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.

Last week was my first week back in the bush and I was lucky enough to have taken 2 groups to Pilanesberg National Park.
The first trip was a gentleman from Egypt and the second was a group of ladies from Brazil.
Of course most of the animals now have new babies and I was going to write something about all these new members following most of the herds.
But then I just realised while going through my photos that the Elephants gave me the best WELCOME BACK greeting of all.
I must have seen the ellies more that 10 times in two days!
I will show the ones I remember best.

First it was these two bulls at Kubu Dam who mocked the resident Hippos before having a drink.

Then, while viewing the hippos in the water hole on Nkakane drive, I spotted a herd coming down from the hill behind us.

Coming down on Thlware drive towards Mankwe Dam, we spotted this big bull.

Hippo Loop also had some excitement with this breeding herd drinking and the calfs playing around the water.

On our way to the lodge where we went for lunch we also got another herd grazing in the tall grass.

And then just before the exit at Manyane Gate I got 3 Bulls close to the road.

This week I had the honour of taking two British ladies on a Tented Safari to Pilanesberg National Park. The one lady is a Tourist Guide and the other organises triathlons for a living.
My guests’ number one request throughout the safari was to see hippos. And hippos we saw!
On day one we stopped at Ratlhogo Hide, which was almost completely dry a couple of weeks ago. Now it is ruled by a hippo.

We spent close to an hour at the hide, just watching the terrapins climbing up the hippo’s back and then sliding off again when he decided to turn.

He even yawned at us, showing off his huge tusks and massive gape.

An early morning drive on day two enabled us to spot this hippo at Malatse Dam when he returned from his evening graze.
Pilanesberg National Park also dished up a few good elephant sightings which included a big bull and a breading herd on two occasions.
It was a 3 Day Tented Pilanesberg Safari packed with game viewing and excitement.

Last week I had the pleasure of taking two gentlemen who work as solicitors in London on a One Day Safari to Pilanesberg National Park.
We found these Kudu females in a grassland area on Sthepe drive close to the Kwalata turn-off.

Kudus are browsers and therefore live in bushy areas where there are enough trees with leaves for them to feed on. These cows were however spotted on their way to a stream where they were planning on drinking.

We also saw some of Pilanesberg National Park’s Elephants and got this nice photograph of a Lilac-breasted Roller.

As always, Pilanesberg gave a lot of wildlife sightings and our guests went home satisfied.

The week before last I spent most of my time photographing the Southern Masked Weavers building their nests in Bakgatla Camp and at Mankwe Dam in Pilanesberg National Park.


The males at Mankwe Dam even got aggressive with each other at times.

I had a great time in Pilanesberg National Park last week with a family from Doha.
They had the pleasure of seeing Pilanesberg’s only pack of wild dogs feeding on an impala. I still don’t think they know how lucky they were, so I am going to tell them again.
Jeff, Michelle, Rodger, Benjamin and Erin you were very lucky! Most of the visitors to Pilanesberg National park don’t see the dogs at all. You saw them feeding! And to top it all you got to also see lions on the same day.
While walking along the stream in Bakgatla camp I came across something which was totally different to Lions or Wild dogs but surely one of the highlights for me.
This is a perfect example of the nest of a foam nest frog.

While laying her eggs with a male on her back to fertilise them, the female foam nest frog kicks with her hind legs to create this foam in which the eggs get stuck.

The foam attaches to the log or branch on which the frog lays her eggs. The outer part hardens and protects the eggs from the elements and predators. As the eggs hatch and the tadpoles grow, they get too heavy for the nest and it breaks, leaving the tadpoles falling into the water body over which the nest was built.

Other than all of this we also saw a lot of Giraffe, Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Impala, Springbok, Steenbok, Elephants and many more that I am not going to mention.
The birds of Pilanesberg National Park also played their part and I think they have created a new birder! Rodger was determined to tick off all the birds listed in the map of Pilanesberg and I think he got very close. Well done Rodger.
I am now focussed on photographing the Masked Weavers in camp and at Mankwe dam and I will make sure to post a few later this week.

On my last 3 day tented safari to Pilanesberg National Park we were very lucky with lion sightings!
My guests were ecstatic when they saw a lone male lion during their night drive with one of the guides of Pilanesberg National Park on day 1.
Then on day 2, I got to get up close to this pair of lions mating!

We were spoiled by them letting us view the entire process. My guests heard the lions roaring at each other and even saw the female hitting the male with her front paw.

It was great and we got to spend about 30 minutes with these two lovers before we had to leave them.

The safari was ended with another lion sighting on our last day when we spotted a female walking not far from the road. We managed to follow her for about 300meters before she disappeared into the thickets.
I am looking forward to the next trip!