Morning Drive

(Chad and Shaddy)

4 x lions (Machaton Pride – 3 young males, 1 female hunting buffalo) – Java, Whitey’s Rest

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Java, Whitey’s Rest

1 x elephant bull – Argyle, Buffalo Pan Access

Afternoon Drive

(Chad and Herold)

4 x lions (Machaton Pride – 3 young males, 1 female hunting buffalo) – Java, Crossing Below Java

1 x leopard (Xiviti male) – Peru, Concrete Crossing

2 x rhinos

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Java, Crossing Below Java

3 x elephant bulls – Karans, Moeniejag Crossing

Daily Synopsis

Waking up to a somewhat gloomy morning, I headed out for a shorter-than-usual drive with my guests who were all checking out early today.  I decided to just stay in the north and went to check the Wedge to see if there was any sign of the Jacaranda Pride coming back, but sadly the game along our northern boundary didn’t play along and we only got to see a lone giraffe.

Making our way to Argyle Dam, we passed a bushbuck ewe and fawn, and had the usual hippos, impala and waterbuck at the dam.

Moving towards the Nhlaralumi, there were fresh leopard tracks, but they crossed into Ingwelala, and we bumbled about not seeing much besides a lone elephant bull.

As time was almost up, we moved back towards the camp and the game picked-up seeing baboons, impala, waterbuck and zebras.  The other guides had managed to find the Machaton Pride still following the buffalo herd as it moved towards Java Airstrip, but it was a ”quiet” by comparison to the rest, but considering all my guests had seen on the previous days, there were still sad faces that they were leaving.

In the afternoon, I took out some guests from Ingwelala for just one drive, and they certainly picked a good drive to join!  Besides seeing all of the Big 5, we also saw loads of general game!!!

Starting off with impalas as we made our way to Argyle Dam, we first hit a large herd of waterbuck in the river below the dam.  We also got lucky and found all seventeen hippos fast asleep outside the water; surprisingly for me, they stayed there for some time before realizing we were there and charging back into the water!  The large crocodile was also out basking as the clouds still hung in the air.

More waterbuck, impala, and a large male kudu showed themselves before we hit Concrete Crossing, and I told my guests to keep a lookout for the leopard that had been spending so much time in that area the last few days, but we saw nothing.  I thus felt a bit embarresed when another vehicle drove past not 3 minutes later and called in Xiviti male leopard…at Concrete Crossing.  Needless to say I was joining the sighting moment later as he approached his favourite pool to look for fish.

It is such a magic setting by the crossing with all the rocks, and we watched as Xiviti walked around totally unphased by our presence.

He then came to another small pond and showed great interest in the fish there!  He walked around and around, tapping at the water from time to time before eventually actually being brave enough to climb in, belly-deep, but all he came out with was a waterplant!

Leaving a rather spectacular sighting, I moved on south hoping to find the lions near the buffalo herd, as Difference was on the tracks heading straight for where the herd had been relocated, and by the time I got down to the herd, they had to stop tracking as the tracks walked into the middle of the huge herd!  On the way south, we bumped into giraffe, more waterbuck, impala, two male rhinos and eventually the large buffalo herd.

The size of the herd is seriously impressive, and Johannes soon spotted the lions in front of Machaton Cottage.  I got to see them as they moved towards the trough, so went around just in front of Herold and was searching the western bank when he told me to come quick, they were on top of a buffalo at Crossing Below Java!  I put foot and bounced towards the area, in an attempt to get there before it was too late (luckily I managed not to lose any one along the way), but on arriving at the crossing, the other buffalos had already chased the lions off, and they went to rest on the middle island.  The pride then moved to the trough, had a drink and made their way towards the buffalo herd again.  Sadly, news also filtered through from the south that the two Mabande male lions were coming back north from Machaton Dam, straight for the buffalo, and it is almost certain that they will encounter the Machaton Pride if they keep their course.  Will see what tomorrow brings on the lion front!

So, having had some great viewing, we headed home, passing the buffalo again, a herd of wildebeest, a distant bushbaby, and at last, a group of elephant bulls to complete the Big 5 and a really fantastic drive to end off a work cycle!

It has been a pleasure sharing my sightings with you all the last week, as the viewing has been some of the best I have experienced for some time – so I hope that you have been enjoying reading about it too.

Sadly Grant, Keith and I are on leave for the next week, so we shall not be having any blog updates for a while, but normal services will resume next week!  Why not go and browse our archives if need some reading material, and see what we saw this time last year?

Catch up again soon!

Cheers,

Chad

Morning Drive

(Chad, Godfrey, Shaddy and Keith)

4 x lions (Machaton Pride – 3 young males, 1 female hunting buffalo) – Mbali, Buffalo Kill Rd

1 x leopard (Skittish male) – Peru, Old Gate Link

2 x rhinos

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Mbali, Dung Beetle Drive

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Jack’s Camp Crossing

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Lily Pan

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Woza-Woza Cutline

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Java, Tamboti Link

2 x elephant bulls – Mbali, Aardvark Rd

Afternoon Drive

(Chad and Shaddy)

4 x lions (Machaton Pride) – Peru, Mbali River Rd

3 x lions (Mafikizolo Pride – 3 lionesses) – Peru, Mbali River Rd

2 x rhinos

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Peru, Mbali River Rd

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Concrete Crossing

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Pan Rd

Daily Synopsis

After a wonderful afternoon with lions yesterday, my mission today was to go and search for the buffalo herd, and possibly some elephants if they were around, so I set off to the area where the buffalos had been seen yesterday afternoon, and with 500-plus members in the herd, it didn’t take us long to find them, but annoyingly, they were right in the middle of a block consisting of thick combretum and terminalia trees, so we only got to enjoy the members on the outskirts of the herd, but decided that we would try again in the afternoon.  On the way there, we had come across a few elephant bulls, but decided to leave them in favour of searching for some herds a bit later in the morning.

Leaving the buffalo, we moved towards where Makra had earlier seen a nice herd of elephants, and while talking about a termite mound, we got their audio, and with a bit of searching soon found a herd of twenty-two elephants on a mission towards the Nhlaralumi Riverbed.  Their intent gave us a number of opportunities to get in front of the herd and have them walk right past us to everyone’s sheer delight!

As the herd made their way down to the riverbed, we got into a wonderful position to sit and just enjoy the whole herd digging for water and drinking in warming morning sunlight.  At one point something spooked the herd and they gave us a demonstration on how they calves ran into the middle of the cluster of adults that encircled the youngsters, all facing outwards in a defensive posture.  On realizing that there was no danger, the herd resumed drinking, so we left them to go and grab a cup of coffee.

