Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Some dreams do come true!

Recently we have been blessed with some fantastic wild dog sightings in Sand Rivers, capturing a sight of one of these endangered carnivores is definitely a highlight of an African safari! They are rarely skittish even in the more remote parks and parts of Africa, making for great observations of these most fascinating and beautiful creatures.

John and Ursula Mihopulos recently came tovisit us, one of John's lifelong dreams has been to see wild dogs and he was not disappointed when he came to Sand Rivers! After 3 nights in another part of the reserve, he and Ursula came to join us in Sand Rivers for another 3 nights, the afternoon they arrived we were greeted by the heavens with one of the most spectacular rain storms of the season, but this did not deter them as they duly left on their afternoon game drive in pursuit of the dogs. To our delight, after only 15 minutes their guide Mussa radioed in with the news that they had found the dogs in our 'garden,' an open area close to the camp which resembles an English country garden, until a giraffe or an elephant pops up, or in this case wild dogs on the hunt! Mussa and his guests watched on as the dogs ran down an impala and ate their kill within meters of the landrover!

The dogs were also recently spotted chasing a leopard up a tree not far from camp!

With thanks to John Mihopulos for this photo.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Jumping leaps and bounds in the Selous

Take off
Engaging auto pilot
Landing gear ready
Landing lights on
Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts.
Thank you for flying Air Impala

Undoubtedly one of the most common sightings on safari the ubiquitous Impala never ceases to amaze us with their beauty and gracefulness. It's easy to drive past them and say 'just another impala' but stopping and taking time to observe them can bring rewarding sightings, while out the other day we stopped to watch these impalas, then something spooked them in the bushes behind making them start to scarper away, not just by running but by their famous jumps. Jumping 3 meters high and covering distances of up to 10 meters in a single jump, it was a magnificent display.

Not long to go until the rutting season and it will be Impala mayhem all over the Selous!!