Game viewing from our Land Rover had been unbelievable for our guests, so a different bush experience was next on our agenda. We decided that a bush walk would be a great way to end off a very successful safari!

Widowbirds and whydahs have been dancing all over the grasslands this month with some lovely displays.

The Singita Lebombo concession is certainly a unique area not only in the Kruger National Park but also among the neighbouring private game reserves.

Singita Kruger National Park is very well known for the amazing landscapes of the Lebombo mountains dotted with the locally endemic Lebombo euphorbias, vast open grass plains with herds of zebra and wildebeest, and copious amounts of lion prides whose territories range across the concession, yet there is one creature found here in great densities that is high on most safari goers wishlist: the giraffe.

With new life comes new opportunities for the predators to hunt. We had an emotionally-charged sighting of a lifetime when we saw a wildebeest giving birth, only moments later to have it stolen by a large male leopard. This is how it all played out. 

We set out on our afternoon safari with a plan of working for and hopefully finding a leopard. My tracker Sydwell and I discussed our plan and route and thought we would check a small loop road just on the eastern side of Boulders Lodge. This area was close to where the Schotia female leopard was hiding her two 3-month-old cubs so we thought with the smallest possibility that we would get lucky and find her.

Every year I make it my mission to check all the mud wallows and pans for any treasures that come in avian form. All birders know that these pans can at times draw in migratory water birds like bitterns, snipes, crakes, jacanas, sandpipers, ducks and herons that aren’t always around and are challenging to find!

There are few things as amazing as listening to the chorus of frogs in the evening on the way back to the lodge, especially following a good downpour of rain, or watching a dung beetle rolling his enormous dungball in search of a mate.

The mission was to safari down into the Southern areas to find a pride of lions, which had been spotted moving North the previous afternoon. It wasn’t too long and we were in the right area surrounded by a dry grassland, desperately waiting for the first rains to relieve the stress!

Game viewing from our Land Rover had been unbelievable for our guests, so a different bush experience was next on our agenda. We decided that a bush walk would be a great way to end off a very successful safari!

Widowbirds and whydahs have been dancing all over the grasslands this month with some lovely displays.

With the very heavy rains over many months the Grumeti Reserve can be compared to an ocean of grass. This make life tough, not only for the prey species, but for the predators too.

The Spotted bush snake is probably one of the more common species found in many parts of its region. A very well adapted and subtle snake that disappears into its surroundings incredibly quickly.

The black & white Colobus (Guereza occidentalis) live in small territories along the riparian of the Grumeti River.

The Singita Lebombo concession is certainly a unique area not only in the Kruger National Park but also among the neighbouring private game reserves.