Most people of the working class that work Monday through to Friday wake up early to get their day under way in a successful manner, however, some people may require a little more time than others to complete their various morning rituals before being able to leave for the office. This principle is no different here at Sabi Sabi. Some guests request an earlier wake-up call so they can be up and ready for tea and coffee on the deck at the front of the lodge before they leave on safari around 6am. On that note my fellow rangers and I have seen quite a few spectacular sunrises this last week and I can say it is always a great pleasure waking up to the golden rays of the sun falling over the African bushveld. The sun’s rays light up all the dew drops that sit on the tips of the many different types of bushveld grasses on the reserve which is beautiful. We get to look at the dew on the grass while holding a hot cup of coffee that has a distinct aroma of roasted coffee beans which is complemented by all the morning bushveld noises and this is a great way to be welcomed to another week in the bush here at Sabi Sabi.

The start of this week was very special as we had a fantastic sighting of a male cheetah. The cheetah sightings at Sabi Sabi have been quite frequent of late, which is unusual as these cats are extremely rare and on the whole they are not seen on most safaris. Every time we have a cheetah sighting I get extremely excited to the point where the hairs on my forearms tend to stand on edge! This particular male gave guests a great sighting as he walked slowly over one of our open areas stopping every now and then posing elegantly just off the right side of the safari vehicle allowing the guests to snap away with their cameras.

Warthog Wallow was found with a bushbuck kill which she had dragged up a tree. This clever strategy kept the fresh meat away from several hyenas that were circling below. I always enjoy spending time with this beautiful female leopard as she is quite relaxed around the safari vehicle making for great sightings! She has the most spectacular eye colour which is complemented by her fantastic coat.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Nottins’ cub was killed last week and although this is tragic it is the way of life out here in nature. It really is survival of the fittest in the African wilderness. We found Nottins lying up on a large granite rock a few days ago which made for a fantastic photo. She is one of our older leopards but she still looks in great condition and hopefully we will see her with another cub in the not too distant future.

On the other hand, Little Bush and her cub are doing extremely well! The young cub has grown into a beautiful specimen and should have no problem living a full and successful independent life as a wild leopard. It will be interesting to see where the cub will decide to make its own territory eventually.

On that note, we have had the Tortilis male leopard around Bush Lodge this last week. I happened to walk into him two nights ago and he has also been seen lying on the safari loading bays on return from safari. This young male is now at the age where he is exploring the reserve and looking for places that he can one day become dominant over due to a heightened presence of Maxabeni, our dominant male.

We have also had great lion sightings the last couple of days. Seeing as though the last cub of the Southern Pride split has passed on, the Sand River males have been following them around for the last couple of days checking to see if the females may be coming in oestrous. Having them together has made for spectacular sightings while out on safari. Below is one of the Southern Pride split females resting up on a log as she takes in the sights and sounds of her surroundings.

At the end of this week guests had the privilege to see a fast paced sighting which got their pulses raised as they witnessed the interaction between one of our wild dog packs and the Southern Pride split lionesses in a river crossing. The wild dogs were chased by the lionesses and luckily, with the wild dogs being as agile as they are, were able to avoid the jaws and claws of the lionesses. Never the less it was a close encounter! It will definitely be a sighting for those guests to remember!

As a whole it has been another fabulous action packed week here in the bush and I look forward to see what next week has to offer!