Wanted to start a new thread for the Ellie Safari. Group one has 16 people and Group two has 18 people. The earliest to leave start the flight on May 26th. Ken and I are in that group. Looking forward to posting some pictures from South Africa.

Susan just arrived at Madikwe Hills she went with her son, just the two of them. I got this email from her today. Sounds like a very easy arrival in JNB. Of course it all depends on the officer on duty but hopefully we will all have the same experience.

Ngaire,

Check in at Houston took a little longer because they check that you have PCR test. Very easy transfer in Doha. Easy upon arrival. Handed copy you made of Entrance form to an officer, then a second person checked PCR, and then went through passport control in less than 5 minutes. Luggage already on carousel. Less than 30 minutes total from leaving plane to exit hall.

I'm so happy for Ellie'ites ! I hope you all have a wonderful, time with LOTS of animal sightings. Safe travels. ( if I look green with envy, that's because I am) .

Had a last minute cancellation Ellie Two , June 22- July 3, 2021. if anyone is interested just email me. I leave on Wednesday but my office can handle the details after I depart.

Jump on this !

We'd sign up in a NY minute if not for a family trip for 10 of us in July (we booked in 2019/ was cancelled in 2020/ rescheduled for July 2021).
This is such a great opportunity to visit So Africa, my very favorite country. The itinerary and camps are fabulous. The animals are waiting for you since I can't be there.

Ngaire, this is safari related but not really Ellie related. I believe back in 2014 there was a photographer named Marcus at one of our camps. Is his business called Marcus Westberg Photography? If so he is currently at Tswalu and has taken over their facebook page with wonderful writings and of course fabulous photography,

Marius was the photographer we hired to come and give camera tips. He is a super guy and now runs photography trips all over the world. Marcus and Marius pretty close, but not this Marcus is not the person we had on the safari.

Tswalu is a great place. Our last trip there was disappointing. We were the first group there after the 6 month refurbishment. The rooms, lodge and game were all fantastic but they were trying something new in the kitchen. The food and service was really bad. Everyone was pretty upset and it was a shame probably in about 2 more weeks they would have had their act together.

I would go back in heartbeat. Fabulous sightings.

Oh well, close but no cigar. LOL. I'm going to follow this guys for the week which will give me a chance to see
what Tswalu is like. Safe travels.

Bon Voyage, Ngaire and all you Ellieites!

We have our COVID FREE tests in hand, bags packed, finalizing my booklet of "many details" and cannot wait to board Qatar airlines and have my traditional mimosa before take off.

LIFE IS GOOD!

Susan is in Africa right now and has had a remarkable trip with outstanding sightings.

Marcie - Consider Alice and me as having "jumped"!
Thank you Ngaire for all the work you did to get it all arraigned for us. Have a great flight and rest!

Just landed in Doha. Fantastic flight down on Qatar. Getting on a plane to go on safari I was just SO HAPPY.

I love the Q seats with a door for total privacy. As always their soups are great. We both had Chilean sea bass. Mine was perfect I cleaned my plate, Ken’s a little over done. Huge TV screen with lots of options and for me the most comfortable seat. Slept well. I could have stayed on that plane for a lot more hours and been content.

Spending the night in Doha and a daytime flight down tomorrow.

Yay! We will follow in your footsteps on Monday. We have never been on Qatar. How are the martinis?! 🥳 Cannot wait!
————————-
Helen

The mimosa was great, tasted like fresh squeezed orange juice. Ken said his Chardonnay was excellent. I got an email from Barb “LOVED QATAR”

They used to have a security check before you entered the main terminal. That has been discontinued so that was a pleasant surprise. The club is really good. Some odd food but still plenty normal things to chose from. The upstairs restaurant is the place to go. Fabulous airport.

Just sitting here waiting for the time to pass for boarding. Totally relaxed and happy. Feel sorry for my staff with all these major changes. Clay is leaving soon to join us in Africa. I bet they are pulling their hair out.

My next five cruises were all cancelled. Glad Clay picked up some new escorted cruises for me. I love the back to back in Europe. Seems like a long time since I have been to Europe doing everything but Europe recently.

Thanks for the report Ngaire. We have a 9-hour layover in Doha so it is nice to know the club is comfortable. We are following your groups a week from tomorrow. Very excited. Looks like the weather in Cape Town has improved too! Have a lovely trip all you ELLIE-ists!

So jealous. Alice and Kim better be glad that I have been too busy at work to look at LCT much, because we would have jumped on that spot. Our land trip to Netherlands keeps getting cancelled/postponed, and the rescheduled dates are those exact days--but it is probably canceled again since the Netherlands isn't letting anyone from US in. I am so over this covid cancellation business.

So we are now at Madikwe Hills, just six of us did this first lodge. Welcomed by Hanus Kruger who was a junior ranger at Leopard Hills when we first met him probably 15 years ago. He has been manager here now for over 11 years. We got a good ranger, Trevor, full of information and we saw a lot of giraffe, warthogs, zebras and of course Kudu and Iapala. Our track spotted a monitor lizard in a tree just the head sticking out, quite cool. We found some sleeping loins and we were going to go back to them when they started to get active after we stopped and had drinks. At the sundowner Trevor pulls out a small gas propane burner and cooked us filet on a tooth pick. A first never had cooking at a sundowner stop before.

