Recently I was privileged enough to see one of the most difficult animals to see in the whole African continent. My guests and I stopped for a classic sundowner drink at Mankwe hide, when I heard lions vocalizing on the other side of Mankwe dam. I quickly got all my guests back onto the vehicle with drinks and all, we then set of to go and find the lions, but what we found will be remembered forever.
We went driving down Mankwe way and spotted only the usual impala and wildebeest along the way. Just as I was about to lose all hope there it was . . . AARDVARK! At a first glimpse I thought it was a scrub hare with its ears upright, but then I took my binoculars and saw the only animal that is endemic to Africa. It was the first time I ever saw one in the 2 years of being a ranger and I was absolutely stoked about it. Aardvark is by nature a very nocturnal animal and very rare to see them, every ranger regards it as a golden sighting. An aardvark can be up to 1.7m long and weigh as much as 60kg, with a life expectancy of about 20 years. Their main food source is ants and termites hence their name “aardvark” which means “earth pig” and makes a reference to their habit of digging and living in holes. A whole array of other animals uses empty aardvark holes as their homes.
Aardvark has powerful claws which they use to open up termite mounts and stick in their pig like snout to suck out termites like a vacuum cleaner. Also interesting about aardvark is their teeth that never stop growing, due to the fact that they get grinded down by the amount of sand in the diet of an Aardvark.
It was really an amazing sighting for me and my guests and hopefully I can see one again soon. Till next time remember that real men don’t stand on ants.
Ranger
Gerhard
Showing posts with label Ivory Tree Game Lodge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ivory Tree Game Lodge. Show all posts
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Elusive Elephants
There is nothing as enjoyable for a ranger as to have guests who are just as passionate about the bush as himself, and a couple of weeks ago I had some of the biggest nature lovers I have ever met. The lady in particular only wanted to see elephant and spend some time with them. Yes she was extremely excited when we saw the lions and rhino, but they are still not elephants!
One afternoon we hear an update about a small breeding herd on Tau link, but at this stage we are enjoying an absolutely breathtaking sunset on top of Lenong view point. We decide that after sunset we will drive over Tau link to see if we can catch a glimpse of the ellies. When we got to the spot where they were earlier there was absolutely no sign of them at all! We decide that before giving up we are going to check the pan quickly, but as it is a fairly cold night we don’t really think they will be there to drink water. We were wrong.
As we pull up to the top of the pan, there they were. Two big females, three youngsters, one tiny calf and a medium size bull. They were standing all around the pan drinking water. The pan itself is an old whole dug up for soil, so the viewing area is raised quite a bit above the water, with a perfect view of everything going on at the water’s edge. We sat in awe watching them splash around and play. The spot where we were had fairly steep banks so we thought they would probably move up on the road side of the pan where it is a bit more level, once again we were wrong.
When they were done at the water the matriarch started climbing the bank right in front of the vehicle. We moved back to be as insignificant a threat as possible, but it was still the matriarchs duty to make sure we are no danger to the calves. She first came to stand right in front of us to block us from the calves following her path. When all of them were out she started to move into the bush, but then it was the other females turn to assess the situation. She moved up next to the vehicle, playing with some dirt lying on the ground. It was absolutely fascinating, it almost seemed as if she was doing ‘under cover’ surveillance. She just kept standing there, one eye on us, one eye on the herd, playing with the soil. Eventually she came a bit closer and inspected the inhabitants of the vehicle, when after a couple of minutes she was sure it was safe to turn her back on us she moved to join the rest. Just as she got to them it was almost as if she glanced back, just to make sure we were not following.
In an incidence like this one really learns to appreciate these animals, not only because of their awesome natural power, but also because of their gentle, loving, caring attitude towards each other. Maybe instead of trying to learn about them, we should consider trying to learn from them.
Till next time.
Neill - Ranger
One afternoon we hear an update about a small breeding herd on Tau link, but at this stage we are enjoying an absolutely breathtaking sunset on top of Lenong view point. We decide that after sunset we will drive over Tau link to see if we can catch a glimpse of the ellies. When we got to the spot where they were earlier there was absolutely no sign of them at all! We decide that before giving up we are going to check the pan quickly, but as it is a fairly cold night we don’t really think they will be there to drink water. We were wrong.
