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steve’s cycle highlights january 2015

on Feb 17, 2015

‘Perfection is not attainable, but if we can chase perfection we can catch excellence’ – Vince Lombardi.

The previous cycle of mine was yet another extremely memorable one as it yet again reminded me that it is not my passion and dream that I get to live every day whilst at work, it is my guests too and often their dream vacation and first time safari. It started with a family of four on their first time safari, what an incredible family, the Bond family and my girlfriend. It was their first times ever into the African bush and the greater Kruger National Park and did we start off with a bang, the Styx Pride!

The Styx Pride, an unusual sighting and pride to be seen down in the Southern stretches of the Sabi Sands, however due to the ever increasing pressure placed up there by a new coalition of male lions they started to seek refuge at Sabi Sabi. The first memory was arriving at a watering hole where the pride was spread out seeking shelter in the nearby tree line. As the sun began to cool off and the stars were rising the pride began to get active and move off into the night on a hunting mission.

The Styx Pride were ever cautious whilst moving about the reserve as they were keeping their distance from the Sand River males. The Sand River males seem to have been pushing further West and South of our reserve and truly enforcing their dominance over the Southern Pride. It’s always and incredible spectacle to witness three fully grown male lions walking down the road, scent marking and roaring.

Steve SRM

The general game viewing has been incredible yet again. Partially due to the increased rains filling the mud wallows allowing elephants and buffalo to cool off during the heat of the day. A Flap-necked Chameleon moves away off a branch after being located by my tracker Heavyness. These small reptiles are diurnal and are able to change their colour by expanding and contracting specialized pigments within their skin cells. Young giraffe will often play fight trying to establish a social dominance amongst one another before reaching maturity.

Nottins’ cub is growing up so quickly and is already filled with so much confidence. One of my most memorable sightings was when Heavyness stopped me and said listen, listen, listen! The unmistakable sound of dwarf mongooses alarm calling, we stopped and waited patiently to see if anything was nearby or if it had been a bird of prey or a snake. Like a ghost moving through the shadows we saw Nottins and her cub moving directly toward us. I still have no idea how Heavyness managed to hear this alarm call, truly incredible which led us to a wonderful sighting. We continued to follow these two for twenty-five minutes, eventually they led us to a duiker stashed up in a Marula tree.

One of the most photogenic leopards, Warthog Wallow, seems to be moving further into Nottins’ territory, interesting times lie ahead. She is often found climbing tree’s using them as a vantage viewpoint to scan the horizon. In the next couple of months we are hoping to find her mating with Maxabeni as she seems to be distancing herself from her young son, the Tortilis male.

‘The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.’ –Helen Keller

Steve Sunset
  • BY: STEVE VOLKWYN (BUSH LODGE RANGER)
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