Arathusa Safari Lodge blog

Andre Froneman and inquisitive elephant by Ryan Johnston

Monday

The start of a new week, hopefully it will be as good as the last one. We headed off to the east of the property and were lucky enough to find Thandi, but unfortunately her cub was nowhere to be seen. After spending quite a bit of time with her, we moved along and ran into a herd of elephants. It’s always a real treat to watch these large mammals, especially when there are lots of calves playing and learning how to use their trunks. We also saw Mafufenyane scent marking and calling to let everyone know whose territory they were in.

In the afternoon the weather was still holding up, which was good news as everything was in dire need of a good drying out after all the rain we’ve had. We heard a leopard calling and followed up to find Ntima ambling along the road, not paying much attention to anything. After that we moved north, and a few hundred meters down the road  we came across a breeding herd of elephants. We watched them for a while, before moving on to look for a suitable spot for sundowners. Two buffalo bulls arrived soon after we stopped, causing us to hastily pack up and find a new place to enjoy our drinks.

Tuesday

This morning was fairly quiet. We managed to track the Styx females on foot, but the ground was too wet for us to get to them by the vehicle. We were, however, fortunate enough to find Karula crossing to the eastern sector with one of her cubs. It was a brief, but nonetheless wonderful sighting. Two elephant bulls were so busy pushing each other around at a small waterhole, they didn’t even notice that they had spectators.

Elephants are all over the property again, and we are loving every minute of it. A young rhino calf had us all in stitches, as he ran and slipped continuously in the mud. We saw Karula again, she’d gone to fetch her second cub and was headed east to where she’d taken its sibling. We wrapped up the day’s sightings with the Styx pride of lions, who were hanging around on the open area in front of the lodge.

Wednesday

The morning got off to a really quick start when we found the three Styx lions on the airstrip close to the lodge. From the tracks it was clear that they’d been hunting a herd of wildebeest during the night, but their empty stomachs indicated that they hadn’t had any luck. By the time we left them, the trio had curled up and gone to sleep. Next we found the four cheetah brothers that we see from time to time. We sat with them for quite  while, watching as they went about the age old ritual of grooming one another to strengthen the bond between them. After a while, they also fell fast asleep.

Almost everything happened on the airstrip this afternoon. The lions were still resting in the same place, three buffalo bulls rested in the pan close to the airstrip, and a monstrous elephant bull fed on the short, lush grass that lined the edge of the strip. We also managed to find two white rhinos enjoying a good mud wallow in one of the smaller pans.

Thursday

The Majingilanes - Male lion coalition by Ryan Johnston

We heard a male lion roaring as we were getting ready for drive this morning, so the first thing we did was head straight out to see if we could find him. Before long we managed to locate one of the Majingilane males with a nice fat stomach. He had face full of fresh scratches on his face though, so he must have been in a scrap with one of his brothers. We watched as he wandered around, smelling the area where the other lions had been. As cats are wont to do, he eventually found a shady spot and went to sleep. We lucky enough to catch sight of the four male cheetahs again, although the sighting was brief as they cut across our boundary back into Kruger National Park.

This afternoon started off quickly, with us finding a sizeable herd of about 20 elephants drinking and feeding in an open area. We saw three rhinos a little way off, and they were also just grazing and enjoying the nice weather. Alarm-calling birds and squirrels alerted us to the fact that something was up, so we headed in the general direction of the cacophony to see if we could find anything.

Thanks to some brilliant tracking by Debeer, we followed some leopard tracks through dense bush and they led us right to the Ostrich Koppies female. She walked along, stopping from time to time to scent mark, before eventually disappearing into some thick vegetation where we weren’t able to follow.

We left her and headed back to the Majinilane male lion we’d found this morning. He was still sleeping when we got there, but it wasn’t long before the big guy got up and began sniffing his surroundings again. He kept calling – contact calling, not roaring – and sure enough, about ten minutes later his brother joined him. He too had a fat stomach, and from the wary way in which they eyed each other, we think that he may have been the reason his brother’s nose was covered in scratches.

Friday

We spent some time just watching the sky this morning. With the sun trying to break through the clouds, it was literally glowing. After a while we heard lions calling to the south, and on following up found one of the Majingilane males. His belly was full, which meant he wouldn’t be getting active anytime soon. We left with the intention of returning in the afternoon. A little further along we came across three rhinos feeding peacefully in a big open plain, and two elephant bulls ambling ever so casually down the road.

