6 March
AM
This morning's drive was fairly quiet. We spent a lot of time doing some birding. The raptor have been amazing lately, as there are several types of eagle to be seen, as well as kestrels, kites and vultures. We also sat watching a group of dwarf mongoose, foraging about near twin Dams. Later in the morning, we came across the herd of buffalo from yesterday. They were grazing on impala plains, heading west.

PM
This afternoon, the open area in front of Vuyatela was packed with game. This area attracts so much game because it is open, with short grass and the water here is plentiful. Impala, zebra, waterbuck, buffalo, warthogs, Nyala, wildebeest. Vervet monkeys and baboons were all visible from the deck as we sat having our afternoon tea. When we set out on drive, we headed up to Galago, where a male cheetah was lying up on the open area. His belly was full, so he must have made a kill and eaten it previously in the day. At Galago Dam, a couple of hippo were in the water, waiting for the sun to set so they could head out for an evening of grazing. We also came across a few elephant bulls, near Galago, after dark.

7 March
AM
This morning, we headed down Central Road from Vuyatela, where we bumped into a gnarly, old daga boy, in the drainage line at Giraffe Dip. He gave us a sinister look, before stomping up the side of the bank, and disappearing into the bush. We then took a drive up Nyala road and came across a huge elephant bull. He was feeding on the thorniest bushes, pulling the branches off with his trunk and stuffing them, prickles and all, into his mouth. You could see him using his huge pink tongue to position them in his mouth before chomping on them with his massive teeth. We then headed onto Torchwood, where there were several vultures hanging about. We were pretty certain that there must be lions about, to attract so many of them. We came across some lion tracks near First Rock, leading from the drainage line, to Paradise Beach and then back again. We went and scratched about in the drainage line, trying to find the cats, but they were too well hidden. We decided to come back later in the day, to see if they would emerge from the thick bush.

PM
We had a superb start to our afternoon, when we went immediately to join a sighting of a male cheetah, at Umbrella Clearing. This particularly large male, was lying up in the shade of an Umbrella Thorn, scanning about, with his red eyes, in the way that cheetah always do. After a while, he became a bit restless, and decided to walk to the northern end of the clearing, where he lay down again, in the longer grass. As the sun was setting, we decided to leave him, to join a sighting of a female leopard, at Torchwood Camp. The female, Kaalkol, was walking along the road, making contact calls as she tried to find her male cub. We could hear him responding from the direction in which she was walking. Eventually, the mother and son met and the most affectionate greeting commenced. The two rubbed up against each other and had a good snuggle, before heading off again, into the bush. We guessed that mom must have made a kill, and was now leading her cub back to where it was stashed. The young male, now bigger than his mother, kept playfully butting his mother with his head, as she led him through the long grass. Eventually, we had to head back to Vuyatela, where we learned that a female lion was lying up in front of the lodge.

8 March
AM
We spent most of the early morning, scratching around Western Gowrie, where there is always plenty of interesting game and birds. We explored the drainage lines as well as a few of the watering holes. We eventually stopped at Buffelshoek Dam, for coffee, where we were joined by a pair of elephant bulls, coming down to the water for a drink. A while later, we then headed down to Kudu Corner, to join a sighting of a female leopard, as she walked along the Kruger Boundary. We got a splendid visual of her as she walked along in the sunlight, before she disappeared into the park.

PM
A slight, cool breeze was blowing this afternoon, as we piled into the game drive vehicles and headed into the bush. We had a fantastic afternoon for raptors. We saw several adult and juvenile Bateleur Eagles, Brown Snake Eagles, a Black Breasted Snake Eagle, an African Hawk Eagle, Whalberg's Eagles, a Tawny Eagle, a Gymnogene, a White headed Vulture, Eastern Red Footed Kestrels... and the list goes on. We also saw a lovely group of Ground Hornbills and a Kori Bustard inside Manyeleti. Near Ivory Route, we also came across a large herd of buffalo, and a few elephant bulls.

9 March
AM
This morning, we headed straight towards the southeast, where a female cheetah had been spotted. Along the way, we stopped quickly for two elephant bulls and a daga boy, along Gowrie Main, before joining the Cheetah Sighting at Three in a Row Pan. The female was heading towards Nkorho open area, where she knew there would be a selection of tasty prey waiting for her. We drove ahead, until we came across a herd of impala, and then sat waiting with them, to see if the cheetah would decide to take chase. For some reason, the cheetah was very weary this morning, and sat watching the impala at a distance, instead of making a move. There was also a family group of wildebeest close by, who were oblivious to what was happening. We ended sitting and waiting for most of the morning, watching the beautiful cat, until she gave up and headed into the drainage line. She must have just felt that the conditions for the hunt weren't in her favor.

PM
This afternoon, one of the very old lionesses, from the Skuthane Pride, was lying up at Nyala Dam. She was looking very frail and skinny. It is likely that she is unable to keep up with the rest of the pride, anymore, and is wandering about on her own. She is too weak to try and make a substantial kill for herself, so she would have to try and scavenge a meal in order to survive. Seeing her was a reminder of how tough it is out here in the bush, for the game. They are always in danger of being hurt, killed or falling ill. It's definitely true that only the strong survive, and as sad as it is, the weak get left behind, to make way for the younger and stronger of the species.

10 March
AM
This morning, as soon as we drove out of the entrance to Vuyatela, we came across some fresh lion tracks, heading up the road. We followed them, until we bumped into the two Sandy Patch lionesses near Aubrey's Road. The two cats were lying up in the bush at first, but then became mobile towards the north. The bush that they were walking through was very thick, and posed quite a challenge for us to get through. Eventually, it just became too thick and we had to give up. We then headed to Gowrie Main, near Twin Dams to join a leopard sighting. The male, Pink Nose, was walking about, sniffing around a thicket of bushes. Suddenly, he jumped into the bush and caught a baby waterbuck that had been hiding inside. After killing the young calf, with a suffocating grip on the throat, he dragged it to the other side of the Mlowati, where he could begin eating it under cover.

PM
We went to check on the leopard, with his kill, from this morning. When we got to Twin Dams, we found the male leopard, Pink Nose, lying up, with a very full belly. He was lazily resting next to the thicket where he had stashed the carcass. Later in the evening, after dark, a pair of male lions showed up at the scene, forcing the leopard to take his quarry up into a tree, as fast as he could. The two lions then milled around at the base of the tree, hoping to pirate a free meal. This afternoon, we also saw a lovely breeding herd of about 30 elephants, on the northern end of Twin Dams Road. They had just finished drinking water at Gowrie Dam, and were heading back to the safety of thicker bush, to feed. There were also several elephant bulls about, as well as a few daga boys.

The Ranger's diary is updated weekly

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