5th September – A Tad Wet!

Photo of the Day

Nthombi and her boy in the rain

 

Morning Drive

(Grant, Chad, Andrea and Shadrack)

2 x leopards (Nthombi and her boy with duiker kill) – Vielmetter, Mangawaan Rd

3 x rhinos (male, female and calf)

1 x rhino (skittish male)

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Umbabat Cutline

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Vielmetter, Lower River Rd

3 x buffalo bulls – Motswari, Camp Dam

10 x buffalo bulls – Jaydee, Nkombi Pan

 

Afternoon Drive

(Grant, Chad, Andrea and Shadrack)

2 x leopards (Nthombi and her boy with duiker kill) – Vielmetter, Mangawaan Rd

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Motswari, Xinatsi Dam Rd South

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Argyle, Argyle Dam

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Peru, Lily Pan Rd

1 x elephant bull – Argyle, Crossing Below Argyle

1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Peru, Argyle Rd

 

Daily Synopsis

It seems hard to imagine that we were complaining about the heat only 4 days ago...and I am starting to regret joking about the weatherman’s abilities to predict weather patterns, as he was pretty much spot on today...and that wasn't good for us, as it meant we got wet!

The drive started in a light drizzle as I headed south to the hyena den, but I expected the rain to stop as the sun rose and warmed up, but it just seemed to remain as a constant companion throughout the drive, and after the first half an hour, I was also regretting my decision not to wear a poncho!

Still, we bravely/stupidly pushed on and eventually saw our first animals, which strangely, were not “reindeer”, but a mini-serengeti gathering of wildebeest, zebras and impalas as the rains continued to wet us.

Zebra and wildebeest

We moved to the hyena den and found four adults and five cubs outside the den – a pleasant surprise and we sat and watched them until the rain started coming down heavier and the young cubs moved back to the hole.

Hyena den in the rain

A bit further west, one of the Kings stations had followed up on a drag mark that Giyani found last night, and he reported that he had found Nthombi and her cub with a duiker kill, so we moseyed along in that direction and joined to enjoy some lovely interaction between the pair as Nthombi kept sitting on her boy and trying to lick him clean!

Nthombi and her boy

They then moved into a more open spot and continued to groom and play a bit before moving back into the thicket where the kill was, so we left the area and continued in the rain that we had momentarily forgotten about.

Nthombi and her boy trying to keep clean and dry in the rain!

We spent a short amount of time with a nearby elephant herd and were about to leave them to head home when Grant and Shaddy tracked down three rhinos in the area, so we moved on to join them.  It was the mother and calf in the company of a big male, and the three looked more like hippos with horns considering how wet they were!

Elephants and rhinos in the rain

The rain then started again and we headed back in the direction of camp, but as it was so cold, my foot refused to push harder on the accelerator, but eventually we got back after passing some general game and another herd of elephants; needless to say, the warmth of our baths and beds were most welcomed!

The afternoon looked threatening, but I knew we were unlikely to have as good a drive as we had in the morning; I made my way to check Argyle Dam to see if the elephant herd had moved there, but only found a lone bull as we approached the dam wall.  Soon though, the breeding herd f about 25 elephants came up the road and we spent some time watching them as they walked towards the water below the dam, had a drink and then moved off east.

Elephants below Argyle Dam

I wanted to follow up on tracks for the Mafikizolo Pride, so moved to the western boundary where the tracks were moving in the direction of a breeding herd of buffalos that were just west of our boundary on the Klaserie side.  We sat with the buffalo for a while, but no lions appeared, and the trackers followed the tracks until it got too dark and we conceded defeat.

Buffalo herd just inside Klaserie...but sadly no luck with the lions that were following them!

A quick drink was followed by a rushed drive home as the rains started falling again, and as a result, didn’t do much to promote game viewing; we saw a bushbaby and lot of drizzle...the problem is now, if the weatherman is correct, tomorrow will be even wetter!