Making our way home along the Nhlaralumi, we enjoyed kudu, impalas, baboons, and relocated the large herd of buffalo all resting in the Nhlaralumi close to the waterpools where Mbali Dam once stood.

While taking in the splendor of the herd, Petros simply raised his hand and pointed.  I felt like telling him “yes, I can see” the buffalo, but when he uttered the words “ngala”, I swung around to see the four Machaton lions sitting on the opposite bank watching the buffalo!  It didn’t take long for them to go for some of the isolated bulls on the outskirts of the herd, but as has been their story the last few days, they failed to get hold of one and the buffalo went stampeding off a short distance.

The lions regrouped in the same spot and started watching the rest of the herd, but as it was already late in the morning, we knew that they would soon rest up and we headed off back to the lodge after another stunning drive.

In the afternoon, I headed out east to see if there was any sign of life out there, but sadly the answer was no!  We saw impala, a lone hippo and some lovely scenery, but in general, it was very quiet.  Some rhinos had been located, so I headed off in that direction and managed to get into the sighting just after sunset and found them grazing around, almost non-stop!  It was the first time that I had ever actually appreciated just how “non-stop” their feeding is!!!

Oh yes, I almost forgot!  We also popped in to see the new hyena den and got lucky in seeing the cubs, but truth be told, it is a horrible den for game viewing as it is covered in trees and roots, but perfect for the hyenas!

Leaving them, I went for a late drink stop in the Nhlaralumi.  As we packed up, I heard growling and asked the guests to hush – the unmistakable growls of lions then got everyone excited and we jumped aboard and rushed to the area a few hundred metres away and located on two young Machaton males growling at a female lion and another hidden in the grass – assuming it was their pride members at first, that all changed when I saw a third lion moving in the grass behind…five lions?  The mystery lions whose tracks had been around in the morning (with cub tracks) all suddenly fell into place – this was the three Mafikizolo females, and seeing that one of them was lactating, it confirmed the presence of nearby cubs!!!  Their presence created an interesting dynamic at the sighting, and while they were growling, it was the two Machaton males that made the first move and charged in at the three lionesses, but they held their ground, and it was nothing more than a shouting match!

The other two Machatons arrived, but despite outnumbering the Mafikizolos, they didn’t push home the advantage and actually walked off.  It was only when one of the Mafikizolo lionesses tried to roar that they all turned around and came back to put her in her place (well, as far as they could seeing as it isn’t actually the Machaton’s territory either!).  Standing only 4m from eachother, there was a lot of growling, but neither side seemed committed enough to make a move and both parties actually went their own ways and so did we after another adrenalin filled drive!  We got lucky and saw a civet on the road home.  With such a great run of game-viewing continuing, I really cant wait to see what tomorrow brings on my last day on this work cycle!

Morning Drive

(Chad, Shaddy and Keith)

8 x lions (Jacaranda Pride – 5 males and 3 females) – Argyle, Jan’s Rd

4 x lions (Machaton Pride – 3 young males, 1 female hunting buffalo) – Java, Buffalo Kill Rd

3 x leopards (Nthombi and two cubs) – Masungula, 1^st Sharalumi Crossing

1 x rhinos

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Mbali, Buffalo Kill Rd

10 x buffalo bulls – Masungula, Masungula-Albert Cutline

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Klipgat Crossing

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Mbali, Buffalo Kill Rd

Afternoon Drive

(Chad, Godfrey, Herold, Shaddy and Keith)

8 x lions (Jacaranda Pride – 5 males and 3 females) – Argyle, Jan’s Rd

4 x lions (Machaton Pride – 3 young males, 1 female hunting buffalo) – Java, Buffalo Kill Rd

3 x leopards (Nthombi and two cubs) – Masungula, 1^st Sharalumi Crossing

1 x leopard (Xiviti male) – Peru, Concrete Crossing

2 x rhinos

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Mbali, Terminalia

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Mbali, Buffalo Kill Rd

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Jaydee, Tamboti Pan

1 x elephant bull – Argyle, Buffalo Pan Access

Daily Synopsis

Carrying on with my catch up session, I just want to wish a “belated” happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there (and of course, especially my own fantastic dad – sorry I couldn’t be with you today, but will have a glass of wine when I am back next week!); and while not real fathers per se, some wonderful big boys did pay us a special visit today as the Jacaranda Pride popped in for a visit.

The day started with Shaddy finding lion tracks on the airstrip, but no sooner had he started tracking when Christof from Simbavati found them just west of the Nhlaralumi riverbed and Shaddy and Keith headed over there.  I had another mission, to get south and hopefully get to see Nthombi and her cubs, so off I set down Western Cutline, not seeing much at all as we went beside impalas, steenbuck and duiker.

Luckily the leopards had been found at the den site, and followed less than 100m to a duiker kill on the dense banks of the Nhlaralumi.  We had to wait a short while to get into the sighting, but eventually did and got to spend a wonderful 45-minutes or so with the family as they moved about in the undergrowth, chewing on a few bones and chasing one another around, up and down trees, and in the long grass.  As good a sighting as it was, sadly the thick bush didn’t allow for great photo opportunities, but it was such a privilege to spend time with the leopards going about their business as if we weren’t there.

We had to make space for some other game viewing vehicles, and went to follow up on some fighting male rhinos further west, and passed a group of bachelor buffalo bulls before arriving in the area to find no rhinos.  Petros went on foot while I went for a coffee stop, and when I went for a wee behind a bush, I found one of the rhinos just standing there staring at me…never did get to have my wee!  After packing up the coffee, we went to view him and he eventually made his way to the water for a drink, with some fresh wounds on his face already attracting the attention of the oxpeckers.

Making our way back north, I was hoping to join the exciting sighting that Keith was having of the Machaton Pride trying to catch buffalo again (well, that, and him getting horribly stuck in his Land Rover!), but in the end we had to by-pass the sighting but did see some good general game along the road home – a buffalo herd, two herds of elephants in the Nhlaralumi Riverbed, impala, kudu, waterbuck, giraffes, and nyala before closing at camp for the morning.

In the afternoon, I wasn’t planning on going far, and with my new guests, just wanted to see male lions for them.  We started easy with impalas and steenbuck, but not a great deal else.  Then we came across some kudus and zebras and spent time talking about them, before finding a load of game where the Jacarandas had been in the morning – waterbuck, impala, baboons, zebras and kudus.  Herold had relocated the eight lions, but they were in thick bush, so I took my time to get to them, and moved around in the north enjoying giraffe, waterbuck, a lone elephant bull and more impalas until the sun was ready to set, and we moved towards the lions.

