Khaya Ndlovu traverse
In 2019 we stayed with a very nice couple – former international teachers from Texas - who now live in Raptor’s View. We wanted to see what it was like to actually live on the estate; at least for a few days. One morning, our host (D) mentioned that he had heard lions close-by during the night. Eager for a chance to drive around the traverse, the three of us loaded up in our rental SUV and took off.
After a bit of careful driving (hopefully Avis is not reading this), we spotted two warthogs peacefully drinking at a small pan (water hole). We stopped and were conversing with D, who is a very adept photographer, about his like of water-reflection photography. Actually, almost everyone around here is a semi-professional wildlife photographer. As we are chatting, a male leopard explodes out of the bush, and the two pigs bolt separate ways. Unsuccessful, but still exciting. D’s camera is still in the footwell of the vehicle, but he does manage to get a few photographs as the cat dishearteningly slinks away. You never know what will happen in the bush.
We didn’t find the lions that day. But you can follow the lions of this reserve via the many wonderful videos of PaintedDog TV. For example, the female lion cub Bucket who needed, well, rescuing by use of a bucket.
During our stay, we try to drive our trusty little rental SUV around the traverse as much as we can. Even on the morning of the day we were flying home, we squeezed in one last drive. Which we probably should not have, since I still had not realized that I hadn’t had my passport in my possession for at least a week. After spreading our entire luggage across the floor to search for said passport, I finally realized that it must be at the cellular store – where one needs to present their passport to buy a SIM card.
During our Khaya Ndlovu drives, we also saw glimpses of the several resident white rhinoceros, which was very humbling. In the months after, we learn about an organization on this property that is conserving endangered rhinoceros. Oh, and retired race horses help too. Sounds like a good place to live.
Zebra. Balule Game Reserve, 2019.
Khaya Ndlovu, male leopard, 2019. Not a great video - look closely.
Khaya Ndlovu, rhinoceros, 2019. Not a great video - look closely.
The rhino is much easier to spot than the leopard! (I guess it helps when the animal weighs 2 tonnes and is 6ft high).