It has been too long since the last time I wrote something! Things have just been too hectic to set aside a few minutes to put pen to paper. Or should I say fingers to keyboard?
The last time I sat down to write something on the blog was in August, and about a week after that we moved.
So, our time was consumed by packing and unpacking. And we are still not completely settled.
One of our recent Kruger National Park Safaris, for some reason, produced a lot of but shots. A fair amount of my photos and the photos my guests took, was of the animals’ behinds. It was like we kept ending up on the wrong side of most of our sightings.
On the last evening, like on most of my safaris, we went through all the photos we all took and decided the zebra had to be crowned the best but animal of Kruger.
Decide for yourself if you agree!

Again it has been some time since our last update, so instead of mentioning all the safaris to Kruger National Park and Pilanesberg National Park which took place over the past few months, I will instead write something about my highlight trip.

And that will have to be the 8 Day Chalet Safari I had with my family in Kruger National Park.

Apart from great sightings of the Big 5 and all the other magnificent animals this beautiful park has to offer, we had great weather and the chalet we stayed in was in the best imaginable position.

Overlooking the Crocodile river, our chalet was like having our own private hide. It is in such a good spot, that during the few days we spent there we viewed the entire Big 5 and many other species from our porch. The resident hippo pod ended each day with their amazing calls and each sunset was more beautiful than the previous one. 

We found these 2 young male lions close to our camp site in Pilanesberg National Park one morning of a 3 Day Chalet Pilanesberg Safari.

After hearing them early one morning while having our coffee and rusks, we had a good idea of where to search for them.
We were very lucky to get to them just as these 2 young males crossed the road on their way to meet the lionesses who were already resting in the shade of a tree nearby.

There were no other vehicles and the lions were very lazy and in no hurry.
You can also view the video of this sighting at: http://youtu.be/e67CSKxj5gk

On a one day safari to Pilanesberg National Park recently, we got trapped in a breeding herd of elephant.

Sometimes these very close-up sightings get the guests excited and sometimes they get anxious. This particular close-up sighting of elephant in Pilanesberg was described by one of my guests as “a life changing experience”.

One of the adult cows of the herd gave us some really good poses and kept them long enough for us to take good photos.

When we entered on Tuesday, things started great with some really nice Zebra photos and plenty elephant sightings.

My guests were also very impressed with the volume of the Hippo’s call at Ratlhogo Hide. He now has a female and calf in his waterhole!
The entire time we spend in Pilanesberg last week, we were sitting on the edge of our seats. The signs of lion hunting kept popping up, which meant we expected them around every corner and under every tree.

This Blue Wildebeest Carcass in particular kept us interested for a long time.
When we got there these two Pied Crows were feasting, but they were soon displaced by a Black-backed Jackal.

We kept finding the carcasses but every time too late.

March has been an amazing month!
We officially started production of our safari dome tents, we started the process of getting a dedicated website for each of the parks we operate in and I was busy with safaris to Kruger Park and Pilanesberg.
Many exciting things, but if I have to choose one I will have to say that the 4 Day Tented Pilanesberg Safari with Gerardo and his wife Sandra was the highlight of my month.
The weather was perfect, the company of my two guests were great, we had great sightings and I was in the bush where I feel I belong.
I had some difficulty finding lion on day one, two and three, and I started to worry a bit that I will have to send my guests home without an African Lion Sighting. But then on our last morning drive we found two young males close to Malatse Dam which made me feel much better. And by the look on Gerardo and Sandra’s faces, I could tell that they were amazed by these magnificent animals.
We also had some great Elephant views and I think the one with the large bull walking in front of us impressed Gerardo the most. It made him realise how big the Elephants really are.

I cannot believe that it has been a month since my last blog posting!
In the last 4 weeks I have been on safari to Pilanesberg National Park and Kruger National Park with 7 different groups, and now I am getting ready for another trip to Kruger Park which leaves tomorrow.
Here follows a photo of each of the past 7 safaris.
One day Pilanesberg Safari


3 Day Chalet Pilanesberg Safari


One Day Pilanesberg Safari


3 Day Chalet Pilanesberg Safari


2 Day Tented Pilanesberg Safari


One Day Pilanesberg Safari


4 Day Chalet Kruger Park Safari

 

This past week and a half in Pilanesberg National Park was, as always, spectacular and we had two great safaris.
This week I feel it is time to show some pictures of and animal other than one of the big 5 and I chose the Zebra.

They must be the most willing species to pose for a photo in Pilanesberg and they are probably the most photogenic.

Some of them even try to smile at the camera.