Safari Lodges

September has been a very hectic month – not only with the number of guests staying with us but also with many interesting sightings in camp and on the drives! With the onset of Spring looming we have started to see the occasional snake around the camp. I was showing one guest to their room on arrival one day and just as we walked past some aloes, there was a beautiful spotted bush snake – harmless- waiting to greet us! The reason this snake appeared so early was partly due to the 34cms of rain that we had over a five day period in early September. This unseasonal rain then brought on a stunning sheen of green across the veld with grass greening up overnight practically! However since then the weather has become increasingly hot and dry, and while the bush is looking very green still we are wondering if this will last given that the next rains are not predicted for another six  weeks approximately.

Yet again there has been some exciting times at Umlani! It is always fascinating to witness the dynamics among the animals – not only with the changing season but also between themselves – in particular the territorial animals – and especially the lions. At the end of the July blog I was talking about the single Machaton cub that had become separated from the pride during the trespassing of two new male lions. Now it seems he has decided to remain alone for the time being as he has been close to his natal pride on a  few occasions and we all naturally assumed that he would link up again – but he didn’t! He actually drank out of our waterhole and swimming pool in camp while his pride members were less than a kilometer away – and they never met up as far as we can tell. He is still roaming alone – but clearly fending for himself successfully as he is looking in great condition. In the meantime the two males are clearly looking for a pride takeover. The Machatons have not totally split with the old female and younger lioness with two cubs on and around Umlani property, while the other lioness with two cubs has gone way up north. The future is not looking great for this group. As for the two males – they have started to assert themselves and are currently mating with a Ross pride female – we don’t know what has happened to the Ross males but suspect that they have been intimidated by the new males and scarpered!

Our guests have had some incredible experiences during July with sightings in and around camp. Buffalo and lion featured highly amongst the highlights but there are some other notable sightings!