HIS MORNING THE TIMING WAS PERFECT AND INCREDIBLE

Word was out they found the cheetahs it was a distance so we drove very fast. On the way we found lions. A male, female and year old male cub playing on the road. We went past them as fast as we could and the young male made a threatening gesture I guess we sped by too fast. No time for lions.

What a sighting. The four cheetahs at a water crossing were all drinking. Unfortunately we could not get a head on shot. They started to move and marked their territory on an abandoned building. We followed them for about 20 minutes off road and fortunately it was not too thick. It looked like a couple times they were going for a kill, but it was not to be. Finally they all laid down with two of them in the open for perfect pictures. Couple of times there was some interaction with licking and smooching. We had the sighting to ourselves so we could stay as long as we wanted. Hyenas were vocalizing in the area we hope one would come in it never showed up. There could have been interaction but the animals would not fight. Too much chance for injury to both species.

On the way back we stopped at the river where the cheetahs had been drinking. It was an idyllic scene. Monkeys were playing on the bank, the birds were everywhere and we saw a very rare bird , the African fin foot. We were not allowed to get out so we decided to have vehicle room service for coffee and muffins and watch the action. It was a slow moving river with a little a litter rock drop down. The reelection was amazing, the temperature was perfect. A totally tranquil scene.

We decided to look for the lions as we returned to the lodge. We were to enjoy yet another great sighting. We found the two males walking and followed them off road. One female and three cubs joined the males with normal social greeting and cubs jumping all over the males. We stayed and watched them move around and flop down as lions do. They were not all sleeping just the female was out for the count.

We have two more game drives left. Tonight we will focus on the brown hyena. Something that cannot be seen at the other camps.

Madikwe offers the normal animals but also different animals and it takes a little more time to find them. The landscape is desert like totally different and dust. But Madikwe always seems to deliver some outstanding experiences. The cheetahs and lions have been spectacular.