27 April
PM
Tonight we saw a large male leopard in thick bush. He had eaten a big meal and was lying in the shade of a tree. There were many vultures around as well as a hyena. We spotted a Dwarf Mongoose, a Genet and a Bush Baby alongside the road.
We saw some big birds of prey; an Eagle Owl was in the road and a Marshall Eagle.

28 April
AM
We heard lion roaring in the distance this morning and found two males under the trees. One had caught an Impala and was guarding it fiercely from his brother. We also spotted some Buffalo lying in the sun as well as Kudu, Impala, Zebra and Steenbok.
We saw many white backed vultures, a Brown Snake Eagle and a Marshall Eagle. They are all very large and impressive birds.

PM
We spotted the same two male lions lying in an open area with very full bellies. A very big herd of Buffalo was at the side of the road. Three Hyena were finishing off a Leopard Kill and were very relaxed, letting us watch them for a while. We also saw Impala, Zebra, Wildebeest, Kudu and a Duiker. A Genet leapt into the bushes as we drove by and stopped to look back at us.

We saw a lot of White backed Vultures sitting in trees as well as Franklin.

29 April
AM
This morning we heard leopard outside the camp and set off to find them. We found them in front of Bush Lodge where they were mating. A curious Hyena was attracted by the noise and followed them for a while in the hope that they might kill something that he could steal from them. We then headed for three in a row pan to find a mother Cheetah and her two cubs; the cubs were chasing each other and having a great time while the mother was concentrating on finding some breakfast. We followed them to an open plain where they stalked a Steenbok. They all had a go at chasing it and the mother finally caught it. She did not kill it though, she left it for her cubs, to try and teach them how to kill. The cubs were chasing it through the bushes when three Lionesses came towards them - at that point they scattered. The lionesses then fought over the Steenbok, eventually ripping it into three pieces. A very eventful morning indeed, as we also saw Impala, Side Striped Jackal and a Kudu.

PM
This afternoon we saw two large male lions lying in the road; we got quite close to them as they were very relaxed. We saw a Cheetah in the distance as well as two bull elephants at three in a row pan. The elephants were eating the bark and roots from the bushes and the green grass under the trees. We saw some Zebra, Impala and Wildebeest grazing near each other on an open plain.
A black backed jackal came to see what we were up to while we had our drinks and a little further down the road we saw a side striped jackal foraging in the grass. While searching through thick bush we found a white-faced owl, he was very relaxed and stared sleepily at us from his perch.

30 April
AM
Today was rather chilly as we headed out of camp. But we were rewarded for getting out of our warm and comfy beds with the sight of three lionesses lying in the grass near camp. A large elephant bull walked down the road towards the lions and us and chased them away. We saw a Cheetah lying on top of a termite mound on an open plain, unfortunately the nearby Vervet monkeys saw him too and alarm called making all the impalas very nervous. We also saw Wildebeest, Kudu and Hippo. He was sunning himself on the side of the dam.

We spotted the vultures sitting in the tops of the trees and red billed wood hoopoes. We saw crested barbets, grey Louries, arrow marked babblers and Bateleur Eagles.

PM
This afternoon was quieter after our exciting morning. We went back to see the Cheetah at the open area and we spotted the Skuthane females attempting to catch a Giraffe, unfortunately for them they didn't have any luck - but very fortunate for the giraffe! A black backed jackal also made an appearance.
We spotted Waterbuck, Impala, Kudu, Wildebeest and Zebra. We also saw a Burchell's Coucal, hornbills and a Crested Barbet.

1 May
AM
Today we saw a pack of Wild dogs lying in the grass, which is unusual for them to be sitting still! We also saw a large male Leopard, two bull elephants and a Giraffe. We spotted Impala, Wildebeest and Zebra. On the bird front we saw blue waxbills, Franklin and an eagle owl.

PM
This afternoon we spotted four male buffalo grazing by the side of the road. They stared back at us as we watched them from the safety of the vehicle. They had ox peckers grooming them and flying above their heads. We drove to see two male elephants eating the green grass under the trees, they were very relaxed and came right up to us smelling the air and enjoying the wild aniseed.
We also saw a herd of zebra - baby included and a large hippo in a deep dam. A huge herd of Impala crossed the road in front of us. We saw a spotted eagle owl, nightjars, lilac breasted rollers and hornbills.

The Ranger's diary is updated weekly

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