Author: LH Focus Online

It is Sunday afternoon roughly one o’clock, silence in the camp with a mellow relaxed mood all around. Then excitement starts building as we get the radio call from Jehanne that Dayone our dominant male leopard is on his way to the camp. We tried to get a glimpse of him to no avail. Then Richmond called on the radio to report that there was a leopard walking past the laundry coming to the reception area, this time we had a look and saw him by the camp entrance from where he kept on walking East towards the Boma. We followed him on foot trailing at a safe distance to see where he was going hoping he would just stay on the fire break and walk around the camp as a leopard in camp is great but not safe for unsuspecting guests walking on the pathway. Well as anyone that’s been on safari knows animals do not always do what you want them to do. And that is just what this male leopard did he stopped to listen then turned towards the camp and entered between Rooms six and seven. still keeping an eye on him and asking reception to let all the guests know to stay in the rooms. We realized that he was stalking a family of warthogs next to the main path going down to all the rooms. After waiting for about five minutes for his prey to move towards him he jumped into action and in the blink of an eye he had caught one of the year old piglets without an effort. He then immediately started dragging his “Sunday lunch” past room three out of the camp down towards the riverbed where we lost sight of him.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing away of Ranger Raymond Mahatlani, Ray passed away yesterday morning following a short illness.

I don’t really know where to begin when faced with the daunting challenge of trying to sum up Ray’s amazing life into words…………he was quite simply A “Legend”.

I first met Ray when we were busy building Leopard Hills sixteen years ago, and was immediately drawn to his infectious smile and sense of humour, and there was no hesitation from our side in getting Raymond into the Team as a Tracker, after all, he had been born on the Reserve and nobody knew it better than he did.

You cannot work alongside someone day in and day out for 16 years, and not develop and bond and respect that goes beyond just being a simple colleague. I had been working in the Bush for 11 years when I first met Raymond Mahatlani, and had the privilege of working with some very talented Trackers, but it soon became evident that Ray had something even more special than simple talent for the art of Tracking. Ray had a gift, a raw intuition, which took him above and beyond anyone I had worked with before. After 11 years I thought I knew something about the Bush, Ray showed me I knew very little, but with his patients and tutoring, he opened a whole new world for me, something for which I will be eternally grateful.

I remember once, on a hot summer afternoon, we set off on the afternoon drive, and not far from the Lodge Ray held up his hand for me to stop the vehicle. Sitting up front on the Trackers seat he turned to me a told me there was very fresh tracks of a female leopard crossing the road. I got out of the vehicle and walked to the front, there, clearly in the sand, were the footprints, leading across the road and heading towards the thick bush to the west. Having explained to our Guests that Ray and I would be off the vehicle for a while following the tracks, I proceeded to walk into the bush looking for further signs of which way the animal had moved. After about twenty paces, I soon realised that Raymond was not following me on this venture, and turning around, discovered he was still sitting on the Trackers seat staring at me. Returning to the vehicle, Ray jumped down onto the road, and being the very gentleman he was, he said;

“I think you and I should have a meeting”!!!

So as not to embarrass me in front of our Guests, we walked down the road out of “earshot” and he proceeded to ask me what I was doing? A little taken aback, I informed him I was following Leopard tracks. I will never forget the look on Raymond’s face as he shook his head as though I had disappointed him.

“Your problem is, you don’t think like an animal” he informed me.

He told me to get back to the vehicle and drive to the nearest waterhole. I proceeded to explain to Ray that the tracks were heading west, and the waterhole was in the east. Again a little shake of the head, followed by an explanation.

“Think like the animal. It has been a hot day; the Leopard crossed the road earlier into the thick bush, looking for shade to rest up. It is cooling down now, she will want to drink, stop wasting time and drive to the waterhole”.

Feeling a bit like a child who had just been admonished by a parent, I returned to the vehicle, and we proceeded to the waterhole, and there she was, crouched, drinking at the water’s edge. A lesson was learnt, and it will never be forgotten.

