Mapungubwe, as is usually the case with Sanparks run establishments, was fantastic. We stayed at Leokwe camp, and saw evidence that the elephants had walked through the camp recently, but unfortunately they did not do this while we were there. The swimming pool is built into natural rock with a view over the gorge, and yes, the water was very cold.
The walkway to the mighty Limpopo river where Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa meet is through a forest of fever trees made even more beautiful with the sun reflecting off their yellow bark.
The cultural history of the area is fascinating and a new visitors centre with exhibits has been built near the entrance to the park - well worth a tour.
On our arrival in Mashatu we entered our luxurious room and again could see the watering hole from our window. As to be expected in October, the park was very dry and the water was popular with all kinds of visitors dropping in at any time of the day. This elephant was having alternate water and dust baths to keep the flies and tics away.
And of course all manner of bird life LOVE the water….
After two gloriously sunny days and spectacular sunsets (below a flock of red billed quelea are going home to roost in their thousands)
we set out on the third evening's game drive with a rather eerie haziness to the air and a yellow hue to the cloudless sky so that the sunshine was rather muted. The sunset that evening looked rather different….
What we didn't know at the time was that most of Gauteng and surrounds was covered in a massive dust cloud, and we were on the outskirts even though we were a good 500 kilometers away. It was pretty eerie I can tell you - even our ranger said he had never seen the sun like that, and until we knew what caused it, it was rather alarming.
By the next morning however, all dust was gone and although the weather was rather cooler, the sky was once again clear.
Mashatu is popular amongst cyclists (!) who ride along the elephant paths in the reserve. I would think you would hope that the elephants are in front of you rather than behind. I am happier in a vehicle.
One particular pride were out in the open enjoying the weak warmth of the early morning sun, and were pointedly looking in one direction most of the time. We realised that they were focussing on a few warthogs who were unaware of their presence.
The lions however eventually decided that they were too lazy/not hungry enough and settled down to do what they do best during the day.
We had swung by the hyena den a few times as the rangers knew there were pups in there. His perseverance paid off as when we arrived we could see the adult was bobbing in and out of the hole in the ground trying to encourage the pups to come out. A little black head popped up and after a cautious look around while we kept very still in the vehicle, the pup came out and played around with Mom and friends. Even hyenas are cute when they are small!
One can drive around in the bush for an hour or so sometimes without seeing anything - there is a hive of activity going on but to the naked eye it seems that there is no life at all. Then a twitch of an ear, or a slight movement catches someones eye and an animal is spotted. But for that movement even the most trained ranger can miss an animal which can be quite near the road in the grass or behind a bush. A rather quiet evening drive suddenly erupted when an African Wild Cat was seen in the open, and more importantly it didn't just run off but sat warily watching while we quickly tried to get a photo.
Then just around the corner a genet - also stayed still long enough to get a semi decent photograph - that doesn't often happen.
On the last night for various reasons we were the only couple on the game drive. Our ranger decided that we would try to reach a den which was quite far from camp, but where they were aware that a lioness had recently given birth. No one had yet seen the cubs as she had not let them venture into the open. After a long bumpy drive, very soon after arriving at the entrance to the den, we were rewarded by the sight of one, two, three little heads cautiously peeking out over the long grass. A much smaller, fourth head peeped out but quickly went back in. Amongst hushed sounds of ooh and aah, I decided to give my eye and my arm a bit of a rest by putting down the camera for a couple of seconds, which was of course exactly the moment the mother decided to bring the fourth cub out of the den in her mouth!!! I missed a brilliant opportunity, but sometimes it is good enough to see a sight like that, without photographing it.
Reassured that it was safe to come out, the four cubs played around and suckled from their mother while another lioness looked on. It was fascinating to see how she nudged the three stronger cubs away and encouraged the small one to nurse first. I hope he made it.
After feeding, the cubs were in boisterous mood and whilst mom was patient with them, their aunty was a little more short tempered and decided she didn't want to play!
Of course by now other vehicles had made their way to the den so we moved on to let the other guests have a chance to see this unique moment in the lives of these cubs.
The next morning we also said goodbye to Mashatu - but not for the last time.
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