17 January
AM
It had been raining for most of the night, and this morning, there was no sign of it letting up as we headed out on drive. We rejoined the female cheetah, which we've been seeing regularly around Nkorho, at Jacobin's. She looked a bit miserable, as she was soaking wet, sitting in the long grass. Eventually, she lay down. It looked as though she was going to wait for a break in the rain, to become active. We sat with a large journey of giraffe on Kruger boundary for a while, before joining a sighting of a herd of buffalo on cheetah cutline. The Sandy Patch lionesses, with their male companion, were also located this morning, at Sandy patch.

PM
The weather had changed considerably since this morning, as the sun had come out, the sky cleared and it was boiling hot once again. We relocated the Sandy patch lionesses with the male on Aubrey's Road. They had found themselves a comfortable, shady spot, and were having a good rest. It looked as though they had eaten, possibly last night, so they would not likely be rushing to catch a meal tonight. However, if the opportunity arose, there is no doubt they would make a kill. After dark, we drove through the thick bush, on Zoë's Road, and bumped into a herd of elephants. Elephant herds are nervous at the best of times, but are especially weary in the dark. We didn't want to pursue them in the dark, and put pressure on them. So instead we sat in the darkness, listening to them making their way through the bush.

18 January
AM
This morning, we stopped at Buffelshoek Airstrip, so sit with the two black-backed jackal pups. It was quite cool out, and the two were curled up in some hay, having a rest and trying to keep warm while they waited for mom and dad to return with some food for them. At the other end of the airstrip, we noticed some creatures moving. Upon closer investigation, through our binoculars, we saw that it was the cheetah mom and her three cubs. We followed them as they had a drink from the dam at Cruse Camp, and then they went to have a rest in the shade. Next, we made our way north into Manyeleti, where we were treated to the company of several elephant bulls, as they went about feeding.

PM
This afternoon, the weather was changing, and some heavy gray cloud was rolling in. We had a few patches of drizzle, mixed with hot sunshine. There was a gang of daga boys, having a soak in Gowrie Dam, in front of the lodge. We watched them, from the deck as we drank our tea. The old bulls resembled beached whales at the waters edge. When we set out on drive, we came across a few elephant bulls and many giraffe. On the open area in front of Nkorho, we sat watching the resident group of wildebeest, as their three calves frolicked about, playfully, trying to get the adults to join in.

19 January
AM
This morning, we woke up to find it was pouring with rain. We checked the rain gauge, and saw that we had accumulated 30ml's overnight, which is quite a substantial amount. In the area around Bush Lodge, the amount was even much greater than that. We took an easy drive along Gowrie Main, and bumped into a group of elephant bulls. They loved the wet weather. One of the boys was enjoying a nice scratch against a Marula tree, while the others fed on clumps of wet grass. We also saw plenty of interesting tortoises and lizards, which also enjoy the wet weather. When we returned to Vuyatela, we found our old friends, the daga boys lying up near the water's edge, chewing the cud.

PM
We headed up into Manyeleti, this afternoon, as the sun was finally breaking through the gray clouds. We came across a rhino bulls, as he was ambling down the road ahead of us He paid no mind to us as we drove slowly behind him for about 15 minutes. Eventually, he moved off and we managed to make our way past him. After dark, also in the road, was a pride of about 14 lions. This pride has been frequenting the area, but at times is very shy, so we don't always get to see them. Tonight, they weren't shy at all, as they lay sprawled out in the path. On or way home, we drove past Longpole, to find a pair of side-striped jackal pups, scratching about in the grass. Close to Vuyatela, we also spotted a hyena, as it loped across the road, ahead of us.

The Ranger's diary is updated weekly

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