A year ago, to the day, I conducted my last game drive as an employee of Motswari. Today, I am pleased to say that I will be returning to the lodge as a full-time guide! Although it has been a year that I have been away from Motswari, it certainly doesn’t feel like it considering the amount of time I have still spent in the area, and the last week has been no different.
I have spent another week at Motswari, and the bush is looking fantastic – as thick as it is, it is just wonderful to see so much greenery and water around. As Grant alluded to in the last blog update, this has made game viewing a bit difficult, but there have still been some good sightings to be had.
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| Black-bellied Bustard/Korhaan - a rare bird in the area |
My first drive with Grant was a rather good one to say the least! After he and Johannes had spent the entire morning tracking down the Xakubasa Pride, in the afternoon, it didn’t take much effort to relocate them, and it was great to see them looking in good condition despite seemingly having spent the night running away from the two Jacaranda Pride males. They were very inactive, but just seeing them was fantastic.
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| Jacaranda Pride Males (Umbabat Males) |
After a G&T for sundowners with some hippos at Sohebele Dam, we went to see if the Mahlathini male lions were still on their young buffalo kill, but they had moved off. We went to check Voel Dam – one of their favourite spots – but found nothing; well, nothing besides the Goya Rd Male Leopard! Unfortunately we caught him right out in the open, and being a bit shy, he moved quickly towards the treeline; sadly we didn’t manage to relocate him after that. We carried on back towards the lodge, and got lucky and bumped into the three Mahlathini male lions right on the road! They soon got up and headed off into the bush, and we followed them to a small mudwallow where they had a drink before settling down again.
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| Mahlathini males drinking |
Trying again to make our way back to the lodge as it was getting late, it seemed as if the animals were conspiring against us to make us late; as we drove past Vyeboom Dam, the young Vyeboom Dam male leopard was living up to his name and we spotted him sleeping on the dam wall! Something caught his attention and he slowly climbed off the wall into the riverbed, and disappear from view. Already chuffed at what we had seen, we carried on towards camp, only for Johannes to make us even later! He called to say that he had two leopards just west of the lodge; it was Argyle Jnr female leopard and one of her cubs! We had a nice sighting of the two of them, both seemed very relaxed, and while I could have stayed there all night, dinner was calling, so we ducked off back to the lodge to conclude a fantastic return to the bush – oh yes, we also had a breeding herd of buffalo that drive too!
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| Argyle Jnr's 11-month old cub |
The next few days were a bit quiet; just the Mahlathini male lions being seen a few more times in the north, as well as a great sighting of the two much bigger Timbavati male lions down near Machaton Dam (as well as two of the Machaton lionesses). Leopards sadly remained elusive for the next few days until I went to Ingwelala for a couple of days. Needless to say, that is when the animals popped out again, and Nthombi leopardess and her cub, Mbali female leopard, and Thumbela female leopard all showed themselves, as did the white lions and the 4 lions that split from the Jacaranda Pride.
The elephants had all but disappeared the first few days, but by the end of my first week, they had returned in good numbers, and featured on most drives; both breeding herds and elephant bulls were seen around the lodge. The buffalo were also represented by the bulls mostly, but one large breeding herd did finally return into the area and stick around for a few days. Rhinos sadly continued to avoid our prying eyes.
The general game has been good, with lots of giraffe, kudu, waterbuck and impala being seen.
Hopefully this is the last blog update of this nature, and Grant and I will endeavour to post the sightings on a daily basis (or every second day if we are really busy) to keep all you folks better informed as to the happenings at the lodge!
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| Timbavati Male |
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| Rock Monitor Lizard |
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| Mbali female and her duiker kill |
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| Mbali grooming after feeding |
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| Mbali having a drink |
The elephants had all but disappeared the first few days, but by the end of my first week, they had returned in good numbers, and featured on most drives; both breeding herds and elephant bulls were seen around the lodge. The buffalo were also represented by the bulls mostly, but one large breeding herd did finally return into the area and stick around for a few days. Rhinos sadly continued to avoid our prying eyes.
The general game has been good, with lots of giraffe, kudu, waterbuck and impala being seen.
Hopefully this is the last blog update of this nature, and Grant and I will endeavour to post the sightings on a daily basis (or every second day if we are really busy) to keep all you folks better informed as to the happenings at the lodge!
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