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.