As we pull up to the top of the pan, there they were. Two big females, three youngsters, one tiny calf and a medium size bull. They were standing all around the pan drinking water. The pan itself is an old whole dug up for soil, so the viewing area is raised quite a bit above the water, with a perfect view of everything going on at the water’s edge. We sat in awe watching them splash around and play. The spot where we were had fairly steep banks so we thought they would probably move up on the road side of the pan where it is a bit more level, once again we were wrong.
When they were done at the water the matriarch started climbing the bank right in front of the vehicle. We moved back to be as insignificant a threat as possible, but it was still the matriarchs duty to make sure we are no danger to the calves. She first came to stand right in front of us to block us from the calves following her path. When all of them were out she started to move into the bush, but then it was the other females turn to assess the situation. She moved up next to the vehicle, playing with some dirt lying on the ground. It was absolutely fascinating, it almost seemed as if she was doing ‘under cover’ surveillance. She just kept standing there, one eye on us, one eye on the herd, playing with the soil. Eventually she came a bit closer and inspected the inhabitants of the vehicle, when after a couple of minutes she was sure it was safe to turn her back on us she moved to join the rest. Just as she got to them it was almost as if she glanced back, just to make sure we were not following.
In an incidence like this one really learns to appreciate these animals, not only because of their awesome natural power, but also because of their gentle, loving, caring attitude towards each other. Maybe instead of trying to learn about them, we should consider trying to learn from them.
Till next time.
Neill - Ranger
The Days Of The Short Grass
It's a yearly cycle...Every year we burn the Pilanesberg, burn the grass I mean. And the reason for this is to remove and clear dead, old and useless grass. This then paves the way for new tasty grass to re-grow.
'Out with the old, in with the new so to speak'.
I have to admit...For photography purposes I love the short grass. It makes it easier to not only spot the animals but to get some great photo opportunities. So I'm pretty happy that over the last few weeks we have been burning sections/ blocks around the park. There has also been this constant haze in the air from the smoke which has given an interesting quality to the light, making the colors and light in the images really interesting.
I started at Ivory Tree Game lodge in Dec 2010. I found my favorite road to drive on when I got here to be Thutlwa drive. Almost every day I found Lion’s there and especially a group of 5 lionesses. One of these lionesses was most certainly pregnant. I happened to come across her one day just passed Thutlwa grave yard in the open plain. I picked her up from about 300m off and walking towards us, easy to do so as the grass was short and green just after the first bit of rain. (See pic attached) She came closer and closer and eventually noticed a couple of blue Wildebeest on the opposite side of the road…..She began to stalk….My guests and I could hardly contain our excitement. She continued to stalk and moved closer, eventually crossing in front of my car. The Wildebeest then saw her, alarm called and then scattered. The lioness was just not close enough to spring her attack and immediately gave up.
It's an amazing experience not only to witness the stalk and attempted hunt of this beautiful animal, but also to see the emotions of intensity while stalking and the disappointment showing all over her face once her cover had been blown.
This lioness now has 5 cubs. I have not been lucky enough as yet to see them. A couple of our rangers have had the good fortune of seeing them, but only once...I hope they are still all ok...I hope I get my chance to see them soon.
'Out with the old, in with the new so to speak'.
I have to admit...For photography purposes I love the short grass. It makes it easier to not only spot the animals but to get some great photo opportunities. So I'm pretty happy that over the last few weeks we have been burning sections/ blocks around the park. There has also been this constant haze in the air from the smoke which has given an interesting quality to the light, making the colors and light in the images really interesting.
I started at Ivory Tree Game lodge in Dec 2010. I found my favorite road to drive on when I got here to be Thutlwa drive. Almost every day I found Lion’s there and especially a group of 5 lionesses. One of these lionesses was most certainly pregnant. I happened to come across her one day just passed Thutlwa grave yard in the open plain. I picked her up from about 300m off and walking towards us, easy to do so as the grass was short and green just after the first bit of rain. (See pic attached) She came closer and closer and eventually noticed a couple of blue Wildebeest on the opposite side of the road…..She began to stalk….My guests and I could hardly contain our excitement. She continued to stalk and moved closer, eventually crossing in front of my car. The Wildebeest then saw her, alarm called and then scattered. The lioness was just not close enough to spring her attack and immediately gave up.
