Posts Tagged ‘sighting’

The sightings have been pumping, really well in the bush of late; can not even decide where to go on drive. We may plan a rough route to take, but within half an hour of game drive, the radio is buzzing. An awesome week to be out on game drive.

Shhh…crackle…pop..lions have killed… or 4 cheetah brothers next to the road..static..crackle… relocated on leopard cubs at…static

Really all the cats have been out and active, rhino, elephant, antelope and giraffe are all begging to have there photos taken.

Wanting to head north for a birds and trees drive, to relax and enjoy the smaller less talked about parts of the African bush, but the sightings keep calling us back, and we head off south or east to find again a beautiful creature.

At this point I must stress that these sightings and conditions is not the “normal”, the bush has just come alive this past week, and we rangers are taking full advantage.

There have been 6 male lions, a strong coalition of 5 young males along with a older and wiser male, they were first sighted and heard at the water hole outside our camp late at night, the next morning we tracked them down they had covered a considerable distance, about 10km from our water hole over night and still had time to kill a old buffalo bull, we converged on the scene as they were lazing about there kill with full extended stomachs. An awesome sighting

The two leopard cubs around the river road area, were hanging around the same patch for a few days so we could relocate them and view them on a few different occasions, one such occasion I took a chance in the morning and headed to that area, the reward was to witness the young female leopard execute a stalk on a herd of impala, we sat patiently for about a hour as we gauged her progress, in the end she failed in the final charge, but for that hour we had her, the adrenaline and excitement were palpable. Such a beautiful young lady in stalking mode, I was reminded again how hard it is to keep with them as she would stalk in and out of view as she used the local vegetation as cover. After having a good look at the leopard thru my binos,I explain that this female is still very young and  inexperienced, and may be punching a little over her weight class. Awesome morning

Our four cheetah brothers are back in our area of operation after not being seen for a month or two, they have returned from Kruger and are scent marking there old stomping ground, next to a leopard the cheetah is as beautiful and graceful. We may be lucky and they may stay in our area. Awesome again to see

Duikers, steenbok, stately giraffe, noisy zebra and other antelope are around, with the dry season not broken as yet, they are a little more few and far between but still there. And as much as the cats, predators and other big 5 are the most sought after, these others can not be ignored. We bumble thru the bush, me happily throwing a piece of information or two about the fauna and flora found here. I try to depart a piece here and there, but honestly the bush has spoken for itself and my guests are happy to simple drive around and enjoy the sightings.

We rangers have a little knowledge on the bush and always wish to share and show off, at the same time, the more we guides find out the more we need to find out more. A good guide will recognize that he/she does not know it all and learn everyday.

would love to have all the answers for the bush out here, but nature simply does its thing and we are the observers, who sometimes wonder and ask why…sometimes it is nice not to have natures answer and simply say ”Nature does as nature does”

Awesome week

Back from leave and almost had half a bum cheek back in the saddle. meaning that I am back in the bush after a leave, had a drive or two but am not driving too much this month, boo hoo, will have to enjoy the bush from the lodge deck. On leave had a new addition to my sister’s family, great to see a new baby.

Baby’s in the bush will be coming end of this year, we have just completed the rut season, breeding season for many, most of all the impala, great to see the male strutting and roaring there stuff around the bush, trying to put on a good show for the females, nice to see males cavort and prance and put the effort into winning there right to breed, impala with a gestation of six and a half months will bring the storks bearing young impala in time for Christmas this year. Look foreword to that.

The herds of buffalo also have young at present, ranging from a week to a few weeks; I have sent the herds sporadically the last few times. Over all though, since returning, and having a few drives, the general consensus is that it is quite in our region of the bush. Not too much to report on game activities in the immediate area, and some of the drives have seen us range a little further and move a little quicker to get there.

Of course not all things are out far in the bush, whilst walking a guest back to there accomadation, after dinner so therefore in the dark, in the corner of my eye I saw a movement, at first the glance told me lioness, large, sleek and silky. But as I brought the torch light up to bear, it illuminated a female leopard, rather large if I say so myself, she was moving thru camp, in-between the buildings in the direction of the lodge waterhole in the front of the main deck. Guest and I had a full one second to

1.see her

2. identify it as leopard

3.anaylyse what we could do, should she change direction.

All this in a second and she was gone. Poof like the magic dragon, gone. But that is how leopard sightings go.

Drives themselves have become cold, lekker warm days hitting as much as 28 degrees, yes for us lucky few winter us could mean 28 degrees, however, when the sun dips below the horizon, or before the sun peeks up over the morning horizon, it is cold, a bearable cold but a cold that can only be shaken with the hot water bottles we supply for drive. Lucky for a ranger, we are immune to the cold, we have thick blood. We feel neither cold nor discomfort, or so it seems…

Do not always enjoy these cold moment beginnings to a morning drive, these cold moments in the morning are unloved, like orphans.