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| Pic Of The Day. |
(
Grant & Chad.)
Rhino
( Male, Female & Calf.)
Elephant
( Kambaku's) / Motswari – Motswari Airstrip Rd.
Leopard
( Ntombi) / Kings – Ridge Rd.
Buffalo
( Breeding Herd) / JayDee – EnMkombi Pan.
Afternoon
Drive.
(
Grant & Chad.)
Lion
( 3 x Sohobele Males) / Ekuvukeni – Ekuvukeni Access.
Elephant
( Kamabaku's) / Motswari – Xinatsi Dam Rd West.
Rhino
( 1 x Male, 3 x Females & Calf)
Leopard
( Unknown Male) / Peru – Argyle Rd.
Daily
Synopsis.
Still
needing to find Rhino, Diff and I decided to head out West. This
would also allow us to check on Argyle Male and his dead Kudu and see
what became of them overnight. Chad also had similar plans as ours
but he chose to head to the East and try his luck with a Kruger Rhino
or two. Shortly after leaving camp we picked up on fresh tracks for
two Rhinos and decided we would dedicate our morning to finding them.
Sticking to the road we continued to the West before they turned and
headed South. Trying to relocate on the tracks we received a message
that tracks for two Rhinos were found a lot further to our South
West. Believing they were the same tracks we decided to skip ahead
and try close the gap. Picking up on the tracks again we followed
them to the West yet again but on this occasion they turned to the
North. We then proceeded to follow them in a complete circle and
nearly found ourselves back at the exact spot that we had been half
an hour earlier. During all of this I received a message from Chad
informing me that he had this almighty noise coming from the bush not
far from him and that he was off to investigate what it might be.
While he homed in on his quarry we continued with our tracks which
now had turned to the South East. Following them I received news that
Chad had found the origins of the noise that,“ he never heard quite
something like it in the bush before,” to quote him exactly. There
in front of him in a Mopane thicket was one of our relaxed female
Rhino's with her calf and with them was a large male that was busy
fighting with the female. The noises Chad had heard were the horns
clashing and the high pitched squeals of the calf. It appeared mom
was trying to fend off the males advances and had come in for quite
the beating as she had blood oozing from a number of cuts and
piercings on her body. Luckily the male was a little shy and with
Chad approaching he retreated into the thick surrounding Mopane
allowing mom and calf to recoup. With our tracks now turning directly
East we thought there maybe a chance that they could be the same
Rhino that we were tracking but from the size of the tracks we did
not think so, so we pushed on. Now crossing into our Eastern section
the tracks turned directly South and we followed them kilometre after
kilometre until we reached our Southern boundary were they crossed
out without even hesitating. All in all I'd say we tracked between
fifteen and twenty kilometres, a record for me but unfortunately
without any prize to go with it! Finding ourselves so far South and
hearing that Argyle Males dead Kudu was now the property of three
Hyena we decided to head to Ntombi who was still on her kill on Kings
and then pass the Hyena on our way home.
Chad
had left his Rhino and had now started to help on some Lion tracks
that were around the area that we had the two Jacaranda sub adults
the night before. Johannes had briefly seen a Sohobele Male in the
area as well but had lost him when he crossed the river. From the
tracks it appeared that at least two Sohobele Males were chasing
their younger counter parts.
Our
visit to Ntombi was a good one with us being the only station with
her as she lay next to her large Male Impala kill. We spent some time
with her hoping her youngster would show his pretty little head but I
think they had both recently fed and it was now nap time and by the
time we left he was no where to be seen. We turned back to the North
West and headed to Enkhombi Pan for morning coffee which was nice as
shortly before packing up we were joined by a small breeding herd of
Buffalo that came down to the pan for their mid morning drink. Back
on our planned route for the morning we stopped in at the dead Kudu
but found neither Argyle Male or any Hyena, there was a whole lot of
meat still left so a trip there this evening is in order.
By
the end of drive Chad and the guys had no luck in tracking down the
Lions but with things heating up considerably they could not have
gone far and I'm sure we will follow up first thing from camp.
With
Johannes having followed up on Lion tracks that he found on the way
back to camp in the morning and finding the three Sohobele Males we
did not have to work hard in the afternoon. We were a little
concerned that they would move during the day as they were very close
to our Northern boundary but we need not have worried as the
temperatures climbed into the low thirties thus hindering the
brothers immobile.
Setting
off from camp we headed straight in their direction and found them
resting in amongst the tree's sheltering from the days heat. It is
always great to see them no matter what state they are in,
unfortunately this afternoon they were totally comatose and barely
lifted a head to acknowledge our arrival. We sat with them a fair
amount of time hoping they would rouse from their slumber but to no
joy and we eventually left them after forty five minutes with not as
much as a full head lift.
Our
intentions for the afternoon were to head to the East to continue our
search for Rhino but with time being short we changed plans and
headed West wanting to check on the dead Kudu. These plans were once
again very quickly changed when Marka called in that he had five
Rhino's not very far from where we were. Not the most relaxed Rhino's
but they were fine to approach on foot. Arriving at the sighting they
seemed to be ok with the vehicle today and given their space they
would stand in amongst the brush listening for the source of any
disturbance. Getting a good viewing from the vehicle I decided we
should still go on foot as it is a completely different experience
and one to be do. Pulling the vehicle a little way off we got
ourselves downwind of them and approached slowly and cautiously. They
were in the ideal position as they were in a clearing but there was
enough cover around them that we could approach fairly close. With
everything in our favour we got ourselves in a great position and
spent the next thirty minutes in total awe of these great creatures.
Without disturbing them we eventually made our way out of the
sighting leaving them to go about their business.
With
time running short we still made the effort to get across the reserve
to check on the Kudu carcass and it was well worth our troubles as
when we arrived there were a couple of Hyena sitting in the road with
a couple more at the carcass, exactly what we had come to see. They
were not the most relaxed Hyena though and while we were there a
couple bit off chunks of the carcass and headed off into the
surrounding bush while others milled about not quite sure what to do.
While following one back onto the road Jacky checked the surrounding
area and calmly pointed out that there was a Leopard sitting in a
nearby Weeping Boerbean Tree. Taking a closer look we could see that
it was not Argyle Male who had been here for the past two days
feeding on the carcass. This male was younger and not quite as big
but none the less a very impressive Tom cat. We were not sure where
to look as we had the Leopard on one side while we had a Hyena
dragging the carcass on the other, it was a bit of a sensory
overload. With the Leopard making his way down the tree and the Hyena
dragging the entire carcass, still cant believe the strength of these
creatures, off into a nearby Mopane thicket, we had seen the best of
the show and took our leave to head home.
We
chose to head home via the North of camp and hopefully bump into the
Sohobele Males who had eventually raised themselves from the dead and
headed North. Fortune was to favour us once more as we caught them as
they crossed the road to the East. A short way in they stopped and
began smelling the air that was now blowing into them clearly wanting
to orchestrate a hunt, they stood there a fair while, but eventually
sat once again heads pointing into the wind. It was enough for them
to redeem themselves and show what impressive creatures they are and
the ideal way to wrap up a superb afternoon.
Already
cant wait for tomorrows drive.
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