It's an amazing experience not only to witness the stalk and attempted hunt of this beautiful animal, but also to see the emotions of intensity while stalking and the disappointment showing all over her face once her cover had been blown.
This lioness now has 5 cubs. I have not been lucky enough as yet to see them. A couple of our rangers have had the good fortune of seeing them, but only once...I hope they are still all ok...I hope I get my chance to see them soon.
Black Rhino, White Rhino
The Pilanesberg counts as one of the best places anywhere to observe Rhinoceros, both black and white. Field guides (the written kind) will tell you that the two species will very rarely interact socially, and this is reflected by the experiences of field guides (the talking kind).
This in mind, I was extremely privileged a while ago to witness a pair of white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) and a pair of black rhino (Diceros bicornis) in a fascinating contest for a shrinking mud-wallow.
As van der Merwes's law (the SA bush version of Murphy's) would have it, I was without guests or a camera, on a birding drive on one of my favourite routes, Dithabaneng. As i came around the final corner at Dithabaneng pan, I noticed what I thought was a crash of four white rhino on the northern side of the waterhole. I soon realised that the pair of black rhino (a mother and fairly large calf) was headed for where the white rhinos were enjoying a sunset mud-bath). The dry season was almost at its height, and even this muddy oasis was only to last a week or two longer before being baked to cracks.
I first realised that they might defy Richard Estes when the sub-adult black rhino, head up in typical black rhino fashion, trotted up to the two large white rhinos and rubbed itself almost affectionately on the side of one of the bulls. Like myself, the bull seemed at a loss, standing there looking slightly confused (in typical white rhino fashion!). The black rhino mother suddenly seemed to take notice of what was going on and approached from a few metres away with a snort.
Like many of the white rhino encounters I've seen in the Pilanesberg, what followed was subtle and deliberate. The two bulls stood side by side, and so too did the mother and calf, both pairs facing each other, only centimetres separating their horns. First the white rhino took a few steps forward, then the black rhino. This continued for maybe 15 minutes, the two pairs horn to horn, in a low intensity struggle for a mud-treatment.
The size difference between the two species was very evident, the huge white rhino bulls dwarfing the smaller black rhinos, but in the end it was persistence that won the day. Field guides (both kinds) will tell you that black rhinos have attitude, and despite being half the size, the mom and calf had twice the will. It took a couple of jackals trotting past to give the white rhinos an honourable(ish) way out, and both abruptly turned away and chased after the jackals, before returning to the business of grazing. The black rhino then made the best of the hard-won wallow.
Van der Merwe wasn't totally cruel though, because, with the light fading fast, a private vehicle joined me at the sighting, and was kind enough to send through a couple of pictures of the tail end of the interaction. These can be seen on the Ivory Tree Facebook page.
Mohammed - Ranger
This in mind, I was extremely privileged a while ago to witness a pair of white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) and a pair of black rhino (Diceros bicornis) in a fascinating contest for a shrinking mud-wallow.
As van der Merwes's law (the SA bush version of Murphy's) would have it, I was without guests or a camera, on a birding drive on one of my favourite routes, Dithabaneng. As i came around the final corner at Dithabaneng pan, I noticed what I thought was a crash of four white rhino on the northern side of the waterhole. I soon realised that the pair of black rhino (a mother and fairly large calf) was headed for where the white rhinos were enjoying a sunset mud-bath). The dry season was almost at its height, and even this muddy oasis was only to last a week or two longer before being baked to cracks.
I first realised that they might defy Richard Estes when the sub-adult black rhino, head up in typical black rhino fashion, trotted up to the two large white rhinos and rubbed itself almost affectionately on the side of one of the bulls. Like myself, the bull seemed at a loss, standing there looking slightly confused (in typical white rhino fashion!). The black rhino mother suddenly seemed to take notice of what was going on and approached from a few metres away with a snort.
Like many of the white rhino encounters I've seen in the Pilanesberg, what followed was subtle and deliberate. The two bulls stood side by side, and so too did the mother and calf, both pairs facing each other, only centimetres separating their horns. First the white rhino took a few steps forward, then the black rhino. This continued for maybe 15 minutes, the two pairs horn to horn, in a low intensity struggle for a mud-treatment.
