Posts Tagged ‘winter south africa’

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.