Afternoon second day at Mala Mala.

After watching elephant and then zebra and giraffe coming to the water we were heading for two hippo out of the water. Gail said, look there is a leopard! Pretty good spotting for a newbie to the safari experience. The leopard was definitely on the hunt. An eight year old female that is a good hunter and succesfully raised Cubs. In fact the leopard we saw last night was her daughter.

We started following her and called our other vehicles. She was clearly staying under cover but heading straight for the elephants we had been watching. Elephants will charge a leopard but the leopard is so fast she can get away. As she got closer one of the elephants started trumpeting, but they did not charge.
By now there were three vehicles keeping a visual on the leopard. Amazing how she ignored the vehicles completely. She walked right next to the vehicles quite a few times. Then she stopped and started grooming. We left so our fourth vehicle could join in as only three vehicles at a time. The leopard was followed by the other vehicles but did not make a kill.

We headed north to try and find the lion pride with three month old Cubs. We did not find them. However we saw three different rhinos, tons of zebra, wildebeest and ground hornbills, a large bird seldom seen.

Best sighting was a herd of buffalo and a rhino heading straight for each other on a game trail, with the zebras looking on but not moving a muscle. A little bit of excitement as they figured out they were both there but no danger to either animal. The rhino changed course and all was calm. Just so much fun to watch.

Wonderful BOMA dinner tonight in Mala Mala's new boma. Not smokey, you could see what you were eating and the food and entertainment was great.

Only one more full day to go here I will be very sorry to leave.

Thank you so much for the reports and pictures!

Cannot wait for our turn next year! I recall seeing 2 skinny lion brothers at Mala Mala on Zebra 2. Hope this sighting was them as they were so pitifu and it is wonderful to think they bounced back. Thanks for the posts, Ngaire. Always such an adventure.
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Helen

Oh how I wish we could go every year! Sounds like you are really having great sightings this year! Loving the pictures.....more please!

Yes Helen it was those two lions. Amazing transformation.

This morning the highlight was two male cheetah. When we arrived they had just become mobile. We crashed through the bush following them it is so much fun. They were after a dazzle of zebra. Although zebra are a bit big for cheetah they can take a young zebra.

We managed to get in a perfect position. Zebra right in front of us. Unfortunately two zebra at the rear raised the alarm and the cheetah did not try.

However it was fun and they were stunning cheetah.

Mala Mala:


Juvenile Fish Eagle.


Male Giraffes necking.








Side Striped Jackel.


Baboons.


Young Female Leopard.

I did a post and lost it So much happens on a safari drive hard to remember if you do not keep up.

Last BIG things at Mala Mala.

The female lions and Cubs went for a drink. We witnessed them returning and greeting the male lion. So cute with the Cubs climbing all over the male. We followed the Cubs back to the kills and watched them enjoy their meal. It is not just the sight but the noises they make are priceless.

The our ranger found tracks of a male and female lion. By tracking he located them. This was the same female that been mating big for four days already. What was interesting want this male was the brother of the original mating lion.. Normally they mate every 20 minutes but this guy performed four times in about 35 minutes. They were using the vehicle for shade right at the front bumper so close the people in the vehicle could not see them. That female life n must be exhausted.

It was sad to leave Mala Mala it is a wonderful property in every way but it was time to move on to Royal Malewane.

ROYAL MALEWANE

The flight took about 15 minutes. On the way to the lodge our ranger took us by something I have never seen or expected to see. They are feeding the rhinos and the buffalo and wildebeest are also enjoying the hay. This drought is very servere. No grass so the animals are suffering and they do not want the lose rhinos to starvation.

There was a trained dog keeping the buffalo away as the hay was laid out on the ground. They spread the hay over a large area to limit fighting between the animals for space at the food. That dog was eventually put in the truck but he wanted out so bad. This was really a fascinating thing to see.

All our rooms were ready and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Then off to our first game drive. Within about five minutes we found a leopard close to the road under a tree. Great start. Lots of animals on our game drive but the super highlight was a two week hippo out of the water with its mother. The ranger said it was the cutest thing he has ever seen and that includes his new baby daughter! The hippo made its way back to the water. Once in the water the baby was nursing then coming up for air and then nursing again. MAGICAL.

We had a joint sundowners at a lovely large watering hole where the hippos were providing their classic noise and the buffalo were drinking. A wonderful first day.

The dinner table was stunning. Red table cloth with white wooden giraffes the full length of the tables as a centerpiece. Lighted candles to add an additional touch of class. The rack of lamb was outstanding. I had a double order.

Royal Malewane morning. We were tracking a female lion and found three female lions with a buffalo kill. The kill was about two hours old. Amazingly the lions had only eaten the prime parts and they abandoned the kill. Such odd behavior. This is because the grazing animals are so weak because of the drought the lions are making kills constantly.

