Being back at work for the past few weeks some incredible sights have happened! As always, every single one is unforgettable. Something as simple as a lion sleeping in the long grass or a male leopard walking down the road straight towards you, to a big male lion staring into the distance listening to the contact calls from his brothers, is an unforgettable experience.

I want to share with you my highlight from the past few weeks, something that really caught my eye and will remain in my mind for as long as I can remember.

I had to really think hard about what was the most exciting sighting that happened. It was really hard to think about because every single sighting is incredible but what really stuck out and what made that afternoon incredible had to be the day we managed to spend time with Kigelia and her 2 cubs.

It all started one afternoon, if I can remember correctly, it was a rather warm afternoon, we headed back into the area where Kigelia was last seen earlier that day. After about an hour of searching we were able to find her tracks leading into a dried riverbed. My mind immediately began to wonder - the possibilities of this sighting being incredible was great. We followed the tracks into the actual riverbed and found where they went into. There was a thicket on the southern bank of the riverbed - a very thick area - and my tracker said to me, “She’s in there, she has to be”.

We sat and waited for nearly an hour hoping that she was. Luckily my guests were as excited to see her as I was and were extremely patient. And by patient, I mean it was over two hours without any sign of her. They were probably thinking we were mad, but my tracker and I were adamant that she was there.

Finally, our patience paid off! We were sitting quietly and could hear rustling in the bushes, and eventually we could see the flick of a tail. A head appeared out of the exact bush that my tracker said she was in. At that moment I was lost for words. Kigelia came out and lay in the riverbed and proceeded to contact call - this means only one thing - the cubs are on their way. I told my guests to remain very quiet. After a matter of seconds, the first cub appeared out the bushes and ran straight to mom. A few moments later the second cub came storming out of the bushes, stopped, crouched down and proceeded to stalk Kigelia as if she was an unsuspecting impala.

The three of them tackled each other; the cubs tackled one another; Kigelia groomed her two cubs and after around 20 minutes they began to move off into the sunset. An experience of a lifetime. The love that she has for her cubs is incredible. The respect and trust the cubs have in Kigelia is just as amazing. The bond that is created, even though it’s for a short period of time, is something so special to witness.

After nearly 3 hours later, 2 of which we did not see or hear anything, all came down to 20 minutes of absolute greatness. Probably one of the best sightings I have ever had, and I would do it all over again today if I could.