This morning was one of the best game drives ever! Started out with a large troop of baboons just getting up and about for the day. We then saw 3 big rhinos hanging out in a grassy field kind of pacing about. It’s very windy and that makes the animals pretty skittish since they can smell predators but can’t tell where or how far away they might be. We saw a herd of zebras including a little guy, a few dwarf mongoose and then : a honey badger! First sighting for all of us in the vehicle. Then we were off to where a mama leopard with a cub was spotted. When we got to the spot, she was up in the tree with her kill. She called to her baby who came out of the grass and she came down to meet him. She laid down at the foot of the tree right in front of our vehicle. A really big seed pod thingy fell out of the tree and hit her which startled us all! She jumped up, ran around in a circle, the baby ran off into the bushes and mom quickly followed . We then noticed a male leopard ( Dad?) also hanging around in the grass. 3 leopards! Can’t see how it can get much better than this! But we will see!
———————-
Helen

We are so happy to have you with us! Here I am finally on LCT. Kim, I’m in go Bar and the wine awaits!!!

Mala Mala:


















Pearl Spotted Owlet.

A wonderful morning drive with Helen and Jerry. We had three white rinos in an open field with good light. Then the Piccadilly female in a tree with a kill. Her cub was in the bushes. She came down the tree and sat with the cub for awhile. Then one of the sausage things feel out of the tree and startled her.

Trevor does keep the wine coming, doesn’t he!! 🍷

Kim, Cindy, Helen, Ngaire and Ken.........Great to hear from you all. Wonderful sightings. We leave in 2 days. Bags are packed and by the front door! First Lodge Mala Mala. Just can’t come quick enough. Keep the reports and photos coming, I get up early every morning to read it and pretend I’m already there.

I do believe Trevor kept me overserved twice last year. BUT who's counting?

We would have loved to have been in the same group with you! Maybe if you watch the on-line streaming safari that National Geographic does, it will tide you over until you get here! Google: Nat Geo Safari Live!

Second day
Where to start so much happened today. The mornings highlights.
Four rhino that we stayed with for a long time. It was windy so they went in thick brush to escape the wind. We went up and down more places than I knew a vehicle could go. Then Klipspringer (tiny antelope that lives on rocks) impala jumping so high they soar in the air. Baby zebra, a two week old elephant, a male leopard in a tree that stole a female leopards kill. That female was at the base of the tree has a six month old cub. Once the male leopard left the tree the leopard cub climbed up and ate some of the kill. We saw her come down from the tree. Top all that off with a hippo out of the water very close to the vehicle, a honey badger and a civet, small cat that looks a bit like a raccoon. Normally you only catch a glimpse of these animals. But the honey badger ran down the road forever. The civet posed for us beautifully for about four minutes. We also saw vultures in the tree . Closer observation revealed a fresh kill. Little was left so our ranger said it is wild dog or hyena. That works possibility of wild dog made me very happy.

Third morning
Great morning. Started off a dam with impala and baboons. Then monkeys were alarm calling like crazy. That means a leopard or lion. We went off road and immediately found rhinos but monkeys do not alarm call rhinos. Ken got a fantastic shot in the “golden light” of a row of monkeys all looking straight at the vehicle. Then we heard a loud deep sound. The ranger got excited and knew exactly what that was, a Rose Owl. (Cannot remember the full name) Really a big owl with pink eyelids. Never seen this owl before. Next we heard a huge commotion and two different troops of baboons were fighting. The noise was great. So no leopard but we were so glad we stopped to investigate. Then we went to a hyena den where other vehicles had seen hyena. We did not find then but the call came in DOGS. Susan actually spotted them. So we left immediately to the location of the dogs. Only our four vehicles were there and they can have three at a time so we all got good time with the dogs. No hunt but they would move around then lay down.

