A weekend at Addo

I recently got back from a 4 day weekend at Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape. It's a relatively small park not too far from Port Elizabeth and in my opinion the best place to view elephant in a completely relaxed and comfortable environment. Anyone who is familiar with the Kruger elephants, and their antics, is sure to appreciate just how relaxed an Addo elephant is, and how relaxed the occupants of cars are, as the herds stream past the car without even batting an eyelid. (I know, as their eyelids are often so close, a small breeze would be created if they were to bat one...)

I love Addo, I always have. In the past 4 years we have had about 8 trips, and have seen lion on 7 of these. A bit of pressure then, as one of my friends Margot, had never seen a lion in 'real life' before...

Wimpy in George 8.30 am

Going away with friends is one of the best ways to spend a weekend. Sometimes we laugh until the tears run down our cheeks, other times we laugh until someone begins to squeal (generally me), bringing forth more laughter. It is most probably the best way to refresh yourself and to relax. Friends can do that to you. 

To start with, not one of us got to sleep on the way, despite the 3.30am start. Thats always a good sign! The company must have been fantastic...

When we arrived in Addo it was as usual a quick unpacking session before a bite to eat and a game drive. The weather was mostly overcast during our stay, except for the last day when the clouds parted and some glorious warmth shone through. Early mornings we use a spotlight, and when its raining into the car, people tend to get rather chilly! Fortunately coffee was never far from hand, and as usual was enjoyed with a good dose of Amarula (to warm the heart, of course).

Early morning at Zuurkop Lookout

The first few drives passed cat-less, and we were getting a little worried, as we'd really hoped to be there for Marg's first cat sighting. Then we saw a caracal, a first for both Margot and Romy, with its tufted ears and tawny coat. It disappeared quite quickly though, but left us on a high! We also saw a tiny buffalo calf, very nervously following its equally nervous mother. 

Addo has recently been opened up, so that it runs all the way to the sea. Its amazing what a difference in vegetation there is in the new section! We felt as though we had crossed into a new park, full of Euphorbia's and prickly pear type plants, surrounded by open plains. It was interesting to say the least, although it seems the game is still getting used to the added space, as there was not as much to see in the new area. 

Cold Black Backed Jackal

Elephant bull in Musth

On our last full morning in the park, after a breakfast of flapjacks with Nutella, we finally got our lions. They were lying near to Domkrag dam, grooming each other. There were 4 in total, 2 young males and 2 females. At one point they began to stalk some zebra that had moved close to the dam, but the zebra were spooked before anything exciting could happen. Either way it was really great to get to see them, finally!

Our last night we stayed at the new camp, which is very basic, and situated at the Spekboom hide. Its actually inside the hide enclosure and at night you have the hide all to yourself. It was a great end to a really fun 4 nights, sitting braaing under the stars, darkness all around except for a couple of gas lamps, and the call of the jackals in the background. 

Pale Chanting Goshawk, cold and wet

Leopards, leopards and wild dog puppies at Exeter

I wasn't able to do live posts the next few days at Dulini, as the connection was very slow, and we spent so much time in the sun that I was pretty tired! It was an amazing few days though. Each drive we managed to see at least one leopard, and overall in our stay I believe we saw 8 individual leopards, and had a total of 17 sightings. I am going to post pictures, most of which speak for themselves, and a few of my favorite sightings from the trip.

Metsi Female

Kashane male leopard 

Mashiyambanje Male leopard

Mashiyambanje male leopard

Metsi female and son

Hlaba Nkunzi scent marking

Last month when I was at Dulini we saw the daughter of Hlaba Nkunzi, and she gave us quite a charge. Subsequently she was killed by the Xindzele Male, most likely because she was too young to mate with him, and had a run in with him. This trip her mother had come into Oestrus, which is basically the period when she is able to conceive. She had sought out the Xindzele Male and was trying to convince him to mate with her. We were fortunate enough to witness the beginning of this process, as she spent the morning  trying to entice him. He was having none of it though, and was constantly growling at her, no matter what she did. She would purr, and roll around on her back, parading in front of him, and he would lie in the grass growling at her in displeasure. At one point she walked right up to him, and he sprung up and began to slap her around. It was very exciting to watch, but all happened so quickly I wasn't even slightly ready to capture it! It was impressive to realise how quickly there cats can move, In the below picture my shutter speed was greater that 1/400th of a second, yet all parts of the leopard were in motion. It is also nice to see the size difference between the male and female, which is vast. 