With the impalas alarm calling, we knew they were close and arrived just as the lions all got active and were watching the impalas.  One by one the pride members passed us, and we followed them as the nearby calls of hyenas got their attention.

The two hyenas were all brave until they spotted the force they were to be up against and made a retreat, and the lions moved off in the opposite direction and seven of the lions plopped themselves down on a grassy termite mound as the sunset – what a truly magical scene that had my guests oooohing and aaahing!  The lions also posed for some wonderful photographic opportunities along the way.

Eventually number 8 joined them, but the approach of some hyenas got the attention of three lions that moved in that direction to chase them off, and we parted company after almost an hour in their presence – magical indeed!

To complete a really fantastic drive, as we were crossing the Nhlaralumi, bright eyes on the opposite bank caught our attention, and we immediately knew it was a leopard – while at first the head looked small and like Tingana, when it got up, it immediately became evident that it was Xiviti, and he walked across the rocks, had a drink and then sauntered off, leaving us a short drive back to the camp (seeing a white-tailed mongoose on the way) to end off a lovely Father’s Day in the bush!

Morning Drive

(Chad, Herold, Shaddy and Keith)

4 x lions (Machaton Pride – 3 young males, 1 female) – Peru, Jack’s Camp

1 x leopard (Nthombi female with impala kill) – Masungula, Mangawaan Rd

2 x rhinos

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Java, Leopard Rock Hide

5 x buffalo bulls – Argyle, Western Sohebele River Rd

4 x buffalo bulls – Argyle, Long Rd

1 x buffalo bull – Java, Java Airstrip

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Jaydee, Jaydee River Rd

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Goya Rd

1 x elephant bull – Jaydee, Confluence Crossing

Afternoon Drive

(Chad, Herold, Shaddy and Keith)

3 x leopards (Nthombi and two cubs) – Masungula, 1^st Sharalumi Crossing

4 x lions (Machaton Pride killing a honey badger) – Mbali, Impala Rd

2 x rhinos

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Jaydee, Confluence Crossing

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Illegal Crossing

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Masungula, Nyosi Confluence

1 x elephant – Mbali, Buffalo Kill Rd

Daily Synopsis

Once again it didn’t take me long to slip behind in the blog posts, but with all the amazing sightings of late, they blogs are taking longer to post, so I guess that is not the worst scenario in the world!!!

Today saw me dead keen to head south and see Nthombi and cubs having missed out on them last night; so I began a bit earlier than the others to head south, but was soon told that while there was a bit of meat left on the tree, the leopards were nowhere to be seen, and I half-heartedly changed my plans to rather go check the east.  I had no sooner turned off Western Cutline when I was informed that Nthombi was with the cubs at the den, so back to Plan A it was and I headed back in that direction after stopping to enjoy some impalas.

Moving south, there wasn’t much about besides impalas, but we did hear that Nthombi had left the cubs and was going back to the kill alone – not what we wanted, but not the worst thing in the world either (and yes, that is my line for the day!).

Passing nyala, kudus, impala and giraffes, and a massive herd of buffalos that got our attention for some time – they were spread far and wide, and our guestimates for the herd size were all upwards of 500 individuals!

Moving on, we soon arrived to find Nthombi up in the knobthorn tree munching on the impala’s head – it was amazing how much she managed to get off it!  After some wonderful time with her, we carried on and stopped off for a cup of coffee.

On the way back to the camp, we passed a small herd of elephants as well as a really old, and really large elephant bull – all in close proximity to the large buffalo herd that were now sleeping in the Nhlaralumi Riverbed.  The other guides got to see the Machaton Pride again after they spent the night resting in the same spot – luckily they were more lively than last night and eventually moved off in the general direction of the buffalo herd.

Receiving new guests in the afternoon, I just planned to take it easy and bumbled about around Argyle Dam seeing hippos, impalas, waterbuck and a lovely journey of giraffes.

Making a trip to the central area to look for the buffalo, we managed to see more impalas, kudu and even came across a couple of rhinos grazing in the last light of the day.

Leaving them, we made our way towards the buffalos as they again criss-crossed the Nhlaralumi Riverbed providing for a wonderful setting as the last light of the day faded.

The Machaton Pride had also ended up in the riverbed further to the north, but had later gotten mobile to the east, and good ol’ Johannes managed to relocate on them as I made my way north to join him…little did I know what a sighting we were about to have!

As I was getting close, Johannes told me that they appeared to be stalking something, but he couldn’t see what…then, as I got to 200m away, he told me that the pride was going after a honey badger, and knowing how ferocious those little critters are, I was dead-keen to see them holding their own against the four lions that were no doubt just having a bit of fun!

Pulling into the area, the air was thick with the stench of honey badger anal gland excretions – something they do as a defense mechanism, as if vice-like jaws and the cockiest attitude of all African animals was not enough…it was thus honestly a huge surprise to me to arrive in the sighting and realize that indeed, all of those defenses were indeed not enough!!!

There, in front of us, were two of the Machaton boys tugging on either end of the squealing honey badger!!!  Somehow, they had managed to get hold of one, but amazingly, the other honey badger (they live in bonded pairs) was still running around the lions trying to bite them in a heart-wrenchingly brave attempt to help his partner!  Sadly though, his best efforts only momentarily distracted the lions that now tried to catch him too, but he ran off before returning another three times in an ever vainer attempt to rescue his doomed partner.

The sounds of the honey badger slowly started fading, but the bouquet of anal secretions continued to keep us company as eventually, after about 10-15 minutes, the brave little honey badger gave up the fight and the lions began to play with their now-dead prize.  Running off with the badger’s body in a game of chase, the two lions frolicked around as mom and the third boy showed almost no desire to put their muzzles anywhere near where the now over-powering smell was originating from.  Pulling forward, we hit a pocket of the odour, and it was enough to almost make Petros retch!!!  It was, without doubt, the most awful thing I have ever smelt – not even our previous “best” week-old dead-buffalo came close to the smell in that sighting (I could almost say, “the worst in the world!”)!  It added to a truly sensory sighting that will be imprinted on my mind for years to come.  As amazed as we all were regarding what we had seen, there was a touch of sadness at having watched a little creature like that die “needlessly” (in the sense that it wasn’t killed for food), but, being nature, we all accepted that this is the way of the natural world, but we were all grateful for having the privilege of being able to witness nature in its rawest form!

