When your week starts with spectacular summer storms and a double rainbow, you know you’re in for a good one...

We have had some incredible sightings of the female cheetah and her two cubs as they go about their business of roaming the plains, hunting, playing, keeping warm in the cooler weather, playing... more playing... but all while being constantly alert to any lurking danger or potential meals.

We were also lucky one afternoon with a sighting of a male cheetah. We watched as he stalked and gave chase to a herd of impala, narrowly missing one of the newly born lambs. After a while he managed to get his breath back and incredibly enough, a second opportunity presented itself. After a short chase, he managed to bring down a young impala lamb right in front of our vehicle!

With the dappling of rain and the cover of night we were lucky enough to see the Nchila male walking along the road, resting and panting as he went. The lightning and thunder had a clear effect on him as he looked around nervously, jumping at each blast of thunder.

A pack of wild dogs were sleeping peacefully and seemed to have no intention of moving. We sat with them for a while, and watched as they just occasionally popped their heads and large ears up, and then all of a sudden the whole pack sprung to their feet and ran off faster than we could keep up!

As soon as we left the lodge, we heard a roar from a lion that was not too far away. Heading in the direction of the roar, it was not long before we found two big male lions walking down a road. As we stopped, they roared once again and then lay flat to rest.

A few days later, also shortly after leaving Bush Lodge, we heard the call of a lion very close to our vehicle, so we turned the engine off and listened for a moment to hone in on his direction. We drove forward a few metres and there he was, one of the N'waswishaka male lions. He was on his own while the other three seemed to have a different plan in mind and were found walking in the direction of where some buffalo were seen the previous night.

An incredibly special sighting...

With light fading, we were lucky to find two honey badgers foraging in a dung midden. They were completely relaxed with our presence and after having their fill of the bugs and grubs, they moved off into the thicket.

With some much-needed rain the bush was awash in activity.

This common duiker paused in the morning sunlight making for a fantastic view with the early morning rays lighting him up perfectly. "Duiker" means "diver" in Afrikaans which describes the way they flee into the bush at the slightest potential of danger. Notice his exaggerated features, the large eyes and ears adapted to life in the thicker underbrush, ready to hear and see any signs of a threat and plunge into the foliage to avoid it.

The added moisture courtesy of the rain brought out an African Giant Land Snail who takes the opportunity to be more active without the stress of desiccation (drying out).

While watching a hippo resting in a shallow pool of water during the heat of the day, a large herd of buffalo suddenly appeared. The hippo slowly stood up and moved out of the water as there was no room for all of them.

A male Southern Masked Weaver perched above his nest.

On a cooler day it is common to see reptiles like this water monitor sprawled out on large rocks. The rocks remain warmer than the soil and help to maintain its internal temperature, making sure body functions continue as per normal.

A true roadblock. This herd of elephants slowly made their way down the road to meet up with the other part of the herd that had moved through earlier in the morning. In every herd there will always be a youngster that steps out of formation but quickly runs back to be behind mom.

Perched in the canopies, the Woodland Kingfishers are now out in full force, regularly making their presence known with their distinct call which seems to echo through the bushveld.

It is that time of the year again when little wildebeest will be around – this mother scans around as her calf suckles.

This zebra did not want to open the road for Louise as she was passing by.

A large elephant bull resting his trunk on its tusks.

Nature never ceased to amaze with the most unusual and striking colour combinations and patterns. This Rainbow Shield Bug will use its mighty piercing mouthparts to spear into young seeds, collecting the nutrients meant for the developing plant. Their name is a perfect rendition of the multitude of colours that their chitinous, reflective exoskeleton is composed of.

We arrived at the scene just as this Pale Morph Wahlberg's eagle perched up in a dead tree with its freshly made Dwarf Mongoose kill.

Until next time...