Heaven on Earth

Heaven on Earth

It is that time of the year again…temperature is rising and with it comes the rain, which will, in a couple weeks, transform a harsh, dry landscape into a canvas of colours!

A few days ago, we had the first and the most amazing thunderstorm.  

 For 3 hours, the heavens were alight with beams of lightning clawing the earth followed by the deafening roar of thunder, so loud and intense it felt like standing amidst a thousand Zulus at their War Dance.

 

Everyone at Amakhosi was silent and in awe by this beautiful display of the majestic power of nature.

Today, after a mere 17 mm of rain, new life is bursting from the soil and slowly but surely our beautiful Zulu-land will be once again ‘heaven on earth’… 

Hungry lions

Winter Appetite

All of us know the effects of winter... even here in Zulu-land we have to reach for the blankets and heaters as soon as the sun goes down! With the cold, there is also the ‘craving’ for more food... We need to eat more to provide our bodies with more fuel as well as that extra insulation against the cold...

Well, the same goes to the animals! Especially the lions here at Amakhosi... Since they don’t hibernate, they have to fuel up in order to survive the winter. And that’s exactly what they’ve been doing these last few days!

One of our prides consists of 11 lions - 5 males, 2 old ladies, a pregnant lady and a mom with 2 cubs.

Since lions need an average of 5 -7kg of meat daily for normal activities and functioning (but can gorge up to 50kg at a single sitting), they need to hunt often in order to survive.

In less than 2 weeks, these amazing cats have killed a giraffe, nyala, kudu, wildebeest and a buffalo!

They have a very expensive appetite…

Lions are expert stalkers, especially the females who can use very little cover to creep unnoticed up to an unsuspecting animal. They move very carefully and freeze as soon as their prey moves.

Another useful skill is their coordination and teamwork. With large prey such as giraffe and buffalo, the females will do most of the hunting while the males only help-out with the finale kill. Males are efficient hunters, but with age come the black mane that makes concealment quite difficult! Thus, a male’s main priority is defending his pride and their territory…

Lions are most of the time inactive and spend up to 20 hours resting, but with an increased appetite, come more opportunities for our guests to witness Africa’s largest predator in action.

Misty mornings

After a very cold & wet game drive the previous night, none of the guests were too keen on getting up before the break of dawn for yet another cold drive….

I was waiting by the coffee station when I saw in the feint early morning light the guys dragging themselves towards the lodge, everyone covered from head to toe! A very unusual sight here in Zulu-land….

Well, we had our coffee & decided to head out North. It was still fairly dark when we left the lodge & the cold winter air cuts like a knife, even through all the various layers of clothing & blankets!

The sun came out, but we still couldn’t see more than a few meters ahead of us, the mist was too thick. We drove up onto the hill & were rewarded with a breath-taking sunrise! We were staring out over the valley of sleeping buffaloes, caught in the moment when suddenly a lion called just ahead of us!

Naturally we decided to investigate, who wouldn’t??? Well, we heard one call in front of us, then another called from behind us, & then, right next to the Cruiser, one of the Bafana Boys came out of the mist! He gave us a long, intense stare with those magnificent amber eyes before turning around & started marking his territory.

We followed him, & every few paces he would sniff, turn around & spray. This went on for a long time when suddenly his body language changed & he crouched down…

We waited in anticipation….

Then, from behind a bush came another lion! The first one jumped up & greeted his brother with a huge cat-hug! The 2 of them played for a few minutes, & then went back to business… marking their territory. Unfortunately for them, they both wanted to scent-mark in the same tree at the same time…

Jip, that’s right, both fell out!

They can be very lucky that it wasn’t a big tree & that they fell less than 1meter!

Well, needless to say, we had an awesome morning & we were all very glad that we withstood the temptation of sleeping in!

This is the bush, so one can always expect the unexpected!

Photos and Text by Mandie Pool - Amakhosi Ranger

Weird & Wonderful Creatures of the Night !

After a hot day under the African sun, we relax on a beautiful viewpoint & watch the horizon turn from hazy-blue to African orange. The stars appear one after another & slowly the land transforms into a different world. Most of the animals we have seen on drive have dissappeared form sight. As the moon & stars come out, so do the weird & wonderful creatures of the night…

The rangers at Amakhosi were given a new toy for Christmas, one which would be able to capture these elusive creatures in their most natural state. This type of camera is used worldwide to gather & analyze information of nocturnal animals not seen regularly.

One of these is the Leopard. The fiercest cat in Africa - built for power and adapted to a solitary lifestyle.

Big male leopard caught on camera across the river from our Isigodlo Villa. Male leopards can weigh up to 90kg, with a head/body length of 190cm & shoulder height of 78cm.

The territory of a male may overlap several female ranges, but these cats are not very social & meet only to mate. Females raise their cubs alone which reach sexual maturity at 3 years of age.

Leopards are IUCN Endangered & CITES 1. Their numbers are declining due to unnecessary persecution by farmers, habitat loss & hunting.

The Hyena with its crazy giggling and howling is an integral part of the African night. Hard to imagine sitting by a camp-fire without the whooping of hyenas in the distance! These beautiful predators are misunderstood by many people and falsely branded with a bad reputation. Hyenas are the refuse collectors of nature & without them the veld would be littered with carcasses & bones. At Amakhosi we have 2 types of hyenas – the well-known Spotted Hyena and its cousin the Brown Hyena. On camera we have caught the lesser known Brown Hyena on several occasions. This has of course aroused much excitement amongst the rangers.

