The Pursuit of Cats and Dogs - Timbavati, Sabi Sands

[Kitsafari]

Elephants rumble

 

[Kitsafari]

Just before our afternoon game drive, I popped into the manager's office and chatted a bit with Carmen, who had been busy with guests. The lodge was more almost two-thirds full and she had her hands full as the co-manager Rico was pulled into help guiding guests. Rico came in and got a bit of teasing on his record of having plenty of flat tires. Rico then asked me what was next on my wishlist. since H had got his list crossed (rhinos and dogs), I wanted to see the smaller nocturnal creatures and top of that was the tenacious honey badger. Warren, who had joined us, just gave me a watery smile. I reckoned that @@bettel had her wishes come true in Kruger, so there had to be some kind of magic in the reserves which granted wishes, right? (cross fingers).

 

we set off with the sun still high in the sky. it was a sedate drive. the kind that you enjoyed because it was being in the bush, and the usual animals were milling around, and there was that serene quiet that surrounds you with the occasional songs from birds. the elephant theme continued as we came up against a group of elephant bulls browsing up on the hill. the backlight challenged our photos and I couldn't take good pix of the handsome and calm bulls.

 

 

 

Mr warthog watching us with curiousity

 

 

 

a pearl spotted owl was there to greet us

 

 

 

A particular delicious bush for the elephants, some of which had magnificent tusks

 

 

one of them was collared.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 13, 2015 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

we stopped for a sundowner at a cross road intersection and watched the sun set on another lovely day in paradise

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

Brad, another Makanyi guide, came along and we chatted. he then turned around and it was time for us to go. Warren was going to head in another direction when he turned back. I saw Brad's vehicle turning off road, and we followed. The sun had set, the darkness had crept all around us. as Warren drove into the bush, Brad's tracker was training its spotlight at a big bush.

 

Warren stayed silent, but soon we saw a tiny creature snaking its way through the grasses with its tail held high and its silvery back looking like a floating carpet. Honey Badger! my wish granted!

 

and there were two. a mother and a young adult. they were so calm and stayed with us for half an hour, which is very unusual said the giudes and trackers. Badgers were a nervous lot and seldom stayed in a place that long with stalkers watching their every move. this is where our cameras failed us. so even though the pictures were fuzzy, the taping was shaky, I still hold that memory of awe, wonder and joy just watching these tenacious fiercesome animals. ive seen in documentaries these tiny guys fight off lions, kill the most venomous snakes, persisting in every thing they do. It was such a treat to finally meet them (even if I couldn't shake their paws and the formidable claws).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

We had arranged an after-dinner drive just for an experience of the bush late in the night, so we carried our cameras and fleeces, gloves, hats, scarves to the dining hall. we had finished our starters when one of the guests pushed her way to the front yelling there were two leopards at the waterhole. The waterhole was dimly lit so she had extraordinary eyesight. soon we also catch the shadowy figure walking towards the west of the lodge, and vanished into the dark of the night. someone called the rangers, and warren appeared and said right who's ready for a leopard ride. we all jumped into two vehicles, leaving the poor chef and our mains cold in the kitchen.

 

we circled the staff quarters and found a hyena instead. we were pretty sure the leopards would have walked into the bushes behind the quarters based on the trajectory the cat had walked. trusting us for once, warren dived into the bushes and there ahead of us was the leopard. we found only one as we crashed through the bushes in the dark trying to keep up with her.the female looked hungry and was trying to catch something to eat. we spent about an hour following her as she tried to lose us and the other vehicle. finally she crossed out of the lodge perimeters, and we had to go around the fence to the gate. we did find her one more time but after that we lost her to the night. we were buzzing when we returned to the lodge, to a rather well cooked meat dish but no one really took notice.

 

 

 

max zoom on the shadowy tell-tale tail

 

 

 

 

 

[Marks]

So glad you got your honey badger - and such an extended sighting, too.

Also, I can't think of a better reason to interrupt a meal.

[bettel]

Wow! two relaxed honey badgers! What a luck /I feel jealous :)/

[Kitsafari]

@@bettel I had you in mind when I saw the honey badgers - about how you get what you wish while in Kirkman,and quietly thanked you for sharing that luck!

 

It was really cool to see them. at one point they were both digging head to head in the bushes. it was hard to see but i think one of them dug up something and started chewing. really so cool to see them.

[SafariChick]

Love the last-minute leopard and the honey badgers, oh my, so lucky!

[pault]

@@Kitsafari Wonderful night-time activity..... Fabulous sunset before too. Couldn't be much better, could it?

[michael-ibk]

Really glad you got to see your honey badgers - and such an extended sighting, fantastic!

[Kitsafari]

We woke up to our last game drive in Makanyi. We had a marvellous time here. Warren and Lucks were wonderful guides and sometimes their good-humoured ribbing between us kept us entertained. Warren went out of his way to accomodate our requests and we ended up with some incredible sightings. the lodge itself was just so comfortable and the staff ever so friendly and helpful. we had a great stay in the lodge.

