Wondered what a day in the life of a safari guide looks like? Maybe you’re more interested in knowing what you’ll see when on safari?
Whatever the case, I bet you can’t read these reports from our guides on the ground in Kruger National Park and Greater Kruger (who will be your new besties when on our South African Safari) without getting safari fever!
Next departure is 5th February 2020. If you want to be front row centre experiencing these with your own eyes rather than reading a blog – click here to get your very own seat onboard our open Landcruisers, giving you maximum viewing (and smelling!) pleasure.
Read on and let the dreaming begin!
Guide Rex
Bushwalks on Olifants West have been good. Elephants, giraffes and hippos are guaranteed! We have also had occasional sightings of waterbuck, buffalo, hyena, zebra and kudu.
Kruger park sightings have been excellent: on each and every occasion I guided there, we saw plenty general game, elephants, buffalos, lions and leopard.
Of course, the best place to see leopard, buffalo and rhino is Motlala Game Reserve – I love going there.
Guide Fortune
Lioness crossing the road on S100, later we saw her cubs following her.
On the same S100 we were watching a crocodile basking on the sandbank. Some thirsty elephants arrived and charged him because they wanted to drink water.
Later, towards Orpen, we saw an elephant and two male lions walking very close to one another. The lions were ready to move away if necessary but the elephant simply ignored them and carried on walking on his merry way.
Guide Janneman
What an amazing month we have had! Here are some highlights.
On one Morning Drive, while all the other lodge drivers were looking for the very elusive wild dogs, we saw them by pure luck, as well as the black rhino and 4 male lions at Rosy’s waterhole. We also saw 9 elephant bulls at the same spot.
On the way back to the lodge one of the guests also spotted a leopard to the joy of us all.
Our Sunset Drives also produced lovely sightings and one evening we had the Wildebeest as well as the Zebras around Marula Boma. To everybody’s surprise on the way back to the lodge that same evening, we also saw a boomslang, 4 bush babies, a genet and closer to the lodge a civet cat. It was absolutely amazing and the guests couldn’t believe that these nocturnal animals can be spotted so easily if one just make an effort.
On one special Sundowner Drive we were lucky enough to spot a pride of about 20 lions. On Oxford we also spotted a black rhino with her calf and 9 giraffes at one spot.
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Guide Charl
This has been a month for the books with some brilliant sightings with lots of black and white rhinos seen on Motlala. Some amazing up close and personal sightings have been had. For me, a sighting of a young female leopard seen at Jackalberry Dam stands out.
We followed her for over 300m while stalking a nyala that she, unfortunately, did miss, but what a special sighting for the guests who were all only on their second game drive.
I have also had some close encounters with rhino.
Guide Bernard
November has been another very beautiful and successful month. Everyone is very grateful for all the rain and the bush is all lush and green.
Something remarkable: we saw was two African bullfrogs in the road while we were coming back from Marula Boma in a storm. We also saw African Wild Dogs at Barnards which was very special as we got to spend at least 20 minutes with them – the guests were very happy. That was after they saw buffalo and 20 lions, all on their Sunset Drive.
Guide Jordan
Motlala drives and morning walks had a shaky start this month but a wonderful humid ending.
Guide Raymond
Sunset Drive on Olifants West we found a pride of 20 Lions at Rosy’s water hole. Further on we got two Black Rhinos. On the way to Marula Boma we found a leopard crossing the road – brilliant! After a great BBQ dinner at Boma, on the way back to the lodge we found a herd of elephants.
Kruger Park: We found pride of lions watching a wildebeest which was stuck in the mud. Later on, we saw them eating the wildebeest. On the H6 two km from Nwanetsi we found another pride eating a buffalo. We found a big herd of Buffalos and some elephants at the Sweni waterhole.
Kruger Park: We found white rhino near Orpen and a very huge herd of elephants ( 70+) on the S100. Nearby we found seven Lions trying unsuccessfully to catch a zebra and on the Sweni we found a leopard eating a hyena next to the road – haven’t seen that in my life and I am guiding for 30 years!! At Sweni waterhole we found a herd of Buffalos so we had the big five.
Some highlights of the month for our guests include elephants enjoying mud baths, a hyena swimming, as well as rhino sightings on four different days and three great sightings of wild dogs.
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