It’s Winter in the bush. At this time of year my whole brain is in argument with itself. A true “Durbanite”, I hate the cold; that is anything below 15°C (yes I will fiercely argue that that is cold!). Mornings at Sabi Sabi are currently sitting at around 6°C. I know that if I stay in bed I’ll be warm and if I get in the shower I’ll also be warm, but the space between the bed and the shower, no, that is not warm. Early mornings are a struggle no matter how often you do them. But I also know, that as the sun rises and peels back her icy grip, so the bush will reveal herself with all the secrets she has hidden so well throughout summer. This last cycle has proved that the bush always has something up her sleeve.

One of the most exciting parts of my job is waking up each day to find a road with a new story trampled across it in the form of footprints. Tracking is my biggest adventure in the bush because one sees a story unravel as the footprints change to tell a new tale and one never quite knows where they will lead or if in fact you will be able to find the animal. Luckily, I work very well with my tracker, Voster (Voz), and he has such as ease about communicating what lies on the roads before us, that it makes tracking addictive, just like a bedtime story.

It was only a week into my cycle where we experienced the ultimate tracking revelation. Hot on the tracks of a female leopard, we ventured into a block of largely open Lowveld boasting a large rocky outcrop. Following natural game paths we picked up her tracks here and there and then, there was nothing. They simply disappeared. Stumped, we decided we would have a wander up and around the rocks to see if we could pick up any clues. Nothing. We stopped to catch our breath and admired the view before us. It is a view that never grows old and only more beautiful. Then we heard a shuffle, Voz turned around to crouch and look in a small hole in the rock about 1 meter behind us. “What’s there Voz?” – Loosely thinking of possibilities – rock monitor? Dassie? His face turned around putting my Irish complexion to shame “leopard cub! GO!” Before the words had finished coming out of his mouth I had caught a glimpse of what must have been a cub of no more than a few days old, staggering about the entrance to the hole. Still blind and about the size of my hand, it had responded to our bustle thinking that we were Mom. We made an exist in a full pace power-walk that would have left any athlete in awe; thanking God that Mom was not there once we were back safely on the Land Rover! The cub has not been checked on since that day as we do not like to disturb den sites, particularly in their early days, but there have been a number of sightings of the Lisbon female leopard at those particular rocks and so I think it is safe to assume that the cub is hers and still there. As the cub gets older she will move it more frequently to new den sites and eventually bring it out to feed on kills with her. Spring is quickly being anticipated for more than its warmth!

Lisbon’s den was not the only den causing waves amongst rangers this cycle. The Spotted hyena den has been very, very busy. The three youngsters have been growing up fast and personalities are quickly revealing themselves as they reach an inquisitive age. As previously mentioned, den sites need to be very strictly managed for fear of drawing unwanted attention from predators to them or stressing out the parents, causing them to move the cubs. This den has been a perfect example of good management practices, as whilst sitting watching the three cubs play around our vehicle, sniffing tyres and chasing each other, we saw movement at the den entrance. Low and behold, our little cubs had some new cousins! Two small black cubs climbed out briefly to see what all the fuss was about before, what I consider to be the cold, changing their minds and running back inside the den! The hyena clan are clearly very happy on our property and seeing this kind of content amongst our animals gives me a happy heart and a tremendous pride to work for such an establishment.

Something we don’t have control over and continuously has me spell bound is dynamics amongst our resident lions. This cycle the Sand River males were particularly scarce around the property and their lack of presence did not go unnoticed. The Fourways males spent a number of days surveying the area before eventually becoming bold enough to start scent marking. It was whilst watching them wake from a full days sleep, that I was to have been blessed with my first opportunity to see lions drinking and be able to photograph it. As a budding photographer, I generally battle with night time photography but on this occasion I managed to get what I believe to be some of my best lion photos to date. It was an amazing feeling to see something I had always been unlucky to miss and to have overcome an obstacle that I had found myself getting somewhat frustrated over for some time, enabling me to capture it on film so that I will always remember it.

