Sabi Sabi – Another Bucket List Item Checked Off

I am currently staying at a place called Little Bush Camp in Sabi Sabi. It is in a family owned private preserve since 1979. Sabi Sabi covers 13,243 acres and is part of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve – a collection of private game reserves that border with Krugar National Park. Sabi Sabi is totally fenced except for the border with Krugar National Park so the wildlife can move back and forth at will.

Last October I stayed in another private preserve about an hour north of here. It was the end of a very harsh dry season, and everything was brown and leafless. What a difference a rainy season makes. There is tall, lush grass everywhere and all the trees and bushes are fully leafed out. So, I am rather puzzled by how few animals we have seen. We can drive for an hour and not see a thing. But what we have seen has been very satisfying. One of my important items on my wish list was a baby leopard. We found one this morning. So cute. Only disappointment was that it was on one side of the tree and the mother was on the opposite side. But who’s complaining, I saw my baby leopard.

Here's a few photos of what I have seen so far. A single gentleman is flying in today and I’ll have to share my vehicle. With just me we’ve skipped a lot of stops for animals I’ve seen tons of times in better light. Just met him at lunch – younger guy who apparently is a photographer too so should be good.

Here are pictures from last night and this morning:

This Cape Buffalo was rolling around in a mud puddle – came out dripping.

These Tree Squirrels were chattering up a storm but we could never figure out what they were all bothered with.

Male Impala. A male impala will gather a huge harem. Any males who cannot get a harem form bachelor groups – we call them “the losers”. Oxpecker on its back.

We found a pride of lions. This youngster looks to have an attitude.

This is the sickly baby I mentioned yesterday. But it still has some spunk left in it and really tried to love up to its mom and she was loving it back.

Here’s the type of vehicle we go on game drives in. You can see how concerned the lions are – they see these vehicles all the time and are not bothered by them. The drivers do have a rifle but I don’t think they are ever needed.

The late afternoon sun came out from behind a cloud and bathed the lions in golden light.

The baby nursed several times but don’t think the mom has enough nourishment for it.

The only elephant we saw – saw lots of their deposits on the roads.

Burchell’s Starling

This morning we found this large herd of Cape Buffalo still sleeping in a very tight group. Photographing black animals before the sun has come up is a challenge.

Saw one Spotted Hyena. Last night we saw a bunch around a dead elephant, but the smell was too putrid to get close. The Hyenas don’t seem to mind and their stomach can handle the rotten meat.

Woodland Kingfisher. I love Canon’s Pre-Capture to be able to get quick birds just as they are taking off. Next to the Lilac-breasted Roller, this is my favorite colorful bird.

This youngster had gotten separated from his pride. He was calling for them but from reports from other vehicles, the pride was far away.

White Rhino – still heavily poached for their horns – even though it is nothing but keratin – just like our hair or fingernails. Many parks cut most of the horn off to discourage poaching, but the amount that’s left is still worth $100,000’s so the poachers will kill them and then saw off the whole front of their face. The lure of that much money is just too strong.

Finally – Leopards up a tree. The next photos are of the mom. She was on one side of the tree. The bright sun was behind her so a challenge to get a good exposure.

On the other side of the tree was her cub – SO CUTE! It was my first leopard cub ever. It moved around a bit so was able to get some nice views. The preserve only allows two vehicles at a time around a cat so when others wanted to come, we had to take turns.

Found some more white rhinos – two adults and a baby lying in the grass.

Not all creatures are cute or cuddly

So not a lot of grazing animal herds but still beautiful. Off to see more this afternoon.