Ximongwe Greater Kruger : Lockdown Day 142 - Saturday 15 August

At about 3am we were woken by a massive lion roar. I dashed out onto the balcony with a spotlight and shone down into the garden and saw a huge male lion sauntering across the lawn. So at 5.30am we were up to go and check out the kill. There were still three lions there. Did I see one of them on the lawn or was that another lion marking his territory? 

In the afternoon Johan went back again and all three lions were still there.

At 8pm the president announced South Africa was moving to level 2 lockdown. The provincial borders are opening, alcohol and tobacco sales are resuming and families can visit each other in small groups.

There is still a night time curfew and social distancing and mask wearing in public is still mandatory.

Ximongwe Greater Kruger : Lockdown Day 141 - Friday 14 August

We skipped heading out to see the lion kill at daybreak. At about 8.30am Johan heard there were wild dogs nearby so we dashed off to see them. There's a group of five ranging between Parsons Balule and Olifants North Game Reserves. One is collared and one has no tail, so they are easy to identify. Sadly there were only four in the group now, with no sign of what happened to the fifth.

A little up the road we spotted vultures on the remains of an impala carcass.

In the afternoon we headed back to the lions. One lion was at the carcass and the other two were lying about 50m away. We chose to have our drinks a little way along the road watching a herd of elephants in the river. No sooner had we returned to the carcass; the other two came back to eat. We were parked pretty close but they ignored us, taking turns eating and resting. 

Then a large elephant bull made his way down the hill and into the road and a standoff ensued. The elephant charged at the lions a few times with us in the middle of the fray. We held our collective breathe, still and silent, with our hearts pounding in our chests but the lions weren't that concerned. One lion did move past our vehicle rather too close for comfort and lay down on the road behind us. It was after dark when we got home in need of a stiff drink, a braai and a good "kuier" around the fire.

Ximongwe Greater Kruger : Lockdown Day 140 - Thursday 13 August

We were up again before first light to head back to the giraffe kill. Today there were two male lions at the carcass. 

We spent a long time sitting there. We didn't want to drink too much coffee because there's no toilet option and we didn't touch our snacks because the carcass is beginning to smell really bad and that tends to put you off eating.

Back at the camp we had a lazy brunch. There were so many animals around the house today. 

My elephant friend visited with two mates. 

In the evening we moved back into Hippo Lodge. The others went back to see the lions but I had to reorganize the pantry and fridges. We have accumulated so much stuff over the last few months, I don't think we're going to fit it all into the caravan and car when we leave. There's a part of me that wants to get going but also a part of me that wants to stay. Thanks Hanli for a few of your pics.

Lockdown Day 139 - Wednesday 12 August

A slow start to the day and visits from the warthogs who let me get close up for a few pics.

Then we went in to Hoedspruit for lunch at Moholoholo Ya Mati and to do a bit of shopping.

On our return, news of a giraffe kill nearby had us all in the game drive vehicle heading to check it out. A male lion got up from his spot in the shade to come and eat just as we arrived. It's amazing to have such a sighting all to ourselves.The strange thing is that it doesn't look like the lions actually killed the giraffe themselves; there's no sign of neck wounds from the suffocation and no broken limbs. The theory that it was electrocuted on power lines seems unlikely because they are just too far away.

After his snack he began roaring to call the other lions in. We stayed till well after dark but no other lions showed up. As the crow flies it's only about 500m up river from the lodge, so we heard the roars and replies all evening.

We had a lekker braai but ended up eating a little too late concidering our plan was to return to the kill at daybreak. We'll probably regret the expresso, grappa and koeksuster dessert in the morning!