2 February
AM
We set of this morning in very hot conditions. There was barely a breath of air so we were all glad to be mobile. We started with the Buffalo that seem to have moved into Gowrie dam in front of Vuyatela. There was excellent plains game around the dam too. We watched the Buffalo and the rest of the plains game drinking and grazing. The trill of the Woodlands Kingfisher could be heard all round the area. We found Lion tracks not to far from the lodge so tracked those until we came across the sandy patch pride lying up close to Buffleshoek dam.

PM
This afternoon was no different to this morning maybe slightly warmer. We headed out towards the Manyeleti for a change in scenery. We were on a birding drive today so concentrated our time with that until we came across Leopard. The male was clearly on the hunt so we tried to stick with him as long as possible but he moved of into very dense bush and we were unable to relocate. We decided that to continue our birding outing we should stop at Dixie koppie for a sundowner and spend some time taking in the amazing surroundings.

3 February
AM
As we left camp this morning the Buffalo were again heading to Gowrie dam to settle in for the hot summers day. We came across a couple of Elephant feeding as they walked towards the dam too. The sounds of their tummies could be herd by all as they had clearly been indulging in Marula fruit. They seemed quite parched, as they reached the dam not even bothering to rev the Buffalo until they had had a good drink. We found a Cheetah a while later on long pole road. The male was quite relaxed just walking along on the prowl for a morning snack. We spend some time with him until returning to camp.

PM
As we left camp this afternoon we almost turned back to watch the dam from the deck as it was teeming with life. The Buffalo were getting up and moving around after a long day in the water. we had a small herd of elephant come down for a drink along with herds of Zebra, Impala, Nyala, Wildebeest, Waterbuck and Kudu. Baboons and Monkeys were also seen chasing each other around as the sun was setting. We later found a couple of Rhino near Jordan's dam quietly feeding as we watched. We headed of to see if we could relocate a Leopard we had herd about earlier. We found the Leopard lying up a Marula Tree taking in the view of the plains around him. There was not too much about in the line of dinner. On the way back to camp we came across Hyena and White tailed Mongoose.

4 February
AM
This morning was like most of the other mornings thus far. A good warm start to the day with the Buffalo at the Dam. We headed out in search of some Elephant today. We located a Cheetah this morning and were in awe if it, with many a photo being taken. We had no sooner left the Cheetah and came across two male Elephants feeding as they walked. We watched them for a while but they were not to friendly this morning possibly to much Marula fruit through the night. We bumped a Hyena this morning slowly making its way back to den. It was very relaxed. We walked back to camp this morning from Buffleshoek Dam.

PM
The walk back to the lodge this morning was very interesting. We came across a few Elephant that clearly knew we were around but just quietly made their way to the dam to drink. As we left this afternoon we bumped those same Elephant milling about on the way to Buffleshoek dam. alter we found a Herd of male elephant at Khaya Manzi. We watched as they drank a played around for a while. We spotted a Crocodile at Sussen's dam to be followed by a Lioness at Buffelshoek airstrip. After following the Lioness we saw a Hippo at Cruse camp dam with the Lioness drinking not to far away. We then moved towards First rock where we found two leopard on a kill. It was an Impala that they were feasting on with us taking many photos. They were very relaxed. The Leopard was identified as Kaalkol and her cub. There was an old male Cheetah seen at the old Hyena den clearing.

5 February
AM
This morning we left the lodge with the sky very dark and cloudy. We in fact even got wet as it rained for a little while. This morning was amazing. We saw the very rare Wild Dog chasing a Leopard off a kill at Rhino post dam. They were very quick to get stuck into the kill. We spend a long time with the Wild Dog as it was out of this world. There was a breeding herd of buffalo seem on the boundary between Manyeleti and ourselves we found two large herds of Elephant inside Manyeleti with very small calves. We spend some time with these as the guests wanted to see these gentle giants of the bush. A female Cheetah was spotted on umbrella clearing too.

The Ranger's diary is updated weekly

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