Author: Jack

Neither of us wanted to leave. We were running a bit slow this morning due to the previous night’s festivities. But right off, the bush decided to give us a grand farewell. After leaving camp we immediately came across a female leopard and she was glorious. Millie shockingly spotted her first, we had two rangers and a tracker, and won Londo Bingo! We followed the leopard for a little bit and then she went down for a nap. Oh cats. Then we started driving towards our days’ objective, a walk in the bush. That is why we had two rangers, with very large guns! Before we made it to our start point we sighted Elephants and a Tawney Eagle, getting Matt and I second place in Bingo. We know the crew were letting us have it but it was still quite fun!

Onwards and suddenly a crash of Rhinos appear. There was one large male, two females and one juvenile. It was a lot a lot of Rhino!!!! It was fun to see them all interact but our viewing was cut short when the male decided to scent mark the area. Think fire hose of pee slowly angling itself towards you! We sure got out of there quick!

Then we did our bush walk. Both rangers went out front and our tracker took up the rear. From there we walked along a dry drainage canal listening to bird sounds and enjoying the forest. We walked for about an hour, it was a sunny day and was quite enjoyable. We ended our walk at the biggest mahogany tree I’ve ever seen, just a epic specimen of the species. Underneath they had set up  a lovely breakfast buffet.  After finishing breakfast and the obligatory tree climb, we were off again on our game drive.

 

After spotting a small herd of zebra, over the radio came a leopard mother  spotting with carcass.  So we went off road searching for her and found her up in a tree devouring a duiker carcass.  So AMAZING!!!!!  We watcher her eating for awhile, slowly tearing bits of the animal off and scarfing it down.  Leopards bring their kills into trees in order to keep hyenas from stealing them from them.  Then the most incredible thing happened, she started bringing the carcass down for her cub.  We hadn’t seen the cub, and never did, but it was known she had a young cub.  Watching her carry down the carcass from the tree so carefully was amazing!!!!  I thought I was recording it and I hadn’t hit the record button.  I’m still so mad at myself!!!!  Luckily others got it in the vehicle and were willing to share but still I’m quite bitter about my mistake.  Anyways, she artfully brought it down the tree instead of just dropping it from where she was and dragged it into the forest.  She then made this barking sound which is how she calls her cub.  We waited to see the cub come but we ran out of time and had to get back to the lodge to change for our flight.  Darn! Such an amazing experience, probably the best wildlife encounter I’ve ever had.

Leaving was true sadness.  Londolozi showed us, reminded us, of life before.  Of how life can be again.  The joys of becoming friends with someone new, the energy behind having fun with a group of people, the human connection missing in this time of Corona.  I truly truly am grateful for all of this wonderful trip and the spectacular and varied people we met along the way.

5/14/21

Today we had a bit of a slow start.  We started by searching for a leopard that had been spotted by the camp’s fence line.  After a fruitless few minutes we moved on to try to find a leopard female and her cubs.  While looking we came across a hyena which wanted nothing to do with us, a herd of chill elephants, and a journey of giraffe here and there (it’s only a journey while they’re walking, if still they are a tower of giraffe.)  Like a couple hours before, it was just not a leopard day.

After returning, it was time for our obligatory covid test to return home. It was surprisingly easy, they came to our cabin, did a quick throat swab and emailed the results the next morning(negative). Very smooth! Matty and I then went for a hike to see all the camps.  It’s really interesting how with design they were really able to give each camp it’s own feel. We came across at the end a group of Nyala female and a trip of vervet monkeys. They were fearless! We wandering into the groups and sat down, watching and enjoying their company until the flies drove us off. Then we returned for a tasty lunch and our Land Rover mates requested cocktails and I yet again got to pop into the bar.