There wasn’t much on the way back, but with such a great day of viewing under our belts, we were all very delighted, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the boma before heading to bed in anticipation of what tomorrow holds.

13^th June Morning Drive

(Chad, Grant, Shaddy and Keith)

1 x caracal – Scholtz, Mananga Cutline

2 x leopards (Nthombi and cub with impala kill) – Masungula, Mangawaan Rd

4 x elephant bulls – Java, Java Dam Access

1 x elephant bull – Java, Java Dam

1 x elephant bull – De Luca, Mpela-pela Access

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Scholtz, Repair Dam

5 x buffalo bulls – Scholtz, Shooting Range Rd

13^th June Afternoon Drive

(Chad, Grant and Keith)

4 x lions (Machaton Pride – 3 young males, 1 female with Zebra kill) – Peru, Xinkovanin Rd North

3 x leopards (Nthombi and two cubs with impala kill) – Masungula, Mangawaan Rd

1 x leopard (Xiviti male) – Peru, Boolala Rd

2 x rhinos

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Tshabalala Rd

14^th June Morning Drive

(Chad, Grant and Keith)

2 x lions (Mabande and Ximpoko males) – Scholtz, Zebra Entrance Rd

3 x leopards (Nthombi female and cubs with Impala kill) – Masungula, Mangawaan Rd

1 x leopard (Umfana male) – Java, Sjambok Pod Rd

1 x leopard (Java Dam female) – Java, Java Access

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Scholtz, Some obscure road

1 x buffalo bull – Karans, Western Cutline

1 x elephant bull – Scholtz, Karans-Scholtz Cutline

14^th June Afternoon Drive

(Chad, Herold, Shaddy and Keith)

4 x lions (Machaton Pride – 3 young males, 1 female) – Peru, Jack’s Camp

3 x leopards (Nthombi female and cubs with Impala kill) – Masungula, Mangawaan Rd

2 x rhinos

1 x rhino

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Java, Palm Crossing

4 x buffalo bulls – Jaydee, Tamboti Pan

5 x buffalo bulls – Argyle, Argyle Dam

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Illegal Crossing

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Jack’s Camp

1 x elephant bull –Jaydee, Tamboti Pan

1 x elephant bull –Masungula, Masungula Cutline

Daily Synopsis

Greetings again folks, I’m back on blog after another stint doing some behind-the-scenes work at the lodge, and after hearing about all the great game viewing I missed out on, it was great to get back on drive!

Having started off with a chilled drive yesterday evening that saw me finding a herd of elephants and a couple of rhinos, I was keen for some cats in the morning, so we headed off on a cold and chilly morning in the dark.  Soon Keith found tracks for the Jacaranda Pride very close to camp and began tracking to the east, so I tried to help in my trackerless-state and went to check on one of their favourite waterholes in the east, but sadly there was not much about.  Hearing that Nthombi was not present with the cubs at the kill meant that the sighting was closed down for a while, so I bumbled around in the east before heading onto Java where we eventually started finding signs of life in the form of three great elephant bulls, and a while later, another large bull elephant feeding only metres from my vehicle!

After coffee and some kudus, we moved south and had a large group of giraffes before going to check up on the leopards, and luckily found Nthombi as we were driving into the area – She walked to where the kill was, and up in the tree was one of the cubs feeding on the carcass.

The little thing was super cute, but desperately wanted to go and join mom, but unfortunately for it, it had no idea how to get down the rather large knobthorn tree!  It was crying and whining and trying its best to figure it out, but soon gave up and went back to feed before once again trying unsuccessfully to get down.

As it was now late in the morning, we headed back to camp, hearing the good news that the Machaton Pride had been found in the north, so at least something for the afternoon – good news especially as the Jacaranda’s had been tracked off our eastern boundary.

In the afternoon, I took it easy and slowly headed towards Argyle dam for hippos, waterbuck, impalas and steenbuck before a report of a leopard along the Nhlaralumi was called in. I went to check the area, saw waterbuck and impala, and eventually got lucky when Xiviti crossed the road just in front of us.  As he walked, he came across a herd of kudus that quickly spotted him and gave the alarm, so he changed direction and came across a sounder of warthogs, but they spotted him, squealed and ran off before he could get close enough to pose a threat, despite a half-hearted chase!

We moved to the lions and enjoyed them feeding on the remains of another young zebra kill, before we moved off and went for a drink and headed off back to the lodge, passing some grazing hippos along the way.

The morning had a mission to head south to go and see Nthombi, but hearing that Rudi from Karans had heard roaring lions near his camp, Grant and I went to follow up there first.  I was about to drop my tracker off with Petros when Grant bumped into the two Mabande males as they made their way east through some mopane thickets.  Despite our efforts, we lost them after a very short view, but luckily they picked up on the scent of some buffalo and began stalking them, and Grant soon relocated them, so we jumped ahead to rejoin.

The two males purposefully made their way closer, but all it resulted in was a rather poor attempt at the nervous buffalo herd, but soon lost interest and went to sleep, sow e went to see the buffalo before moving on after another quality sighting!

Keith had spent a large part of the morning with Umfana male leopard, so I headed in that direction, but stopped for some impalas along the way.  They soon alarm called, so on investigating, we found Java Dam female leopard stalking them in the grass ahead!  Knowing her, and knowing there was a more relaxed leopard close by, we didn’t pursue her when she moved off upon being seen by the impalas.

As we drove around to the other side of the herd, Umfana male was stalking them from the north – talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place!

Sadly they saw him too and he walked off south before we parted company and headed back to the lodge.

With new guests in the afternoon, I had a chilled drive, and just did my own thing.  I was going to go and see Nthombi and cubs on the kill, but the sighting was so busy that I opted out of it, and enjoyed leisurely viewing of impalas, zebras, steenbuck, giraffe, waterbuck and a herd of elephants along the riverbed.

Moving back to the north towards where the Machaton lions were, we found a couple of rhinos grazing near the road so spent time with them.

Passing zebras and giraffes, we moved towards the lions who were the next port of call, but with fat-bellies, they didn’t do much besides rest, and only some passing guineafowl and a nearby herd of elephants got their occasional intention before they all drifted off to sleep again, so we left for a drink and a return to camp.

Despite their lack of action, with four other hunting scenarios in the last couple of drives, no one was complaining!  Look forward to seeing what surprised tomorrow has for us!