This morning we watched a pack of 8 wild dogs lounge around. They looked to have pretty full bellies, so had probably eaten something recently. The alpha male must have really dug in because he had a lot of blood around his face and neck. There were two hyenas there also waiting with us to see if the dogs would start to hunt. One wild dog female is very pregnant. One of the hyenas looks like he’s wearing black knee socks, but it’s just the shadow of the Land Rover.

Mala Mala:












Crested Barbet




Leopard Cub.




African Sevit.

Vervet Monkeys trying to stay warm in the morning sunlight.


Eagle Owl.


Baboon.


Wild Dogs.




Cape Buffalo.

Wow Ken!! Your photos are always awesome, but that photo of the Vervet Monkeys is absolutely amazing!

Amazing photos...love those vervet monkeys catching sun rays. Less than a month and we'll be on our way, getting so excited. Thanks for sharing all these photos!

These photos left me in tears....not sad tears, but I just cannot get over how beautiful these animals are. Well, maybe there were a few sad tears mixed in... I'm so glad you are having a wonderful safari with such great sightings. Thanks for sharing your stories and your beautiful photos!

Fantastic pictures Kim and Ken. Thanks for sharing

Last afternoon drive at Mala Mala. We decided to take a chance and go to the dogs in the hope they hunt again. That resulted in boredom for hours, 15 minutes of anticipation and 10 minutes of exhilaration. They finally got up and started the greeting routine. Impala were in sight. The dogs saw the impalas and the impalas saw the dogs. The dogs did not start running as we thought they would. Then they all laid down again just looking at the impalas. Like dinner is on the buffet table but too lazy to walk up and get the food.

Finally they perked up and started running and we raced at top speed chasing then. Two other vehicles were there. Not our group. We very quickly we lost them. Then we found them in an open field all in a line. They just stayed there for quite a while then without warning they went at top speed into a thicket. We tried to follow but it was too thick. This hunt was fun but so short. Normally they run down a road and dart off and come back and it all lasts a lot longer. No regrets, you have to have patience and put yourself in the right place and cross your fingers nature co-operates.

As a consolation prize on the way home in the dark we saw three hyena cubs. Two about three months and one about six months. Then we saw an African wild cat, that is a rare sighting. Plus a leopard crossed the road we tried to follow but we lost him. So the drive home was eventful.

The others highlight was the leopard cub playing with its mother. Ken saw a video that Alice took.

One more drive in the morning. It has been a super stay. The food has been better than ever. The only negative was we had two windy days and that’s not pleasant. Not been hot, nice comfortable temperatures.

For the next group our rangers will be Bruce and Liam who are both great. Jacque is returning but not sure they can work it out for him to be on our team. I did all the “on my knees begging” I could do. Hopefully they will be able to make it happen. Plus Gary who is permanently assigned to Mala Mala who we have not had before. Trevor will be here also supplying us with everything we need. New managers Johan and Hannah are great.

Last game drive at MalaMala. Nice pack of about 8 hyenas with the remains of an Impala. Very pregnant lioness who is probably within a week of giving birth. Small herd of wildebeest. Then breakfast and then we were off to Makanyi.

Your safari sounds and looks wonderful. Love Mala Mala.
And now, for Helen, a joke one of my patients told me yesterday.
A monkey is sitting in a tree in the jungle. He looks down and sees a lion take a big bite of elephant poop, chew it up, making faces all the while and spit it out. The monkey thinks that is odd. The lion does it again and then again a third time.
So the monkey has to speak up. He says to the lion, "Sorry to bother you Mr Lion, but don't you realize that is elephant poop. Why are you taking bites of it, chewing it and spitting it out?" The lion says, " I just ate a lawyer, and I can't get the taste out of my mouth."
Ha ha.

Great joke, Rachel!

Good one Rachel!

