crossing on Riversdale. We got some amazing photos of the male and he is looking exceptionally regal. So pretty, not a single scar on him.

We knew the Rhino would be near a feeding spot and we were lucky! We saw two of them munching on the grass that has been put out. You will notice that their horns have been cut, which is a very effective way of preventing poachers. Our rhinos have no value for them!

In the evening we drove past Diep Dam and there was a large Hippo bull out of the water looking for some grass. This is a fairly rare sighting, they are usually in the water, during daytime anyway, but they don’t like to be disturbed during feeding time. But we saw this one …. fascinating.

Marie has visited the lodge several times already, and she is probably the biggest fan one can imagine (and a personal friend of mine). She even worked several weeks here, to help out last year.

She is staying with us again, right now.

Well, this morning, when out on safari, they had a bit of an … interesting encounter with our big boy elephant.

Here in her own words (ie. don’t blame me, I didn’t do it!):

We had a truly UNIQUE sighting this week …. We tracked and found two rhinos at a dam. We were watching them
approach the water to take a mud bath when the pack of wild dogs approached. They were very interested in what the rhino were doing!!

The rhinos seemed oblivious to the dogs and carried on with their mud bath. Even when the dogs approached them they did not seem to be alert at all. At one stage they did kick up a bit of dust. But that is about it. And quite frankly, if you have ever seen a rhino up-close, then you know why a rhino will not be worried by a wild dog. Not a chance.

There was a dead wildebeest already in the water when the dogs approached. They sniffed at it and inspected, but decided that they don’t want “Old Meat” 😉

What I find particularly amazing is that this sighting combined two of Africas’s very rarest animals. There are only about 3000 wild dogs out in the wild, and about 12,000 rhinos, on a continent larger than North America, Latin America and Europe COMBINED!

So the odds of seeing these two animals at the same place and at the same time are almost zero. It is a total fat tail event, ie. a black swan event. Mind-blowing stuff!

This is a question I get frequently … and I suppose, for good reason. Giraffes are amongst the most impressive animals to roam earth. They are the tallest in the world, and that alone is a very good reason to want to see them up-close, and in the flesh.

So the answer is, yes, we have giraffes here. Loads actually. In fact over 500 … at least. You will see giraffes every day here, that I can pretty much guarantee.

Here a lovely shot a couple of days ago. Cute, the little baby giraffes.

While it seems that giraffes travel in groups (called “journeys”), their social connections are very loose. They often leave a group, join another, then leave again. Sometimes they roam in large groups, sometimes, in small ones, and sometimes on their own. They are not as such herd animals, strictly speaking. But they don’t seem to mind it either. They are just quite chilled animals actually. They don’t mind the odd bird getting rid of their parasites either, so they are very tolerant. Well, if they get rid of your ticks, why would you mind? 😉