With it being January as well as our summer time means the fruiting season of the Marula tree and in turn the arrival of elephants from all over. Not only the breeding herds, but also the gigantic males that follow them and also crave the delicious little fruits. It is said that the males also eat the marulas to boost their immune system when in a state of musth as they travel vast distances to spread their genes. I met up with one of these enourmous males one afternoon and what a humbling experience it was. Just sitting there and sharing the African bush with this amazing animal made me think of the things he saw in his lifetime while surviving in this unforgiven lands. I couldn’t help but feeling a sense of awe and immense respect towards this gentle giant.

We found the dominant male leopard, Maxabeni, one morning and from the first glance it was obvious he was hungry and looking for food. We followed him for more than 2 hours and that’s actually when I realised how difficult it is for a predator to get hold of some food even though they are killing machines in every aspect of the word. We saw him trying numerous times, but failed. His last attempt he came about 5 metres from a kudu, but waited too long before bursting towards the kudu. Needless to say he had to settle down for the day on an empty stomach.

Every guest that visits us are familiar with the Big 5 and also know that we do see them regularly at Sabi Sabi. One thing that is more special than seeing all those magnificent animals on safari is by being lucky enough to add two very rare and elusive animals, the cheetah and my favourite, the African wild dog. These seven beautiful, but also lethal creatures are known as the “Magnificent 7”. I was blessed and lucky enough to show a couple of my guests all seven of these animals which is not an everyday occurrence. With less than 10 cheetahs in the whole Sabi Sands and considering the magnitude of an wild dog pack’s home range having the opportunity to see all of them is something truly special, even for a guide that conduct game drives every day.

Lions are always a favourite with all guests on safari, but lion cubs are just something extra special. Our Southern Pride’s litter went from four to only one. Seeing this happen and seeing the last remaining cub is definitely not a highlight, but is something I won’t forget. We tracked the three females with this small little cub for about 2 hours and were amazed with the distance they covered with the little one. We eventually found them and it was clear why they travelled so far. The females were skinny and the cub was starving, they were seriously looking for something to satisfy their hunger. I was convinced the cub wouldn’t see another week, but hopefully when I return from leave I will be proved wrong and they are all well fed and in great condition!