Its all about luck...

Yesterday afternoon I heard that the guides had seen four of the Olifants west lionesses and all eight cubs, that's right...all 8 cubs still alive and doing well, in fact their mothers had caught a zebra for them and they were all full bellied and looking good. Visions of another incredible cub sighting filled my head and i had to go out and have a look. I hurriedly grabbed my camera and set out. i found the lionesses and some of the cubs in the inlet of a dam lying up in the shade, the cubs were very curious and I happily snapped a few photos of one cub watching me through the grass. It was fantastic perfect golden sunlight, dappled shade and posing cubs, a photographers dream, and I knew it was just going to get better as they were surely going to go for a drink. But then my happiness met an abrupt end when, as I pressed down on my shutter button to take a photo and nothing happened...FLAT BATTERY! I could not believe it and my heart sank. In my haste to go see the lions i didn't check on my battery level and had paid the price. I sat in the sighting for a while and still enjoyed the time with the lions which is often really nice to do for a change, but I kept on thinking about the bad luck that had just fallen upon me. I didn't wait to see them drink as I think that would have really been soul destroying and headed back to the lodge. 

The curious cub

 On my drive back I thought about how luck really plays such a role out here. Often guests will ask how often do we see leopards and lions or lions making a kill and honestly its all about luck, being at the right place at the right time. You can go from having the worst luck in the world to the best in a second, and I have had times out here where I had the most unbelievable sightings and was fortunate to capture these moments on my camera. So due to the lack of pictures I took in my latest lion sighting, I thought I'd share some photos from when luck was on my side.

A huge male lion shows off his awesome power as he drags a zebra carcass on his own.

Its not always about the big 5 as these 2 giraffe demonstrated
by presenting themselves against a beautiful sunset

All 8 cubs in one photo one morning as they were warming up in the morning sun.

Wild dogs chasing each other across a big open area and then to top it off through the water.

Catching the steely glare of Chavaluthu male leopard

A lioness up in a Marula tree on the look out for prey, it was impressive to see her up there but
her decent wasn't quite as glorious

A new female leopard that i managed to photograph, i haven't
seen her again hopefully she will show herself again.

So, I learnt my lesson today and will always make sure my camera is fully charged and probably do the same for all the guests from now on, and hopefully manage to keep the bad luck down to a minimum and the good at a high.

Until next time....

Written and photographed by Greg McCall-Peat

Magic lion cubs

The lions have been keeping a bit of a low profile of late, and although most nights we have been hearing lions by the time game drive times arrive they have long since moved off and left our guests wanting. This morning the pressure was on for Rex (one of our guides) it was the guests last drive before leaving and all they wanted and needed to see was lion. Rex stayed cool, calm and collected and managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat and track down 2 of the Olifants west pride lionesses and the 7 cubs on a giraffe kill. On hearing this from some very excited guests I decided to take a vehicle out and have a look as I have been stuck in camp for a while and haven't seen a cat in ages, and knew there would be some good photo opportunities to be had.

 

An Olifants west lioness keeping an eye on me

Now a lion sighting in itself is pretty special, lions on a kill even more special but throw 7 young cubs into the mix and its absolutely MAGIC. The cubs are now at around 6 months of age and are extremely playful and curious of just about anything that they see, be it the tail of the giraffe they were eating or the game drive vehicles that are viewing them. There is no need to interpret anything that is being seen its just a case of sit back and be entertained by these balls of fur as they go about being lion cubs.

2 curious cubs

The cubs always seem so busy, if they not fighting over food they stalking and wrestling each other learning all they need for the day they have to hunt and compete at meal times but for now its cute, funny and awesome all at the same time and you cant help but sit with a huge smile on your face for the duration of the time spent with them.

Such a playful look on this cubs face

Stalking the game drive vehicle

A mouth full of giraffe tail hair

Smack!

I'm really amazed at how good these lionesses are at being mums. 3 of them had cubs around the same time, each one having 3 cubs, 9 cubs are a lot to deal with and these first time mothers have been very successful although they have lost 2 cubs that is pretty good going in the lion world. All the remaining cubs are looking fit and healthy and we look forward to following their journeys to adulthood and many more sightings in the future.

An introduction...to us

Firstly a big welcome to our new blogspot for Ezulwini Game Lodges, here we will be sharing sightings from our game drives as well as any other happenings here at the lodges.

Lion cubs playing on a morning safari at Ezulwini

The Lodges are located in the Balule Game Reserve which is situated in the world renowned Greater Kruger National Park, a 3.5 million hectare super park, with unrivaled biodiversity. 

The Ezulwini company has two lodges, namely River Lodge and Billys lodge. As the name suggests River lodge is nestled amongst the thick riverine vegetation of the Olifants river, the largest river in the Greater Kruger region. Huge sycamore fig and leadwood trees surround this intimate lodge making it the epitome of true African experience.

River Lodge entertainment area

Billys Lodge offers a completely different experience when it comes to the lodge itself. It is set on open plains affording guests great game viewing from the comfort of their rooms or from one of the many viewing decks scattered around the lodge. Although it is a slightly bigger camp it allows you to enjoy the privacy and really take in the atmosphere of this magic place. Guests are often treated to wine tasting in the unique underground wine cellar which is carved into ancient rocks and is definitely a highlight to be experienced.

Incredible view from Billys Lodge entertainment area

As far as game drives go, the Balule is home to the Magnificent 7 (Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Elephant, Rhino, Cheetah and Wild dog). We also boast the highest density of giraffe of any other reserve and are also regularly treated with great plains game viewing, so guests get a very well rounded experience, add to that the knowledge and skills of our experienced field guides and trackers you have a recipe for the best safari on offer.

2 male cheetah

A close encounter with one of our male leopards we call Chavaluthu

A male lion drags his zebra kill to cover

Elephant cow 

Often we find zebra and giraffe hanging out together, even animals know the benefits of safety in numbers

A white rhino waking up on a misty winter morning

Lion cubs from the Olifants west pride sunning themselves

The very rare and endangered wild dogs playing and chasing each other

With these pictures we conclude this blog post and hope you enjoyed "getting to know" us.