On another occasion, the tables were turned for our resident hyenas. After leaving early for our morning safari we heard the unmistakable laughter of a clan of hyenas in a feeding frenzy. Thanks to Voster, we found them in no time gorging themselves on a dead giraffe. Whilst the cause of death of the giraffe was unknown (and difficult to determine with so much of the carcass already eaten) the hyenas were on edge. Another hyena clan was attempting to take over the carcass and we watched as twenty odd hyenas chased each other snarling, calling and scent marking, surrounding us. We thought it was the courage of the one clan that caused the other to flee, but just then, another vehicle discovered one of the Sand River male lions advancing in a direct line towards our location. We all prepared for a battle. Camera’s ready we waited, but, a predators senses are so much more in tune to their surroundings than our own; the hyenas knew full well what was coming their way. Before the lion even appeared from the bush, they began to scatter and he had to do little to prove he was truly the “King of the Jungle”, claiming feeding rights to the carcass. Perhaps it was his injuries to his back legs that disabled him from making the triumphant running entry we all expected, or maybe it was arrogance, one will never know, but it certainly was an incredible reinforcement of how revered lions are in the animal kingdom.

A species that I am more likely going to have to reminisce on through memory rather than through photograph is the infamous Honey Badger. Elusive, shy and not very common, Honey Badger sightings are seldom called in on the radio because they are too quick to follow, in some cases they are even too fast for guests to be able to identify or be able to take their photograph! Prior to this cycle I had not seen Honey Badgers for over a year, but I am happy to declare that my Honey Badger drought is well in the past. With three great sightings of three different sets of Honey Badgers, I felt like St Patrick; particularly as a series of events unfolded during one of these Honey Badger encounters.

Towards the ends of the cycle, during an afternoon game drive, a male cheetah had been discovered on a young waterbuck kill, not far from the hyena den. After watching the cheetah feed for some time, we decided to pay the den a visit prior to the sun setting to get an idea of the degree of activity occurring at the den. We were in luck; two den guardians were present and the three older cubs were out playing with one another. Paying attention to wind direction, I decided to take a risk. After spending some time at the den I decided to explain to the guests that I had a hunch that the hyenas would steal the kill from the cheetah come nightfall and that after sundowners, we should wait in the area to see what would happen. Everyone was very excited, and we returned to the kill shortly after sunset. The cheetah was still there, neither the cheetah nor us sure of who was more anxious. After a short while, we decided to drive a little away from the cheetah in the direction of the hyenas to see if there were any around and within a minute found a sub adult skulking towards our previous position. Before we had the opportunity to turn around, out popped a Honey Badger! Overflowing with excitement both the hyena and our vehicle followed suit. Unfortunately most guests don’t know much about Honey Badgers and so I began exploding with information about their fierce nature and careless demeanour, warning everyone that the young hyena’s inexperience with badgers, was about to become very apparent. Intrigued by the trotting badger, the hyena decided to try to play with it. Kindly, the badger gave him a good warning, but the hyena did not know better and on the second attempt at mouthing the badger, the hyena was bitten, throwing itself onto the floor in complete submission and yelping. Everyone on the vehicle was bewildered as to how something 4 or more times the badger’s size was just completely dominated! And then the laughing started, first by us and then by the hyenas – they had stolen the kill!

We drove back some 100m to where we had previously been, to find another hyena munching on the kill and no cheetah. I explained that the laughing call by a Spotted hyena is associated with feeding and often results in the attraction of more hyenas of the same clan. Moments later there was another hyena, then 2 more and then the older cubs! The feeding frenzy had started and the dynamics around the hyenas social system unfolded with only the females permitted to feed first. It was an incredible sighting!

I am now heading back into the icy mornings with the start of a new cycle. Having reflected on my achievements and incredible sightings in the past cycle, I am coming back with an attitude so eager to see what more has been revealed, that the pure adrenaline I have to get back in the bush should be more than enough to help me to forget about the cold! But, just to be safe, I have also brought back a cup-flask and extra tea bags. I look forward to summing things up in the next 6 weeks to share with you the incredible life I have here in the bush!