What a magic day. Sunshine, heat and animals all over the place.
The herds of zebra, impala, wildebeest and giraffe are just loving life on Banyini. There’s no reason for them to go anywhere else. All the grazing they could ever eat, water and safety in the open.
And when the late afternoon light set in, temperatures cooled the zebras were just full of it, galloping all over the place and challenging each other to a sparring session. Nipping at each other’s ankles or rearing up to meet each other face to face before charging off at a gallop.
When we got to Chekwa pan the girls wanted to stroll around looking at birds. Slowly they edged their way into the mud not too keen to get wet or muddy. But of course that didn’t last and before long they swimming, wallowing and wrestling each other in the mud. Dad was keen to join but instead for a change I turned the camera on them.
Getting them back in the car was quite a performance. Well not that so much as just getting them into some sort of ‘clean’ state without muddying the car and all my camera gear.
We found a small breeding herd of elephant south of Chekwa but the ground was too soft to follow. As it was we nearly got stuck in a muddy patch in the road with an elephant bull watching over us.
The grasses have gone absolutely wild with all this rain and heat and in a week are already knee high. This really is going to make my life more difficult for filming. And it’s going to last for the next 4 months.
The white rhino are just loving all the grazing too.
And of course conditions are just perfect for mopanie worms. Although they’re not out in huge numbers some trees are being totally decimated of all their leaves.
In some areas they can totally decimate vast woodlands of mopanie and are collected by the basket full by the local people. A great sustainable source of protein. And a delicacy.
Heading back home after dark we were treated to our very own Christmas lights in the bush. Driving by the light of the full moon on the horizon, fire-flies flashed like Christmas lights in the bushveld. It was truly like our own little fairy land. So special and so stunning.
I couldn’t believe it when I woke up to rain this morning. Yes, more rain.
Thankfully it didn’t last all day. By midday it had passed over although the low cloud hung around for the rest of the day.
The vultures had done their job well and all but finished off the buffalo carcass. Just skin and bones remained.
I was out again with my daughters as we went in search of elephants.
Yesterday they were all over the sandveld just south of the hills. Today there wasn’t a peep or a sign from them. How do these monstrous pachyderms just disappear like that?
Banyini was full of plains game. Wildebeest, impala, zebra and giraffe.
These wildebeest calves were having a whale of a time chasing each other around. The game soon took on a life of it’s own as the adults joined in and then even the impala became a part of the whole event.
At last the rains stayed away for the whole day.
Having been grounded for the last few days, the vultures were quick to take to the air and find the buffalo kill. But their moment of glory was short-lived when the lions chased them off. And so their waiting game began.
We left and picked up One-tusk down the road with her family. Her big calf almost tried one of her mother’s tricks on us but chickend out. Then One-tusk came over for her usual trick. First she tried to get her foot onto the bull-bar and then put her tusk onto the bonnet of the vehicle, which was my time to stop her denting it. She backed off quite happy and carried on feeding.
Late afternoon I took my daughters down to Malilangwe dam for a walk. The water level had risen substantially since Penny and I walked down there a few days ago. The conditions were perfect now for hundreds of White-faced duck to hang out in the recently flooded grasslands.
This is the final instalment of the lion/buffalo kill. What I was able to film took about 20minutes of which you have seen about 12min in the last few days.
Well the conditions today at least didn’t get any worse. But they didn’t get any better either. Although the rains fell all day, they weren’t as heavy as yesterday.
The weather forecast still doesn’t look very hopeful for the next couple of days. This weather we’re having is very reminiscent of the floods of 2000 when a cyclone nearly washed away our camp. But at least now the rains aren’t as intense.
I ventured out with my daughters in the gentle drizzle, which was fine for the first hour but then as it came down harder became really miserable.
The lions had been feeding on the buffalo kill again in the night but weren’t around in the day. And another day with no vultures. Lucky lions.
The elephants have moved back into the sandveld where they seem to be spending a lot of time digging out tubers.
And the roads are still waterways.
20th December 2000
Rain 2mm
Tjololo was still in Kruger giving us a chance to prowl for other opportunities and also get shots for the “Wants List” that Dale is sending me as he progresses with the editing.
Soon after midnight Tjololo was back on Mala Mala and rested up on his southern boundary. Lightening was threatening all around and with the first drops of rain we scattered back to camp as we were close by.
The rain didn’t do much, just a soft irritating drizzle.
And so goes the last entry in my LeopardCam diary.
Tjololo was still a part of my life at Mala Mala for another 4 years. Sadly those days have come to a final end with his passing away last month.
Another 24 hours of rain and the bush is now totally saturated. Even access on many tracks is not possible and off-road travel is totally out.
I was able to check out the buffalo, at last it was dead and had been fed on although there was no sign of the lions. They were sure to be lurking in the bushes.
A couple of jackal were taking advantage of the feast while the lions were away.
Of course there were no vultures as they definitely weren’t taking to the skies in this weather.
While trying to get around this elephant bull challenged me on the road digging his tusks into the ground in some sort of display before moving on.
Later in the day, wanting to be out, I took a paddle on the Malilangwe dam again. The hippo were enjoying the cool weather and playing boisterously in the water. Luckily leaving me out of their games.
But yet again it was a day being mainly camp bound.
Technical problems with all the rain put a dampener on me getting wildcast up in time.
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