Mike and Fiona certainly aren’t strangers to the Greater Kruger. They’ve visited a plethora of camps and lodges within the Lowveld, and always manage to see an array of predators and big game while on safari. These “repeat” guests chose to stay at Ezulwini Game Lodges in the Balule Nature Reserve this time around. It wasn’t their first time and Ezulwini, and the couple are most certainly aware of the recent lion sightings to emerge from the lodge. Did they get a glimpse of the famous Machaton males and their adorable cubs? You’ll have to read their safari review below to find out more!
Here is Mike and Fiona’s guest safari review about Ezulwini Game Lodges :
We visited South Africa in March this year, it was the second time that we had stayed at Ezulwini River Lodge. On our previous visit we treated to some amazing sightings but unfortunately we didn’t get to see any lions – we missed them by one day! This time around, once again we had some amazing sightings, including four different leopards, herds of elephants, hyena and an abundance of other general game.
The highlights this time however were the lions. On our first drive we found one of the Machaton males just lazing on a termite mound, grooming and dozing without a care in the world. The following day we caught up with two of his brothers along with most of the Kudyela pride.
They are the local pride consisting of cubs of varying ages and numerous females. They were drinking from one of the dams right in front of us, before relaxing in the long grass making it impossible to count them all. On our final afternoon drive a call came in that the entire pride were on the move – how exciting. Being the closest vehicle to their location, we were first to arrive and picked just the right spot to watch them move along the road and pass us by – one by one. We counted four adult females, eleven cubs and two of the Machaton males.
Once they had all passed us, we were eager to keep up with them all. It was great to follow them through the bush, watching the adults and cubs interact with each other before they stopped to drink from puddles of water on a rocky outcrop. After quenching their thirst, they all carried on walking away together, eventually disappearing off into the bush where we could no longer follow. We must say, it has to be up there as one of our favourite lion sighting ever (and we have had many over the years). So thanks again to all the team at Ezulwini for the unforgettable experience.
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