When Raymond was on the Tracks of a particular animal, he was like a bloodhound; he would not give up until he had found what he was looking for. The numerous Guests, who had the privilege of spending time with Ray in the Bush, will attest to this raw ability, and the affinity he had to his surroundings.

The uncountable hours Ray and I spent together in the Bush were a blessing, and it was a joy in 2007 when Raymond completed his final exams and left the Trackers seat forever, and became a Ranger. It was a proud moment indeed, and it was the next step in Ray’s career, which like everything else he undertook, was taken on with passion and enthusiasm.

In the 16 years that Raymond worked with us at Leopard Hills, he was a part of every Ranger and Trackers lives, and he added to and contributed to their success in one way or another. Raymond was a constant, he was always there to offer guidance and support, and made many a good Ranger and exceptional one.

There are just too many memories and stories of Ray to put down here, but suffice it to say, Ray’s family have lost a Husband and Father, we have lost a Brother, and the Bush has lost a “Legend”. The Bush is a lonelier place without you in it, but it is a better place for what you gave it.

I lay awake in the early hours of this morning, memories of Ray running through my mind, and as if on cue, the Roar of Lions in the distance, bidding a final goodbye to a man who lived among them for so many years.

God speed my brother, and until we meet again in the Bush beyond, leave a clear trail that we may follow your tracks, over the horizon and beyond.

Your friend and Brother

Duncan Rodgers

What could possibly keep you away from a refreshing dip in a cool plunge pool on a hot summer day?

Reason for Jen & Jez not enjoying their pool ……. is the sight of some of our local residents taking a drink from the pool.

A group of male Elephants invited themselves to a cool drink out of Room 5’s plunge pool –  luckily for us Jen and Jez Smedley had their camera ready to capture this amazing moment and a memory of a lifetime.

So spring is here…….

With temperatures rising, the first rain and sight of migrant birds returning back to familiar nesting sites, we know that summer is near and baby season is around the corner.

The Ximhungwe pride spent most of the time this month to the South and East, thus we did not see them much, but all three females and the six cubs are doing well and are still making regular kills.

The Othawa pride is going from strength to strength, with three of the Selati males spending most of their times with them, even sharing a Buffalo kill on one occasion this month. All eight cubs are still accounted for and are growing up fast and thus eating mom out of the house, so to say.

The Selati males are doing well with three of them being together most of the time. The fourth one is still alive and spends his time alone. The reason for the boys spending a lot of time with the Othawa pride is due to the fact that the third Othawa female is still coming in to eustress every now and then. We saw them on numerous Buffalo kills this month.

Kashane was not seen often, as his territory reaches more to the east. On one occasion we did see him staking out a warthog burrow, but left soon after as he realised that there were no warthogs in the burrow any more.

The Dayone male is still the traveler, as he covers most of the Western sector South of the river.  On one morning he gave us quite a show as he stalked and caught a warthog coming out of its burrow. He is in good condition and still in control of his territory.

Nyeleti male is still showing himself to us on occasions mostly to the Eastern parts and close to the river.

The Torch-wood male Leopard is a young male that came from the far North. He is still young but very beautiful. Luckily he is also very relaxed and we are getting great viewing of him.

We have also had the odd sighting of the Sand River male Leopard coming in from the South East. He has been pushed out of his territory and continues on a nomadic lifestyle. Reports are that this male Leopard was the one that sired Dayone. After following the Wild Dogs one afternoon, we came across the Sand River male mating with an unknown female. Both of them quickly got into a tree as the dogs came by.

Thlangisa is still up in the North West of the reserve. It seemed that she did have some cubs, as we were able to see suckle marks. But unfortunately on the latest sighting we had of her there were no more suckle marks.

Xikavi has been seen a lot this month, as she has also given birth along the river, but we are still waiting to get a glimpse of her cubs. The reports that are coming in are that there are two little balls of fur waiting to be revealed to the big world.

