Wildcast

Darryl was out early looking for Manyari but again she’d given us the slip and wasn’t where we’d left her in the morning.
My daughters had arrived at dusk from Johannesburg. With their mattresses and sleeping bags on the back we headed out filming for the night. (What a life for them!)
It was a slow rough start. I was sure Manyari had moved south which meant tackling the hugely pot-holed track to Malevula hills, caused by elephants walking there in the wet season. Going was incredibly slow. I could walk faster.
Eventually we picked her up and she wasn’t alone. The 2 males were back with her. And although her mating spree was over she did mate twice in the night.

The lions were hunting, or maybe I should say Manyari was hunting. On several occasions they came across prey and the males kept their approach, moving straight towards the prey. Manyari, being the flanker that she is, would move around to the side and behind the prey. But she didn’t get any cooperation from the males. Seeing her moving around to the side they would go round and join her so ruining a potentially perfect hunt.

Of course by dawn they were still unsuccessful and rested up north of the Mahande river.
We were joined later by Barend and Kathy who came film more material of us with lions for the Animal Planet Series. That took us into the heat of the day.

While bashing through bush after the lions I managed to drive smack bang into into the web of a golden orb spider. The web wasn’t a big deal but I found this huge dude now plastered right on my face. Nothing like looking into the eyes of a spider full on.

Heading back home we stopped in at Banyini pan and scored a huge luck. 4 large tusked elephant bulls were on their way to the pan. The one dude was quite the ultimate specimen.

It’s so comforting to know there are still some elephant around carrying huge ivory. This guy is big, but still has many years ahead of him and his tusks will keep growing every year.