Fun & games

On a cloudy morning in February one family I was driving had still not seen lions, after spending three nights at the lodge. This creature is usually number one or two on most people's lists and no African safari feels complete without making their acquaintance. In most cases though, they are lazy buggers laying in the shade of a bush, an ear and half an eye visible through the thicket, if lucky. This was not going to be an ordinary morning however...

As we approached the site where one of the prides had been found we were told on the radio that they were now up and moving about and we made our way down towards the river, as they seemed to slowly be heading in that direction. Just watching them walking and drinking is a privilege and the guests were stoked, and so was I, as we were not really expecting much activity at all.

The water seemed to be revitalizing the juveniles however and they figured it to be an excellent opportunity to practise their stalking techniques, on their mothers and aunts.

Since the adults weren't up for these boisterous fun and games though, the siblings and cousins quickly turned on each other instead.

Soon we had oversized kittens chasing around on all sides of the vehicle, kicking up dust and enjoying the relative relief from the heat that this morning offered.

The appearance of a thirsty giraffe interrupted the activity and the young lions decided to take him on. Normally giraffes are very weary of lions, but youngsters around a year old don't really pose any sort of threat. He was more worried about the adults resting under a tree a bit away from the river. The boldness of their chosen prey probably surprised them a bit...

For a few seconds they just stared at him before running towards him. Like any animal, the sight of 6-7 lions running towards him, sent him scurrying for safety.

The lionesses watched their offspring’s latest game with no apparent interest to join in and after a while the large giraffe bull seemed to realize that there were no adults involved in the hunt and calmed down. Restoring his dignity, he slowly went down towards the river again and the youngsters finally found the warmth of the morning tiring as the clouds slowly scattered.

 

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An Ordinary Morning at the Airstrip

One morning one of the larger lion prides in the eastern part of the reserve had been kind enough to take down a wildebeest right next to the airstrip. Granted “Madikwe International” is not one of the busiest of South Africa's airports, but still, a flight or two per day isn't unusual...

The carcass had not yet started to smell, so it was clearly rather fresh, though already almost finished. As we approached, a lioness and two juveniles were still busy feeding, while the others had taken to the shade, panting like crazy while digesting the meal. Two black-backed jackals were wearily assessing the situation from a safe distance, patiently waiting their turn.

I had at first been a bit worried that a sighting like this would be too much for the two younger guests in my vehicle to stomach, as the lions were ripping apart their prey only a few metres away... but they were delighted and and so were their parents.

As the morning progressed and the heat got more intense, the female decided that she'd had enough of the sun and carried the rest of the food in under a bush, and the two younger individuals followed.

This was the chance the jackals had been waiting for! They came rushing for the stomach and other goodies that had been left behind by the lions. These intelligent little canines form pairs for life and often share food, but were regardless of this quarrelling about the left-overs and chasing each other around.

A few of the younger pride members weren't too impressed with this behaviour and decided to do something about the thieving pair. Jackals are however far too agile and alert to be taken by lions out in the open. The heat probably made the attempt from the big cats less serious than it could have been as well. The chase did trigger some playfulness though and for a while the youngsters were running around without a care in the world in the early morning hours.

A couple of hours later as the first flight of the day was making it's decent, both the carcass and the pride were long gone.

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Hazyview highlights, Family trip part V



After driving around in Kruger for a few days, it was time for some activities. We stayed at Hippo Hollow in Hazyview where hippos actually come up onto the lawn in the evening to graze. In the afternoons we also saw the elephants of the nearby Elephant Whisper playing with each other on the other side of the river.

 

Our first evening at Hippo Hollow was on Christmas Day and we had a huge buffet to choose from, both things we knew and others we didn't. What puzzled us the most was this one dish called “Take”, which of course tasted a lot like chicken...

An hour later we managed to find a waiter that could interpret the local pronunciation of the mystifying food before us; turkey!

River rafting

For those of you who don't realize it, river rafting is an activity that involves water... and getting wet. You'd better be prepared for it, and preferably like it. It's a rather easy going little rafting session of about a couple of hours, with a short break for bum-sliding and snacks. But also lots of fun!

I was fortunate, as my partner Rasmus is sort of a pro when it comes to canoes and kayaks and all I had to do was paddle like crazy, while steering us out of trouble was his job. I know he took the fact that I was the engine and he the rudder very seriously, as he long stretches just leaned back and relaxed as steering wasn't always necessary... but, like father like son, I guess!

After a couple of hours on the river, we couldn't resist a lunch break at Sabie Valley coffee, across the street from the Sabie Adventures' office. They grow their own beans on the lush slopes along the river and make magic with the dark roasted goodness, whether it be shakes, drinks or more traditional style coffees. Their food and cakes aren't bad either, but I should have learnt from last time... it's impossible down both.

Elephant ride

In the afternoon, we went across the river to be introduced to our neighbours. Marlene got a very thorough and personal introduction to the establishment's most intelligent inhabitant and my favourite, the teenaged Medwa.

