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Posted (edited)

Elephants in the bush

As well as the hide (which I will return to), there were some good sightings of elephants in the reserve.

 

They are often an attractive reddish colour due to the soil.

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One male was clear that the road was his:

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A mother and calf showed close connections

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These tusks have been well used:

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There were some encounters which put the animal into its environment

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Edited by pomkiwi
Posted

Back to the HIde

I had two nights at the Bush House which meant only one full day. Pretty much all of the time between drives on that day were spent at the hide as several groups of elephants came to drink.

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It was spell-binding to see, hear, smell and at times feel them so close

 

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They would jostle each other to get to the outflow of the freah water pipe feeding the pool

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At times it felt as though eye contact had been madeDSC_4036.jpg.80dbe89d5c52f2ab5eafe6e25df966bf.jpg

 

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Mostly however it was great to sit and watch so close.

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Posted

Final thoughts

It was a productive 48 hours at the Bush House. A very comfortable base and lovely, welcoming and flexible staff. I wouldn't have enjoyed the experience of being one of 10 on a game vehicle - especially given the quality of the sightings. Although I can think of more scenic areas for safari, the proximity to JNB, the fact it is malaria free and the density of wildlife makes the Madikwe a great option for a short trip.

If I go back I would definitely return to the Bush House.

 

 

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Posted

Lovely photos - you can almost see the reflection of the waterhole in the elephants eyes. 

 

We went to Madikwe in ‘16 and had a similarly excellent viewing experience with Caracal, Serval, Lion, Leopard, Genet and both Hyena species  - I would similarly recommend it as an easy rewarding reserve 

Towlersonsafari
Posted

loved the photos from the hide-especially the line of elephants-thanks for the report @pomkiwi

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

Postscript - I forgot the lions!

We did see lions but I forgot to include them earlier. There was a small pride of two females (sisters) and one male with 4 cubs.  

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The guides knew roughly where thy were and it was simple to follow the mother to where she had hidden the cubs and witness her calling them out.

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We spent the next half an hour watching the cubs nurse and play.

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They then decided to give mum a rest and went to see what aunty had to offer. 

The answer was not a lot other than a wash and a refusal to rise to attempts to nibble her ear.

 

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Eventually the females got up to hunt and we left the cubs.

 

The females made a couple of unsucessful attempts which were interesting to watch but difficult to photograph as we kept back and the light was fading.

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One consistent feature was that the male wandered into the middle of the hunt on both occasions ruining them.

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Posted (edited)

A great trip  that has completely scrubbed off bad memories of your last stay in madikwe.

Caracal - wow. Brown hyena - wow. Leopards, cheetahs, lions - all in 48 hours. Damn. I've got to get to that reserve soon. 

Edited by Kitsafari

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