The Rains have finally arrived and the bushveld is transforming into a beautiful green utopia. The overall condition of all the game species are improving by the day as the nutritious green flush comes through. This week we had a wet but extremely successful safari in the Kruger National Park and the Timbavati. In what can only be termed an “extraordinary” 24 hours in the Kruger National Park the game was in abundance.

It all started on our arrival in the Park. We were only 5 minutes in the Malalane gate when we came across 4 adult male lions slumbering right next to the road. This coalition of males seemed impervious to our presence as the barely raised their massive heads as we approached.
On the afternoon drive we must have seen somewhere in the region of 100 plus elephants in every shape and size and at least 25 White Rhino not to mention all the other spectacular game species such as Wildebeest and Zebra, Giraffe and Kudu but the cutest of them all must be all the new baby Impala that have exploded in the southern Kruger. All these tiny little impala’s on their spindly little legs look so out of place in this wild place but yet there are so many of them that they saturate the predator population so that many of these little cuties will make it to full maturity.

Hippo Yawning

With all the rains that have fallen the rivers are in full flood and as such we were able to see many hippo and crocodile out of the water. After a magnificent dinner, complete with an interruption from a massive bull Elephant, in the beautiful camp of Lower Sabie, we all went down for a well earned rest.

The morning game drive could not have started any better; we were treated royally to the sight of a mother leopard with her 3-4 week old leopard cub playing next to the road in dry river bed and amongst the rocks. She allowed us to watch her for nearly an hour, while the little one explored her surroundings with gay abandon. We also watched a pride of lion settling down into the reeds after night of hunting game. We continued onto the central basalt plains of the Kruger and at one water hole watched as 30 hippo’s lounged in the water as Zebra, Waterbuck, Rhino and Elephant all quenched their thirst, in the distance we could see a herd of 300 plus buffalo that had already moved off from the water as the large crocodiles watched with a steely gaze, hoping for a good meal!
Our day in the Kruger ended with a wonderful sight of two adult male Cheetah resting near the road trying to sleep off a good meal. Apart from the occasional head lift these boys were only going to concentrate on getting some well earned rest.
We then moved onto the Timbavati and that evening we were greeted by an Elephant right in front of the camp at Simbavati River Lodge. After a short evening drive where we followed a beautiful male leopard in a river bed we returned for another sumptuous meal before heading off to bed. The next day the rain clouds opened and even though it was absolutely pelting down we were able to see great lion, Rhino and Elephant sightings.
On our last morning we sadly prepared to head for the airport with rain still pouring down, we packed up the vehicle and started the journey home. As we drove I saw what looked to be a dead impala lying next to the road, she had appeared to have died giving birth and as we watched one of my favourite little female leopards arrived to claim the feast for her own. This two year old female got stuck in and quickly opened the carcass and began feeding on all the juicy bits. It is very important for her to get the internal organs out of the carcass so as to lighten it so she can safely hoist the carcass into a nearby tree to keep it out of reach of Lion and Hyena. What a way to end your safari and I am sure that for Dan, Eoin, Margaret, Mica and Lorraine this will be a trip that they will hopefully remember for many years to come.