Thanks, Rachel! That’s funny!
We are at Makanyi where we have not been before. We had a short plane ride and arrived here in time for lunch and an afternoon/ evening game drive. The camp is lovely.
Actually, the best part of the day was clearing the runway in Mala Mala. First we ran off a few impala and then over the crest of the hill came a really big group of wildebeest, maybe 30? They were quite unhappy when discouraged from hanging out on the runway. I had never seen so many in one place at one time! Pretty fun stuff.
————————-
Helen

We saw two sleeping lions and one sleeping leopard on our last morning at Mala Mala and then we were off for our 15 minute flight to Makanyi. Nice lunch on the deck on arrival, fish and chips, burgers, fries and salads. From the deck we could see a watering hole and we counted seven hippo. Antelope and warthogs came to drink.

Looks like three pretty good rangers. Lots of rhinos, hippos and warthogs here. The things that were missing at Mala Mala. We went to a large lake and a hippo kept getting closer and closer. Never took her eyes off of us. Then we saw a tiny baby hippo on her back. Really interesting never seen a hippo pay attention like that before. Probably being protective of her baby. Around the other side of the lake we saw a good sized crocodike laying on the bank.
Others saw a large herd of elephants.

Lion population has been decimated recently. I may have the facts wrong but hyenas killed lionesses, a new male passing through killed cubs. So they are in a rebuilding stage with some young female lions. One of them has a two month old cub I hope we get to see that but I am sure she is very protective based on the events in the last few months.

The bush is pretty thick they had some late rains so grass is higher than it would be normally at this time. We saw different attractive watering holes that looked more like little lakes. One is a huge lake. It is a big property and only our three vehicles.

Dinner was really good. Choices included a carrot soup or tomato tart, sea bass or a beef filet and a vegetarian dish. I had the beef filet, perfectly cooked and delicious.

Rooms are really nice here as are the grounds. Bed looks good. A huge california king and puffy pillows.

Kim our Manager and Amos the chef are both extremely flexible. As with all new lodges I have to change some things but they are making the changes with a smile. Breakfast menu had all you could think of and more. Put our laundry out last night. It was back this morning after the game drive!! Lodge experience so far has been outstanding.

All the rangers are excellent. They tell you what is going on and Alfred who I have had before is a wealth of information. So all good here it does not matter who you go out with on the game drive.

Beginning of last year they had 22 lions. Last two years a wild dog den. When I came to check out the lodge two years ago the wild dog den was very active. The dogs were here a few weeks ago scouting out past den sites but have not come back. So they think they are probably denning at Royal Malewane. Timing is everything!! .

Bush is thick which makes game viewing harder. Plus they had heavy rain April into May so the grass is higher as well. The animals seem to be a bit more skittish. The driving area is large and it is a series of private lodges where they have driving rights. So not as many vehicles that may be the reason they are less relaxed. However today we saw a huge bull elephant - massive trunks. He did have five legs but was so relaxed. He walked closer to us but continued to feed. No shaking of the head or aggressive behavior of any kind. Quite impressive. If you have one great sighting per drive I am happy. This was a great sighting.

Today between the three vehicles we saw a big herd of elephant, a group of five hyena, giraffe, rhinos, hippos, Kudu, water buck and of course impala. We heard hyenas “whooping” all morning. So we are seeing game. Today all three vehicles went to the same area as lions had been spotted when the children were being taken to school. Tracks were everywhere. All going in different directions. Royal Malewane contacted the Makanyi rangers saying they had our lions on a buffalo kill just over the boundary line. So close and yet so far!!

However they picked up more lion tracks of the Birmingham pride. This pride has young cubs and TWO OF THEM ARE WHITE. We could clearly see the prints of the small cubs on the road. They led right to our lodge area. So they are just around here close. If we get to see them we will be thrilled. I am excited with just the anticipation of that sighting. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Mala Mala - Our last evening here:


Lazy dogs.


After about 2 hours they start to wake up.


Impala gets there attention.


Then the hunt is on. We perused but could not keep up with them and we lost contact. They are so fast.


A Spotted Owl on our way back to the lodge.


