As we begin our last month of our winter, it is still cold in the mornings and warm in the afternoon. This is typical weather at this time of the year. Sightings have been excellent and we have really enjoyed watching all that the Luvuvhu River brings right to our doorstep.
Huge herds of elephants can be found along the Luvuvhu river, many bull elephants can be seen in and around Pafuri Camp as this is their main source of water and green vegetation. With the elephants comes some destruction with many more trees pushed down and damage to the vegetation around the Makuleke contract park. We do not need to go out and look for elephants. They can be seen playing, drinking and bathing right in front of your tent. Going out as usual is to look for another experience on the vehicle or walking safari.
The buffaloes are at home in Pafuri. The winter season brings dryer vegetation in the middle of the concession between the two rivers (Luvuvhu and Limpopo) and this allows us to see the massive buffalo herds regularly.
“Guides June 2017 Sightings Report…”
One lioness was spotted right in front of Pafuri’s main deck; she was stalking the buffaloes, but unfortunately, she missed her mark. It was one of the most exciting sightings of the month! The male lion in Makuleke can be heard vocalising in the early mornings and evenings near Pafuri Camp, mostly on the southern side of the river.
Leopards have been spotted in a several different areas of the Makuleke concession. To mention a few, Mangala, Baobab Hill Bush House, Nwambi and the Indian baobab. One of the leopards has been spotted a few times around Baobab Hill House.
The sighting that brought the biggest excitement to our guides and our guests at the camp was of the cheetahs that were spotted mostly around the Pafuri Camp access road. Besides the three cheetah brothers, we have also spotted two cheetah cubs; they were seen once and never seen again. The three cheetah brothers that we see often are very successful hunters. They made two kills in less than 10 hours and are capable of taking down warthog and Nyala. One of these kills happened on the road leading up to Pafuri Camp and some of our guests were lucky enough to witness the hunt and feeding.
We have had numerous sightings of eland on our game drives and on our bush walks, they are amazingly graceful antelopes despite their size.
Other interesting sightings spotted on game drives are porcupine, wild cat, white tailed mongoose, aardvark, African civet, honey badger and even the black backed jackals have been seen around.
Thanks
Ezaya
Images by Simon Stobbs