In the afternoon we headed out to see if we could locate the Majingilane male again, and ran into Shadow en route. She was just relaxing in the open and showing off, which is quite rare for this normally shy female leopard. We also found six old buffalo bulls chilling in the water. The sleepy bovines paid no attention to us however, instead they just enjoyed the complementary grooming they were getting from the Oxpeckers. After spotting two territorial rhino bulls, we continued on our mission to find the male lion again. Nothing had changed in the time we’d been gone though, as he was still flat on his back with a very full belly. But sedentary cats aside, we really had an awesome day.

Saturday

Thandi - Female leopard by Ryan Johnston

Winter is definitely on the way. We had to haul out our big jackets for the early part of the drive, as the air was decidedly fresh when we left this morning. We  found Thandi stalking impala in the far east of the property. She eventually gave up and perched obligingly on a fallen Marula tree, providing us with some excellent photo opportunities. We saw a couple of other leopards in the western sector. Shadow was scent marking as she followed the trail of a male leopard, and Nsele had herself safely secured up a tree with a big male impala kill. We ended the morning drive with a unique and very special sighting, when we found the five Tsalala female lions on an aardvark kill.

We headed west again in the afternoon, and were fortunate enough to find Salayexe just wandering around the western airstrip. We’ve been struggling to find buffalo of late, but on this occasion we were lucky enough to come across three males and one female crossing the road in front of us. They were covered in mud from head to toe, so they must just have had a good wallow somewhere. A little later in the evening we went to check up on the five Tsalala lionesses. There was a lot of yawning and playing going on when we arrived, but after a while they moved off to one of the nearby lodges for a drink of water before embarking on their nightly activities.

Sunday

Today belonged to the large herbivores. We started off the morning drive with a rhino roadblock, as three of these big guys had decided that the road was the perfect place to enjoy an early morning nap. One careful u-turn later, and we were back on our way again. The rest of the morning was spent with an impressive herd of about 40 elephants. We looked on in awe as these gentle giants fed and interacted with one another. On the way back to the lodge we  bumped into four old male buffalo resting up on the driveway.

Oxpecker grooming a buffalo by Ryan Johnston

This afternoon was particularly quiet, and all we managed to find before sunset was a lone rhino. This large bull is a notorious menace, so we made watch him from a safe distance. The evening more than made up for the quiet afternoon however, when we found a herd of elephants swimming in one of the smaller pans. They were all having great fun, especially two of the younger bulls, who were having a fine time play fighting and chasing each other around.

And that brings to an end yet another spectacular week!

Until next time,

The Arathusa Team

Elephants and hippos at the waterhole in front of the lodge by Ian Johnston

Monday

This morning was still very wet and quiet, so all we managed to see was a herd of elephants. The afternoon more than made up for it however, when we ran into a lone buffalo bull and a herd of about forty elephants with a group of lively youngsters in quick succession. After sundowners we found three of the four dominant Majingilane male lions resting close to a watering hole, but we lost them when they headed north into a very wet area where we couldn’t follow. On the way back to the lodge we found Safari – our favourite old female leopard, stalking impala in some thick bush. Her endeavours proved unsuccessful however, and we left her when she disappeared into a stream bed.

Tuesday

We experienced more heavy rains last night, which made for a fairly difficult morning drive. Although we did manage to find a small herd of old male buffalo with three rhinos in a big open area. They were all making a meal of the short, moist grass.

This afternoon was a lot more productive. We kicked off the drive with a large herd of elephants feeding in another big open area, and after that we found Karula scent marking and checking her territory. She came to a sudden stop when she noticed Mixo – one of her older male cubs, up a tree with a young warthog kill. He wasn’t too happy to see his mother, and took his sweet time coming down from the tree so that she could feed.

Wednesday

The bush was shrouded in a light mist cover when we headed out this morning. We heard a leopard calling to the south of the property, and upon following up  found Emsagwen – the big territorial male, on our southern boundary. He was very relaxed and seemed to be in great condition. It was good to see him again, as he hasn’t been around much lately. Next we found Safari again, this time on the airstrip. It was a short sighting of her, but she seemed to be doing well nonetheless. A couple of buffalo bulls wallowed lazily in the mud enjoying the cooler weather, and quite a few elephant bulls were seen wandering all over the property as well.

The afternoon drive started off with us finding a rhino bull walking around on the airstrip. A little while later a couple of elephants joined him in his bid to stop any planes from landing. We left the the unlikely gang “toyi-toying” and went to see what else we could find.