The size difference between the two species was very evident, the huge white rhino bulls dwarfing the smaller black rhinos, but in the end it was persistence that won the day. Field guides (both kinds) will tell you that black rhinos have attitude, and despite being half the size, the mom and calf had twice the will. It took a couple of jackals trotting past to give the white rhinos an honourable(ish) way out, and both abruptly turned away and chased after the jackals, before returning to the business of grazing. The black rhino then made the best of the hard-won wallow.
Van der Merwe wasn't totally cruel though, because, with the light fading fast, a private vehicle joined me at the sighting, and was kind enough to send through a couple of pictures of the tail end of the interaction. These can be seen on the Ivory Tree Facebook page.
Mohammed - Ranger
Monday, 4 July 2011
Son of Mystery
It was the first morning game drive with my guest and the mission was to find lions. I explained to them that the first hour and half of the game drive is to find cats, we took a road called tau link and stopped at the view point to have a look at the view of makwe lake which is the biggest lake or dam in the park. As we were admiring the beauty of nature we heard lions vocalizing and it sounded like they were some were around the dam. We left the view point to investigate the exact location of these cats. We found them lying on the dam wall vocalizing advertising there presence. The sighting was good but not the best because they were just lying down. I took May guest to fish eagle which is one of the picnic site in the park for a coffee break and explained every thing I know about the lions we have just seen.
On our way back we drove past the same lions and they were still lying down but this time they were not singing. We drove around the park looking for more animal identifying some of beautiful bird found in the park. On our way back to the lodge we saw a small brown bird called the Kalahari robin chat hopping on the ground sing melodious songs to us. We were +- 2km away from the lodge and out of no were pop out this lion called mystery son a blond beautiful lion that no one knows who the father of this lion some rangers say his from the western pride. It is still a mystery were these lion comes from and how is he surviving.
Nyiko Nkuna
On our way back we drove past the same lions and they were still lying down but this time they were not singing. We drove around the park looking for more animal identifying some of beautiful bird found in the park. On our way back to the lodge we saw a small brown bird called the Kalahari robin chat hopping on the ground sing melodious songs to us. We were +- 2km away from the lodge and out of no were pop out this lion called mystery son a blond beautiful lion that no one knows who the father of this lion some rangers say his from the western pride. It is still a mystery were these lion comes from and how is he surviving.
Nyiko Nkuna
The Pennant-Winged Nightjar
The Pennant-Winged Nightjar is an intra African migrant that occurs from Nigeria to the Northern parts of South Africa. What’s unique is that the males acquire a striking 9th primary feather during the breeding season. These pennants grow to greater lengths in successive years ( up to twice the body length) .I was extremely lucky to see one of these magnificent birds in the Pilanesberg National Park as this was only the second confirmed sighting by any of the rangers at the lodge, I have been here for 6 years and this was my first sighting!! It was at 04:30 am on Kubu drive near Letsha link. Hopefully I won’t have to wait another 6 years for my next encounter with this beautiful creature of the night!!
Hayley
Hayley
Rhino Carcass
As we were driving around the park one afternoon, word got out that a female rhino has been injured. She was badly wounded in a fight with a male rhino who wanted to mate with her. The female was fairly young and did not want to mate with the male so he attacked her. A capture team was called in to dart the female and move her into a boma where she could be closely monitored. After treating her wounds and keeping a close watch on the female, she was released into the park again a couple of days later, seeming to be recovering well. On Sunday afternoon, Nyiko one of our team of rangers, reported a dead rhino on Mankwe way. The dead rhino turned out to be the same rhino that was injured by the rhino bull. The female suffered severe internal injuries from several stab wounds from the male rhino’s horn.
The death of one however creates food for another. The first predators to arrive were the 2 sub-adult male lions of the central pride. These two youngsters stayed at the carcass alone for the first night and ignored the calls from the rest of the pride. Two days later, the two youngsters were joined at the carcass by the rest of the pride. The central pride of lions in Pilanesberg consists of two adult males, two adult females and the two youngsters. Lion social structure calls for the adult males to have the first share of the kill or carcass. After the adult males have finished feeding, the females get a turn and then only the younger lions. It was thus interesting to see the interaction between the 2 adult males and the 2 sub-adults. The females did not stay at the carcass for very long and only made their appearance once or twice. The males however stayed for another 3 days of which the last ones to leave were the two youngsters who only left on the saturday.