The sloping back which gives the hyena its cowardly appearance is actually an adaptation to their energy-efficient gait when they forage. The forequarters are massive compared to the rest of the body. This is to accommodate a large head & neck, well-equipped with powerful temperalis and masseter muscles. Hyenas are very successful since they are great hunters, have lots of stamina and don’t mind left-overs.

Another shy & interesting creature caught on camera is the Antbear (Ardvark). With its long ears, flat snout & exceptional diggers, this creature is unique & unmistakable.

Anbears are endemic to Africa & there is only 1 species in the world.

The night is alive with fascinating animals! Each has their own unique characteristics & behaviors, but all equally important in the African bush and found right here at Amakhosi.

To close for comfort…

On a rainy morning this past week, after much debate whether we would actually even be heading out at all for the morning, we went in search of Africa’s bovine beasts, the Cape Buffalo…

Should you be one of the lucky ones to know…we headed out to the Uitschot area, in the south eastern region of the reserve.

As we arrived, descending over the crest, there they were; a 100 strong herd of prime specimen! We could immediately sense that something was potting and agitation was in the air. Approaching slowly we spotted the cause of the unrest….

The 6 Bafanas (our male lions) tracking the herd…Hoping that they might have a lucky day with a calf straggling behind or something like that…But the tables got turned in an instant!

Some of the Buffalo bulls had had enough of the pestering young boys and started charging at them to try and deter their keen interest. As clever as Buffalo are, they honed in on one particular lion and just as they were about to teach him a valuable lesson, an awkwardly small Marula tree played a life saving part in this episode.
The lion swiftly clambered up the tree to safety, and was it just! There was probably only about 50cm to spare between the Buffalo’s deadly horns and the lions dangling foot as he perched himself on a branch.

What a sight to see! Africa’s top predator, trapped like a vulnerable about to be prey! The Buffalo milled around the tree for about half an hour before loosing interest and moving on… hopefully leaving the irritants behind!

As soon as the coast was clear the lion dismounted the tree with grace and rejoined his 5 brothers that were still hanging around in the thickets. And before long…they were back on the track of the Buffalo herd, continuing in their hunt for their eternal foe.

It’s thrilling to be a part and be able to witness these breathtaking moments at Amakhosi. Needless to say, all of us were delighted that we had taken our ranger’s advice and headed out for the morning…

Because on days like these it is not even an option to consider staying in, when the bush is alive with amazing surprises such as this!

Somewhere over the rainbow…

If only there truly was a pot f gold at the end of each rainbow, we would be lavishly living it up here at Amakhosi! Especially at this time of year when afternoon thunderstorms become the norm…

This picture perfect scene played out one afternoon on game drive this past week…with our tracker admiring and probably also wondering…what if there is really a pot of gold…

The trackers at Amakhosi have loved each moment and relishing in their own achievements in the past weeks, with leopard sightings and amazing lion encounters. They have this unique ability of finding the ever illusive inhabitants of the African bush.

To give some insight; the ranger and tracker teams at Amakhosi all have trusting relationships and a ranger sticks with a tracker for the duration of their stay at Amakhosi, so close relationships grow over the years of those that stick around.

The trackers are the guys who are proud Zulu’s from Zululand, and extremely passionate about their ‘home’, Zululand being their ‘home’. They take immense pride in sharing the beauty around them and showing off whom and what they are in this bigger picture they live in.

With sharp eyes and ingrained ‘bush sense’ there is nothing that a Zulu tracker would miss out there! They are the guys that when mentioned by a guest; I hope to see elephant, will without you even knowing track them, and take you to your hearts desire.

They all are born in our own ‘Bush School’ and there is no better place to learn about the bush than in the bush…with no books, just keen senses that are tuned in with the environment around them and a die-hard sense to observe all that goes on around!

These guys who sit right out front on the tracker seat of the vehicle will blow your mind by their ability to read the ever present signs that animals leave behind…

When visiting Amakhosi you can’t believe that in some of Africa’s deepest and darkest parts live the people whose passion for this continent in its natural state, overwhelms anything that is not of the bush.

A hooting start to 2011 at Amakhosi…

A number of different owls have been seen on game drives and on some walks in the past week here at Amakhosi.

These mostly nocturnal creatures can be quite difficult to find so luck was on our Amakhosi’s ranger's side when we were able to spot close to 7 of the owls found on the reserve!

When finding them people are always interested at looking at them with intent and listen to the interesting facts about them. There is so much folklore and many superstitions surrounding these unusual feathered friends.

It is a bird that in fact does a lot more good than bad in the bigger picture.

They feed mostly on rodents so by having them around is a great natural way to deal with unwanted vermin.

The pick of the sightings was probably the one on a walk close to the lodge.

We stumbled upon a Giant Eagle Owl in a Tamboti Forest not to far…and there he was, in full glory, in bright daylight!

A large powerful owl capable of catching small mammals!

To find one at night when it is most active is usually a treat of note for any “twitcher” or keen wannabe…

But to have the opportunity to marvel at one of these magnificent creatures in broad daylight was a big highlight for the guests on walk and probably more for the ranger…a “twitcher” himself!

Unfortunately we were unable to get any photographs of this sighting but it is definitely a story worth repeating, even with no photos!

The photo above is one of a White Faced Scops Owl which is also one of the night birds that we got to see.

As always, venturing out into the bush at Amakhosi is filled with surprises and thrilling experiences waiting to be had!