Metsi was seen in the South sharing a kill with an unknown young male Leopard, but for most of the month she managed to avoid us. Unfortunately still no sighting of her cub this month.

Hlaba Nkunzi gave us great viewing as usual this month with numerous kills that she shared with her ever playful cub. Both of them are looking in good condition.

The female Cheetah and her two cubs gave us real good viewing this month by spending almost a week in the Western sector and making Impala kills in view of the vehicles on wide open clearings and then resting up on termite mounds.

The Hyena den site is still active giving us good viewing of the pups, and we also had glimpses of individual adults dashing across the road on drive and the destined calling setting the ambiance in the African bush.

We’ve been having great sightings with big herds of Elephant and Buffalo and most of the general game this month.

This month was one of those special months were we had the incredibly rare sighting of a Pangolin! Everyone in the West was very excited about this, and for some it was their first Pangolin ever.

We are starting to see the migratory birds returning for the summer nesting season. Birds like the Yellow Billed Kite are some of the first to return and indicate the season is changing. We also had very good sightings of the more common and all year round birds as well.

Red Billed Buffalo Weaver

Looking at the horizon and the month ahead, we can see the clouds building that will bring the much anticipated and needed rain for all the animals and especially the new babies.

Written and compiled by Hugo Breed and Johan de la Rey

Day 1

Our Leopard Hills experience started when we were greeted by Hugo, our ranger, at the air strip. My wife Sarah and I had flown in on the small Fed Air plane along with Sandy, a Canadian woman, and her son Trevor. We didn’t know quite what was in store for us at this stage or that we would be spending a lot of the next few days with Hugo and fellow air passengers.

On arriving at Leopard Hills we were greeted by the friendly staff, who made us feel most welcome. We were given drinks and then shown to our suite. We had seen photos of the suites prior to our arrival, but in reality they exceeded our expectations and the views were breathtaking.

After settling in we headed back to the main building to meeting up and set off on for our first game drive. Hugo, and Eric our tracker, took us out for the evening drive and so our adventure began. Hugo asked us whether there was anything in particular we wanted to see and they went to work finding us something interesting. Luck was upon us and it wasn’t long before we were given the chance to see two leopards mating within a few feet of our Land Rover. It was a surreal experience being so close to these magnificent creatures. 

We stayed in this spot for about twenty minutes, and then moved on when another vehicle arrived. One of the big differences about a private reserve is the number of vehicles, they have a rule of a maximum of three at a sighting, but I think this was just about the only time we had to move on because of this.

As we continued on our drive we bumped into a few zebra before heading to a river bed area to stop for a sundowner. This is when Eric opens the bar and offers you a drink and selection of snacks. We got to stretch our legs, slightly nervously, not knowing what might be lurking nearby.

By the time we started to head back to the lodge the sun was coming down, but that didn’t stop Eric spotting the first of our lions, one of the Selati coalition. It wasn’t long before one of his brothers joined him and we heard and felt the mighty bellows as they called out to a third brother somewhere in the darkness, quite an experience.

That evening we dined as a group in the main building along with Hugo, Sandy and Trevor. The meal was fantastic and we really enjoyed the company, discussing the days events and getting to know either other.

Day 2

The 5:30am wake up was always going to be a struggle, but it was soon forgotten as we drove off on the Land Rover with blankets and hot water bottles to ward off the chilly morning air. The sun was soon up and it wasn’t long before Eric spotted some tracks leading down the road, he walked on ahead and stopped a hundred yards away having sighted two of the Selati lions again. This time the light was better for our photographs and although they seemed somewhat subdued like they had just woken up they were happy to pose for us.

Our next sighting was another leopard. This time on its own, waiting by a termite mound for something to kill. Unfortunately for both of us, no warthogs appeared, but we did see a hyena wander past and for a moment we thought we might see some action.