Then we got the word DOGS at the lodge. We jumped in raced at top speed to the lodge. We were told the dog had chased an impala to Room 1, Barb and Tim's room, the impala got stuck in the rocks. The staff came to help the impala and the dogs watched. Then the impala was let free and ran off. We arrived as the dogs were trying to finding the impala. We got to see the staff village as that is where they were. We stayed with them for about 10 minutes and they ran off into thick vegetation.

So we came back and had a great dinner Baramundi fish, only seen that before in Australia. Tomorrow is a new day!!

My dear Ngaire - suffice to say I am insanely jealous!!!! LOVED reading your post and will follow your adventures with rapt attention! I recall going to Madikwe on Roar 2 in 2008. Lots of lovely memories.
I know I am going to derive serious vicarious pleasure from your posts.
Cheers June

I'm jealous, well for sure very envious !. We were in Madikwe Hills in July 2018....too long ago for me. I wish we were there with you today.
Enjoy every minute and thanks for sharing your adventures with us.

We’re coming Ngaire! Got our Covid test results back about an hour ago which was our last hurdle. Heading to LAX tomorrow afternoon! Woohoo!
—————————
Helen

Helen,
Are you flying on Qatar also? We read an article on The Points Guy that suggested Qatar requires your negative Covid test to show the address of the lab or you might be denied boarding. We were wondering if this is a real thing. The tests provided by the city of Long Beach don’t have an address.

Jim yes we are on Qatar. I just checked and our test result do have the lab address on it. If you are worried about that, we went to a place called Covid Clinic and they have several locations around So Cal including Ontario airport, Brea Mall .... The airport location was drive thru and the results were to us by 3pm the following day as promised.
FYI we also have that 9 hour layover in Doha but we booked the airport hotel rather than spending all that time in the lounge. If you are interested I’ll let you know if I think that is worth it.
————————
Helen

Helen happy to hear you have your tests done so looking forward to seeing you both. Somehow this safari already feels special. With all the uncertainty of whether we could come or not just makes us feel really blessed to actually be here.

Saw lots of little typos on my first post. May keep happening seems like I am always in a hurry and print is so small on an iPad. I know you will all forgive me.

Great morning. Highlight was around a beautiful small lake. First we saw heavily pregnant spotted hyenas. They had blood on their faces and were coming to drink. Impalas got freaked and ran off to a safer distance. They hyenas were calling and that whooping sound they make is so distinctive.

Then two dugger boys (old Cape Buffalo kicked out of the herd) arrived. All of a sudden one attacked the other. A clash of horns until one ran off at a rapid pace. The victor went into the edge of the lake and started slinging around the mud. Trevor said it was like a victory celebration, he had won the battle.

Then came the black backed jackel. They are stunning animals, look like they are wearing a fur coat. Lots of guinea fowl and Egyptian geese, that were making a ton of noise. This was a beautiful spot with the red mountains in the background.

Might take a while for Ken will post pictures. He has a ton of pictures to go through already. The internet is fantastic here, like being at home.

So nice to be together it has been a long time so lots of catching up to do. Food has been excellent the breakfast was super.

Every lodge may be different but we do not need to wear masks on the game drives, and when at the lodge we are eating and drinking so not wearing masks. Only one other couple here, they leave today. The staff, ranger and trackers are wearing masks.

So happy to be back in Africa I just love being on safari. Feel right at home.

Ken - Thank you for the awesome photos!! Great to read Ngaire's reports. Can't wait for the full group 1 to arrive. (Hi Tim and Barb! Bummer about TIGER getting cancelled.)

Awesome pics. Have a wonderful trip. Super jealous.

This afternoon we went to see two young male lions that are in a holding area for about three months before being released.
The resident male lions come to outside of the enclosure and the hope is they will form a coalition but must get acquainted first.

This afternoons highlights were a two week old baby zebra, springbok, a very relaxed jackel, and a nice group of elephants. At the end of the day we found the two female lions that have a four month old cub and a very tiny cub. Unfortunately they were sleeping lions and the cubs never came out. We will try again tomorrow.

At the waterhole this afternoon at the lodge a lot of elephants came to drink. It is a very active waterhole. Ken is working on pictures now.

Ngaire and Ken,

Great pictures! Thank you. You all look pretty bundled up. What are the temps like now?

40 to 70 degrees, mostly sunny. Its cool in the mornings and warms up nicely around 9.00AM. The group shots are mornings.

Posting test for Ngaire.

deleted

What a morning. All about lions.

Two females have three cubs around 6 months old and a baby that is about 8 weeks old. We found them and it was a 5 star sighting. The little was being bullied by the older cubs but it was very feisty and holding its own extremely well. After following them for a while they ended up at a red termite mound under a small shepherd tree. The older cubs jumped up on the termite mound as high as they could go. The little cub tried but it was too hard for him. The sun on these pictures was perfect they should be great.

There was an active warthog den at the same spot. The older cubs were trying to get in mom had to come and over stop them from doing that. Those warthogs could come flying out at anytime. They are like speeding bullets when escape from their den. I could have stayed there all day but it was time to go as we had another exciting situation developing.

We raced over to a pride consisting of a male lion, two females and three one year old cubs. The male was magnificent. The Kalahari lions they have in Madikwe are huge. He was walking when we arrived and then sat down intently watching the females that were stalking zebra. Obviously waiting for a kill letting the females to do all the work. One female had moved off to the rear of the zebra and the other female was crouched down waiting really close to the zebra who were unaware of her presence. Right next to the female in stalk mode was a huge male white rhino. Off to side were the cubs with one chewing on a warthog skull.

