“There is something about safari life that makes you forget all your sorrows and feel as if you had drunk half a bottle of champagne - bubbling over with heartfelt gratitude for being alive.” - Karen Blixen

The week started off with a sighting of some of the Southern Pride members – 2 adult females, including Mandleve/Floppy Ear along with the 2 youngest remaining cubs. These four are in need of a good meal! We have not seen the other 5 members – comprising of 2 adult females and 3 subs – for over 2 weeks now. We do believe they are still around, but just keeping a low profile.

A pack of four wild dogs went running around looking for something to eat and eventually stopped for a drink of water.

A fantastic close up of a Woodland Kingfisher sitting perched up a tree looking for something to hunt.

This warthog was showing off its impressive tusks as it ate some freshly fallen figs.

A baby waterbuck kept on walking around a waterhole trying to have a drink where the birds won't scare him off.

Elephants have been seen all over the reserve with some truly spectacular and memorable sightings of these gentle giants...

A large Hippopotamus bull marks his territory by defecating within one of his many waterholes followed by a territorial yawn.

A young Waterbuck calf approaches a waterhole near Earth Lodge on an early morning just after sunrise.

This big Cape Buffalo bull kept on pushing his head under water as it was a very hot day.

We were lucky to find a pair of African Black Ducks at one of our dams.

A Giant Land Snail made his way across the road which made for quite a long and patient stop.

We were super happy to get to see a Yellow-billed Oxpecker following a herd of buffalo.

Early one morning we came across a pair of Side-striped Jackals and 6 pups trying to warm up in the morning sun. It was a fantastic sighting as we watched them move around and stop at a water source for a drink.

A beautiful White-crested Helmetshrike was relaxed and watched some other helmetshrikes chasing one another in the distance.

We had a sighting of a large male leopard who was walking on the tracks of Maxabeni, the dominant male in the area, and marking as we went along.

An old face we love seeing around – the Kashane male – here he was seen following a large herd of buffalo in the hope of sneaking up and catching one of the calves.

Maxabeni has been seen a lot again this week, actively marking his territory and doing endless patrols.

After being seen close to the Msuthlu female earlier in the week, the young White Dam male was successful in capturing a young kudu calf and hoisted it in a Jackalberry tree not too far from Selati Camp’s Ivory Presidential Suite.

The Ntsumi female took refuge on a termite mound surrounded by a cluster of Tamboti trees in order to escape the intense afternoon sun. When the sun started to set she decided to go in search of another meal.

The two young Avoca males seem to be quite settled in the northern parts of our reserve where they have been very successful in securing numerous meals over recent weeks. Here they were struggling to move after finishing off an impala ram!

The week ended on a high with the sighting of a cheetah as it positioned itself atop a termite mound for a better vantage point of potential enemies and prey.

Until next time...