We were lucky enough to see a African Wildcat also.

Mala Mala - Our last morning here:




Klipspringer.


Lilac Breasted Roller and Yellow Billed Horn Bill.




Bruce, Liam, Daniel, & Fritz.

Makanyi Lodge - First Evening:








Mother and Baby.


Baby riding on Mother's back.






Waterbuck.

Today was the BEST LEOPARD sighting I have ever had in all the years I have been on safari.

We knew those lions were around and sundowners is at the prime viewing hour so we decided to just have a comfort stop and no drinks so if anything happened we were set to go. Good decision. Just as we got back in the vehicle he got the call leopard in a tree. We did a Ferrari safari.

We arrived just as the sun set to see a female leopard in the tree. She easy to see we all were snapping away. Then we learned that a male leopard had chased her up into the tree. He was on the ground close to the tree. It was dark now so we were using lights.After a while she came down the tree.

We stayed with the female and another vehicle was with the male. Suddenly growling and a loud commotion as the female raced back up the tree and the male went up the tree following her. Amazing the noise these animals can make. Not sure why but the male did not go all the way up to the female. So it stayed that way for a little while female high on the tree male midway up the tree. Never seen a male and female up in a tree together before. Plus all this type of behavior and growling.

So exciting we did not know what would happen next. Then the male came down and and walked about 50 yards away. The female came down and started scent marking. Usually a sign she is interested. Then she hung around the area of the tree.

Now two vehicles were with the female one was with the male. We stayed with the female and you could she had a few minor injuries. A piece of her ear was wounded. They never got back together again while we were there. We found out she has a cub so she probably did not want to engage with this male that might kill her cub or all this action was to keep the male away from her cub.

When you see this type of interaction it is so exciting what I call a super sighting.

One of the vehicles focused on finding the lions. As can happen they spent hours and the ranger and tracker went in foot. They did find them but only Alice and the tracker got a glimpse of the cubs. They are VERY young cubs so they shut the area down. If they are with their mother we can go in but the conditions will have to be right.

The rest of our game drive was good. Went to some areas that were far more open. Great encounter with a young bull elephant at the watering hole. Very relaxed and walked right in front of our vehicle really close. We saw a warthog family coming out of their burrow. Dad, mom, and two piglets. Mongoose running around. More elephants, zebra and giraffe with two small giraffe about two months old. Of course lots of hippo. Plus we got a great look at the crocodile tonight. Overall a great afternoon.

There are only three vehicles all our group. So with that leopard encounter no one had to leave. I really do like that aspect of this lodge. The three rangers we have are all really good.
Initially I was worried about how thick the bush was as I have never driven on this land before. It would be better if it was more open but we are having good game drives and the big “lake like” watering holes are really beautiful spots.

Great lunch and dinner again tonight. Really nice lodge.

Warthogs.


Grey Heron.








Female Leopard in a tree.


Male Leopard on the ground.


The female comes down from the tree.

You sure did have a great day of super sightings ! Love all the photos and reading your postings each day makes me feel like I'm there.

Ngaire your reporting makes me feel I am right there with you. Wish I was!

Leopard in a tree and elephant with one tusk.

Well Makanyi delivered again. Two amazing sightings. The leopards last night and the lions today.

We started tracking some lions. Other vehicles were working at it also. Then we found them our ranger was to happy to be the one that actually found them.

Five large lionesses on a warthog kill. Great sighting. lions tugging and pulling over the carcass with all the associated growling and fighting. It was a pretty fresh kill. This was part of the Birmingham pride. There are about 18 lions in the pride and they have split off into small groups. We heard the cubs were killed but one of the vehicles spotted seven young cubs so they were not all killed. We keep hoping we will get a chance to see the cubs before we leave.

We went to see the new bar at Royal Malewane today. Really nice. It has been built in the BOMA Area with lots of seating. Royal Malewane has a pack of six wild dogs. Five males and one female that will not be denning. But just running around and hunting. They were right on the border with Makanyi so I have my fingers crossed that they will move over.

