(Please be aware that today’s post contains images of dead and dismembered animals.)
It’s 6 am – hop up into the vehicle, it’s time for another game drive at Dulini River.
We start by spotting some baboons:
They’re not really big fans of people, but who can blame them? They soon disappear into the woods.
Then we spot some hooded vultures:
Colbert then picks up some tracks, and discovers more lions just off the road:
This is the same lioness-cub grouping that contains the older mother with two notched ears, two younger daughters, and two little male cubs – we’ve seen them a few times now, but this time is different for reasons that will become clear shortly.
But in the meantime – cub photos:
These lions still haven’t made a kill in a while. You can tell the cubs are hungry, as they are attempting to nurse standing up – or as I refer to it, going for drive-thru:
Eventually their mother relents:
And this visit’s difference becomes clear:
The male lions are here, too. And they’re even awake!
Mostly.
Meanwhile, the cubs get up to their old tricks:
“You don’t need that ear, do you?”
But who can get mad at a face like this:
Even if it’s clear that there’s mischief in his heart:
The male lion’s wakefulness does not last for long:
They are beautiful creatures – each scar tells a story of a battle fought and won.
But then the lions fall back asleep, and it becomes clear that they will not be going anywhere anytime soon – so it’s time to move on.
Nathan and Colbert have another surprise in store for us. We head north for a while, crossing the river and looking for a fallen branch. We get distracted by a butterfly, missing our turnoff – but eventually we find our mark.
The site in unmistakeable, both in sight and in smell – another pack of lions has a recent kill, this time a young giraffe:
There are a pair of lioness cubs here, also sired by the same male lions that we spotted earlier this morning.
They are bright eyed, with full bellies.
These female cubs are around 6 months old compared to the 3 month old male cubs at the earlier site.
Nathan and Colbert note that some of the lions in Kruger appear to have realized that giraffes struggle with the hard-paved roads, and are deliberately chasing them onto the roads in order to cause them to slip – an unintended consequence of development. The roads here in Sabi Sands, however, appear to all be dirt tracks.
Time to move on once more – we drive south this time, spotting a hyena as we go:
It crosses the road in front of us:
And scampers off into the bushes – away from the dead giraffe:
Curious, we follow it – and my wife spots a leopard in a tree. It’s another kill site.
Hyenas circle round the edges, waiting for the chance to scavenge.
This one is still quite young:
But neither brave nor foolish enough to challenge the leopard for her prize – an impala that she’s dragged up into the tree. (Nor would the hyena have the climbing skills to get up there, even if it wanted to.)
The leopard returns to her kill – gruesome, but incredible to watch:
But as my former neighbour once wisely said – “They can’t just go to Costco.”
This is a different leopardess from the ones we’ve seen thus far. Her name is Mashumbange (spelling approximate), which means “to hang a coat”. She’s named after the ditch of the same name that she frequented when she was much younger.
She has grown into an incredible hunter with two young cubs of her own. But where are they?
She eventually eats her fill:
And goes off – perhaps to find her cubs? Could we be so lucky?
But no, instead she finds a comfortable spot atop a tree where she can digest. On the way she crosses paths with one of the hyenas, and an unspoken message is passed – “I’m done, you can have what’s left.”
We follow closely, but – rather than finding her cubs – she settles herself on a tree where she can pant, digest, and lick herself clean.
We still manage to get a few more beautiful photos, though:
And then she settles down to rest:
We’ve been incredibly fortunate this morning – and we even manage one more rare sighting on the way back to the lodge. A mother warthog with her little piglets:
Back to the lodge for breakfast – how is it still morning? – where they have fresh apple turnovers on offer, as well as strawberry yoghurt:
While we eat, we watch vervet monkeys play and frolic in the yard:
And a parent with its child:
One cheeky bugger manage to steal three pastries from one of the tables minutes after the occupants left, however – stuffing two in its mouth and carrying another in its paw as it scarpers up a tree inside the property. My wife chases after it, but it clearly knew what it was doing.
Back to our rooms for homework / nap / writing as per usual, where I realize I haven’t yet photographed the exterior of the rooms here at Dulini River:
Nor have I photographed the outdoor plunge pool:
Back to the lodge at 1:30 pm for lunch – tuna and fried quail for us, and chicken strips and fries for the kids:
Very delicious – the quail in particular.
We have a low-key afternoon with more writing and resting, and then it’s time to head for the lodge for our 4 pm game drive. Today’s treat is koeksisters:
It’s a kind of citrus pastry – very good.
Off on our game drive, where we spot a pair of crowned plover:
And – a baby elephant!
The trailing males are quite protective, however, and one gives us a brief but intense warning to back off:
Which we do.
Then a race to the south – where Nathan and Colbert have yet another surprise in store for us:
A cheetah!
With cubs!
The mom and her cubs are soon on the move:
They move together as a group – three youngsters and their mother:
But they aren’t alone here – a hyena is also in the neighbourhood:
His presence seems to make the mother wary:
He gets closer to the group – and to our vehicle:
Even the youngsters stand sentinel:
But it’s mom who takes the lead:
They are just such magnificent creatures – my son in particular had hoped to see them in person, but we never imagined it would be anywhere near as spectacular as this:
Eventually the hyena moves off, and the cheetahs find a spot to settle:
But they remain wary:
The four of them together make quite the sight.
The difference between the mother and her youngsters is more apparent when they’re right next to one another.
As Nathan likes to say, “We are spoiled.”
We carry on, looking for a spot for sundowners – or so we think. We pass another vulture on the way:
Waiting for the cheetahs to make a kill, no doubt.
The view is stunning.
But we’re not done yet – we come across a third pack of lions:
This one is made up of three mothers, and a group of sub-adults – likely all females.
Some play fighting ensues:
It’s difficult to capture in the fading light – so we just take some time to soak it all in.
And we finally manage our first-ever round of sundowners after 5 nights:
Though in our case they are very nearly moon-uppers instead – but well worth it to get more time with the animals.
Time for our night drive. On the way back we encounter a chameleon. Nathan very carefully places it on a guest’s hand.
He’s immensely gentle, and soon returns it to the bush.
We also manage a photo of a scrub hare:
Then back to the lodge for dinner. For an amouse-bouche, we have venison mmm-mmm-mmms (spelling approximate):
They live up to their name.
The appetizer is tomato and basil soup:
And the main is chicken supreme:
We finish with white chocolate mouse with strawberries and puffed rice:
The puffed rice really add a nice crunch.
We soon start crashing after the unbelievable high of spotting the cheetahs, so it is time for bed.