Photo of the Day

Morning Drive

(Keith, Shadrack, Grant & Marka)

3 x Leopard, Ntombi & Cubs – Mangawane rd, Masungulo

1 x Breeding Herd of Elephant – Java Access, Java

1 x Breeding Herd of Elephant – Woza Woza, Peru

1 x Elephant Bull – Java Dam, Java

Afternoon Drive

(Grant, Keith, Marka & Shadrack)

3 x Leopard, Ntombi & Cubs – Mangawane rd, Masungulo

2 x Rhino

1 x Breeding herd of Elephant – Mbali River Rd, Peru

Daily Synopsis

Hello everyone it’s good to back on blog duty albeit for only two days. Looks like the sightings have been excellent in my absence and thanks to grant for holding up the fort for the past few days.

The morning’s mission for me was to find some grey beasts of the large and wrinkly kind s well as the hope of following up on the big herd of Buffalo that have been seen in and around Scholtz for the previous few days.

I set off to find them on the hunch that they would be somewhere near Kudu Pan heading north bt after the first hour niether hide nor hair of them could be found. I thought that they may have changed direction and headed to Java soon off I went.  Getting to Java I bumped into a small herd of Elephant but only managed to view them briefly as they had better places to be obviously so after they had made off into some thick bush I carried on to Java Dam where I found a lovely young Elephant Bull having a drink and parding around in the morning sun…truth be told I could have quiet easily have joined him as being my first morning back on drive since the cold snap I was battling to acclimatise and was looking more like an eskimo than anything else.

We enjoyed the young bull for a while before meandering off in search of other sightings. The rest of the morning was spent looking but not finding but we were rewarded with some great general game. We responded to a sighting of two young male lions that were seen further south arriving there we found one of the Machaton Males and an unknown male who as you will see from the pics is a rather good looking chap.

After morning coffee we made our way back to the lodge in anticipation of the morning bush breakfast on the banks of the Sohebele River.

Just before I arrived a southern station had located Ntombi and was following her and the cubs to what we all hope would a be a kill. Everyone hopes were realised as she guided the cubs to a fresh Impala kill close to Elephant Dam…good news for the afternoon.

The Bush Breakfast did not disappoint and we are looking forwrard to many more of these as we head further into winter…

So the afternoon plan was clear I was shooting down to the south in the hope of finding Ntombi and her litter feasting on her Impala kill. Shadrack had the same idea as did a few other stations. Making my way down there we bumped into some great gerneral game including some lovely Giraffe before we made it to Ntombi.

We found her with the kill still on the ground in a thicket and as she was not offering a great view we headed over to the cubs who were frolicking in a Mopane thicket nearby.

Leopard cubs being the treat they are did not disappoint they were up and down the tree’s and even though we only had a short time with them there was an indelable glow from my guests faces as we head off to drinks giving the other stations a chance at the same joy…

Pick Of The Day.

Morning Drive.

( Grant & Shadrack.)

Elephant ( Kambaku) / JayDee – Ndhlophu Rd.

Afternoon Drive.

( Grant, Shadrack & Keith.)

Rhino ( 2 x Males)

Rhino ( Male)

Buffalo ( Breeding Herd) / Scholtz – Repair Dam.

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Java – Western Cutline.

Elephant ( Kambaku) / Scholtz – Mananga Cutline.

Leopard ( Rockfig Jnrs Boy) / Masungulo – Elephant Dam Rd.

Lion ( Sohobele Male? & Machaton Sub Adult) / Kings – Tamboti Drive.

Daily Synopsis.

With the wind having died off completely we woke to a very, very chilly morning, definitely the coldest this winter so far. Heading out from camp Shaddy was keen for Buffalo and after a couple of indecisions he chose to head out east. We found ourselves in the same indecisive boat and not having something specific to look for, as our guests are keen on everything great and small, we chose to head out west on our northern boundary. We got off to a good start with a couple of nice Waterbuck and then a young Hyena who sat nicely for us. The birding was also good finding a beautiful Pearl Spotted Owlet, Goliath Heron and a number of White Backed Vultures, shortly after leaving camp. While sitting with the vultures we found fresh Lion tracks and could hear the audio of Kudu barking off to the north of us, unfortunately on following up on both the tracks and the audio we found that they had crossed out of our traversing area into Ingwelala. Shaddy had also found himself tracks for a female Lion but as would be with us it would cross out east into Kruger. 

Turning south we thought we would follow the Tsharalumi River hoping to pick up on one of the many herds of Elephant in the area or maybe the Rhino that were seen the previous afternoon. The cold weather did not seem to deter the animals coming out as Ntombi’s cubs were found around the den site, unfortunately she was not present so it became a negative lock. The Machton Pride had not moved far from where they had been the previous evening and while mom caught up on rest in a drainage line the three male sub adults playfully chased a clan of Hyena’s around. Two of the Ross Pride males were also found in the far south. Sticking to our plan the good birding continued and we found ourselves a nice Fish Eagle with a large Barbel shortly before stopping for morning coffee. Resuming after a warming beverage we picked up on freshish tracks for a male Rhino and began tracking it. This would take us far south and ate into our little time eventually consuming all of it with us believing we had it isolated in a block, unfortunately the block was massive and time was up. As a consolation we did find ourselves a young male Elephant before having to turn and head back to the camp.

