Sun Destinations

* Warning: Graphic Images from Lion Kill

This week has been a busy week of wildlife sightings. The camps have been rife with big cat activity, predator kills and the presence of cubs.  It was not possible to capture all the activity on camera due to poor visibility – but we did our best and came out with a few top notch lion photos.

This week saw the launch of our #livebushfeed which provides an opportunity to join us on a game drive in the virtual world between 4 – 7 every Wednesday. On the Wednesday evening game drive, within minutes of launching the virtual safari,  the Umkumbe Safari Lodge (Sabi Sand Wildtuin) rangers reported a leopard sighting, elephants, buffalo and much more. The Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp team were on a mission to find our majestic Trilogy boys and the Ross Pride females. Their expedition proved fruitful and guests were delighted at the prolific lion sightings. They lions they saw were four females from the Ross Pride. Are the Ross Pride returning?  Watch this space – only time will tell. Guests also saw the Trilogy boys lazing around in the thicket while displaying their obviously full bellies.  In the early hours of the morning, these larger than life boys went on to kill a pregnant buffalo. The scene was quite horrific, but such is nature and the circle of life. Read our blog post for more information about the Trilogy buffalo kill.

nDzuti Safari Camp also had a bumper week in terms of lions. Bruce and Brett managed to track a coalition of two male lions from the River Pride which is good news. Bruce and Judy suspect that the coalition of males they saw were the two that killed the original lone male and eventually displaced the River Pride from the heart of their territory. The younger males from the River Pride, who are now 4 years old, appear to be returning to their old haunt.

Ranger Cameron from Umkumbe Safari Lodge stumbled about a cheetah with cubs and wild dogs mating. Cameron and his guests were in quite an enviable position in terms of game viewing.

This week the much revered wildlife photographer Shannon Benson (aka Shannon Wild) and local wildlife film-maker Russell MacLaughlin arrived in the Klaserie. They’ve already taken award-winning photos of a predator kill. Seems luck is on their side ! We are expecting an array of exquisite wildlife photos and videos from both of these safari legends.

Because this week comprises mainly of lion sightings, we’ve chosen a handful of images to reflect our successful big cat week.