He's boisterous, but also very social and enjoys showing off his talents. After a an interesting interaction with him and the much bigger Tembo, we all went for a short ride, a rather bumby affaire. If you feel as if you're about to fall off, you're probably absolutely right in your asumption!

Since mum had had a big birthday earlier in the year, and this was the reason for the trip in the first place, I had decided she'd get her present on the trip instead of her birthday. And of course this was why her name was mentioned a few time to Medwa, as we said hello to him.

 

He was handed a basket and told to give it to Marlene whom he, of course, had no problem identifying. No matter what the gift may be, if it's delivered by elephant, I hope it's appreciated.

After the rocking around the trees, we all felt the need to cleanse our throates of the dust and thus rounded off with some bubbly... and here the boys' true nature was certainly shining through.

Zip-lining

The next day was a bit rainy and grey and so our plans for micro light flying were cancelled. But, as our minds were set on flight, flying through the canopies seemed like the obvious substitute.

The speed, the view, the sensation of flying... It's exhilarating and awesome! After a few slides, I think we all loved it... or at least got sort of used to it..?

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Dam dogs

Yesterday I had one of the best sightings ever! I was out with Declan, one of the other guides and we went in search of the wild dogs we'd heard had taken down a waterbuck on the western side of one of the dams.

Wild dogs rip their prey apart in seconds, killing them swiftly. Many say that this brutal way of doing away with their prey is mean, but I think I'd prefer it to the slower suffocating death that the big cats would offer you. Also feeding is a quick business and on approach we could see that most of their kill had been promptly gulped down and what now remained was literally skin and bones. The only ones still interested in the scraps were the youngsters, last year's pups.

Some of the dogs showed a keen interest in the two waterbucks that wearily watched them from the middle of the dam. One of them was brave enough to try to make it into the bush but the dogs were there in a heartbeat, so the buck lived up to her name and ran for safety into the water again... and this time, she stayed put.

After a while one of the older dogs made it off with a big bone and only two of the younger members of the pack could be bothered with the skin.

But this is when a brown hyena seased the opportunity and came sneaking into the sighting. Brown hyenas are usually very shy and I've never seen one in broad daylight before!

On it's third attempt, the hyena had now figured out to rather come storming towards the desired treasure, rather than trying to use stealth.

The explosion of activity was amazing and it was absolutely fascinating to watch the pack defend their price, even though barely anything remained.  

 ...and I guess this was the reason they finally did give up and let the scavenger head off.

We sat there for about one and a half hours as no other vehicles were approaching that we had to give way for and as for the animals... couldn't care less about us. The dogs stayed by the dam the whole day and we even had a great second visit there in the late evening, as the sun was setting.

This is definitely the best brown hyena sighting ever and probably also my best wild dog sighting, and put together: magic! So happy we were at the right place at the right time... and so were the two guests.

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Kruger, Family trip part IV

A few days before Christmas we entered Kruger National Park. Kudu is, as I've mentioned a few times, my favourite antelope, both in nature and on a plate. As the symbol of the South African national parks, it was only fitting for this beautiful male to welcome us into the park.

As we had booked accommodation “only” six months in advance, we had to change camp every night of the four we spent there! This isn't a big deal however, as you almost have to see different parts of the park to fully appreciate it.  

We had many really awesome sightings over the almost five days in Kruger, both of the big five and some of the smaller creatures. Some of the favourites were the playful dwarf mongooses (of course!)...

...and an unlikely bird; the Cape turtle dove... or as we now know it, the Combaro bird. People argue that it repeatedly says “Cape turtle”, “Drink lager” or “Work harder”. We however agreed, it's probably “Combaro”. I do not know why this bird is obsessed with comb overs though..?

On the first day we came across two hyena cubs at the entrance of their den. One of the adults, left behind to babysit, kept lurking around in the bushes to keep an eye on us. As we turned around to get back onto the main road again we noticed that one of the cubs was approaching a vehicle with great interest, as someone was holding their hand out towards it... The argument that followed with the female “ranger” trying to “...interact with and be one with nature.” was probably one of few moments of total unity in our vehicle. We all definitely wished for the adults to come back and make her a permanent part of nature!

Another memorable sighting was two young male lions crunching away on Pumba. A leopard kept on circling the greedy guys, who'd most likely stolen the leopards prey.

He kept a healthy distance though...

The last night in Kruger was Christmas Eve and we were having a bush braai on a rock where, on many occasions, I've seen lions resting... not everyone appreciated that piece of information. We were of course accompanied by a few rangers with rifles, so most of us weren't too worried. The food was great, but unfortunately, the dessert wasn't. The British influence on the South African kitchen is sometimes a bit too evident... Just drench it in custard, and let's call it dessert!

Lying on the warm granite rock after supper, giggling with a family member while star gazing was probably the best part of my Christmas Eve... thank you!

/A