A blur of spots

Hlaba Nkunzi vs Xindzele

Unfortunately over the next couple of days the two leopards got separated as Hlaba Nkunzi crossed into the Hippo Dam females territory and was chased around a bit. The Xindzele male also had an intruder in his territory, the Babalas Male, a young male leopard, and spent a good portion of two days scent marking and calling loudly to signify his dominance and territory. All of this did however make for some active viewing! At least the leopards weren't sleeping in bushes...

Xindzele Scent Marking

Xindzele after testing the air.

Babalas Male considering jumping the fence

Nervous Babalas Male

The most special sighting of the trip for me took the form of wild dog puppies. Most drives we would stop off at the wild dog den site, although quite often we would only find a couple of the adults resting up at the den. The dynamic was a strange one, as both the Alpha and Beta female had given birth in separate mounds. No pups had been seen at the Beta mound at all, and as is often the case, the Alpha female will decide if the other pups will live.  The alpha female had been seen a few times at the beta den site, and it seemed as though she was perhaps stopping the other female from suckling. There is no way to know until the pups emerge, so there is always hope. 

One afternoon we left the lodge early and made our way to the main den site. On arrival we could hear a loud chorus of pups who had obviously come out of the den site for the first time properly, although they were out of site around the far side of the mound. They were crying just like normal puppies do, and the parents could be seen fussing around the moving grass. After sitting hopefully for around 20 minutes, we were rewarded with something very exciting! One of the pups came tumbling down the side of the den into the grass and we got to see the little two week old black body with its spotted legs! It was the most exciting moment. The alpha male then picked it up ever so gently and carried it back up the mound and placed it in the entrance to the den. We saw two puppies that afternoon, and that was enough. It was very special to see, and something we are unlikely to experience again. It was only the second time they had been seen, the first was shortly after they were born. What a treat! Anyone in the area in the next few weeks is sure to have some incredible sightings, I'm quite sad I won't be there though!!

Two week old puppy at the den site.

On our last afternoon drive, we again managed to see the Cheetah which sometimes visits the area. He had come onto the property and was resting up on a termite mound (one of two favorite spots of his I am told). So, it was another cat to check off the list. It was a huge mound, and he really had a great vantage point from atop it. 

While watching him we could elephant and rhino in the background! The caracal also put in another appearance late one night. He was calmly sitting in a small clearing, completely unconcerned by the presence of the vehicle, very unusual!

One of the funnier sightings was that of a rhino 'humping'. We actually called another ranger to the sighting, it was so funny. This rhino had been scratching himself on a termite mound (or hump...) He then proceeded to 'scratch the spot' over and over again. Each time he did so, he would take a break to lick the mound before resuming his business. The whole vehicle was in absolute hysterics!

 Flick between these two photo's for an olden day version of a movie.

The last time we were in Dulini we had spent a fair amount of time looking for the Ximungwe pride lionesses who had recently given birth, but had been unsuccessful. This time we had sighting of both sets of cubs, the first around 4 months, and the other around 6 months.

Cub in river bed late evening

Ximungwe pride younger cubs

The cubs were an absolute delight, chasing each other up the river bed, paws struggling in the soft and wet sand. They were having a rough time of it, as the mother had begun to wean them and wasn't letting them suckle, which produced countless cries and begging sounds. The older set were on a kudu kill with their mother, and we arrived early morning as the condensation from the ground was rising around them, and evaporating of their fur. Their breath was also condensing as its warmth met the cold air around us. 

Larger Ximungwe pride cub early morning

We also saw the remaining three Mapogo male lions on a number of occasions. The most memorable of these was watching them roar from about two metres away, their calls filling the air, and echoing off branches and banks in the distance. Such a powerful sound, one of the really impressive sounds of nature that fill one with awe. It was a wonderful trip, from the rangers to the lodge to the wildlife. The weather even played its part for the most, and I turned a number of shades browner, the sun baking my skin and the earth. What a relaxing Easter weekend, with not too much sleep, far too much food, and 17 or so leopard sightings. Not too shabby!!

