As mentioned before some areas of the park had burned down making certain animals move to various parts of the park for feeding purposes and with this we had seen the return of the large wild dog pack to the West. This made every game drive even more exciting. On one of these exciting drives we received an update that the wild dogs had ran through one of our neighboring lodges in the afternoon, and that’s exactly what we where looking for. Matthew and I decided to approach the area from different roads to maximize our chances of finding the animals or any fresh signs of them. I decided to drive a road that you wouldn’t normally drive out of free will due to large amount of rocks paving our way down a steep hill. As we bounced and crashed down this road we noticed something walking in the road up ahead. As we drew closer I could not believe my eyes, right there in front of us stood the last sable in Madikwe game reserve. I was beside myself, that beautiful black coat shining in the sunlight and his scimitar horns curling back, almost touching his shoulders, what an animal! My guests and I sat there in amazement watching him gliding over the rocks and up the hill. We all felt that there couldn’t be a better/worst sighting to top that…. (Oh how wrong we were)

As we continued on our why to try and find the wild dogs, things got a bit quite with very few animals to see and no tracks to follow.
And then the radio call…
“Cornel, Cornel for Matt? I answered Matt and with a very nervous voice he beckoned me around back to the rocky road I was just on, he found the wild dogs and they were busy making a kill!! “What are they killing?  “It’s the sable?

It was the first time I ever hesitated to go to a sighting where the wild dogs are involved, but forced myself. We reached the rocky road and for some reason felt much worst than before and as we came down the hill we saw it, the sable on his knees throwing his horns at any wild dog that dared to come close. One dog tried to come in from the side but was quickly cut off by a swinging horn over its head. As we positioned ourselves to view this spectacle so did the dogs. Two dogs with teeth bearing and high-pitched sounds were distracting the sable from the front while three other members circled around to the back. The leading dog at the back went in for a nip at the hind quarters, the sable slashed his spears backwards, but missed. We could see how well these dogs were working together by trying to distract the sable. This routine went on for about twenty minutes before one of the dogs at the front launched herself forward and clamped down on the sable’s muzzle. Fortunately after that it was over quickly for the sable and the wild dogs went about their business like it was yet another Saturday afternoon, well, for them it was just another Saturday afternoon, but for us it was a day of extreme mixed feelings and emotions.
After all that we drove further down the hill and stopped for a drink as the sun was setting and we recapped on the joys and sorrows of seeing the sable twice in one drive knowing that it would be the last time.

Later that night our residential Klipspringers were heard calling fiercely around the lodge and we all new it was far from over.  While our rangers were out and about doing the last hour of their game drive, 3 huge lions were getting comfortable in their new abode.  Little did we know that these lions were getting comfortable on our game drive loading ramp, right there were the game viewers stop and drop guests off.  As one of our rangers approached this ramp these lions were adamant  not to move.  However after all the flashing lights of cameras the lions decided to take off and find some peace.  Yet again we were under false pretences.  As all the guests crept down towards the main lodge they were met with a stress-relieving port and the welcoming confines of four closed walls.  Maybe the  Impala that was on the menu for dinner  was also very inviting to our visitors?  Or were they just interested in hanging around familiarizing themselves with the very fascinating ways of the human behavior?  Never shall we know.  A couple more times that evening the lions made all us humans well aware that we are being watched and that we are just all visitors to their kingdom.