A big buffalo bull was lying in the mud just minding his own business, when a lone hippo bull arrived and chased him into the water. The interaction between the two was quite something, and no doubt guests will remember it for a long time to come. Emsagwen was out and about again, and moving east in an attempt to close in on a herd of impala that he was interested in. Safari was also further east than where we found her this morning. The old girl only just missed catching a scrub hare that she’d been chasing around.

Thursday

This morning we came across a nervous and shy young male leopard at our airstrip. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a good look at him as he kept moving away from the vehicles. We also saw a white rhino cow with her male calf, and a herd of  fifteen elephants.

On the afternoon drive we saw a buffalo bull and two elephant bulls, and watched Ntima strolling peacefully down the road shortly before sunset. After sundowners we found Mafufenyane walking on the road as well. The leopards were obviously taking advantage of the cooler weather in order to roam around in their respective territories.

Friday

Karula - Female leopard by Ian Johnston

This morning was another quiet one, although we did spend a lot of the time with Ntima. The female leopard was curled up on a termite mound for most of the morning, enjoying the warm morning sun and keeping a keen eye on her surroundings from the comfort of her vantage point.

We’d barely set off on afternoon drive, when we ran into Karula very close to the camp. We followed her for a bit, watching as she drank from puddles in the road. After a while she disappeared into some thick bush, and we lost sight of her. With the weather being so nice and warm, the waterholes and mud wallows were abuzz with buffalo, rhino and elephants. We also saw the Ostrich Koppies female’s cub, the young male is about seven months old now. This was a really great sighting as the cub hasn’t been seen in some time. It’s good to know his mother is still managing well.

Saturday

Majingilane male lion by Ian Johnston

This morning we found tracks of three male lions close to the lodge. We started following them, and thanks to our brilliant tracker soon found three of the four Majingilane male lions on the north eastern side of the property. From the look of things the three brothers had covered a lot of ground, and were clearly exhausted by the time we got to them. Some fresh male leopard tracks led us to Mafufenyane, one of our older territorial males. There were a couple of elephant and buffalo bulls scattered all over the property as well. All in all a great morning and some excellent tracking.

In the afternoon we headed out to see if the three Majingilane brothers were still around. On the way we came across five elephant bulls taking a leisurely stroll along one of our main roads, before making a graceful exit into some thick bush. We moved on and found one of the territorial rhino bulls grazing. He was covered in mud, so he’d probably just had a good wallow before we got there.

The Majingilanes were where we expected them to be, and from the look of things they weren’t planning on moving. With the heat being what it was we couldn’t blame them either. We ran into Mafufenyane again, but he seemed more interested in marking his territory than anything else. What a day, the bush was really good to us.

Sunday

We had a lovely sighting of a large group of elephants with calves enjoying the clean, fresh vegetation. Shortly after that we found Ntima heading towards a watering hole. Two giraffe spotted her and galloped straight past our vehicle in a bid to get away from her. It was awesome to see them running at full pace. Two buffalo bulls watched all the action while they relaxed in the water.

This afternoon we saw Ntima again. She’d killed a young impala during the day and stashed it in a small tree, safely out of reach of any scavengers. We also found two rhinos and a group of elephants walking across our airstrip. Perhaps they’d heard about the “toyi-toying” that had taken place earlier in the week?

And that brings to an end yet another spectacular week!

Until next time,

The Arathusa Team

Game drive with Andre, Chris and some elephants by Ryan Johnston

Monday

The morning got off to a slow start, but we eventually found Shadow and her cub. Ironically the pair was close to the lodge. We spent the rest of the drive watching the youngster running around exploring its surroundings. It was very sweet to see the cub trying to smell and sent mark just like Mom.

The afternoon was a lot busier. We found Karula and her two young cubs back at their current dam of choice. There were also four rhinos enjoying a good “bath” in a nearby mud wallow, which is always lots of fun to watch. After that we spent some time with a large herd of elephants. Two young bulls were play fighting, and whenever any of the young calves came too close they were immediately chased off by the males. To top off a great afternoon, three members of the Styx lion pride ambled past while we were having sundowners.

Tuesday

Female cheetah by Ryan Johnston

Our first sighting this morning was of a lone elephant bull, and shortly after seeing him we found the adult female cheetah that is normally with her sub-adult cub. Her daughter hasn’t been seen with her for two days however, so we suspect that she is in the process of getting the youngster to move off and start her journey as an independent adult. We also found one of the Majingilhanes male lions with the old Styx female, and it looks like the pair are  mating.

This afternoon we came across three rhinos and a buffalo bull. We saw the female cheetah again, and the two lions were also still enjoying each other’s company. While on the hunt for a suitable sundowner spot, we were surprised by large herds of elephants with playful youngsters around every corner. All in all a fantastic day in the bush.