We were in a perfect position for the kill if it happened. If the female we could not see had sent the zebra running in the right direction the other female was ready to attack. The male was close enough to help if necessary. Unfortunately the zebra ran in the wrong direction. Close but a no go for the lions.

On the way back our ranger stopped to show us ants that had attacked a termite mound and were heading back to the colony. The ants had termites in their mouths. Instead of termites some ants had the ants that had died in their mouths. Leave no soldier behind! . They take the dead ants back to their colony. They eat the dead ants.

Fantastic morning we have a five star ranger he is one of the best we have ever had. LIFE IS GOOD.

So much going on right now. Ken will never get to his pictures. We can see a watering hole. Lots of activity. First two water bucks started fighting. Then two HUGE kudus with massive horns started fighting in earnest. We could hear the horns smashing as they got entangled. Never seen that before. Impalas and warthogs everywhere. Then came a giraffe. Then a huge noise. I thought it was a kill taking place but it was an elephant announcing its displeasure.

Being on safari is a wonderful experience. Been doing this for the last 20 years and I doubt I will ever get tired of coming on safari. Every game drive is different. I am SO HAPPY to be here.

Female kudu and baby






Tiny cub and his sibling.










Tiny cub under mother’s chin

Love hearing about your sightings. Oh I wish we were there. Love the photos too.
I'll try and post this photo I have of your favorite...the wild dogs. They are vicious, certainly not an everyday pet dog for sure.

Fabulous reports & pictures! Thanks for taking us along virtually! Keep 'em coming!

____________

Sue

So another great game drive. Started off with the tallest darkest giraffe I have ever seen. He was with a dainty female. Made quite the stunning pair. We were very close to them and they were very relaxed.

Then off to view a fresh lion kill of a zebra. As we arrived at the sighting a bull elephant also arrived. He chased the lions off their kill. Something I have not seen before. The lions did not go far and finally the elephant moved off and the lions came back. These were a different pride than we saw this morning. There were three females and five cubs about 6 months old. Some a little smaller than others. The little cubs were eating and the females were already full and eating just a little.

Followed by a wonderful sighting of a family of Kudu very close and the final part of the drive was rhino heaven. Two rhinos with very small babies. Our ranger thought one was about one month old. The other about two to three months old. Then came another rhino with about a two year old rhino. About a third the size of the mother. Elephants and wildebeest as well. This area has a watering hole that is pumped with water but it was dry due to a power outage.

This was an incredible day. You can go out and see nothing some days. It is all nature and when you get a day like this you are truly blessed.

Ken is busy working on pictures.

Waterbuck


Kudu





Impala




The dark giraffe and his lady


The kill was in thick bush, these are the cubs.


The elephant that chased the lions away.

After so much excitement we had a very quiet morning. Saw the plains animals, giraffe, impala, kudu, springbok. Two big rhino bulls. We found super fresh lion tracks and spent most of the morning looking for these elusive lions. We had a coffee break and this lodge, Madikwe Hills the absolute BEST muffins we have ever had.

Taking so long to get all the pictures done and we have 18 nights left on safari with most of this group and then 10 nights with the next group. So you will be in overload with pictures. So we are going to limit the pictures to one or two of the best shots of the day.

WELL as you can see below the Ellie’s were so fun at the water hole and he had time so posted below.

AN ELLIE STORY.









END OF STORY

How precious!!

Good afternoon drive.

Elephant day with the highlight being a group of females and babies when a huge bull in heat arrived. All the ladies offered up their rear ends so he could check them out but with babies already none of them were ready for his attention. He just ambled off looking for other females. He was huge in comparison to the females. Ken will post this sighting as the picture of the day.

Also saw a lot of rhinos and a large herd of Buffalo. Plus three more sleeping lions.

Tomorrow we leave for Dulini and meet the rest of the group.

You're kill'n me...keep 'em coming. I've seen similar with my own eyes but can NEVER get enough of these beautiful creatures. LOVE this !! ❤️

We decided to not go out this morning as we were changing lodges.

Now we are at Dulini. Stunning rooms, large, lots drawers, really comfortable. Sat on the deck for lunch and a whole group of elephants joined us, a lovely start. The lodge has large deck area and beautifully laid out and comfortable.

We did see lions but not much action. Crossed the river a couple of times that was fun and saw some Hippos. I think from here I will just post the exciting things we see and Ken will post a picture a day. Nothing this afternoon to post. Often this way on the first drive as everyone gets settled in.

So did not look good this morning. It was raining and we put on the rain ponchos. Very quiet as the animals hunker down in the rain. However we saw a lot of elephants and I saw two elephant encounters I have never seen before.

First was a wonderful sighting where the elephants including a little one came within feet of the vehicle.Always fun to be that close. Then the expression “all hell broke lose” describes what happened next. Suddenly there was a stampede of all the elephants and trumpeting like I have never heard before. It was deafening. There was so much noise we knew there was another whole herd. The Ranger suspected there was animosity between these two herds.

Second special sighting we came across a bull elephant in musth. Normally I like to stay clear of these guys when they are in musth as they can go loco and get very aggressive. For those that don’t know what musth means it is when he has ladies on his mind.

He was on a mission to knock down trees paying no attention to the vehicles. This is something I have always wanted to see, an elephant knocking down a tree. He tried a fairly big tree and it made a cracking sound but did not fall. So he went to another tree and it was still quite large and he succeeded in knocking it over. The power of a big bull elephant is amazing.
Unfortunately we could not get a picture as he was in the trees. We decided to not push our luck and left him trying to take aggression out on another tree.

