So happy to be back at Mala Mala. Main camp and Sable are full but we are the first guests at Rattrays since the shut down. They had all the staff standing outside singing for us on arrival. It was great to see familiar faces. For many of you have been to Mala Mala Trevor the Batman has retired. We do miss him.

On arrival at Mala Mala we were greeted with the presence of a huge male lion. His head was up and it was fun to see him so quickly.

Bruce is no longer a ranger, now promoted and over the protection of the reserve but he Is driving for us, which is very appreciated. Becke the chef is still here with a fantastic dinner last night. Lamb roast cooked perfectly was one of the offerings.

First day we stopped to see the male lion again. He was watching the vultures. Then we saw two saddle billed storks. Absolutely stunning huge birds. This is the only lodge where we see these birds they are quite rare. Then we saw a journey of 19 male giraffes. Some were necking, mock fighting. Zebra were traveling with them it was a stunning scene. They just kept coming. Elephants are everywhere. Always fun to watch. We finished the drive with a view of the 4 month old leopard cubs. Not a great sighting we will try and see them again.

This morning was a great adventure. Within five minutes we saw a male leopard. We followed him through thick bush knocking down trees it was so much fun. We stayed with him a long time and then other vehicles arrived and we pulled out. Mark asked the ranger, Tubs if he gets flat tires doing the type of off roading and the ranger said no, it had been two years. We spent time with the elephants and then we got a flat tire. We blamed Mark for that.

Looking forward to this afternoon and a better view of the leopard cubs.