After having a meal of about 2 tonnes, the lions disappeared for about two days to go and digest the meat somewhere under a tree and went back to just being normal lions, for whom a nap can never be too short!!!
Story and photo’s by Alisha
Ranger
Ivory Tree Game lodge
The death of one however creates food for another. The first predators to arrive were the 2 sub-adult male lions of the central pride. These two youngsters stayed at the carcass alone for the first night and ignored the calls from the rest of the pride. Two days later, the two youngsters were joined at the carcass by the rest of the pride. The central pride of lions in Pilanesberg consists of two adult males, two adult females and the two youngsters. Lion social structure calls for the adult males to have the first share of the kill or carcass. After the adult males have finished feeding, the females get a turn and then only the younger lions. It was thus interesting to see the interaction between the 2 adult males and the 2 sub-adults. The females did not stay at the carcass for very long and only made their appearance once or twice. The males however stayed for another 3 days of which the last ones to leave were the two youngsters who only left on the saturday.
After having a meal of about 2 tonnes, the lions disappeared for about two days to go and digest the meat somewhere under a tree and went back to just being normal lions, for whom a nap can never be too short!!!
Story and photo’s by Alisha
Ranger
Ivory Tree Game lodge
A Pilanesberg Story
It is Easter, the school holidays are near and the park is humming with visitors. It is at this time of year that these giant beasts, the elephants also seem to pack up and leave for greener pastures. We know this, that year after year these gentle giants of the Pilanesberg migrate to the wilderness area of the park. There is only one road leading into it, and there is only one road out of it. It is situated in the North-western side of the park.
It is not open to the public, and game-viewers may only skirt the section by driving along Moloto Road. At this time of year, as in years gone by you need some luck to see these elephants, and your best chance is along this road. This is the beauty of the Pilanesberg, the anticipation and build up of what is to be seen over the next rise and around the next corner.
Time will need to play out this game called game viewing. For these mountains and valleys where here a long time ago and with the park and it’s animals they will be here for a long time to come. All we need to do is wait, wait like the rangers and guests before us and in the months to come the Pilanesberg elephants will be sure to come back…
M. Malan
It is not open to the public, and game-viewers may only skirt the section by driving along Moloto Road. At this time of year, as in years gone by you need some luck to see these elephants, and your best chance is along this road. This is the beauty of the Pilanesberg, the anticipation and build up of what is to be seen over the next rise and around the next corner.
Time will need to play out this game called game viewing. For these mountains and valleys where here a long time ago and with the park and it’s animals they will be here for a long time to come. All we need to do is wait, wait like the rangers and guests before us and in the months to come the Pilanesberg elephants will be sure to come back…
M. Malan
My Lucky Couple
I thought it was going to be an ordinary drive as always, just my two guests and I….
As we departed from the lodge at 4:30 for the evening drive we saw the usual as we see every time- white Rhino, Zebra, Wildebeest and Impala. As the guests were here for their first safari they were very interested in every single thing they saw, but after an hours drive of just seeing the same we stopped stopping for every single plains game.
As I was driving towards fish eagle picnic spot, just before the access, I got a radio in that one of the other rangers had spotted a leopard on Red Syanite Hill… and that is were our real drive began.
It was 6pm and so I informed my guests that we will go for our sundowners later, but now we will go see the leopard.I did warn them that we were not going to stop for any animal till we get to the leopard-as it is very rare to see one.
As luck may have it on the way we spotted a Kori Bustard-one of the heaviest birds in South Africa that is capable of flight- about 8 metres of the road, and of course we had to stop for that. It was quite a nice view of the bird walking around in the plains.
A minute or so of admiring it went, time was ticking, for the leopard was lying at that moment but as soon as it would get up it would walk behind the mountain and it would disappear for good. On the way I had a few obstacles such as Zebra crossing and Impala deciding to feed right on the road sides making it impossible to pass them and the problem was that we still had quite a road bit to travel to get there. Finally we arrived at the sight with only one other Ivory Tree Vehicle there. I positioned the vehicle to have a clear view of this leopard (which was a good 500m away) and switched of the engine. Just 30 seconds after switching of the engine the leopard got up looked at us for few seconds and walked slowly down and behind the mountain with flashes going of left, right and centre. My guests absolutely loved it, and so we drove of satisfied.