Mapogo under spotlight

Hlaba Nkunzi

Evening patrol

Xindzele rolling in dung

Dulini Day 1:Metsi Female and the Dogs

I am at Dulini lodge again, and it is as awesome as ever! I'm here with my dad, Dan and Greg for 5 nights, over the Easter long weekend. Everything is still very green, altho the grass has begun to die down a little. Our ranger and tracker team is Craig and Eric, as it was last month, and the welcome we had back to the lodge was fantastic!

For the duration of our stay we have a vehicle to ourselves, which is obviously super as we are able to better decide which sightings to be a part of, and can have a more interactive experience. Its also awesome for photography, as we can maneuver the vehicle into suitable positions. Drive 1: We left the lodge and went straight to the wild dog den. None of the puppies are out yet, but we were hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of one. Both the Alpha female and another have given birth, in two separate den sites, both of which are on Exeter property. At the first den, there was no one at home. The second den had the mother, who didn't hang around too long before going down the hole in a huge termite mound where she had given birth, so we left her to tend to her babies.

A lot of the drive was spent just appreciating being back in the bush. Then all of a sudden the bush exploded into life. Our first leopard then came onto the scene in the form of Tlangisa, the daughter of Mambirri, who was relaxing atop a termite mound. We sat with her for a while until she and us eventually moved off to allow another vehicle to view her.

Tlangisa

 We were then called into a sighting of the Metsi female leopard, a leopard I have never viewed before. She was walking down the road toward some clearings. As we arrived on the scene we could see 2 rhino in the road behind her. She headed onto the clearings just as a wild dog appeared up ahead. Both sat down staring at each other, neither wanting to risk injury. While this was happening, another 2 dogs appeared behind our vehicle, jumping around at the area she had been scent- marking in. When they spotted her, they ran at her, and she launched herself gracefully into a nearby tree. The dogs then spent the next while jumping around the base of the tree, while she settled in for the wait. While this was happening the 2 Rhino came trundling into the scene to find out what was happening! They eventually chased the wild dog away, and bumbled off.

By now, a drinks break was in order to celebrate the first drives success! We stopped in the middle of the road to enjoy some Chili biltong and a Gin and Dry lemon. Not too far off we could hear 3 lions roaring in Unison, one of the most evocative sounds of the African bush. It was lovely to stand in the dark, drink in hand, and listen to them proclaim their territory. Naturally, after drinks we made our way to them, and spend a while watching as they relaxed on the road. One of the male gave us a beautiful and powerful serenade, the other snored.

Dinner was served next to a glowing fire place, and when we finally headed off to our extremely comfortable beds we were all wed fed and happy.

This morning it was still quite overcast when we left at 5:45am on our drive. Our first stop was naturally the den site, where a couple of adults were relaxing. No pups in sight though, so we left them to themselves. Next up, we got to view the Kashane male leopard. He is pretty large, with a very big head and neck. As we arrived the previous vehicle with him lost him in some very thick bush. It proved quite a challenge to find him, and when we eventually did, it was an even greater challenge to follow him. The car really got put through its paces, pushing over trees, and driving over holes and mounds. It the sands the off road driving is controlled, and the only species which can be driven over are those that suffocate areas, or appear due to past over grazing before the reserve was proclaimed. When he went into the drainage line, we thought he was lost, but he decided to show himself on the flats, and we were finally able to view him properly. His eyes are very lightly colored and pretty. He is an impressive male though!

A pair of wild dog had been found on the same clearing as yesterday, so we headed there and watch them jumping around agitatedly while hunting. They were quite a distance off though, so no pictures were forth coming. On the way to them, we saw the Metsi female leopard again in the road, but didn't stop. The wild dogs obviously got a hold of her scent though, because after a while they took off in her direction and again tree'd the poor leopard!

We stayed with her for a while after they ran off, and watched her relaxing in a tree, quite safe. She is a very beautiful leopard, with such a seductive tail. I have always found leopards to the most seductive cats, with their mannerisms and their attitude. We left her and were looking for a place for a coffee break when we heard there was a Caracal just around the metaphorical corner! A caracal?? That certainly had to be viewed!! This individual was so ridiculously relaxed that we actually spent a good 20 minutes with it before it moved off! Unfortunately there is still a lot of tall grass, but despite this we had an excellent view. The past 2 drives had really delivered!!