17 August 2024 onsafariwithalocal
After more than 130 days of lockdown, the time finally arrived for Nambiti Game Reserve to reopen its gates and welcome KZN tourists back! What an occasion, what an event.
As I drove through Woodlands Gate and into Springbok Lodge, the anticipation of what the weekend would bring began to grow. It wasn’t long after I had unpacked that the radio came alive with guests arriving to check in. Let the games, with many new rules and protocols, begin!
I was paired up with The Kind Mockee for the first group of guests who hailed from Hillcrest. New procedure sees guests escorted by their guide from the gate to the car park, followed by the mandatory elbow bumps and sanitising. Once at the lodge, guests are informed of the new procedures and orientated by the friendly staff. They are then taken to their luxury tents to settle in and get ready for the afternoon’s activities.
With the coolers packed and the vehicles sanitised, it was time to head out for the afternoon game drive. Despite the face masks, the excitement and anticipation was tangible. Something that always brings me great joy is to watch young children react to being in an OSV on safari; the trepidation, the glee, the awe and the giggles. With three young ladies joining us, it was bound to be an entertaining few days.
Nambiti is looking great; the roads are graded, the grasses are low, the dams are glistening and the colours of Winter are magical. We were fortunate to see giraffe, kudu, a small herd of elephant and a black-backed jackal on our first drive. Once all of the family had arrived, it was a scrumptious dinner that rounded off the first day.
With a slightly later start to the morning game drives, we watched the sun rise from the deck and drove out of the western access to spend some time with the southern lioness. From there we dropped down into the valley and found nyala, a herd of buffalo, zebra, and giraffe before stopping for coffee, muffins and family portraits! On the drive back to the lodge we saw South African Shelduck and watched some warthog bolt out of their burrow as we growled by.
Just after noon and two new check-ins! Having collected both young couples from the car park and settled them in, it was time for lunch. The kitchen was a hive of activity as chefs prepared meals and waitrons served the guests.
The sun rose on day three and there was a nip in the air. Within minutes the radio sparked into action with news of the two male cheetahs in the south. Once in the sighting, we watched one of the brothers roll around and play with a small acacia tree, just like a domestic cat would do. The morning had certainly got off to a terrific start! Keeping to the southern region of the reserve, we came across some stately kudu bulls and a trio of Mountain Reedbuck before reaching a beautiful viewpoint for morning coffee. The route back to the lodge brought us close encounters with a temporary association of giraffe, a bustling group of guineafowls and the southern lioness enjoying the morning rays.
With only two game drives left for the long weekend and National Women’s Day almost over, we set our sights on sundowners at the waterfall on the Sunday’s River. Driving north west through the open plains and old battlefields, we found a breeding herd of Blue Wildebeest and a co-op of Blesbok and more wildebeest in the distance. At a T-junction, another safari group pointed us north and there in the thicket we found a very new Hook-lipped bambino with its proud mom. A moment in time where guests and guides alike realise and appreciate the privilege.
With happy hearts and huge smiles, we continued on our drive. A breeding herd of buffalo, an elephant bull and a trio of hippos greeted us at Weaver Dam. Buffalo bulls bashed their bosses in battle, the ellie playfully dipped and sprayed water from his trunk while the hippos dunked and peeped to keep an eye on the activities around the dam. From here we drove north towards the river, finding Steenbok along the way. The sun was setting and glistening off the water as it followed its course down Cascades and over the cliff edge. A stunning backdrop to a wonderful day on safari.
On the final morning of the long weekend, news of a commotion behind our lodge was on everyone’s lips and in a few short metres and radio updates, we discovered that the coalition of cheetah brothers had made an impala kill on our access road. Our standby period for viewing was kept interesting by a partial herd of elephant and some Blue Waxbills. Before long we were in the sighting. Steam rose from the fresh kill as the brothers took turns ‘at the breakfast buffet’. These boys have settled in nicely and are thriving!
As we moved on from the cheetah kill to allow other vehicles an opportunity to view it, we found two young elephant bulls enjoying a dust bath and we watched some of the members of the herd browse on the ridge line near Elephant Rock. A couple of kudu bulls gave us a demonstration of osteophagia (which replenishes calcium and phosphorus in their diet) and a Secretary bird strutted its stuff for the cameras. The morning coffee stop at Twin Dams was a new spot for me, another benefit of sharing a group with a more experienced guide is that you get to find new locations without getting lost in the process.
From there we headed up to spend time with the southern lioness. She was lazing in the shade of a Sweet Thorn. Turning our attention to the blue skies, we spotted a few White-backed vultures and found a kudu carcass had attracted them to the area. With time marching on, we made our way towards the lodge. The two ellie bulls at Bass Dam were asserting their dominance by chasing a pod of sunbathing hippos back into the water, and then loud kudu barks caught our attention. Following the alarm calls towards the cheetah kill, we saw the two brothers making a hasty escape along the fence line and that is how the adventurous drive ended.
With our guests safely on the road back home, there was time to reflect. This was certainly an epic way to get back to the bush, for me personally, for the reserve and for the intrepid visitors! After getting to know The Kind Mockee, I have decided to change his name to The Extraordinary Gentleman. Until next time…happy travels!
