A lot can change in a year. We have witnessed the bush do a full 360... from land filled with dust and bones in the prolonged drought to a landscape covered in a blanket of flowers and lush, green grass inhabited by a medley of butterflies. It is never a dull moment in the natural world of Sabi Sabi!

Spring day (1 September) is upon us but has spring already arrived?

There's been a couple of subtle signs that summer may arrive early in the Lowveld this year...

Last year this time we were desperately awaiting the summer rain to alleviate the pressure of an ongoing drought. The prey species, especially the Cape Buffalo and Hippopotamus, went through an immense loss during this time. On the other side of the spectrum, the predators such as the Spotted Hyena and Lions were thriving in these optimum conditions.

Then the rains arrived... and it came down! We received just under 400mm of rain between November 2016 and February 2017. It changed everything. We witnessed a natural spectacle of the bush coming alive once more. The strong had survived and weak had passed on. Natural selection had brought about a new beginning.

Things started to change. The prey species started to gain strength and agility. The predators began struggling to hunt as easily as they did before. The lions in particular took quite a knock as they took difficulty in hunting buffalo and reverted to smaller prey such as Waterbuck and even Impala. This was not enough to sustain a large pride of more than 15 lions. Thus, Mother Nature conducted the perfect play in the world of survival of the fittest.

Since then, we've had a warmer winter. It has not been as dry as usual, which is a relief for most animals.

Signs indicating summer is arriving early this year include the warmer temperatures as well as many trees flowering earlier than usual. The Knobthorn Tree and Sausage Tree in particular blossomed beautifully among the dull surrounds of the dry winter landscape!

Above and beyond this, we had a decent amount of rain fall from the sky this past week. Enough rain to awaken many insects and frogs from their winter absence.

Does this mean winter is over in Sabi Sabi? We'll just have to wait and see...