Now the rain has gone and the sun is out so this afternoon should be good.

Ellie Group One first night at Dulini

Fantastic afternoon. Highlights. Finding a leopard who was chewing on a skeleton then vocalized between two of our vehicles. He walked off but we found him again in a dry river bed. Then on the way home we found a male lion. It was dark by then so we were using the light. Called the other two vehicles to join us. We stayed with him for a while and then he started roaring. Have not heard a lion roaring for several years. Then on the way back we saw a honey badger and a servet. Both of these animals are rarely seen.

Tonight we had a four course dinner with wine pairings. I ate things I never thought I would eat and the food was truly outstanding. Probably the most gourmet meal I have ever experienced. Tomorrow for lunch we are doing a make your own topping gourmet pizza,

Ken’s leopard picture of the day he will do tomorrow.

Reading your posts is always my excitement of the day.
A bull elephant in mush is definitely a sight to see. We saw one knock down a big tree on his "mission" !! love seeing friends in the group shot...everyone looks fabulous. I'll be excited to see Ken's "elusive" leopard photos. Those photos are tough to catch. If anyone can get it, it's Ken !

So how does a leopard and lion in the same tree with a kill sound. Far fetched?

It happened today. Fortunately we all got to see it. The leopard was in the tree with a kill. A lioness climbed the tree and stole what was left of the kill. Another lioness was waiting below. Eventually the kill dropped and the other lioness grabbed it. The lioness in the tree had a hard time getting down.

Ken is posting pictures now from last night and from this morning.

Absolutely fantastic shots, Ken! What software program do you use to upload to LCT?

Wow the sightings are great. We had another young male lion roaring and vultures on a kill with a hyena grabbing a leg and the lioness with a full belly sitting on the sidelines.

Pizza did not work out well as it was taking too long to cook. But we all had a great time but we will forgo this idea with group two.

Great reports and pictures. We can’t wait to join you for Group 2!

So yesterday afternoon. There was an impala kill by two female lions. The vultures came in and we had a great sighting of them flying in and out of the kill. A hyena turned up and grabbed a leg.

Then we had a different young male lion roaring at dusk. I love watching roaring the power they have is amazing. There are three young males here at Dulini and they chased out the older male. They do roar and communicate so that is good.

This morning they found two other female lions. When we arrived we could not see the lions but the other vehicle said the lions had flanked some waterbucks hoping for a kill. We sat quietly then suddenly thrashing in the bush and right in front of our vehicle (about 15 ft) a large male waterbuck came streaking across the road followed closely by two lions. They missed the kill.

We continued following the lions but lost them in thick bush. Later we were taking one more pass by the area our ranger thought they may be and we heard a loud noise. Our tracker said “that’s a kill”. It was really close, we got there when one lion was still suffocating a kudu. Fortunately the back of the animal was facing our vehicles so it was not an unpleasant sighting.

Sightings have been amazing. Not a lot of plains animals but we know we will see them at the other lodges.

Jim, Ken uses Smugmug and just posts the links, but they have changed their website and it is now more complicated to use. May be better options out there now.

We left for the afternoon game drive and immediately came across a male leopard. We stayed with him for quite a while and he posed beautifully for us climbing up and down trees.

Then we went back to the kill and the lions had their three small cubs with them. The rangers have been waiting for these cubs to come out and be seen. They are about three months old. Absolutely adorable.

We leave Dulini in the morning flying to Cheetah Plains. Been a great stay looking forward to coming back to Dulini.

We are really enjoying all the photos and are delighted for you that you are back on safari, which has always been close to your traveling heart! So glad you are having such great sightings. Ken’s photos are, as usual, quite wonderful and capture the essence of Safari. We were quite amazed, in particular, to see a lion up a tree at the same time as the leopard which caught the antelope. Not only had we not heard of such a thing, but had never seen it, that’s for sure.
We also had never heard anyone mention the Dulini Safari Lodge which looks fabulous.
ENJOY!!

Our ranger working for 14 years had never seen a lion and leopard in the same tree. Ken and I have seen it once but this sighting was better than the first.

I previewed the refurbished Dulini River Lodge in 2018, loved it and booked it for 2020 but now of course staying in 2021. It is a great lodge.

Our next lodge is Cheetah Plains that we fly to this morning. I also selected this lodge in 2018 and I spent the night there. This is a new for this group as well. Anticipate this will be excellent also. Fun trying a new lodge and they usually flex pretty easily to the way we like to do things.

Now at Cheetah Plains. Beautiful lodge, good food. They have a pride of 11 lions. Seen Leopard stalking, lots of elephants, and this morning wild dog. The dogs were for the most part just relaxing but having them here offers the chance of great excitement.

The great sightings continued and it has warmed up a little. This morning we very quickly were on standby for a male leopard. This leopard was in his prime. We got great shots and he walked to a water hole and had a drink. He was looking at impala but he was spotted and the impala started alarm calling so no hope for the leopard. We left to make room for another one of our vehicles.

Then Cheetah tracks were found and then they found the Cheetah. Of course every vehicle wanted to see the Cheetah it is a rare sighting. We got to the Cheetah towards the end of our drive and it was probably the best time. He was walking and went up a termite mound for a perfect pose. He was obviously in hunting mode but there was no game in sight.

