Sun Destinations

We had to throw in the word “love” in our title given that it’s Valentine’s day on Sunday. Overly commercialised, somewhat cheesy and over-the-top; but yet another reason to celebrate our love…of nature ! We actually have something special in store for you this Valentine’s day, so check in again on the 14th to find out how our khaki-clad rangers found love in the bush and the profound effect nature had on their hearts.

In the meantime, before we fly off on a Cupid tangent and become too cheesy, here is this week’s edition of week in pictures…

Ezulwini Billy’s Lodge and Ezulwini River Lodge in the Balule Nature Reserve

Yet again, there appears to be a whole lot of lion love around the Ezulwini traverse. Our resident photographer sent in plenty of photos of different lion prides commonly seen while on game drives. Duma, the fearless lion leader of the Olifants West Pride, delighted guests with a sighting on Wednesday night. Three lions, 2 females and 1 male, were seen in the thickets. They appear to have splintered from their normal pride of 6. On another night two lone males were seen out on the prowl ! There are plenty of testosterone fuelled sub-adults on the traverse. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens over the coming months.

And guess who else made an appearance? Chavaluthu the leopard. He was heard contact calling for a female in the vicinity. Isn’t that a nice story for Valentine’s day?

In other news, the huge breeding herds of elephant and buffalo have been spotted wallowing in the waterholes. A fantastic angle of a dark-chanting goshawk was among one of the more memorable bird sightings of the Balule. And, of course, Ezulwini never fails to deliver epic sunset photos from their awe-inspiring sundowner spots – definitely a highlight of being based at the lodges.

Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve

It certainly has been yet another interesting week of sightings in the Klaserie. The Ross Pride Breakaway females have been seen on a regular basis and are slowly making their way back onto their old turf.  They kept a low profile after the violent altercation with the notorious Hercules Pride. The females weren’t badly hurt, but their ego was somewhat bruised.

The drought is still here, but it seems to have brought about an incredible amount of leopard sightings. We’re certainly not complaining ! Zero, Cleo and the Marula female have all been spotted during the course of the week. This is the second week of leopard sightings for Africa on Foot !

Despite the endangered wild dog being a nomadic species, sightings have been regular. Their denning period is timed with the end of the impala rutting season in May. Could they be here to stay or will they saunter off into new territory? The drought is the catalyst for much of the strange behaviour with the Klaserie wildlife, so let’s hope the wild dogs hang about for a while.

Umkumbe Safari Lodge in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve

Umkumbe rangers should write a book about their life with leopards ! We don’t even know where to begin with the prolific sightings enjoyed by Umkumbe this week. Tatowa, Bicycle Crossing and Mxabene decided to host what looked like an open party for leopards.

Nicki Steenberg, a ranger from Umkumbe, reports that the lesser-spotted Bicycle Crossing male made a kill a few nights ago. A female hyena then stole the kill (bushbuck) from him while the antelope was still alive ! Bicycle Crossing waited in the wings to retrieve his meal. The next day the graceful Tatowa leopardess was seen relaxing in the grass. She looked heavily pregnant ! The following day Mxabene, the often spotted male, was seen close to the lodge. The day after that, Tatowa was seen again !

What a fantastic week – a leopard a day keeps the Doctor away!

Coupled with leopard sightings, guests enjoyed a wealth of pachyderm sightings in front of the lodge. Buffalo and elephant appeared on the banks of the Sand River, which flows on the doorstep of the lodge. Two large male lions also waltzed in front of the lodge.

Hippos, wading birds, plains game and small critters all came out to play this week.

What a special treat – let’s hope next week is as fruitful in terms of game viewing.

The festive season bought a flurry of activity to the Klaserie, despite the looming drought and lack of steady rainfall. The past few years the Klaserie has enjoyed consistent rainfall during the Summer season, but the change in climate is evident in the behaviour from plains game to the big game at the top of the food chain. We could, with relative ease, predict behaviour from our wildlife. But, with water being scarce and food shortages, our wildlife is creating a new set of rules. 

Let’s just say, these have been interesting times. Despite the unpredictable natural elements, we’ve had a few captivating wildlife moments which have certainly stolen the show during the course of the week.  nThambo enjoyed incredible hippo and elephant sightings. These giant, water loving herbivores have been hogging the waterholes and soaking up the water where they can.

The Hercules Pride of lions have stepped up their game and are a formidable force on the Africa on Foot traverse – a few weeks ago they attacked one of the Ross Pride breakaway females! But, she seems to have dusted herself off and continued with her usual behaviour – they were spotted last night while out on game drive.  The Ross girls have been fairly consistent with their appearances. However, they’re lacking in lustre and appear to have adopted a more-than-neccessary lazy lion lifestyle. Will these lions come into contact again and compete for food sources? 

We’ve also had the presence of unknown lions testing the waters on the Trilogy turf, and they nearly came head-to-head with the Hercules Pride ! There is quite a melting pot of confusion with the Klaserie lions re-establishing their boundaries and travelling to find potential prey.

This has left the door wide open for the leopards, who have been sighted on a regular basis. Clearly they know there is plenty of game close to readily available water sources. The leopards keep coming back for more !  Sightings of leopards at Africa on Foot have been incredible. We now have regular leopard sightings of Cleo, Zero and the Marula female. As a matter of fact, the young Zero was seen in the same spot and same tree where he appeared two weeks ago.

More on the leopard front from the Sabi Sand. Umkumbe appears to be showing off with their abundant leopard sightings. Firm favourite, Mxabene, decided to hang around outside the lodge shortly after Wednesday night’s game drive came to an end. Because of the dry land, huge breeding herds of elephant have been arriving in their droves to the Sand River, which is located in front of the lodge. Mxabene and Kigelia seem to be the two leopards who’ve dominated sightings. In other non-cat news, large dagha boys (buffalo bulls) have been spotted wallowing in the mud and enjoy the respite from the heat.

In true form, this week the cats are stealing the show. Hope you enjoy our pictures and have a fantastic weekend ahead !