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| Pic of Day. |
Morning Drive.
( Grant & Shadrack.)
Buffalo ( Dagha Boys) / Peru – Pagati
Rd West.
Leopard ( Klakiso Female) / Peru –
Xinkhovanian South.
Elephant ( Kambaku) / Argyle – Argyle
Rd.
Lion ( 3 x Machaton Females &
Cubs.) / Kings – Double Highway.
Afternoon Drive.
( Grant, Shadrack & Herold.)
Rhino ( 4 x Unknown)
Buffalo ( Dagha Boys) / Peru –
Giraffe Kill Rd.
Wilddog ( 14 pack) / Peru – Giraffe
Kill Rd.
Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Vielmieter
– Vielmieter Access.
Daily Synopsis.
With serious work ahead of us this
morning and under pressure to now deliver other members of the “
Big Five” apart from Buffalo we set off intrepidly. Shadrack headed
to the North of camp and it was not long before he picked up tracks
for a male Lion. Unfortunately it took about the same time to follow
it across our boundary and in to Ingwelala. Not giving up Shadrack
headed to the East hoping it had crossed through Ingwelala and back
into our traversing area on the other side. While he scoured the area
for any sign we checked around the lodge for any sign of a spotted
cat. Not having any joy we extended our search to include Argyle and
Sohobele Dam and the immediate surrounds. Still not finding signs we
headed to the North towards Vyeboom Dam, surely there must be
something there! Alas it was to be like every where else we checked,
quiet, very quiet! Having checked all the usual and not so usual
spots for our Leopards we decided to once again turn our attention
towards the Lions that we had tried to find the previous evening. Or
at least check the area they had been, see if we could pick up where
they had got to. Nearing the vicinity of our previous nights search
Jacky shouted out “ Ingwe”! We all looked to the left where he
pointed and saw the spotted cat highly mobile across the road and off
into the thick vegetation of a nearby drainage line. Had you blinked
during that moment you would have missed it and I'm still not sure to
this point whether it was a Leopard or a Cheetah as I've never seen a
Leopard move so fast! Having wished for “ Big Five” I guess we
all should have been a little more specific and asked for a sighting
that lasted more than thirty seconds. On a positive note, at least we
still know they are around.
Getting back to our task of following
up on the Lions we once again drove a lot of roads of what seemed to
be endless Mopane. The drive became ever to familiar when we once
again found ourselves a group of Dagha Boys and nothing else.
Eventually all of us suffering from a mild case of Mopane
Claustrophobia decided it would be a good time to take a coffee
break.
Stretching the legs and getting in some
fresh air we resumed drive not totally sure of what to look for next
or where to begin looking for it. Lucky for us it was not long before
we received a message from Kings inviting us to visit the Machaton
Pride and their cubs. Not having much time left in the morning and
being a way off we contemplated leaving it to the afternoon. This
lasted all of a millionth of a millisecond and the car was already
automatically driving itself in their direction. I guess we could
afford to be loved a little less by the kitchen! Pulling into the
sighting we found the pride resting up in some long grass, it
appeared they had just sat down as they all were still heads up and
something peeked their interest on the wind blowing from the North.
Now here was a sight for sore eyes! Being late already we could
afford to spend a little time with them so we sat as they settled in.
It took them a while to get comfortable as they were up and down with
whatever it was to the North still intriguing them, this would cause
a chain reaction and they would all take a turn in readjusting. With
the temperature rising they all eventually settled in and sleep
seemed to be the overall winner. Also drawn by something in the
North, lets call it Hunger, we chose to head off back to the lodge
for brunch.
Still having a lot to do on afternoon
game drive we turned to the East to try our luck in finding Rhino.
We also had two new guests that we were expecting and therefore could
not travel to far away from the lodge. Hearing from Johannes that he
had seen fresh tracks for a crash of Rhino earlier in the afternoon
we decided to follow up. Arriving at the tracks Jacky and I went on
foot to follow up. As we made our way through the bush we knew we
were not far behind from the state of the tracks. Loosing them
temporarily Jacky and I split trying to relocate. Keeping a watchful
eye ahead of me and not just looking at the ground, as I had been
taught by my master, I saw the unmistakable humps of the crash of
Rhino. With both the wind and sun in my favour they did not pick me
up, not even when I whistled an indistinguishable bird call to get
Jacky's attention to let him know I had found them. With Jacky
keeping an eye on them I returned to fetch the guests, we decided to
approach on foot as it was a nice open area and we would have a
better visual of them on foot as the noise of the car would chase
them away. With conditions being ideal and perfect cover available in
the area we were able to approach to within fifty metres of them. One
stood guard and the other three slept. Being a group of nine of us
including myself, Jacky and Andrea, our new apprentice, we were a
large group which tends to be a lot more noisy and after a short
while they picked up on our scuffling and moved off to the North. We
once again followed them a short while and got another good view of
them standing in the open. With us also a little more exposed it was
not long before they got sight of us and moved off. Having had a good
viewing we chose not to push them and returned to the car having
found our Rhino.
Hearing our guests had arrived we
organised to meet up with Godfrey who was bringing them out to us.
Once all aboard we set off in the direction of the Wilddog who had
been seen along the Tsharalumi Riverbed earlier in the morning. With
the temperature having been fairly warm and with water in a number of
pans in the area that they were we were pretty confident that we
would be able to relocate them. Our timing could not be more perfect
as we arrived just as they were beginning to rouse. This was a good
thing firstly because we could now watch active animals, as opposed
to them sleeping and secondly because they were located in a dreadful
position in amongst a large thicket of Mopane Shrub. It was the pups
who woke first and they began running and playing around. They then
turned their attention to the parents begging and whimpering from
them, this got them up and about. A quick game of tag ensued before
they all got mobile in a North Westerly direction. With no stations
responding we were able to spend the majority of our afternoon with
them.
Having one more of the “ Big Five”
to find and hearing that there was finally a herd of Elephant in our
area we could pop in visit if we left the dogs now. Hearing the
location of the herd and racing a fast setting sun we headed off to
the plains of the South. Arriving shortly after sunset we found a
massive herd of Elephant feeding on the open area's around Entrance
Dam. The herd composed all shapes and sizes but when we saw a mom and
her calf that must not have been older than two days we decided to
spend our time with them. Mom was extremely relaxed and went about
her business as if we were never there. We had positioned ourselves
well as the Elephant approached and surrounded us eating the shrubs
and bushes around the vehicle. We even had a large Bull Elephant in
musth approach within metres of us, normally they are very aggressive
and we try to avoid them. From his approach he seemed relaxed and
more focused on the females who were also chilled with his presence,
so we decided to sit fast. He walked right behind the vehicle not
giving us a second glance, very impressive.
Having had an awesome afternoon we
wrapped it up with a starupper and then headed back to the lodge to
recount our tales at dinner.
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