With a fair amount to make up for from the morning Petros and decided we would head out to the east and follow up on a Buffalo herd that was found there in the morning. We then wanted to also try see if we could find a Rhino, something we had been trying to do for the last two days. No sooner had we got out we received news that a couple of stations were already following up on Rhino tracks, hmm, maybe things may go our way this afternoon. Out east we did not find much and this aided us in getting south quite quickly getting around two big dams in the area we found our Buffalo resting out in an open clearing. It looked like we arrived just at the right time as they slowly stood and became mobile to the north. Driving through broken veld we found ourselves a couple open clearings were we could get great views of the herd as they surrounded us. They slowly went about their feeding and we had moms and their youngsters nearby and old Dagha boys following at the back. Having had a great sighting and still with a lot to do we took our leave and headed back west.  While sitting with a shy bull Elephant that we found on the way we received the news that two Rhino had been found, this good news was shortly followed by the news that two males Lions from the morning had also been found in the south. Receiving an invitation to the Lions through a spanner in the works as we now had to make a decision. Quickly chatting with Petros he pointed out that we were already quite far south and that we should head in the Lions direction. Decision made we set off, as would be our M.O. we started to pick up on a whole lot of animals delaying our progress. One of these delays was created by Rockfig Jnrs boy who we found after a couple of Impala gave away his position as the alarm barked on seeing him. Unfortunately with him he has never been that relaxed and not seeing him often has made him that more shy so when we began following him he picked up his pace and walked us through a Terminalia Thicket, doing well to stick with him he changed tactic and tried hiding beneath a bush, with this not working he then did the old, I go one side of the thicket, you go the other and we’ll meet round the other side, NOT! On this occasion it worked, well it tends to work quiet often and rounding the thicket we found another thicket. Spending a little time driving around we found no sign of him and it appeared he had disappeared into thin air. I’m sure he actually combined two strategies and was sat hiding watching us drive around in circles! Cutting our lose we resumed our mission, a lot later than we had intended. Getting far south we finally arrived at the Lion sighting to find that they had just awoken and become semi mobile, getting up and walking a short distance and then sitting down again to rest. This would have been the ideal time to arrive had we not been perched on the edge of a riverbed in the thick vegetation, so the following was a little challenging. None the less we did get a couple of great views. Now I’ve hesitated in saying who it is as we are not a hundred percent sure and there are many theories floating out there. Everyone agrees that the younger male is a Machaton Sub Adult but the far older male is a tricky one. On my side I believe it to be a Sohobele Male which would be a very interesting development with two Lions from legendary prides of the area uniting, we wait and see, sure the next few weeks will reveal the secret. On a quick side note, the reason that this young male is no longer with his mother is because she has had cubs and has more than likely chased him off. We received news of this a couple of days ago and with it still being early days we’ll keep you posted as to any developments but who knows maybe this is a new beginning for the Machaton Pride. Our sighting turned into quite the adventure as they became mobile along the riverbed and finally crossed it to the east. After a roller coaster ride and a couple good sightings we chose to head off back to the lodge being extremely late. 

Having had a great afternoon we will unfortunately have to repeat it in the morning as two of our guests unfortunately did not join us.

I will be leaving you in the very capable hands of Keith and Chad the next couple of weeks, been fun and thank you for all the support. Who knows when I’ll worm my way back.

Pic Of The Day.

Morning Drive.

( Grant & Shadrack.)

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Java – Crossing Below Java.

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Java – Peter Pan Access.

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Java – Back Of Java.

Elephant ( Kambakus) / Java – Back Of Java.

Lion ( Machaton Pride: 1 x Female & 3 x Sub Adults) / Java – Crossing Below Java

Leopard ( Ntombi Female) / Masungulo – Nkhoro Rd.

Afternoon Drive.

( Grant & Shadrack.)

Lion ( Machaton Pride: 1 x Female & 3 x Sub Adults) / Java – Crossing Below Java

Leopard ( Klhakiso Female & Cub) / JayDee – Tchwala Rd.

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Mbali – Mbali Bush Braai.

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / JayDee – Tchwala Rd.

Rhino ( 2 x Males)

Daily Synopsis.

Waking to very different conditions as the wind picked up during the night and did not let up we found ourselves in near gale force conditions. This could not be good for game viewing and we set of apprehensively although our morning was not to be a difficult one as we were looking for Hyena and then everything else would be a bonus on our guest’s last drive. Elephant and a Leopard sighting would also go down nicely but given the conditions, Elephant would be a miracle.

We thought our best chance for Hyena would be along the tar road and headed in that direction hoping to find them lying on the dark asphalt absorbing the heat. Shaddy in turn checked around the lodge hoping to find any sign of the Jacaranda Pride which had given him the slip the previous eve. The wind made things tough going and both of us came up empty handed. Lucky for us though Marka was on fine form and he called us for both Elephant and Lion in the same sighting. The secret appeared to be to keep to the riverbeds as the animals were found there taking shelter from the wind. Turning in Marka’s direction we headed off to view the Elephant. Along the way we found a drag mark along the road heading in the opposite direction. On closer examination we found that Hyena had dragged something but looking a little closer we also found that a female Leopard was following behind. We think she may have made the kill and it was stolen from her and she was now following in the hope to salvage a little something. With Petros going onto foot to follow up we continued on our way to the nearby Elephant but not getting a kilometre away, Petros radioed me to say that he had found a Impala in a tree. Turning around we headed back to fetch him and look around in the vehicle. At about the same time we were busy with this Marka radioed in that he had Ntombi and her cub’s tracks heading North. Although this was very far away it was not improbable that Ntombi had in fact killed the Impala and had gone off to fetch or feed her cubs, as we could not find a Leopard around the kill, what was strange was that we could not find any Hyena either and they never pass up an opportunity like this. It indicated to us that the kill must have happened early eve and that it had been hoisted a long time ago and the Hyena’s patience had run out and it eventually left. Not having any joy around the kill we widened our search edging ever closer to the Elephant. With Marka following up from the south we took the opportunity to finally visit the herd who we found feeding along a drainage line. They appeared very relaxed given the conditions and we joined them without any fuss, spending a considerable amount of time with them as they went about their business. With the wind eventually getting to us we headed off after a good sighting to have a cup of coffee and warm up. 

Resuming warmer we received the news Marka had struck again and had found Ntombi still in the south milling about the Tsharalumi River. We once again checked on our Impala kill but nothing was present so decided to make our way to Ntombi, although this would make us a little late for breakfast. I’d forgotten about our early check out and only remembered when nearing the sighting so after Shaddy kindly gave us his position we popped in for a very quick visit before having to turn and rush back to camp. I need not tell you how much then made themselves seen on our journey back, with three different herds of Elephant, Giraffe, Zebra, Impala and a fleet of foot Side Striped Jackal all delaying our arrival back at the lodge. Scrapping in a little late we had ourselves a great morning given the conditions.

Receiving all new guests in the afternoon and with the wind having died down a bit we looked forward to busy afternoon. Our plans were to head straight south in the direction of the Impala kill we had found in the morning to follow up but hearing that Marka was already on his way there we changed our mind and headed in Ntombi’s direction who was once again relocated in the same position as in the morning.  Taking our time we slowly made our way in her direction but knowing that it was a poor visual we tried to delay our arrival in the hope she would move. Allowing this thought in was fatal as we then decided to detour via the Machaton Pride who we were sure would still be fast asleep in the riverbed. Having viewed them a couple of times of late it did not appear to matter whether you arrived after dark as they seemed to sleep no matter what so may as well see them in natural light.  Arriving in the riverbed we were surprised to find that they had disappeared specially as they were all very full bellied and no doubt had eaten a young Zebra the previous evening as even on this visit a Zebra could be heard calling out to its missing foal. Jumping off the car Petros and I made our way slowly on foot down the riverbed taking it very slowly as the surrounding vegetation was very thick. We had not gone far when Petros whispered to me that he could see them sleeping on an island in the middle of the riverbed about thirty metres in front of us. We need not have worried as the wind was with us and they were comatose not being aware of us in the slightest. We made our way back to the car to establish a sighting. This was easier said than done as they rested on a high island surrounded by thick vegetation leaving us with a two out of five visual. To make matters worse Ntombi had moved which would not have been bad but she moved off to one of her cubs which would mean that it would become a negative lock at sunset which was now a matter of twenty minutes away, five minutes short of what we needed to get there, just typical! As tempting as it was we decided to stick it out with the Lions and after manoeuvring ourselves around we found a couple of different spots that we got good views from. I’m sure they sensed our frustrations and gave us a helping hand in sitting up to groom for a while, offering a far better sighting and making it worthwhile staying. 

