Despite it being winter, we have been waking to some spectacular sunrises – well worth waking up early to witness!

On a blustery morning these two zebras stayed close together, looking for any signs of potential danger; and this little one took shelter amongst the herd.

Once the sun’s rays start to warm up the plains, this little Waterbuck and its herd were moving out into an open area in search of food.

The view from Bush Lodge for the day, a large buffalo herd with a few of the bulls wrestling around the waterhole.

This very large female giraffe caught our eye, towering above her companions. Initially, we mistook her for a male, until her calf attempted to suckle.

After a large herd of buffalo had a drink of water, a few stragglers at the back slowly made their way to the waterhole to do the same.

This female Chinspot Batis posed beautifully on a tree branch not far from the road.

Two hyenas were on the move from an open area, possibly in search of a meal.

As we returned to the lodge, we found this Spotted Eagle-owl sitting on a log just off the ground, observing its surroundings.

This warthog blended in beautifully with its surroundings.

Kigelia female leopard moved in and out of the thickets, pausing every so often to scan her surroundings for any potential prey.

Ntsumi female leopard managed to catch an impala, but it was swiftly stolen from her by some hyenas in the area. We watched as one of the hyenas feasted ferociously on the stolen impala kill while its companion waited on the sidelines, receiving a nasty reprimand if it ventured too close, and so it skulked away but did not look nearly as disappointed as the female leopard watching from above as her hard work was enjoyed by something else.

Shortly after leaving the lodge, we found the White Dam male leopard resting in a tree. He soon descended and began a territorial patrol, zig-zagging through the bushes, stopping to listen every now and then and occasionally finding vantage points to scan his surroundings.

Excitement struck when we were informed of Wild Dogs that had been seen! We made our way to the area, and watched the pack running amongst tall grass and through dry riverbeds, a great start to the morning safari!

On the way to the airport, we found a pack of Wild Dogs on the road and not too far off, we could also see a few pups coming out from what looked like a den site!

We had some wonderful sightings of the Styx lionesses and their cubs this week. We watched the interactions between the pride, and the look of absolute love between the cubs and their mothers was priceless!

Over the weekend we watched the family resting in and around a riverbed, shaded by the tall trees, and sheltered from the wind. As the mothers slept with full bellies from a kill they had finished, the cubs started to get restless, wrestling each other, exploring, and of course trying to suckle from a mother who was just trying to enjoy some well-deserved sleep.

After hearing lions vocalising on a cold morning, we followed up and found the N'waswishaka male lions busy enjoying the morning sun in an open area. They only lifted their heads when an unsuspecting herd of impala moved into earshot. The herd soon saw the wandering eyes and let out a few alarm calls to let the lions know they had been spotted too.

Until next time...