Two great sightings in one morning that was a great ganpme drive. Ken is working on pictures.

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.

Bateleur Eagle


Little excitement in the Buffalo Herd


Our welcome male lion


The Saddle Billed Stork


Journey of giraffes


The male leopard we followed through the bush


Impalas spotting the leopard


Leopard with Barb taking a picture

Mala mala had a posting on Facebook yesterday about Rattreys opening for the first time and they showed the arriving guests. Who do you think the guests where ?

Yes, it was so wonderful. So many of the staff were singing and dancing it was super special. Mala Mala is a wonderful place and I absolutely love being here. Tonight we had a a full beef tenderloin that was as good as any I have had in the past. One of my favorite places on earth. So sad our cruise was cancelled and then the post safari. I was so looking forward to having so many come and experience the delights of Mala Mala.

More outstanding sightings today. An active Hyena den and cheetah were the highlights. We searched for the leopard others saw in the morning but to no avail.
Coming home we saw a civet, genet and side striped jackel all within five minutes.

More, More ! You make my day reading about your days. Thanks for taking us on your daily drives. Love all of your detailed postings and Ken's GREAT photos. We love Mala Mala. Enjoy your pampering.

This morning herd of about 300 Cape Buffalo. So great to see such a big herd. Bruce said the lions will be somewhere behind this herd. We went through the bush and there they were. Sixteen lions in total including the two big males. Then he heard the wild dogs. So we left the lions to go to the dogs. They were calling so we kept getting closer, unfortunately they crossed over the river and out of Mala Mala.

Will update after this afternoon drive.

So today we started with finding the lioness that has the cubs. But no cubs. We followed her for a while and another lioness joined her. We think she left her cubs on the property next door and will bring the lion cubs over tomorrow.

We saw a bull elephant shaking a giant tree to get the berries. The power these elephants have is amazing.

Little bee eaters having a dust bath in the road. Stunning birds.

Finishing up with a leopard being chased up into a tree by hyenas.

Our rangers spotlight was not working but he still saw a chameleon in a tree and bought the chameleon over to us to see.

Hate that tomorrow is our last day but happy Ken and I will be coming back for another group.

Elephants from our room


Female lioness missing her cubs


Alex, Barbara, Scott and Mitchell’s


Kudu on a termite mound very unusual sight


Bee Eaters taking a dust bath


Leopard chased up into a tree by hyenas.


Chameleon

Great last morning. Started with elephants chasing hyena, four hyena and pups playing. Followed by the finding of the five lions cubs about 4 months old. The male lion was with them as one of the females was in heat. Daddy did some action in front of the cubs. Guess they learn the facts of life at an early age.

Ken will post pictures later.

About to leave for Makanyi, hate to leave Mala Mala

First night very quiet. Just some elephants with good encounters. However first morning was fantastic. The Birmingham pride, a group of about ten lions were mobile and we followed them. One made a run at kudu but missed. It was so much fun they got on some rocks laying in the sun. Really difficult to follow but we found a way. One the best following lions in the daylight experiences I have ever had.

This group has four small cubs but they were not along on the hunt. Hope we see them before we leave. To end the day we saw a big male and two females on a Buffalo kill.

Zebras at Mala Mala they suddenly started running full speed


Cubs at Mala Mala










Daddy with sex education at an early age.

As usual, the pictures are spectacular. Can't wait to get there.

First set of COVID tests for return travel done at Makanyi. Testing paramedics arrived on time, mouth swab rather than nasal, much easier. Tests done 10.00 am and the results received back early the next morning. Worked great.

Sorry it has been quiet since we got to Makanyi internet issues as can happen in the bush and just been very busy. Overview of the time here.

Great elephants with good encounters little ones charging the vehicle showing off how big they were. Love that. The Birmingham pride, a group of about ten lions were mobile and we followed them. One made a run at kudu but missed. It was so much fun they got on some rocks laying in the sun. Really difficult to follow but we found a way. One the best following lions in the daylight experiences I have ever had. This group has four small cubs but they were not along on the hunt. Hope we see them before we leave.

Part of the same Birmingham pride made a Buffalo kill and there is a big male and three females. We have followed that up on all the game drives and now almost nothing left. Hyenas around but not approaching the lions.

Wild dogs and hyenas fighting over a kill. I missed that sighting but saw the videos hope to find the dogs this evening.

Fun sightings. Saw a hyena up to its head in the water. An ostrich which is a rare sighting. New born giraffe with umbilical cord still attached. Had water buck, lots of wildebeest and impala right at our deck today.

Some pictures from Ken will follow.

Lions we followed through the bush


Hippos galore at Makanyi


One BIG bull elephanr with big tusks


Wild dogs with Hyena

Ngaire, is this a video of your arrival at Rattrays? https://youtu.be/m7ZmG4akjMg

Great Video Dave.
Oh how I wish we were back at Rattray's right now...5 star luxury, fabulous staff , wonderful food and all the beautiful animals !! It is Heaven.

Group 2 has mobilized. We drove to SFO. In our seats for the flight to Doha! Life is good!

Fantastic, We ate with Sandy and Denny last night and we are all looking forward to seeing you.

Now at Kwandwe

Quite a hassle getting here as usual. Commercial flight from JNB to Port Elizabeth. Then a 2 1/2 hour drive. But worth it.

Staying at Fish River Lodge in the hills. Lots of steps and a distance to the rooms. All that said everyone is having a great time. Driving in we saw about eight ostrich, oryx, giraffe, and of course impala. First game drive was short as we had just arrived but we still saw Black Rhino with a baby and cheetah.