Being in the vicinity of Leopard Rock Hide we chose to head there for evening drinks and look over the Tsharalumi River, with the thought that we could visit the kill we had found in the morning after dark. Skittish Leopards relax once it goes dark and you have a far better chance of seeing them. Resuming after drinks we were not the only ones to have had that idea and a sighting was already established of Khlakiso Female. Arriving at the sighting we were left alone with her as she had become mobile towards the riverbed. Being the wildest Leopard I know and not enjoying the company of anything it was going to be a struggle to stick with her. With Petros quick eye we got ourselves into a couple of good positions to see her but then she became a little more mobile almost skipping along, I mentioned to Petros that it looked like she was stalking something, he said that she was just trying to get away and had picked up the pace to a trot. Losing her behind a bush we rounded it fully expecting her to have disappeared but a huge surprise awaited us. There in front of us she stood and next to her popped up a little cub no taller than the grass, after a quick reunion they both moved off to the south west and back in the direction of the kill. Now with a young cub present, around the same age as Ntombi’s, it became a negative lock and we made our way out once again, blown away.

Pic Of The Day.

Morning Drive.

( Grant & Shadrack.)

Leopard ( Ntombi & 2 x Male Cubs) / Masangulo – Nkhoro Rd.

Buffalo ( Breeding Herd) / Peru – Argyle Rd.

Buffalo ( Dagha Boy) / Motswari – Motswari Dam.

Lion ( Unknown Male & Machaton Sub Adult) / Peru – Lily Pan Rd.

Afternoon Drive.

( Grant & Shadrack.)

Rhino ( 4 x Crash)

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / JayDee – JayDee River Rd.

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Java – Java/ Mbali Rd.

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Java – Machaton Cottage.

Lion ( Machaton Pride: 1 x Female, 3 x Sub Adults) / Java – Machaton Wedge.

Lion ( Jacaranda Pride: 2 x Males & 2 x Females) / Peru – Long Rd.

Daily Synopsis.

Waking to the alarm calls of Vervet Monkeys that roost above my house was a great thing unfortunately it was shortly before midnight and would continue throughout the night until it was time to get up, not so amasing anymore! Not so bright eyed and bushy tailed I headed off to coffee to chat with John our night watchman to hear what all the commotion was about, from the sounds of things he should have had himself an eventful evening. This was confirmed when he told me that not only did he have a female Leopard resting on the lawn in front of the veranda but a short while later she was joined by a male. He witnessed this all from the couch on the open veranda. After a short encounter the two went their separate ways, one to the east the other to the west. If this was not enough while waking the guests John noticed tracks for a female Lion that had funnily enough walked from Lion Chalet through the lodge and out into the car park. It was no wonder the monkeys were going berserk. Hoping to catch up on any of our nights disturbances we set off on morning drive. While Petros and myself went in search of the Leopards, Shaddy and Tiyani headed off in the direction of the Lions, hopeful that we both would be sitting with them in the not too distant future. To cut a long story short an hour and a half later neither of us had had any joy, and after following up on the female Leopards tracks she had crossed out of our traversing to the North. The Lions had in turn headed to the southwest but with it being a very difficult area to track the going was slow and hearing that Lions had been heard calling further to the east, Shaddy cut his losses and headed south to visit Ntombi and her two cubs. He followed up this visit with a trip to a herd of Buffalo and then two Lions that were following the herd, not a bad morning after all. We chose to head out East and continue the struggle, taking a chance that we would get lucky, apparently our luck was out and we had ourselves a very, very quit morning, so much so, that the less said the better! Let’s hope we were paying wildlife tax and this afternoon will be a bumper filled affair of returns!

So our afternoons objective was to first and foremost find Rhino, we also then wanted to see Giraffe and Zebra. With our best chances lying in the south we once again headed straight in that direction, boy do I hate travelling long distance. No sooner had we left camp a Rhino was called in on our southern boundary, hmm………how fortuitous. Being quite the camel hike we would only respond should we not get lucky with others that may be a little closer and on our planned route. As with the previous afternoon we got off to a slow start but this is not always a bad thing when you have somewhere to get and we found ourselves in the south with plenty of time on our hands. Looking around for any sign of Rhino we found ourselves a number of Giraffe that kept us busy while on our search.  Unlike in the morning we know seemed to be in the right place at the right time as a crash of for Rhino were found not far from where we were checking and after an invitation from Kings Camp we adjusted our plans and headed in their direction. As is our M.O. we were temporary distracted when we responded to a sighting of caterpillars, a first for me and more than likely a first full stop. A station nearby found a procession of worms crossing the road that looked identical to a piece of rope lying across the entire breadth of the road. The caterpillars all followed one another at exactly the same distance and there was not a space between them as they all walked head to tail, strung out in a long line. It was very difficult to make out an individual, which I’m sure was the purpose. A first for me and highly fascinating, actually the highlight of my day, who would of thought!  Not getting too distracted we continued on south arriving at our Rhino shortly before sunset. Finding them on one of the many open plains of the area we enjoyed a great sighting and sat with them till we lost most of the days light.

. Mission complete, a far cry from this morning’s attempt, we entertained the thought of stopping for drinks but hearing that Shaddy was some way from responding to the Machaton Pride who had been found in the Tsharalumi Riverbed resting we headed in their direction wanting to bridge the gap for him as they were going to be left unattended. Arriving at the sighting we found them still resting in the riverbed but on this occasion they did have their heads up watching a nearby herd of Elephant and they may have moved off. Needless to say Shaddy got to the sighting before they did and we left him to enjoy while we headed back north to Argyle Dam wanting to try catch a Hippo out of water. With the wind having picked up the Hippos’ were a little reluctant to leave the water and we found them all gathered along the side, half in, half out. Having had a great drive we set off back to the lodge to celebrate. Tomorrow could be interesting with a turn in the weather.