 

as usual the sunrise was spectacular in Timbavati.

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

Lucks found fresh tracks of a leopard, so he and Warren left us parked on the road as they followed the tracks. During our stay in Makanyi, we were often left alone in the vehicle as they went tracking. sometimes it would be as long as 15mins or as fast as 5 mins. this time they vanished behind a huge termite mound and left us for about half an hour. I wondered if other vehicles came, they would have to go off road since the vehicle we were in occupied the road. we had time to do a quick bush loo, and then we waited. but they came back empty handed as the leopard tracks vanished.

 

 

No luck this time round

 

 

stopping to admire a collared elephant using a dead trunk to scratch his trunk....

 

 

 

a forktailed drongo

 

 

swainson's spurfowl blocking the traffic

 

 

a flock of.. okay i admit, i'm not sure what birds these were and I didn't jot the name down, but they presented a pretty picture, keeping each other company into the tree...

 

 

and then a mixture of Jamieson's fire finch and blue waxbill finches at the one of the waterholes. That was the max zoom i could get.

 

[Kitsafari]

and then, yet another bull elephant in his Zen zone, who totally ignored us as he focused on having his treats

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

we were then whisked off to an airstrip in one of the farms that we had traversing rights. Wild dogs - again! and there we had thought one sighting was just so lucky. I considered ourselves really blessed to have two sightings, but at that time, we didn't know what else would be in store for us...

 

as we arrived the dogs were leaving. they had just killed what looked like a duiker as one of them sat to try and finish the head that was left behind. while other vehicles followed the others that left, we hung around and sure enough 3-4 of them returned. after that it was just a mad scramble once again to pursue the dogs for over half an hour. a couple of times, we thought we had lost them and were just about to leave them when the white tails would come into view and we tried to follow. It was again exhilirating. just seeing the dogs had made our day already, or so I thought.

 

we took tonnes of pictures and the dogs looked so precious, I just had to spam this post with doggie pix!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

at one point, they came to a waterhole and drank. it's funny watching one of them trying to bite the water instead of lapping up the water. It reminded me so much of one of our late dogs who came to us as a puppy from the streets. she didn't know how to drink from a bowl, stood far from it, and stretched and started biting the water! we miss her still.

 

 

 

 

 

 

sorry about the shakiness in the video. the car moved a few times forward. at one point, warren didn't notice a dog coming up from his blind side but fortunately he was moving at a very slow speed.

 

Edited September 19, 2015 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

we were reluctant to return to the lodge because that meant the transfer vehicle was waiting for us and we had to leave Makanyi. but return to the lodge, we did. a quick breakfast, cleared up our bills, said the last farewells and a big thank you to everyone at the lodge, and we were on our way southwards to Londolozi in a 3-hour drive.

 

The transfer driver was a significant improvement from our first transfer. Edward is a guide and leads tours into the Kruger national park, and he had strong views on the government and the pervasive corruption that runs through the ruling party. sadly, the current party leaders were all about themselves and not about the people who voted for them. as we drove through villages, there were clear signs of poverty. No running water, no electricity. we saw people still carrying wood for fuel, and women carrying buckets to fetch clean water home to cook, drink and bathe in. The sewage system was still a long drop encased in a separate walled closet-size building.

 

Homes were sometimes just a block of cement bricks to build a room-sized house. Edward said the men would work either in farms or other cities, and when they saved enough funds, they returned to add another room of cement blocks. and hence the homes slowly grew. It made me wonder how tourism was supposed to be a big earning industry, and that South Africa was supposed to be one of the biggest economies in Africa. Where did the money flow stop at? what the country needs are visionary leaders not out to enrich themselves but passionate about growing the economy and growing jobs.

 

Reaching Sabi Sands presented another surprise - fences. although we saw them in Makanyi, here the fences were fortified and stronger. and just metres away from the fences were homes. But the fences served a purpose, even if it gave the impression of managed reserves or enclosed areas. Sabi Sands lodges worked together to form an anti-poaching team and security is very tight. we had to enter through a gate manned by a stern looking gentleman who questioned Edward quite thoroughly. during our stay, we didnt see the rangers and the antipoaching team except for one occasion when we drove close to the main gate to Sabi Sands. Poaching is unheard of, said Edward and the Londolozi staff. May it stay always so.

 

 

Edited September 19, 2015 by Kitsafari

[SafariChick]

@@Kitsafari ah seeing and hearing about the dogs made me very happy. I loved the video of the dogs drinking and hanging around in the water - really made me feel I was there! Wonderful end to your stay at Makanyi. And I very much look forward to hearing about Londolozi, site of my very first safari! But I must go to bed so perhaps I will see it in the morning.