This morning was quite amazing. Saw a pride of lions with two young cubs. Great sighting, lions moving around, cubs being cubs, suckling, some growling. Also mother and adolescent rhino heading straight for the lions. Not sure if there would be interaction of not but the rhino moved off. Good sighting of the rhino.

Then the highlight. The ranger stopped and with binoculars looked at the area a cheetah with two very young cubs had been seen. He spotted them and we drove to that area. The cheetahs moved to the road and walked right by our vehicle. Only seen cheetah cubs once before and these cubs were much younger. Still very black with no definitive spots. They really stared at the vehicle. Then the cubs ran down the road playing. Truly a magic moment. Cant wait to see Ken’s pictures.

On the way back we found a different group of lions with the remains of a warthog kill. This was a good sighting with one adolescent carrying the head in its mouth.

Food terrific, great filet last night and really quality scones for breakfast this morning. I am laying on my bed looking at a mountain range with a very relaxed Nyala bull to the side of our front door. Never been that close to a male Nyala before just stunning.

Life is good.

We loved Kwandwe ! That's where our whole family saw the double Rhino darting of a Mom and her baby....I'll never forget how exciting it was.
Keep having wonderful days. Thanks for taking us along with you.

The cheetah Cubs are just adorable.

And deadly; can someone bring them back to Texas so we can see if they can help with our deer over population problem.

We said our farewells to those going home from group one. Now at Dulini.

Amazing first afternoon
Spent a lot of time with the dominant leopard male. We followed him through the bush all three cars switching places for a long time. At one point we thought he was going for an impala but that did not happen. We were also very close to a group of zebras with a baby, giraffe, wildebeest, and also a hyena.

Only Dave is back with us as a ranger. Two new rangers, Nic and Mac. Had a six course dinner tonight that was very good.

Morning game drive.
Another incredible drive. Last group had a lion and leopard in a tree. This group had two leopards in a tree. The younger male leopard had a kill in the tree and the dominant male leopard stole the kill. The younger leopard was at the top of the tree and the dominant much bigger leopard lower down on the tree with the kill. Lots of growling going on. Then a hyena came and got a lot of scraps that dropped down to the ground. At one point the younger leopard urinated on the vehicle parked right below the tree and scored a direct hit on the tracker! We also saw plains animals and zebras drinking, and a huge rhino in the road. We also saw a Saddle Backed Stork at a very close range feeding in the river and then flying back to the nest that had three youngsters in the nest. Pizza lunch up next. Going to be fun to see how this goes with the chef in charge of the cooking this time. Bit of a disaster last time but lots of fun.

Dominant Male Leopard


Two leopards in the tree


Hyena under the tree


Hippo with mouth open


Saddle Backed Stork and Baby Storks


Zebra drinking water

We are still traveling to get home. 5 more hours to LAX. We had a great trip with lots of fun people, old friends and new ones and great drives. So many sightings that are unforgettable and the rhino darting was beyond all my expectations.
I am anxious to hear how the pizza thing goes after our epic fail 😀
Wishing group 2 great adventures !
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Helen

Those pictures of the cute cute cheetah Cubs are just wonderful, as are all the photos. But the baby cheetah photos are my current favorites🐆
Keep up the good work Ken. Love the postings from you Ngaire as well. So glad you are having such great sightings.
You won’t want to leave!

Pizza party went great - an epic success. The chef made the pizzas three types with great variety. It was fantastic and the dough was outstanding. Everyone loved it. Of course he served it with a great wine, different types of beer and soft drinks.

Super afternoon game drive. A large journey of giraffes moving at a rapid pace we never really knew why. But one male giraffe seemed to have the girls on his mind. Perhaps the ladies were trying to get away from the him.

This was topped off by mating lions. A really nice big mature male we did not see on the first group with the lioness from the first group with the sore paw that was in the tree with the leopard. She had an injury on her leg. It looked like a horn had pierced her skin. Poor thing she has had all kinds of issues in the last few weeks. She is barren and now having to put up with this big male. She certainly did not look like she into the whole mating thing just suffering through the process.

Tomorrow is our last full day here we still need to see the small cubs hopefully tomorrow.

The lioness with the baby cubs was on a kudu kill but by the time we got there the lioness had moved off and the two young males were on the kill. It was on the edge of the river and all we could see was the head of kudu. Two more drives to see the cubs hope it happens.

We ended the drive with a bush breakfast with eggs Benedict as the special. Really nice in a shady spot.

The successful pizza lunch. It was all really good. Chef Altus cooked all the pizza.


Bush breakfast at Dulini


Baby Giraffe


Mother giraffe eating the bone


Hippos going into the water


Hippo


Our group Having fun on safari


Little crocodile


Ground bill hornbill


Ellie’sOK

Afternoon game drive was really good. Started off with a lot of giraffe. A very small baby and a mother eating a bone. Lots of usual head movements were made tackling chewing on the bone.

Had great hippo watching at a beautiful lake with a baby crocodile on the ground right next to the vehicle. We also spied some hyena and drive over to check them out and to be sure there was not a kill in a nearby tree.

Next came a big rhino right on the road. Stood there for a while then plopped down on the road. At the same area we saw a nice group of Ground Horn Bills. They are becoming quite rare. They only raise one baby every nine years so not good odds with all the dangers they face.

