🙂 Charlotte’s 18th Celebrations. Leopards, leopards, leopards! Outstanding Lodge! Djuma water hole at sunset with a pride of lions and a herd of elephants …magic! There are only two vehicles at each sighting – and we were two vehicles, so we had it ALL to ourselves!!!
🙁 Yvonne was unwell
A very special time with our dearest and nearest celebrating Charlotte’s 18th.
The accommodation was fantastic. (*Note: Since our stay the entire place was knocked down and refurbished – it is now super modern with electric game vehicles and costs an absolute fortune – see here for updated profile of Cheetah Plains … sadly we far prefer the old place*).
The kids were in one vehicle and the Oldies in another. Our sightings were INCREDIBLE. This was Day 1. The Big 5 in 3 hours.
Our Guide loved how passionate we were, so we snuck out at lunch time with him and enjoyed an hour with this beauty! His name is Kunyuma (Senegal Bush Male) and he is notorious for being a hissy snarly cat! BORN: December, 2012 MOTHER: Karula, Possibly sired by Mvula, Littermate: Quarantine Male, Spot Pattern 3:3. While growing up under Karula’s care, Kunyuma’s personality was a contrast to that of his brother’s. While Quarantine was completely relaxed and unperturbed by the game drive vehicles, Kunyuma was much more feisty, often baring his teeth to let the vehicles know when they were close enough or did something he disapproved of, a trait that followed him into adulthood.
A candlelight feast awaited us every evening. SO special.
We were up early and on our way after a refreshing bush shower to see what we could find. We stopped at an ancient termite mound and could feel the heat from the vents…you can see the termites which we drew out with a stcik.
We then had the most wonderful hour watching the female leopard Inkanyeni feeding on her recent impala kill. She started contact calling and finally one and then the other cub emerged from the bushes …they licked and rubbed and preened each other joyfully. Mama took them to the kill and they all tucked in. Simply stunning sighting. This is her litter from November 2013, later named Makhombo Male Leopard and Xiluva Female Leopard 2013. Inkanyeni was another remarkable leopard. She was born to the Beacon Female leopard in 2006 and believed to have been sired by the Yambilu – Jordaan male. She was the survivor of a litter of 2 cubs. Her name meant Light in Shangaan. She was killed in December 2022 by an unidentified male on Buffelshoek. She is the Mother of the Torchwood male as well as successfully raising 7 cubs to independence….a fine leopard living a fine 16 years!
We did not want to leave this magical scene but there was more to see! We were in disbelief because as we rounded the next corner we came across a pride of lions – also on a kill! This is a sight to behold – lions squabble and size matters – the sounds of snarling and hissing and tendons tearing was awe inspiring! What a morning so far!
We left them to their feeding frenzy and found a spot to have our morning coffee – everyone chattering excitedly about the amazing scenes we had been so privileged to witness – this is AFRICA.
We started our drive back to the lodge for breakfast but as always the bush had so much more to share!
When we got back to camp Charlotte was so touched as the staff had made her a birthday cake and sang to her….
We chilled and lay by the pool and enjoyed lunch and napped…and then it was time for our afternoon game drive – how could it possibly beat our morning drive?!! But it did… First spot were some cubs and their Mom calling them and leading them into the bush.
We headed off to Djuma waterhole where elephants were quenching their thirst. We were enjoying our time with them, listening to their rumbles …then the lion cubs appeared … and reunited with the rest of the sub adult pride… simply stunning and a perfect last game drive for this trip…. a trip which has always remained a highlight and ranking as one of our best.
Sundowners provided lots of photo oppportunties.
Our last dinner was a magnificent feast around the boma – divine.