This fresh kill promised the chance of vultures. So after our fantastic bush breakfast five of us went back to the kill and were rewarded with a super sighting. The vultures are fun to watch. As the squabble and hop around with their wings spread out. Most of the others went to the main lodge to the spa for massages.

Tough choice there: watch vultures peck apart a dead buffalo or get a massage! One of the reasons a trip to Africa should be on everyone's to- do list! Where else would one face those particular options lol.
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Helen

More Mala Mala:


Female Kudu.


Emerald Spotted Wood Dove.


Saddleback Stork.


Fork-tailed drongo


Little bee-eater.


Male Water Buck.


Young Elephants playing.


A heard of Cape Buffalo come down to the Sand River for a drink.

Blue Wildebeest.






Lilac Breasted Roller.






Clay, Brooke, Sheila, Ken, & Fritz.

Royal Malewane continues.

Today it was about lion cubs. We headed North and found the pride. Two females, a sub adult and three Cubs. There was a zebra kill nearby but again only the prime parts were gone. Normally lions will not leave a kill.

The Cubs were so cute. About five months old. The best was the little female who was very focused on us all time. The two male Cubs were bigger and were sleeping and moving around a little. But that little female stole my heart something special about this little girl. She kept inching closer to us. I hated to leave but it wa getting late.

On the way back a report of a leopard. We speed up and caught the leopard before dark. So beautiful, sitting on a giant rock. Then he got up and walked into a clearing and then posed for us, a very considerate of him.

Another yummy dinner that evening. The table settings are really gorgeous. Mains were yellow tail and filet.

Royal Malewane. It was to be the day to find elephants. They were way down in the south of the property. It also turned into giraffe day. First we found the elephants. They were in an area of thick bush. We parked on the road and the elephants crossed right in front of us. Often so close you could touch them.

The best experience was a young elephant. Probably two years old. He was right next to the vehicle kicking the ground to loosen up plants and stripping the tasty parts off the plants. We watched him for a while and when we started to move the elephant got upset. Trumpeted, flapped his ears and was very cross with us
He started stomping his feet then took off at a rapid pace in the other direction.

Next we found a group of about seven giraffes. These are the most beautiful graceful animals. A very youngs giraffe was necking (fighting) with a much older giraffe a lot of fun to watch.

We finished up finding aa leopard but in very thick area. Could just see the paws. So home we went for breakfast. Today we have a seafood buffet.

Royal Malewane:


Rolling out hay for the distressed animals.


This dog kept the dangerous animals away from the workmen.








Oxpecker.


The smallest baby hippo we have ever seen.




Our joint sundowner.


Our dinner table at Africa House decorated with Giraffes.

The last night at Royal Malewane. We started off on a hunt for a leopard in a tree. We found a leopard and one vehicle saw the leopard in the tree very briefly. This was a very thick bush area and one of our vehicles hit a log and damaged the fuel tank.

Another vehicle had a similar issue in the same area, the lodge is full and the last spare vehicle was given to the earlier breakdown. So we had to put eight people in each vehicle. Almost every safari something like this happens. Flat tires are a constant issue with all the off road driving.

We all made the best of the situation and had a nice final drive. We ended up with a dinner in the bush with great entertainment by the staff choir. Lots of dancing it was really well done. Sad to see this trip coming to an end. Marvelous sightings, very compatible group a good time was had by all.

Jim, Pam, Ken and I are now off to two new camps for two nights each. Four others are going onto Birkenhead House and the rest are flying home tomorrow.

Ken is trying to post his last pictures as we are not sure of Internet at the next two camps.

Rian shows us the female leopard foot print on the road.


Dwarf Mongoose.


Warthog.


Joe & Georges.


Our bush breakfast.


A Cape Vulture flies in for lunch.


A five month old female cub.


Her two brothers in the back.


Male leopard on our way back to the lodge.

Yellow Bill Stork.






The Southern Ground Hornbill tossed a termite in the air and is catching it to eat.

Ken, your photos just get better and better. I can't believe that little dog is able to keep the bullies away! Wow!

Awesome photo, Ken!

You got some incredible shots this time Ken - especially love the buffalos kicking up dust, the bird on the buffalo's head, the leopard lying down and making eye contact and that BRAVE dog!!!

Agree, Leslie. All pictures are amazing but........That Dog! Wow!
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Helen

Ken, your photos are amazing. The one titled "oxpecker" with the bird on the water buffalo's head is perhaps the most spectacular among a field of spectacular photos. Ngaire, your narrative is fascinating. Thanks for taking us along on this experience vicariously!

Everyone went in their separate directions.the day we finished our planned safari. Jim, Pam, Ken and I flew to Marataba. I have seen some beautiful lands in my travels but this place is one of the most beautiful, definitely for a safari in South Africa.