Then an elephant herd with very strange behavior. This is an area where elephants are usually very relaxed. Two females made it clear they were not happy with our presence. So we backed off to a little further distance. There were a few tiny elephants. They would be feeding then they all froze at the same exact time for a minute or two then began feeding again.
Our ranger said they were communicating but we cannot hear the sound. They stayed in the thicket but obviously wanted to cross over the clearing we were parked in to a thicket on the other side. Finally the two lead females broke out of the thicket at a fairly fast pace and moved across to the other thicket. There were far more elephants than we thought there were as they emerged following the herd. The whole experience is something I have not seen before.

Finished up with a side striped jackel digging to catch some kind of rodent. Very cute.

So an unexpected change. Just about to leave for Mala Mala. Rattrays is where we were going to stay but we have been moved to Sable. A staff member at Rattrays got COVID and they decided to cease operations for ten days. Refunds to everyone as Sable is less expensive than Rattrays. Everyone took the news very well and it will be good for us to stay there as we are taking Rattrays and Sable December 2022 after the Voyager Lisbon to Cape Town cruise. We have never stayed at Sable and we will have Sable Lodge exclusively so all should be fine.

There's No one better rolling with the "punches" than you and Ken. Sometimes it is what it is.
There's a mess going on here in the US with cancelled flights. I have a sorority sister stranded, and can't book a confirmed flight for 3 days. She's like you Ngaire...she rolls with the punches.

Continue your fabulous safari's...I wouldn't mind being stranded anywhere in S. Africa.

Sable is turning out okay. Rooms not like Rattrays but still comfortable. The bar is actually better designed for socialization more seating in conversation circles. Food the same menus we had on Group one. Today they turned up with a big bowl of passion fruit. I guess the Rattrays chef told them to be sure I had enough passion fruit. Rooms all much closer to the lodge. With our private safari vehicle boarding we are very private.

Last nights game drive was great with two leopards. One was a 9 month old cub left behind by the mother that went hunting. So great watching her as she discovered everything around her. Practicing stalking a piece of grass.

The other leopard was seen in the heavy reeds around the river. As we were driving to follow her we almost ran into a hippo. Suddenly it was there right in front of the vehicle. Both the hippo and our vehicle were totally surprised. Fortunately the hippo quickly retreated.

This afternoon was slow. Looking for lions that could not be found. We did see four different rhino, some elephants and giraffe.

We will see what this afternoon brings.

Leopard in the reeds


Young 9 month old leopard


Young 9 month old leopard


Young 9 month old leopard

I agree with Marcie, no one rolls with the punches as smoothly as Ngaire! So glad it’s working out so well. I hope the person who developed Covid is doing okay? Wish we were still with you!
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Helen

So very quiet morning and a great afternoon.

First thing on our afternoon game drive was baby elephant lying on the ground with the mother standing over the baby. The baby kept rolling over and kicking the mother. Eventually it woke up and hid behind the mother. Super cute.

Then we also saw a leopard and her two young cubs. One cub was eating on an impala and the other cub was sleeping and came over to the mother. This mother leopard started licking and loving on the cub. Super special.

Then wild dogs were seen by two of our vehicles but we missed them. It was a super sighting. The dogs had killed an impala, hyena came in and stole the kill. Then two lionesses came in and stole the kill from the hyenas. When we arrived the dogs were gone and lionesses each had part of the kill. The hyenas started calling and additional hyenas arrived must have 10 or more. It was late and dark by now so we left.

Another quiet morning. We went to where the wild dog den is located hoping to see them but they were not to be found. The dog den site is on Mala Mala but it is too early yet to view the pups. Be a few more weeks yet.

We did get one female elephant who walked to us and went right next to the vehicle and was smelling the tires. Also two large male giraffes really close and posing beautifully. Good bird morning, we saw lots of new birds for the birder in our vehicle.
A leopard and her cub were found with a kill in a tree. We will go to that this afternoon.

Mala Mala Sand River


Kudu Bull


Elephant baby laying down sleeping


Leopard cub


Giraffes


Lilac Breasted Roller

Mala Mala
Good afternoon drive. We went to the leopard with a kill in the tree. The 9 month old cub was in the tree eating. She came down and greeted the mother. Then a hyena came. Mother jumped up and ran snarling and jumping at the hyena who responded in the same manner. Neither was hurt and the cub raced up another tree and got really high.

Some good elephant and giraffe. Up super close to a saddle billed stork. During the daylight drive we found two honey badgers. We followed them in the vehicle for a while. Unusual to find them during the day. A very rare sighting Ken will post a picture. We went looking for the dogs but did not find them.

Coming home we hit the jackpot of the small animals that are hard to see. First the honey badger then two civets and a serval. The first a civet that was quite relaxed and then suddenly ran then we saw the hyena chasing it. The civet got away. Then we saw a second civet quite well. Topped off by a serval who stood in the spotlight on the road for a long time. Normally you just get a quick glimpse of the animals. We were thrilled.

Last afternoon drive. Fantastic. Started with a flat tire we all piled out while Bruce changed the tire. We got back in and resumed driving and very quickly came across 11 lions. They were licking each other and relaxing but awake. Then they got up and started walking.

Then we got the call that they had found the wild dogs.What to do. Lions on the hunt, dogs on the hunt. There were a lot of vehicles with the dogs and they had a kill so would stay for a while, so we continued to follow the lions. There were elephants on each side of the pride and sometimes elephants can charge lions. But nothing happened so we went to see the dogs.

