Day Eight

Today we had the morning off which was nice and all of us got some much needed re coup and editing done.
But it didn't last to long as we are now off to sleep out in the Big Five reserve!
Our pick up was at 3pm while i went to set up the camp with Koos the manager the guests went out with Adam and found the lions as the light was fading.
We picked them up after dark to bring them to our camp in the middle or a dry river bed.


with the fire providing light we set up the sleeping area and sorted watch times during the night so we where safe. I got the 4am to 5am shift which was ok.
We have a .375 rifle for protection along with myself and the other two guides being experienced in sleeping in Dangerous game areas we were as safe as we could be.

I didn't take images that night as i was cooking. Images are thanks to a guest Magnus  Martensson

Us three guides and the guests talking round the fire (left to right Koos,Adam,Me, Karen, Matis and Johanna)

 telling bush stories with the guests

Johanna and Karen

Adam concentrating on helping with the cooking

Not sure what face i am pulling but i should be cooking haha

Can there be anything better than sleeping under this? i very much doubt it.

We had the hyena calling even before the guests arrived but they continued to call with their distinctive and very creepy whooping call. As did the Jackals yelp during the night for us.
Staring up at the stars was just amazing! i really do love these sleep outs.

After a nice Braai (BBQ) the story telling commenced as we sat around the fire. We tried to keep the stories from any of the scary stuff about hyenas and other large predators.

The first shift started at 10pm and we took them in hourly turns.
I was surprised at the temperature it was not as cold as i had anticipated. Dare i say it i actually was quiet cosy and none of the guests had a problem with sleeping either.
All to soon it was my turn to watch, Hoping to find something before the night was out i searched for eyes in the torch light but there was nothing the night was dead quiet and still.
But as these things happen my shift finished and as i lay in my bed, letting Koos take over a hyena called very close to us.
The everything went mad, pearl spotted owlets where having a great time announcing they had made it though the night.

But the best was still to come and at around 5:30am a Leopard started calling! we got three calls from him and being only around 200 meters from camp it was very loud. Then the impala started snorting once they saw the leopard.
What a great night.

Day Nine

As the light grew we all woke up at 6am for a breakfast before packing up the camp.

Packing up camp after breakfast

As you do in the bush we had a small impala poo spitting competition in which Adam narrowly edged over me and Sivert. Unfortunately no pictures of that though.

Now we went for a game drive before getting back to camp.
There where lion tracks everywhere! but we decided to go to the lion boma with 5 new lions from Makalali game reserve. They are in the boma to break the homing instinct and allow the resident lions to meet them.

As we arrived there was  hundreds of vultures to greet us all waiting for a chance to feed in the dead waterbuck put there for the lions.

White backed vulture flying into the Boma to the Kill

going down to land amongst the mopane

Just after they got a fright on the kill and flew up into the trees

Silhouette of a hooded vulture

White back vulture flying around looking for a tree to land in

But we drove around the boma to find the lions at the other end, they were a little shy at first but soon calmed to our presence and lay down next to us.
Then we notices a young male with one blue and one brown eye. then i realized my sister and my good friend Daniel collier had photographed this young boy when he was just a cub a year ago when they trained as guides on Makalali.

four of the new lions on the reserve

Young male with different eyes

The one female was a but shy and stayed in the thicker bush

close up of his eyes. i would love to see him when he is fully grown.

After the lions we did a short game drive on the way out.
managing to spot some cool birds including white fronted bee eaters and grey headed bush shrike.

Some young kudu bulls at a dam seen on our way out

Tomorrow we are back in Kruger for the day before another day in Selati and one last trip into Kruger!
so keep following the blog for more updates over the next few days
Adios