African rock pythons can reach a length of five to six metres. Although they are not venomous they can deliver a nasty bite and hold their victim in a vice like grip whilst they begin to coil around it. They kill by constricting their prey. Larger specimens eat antelope and there have been several recordings of them eating humans. Pythons are well camouflaged so can be difficult to spot in the African bush. Impala alarm calling close to the river in the early morning signalle

It was late afternoon and I had been catching glimpses of a mother leopard and her three cubs in the long reeds for about 20 minutes. My patience paid off and I was rewarded with a beautiful sighting of four leopards in a clearing. Slowly they made their way into the tree line and began to play. I watched in awe as they tumbled over one another. Suddenly the mother began to stalk. A herd of impala made their way through the clearing towards the tree line. I watched as the cub

As we near the end of the dry season in the Waterberg many of the watering holes have dried up. Consequently animals are forced along the river system and major watering holes which can make for fantastic sightings. During the night an unaware impala coming to the water for a drink fell victim to a lion and lioness at KD watering hole. After the lions had had a good feed they lay up in the shade on the other side of the main road into Marataba Safari Lodge. Visitors to Marata

My morning started at 4am. The cold morning air was broken by the roaring of lions just outside of camp. The black backed jackals were yelping in warning (as though we were deaf to the thunderous roaring that had woken us). Despite my eagerness to jump straight into the cruiser to try and find these giant cats, duty called. The hot water bottles were filled, the blankets folded and the tea and coffee was made. As soon as the guests had had their caffeine fix we were off to t

The Kruger National Park, South Africa, is the size of Switzerland. The majority of roads are tarred and any member of the public can drive around looking for animals. The big five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo) are on everyone’s checklist. It was early morning in December and we were on the look out for a leopard. December is a special time of the year in the African bush. Many animals give birth at this time of year as the rains bring lush grass to eat. This