15th August: Wildlife Abounds.

Pic Of The Day.

 Morning Drive.

( Grant, Herold, Shadrack, Marka & Pete.)

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Motswari – Tsharalumi / Ingwelala Boundary.

Elephant ( Kambaku) / Karans – Sumatra North/ South Cutline.

Rhino ( Male, Female & Calf)

Leopard ( Umfana Male) / Vielmieter – Albert Vielmieter Cutline.

Lion ( Xipoko Males & Ross Female) / Kings – Argyle Rd.

Buffalo ( Breeding Herd) / Peru – Peru Cutline.

Afternoon Drive.

( Grant, Herold, Marka, Pete & Chad.)

Lion ( Mafikizolo Pride: 3 x Females, 2 x Males) / Karans – Karans Trough.

Leopard ( Umfana Male) / Vielmieter – Vielmieter/ Albert Cutline.

Leopard ( Rockfig Jnr Female) / Vielmieter -

Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Peru – Giraffe Kill Rd.

Buffalo ( Breeding Herd) / Mbali – Buffalo Kill Rd.

Rhino ( Male & Female & Calf)

Daily Synopsis.

Being the last drive for my present guests and having seen some amazing things the past three days we could afford to take it easy this morning and venture to areas not normally visited. We naturally first checked on the water trough were we thought the Lions may visit had they killed the Buffalo but as was with our visit the previous afternoon we found nothing and it may just be that the Buffalo made a get away. I guess we'll never know, well unless a Buffalo turns up tailless and it matches the one we have. We continued to the East and then turned South deciding stick to our boundary till our Southern limits where we could take morning coffee at one of the prettiest pans in the park. Our journey was to be a very quit one with us only finding tell-tale signs that a manager y of animals had been present there at some point. After morning coffee things did pick up with us finding Zebra, Kudu and Impala, I include these as there was literally nothing else, well almost, I'm sure we saw a Steenbok or two as well! 

Finding our way back out of no-mans land we visited Argyle Dam on the way home where we had the Hippo's come out the water to bask on the sand island and the large Crocodile slide off that same island when a Spoonbill disturb the tranquillity of the island with it flying in and feeding frantically at the waters edge.

The rest of the gang had a very productive morning with them finding and visiting the respective animals that they needed of which Leopard, Lion, Buffalo, Elephant and Rhino where all on offer. Lets hope they all present for this afternoon when both Chad and myself receiving new guests.

With our guests arriving a little late for game drive we got off to a late start but this did work in our favour in a way as by the time we started reaching and responding to sightings most the stations had moved through and we would have the animals to ourselves. We started off heading to Argyle Dam as we had a request for Crocodile which has been very accommodating the last couple days and we once again found him sunning himself out on the bank. With him in the bag we then had a request for a Steenbok which we fulfilled not five minutes later out on the plains around the dam.

I think at this point I should explain that our guests are three-peats and Jacky and I have driven them and on both previous occasions and they once again requested us, some folk never learn. On each occasion we failed in finding them Lions, so I'm guessing on this occasion they were not expecting much and kept it simple for us. I half expected the next request to be for Impala so in an attempt to restore a little dignity when we heard that the Lions were still about we responded very quickly, not going to leave anything to chance this time round. Making our way slowly round Sohobele Plains we arrived at the Lions to find the younger male feeding while the other plus one female were drinking from the pan, the remaining two females lay next to the waters edge full bellied. Us getting there a little late was good as the light was now perfect and we caught them in the days last golden hour. We were spoilt as we had a number of subjects that kept us occupied with the pan being a hive of activity. There were a number of vultures collected plus plenty other little birds that came and went from the pan quenching their thirst after a particularly warm afternoon. 

Having had a great sighting and with a tiny amount of time on our hands we chose to quickly head South to Umfana Male who was busy finishing off the remainders of his stolen Impala kill. Arriving in the days last light we found him silhouetted up in the Marula Tree with a couple of Hyena's down below. It was a good choice to make the long trip down as the sighting was excellent and we watched spell bound as he balanced his remaining morsel trying to feed on every last bit. Occasionally he would drop small pieces that the Hyena's were very quick to pounce on, these scraps would sometimes fall into the Knobthorn Tree below and be suspended just out of reach of the Hyenas, talk about the height of frustration. Pushing time as far as we could we eventually had to make our way out and head back home.

As had been in the morning there was plenty out in the afternoon, in fact to much to get around to and the guys had to choose what animals they needed to fill the gaps. Some needing Rhino and Elephant, while others headed for Buffalo and Hyena, add to this another Lion sighting and another Leopard sighting and you had an amasing afternoon. I wonder what will be out there tomorrow?

On that note Chad is back and he will be bringing you all the the latest news over the next couple of days as I return to the land of admin to catch up. It has been fun bringing you all the stories and I look forward to catching up soon.

Cheers,

Grant.