The hyenas were the first thing we saw. Then the dogs. The hyena and dogs got in a brief snarling and fighting mode over some of the kill. Others in our group saw even more interaction. Then they started running and playing. I was in heaven. Missed all the good wild dog sightings on this trip finally got my wild dog fix.

Changed lodges now at Makanyi.

Ngaire:

We’re so happy to see all the great experiences your group is having! Have the new COVID restrictions in South Africa affected you at all?

The people that were going to CPT cancelled their booking and got a full refund. Not much sense going if the restaurants and tours would be cancelled. For us on safari the lockdown is not affecting us at all.

At Makanyi now. Found out we are in the midst of a territorial fight between lions. There are two big dominate males called the Ross males that are trying to push out the seven two to three year old males. Causing havoc amongst all the lions. Been a lot of fighting and interaction between lions.

The group of Birmingham females we saw with group one have been all all split up and headed in different directions. One lioness has cubs that one vehicle saw this morning. This has caused many animals to “get out of dodge” so we will see less animals than normal but perhaps some great lion sightings. Our vehicle found some sleeping lions. I think there are lions all over the place and with one group a big white lion. They saw him two days ago so we have our fingers crossed.

Leopard excitement. There is a big male leopard that is a little skittish. We found him and two vehicles worked keeping sight of him. We lost him but then found him again in the process of stalking impalas. He was more relaxed this time and we followed him as he got closer to the impala. He got right on top of the impala and unfortunately one impala saw him and sounded the alarm and the impala were gone.

Had the leopard taken an impala the lions were very close and would have heard the kill and coming rushing in. It could have been an incredible sighting.

We also had a young elephant mock charge us with ears out and his trunk flopping around. So cute.

So great start for a Makanyi.

Saddle Bill Stork


Leopard and kill in the tree


Honey Badger


Civet


Lions pride of 11 lions


Lions


Wild dogs playing between the vehicles.

Good game drives at Makanyi. I posted but I guess my post did not go through. We saw a leopard with a kill in a tree but she was in the grass. Also three hyenas were present. Little growling but we were anticipating more interaction unfortunately it got too dark.

Lions everywhere. Big males, cubs from 4 to 12 months, both sleeping and active. We also saw stompee (the lioness without a tail). That many of who have been here will remember. Ken got a shot of her but not with her stubby tail.

The Birmingham pride has all split into small groups but today some them joined up again. There was a nice group of lions walking through the bush towards the lodge. A big male, year old cubs and females. They stopped in an area very close to the lodge lake. I think they are waiting there to make a kill from the animals coming to drink. Would be great if this happened so near to the lodge. After the lions eat, then come hyenas and vultures. Always great to watch the progression.

We saw three Buffalo bulls in their prime, a warthog in his hole with just his head out. Of course other game just good game drives so far.

Leopard stalking the impala


Impala jumping high running from Leopard


Nyala bull


Warthog in his burrow


Lions of the Birmingham pride


Stompee sorry no side view without her tail


Cape Buffalo

Last morning.

Good game drives at Makanyi. I posted but I guess my post did not go through.
We saw a leopard with a kill in a tree but she was in the grass. Also three hyenas were present. Little growling but we were anticipating more interaction unfortunately it got too dark.

Lions everywhere. Big males, cubs from 4 to 12 months, both sleeping and active. We also saw stompee (the lioness without a tail). That many of who have been here will remember.

The Birmingham pride has all split into small groups but today some them joined up again. There was a nice group of lions walking through the bush towards the lodge. A big male, year old cubs and females. They stopped in an area very close to the lodge lake. I think they are waiting there to make a kill from the animals coming to drink. Would be great if this happened so near to the lodge. After the lions eat, then come hyenas and vultures. Always great to watch the progression.

We saw three Buffalo in their prime, a warthog in his hole with just his head out. Of course other game just good game drives so far.

Final safari post - Last day at Makanyi
Today a new lion pride came on the scene. The Evoka pride. One male, females and year old cubs. They have not been here for several years. Wonder if they knew the lion craziness that is going on. The Birmingham pride was close by, there could have been a real issue if they came together.

We sat with them for a while and then they went mobile. Crashing through the bush keeping the lions in sight is one of the things I love to do. We followed for quite a while always getting ahead of them so they walked towards us rather than following behind.

The scene was set. Kudu quietly grazing. Lions spotted the kudu and froze focused on their pray. We were parked right in the middle of the lions and kudu just far enough away not to interfere but close enough to really see the action. Anticipation of being in the right place at the right time. I was so excited. But as is often the case the kudu kept moving, lions did not attack. Slowly following then just laid down.

There was a leopard in a tree with a kill but he ran as soon as a vehicle approached. Of course general game, lots of giraffe. We ended the day with a joint sundowners where we hand fed the terrapins that come out of the water when the vehicles come as they are used to being fed.

Everyone got their Covid tests done for the return flight and were negative, all handled very well by the lodges. Paramedics or nurses come to the lodge so super convenient and results that night or the next morning. Overall a great safari for both groups and today we head home.

And that is my story of our trip : I was attacked by wild animals in Africa!!(when a terrapin missed the jerky in my hand and grabbed ahold of my thumb😀)

We had just the best time and wish you all safe travels home.
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Helen

Safe travels home to all. Words can't tell you how much I've enjoyed reading all the daily activities and Ken's fabulous photos.

I've been with you everyday in spirit. Thank you Ngaire & Ken.