Wednesday

It rained about 20mm during the night, which was just enough to make this morning’s drive a little difficult. We found another herd of about ten elephants, and we watched in awe as they took full advantage of the wet conditions to easily dig roots out of the ground. Next we came across seven rhinos at one of the mud wallows. The group was having a fine time in the rain, rolling around in the mud and moist grass. Just before we headed back to the lodge, we found the adult female cheetah resting in a big open area. There was still no sign of her daughter.

Outside the lodge we found a massive elephant bull doing some gardening for us. The big guy was happily pushing down two big trees to get at the out of reach foliage. The female cheetah made yet another solo appearance. The evening belonged to the Styx female and the dark maned Majingilane male. We sat with the two lions as they roared “hair-raisingly” close to our vehicles, causing a ripple of  goose bumps among guests.

Thursday

Styx lioness with tortoise by Ryan Johnston

We started off the morning at the airstrip, where we sat for while observing the abundant general game in the area. We then heard the lions roaring to the south of the property and went to follow up. We couldn’t find any male lion tracks, but we did come across some very fresh female lion tracks. After about an hour of hard tracking we found the Styx lionesses and the young Styx male, both with very full bellies.

The afternoon was fairly quiet. We followed up on the lions, who were – as expected – still sleeping off their big meals exactly where we’d left them. Further to the east of where the lions were, we also found Ntima on a big impala male kill. Another great day in the office.

Friday

We found three of the Styx lions sleeping close to one of the dams, and while we were watching them Ntima turned up. She couldn’t have finished her kill so quickly, so it’s possible she lost it to hyenas during the night. She wasn’t too impressed at the sight of the lions though, and slunk off into one of the drainage lines to grumble in private. We finally managed to locate the young female cheetah, who was calling for her mother in a high bird-like chirp.

We then got news that Karula and Shadow were about to cross paths, so we made our way over there to have a look. When we arrived they were no more than 10 meters apart, both growling and scent marking as they walked down the road. They never came to blows while we were with them, but we lost them once they moved into some dense vegetation, so who knows what happened after that!

Elephant, rhino, buffalo and giraffe seemed to be everywhere this afternoon. We spent a long time just watching them, while at the same time soaking up the sun’s rays. Later on we were lucky enough to find the young female cheetah feeding on a sub-adult impala that she’d managed to kill. Proving that she can hunt by herself means that she’s well on her way to being independent. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for her, as it would be great to have another adult female cheetah in our area.

Saturday

Karula - Female leopard by Ryan Johnston

It was cool and overcast this morning as we set out. We’d barely left the lodge when we found Shadow and her cub leaping hesitantly over the puddles that dotted the road, so they wouldn’t get their feet wet. They quickly moved into the bush when Shadow saw five hyenas in the distance. Guests were delighted by two curious youngsters in the hyena pack that kept sniffing our vehicle. We tried in vain to relocate Shadow and her cub, but they’d gone into a thick and wet stream bed to avoid the hyenas. On our way back to the lodge we found a small herd of elephants.

The afternoon was rather quiet and we only found a rhino and a herd of elephants. We saw Karula again, but there was no sign of her two young cubs. We followed her for a long time as she tried to get close to a single impala, but when she gave up and headed into thick bush we decided to call it a day and head back to the lodge for dinner.

Sunday

We heard the lions roaring in the far south again, but didn’t follow up on them. Instead we decided to see what we could find in the more immediate surrounds. We came across two rhino bulls having a bit of a scuffle over a young female, although nothing serious came of the altercation. We were also fortunate enough to find Mafufenyane strolling down the road. This large territorial male was marking his territory, rolling around, and generally just putting on a great show for us. There was a lot of elephant activity all around the property, and their family dynamics always make for interesting viewing.

During lunch we experienced an incredible 50mm of rain in just an hour and a half. We sat and watched as the waterhole filled up right before our eyes, and are happy to report that it is now about 95% full. We weren’t too sure what the afternoon drive would hold in store for us as a result, especially as many of the roads were closed because they were impassable.

We came across an old elephant bull on the airstrip, and sat and admired him for ages. We were also lucky enough to find five members of the Tsalala lion pride just west of the lodge. BB – the oldest female in the pride – is still going strong, and the youngsters all seem to be in good condition as well. Not a bad afternoon’s viewing considering the amount of rain we had.

And that brings to an end yet another spectacular week!

Until next time,

The Arathusa Team