Our first afternoon served up great elephants and a fairly habituated baboon troop, lots of antelope, giraffe and birds. There is a river, and lakes and watering holeswith neat boulders all over the place with lots of high reeds and greenery everywhere. You are very close to spectacular mountains that change color during the day.

The next morning we left late and went to see trails lodged

They have built a trails lodge for those that like to walk. Floor to ceiling Windows look out over spectacular scenery. Rooms are not large but well laid out. Only eight guests but they have a fifth room if a group of 10 come. Not my kind of place but I can see people who like to hike will be in Heaven. Particularly a group of hikers that know each other. Cannot even comprehend how they built this lodge on the side of a hill. From a certain point everything had to be hand carried in for construction.

The last afternoon we went for a cruise in a pontoon boat. They had drinks, snacks and comfortable chairs. We saw a hippo, some antelope and lots of birds all with the backdrop of the mountains. It was so peaceful.

They have a lot of lions here, the big Kalahari type. But the four of us told our ranger we wanted to just take in the scenery and relax and just see what was around. Jim git some good warthog.

Only problem was that a big storm was coming in so it was very windy. The last night the storm hit with vengeance. They only have tented accommodation at the main lodge. The best tent I have seen with a concrete floor and solid walls on over 50% of the tent. However still a tent and with just the wind it was so noisy.

When the storm hit at 2.30 am in the morning we were bombarded with noise. This must be what hurricane or tornado sounds like. There was hearty hail just under golf ball size. I was not nervous just overwhelmed by the noise and power of Mother Nature. The next morning everyone was talking about surviving the storm. This seldom happens and never in winter. It was a massive system all over South Africa. We heard one tent collapsed and the main beam broke. No one was hurt but they had to move those guests during that storm.

On the way to the airport we drove through many areas of water on the road. Just before we got to the airport we had TWO flat tires. Something must have been under the water. The vehicle had only one spare tire. So we had to call for rescue vehicle to take us to the plane.

So a little drama over the last twelve hours but we looked at it as an adventure. Something we would not forget.

So now we are at Jamala in Madikwe. This is a little slice of heaven. Fantastic waterhole that is very active. The animals come for the water and also for the minerals in this particular piece of land. We have seen hot spots like this before where animals congregate.

On arrival the waterhole was very busy. There were a lot of zebras running around playing. Wildebeest, Impala and then a big elephant came in as well just stunning. That afternoon we went looking for the wild dogs. They were quite a distance away but worth the trip. When we arrived at the dogs they were sleeping. However they started moving around. We were sitting with one dog and a brown hyena was coming. He got very close then the situation was getting very interesting. We had an Italian older couple with us and at the moment the hyena got really close HIS PHONE RANG. Of course the hyena turned and ran. I must admit we were pretty irritated with our vehicle companions.

Driving home we decided to play stay at the lodge and not go out at all. . The storm has bought really cold temperatures and the waterhole is so good. That was a great decision it was bitterly cold this morning. They keep saying that this is highly unusual. I have been here at this time of the year before and never experienced anything like this before. The weather on our safari was perfect.

Pam and Jim are having massages, Ken is working on pictures and I am doing this post and just saw a bunch of elephants coming to the water hole. So bye bye for now

Marataba Lodge:


Our transportation to Marataba.


Ngaire, Pam, & Jim.


View form the lodge.


Waterhole at Marataba Lodge.












Male Lilac Breasted Roller struggling in the wind.

Guinea Foul.


Our boat trip.

Such great photos! Glad you are able to take some time to relax and enjoy your surroundings. I love the scenery - very different from anything we saw on Leopard. I'm going to get out my Africa book and figure out where exactly you are.....

A Dazzle of Zebra having fun at the Jamala Madikwe waterhole on our arrival:

Just have to share how different these animals are at the waterhole. You see more interesting behavior. They are really relaxed so act a little different, more playing and testing each other as you can see in these pictures. I saw two female elephants today literally butting heads and pushing each other.

This is a terrific place the problem is only five rooms so too small for the whole group. Plus it is in a different area to where we go so the flight to get here puts up the cost. It will have to be an optional addition to the regular safari.

Dazzling action shots, Ken!

Very interesting pics of the zebra! I have only ever seen them standing around looking pre-occupied.
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Helen

That trails camp sounds like something George and I would love! I am wanting more info. Would not be able to do it until 2018, but it sounds great.

I thought of you two when I saw this property. Plus some others who like to walk. Such a beautiful place as well to walk. Will write it all up with pictures on my web once I get caught up.

Love seeing all the zebras frolicking. Ken takes the BEST photos. The camp sounds like a nice family camp. Are you also visiting Morukuru Farm House?

Been to Morokuru Farm House on a previous trip. Will discuss all your the family safari options when we see you in September.