Week in Pictures: It’s a Wild World

The week has drawn to a close, but the action doesn’t stop out here in the bush where life is delightfully unpredictable. Yesterday morning, guests at nThambo Tree Camp headed out for their morning game drive in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve when the bush offered up something most incredible: a mother lioness was seen moving her 2 tiny cubs from one hiding place to another. A secretive act that we are so lucky to see can pass by in a second, while other sightings, such as a sunset spent with a herd of buffalo, a baby elephant trying testing how fast his legs could take him, and the rarest cat of all – the cheetah – giving guests a most relaxed sighting.

The Sabi Sand is always alive with leopards, and our team at Umkumbe Safari Lodge has become quite familiar with a few of them. A surprising twist this week was the arrival of a couple of lions from the Matshipiri Pride, and lion fans delighted in the big cat change of scenery. A sneaky hyena and a gorgeous sunset completed the picture for a holiday well spent in the South African bush.

Another renowned spot for lions and leopards is the epic Savute Marsh in Botswana’s Chobe National Park. The water has dried up, as it is known to do quite erratically, and the game is making moves towards waterholes to quench their thirst. Camp Savuti, an unpretentious safari retreat in a prime spot on the Savuti Channel, has enjoyed the presence of big male lions calling all through the night. Guides located the lions immediately the next morning – 2 males not far from each other – and guests enjoyed watching as one walked right passed the vehicle!

On a tour of Moremi Game Reserve with Afrika Ecco Safaris, a smorgasbord of predator sightings, elephants at sunset, honey badgers digging for termites, and rare birds swooping over the lagoon presented itself much to the joy of guests and guides alike. Catch up with all of Kruger’s and Botswana’s incredible wildlife sightings for this week, and ease into the weekend. It’s a wild world out there!

Camp Savuti

A hornbill takes in the sunset from its perch

A pair of bull giraffes engage in a dominance display called 'necking'

Reflection of a bull elephant at Harvey's Pan

Male lion paces through an open patch between the mopane trees

Afrika Ecco Safaris

Mother red lechwe and her young one

Honey badger in the morning light

African darter drying its wings

Cheetah giving up the stalk at Duma Tau, Moremi Game Reserve

Umkumbe Safari Lodge

Sunset over the Sabi Sand

Two lions from the Matshipiri Pride seen at Umkumbe Safari Lodge

Lioness from the Matshipiri Pride

Hyena makes a break for it with a buffalo skull in tow

Africa on Foot

Baby elephant on the move

Big male leopard whose territory runs around Africa on Foot

Black-chested snake eagle with its prey in its clutches

Mother lioness checks the coast is clear before moving her cubs

nThambo Tree Camp

Hippo emerges ever so slightly at sunset

nThambo Tree Camp enjoys a sighting with a cheetah

A young female leopard looks down at nThambo guests from her tree

Dusk brings the purple tint out of the sunset as buffalo arrive to drink