The next morning everything seemed to have calmed down and we turned back to our normal lives.   It was a perfect  day in Africa with a hint of Spring lurking on the horizon.  Guests were still talking about the previous day’s events and the adrenalin was still very much pumping ready for the next game drive.   The rest of the day seemed calm with the odd elephant making his appearance and klipspringers jumping around as they always do.
Then it all started… At about 23:00  a very distressed kudu started barking just outside our bedroom window and we knew immediately the King & Queens are back.   For a while we were lying in utter silence waiting for these fearless creatures to make their first move on this innocent kudu.  And then it happened.  All we could hear was the rattling of fence wire and the chilling gargling noises from outside, and then we knew, something is being killed. Excitement rushed over us and we jumped out of bed to witness this gruesome but absolutely magical event. I grabbed a flashlight and out on the deck we watched four lions pulling at different angles at this helpless kudu.  The wondrous sound of grunting lions trying very hard to get his or her fair share of the buffet.  Eventually we decided to leave these lions in peace and headed off to bed for a very good night sleep.  The next morning as we arrived at the lodge, welcomed by a warm cup of coffee, the story of the previous night’s events ruled the breakfast banter.  But not to our surprise these lions were too comfortable with Impodimo to leave us.  For the rest of the day these lions were parading up and down the valley, showing off a very intimidating main and making us realize that we are far from the dominant specie out here

By Lyne Goosen

“The wild dogs made a kudu kill about 40 meters from room four’s deck, but before they could feast on their kill a group of hyenas had swooped in and stole the kill. But with the obvious chattering and laughing, drew the attention of a male and female lion that were patrolling close by. They moved in and took the whole prize for themselves.�?
With this knowledge in hand the rangers gathered their guests and drove to the site where the action took place. After a very successful morning we returned to camp for delicious lunch.

The following morning it was business as usual and the staff gathered once again around the main lodge fire drinking their coffee and waiting for the guests to join for breakfast.
Within seconds it was all chaos in camp with lions ROARING on one side and from another the earth-moving growls from two lions fighting. The rangers ran to grab their rifles and out the door towards room four where the loudest noise were coming from. Half way over the wooden walkway we saw a young male and female lion flying down the room pathway with a huge male in hot pursuit. The female broke left and got away, but the big male had his sights set on the young male and he was catching up quickly, within the blink of an eye the big male had him pinned down on the ground and was going for the throat. Fortunately for the young male he had already developed a small yet bushy mane and that protected him long enough for a well placed paw to the face of the big male. The youngster saw his gap and clawed his way from under the giant and started running. The battle by now had taken them eighty meters up the road close to the staff village, the youngster darted through the workshop and past the water tanks into thick scrub and disappeared. Upset with himself for letting the intruder get away the big male stopped and started to roar with all his might as if to say, “stay out of my territory or there will be death to pay�?. From the far side of camp his brother responded like a very grumpy judge trying to call order to his court room.

Knowing we would not catch up with the lions, we turned our attention to the guests that were by now quite frightened although safely ensconced in their room. After the one male lost interest in the younger male he quickly trotted through camp to his brother to make sure that he didn’t lose out on at least half his share of the loot.
Once all the guests were safely escorted to the main lodge there was an awkward silence in the dining room. As soon as one of the guests spoke about his experience the whole room erupted in excitement with everyone sharing their stories and angle of events witnessed.

It was very difficult to go on drive after that and try to top what we had just experienced.
Most of the guests felt that on that morning there was no need for a game drive.

We started off with the first five days packed with leopards, buffalo, lions and wild dogs on consecutive drives with elephants and rhinos filling in the quiet times.
Cornel stumbled upon the only cheetah in the reserve on one rainy morning and followed him on his morning hunt, but unfortunately it was not a successful one. He was found sitting in the middle of the road watching a group of giraffes wandering by when a young male impala strolled past too close to pass up and the chase was on. Fortunately the “death race”? took place on a nearby clearing so all that was watching could see the amazing agility of both animals. The cheetah was unable to match the fleet footed impala’s skill and was left to ponder its mistakes.
The month closed off with a bit of a discovery channel episode unfolding right on our door step;
At around 6:45am all the vehicles left for our early morning adventures, just to be called back to the lodge by the office ladies claiming to have heard some ghostly noises coming from the waterhole. Chris and Cornel were the first to arrive back at the lodge. Chris drove around to the waterhole to find the pack of wild dogs hanging on for dear life to young kudu bull. Once all the members of the pack arrived it was all over for the poor kudu. Within five minutes into their feast, the ever present scavenging hyena made its appearance from behind a sickle bush thicket. Not one, but three hyenas joined the action. The hyenas took no notice of the shining snarling teeth of the dogs and proceeded to close in on the kill. With one loud cough the dogs regrouped and made their stand.
The biggest of the three hyenas decided to charge first, but the dogs were ready for this and two dogs on either flanks closed her off. At this point tensions were high amongst the predators and it was do-or-die time.