As we drove I though luckily if we only see plains game all the way home, we at least had one satisfying sighting.
Then suddenly out of the blue some image caught my eye. Two rock looking things in the distance on the foot of a mountain a road away. Looking through the binoculars I spotted to rhinos and to my delight they were two Black Rhinos. I hurried up to the spot and called it in. We sat there looking at the rhino -that were about 300m of the road-that were looking at us. This was only my second time that I had been lucky enough to see Black Rhino in this park, so I was pretty excited to find it.
Finally we had time to go for our sundowners. Now it was getting quite dark. Just a half a kilometre before the hide we found a lovely hippo out of water that is quiet rare to find. As we were admiring him I got a call that there was an elephant on one of the roads close by…so of we went for another hunt down for the next great animal. As we got to the road the bull elephant just started to cross in front of us and the other vehicles that were there. He was a nice big bull and it was excellent to watch him walk past and start feeding. As we got closer he got abit agitated so we completely stopped and carried on watching him as he munched away. All one could hear is the munching. Finally we decided to get one drink in so we made a U-turn and went back to the road that would lead us to our hide.
At the exact spot where I got the call about the elephant, I got another call saying that they found some Lions. This time they were abit further than the elephant. I asked my guest if they don’t mind skipping sundowners and just going to see the lions. They were more than happy to do so.This time as we got to the spot were they were seen, they had disappeared into the thickets. The other two guides and I search around the area for a good 15 minutes, I thought that my luck had changed and that I was about to doubt seeing them….
Then we got a good call, the two sub-adult males of the central pride were walking on a road not to far from us. As we got there they just walked past my vehicle went abit of the road and just lay down. We stood there watching them for about 10 minutes as they lazed around, before they got up and walked off.
By now we were running quiet late to get to the lodge. With a quick haste we started our satisfied journey back home. As we went past we just saw herds of glowing eyes close and far from the road, almost as if someone lit amber coals along the way.
As we started dinner we enjoyed talking about our 4 out of 5 big five sighting and were convinced that we will find the Buffalo the next day…. sadly my luck ran out… At least we had a great encounter with some breeding herd of elephants-which is a story all on its own.
Monika Bydlinski- Guide
As we departed from the lodge at 4:30 for the evening drive we saw the usual as we see every time- white Rhino, Zebra, Wildebeest and Impala. As the guests were here for their first safari they were very interested in every single thing they saw, but after an hours drive of just seeing the same we stopped stopping for every single plains game.
As I was driving towards fish eagle picnic spot, just before the access, I got a radio in that one of the other rangers had spotted a leopard on Red Syanite Hill… and that is were our real drive began.
It was 6pm and so I informed my guests that we will go for our sundowners later, but now we will go see the leopard.I did warn them that we were not going to stop for any animal till we get to the leopard-as it is very rare to see one.
As luck may have it on the way we spotted a Kori Bustard-one of the heaviest birds in South Africa that is capable of flight- about 8 metres of the road, and of course we had to stop for that. It was quite a nice view of the bird walking around in the plains.
A minute or so of admiring it went, time was ticking, for the leopard was lying at that moment but as soon as it would get up it would walk behind the mountain and it would disappear for good. On the way I had a few obstacles such as Zebra crossing and Impala deciding to feed right on the road sides making it impossible to pass them and the problem was that we still had quite a road bit to travel to get there. Finally we arrived at the sight with only one other Ivory Tree Vehicle there. I positioned the vehicle to have a clear view of this leopard (which was a good 500m away) and switched of the engine. Just 30 seconds after switching of the engine the leopard got up looked at us for few seconds and walked slowly down and behind the mountain with flashes going of left, right and centre. My guests absolutely loved it, and so we drove of satisfied.
As we drove I though luckily if we only see plains game all the way home, we at least had one satisfying sighting.
Then suddenly out of the blue some image caught my eye. Two rock looking things in the distance on the foot of a mountain a road away. Looking through the binoculars I spotted to rhinos and to my delight they were two Black Rhinos. I hurried up to the spot and called it in. We sat there looking at the rhino -that were about 300m of the road-that were looking at us. This was only my second time that I had been lucky enough to see Black Rhino in this park, so I was pretty excited to find it.