Pic Of The Day

Morning Drive.

( Grant.)

Lions ( Jacaranda Pride: 2 x Males, 2 x Females) / Motswari – Geiger Crossing.

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Argyle – Fish Eagles Nest.

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Argyle – Mangova Rd.

Afternoon Drive.

( Grant & Shadrack.)

Lion ( Jacaranda Pride: 2 x Males, 2 x Females) / Motswari – Xinatsi Dam.

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Peru – Klipgat Crossing.

Buffalo ( Dagha Boys) / Java – Sjambok Pod Rd.

Leopard ( Ntombi & 1 x cub) / Masangulo – Nkhoro Rd.

Daily Synopsis.

Well hello there good folk, Grant back and blogging. Big thanks to both Chad and Keith, looks like you guys have had some amasing sightings the last week while I was away, let’s hope it keeps up.

Having had a great afternoon drive we had to start all over again in the morning as two of our guests arrived late and missed drive. Well that is a little of an understatement as they were meant to arrive around 22h00 but after a little adventure around the Lowveld they eventually arrived at 05h05 just in time for morning drive. Being told of their adventure at morning coffee by John our night watchman, I automatically assumed they would head to bed and would only join us on afternoon drive but I was suitably impressed when John popped off to fetch them for morning coffee having only needed a couple of minutes to settle into their room. You had to love their enthusiasm and boy did they have a lot of it. Running through all the rules and regulations at morning coffee we all set off under a clear cool morning sky. I guess we were all a little excited for morning drive as we had spent the hour before wake up listening to the Hyena’s hysterically calling in and around the lodge. Judging by their cackles and constant giggles they were onto something, something very close. Deciding to head north of camp and check what all the commosion was about. We thought they had either caught something or they had found themselves a Leopard with a kill that they undoubtedly were trying to dispossess it off. There was no pressure as whether we found anything or not it was unbelievable to have heard the noises and our imaginations were running riot. Looping round the camp our timing could not have been better as two males from the Jacaranda pride stepped out in front of us and crossed the road down into the riverbed. This was a little unfortunate as we could not follow as the vegetation on both sides was very thick so we headed off to the opposite side hoping to get lucky in relocating. Once again it appeared luck was on our side as no sooner had we reached the opposite bank did they once again cross in front of us. They seemed to be preoccupied and continued to the South constantly looking back behind them. With only two of them we did wonder were the other six were but with them constantly moving through very thick vegetation we were just happy to keep up with them. Running us around they popped out on Motswari’s airstrip where they began contact calling before heading back into the thick stuff, this time when we followed we were surprised to find two females had joined. They too seemed preoccupied and all of them missioned to the south. Knowing no matter how many Hyenas were present they would not be able to drive these four off a kill we now wondered if there may be other Lions in the area that they had run into and hence the split, still missing the other four. Spending time with them we followed in the morning’s golden light hypothesising a number of stories, which no doubt would be kept a close guarded secret by the bush and only slowly revealed over time. Having had a great sighting we handed over and headed off to see what else was out there.  The radio was a hive of activity, with sightings being called all over the reserve. The Ross Pride males had also graced us with their presence in the south and this had pushed the Machatons further north, still following the trail of a herd of Buffalo. Ntombi and her cubs were also found and having a Duiker kill we decided to leave that visit to the afternoon as time was short and it was a fair travel. Hearing that a herd of Elephant was found around Argyle Dam we chose to head in their direction taking in all the general game around the dam along our way.  The location of the sightings had not been good to us this morning and we once again had to work to get into the sighting and once there we did not have many options of where we viewed them from with us often looking into the sun or between thick bushes, given time though we weaselled our way in and enjoyed a good sighting of these beautiful creatures. 

With a coffee stop in order we headed off but it was delayed on a number of occasions as we found ourselves, Waterbuck, Giraffe, Warthog and Steenbok to add to our growing list of general game. It would appear the stories are true and game is a plenty at the moment, already looking forward to this afternoons surprises.

Having a set plan for the afternoon we informed our guests that we would be heading straight south hoping to follow up on some of the mornings many finds in that region, with one in particular that we were interested in. All we had to do was not get distracted along the way and lose focus of our afternoon’s objective, a common trait of Jacky and mine. With Jacky on long leave and working with his brother Petros maybe on this occasion we would actually achieve what we set out too, time would tell. Shadrack joined us on afternoon drive but being his first and with Lions on the lodge’s doorstep he was never heading south and chose to follow up on the Lions. After finding them still resting in the same place he set off along the Tsharalumi river to spend quality time with a massive herd of Elephant. He did also try to relocate on a Leopard up in the north but arriving at the sight that it was last seen they caught a glimpse of it as it set off in pursuit of a Steenbok. Unfortunately that was the last they saw of it and it happened so fast that actually only the trained eye of Shaddy and his tracker Tiyani caught it. All in all though it sounded like they had a very nice drive. With our sighting once again drawing a fair amount of attention we held back but could not wait too long as protocol states that we cannot view the cubs after sunset as they are still to young add the fact that they also had a kill on the ground and we had two reasons that we needed to get in and out before sunset. Winding our way south our job was made easy by the fact that we did not find much and having spare time, always dangerous, we checked on a number of other spots, again lucky that we did not find anything we neared the area of Ntombi and her two cubs.  Getting ourselves into the line-up it looked like we would just squeeze in our visit before sunset. As would be very typical at the moment we were called into the sighting we found a beautiful herd of Zebra and Giraffe bathed in the evenings golden light. Explaining that we would see Giraffe and Zebra again and that what we were on our way to had a limited time frame and that we needed to get there as soon as possible, we reluctantly carried on to Ntombi and her cubs. Arriving at the site we found Ntombi sitting in the grass while one of her male cubs was busy playing/ feeding on a small Duiker kill. It is amasing how relaxed this youngster has become since last seeing them two weeks ago. Watching him play with his meal we eventually moved around to Ntombi who was sitting in the long grass. Within a couple of metres she sat relaxing in the grass waiting patiently for her son to finish up which he eventually did and made his way to mom for a quick cuddle before walking directly up to the side of the vehicle where he sat and investigated the occupants. Realising there was no one or anything to play with he moved off behind the car and sat down to groom himself, super confident. We could have sat there for hours but with the sun slipping below the horizon the sight became a negative lock and we made our way out to celebrate a successful afternoon with a sundowner. 

Resuming after drinks Petros worked his magic once more and found us a Chameleon, a great feat this time of year, to wrap off a great day.