We moved on and headed for an area to stop for a morning drink. Once again Eric pulls all the stops out with his special coffee, hot chocolate, Amarula and muffins to keep us going.

The next encounter was with a white rhino. These are impressive beasts up close and luckily we found this one in a fairly open area.

We were nearly back at Leopard Hills when we stumbled upon this elephant strolling along on his own. Only our second drive and we were up to four out of the big five already. Just the buffalo left to see.

After a great breakfast back at the lodge we decided to try out the spa facilities, both enjoying excellent massages. Time flies at Leopard Hills and despite the great suites, you don’t have hours to spend enjoying the deck and the views so it wasn’t long before we were back in the main building enjoying lunch overlooking the watering hole. The timing was perfect as an elephant came down to bathe and keep us entertained.

Later that afternoon we headed out for the evening drive, this time there were six of us as we were joined by a German couple. Anyone that has been on a safari will know that the impala is not the hardest animal to find, but they often run off before you can grab a good shot of them.

Our first big sighting was a large herd of elephants, including a number of young calves. We watched these guys for a while and had a close encounter as we left when one of the mothers got over protective.

That evening we enjoyed the Boma dinner outside around the fire with the soundtrack of bellowing lions nearby. Once again the staff were all superb and friendly and the food and drink excellent.

Day 3

A few drinks and a slightly later night had, but when 5:30am came again we couldn’t wait to get out there. Our first experience was a fast chase through the trees after some wild dogs, too fast for photos, but we caught up with them again and one stood still long enough for a snap.

Next was one of my favourite sightings, a rhino with a young calf. At first they were concealed by the trees, but we were in for a treat as they crossed the track right in front of us.

Our next encounter was the closest we got to witnessing a kill. Vultures, a hyena and a leopard with the remains of an impala up a tree.

Elephants graced us again as we were returning to the lodge, a large herd chomping away on the trees by the site of the road, including this young calf.

On the evening drive we all decided to head for a pride of lions that had been seen in the north. I think this was our favourite experience of our time at Leopard Hills. We drove along a dried up sandy river bed and eventually got to the pride of lions, consisting of three females and six cubs.

The females headed off just as we arrived, as they went to find something to kill for dinner. The cubs played around right in front of us as the sun came down.

One of my favourite photos was when this cub sat on his own on this rock.

Hugo did a great job of positioning the Land Rover, which included some handy off road driving skills and some excitable swearing from the female passengers, but we all managed to stay in the vehicle!

Eric came good on his Big File promise and found us our buffalo, a herd of about twenty, including these two butting heads.

We stopped again for sundowners and as we sipped on our gin and tonics Eric told us stories of being charged by buffalo.

Day 4

Our last morning started the same as the two before it with a spectacular orange sky and the expectation of another drive.

We spent some time tracking a leopard and also some drag marks left by hyenas and their kill.

We actually left Eric for about twenty minutes while he tracked on foot, and thankfully found him again unharmed. We then worked our way towards the hyena’s den.

We found two adults with two excitable puppies, happy to perform for us.

Our final experience was to get out of the Land Rover and track a giraffe on foot through the trees. Hugo told us not to run if something came towards us, but my wife said she couldn’t make any promises. Unfortunately the giraffe was quite skittish and kept running away as we got close.

We arrived back at Leopard Hills for the final time, sad it was over, but still on a high from all we had seen and done. Hugo and Eric were fantastic, knowledgable and entertaining, and the service from all the staff back at base was exceptional and they made us feel like old friends. I’m sure most people leave Leopard Hills wanting to go back and we were no different in that regard and we cannot wait to get that chance.

A big thank you to all at Leopard Hills.

The journey to Leopard Hills always seems to last a lifetime, such is the excitement and anticipation of what may be….