The other hyenas joined in but the ferocity of the wild dogs was too great to match and the hyenas started to hesitate, but the dogs were not about to let them off that easy. The dogs encircled the hyenas with jaws gaping. A few bursting runs at the hind legs made the hyenas realize that this is a fight they were going to lose. With hair raising chatter and laughs the hyenas ran for all their worth and disappear into the undergrowth. A few seconds later it all calmed down and the wild dogs returned to finish off the last scraps of their morning hunt. With a little bit of a chill down the spine we all returned to camp to indulge in a hot brunch and to recap on the day’s excitement.

It truly was a great month for game viewing and we hope that April will deliver the same kind of excitement that we have experienced.

After following for 15 minutes the bush erupted in front of him as a scrub hare broke cover from his day time hiding place. The cheetah did what comes naturally to all predators. He accelerated from a walk to a blinding pace (they can reach110 km/h) in seconds. The scrub hare is no match for the cheetah in a straight line but the hare is agile and attempted throw the cheetah off by dodging in between the trees and bushes. The hare saw the vehicle and tried to use the vehicle to loose the lightening quick predator. There is something magical about seeing a cheetah at full flight. It is truly a surreal moment. A few seconds later the cheetah reached out and tripped the scrub hare. The oxygen starved hare died quickly in the strangle hold of the cheetah. We watched him for a total of 45 minutes as he finished eating.
We started to move off towards the tracks we had found earlier. We passed a small water hole. My tracker, Patrick, threw out his hand to call us to a halt, he had spotted fresh tracks. We analyzed the tracks and saw they were fresh leopard tracks coming to the water and then leaving in the same way. We followed them for 300m when Patrick froze and pointed to a huge murula tree with a black spot in its upper branches. I could not make out what the spot was but I would never doubt the master tracker’s eyes. We returned to the vehicle and went off road back to the tree. As we approached we could see the leopard repositioning her kill (an Impala). As we approached we recognised the female as a very relaxed young animal we know very well. We positioned ourselves under the tree about 7 meters from the kill and watched her feed on the carcass as the sun was setting behind us. Thirty minutes or so later she come down the tree and walked past 2 meters from the vehicle. There was a stunned silence from my guests all of them taking in the moment. We left for a sundowner where everyone argued about which sighting was better the guests all agreed to disagree and we packed up to make our way home.

The vehicle was buzzing as we made our way home with Patrick using the spot light to find nocturnal game. We were 15 minutes from home when Patrick spotted our 2 dominant male lion’s, Ditaba and Sepedi, at a waterhole having a drink. We followed them off road and they lead us straight to a giraffe kill that they had made the previous night. They lay down next to the carcass. I positioned the Land Rover 5m from the lions. After a few moments they decided to let the whole reserve know where they were. The Ditaba male started calling with his brother echoing his calls. From 5m a lions call will go right through you, you will feel the deep base of the call in your chest. The true power of these mighty beasts is displayed in all its glory in these moments.

At this point we decided it could not get any better and moved back to the lodge to discuss the evenings drive around the fire until late into the night. There are other drives similar to these but that’s another story. Its true Madikwe is no zoo, it is so much better!

Luckily the wildebeest hadn’t cottoned onto what was happening and proceeded to drink.
With the wildebeest now in close range of the lions, Lebala-bonthle jumped up and ran in for the kill with one of her young running right behind her also eager for the hunt.
The wildebeest in an instant made a quick turn and ran with the lioness just a few feet away. The wildebeest was fortunate to have a long enough head start and it managed to escape, leaving the lions behind with mouths full of dust to eat.
So yet another day went by without food for the lions.

