The internet is back on and here follows the report for March!
Leopard:
We had a very productive month with the resident females in our traversing.
The M‘bali female seem to have cubs as she is lactating and spending a lot of time in the northern traversing around Peru dam. No one has seen the cubs yet but she has used this area before raising Kuhanya and we will keep you updated with any news on the blog!
Ntombi finally gave birth and there was great excitement as there was a glimpse of a youngster with the mother at Steep Nhlaralumi. The cub/s may be about 2-3 weeks old and as per usual we avoid the den sight if the mother is not there until they are big enough. No pictures have been taken yet, but we‘ll post something as soon as we have it!
Rockfig jr. and her two cubs are doing very well and entertained very well over the month. They are spending a lot of time around Entrance dam and the little ones are by far THE most relaxed cubs I‘ve seen so far!
There are also some new cats in the southern portion of our traversing. A young male of about 17-19 months old called Xinope-nope (shinope-nope, meaning Weaping Boerbean, a tree specie he likes to climb in) and a young female called Rulani.
The young male gets seen quite frequently and that‘s really good news for the south. We hope he grows up strong and dominant enough to set up territory there.
Lion:
The Xakubasa pride killed an adult male giraffe and feasted off the carcass for two days before they got chased off by the Timbavati males and two Machaton girls. This kill caused for quite some excitement as the Schobele youngsters all tried their luck to steal their way in to the kill. This however proved costly as the young girl got badly injured by the two lionesses of the Xakubasa pride. This brawling created lot of unwanted vocalization and this alerted the Timbavati boys from a long distance to investigate and evidently stealing the kill from them all.
The Mahlatini males also visited during the month with an unknown lioness from the Klaserie reserve. She was clearly in estrus and they surely mated. Their visit was short and they were all gone the next day.
Elephant and Cape buffalo:
Elephant sightings were on the quiet side but we still had beautiful sightings of some nice looking bulls throughout the traversing.
The buffalo herds were very active and lots of sightings were reported during the month.
White rhino:
There are days that we are very blessed with sightings of these grey beasts.
Mtenge-tenge is ever present around the south eastern portions. Three young bulls further down south often make an appearance close to Park dam.
The Nhlangula male found him self some company and is spending a lot of time in the west with eight other white rhino‘s! This is amazing considering the fact that we hardly ever saw rhino‘s in that area?
General:
In general we had, as per usual, an awesome month with amazing sightings and memories that will last a lifetime? created by KINGS CAMP!
Some general pictures taken in March:
Hope to see you soon!
Kind regards,
Morné Hamlyn and the Kings Camp guiding team.
Photography: Morné Hamlyn
Cant wait to see Ntombi’s cubs!! Thanks for the update..
Ek lief Jou MY MAN!!
Thanks Morné for a great report…and the fantastic pics!….my fav is Rockfig jnr and cubs drinking…tooooo cute!!…how lucky we are you could get such a great shot of them…love it!!..wish I could be there.
Stay well, stay safe.
Moira.
Hey Morné,
Congratulations to you and Melissa – I’m sure you had a wonderful day. Can’t wait to see pics of you both. Rockfig Jnr and her cubs are fantastic – just like the one and only magnificent Rockfig. Love your Bateleur Eagle photo. Hope to see you when we get back to SA May/June. Take care, Vicky and Dave
Flat Tire: fabulous photos once again. I think we are convinced to come in March next year instead of August.
Best
Anne
CD
Hi Morné, Thank you for taking time out of married life to keep us up-to-date on the wildlife of Timbavati. The panoramic shot of the dazzle of Zebra and the Wildebeest is fantastic. It is amazing to see this in the bush vs. the plains. My favorite is the photo of the open-mouthed hippo.
Hi Morné!
Wow!!!! Congratulations to you and to Melissa. You were my guide in 2007 during my stay at Kings Camp and I do believe Melissa gave me my message. I was delighted to here the news of your marriage and I wish you both much happiness and a long wonderful life together. I hope still one of these days to make my move to S.A. and had intended for it to have happened, but the sale of this house fell through at the Last minute. Now it’s just a waiting game until the housing market improves. I think of all of you at Kings Camp and was so very sorry to hear of Manjange (sp?) death. He was a beauty. Again, my best wishes to you both.
Margot (Mama Chui)
We wish Melissa & Morné a lifetime of dreams come true. May you experience many magical moments and much laughter.
Morné was our guide (he was also very helpful with my photography) when we visited in March of 2008 and we also met Melissa.
I had a great time. Could not belief I was lucky enough to see such great animals in the wild. Definately want to come back at some stage.
All the best to all the staff there.
Congrats to you both.
Great pics. Keep up the good work.
Regards to our guide Cignet in Jan 2010.
Thanks again Morné for the wonderful update and amazing photos. The leopard and her cubs drinking at the water- my favourite.
Brings back great memories of our stay at Kings Camp last year.
Congrats on your marriage to Melissa. Wishing you both good health and happiness.
Hi to Colbert who was our guide on safari.
Morné once again fantastic pics and a great report. The leopards are just gorgeous. Congratulations to you and Melissa on your marriage and we wish you both a very happy healthy and safe trip through life wherever it may take you. We will return one day
Kind Regards HEather and Steve Beswick
All the best to Melissa and Morné, you are the greatest. May your years be filled with love and happiness.
Look forward to your updates and wonderful photos. They bring back so many great memories of my daughter and my visit to Kings Camp in Sept. 2007. Hi to Patrick our guide. South Africa will always have a place in my heart. Carolyn Tanner