[Kitsafari]

@@SafariChick Good night. i'm taking a break too. will update later tonight and you'll hear all about the first night at Londo!

[pault]

Sunrise and dogs (spamming was okay for me) were even better! I was wrong to say it doesn't get better. Interesting to see the war zone fences. Really appreciate all of the observations and quotes from the folks in the front line.

[Kitsafari]

Londolozi Founders Camp held a surprise for us. as we walked to our room, we literally walked through bushbucks contentedly browsing in, of course, the bushes along the paths. I could literally stretch out and touch them, but took such an effort to resist doing so. The bushbucks were all over the Londolozi camps and seemed so habituated to the two-legged creatures walking up and down the paths. I don't recall much about our room at Founders camp and I ran out of time to take pictures of the room, but it was spacious, less luxurious than the Makanyi room, but it had a great view overlooking the smooth rocky banks of the Sand River.

 

The dining mess had a great view, and we had a couple of sightings that kept us entertained during breakfast and early afternoon tea. The dining schedule was lighter than Makanyi. Makanyi had early light breakfast, often with a muffin or large cookie,before the AM drives. you return to a heavy hot breakfast at 9.30-10am, then lunch at 1pm (you can choose to eat either at the main hall or at your room), tea at 3.30pm then dinner at 8pm. I could never have any food at teatime as lunch was always filling.

 

At Founders Camp, a light breakfast before the AM drives, a hot breakfast at 9.30-10am or you can have your breakfast fetched to wherever you are, there's no lunch but a heavy tea at 2.30pm, followed by dinner at 8pm.

 

afternoon tea was really a delight! everything tasted so delicious, and i wished i had a big appetite so that I could try everything on the table.

 

The wonderful chef and her creations at Founders.

 

 

 

Bushbuck in the park

 

 

Edited September 19, 2015 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

While we were having tea one afternoon at Founders, a francolin was just making such a huge fuss, cackling and clucking just below the dining deck. Sandros immediately spotted the danger - a monitor lizard just lazing, or appearing to be lazing at a corner, while the francolin was trying to shelter her babies.

 

the babies are so well camouflaged but you will see at least one just under her body

 

 

and the culprit

 

[Kitsafari]

Another time at the same deck, we had just finished breakfast when a male bushbuck came up the rocky sandbank. as we watched, the young male was in the mood for some fencing practice but since there were no other young males to fence with, he decided to fight a make-believe enemy. it was so entertaining watching him. Don Quixote of Sand River...

 

"Fortune is arranging matters for us better than we could have shaped our desires ourselves, for look there, friend Sancho Panza, where thirty or more monstrous giants present themselves, all of whom I mean to engage in battle and slay, and with whose spoils we shall begin to make our fortunes; for this is righteous warfare, and it is God's good service to sweep so evil a breed from off the face of the earth."

 

"It is easy to see," replied Don Quixote, "that thou art not used to this business of adventures; those are giants; and if thou art afraid, away with thee out of this and betake thyself to prayer while I engage them in fierce and unequal combat."

quotes from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

 

 

 

 

 

 

a short clip...

 

 

 

and a slightly longer clip

 

[Kitsafari]

It was easy to settle into Londolozi. all the staff members from manager to the girls who escorted us to and from the room were so warm and friendly. we felt right at home.

 

In that convivial atmosphere, we drove out for our first game drive in famous Londolozi, the home of the leopards.

 

Shangaan ranger Sandros and tracker Equaliser were assigned to us, and the first item on the agenda was to try to catch a sight of leopard cubs, just only a couple of months old and still not out of the den yet. They are from the Mashaba female and were not habituated to vehicles or humans at that time, and very cleverly stayed out of sight as much as possible. Hence, when we arrived at the den, we had a fleeting glimpse of ears and rounded top of the head and, after that, nothing at all.

 

can you spot me?

 

 

Sandros didn't want to overly stress the cubs, so we didn't stay long. instead we went in search of bigger cats, and in the case of Sabi Sands, a rather rare cat.....

 

Cheetah. cheetahs are rare in the area. no cheetahs have not been seen for months, and this female cheetah emerged from the west side of Londolozi. she had been around the area for a week, and the rangers are all hoping she will stay. The female was around 4-5 years old, and was just lying in an open area above a wide gulley covered with dense bushes. 3 Londo vehicles surrounded her, although I could see some younger guests in those cars were on their smartphones or tablets, bored by the inaction of the beautiful cat. just as she got up and stretched, and limped a little, the golden setting sun rays hit her body, bathing her in beautiful dusky colours. of course, a lot of pictures were taken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bear with me - just a few more....

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2015 by Kitsafari

[PT123]

@@Kitsafari

 

It sound like you were really lucky to spend some quality time with a fine looking cheetah. Did the guides speculate at all about why s/he was limping? I particularly enjoyed the below picture -