There’s a definite chill in the air on early morning and late evening safaris now, but with sightings like we’ve had this past week, who minds a bit of cold...

A beautiful African sunrise often leaves one in awe, throw in two playful young elephant bulls and needless to say - it was a special scene. The morning was only made better when the handsome Hanyile male leopard appeared on the road in front of our vehicle, he maneuvered through the small herd of elephants before leading us through some extremely dense vegetation.

We had a busy morning tracking Kigelia and found her making her way through some thick bush before ascending a tree for a good view, then back down again to continue on her way.

The White Dam male tried his luck with a lone impala ram but unfortunately for him, was unlucky and proceeded to some water for a much-needed drink before running away from a hyena who was following his scent.

Ntsumi took refuge in a tree after being chased by some hyenas, who she looked down on once she had reached a point of safety.

The N’weti male leopard stands tall at the sight of a hyena along his path, the hyena gave in and quickly retreated.

We followed the elegant Msuthlu female while she was marking her territory and at the same time, looking for something to hunt, sending a herd of impala fleeing in all directions!

We departed from the lodge one morning, and with a bit of luck on our side, we came across Maxabeni who was gently strolling towards us on one of his patrols. We then noticed some strange behaviour from nearby giraffe who were looking in the opposite direction, only to find Ntsumi. The father and daughter crossed paths with nothing more than a glance.

Our final sighting of Maxabeni this week was during one evening safari. Following a leopard at night is an amazing experience. This is their time to shine and gives us a glimpse of what their lives are about.

The Southern Pride have been around a bit this week, and despite being visibly lazy, they were still very alert, keeping a look out.

After spending a good portion of the day resting within a Tamboti thicket, we got to watch the two Avoca male lions become active and start moving through the night. At one point they came within proximity to a female impala but her raised awareness paid off as she detected the threat and moved off very quickly.

General sightings have been abundant again this week.

Until next time...