Finally we had time to go for our sundowners. Now it was getting quite dark. Just a half a kilometre before the hide we found a lovely hippo out of water that is quiet rare to find. As we were admiring him I got a call that there was an elephant on one of the roads close by…so of we went for another hunt down for the next great animal. As we got to the road the bull elephant just started to cross in front of us and the other vehicles that were there. He was a nice big bull and it was excellent to watch him walk past and start feeding. As we got closer he got abit agitated so we completely stopped and carried on watching him as he munched away. All one could hear is the munching. Finally we decided to get one drink in so we made a U-turn and went back to the road that would lead us to our hide.
At the exact spot where I got the call about the elephant, I got another call saying that they found some Lions. This time they were abit further than the elephant. I asked my guest if they don’t mind skipping sundowners and just going to see the lions. They were more than happy to do so.This time as we got to the spot were they were seen, they had disappeared into the thickets. The other two guides and I search around the area for a good 15 minutes, I thought that my luck had changed and that I was about to doubt seeing them….
Then we got a good call, the two sub-adult males of the central pride were walking on a road not to far from us. As we got there they just walked past my vehicle went abit of the road and just lay down. We stood there watching them for about 10 minutes as they lazed around, before they got up and walked off.
By now we were running quiet late to get to the lodge. With a quick haste we started our satisfied journey back home. As we went past we just saw herds of glowing eyes close and far from the road, almost as if someone lit amber coals along the way.
As we started dinner we enjoyed talking about our 4 out of 5 big five sighting and were convinced that we will find the Buffalo the next day…. sadly my luck ran out… At least we had a great encounter with some breeding herd of elephants-which is a story all on its own.
Monika Bydlinski- Guide
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Amazing Drive
It was one of my first drives here at Ivory Tree Game Lodge. Myself and a fellow ranger was driving a small group from Denmark.
On the groups first morning drive we all agreed to go into the park earlier than normal game drive time so we can get more time in the park! We decided to take Moruleng link because we heard lions were spotted in the area the previous night. Not too far from the lodge we found four sub adult male lions sleeping on the road. After about twenty minutes the lions started moving away from the road and we lost complete visual of them.
From there we decided to move on. Not too far away from the road we found a massive herd of elephants all over the road! The breeding herd of elephants was very relaxed with a couple of young bulls fighting while the rest of the herd kept on feeding right next to the road.
Then I decided to go to the centre of the park where we see most of the animals. On the way there we saw a lot of very nice plains game. When we got to the centre I heard someone calling lions in at Hippo Loops which is situated right in the centre of the park. When we got to the locations it was the central pride that consists of four lions. The lions walked on the road right past our vehicle! By this time it was time to head back to the lodge.
On the way back to the lodge we came across a Black back jackal den and we saw four pups. While sitting with the pups I suddenly saw the four young male lions coming down the road right past my vehicle. I moved out of the sighting to turn my vehicle around when I saw the one lion eating something. Sadly it was one of the little pups. But it still was a fantastic sighting and a drive that I will never forget!
Ranger: Neil Coetzer
On the groups first morning drive we all agreed to go into the park earlier than normal game drive time so we can get more time in the park! We decided to take Moruleng link because we heard lions were spotted in the area the previous night. Not too far from the lodge we found four sub adult male lions sleeping on the road. After about twenty minutes the lions started moving away from the road and we lost complete visual of them.
From there we decided to move on. Not too far away from the road we found a massive herd of elephants all over the road! The breeding herd of elephants was very relaxed with a couple of young bulls fighting while the rest of the herd kept on feeding right next to the road.
Then I decided to go to the centre of the park where we see most of the animals. On the way there we saw a lot of very nice plains game. When we got to the centre I heard someone calling lions in at Hippo Loops which is situated right in the centre of the park. When we got to the locations it was the central pride that consists of four lions. The lions walked on the road right past our vehicle! By this time it was time to head back to the lodge.
On the way back to the lodge we came across a Black back jackal den and we saw four pups. While sitting with the pups I suddenly saw the four young male lions coming down the road right past my vehicle. I moved out of the sighting to turn my vehicle around when I saw the one lion eating something. Sadly it was one of the little pups. But it still was a fantastic sighting and a drive that I will never forget!
Ranger: Neil Coetzer
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