01st May: A Lion!

Pic of the Week!

Morning Drive.

( Chad, Grant & Godfrey)

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Argyle – Western Sohobele.

Buffalo ( Breeding Herd) / Java – Terminalia.

Lion ( 2 x Unknown Males & 1 x Unknown Female) / Argyle Road.

Afternoon Drive.

(Godfrey)

Rhino ( Unknown Male)

Buffalo ( Breeding Herd)

Daily Synopsis.

Waking to clouded skies and a chill in the air, we were in for a true winters morning as it looked like the mercury would not rise much due to the light rain that we received sometime during the night and a cold wind that had picked up.

We were still in search of Lion, the adult form this time round, so a trip along our boundaries was in order to check if any of our Lions had returned to the area. Chad was in search of Leopard, while Godfrey was looking for a Buffalo Herd, and a mobile phone that one of his guests had lost during the previous nights safari.

As was to be expected in the conditions it was very quit, with the animals choosing rather to save their energy and huddle together hidden away. The only one having any success of the three of us was Godfrey, who had not only relocated the mobile phone but was hot on the hooves of his Buffalo Herd.

Having checked all the boundaries, finding nothing, we headed onto the tar road taking a chance that the animals would be using it to avoid having to walk through the cold, wet grass. We did find a couple of Giraffe but not much else and were about to close for a cup of coffee when we received a message from the Southern stations that two unknown male Lions and a female were to be found on the tar road in the South. Delaying our winter warmer we took a chance and headed quickly South. We knew we where getting closer when we could see the congestion of cars on the public road, apparently we were not the only one's looking for Lion.

We were in luck though as one of the males moved onto a traversing area we could access, so we could follow him were others couldn't. We noticed that he was limping and putting no pressure on his front left foot which he must have injured fighting with his male companion while challenging for the rights to the female that the other male was now mating with on the opposite side of the road. We had a great sighting of him and did not stay long as many other stations were responding.

On our way back North we had our final bit of luck when we were privy to the honeymoon couple in action, we did have to view it from afar, but it was none the less impressive!

Chad and Godfrey decided to avoid the crowds and did not loose focus of their respective missions. Godfrey coming right and finding his Buffalo, unfortunately Chad missed out on his Leopard but was rewarded with constant sightings of a variety of general game.

In the afternoon my guests decided to stay and rest at the lodge, I think the cool windy weather may have had something to do with their decision. I contacted Godfrey mere minutes after he left on drive to let him know we would not be joining him on drive, to which he responded that he had tracks for a Rhino at Maroela Pan right behind the staff village. At first I thought he was joking and wished him luck, if it was true it would be a skittish Rhino and would already be half way to Kruger by now. Fast tracking forward to Godfrey back at camp, he smirkishly informed me that he had found his Rhino not far from Motswari at Xinatsi Dam, standing out in the open after just finishing to drink. Godfrey said that they watched him for nearly ten minutes before he moved off into the surrounding bush. The rest of his drive sounded relaxed with not much to get excited about, he did however find his breeding herd of Buffalo again.