Then back on the afternoon game drive, this time on the hunt for Lion cubs, and yes, you know where this is going…  No luck finding the cubs, the lioness had stashed them somewhere well hidden in a dry creek bed.  We looked and looked but no luck.  We did however see quite a few leopard orchid, the logo for Londolozi.  Finally we at least found the mother and she was doing what Lions do best, napping. Haha.  We watched her for a bit hoping she’d lead us back to her kitten cubs but no luck.  Then off to see a large male lion.  He had a huge mane, giant powerful body, and you guessed it, he was napping.  Sigh.  The Sand Man had it in for us today! After that we were off to surprise location and along the way, I asked Tsepo our tracker if he could spot a chameleon for me.  You can usually only find them at night because when they sleep the turn white and show up in the spot light.  And by some miracle he actually found a little lizard, about the size of lemon.  After numerous photo attempts I gave up, you’ll have to wait for one of Matt’s.

Finally we arrived at our surprise dinner in the bush, lamps and candles surrounding the clearing, hanging from trees, creating this beautiful honey light.  We hung out by the fire for a bit, bonding as a Land Rover group and also spending some time hanging out with our friends from earlier.  It was so lovely, a fire, champagne, and sparkling company.

We then went to our tables and were served a beautiful appetizer of pumpkin soup. Then over to BBQs they had set up and were serving Brai(S.African Bbq), chicken curry, and some fab sides. Our table got a little rowdier than the others, the swedish ladies Kat and Millie telling great stories and jokes. Barry telling us about his previous life in Luxembourg, and all of us teasing each other. There were a few epic attempts at high fives that went awry. Apparently that is an American thing, who knew? We had a ball, loud and laughing the whole time. We were the last to leave and had a quick but very cold drive back to camp. The next day we learned all the rangers had told Barry they were jealous that they weren’t at our table.

5/12/21

It is just so wonderful to be back in Londolozi, such wonderful people, old friends and new. We just love it here so much! We started off with a late lunch then off on a game drive! We joined a Swedish mother and daughter already mid stay, and met our Ranger Barry and Tracker Tsepo. Right off the bat we came across a herd of elephants, wandering around tearing up branches and grass. It was awesome to see them, they don’t occur in Tswalu and it felt so odd to be on game drives without elephants. We then moved on and found a pride of lionesses. They were napping in the shade, avoiding the hot sun. They truly act like giant house cats. After that we had a lovely sundowner with G&Ts and cookies. Then back to lions to see if they woke up. They did! Awake lions!!!!!! We followed them for a bit, watching their hunting behavior, checking the wind and a slow steady walk.

Upon return to the lodge we were led to dinner by paper lanterns and kerosene lamps into the boma, a circular outdoor area surrounded by staves, filled with sand and a large fire pit in the center. Our friend Will, the lodge’s manager was waiting for us and made us his signature cocktail, an Espresso Martini, delicious! We shared we had learned cocktails during the year of Covid and soon I was behind the bar making drinks! It was a lot of fun, I made a bunch of cocktails we had learned for the staff and they were passing them around and trying them. Making different flavor profiles for different people, desperately trying to remember the right ratios since we were out of wifi range. I had forgotten what it was like to have fun with a group of people after this long year. This trip had definitely reintroduced us back into the joys of friendship and social connection.

Our last morning in Tswalu, Matt and I both sad to go. We woke up early, 5:30, got packed and ready for our last game drive.  We then went searching for Lions.  A pride had crossed our tracks from the previous night’s drive so we circled the area trying to find them.  After a fruitless couple hours we discovered they had doubled back and were now in a different area entirely.  Finally we gave up and decided to see if we could find the males, we hadn’t seen them yet.  After a bit more driving we came across their tracks, heading towards a watering hole.  Along the way, we came across a cool little bird, a pygmy falcon. It’s the smallest bird of prey in Tswalu, hunting large insects and smaller birds. It looks a bit like a light grey parrot. We then sped to the watering hole, seeing their tracks along the way and right when we got there they were emerging from the bush.  Three large brothers greeted us, beautifully black manes, incredibly powerful animals. We watched them for a bit, walking towards the water hole, sniffing the air and catching scent of a herd Steenbok Antelope.  Our Guide had thought ahead so we had coffee and snacks in the vehicle while we observed the big boys. The lions then got sleepy as lions always do and all had a nice lay down. A fantastic final sighting for our final morning. Then we sped to the airstrip where our plane was waiting and off to Johannesburg.