Another super sighting this afternoon. We tracked the six lion cubs and found them with three mothers from the mornings kill including stubby. A lion without a tail. Our ranger and tracker walked in the bush and found them.

As soon as the car arrived they ran away. We were the first vehicle these cubs had seen. The mothers called the cubs and slowly they returned. Staring at us and climbing all over the mothers. So cute. We did only one car at a time and plan to go back tomorrow to try and find them again. They are six to eight weeks old. I hope we find them with the next group.

On the way back we saw a rhino with a huge horn, three giraffes with a baby and hyena. I was going to have a comfort stop behind a tree and Ken yelled out there is a hyena right behind you. Shades of Leopard Hills and the bull elephant for those that remember.

Tomorrow is our last day here. Been a great safari with some amazing moments. Wonderful group of people we have had a great time together.

We had a BOMA tonight, indoors, no fire but with the BOMA dinner. It was really good.

Sad to say goodbye to everyone but excited to see the new group arrive as well.

Five female lions on a warthog kill.








We found the cubs and they ran for cover. We were the first vehicle they have ever seen.
Their mother called them back.

Fourth super sighting

For it started with seeing the Voker pride. (Probably not spelt correctly). This is the pride of lions that is resident on Makanyi. Eight very healthy females and they have a two month old cub. The cub was not with them. They all walked right by the vehicles.

The other two vehicles were trying to locate the Lions with cubs we saw last night. They were successful in tracking them and the lions had moved a long way. They were on the move. The cubs are so small hard to see them in the grass. They kept stopping and the cubs were mewing incessantly for milk and the mothers were not interested in feeding them. A few cubs got a whack from mom.

One of the vehicles saw the lions stalk a warthog and then charge in for the kill but they failed.

It was a fabulous sight seeing the little cubs trotting along with the females. Finally we had to leave it was getting late. Cannot see enough of this lovely lion pride. I am sure we will be trying to find them again tonight.

Final afternoon at Makanyi. A WOW. First we saw stumpy and another female stalk kudu and the “in a blink of an eye” the charge. The lions were unsuccessful.

Then stumpy and sister went back to the pride. We also went back to the pride. They all came to the water pan to drink. This was the best lion sighting ever. They were all right next to the vehicles. So much interaction between the cubs, the females it was amazing. It was perfectly calm and the reflections in the pond of those tiny cubs was priceless.

I am just praying this pride is at Makanyi when the second group arrives. These cubs are already getting used to the vehicle. They made the trip for us at Makanyi.

Ken’s pictures will tell the story.

Sad to say goodbye but looking forward to seeing everyone in group two.

We arrived June 5 in Joburg. I got in at 10 am after a lovely day touring in Madrid. Iberia service and A330 were great. Slept at least 6.5 hours. Gail arrived ay 6:30 pm nonstop from Atlanta. Next day was exercise and leave for Tswalo midday. We flew on the Chubby Chicken, 8 seat king air propeller aircraft. We had a new guide, Sarah, with an experienced tracker James. Sightings were magnificent. We saw the wild dog pups come out of the den for the first time. We counted - difficult when pups can barely walk and kept tumbling over one another. Pretty sure it is a 13 pup litter. Spent an hour with the honeymooning lions. Next day was 12 hours out in the bush. Birds are dominated by sociable weavers and sparrow weavers. We hiked up to cheetah mom and daughter, at a distance of 20-25 meters. We finished up with horseback riding up to an aardvark sighting on foot. This morning a lone white stork was perched in a tree. So unusual to see them at this time of year. Roan, sable, oryx, wildebeest, steenbok, grey duiker, springbok, impala and eland antelopes. We both think Tswalo is terrific on all fronts. Our patio was directly across from water hole. Early morning tomorrow to Mala Mala. Cheers, Anne