It has been an exciting week in the bush... so without wasting any time, let’s get straight into it...

With the wet conditions, we struggled to follow tracks but managed to locate a female leopard and her cub who were enjoying a grooming session. The cub soon got distracted by a leopard tortoise and tried to crack the hard, protective shell... but again got distracted and chased a dwarf mongoose!

We heard some birds alarm calling for some time and decided to go and have a look as something must be bothering them. As we got there, we heard some deep growls when suddenly two male leopards walked out in front of us – father and son, Maxabeni and White Dam. They must have bumped into one another on their patrols; lots of growling between the two of them but nothing more. Soon the two separated, one going south and the other lay and watched him for a while and then lay in the grass for a quick break after all that tension.

A few days later, White Dam was seen again – in some very long grass, making it almost impossible to see him! He then redeemed himself as he posed ever so lovely in a Marula tree, while having a good gaze around.

Maxabeni was also seen again, vocalising as went about scent marking. He eventually found a nice cool spot for a little nap.

A sweet little bushbuck stared as we passed by.

A squirrel and its nut are seldom parted.

Someone had a rough weekend...

Elephants have a keen sense of smell and can detect water from several miles away. You can almost feel the excitement of the little ones as they approach the water.

A stunning profile of the Yellow-billed Hornbill.

A dwarf mongoose stands at attention.

As the heat of the morning started to settle, a pack of wild dogs searched for a shady area to spend the day resting. Later that evening, after spending the day in a riverbed, they set out on a hunt, making it impossible to keep up. We only got to see some full tummies and bloody faces before the night started to fall.

One gloomy morning we noticed some fresh lion tracks and decided to follow them. Shortly after, we found a herd of buffalo and thought the lions couldn’t be far away. As we turned the corner, there standing so regal, were the lions heading straight for the buffalo. We waited as they positioned themselves, but no movement further. The buffalo had moved further from the lions, and slowly they got up again and closed the gap, but sure enough the herd was on the move and again had opened the gap, this happen about 3-4 times. The fourth time, we waited but could not hear anything. We quickly went around the corner to find the lions all having a little nap about 50 meters away from the buffalo. We left them to their slumber and hopefully we will see them again this afternoon...

Still on the tails of a herd of buffalo, it seems the four N’waswishaka male lions still haven’t gone through with a hunt or kill yet. After the heat of the day subsided, they emerged from the thick bush and headed for a drink before carrying on with their trail.

As safari drew to a close, we heard the faint calls of a lion coming from the direction of the lodge. Heading back anyway, we thought we would see what we could find and en route, the Southern Pride female lion came strolling down the road, she carried on and then decided to have a rest.

We finished the week on an absolute high!!! Mating lions!! With the Southern Pride down to just one female, this is very good news and we hope to soon see some little lion cubs running around!

Until next time...