Renewal, transformation & life at Umlani - Page 6

A DRASTIC TEMPERATURE DROP IN THE MORNINGS CAN BE FELT AS WE HUDDLE AROUND THE CAMPFIRE, HOT CHOCOLATE AND COFFEES IN HAND AWAITING THE MORNING GAME DRIVE, A SURE SIGN THAT WINTER IS WELL ON ITS WAY. HOWEVER WITH THE QUALITY OF SIGHTINGS THAT WE HAVE HAD THIS MONTH IT IS WELL WORTH BRAVING THE COLD. THE MONTH OF MAY WAS DEFINITELY A BIG CAT MONTH ALTHOUGH WE DID HAVE MANY OTHER GREAT SIGHTINGS OUR LOCAL LIONS AND LEOPARDS DID NOT HOLD BACK ON GIVING US A GREAT SHOW.

YET ANOTHER MONTH HAS FLOWN BY AND WHAT AN INCREDIBLE MONTH IT WAS, WE RECEIVED A FEW LATE RAIN SHOWERS TO END OFF THE WET SEASON AND THE BUSH IS LOOKING BETTER THAN EVER AS WE MOVE INTO THE DRY SEASON. OUR SIGHTINGS CONTINUED TO BE OUT OF THE TOP DRAWER AS WE SAW MORE OF MARULA'S EVER GROWING CUBS AND MANY MANY MORE AMAZING SIGHTS WHILST OUT ON SAFARI.

Roughly nine months ago, I was sitting outside on the patio of my house listening to the sounds of the bush while enjoying a cup of hot coffee when I heard the unmistakable sounds of leopards mating very close to camp. This is an extremely rare act to witness out in the wild so without hesitation I decided to head out and see if I could find the two elusive big cats. I decided to park the vehicle in the dark and wait for them to mate again so that I could pinpoint their location, after a 1 hour wait, the leopards finally mated again and only about 50m from where I was parked, I started the car and drove in the direction the sounds had come from and found Marula female and Rothsay male lying side by side. I stayed with the leopards for a good few hours before leaving them to carry on with their business of increasing the Timbavati leopard population. With that being said I had the hope that in 3 months she would have her new litter of cubs and that this time around after three previously failed attempts at raising cubs Marula would hopefully be successful and I would be able to follow these cubs literally from the day they were conceived.

THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY SAW US HAVE SOME OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE SIGHTINGS TO DATE, ALONG WITH A LOT OF VERY WELCOME RAIN, THE ANIMALS SEEMED TO SHOW UP FOR OUR SAFARIS TOO, IN PARTICULAR THE BIG CATS AND ESPECIALLY OUR RESIDENT LEOPARDS. HOWEVER IT WASN'T JUST THE LEOPARDS THAT ENTERTAINED US BUT A WHOLE HOST OF THE TIMBAVATI'S INHABITANTS FILLED OUR CAMERA LENSES THROUGHOUT THE MONTH TOO, SO SIT BACK GRAB YOURSELF A CUP OF COFFEE OR A GLASS OF WINE AND ENJOY THIS INSTALLMENT OF OUR SIGHTINGS BLOG AS WE SHARE SOME OF THE INCREDIBLE SIGHTS WE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF PLAYING WITNESS TO IN FEBRUARY.

Ubuntu speaks about our interconnectedness and the fact that you cannot exist as a human being in isolation. We are not just individuals separated from one another; what we do affects others which in turn affects the whole world. -Archbishop Desmond Tutu

And still the rains hadn’t come. We were on vacation and privileged to be able to spend a whole week at Umlani. So we were not about to complain about keeping dry. But it speaks to the richness of the Umlani experience that by the end of the week, we too were praying for the rains to start. For our week had taught us that that Ubuntu is not just about humanity but our fellowship with other kinds of creature too. The solidarity of life. And these other wondrous creatures needed the rains to come.