5/10/21

Today may well have been one of the best wildlife days of our lives!  It’s been a bit of a slow start at Tswalu for wildlife but today our luck changed!  It started on the way to a sighting of a Black Rhino, the first time we’ve ever seen one! On the way there we saw a Sable, a very large antelope with a jet black coat.  Beautiful creature that is very distinctive in the desert ish environment.  We also spotted a Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, a tiny florescent green bird that looks right out of the tropics.  

Back to the Rhino, the Black Rhino are smaller than White Rhino and usually a lot more ornery! Luckily we found a mother and calf that were shockingly chill and they let us observe them for quite awhile.  I didn’t get any good pics because they were too far away for my phone but Matt will have some later.

After that we were alerted to Wild Dogs, it was a miracle!!!! The alpha female had just given birth so the area around their den was off limits for a couple weeks.  Thankfully the rest of the pack of four was still hunting outside the excluded area.  After some serious bush driving, dodging thorn bushes and giant holes in waist high grass, we caught up with them.  They had given up on the hunt for the day and were laying down in the shade.  Their coloration is really crazy making them camouflage really well!  We were just a 10 yards away and they would sometimes disappear.   After watching and slowly following them for a bit it was off to morning coffee.  Once there we got a bit of a show as two make Oryx got in a bit of a tussle, locking horns over and over again.  Then to our next sighting, a fresh giraffe carcass.

Because our stay hadn’t been special enough, haha, we went horseback riding in the late afternoon, basking in the golden rays and having fun.   Our horses, brothers Lex and Lancelot, liked to compete for whom was in back.  Matt’s skills came back to him right away and he did great.  Trotting and controlling the horse with ease.  My non-existent skills did not come back, I had fun but was slightly wary the whole time. All this even though I was on a horse nicknamed “the couch.”. We finished our ride on the top of a red sand dune where we had dinner with our tracker and guide as the sun set. 

At some point during the night or early morning, a young giraffe died.  It might have been during play fighting or some other accident, but no animal in Tswalu could have killed it.  Either way, it made an enormous feast to whomever found it first, add the lucky ones were a pair of cheetah brothers.  By the time we got there they had gorged themselves and were relaxing in the shade of a bush next to the giraffe.  They looked positively round, clearly happy and contented.  Because of their demeanor, our Guide took us out of the safari vehicle and we approached them on foot.  Don’t worry, he had a very large gun and we didn’t get that close.  So we looped downwind and got low on the ground getting a great vantage point of the beautiful animals.  It was about 20 yards to the cats and we spent a few minutes there watching and marveling at them.

Then a long journey to object of the night, a pangolin.  We sped across the reserve, Matt and I in a ridiculous amount of fleece, scarves and blankets, hoping to see our rare and elusive prey.  Along the way, the milky way came out, as crisp and defined as I’ve ever seen.  I usually can’t see it in places where others can but here it was stunning in all it’s glory.  Along the way we came across bat-eared foxes, cute nocturnal black foxes with the most enormous ears. A Springhare which is a rabbit sized rodent that hops around like a kangaroo, and a few jackals.  Finally we get to the area with the Pangolin den and we set off hiking to see if we can find its owner.  After a ridiculously short time, the tracker found the female pangolin, making her way on her hunt for ants.  She was a lot bigger than expected, probably around 50lbs and looked like an armored anteater.  She made clicking and snickering noises, sounding like the baby dinosaurs from Jurassic Park.  She moved quickly, walking hunched over like on all fours but on two legs.  She was a magnificent creature, like some alien from another world. Sadly they are going extinct very quickly, they are the most trafficked animal in the world.

On our way back we caught glimpses of other animals, a giant owl, more foxes, jackals, and Springhare. Then we got caught in a traffic jam, a giant porcupine refused to get out of the road and led us for quite awhile. He clicked like crazy as he ran, all his quills clattering together, and refused to leave the road! Finally, thankfully, the road split and we were able to leave a very irate porcupine behind.