The following day Lebala-bonthle was still at the same dam, but this time on her own. Lying in the shade of a small acacia tree she was busy eyeing out a small group of warthog that were indulging in a mud bath.

We decided to go have a quick coffee and then return to see if Lebala-bonthle was still interested in the warthogs.

As we arrived back at the dam there were two white rhinos grazing close by. While watching the rhinos we heard a loud squealing noise and in an instant we left the rhinos to go investigate.

Lebala-bonthle had caught a warthog and a big one too! The only problem was that she had grabbed the warthog at the back of the neck and she wasn’t able to suffocate it and if she let go to change her hold she could then loose it. For a good 10 minutes the two of them wrestled to the ground with the warthog putting up a good fight. The question was would she be able to hold on long enough to totally exhaust her prey?
Suddenly out of nowhere Lebala-bonthles’ youngsters came running to see what all the commotion was all about. Would their mother get a fright and let go of the warthog when they suddenly arrived on the scene or would she hold on to it?
Lebala-bonthle held onto her prey and in a second all three young males piled onto the warthog and started eating the warthog alive while their mother exhausted, lay down to rest.
Finally it was all over and the lions had their meal of the day.

Lioness Lebala-bonthle killing a Widebeest in an earlier kill

My first few drives were fairly mundane. They were during the heat of the day when all the animals were seeking shade and rest, in the 30 degrees plus mid day heat. Two days later, however, I was asked by the senior staff to go for a short bumble (drive) just so they could get out of the office to cure the boredom of the day. I decided to go south to a little waterhole called Inkwe (Tswana for leopard) pan where we could stop and take in the sunset and listen to the sound of the bush in all its majesty. This is a sound that cannot be recreated by any recording studio. It is the sweet solace that can only be found where your passion manifests itself. For some, this may be in some famous symphony or your favourite beach, but for me, it is in those short few moments when the sun sets and the inevitable darkness consumes the African savannah. This is when life’s true battle begins.
The predators, inspired by the drop in temperature, become active, their super senses come into their own and their prey must be ever vigilant if they are to survive the night. Some will fall victim to lions and leopard, but that is the brutal circle that we all must face. As we approached the pan, the sun was licking the dark horizon and dusk was falling onto the thick thornveld. The glimmers of light were fading when a prehistoric shape ambled out of the thick bush that was surrounding the land rover – it was a fully mature male Black Rhino – one of the most endangered animals in Africa and one whose reputation for aggression precedes it. I stopped and turned off the engine realising that this majestic beast will not be around for long, given their very shy nature. Driven by curiosity, he ambled closer trying to figure out what this strange object was that was near his favourite waterhole until he was no more then 10 meters from the vehicle. We were all intoxicated by his presence, his fearsome power that could at anytime erupt into pure unadulterated aggression. The seconds grew into minutes, as he just stood there confident that he was the lord of the land with nothing to fear from us. To say that it was a spiritual moment is far too cliché and this incredible creation deserves more. His shear bulk and stately stance commanded respect, his sharp horn broke the golden rays of the sun over his right shoulder and the beauty of the scene was deafening. No one spoke, moved or even dared to breathe too hard in case it ruined the endless moments of pleasure being played out before us. The Rhino’s simplest movements seemed elegant and deliberate, displaying a power and beauty that left me star-struck.

Those fifteen minutes were some of the best in my life and even though I have no pictures to show for it, I will always remember that moment in the details that no camera could capture. The different smells, the mixture of fear and excitement and of course just the shear privilege of being there. All too soon this lord of the African savannah grew tired of our presence and slowly turned and lumbered into the thick scrub from where he came and vanished into the darkness, leaving no trace of his appearance, but leaving us all with happy hearts and a longing to see him again. Things like this happen to the lucky few. An experience of this magnitude is a once in a life time event and even though I could never possibly do justice to the events of that evening in a few short paragraphs, I am compelled to try and recreate the events for those who have not yet had the fortune of experiencing the bush and all its many mysteries.
By: Wayne Nupen