It was a frosty early morning and the sun was yet to peek its head above the the Waterberg mountains. We left Marataba Safari Lodge wrapped in thick blankets, full of anticipation as to what the day would bring. There were fresh lion tracks close to the river, so fresh they were still wet from the lions crossing the water. As I rounded the corner I found two lionesses and their four cubs in the middle of the road! The cubs were full of life; chasing each other and pouncing o

I’ve always thought Disney’s portrayal of Pumba in “The Lion King” is the epitome of a warthog. Working as a field guide I am fortunate enough to see these funny characters on a daily basis. To me they are quite possibly the most comical of Africa’s mammals. Inquisitive in nature, warthogs typically stare at you curiously as you approach them. This is usually followed by a short loud snort as they turn on their heels and run away with their tails pointing straight up. Forget

Kaziranga, Assam India, is home to two thirds of the world's Greater One-horned rhinos. This fact alone had us travelling on a train for 9 hours followed by a five hour bus ride. Kaziranga is split into four zones: The Eastern range, the Western range, the Central range and the Burapahar Range We did three game drives at Kaziranga. Two in the Eastern range and one in the Central range. The Central and Western ranges tend to be more crowded with vehicles as they are closer to

Thanks to some recent rain the Waterberg is lush, green, the rivers full and the dams overflowing. Last week the Marataba section of the Marakele National Park received over 160mm of rain in three days. The day after the big rains I made my way along the Matlabas River in the late morning. It was nine o’clock and already over thirty degrees. On the road ahead I saw a large elephant cow cross the road towards the river. I approached slowly and parked where the road was close t

It has now been six months since we started working to familiarise a female leopard and her 3 cubs with game drive vehicles. All three cubs are still alive and doing well; two males and a female. Their mother has done a fantastic job in rearing, feeding and protecting them. I have been fortunate to have spent a great deal of time with the four of them and have watched the cubs grow and develop unique personalities. At first the female seemed to use a handful of den sites (we

Much to the rangers’ dismay the lion sightings had been very quiet for several days. Some nights we would hear them calling close to the lodge but come the morning they had disappeared into the thick bush. In the mornings we were taunted by tracks all over the roads but no lions. It was my guests’ first time in Africa and understandably they wanted to see lions. We were on the sixth game drive out of eight and I was silently starting to panic that we may not find any. Between

The Waterberg, South Africa, is not famous for leopard sightings. Sightings are generally few and even then are generally just a blur of yellow and spots. Before working in the Marekele National Park I worked for two and a half years on another reserve in the Waterberg. During that time I saw two leopards dashing across the road. We are very lucky in the Marakele to have a handful of leopards that are relaxed around the vehicles. About three months ago a tiny leopard cub was