On a personal note, I spent much time enroute, thinking of the past. Mambirri long gone, yet her offspring, Thlangisa, still around to take one’s breath away. The mighty Mapogos also a part of history, and given due credit, one cannot believe anything else than the fact that they are amongst the most famous (infamous) and fantastic Lions ever to roam the wild. Hlaba Nkunzi’s lost cubs, but the knowledge she had another. Then the people I would miss, and those who have left. Marius, Shane, Gary and Dave, amongst others. Not only were the names and faces of the animals and people changing, the lodge itself was changing. What would the 3 days hold,….?

I arrived at the lodge, and checked into one of the renovated rooms. All I can say is that they are truly splendid. A grand mix of modern comforts, yet bursting with African authenticity. Shortly after settling in, I met Jeanne (jammer, ek weet nie hoe om die kappie op “e” to sit nie) who was to be my guide for most of my stay. Refreshments before afternoon safari were served, then the adventure truly began. The moment where looking through Mother Nature’s glass window is broken, the vehicle roars to life and the talented team of guides take you far beyond the pane of inquisitiveness and question. They take you into the middle of Africa’s heartbeat, where you no longer become a distant observer, but a part of it, and your own heart beats a little faster… On that very first drive, it was not only the game viewing vehicle roaring in the African bushveld…

Jeanne decided to head North of Leopard Hills, which is a stunning part of the reserve. Tracking Lion from the morning, he had his work cut out being only one of two vehicles in the area. It was not long before we found a Selati Male Lion, separated from his coalition and lying nicely in an open clearing. Jeanne made the call that the Selati male would probably be a bit more active later, so we would return to the location and head off in search of other animals in the meantime. Great call on his behalf. He managed to get a sighting of the Tai Dam male Leopard, who really is a magnificient animal. Young, yet solid, and not that shy of vehicles. I hope he finds himself a spot of territory in the area. Returning to the Selati Male Lion later was a pure treat, as he flexed his vocal chords in an attempt to relocate his mates.

Selati Roar
[FMP width=”640″ height=”360″]https://www.leopardhills.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Selati-Roar.m4v[/FMP]

Here are a few photos from that very first drive.

As usual, Leopard Hills put on a display of wildlife that well and truly leaves one speechless. I went on safari with both Jeanne and Johan, both of whom produced sightings, which will forever be etched in my memory. I personally had an endearing moment watching Hlaba Nkunzi and her cub. She is as much a part of Leopard Hills as the wonderful staff, and I am sure I am not the only one hoping that her cub will grow to maturity and find a territory, to claim as her own, which will not be far from the lodge. The interaction between herself, her cub and the sire thereof, the Khashane male, was rather intense while “sharing” a kill.

There were countless special moments on this trip, none more that seeing the Xhimhungwe cubs playing at dusk, while being observed by a Giraffe, as well as basking in winter sunlight during the day on my final safari drive. They are just the cutest little things.

Indeed this is a very special place, and one where words will seldom do it justice, so here’s to hoping the attached photos will do the job. Lastly, was what I considered to be the ultimate game of Chess. Two of the big boys in Leopard Hills, Kashane and Day One male square off a mere 50 meters from each other. Low guttural vocalizing, and intense stares from both of them, as they expressed their disgruntlement with each other’s presence.

Without dragging the incredible trip out any further, here are 3 special, symbolic memories, while soaking up the experience that is Leopard Hills. What would Africa be without Elephants? Where would the laughs be without the comical interaction of Mongooses, and where would the action be, without the energy of Wild Dog? Elephants being us loafing visitors, the busy Mongooses representing the ever busy and highly entertaining staff, (thanks B for your running around, highly appreciated!!) and the Wild Dogs in management, always active to ensure the well being of “The Den” which is Leopard Hills.

Duncan, to you and your amazing team, thanks again for cherished memories. You really have plucked a part of Heaven, and placed it firmly on Earth. And while I contemplated the old and new on the way up, so I did again on the way back, and can only conclude that Leopard Hills not only remains as spectacular as ever, it just gets better!!

To everyone atop “The Hill” I extend my kindest regards, thanks and best wishes.

Cheers, Drew