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May 2023 Wildlife Report

Winter is coming. This month we started to truly feel the cold mornings and chilly evenings. The changes from summer to winter have been noticeable for a few months, regarding the bush density opening, the seasonal grasses dying out and most, if not all, migratory birds have gone. Blankets, hot-water bottles, and plenty of hot drinks are quite necessary to stay warm. We can truly get excited for the winter season ahead. Our local pans, such as Malembeni and the pan just in front of the lodge will start to see more and more activity as water sources will be scarce. Even our lodge swimming pool will get some more visitors. We have already had some elephants come by and enjoy a drink. Let’s get into some of our amazing sightings over the last month. All images in this article were taken by Thomas Veenema. Leopard: I’d like to start with one of my favourite animals to find in the bush. Not only for its beauty but also for being an elusive animal. Tracking and finding the animal with the help of our exceptional trackers makes it such a rewarding animal to find. The leopard sightings in our area have been excellent and they’ve been quite active. Some mornings you just get a feeling about a particular animal. For this morning, I wanted (you might say needed) to find a leopard. It’s been a few days since we had last seen one and we had good signs right from the start. Early in the morning our tracker, Clyde, had already seen some male leopard tracks walking right through camp and moving down towards the riverbed in front of the lodge. Good start. Let’s try to follow these tracks. Coming down to the riverbed, Clyde jumped off the vehicle to follow the tracks and I went around on a few roads to see if I could find where the tracks may have crossed. A little bit later Clyde hopped back on the tracker seat and said the tracks turned south through the riverbed and possibly up onto the ridge south of the lodge. We simultaneously told each other we should check the road that runs south of the lodge. We drove on the road, slowly, trying to see any signs of this leopard. We could see one, then two, then three hyenas below a big Nyala berry pacing around and looking up and down the tree. We look up the tree and there it was, resident Pale Male up in the tree with a big meal between his jaws. A quick silent celebration for both Clyde and myself, since today’s tracking paid off handsomely. Elephant: Sometimes they seem to up and vanish, but this past month they have been around all over the place. Some days we don’t even need to leave the lodge to see them. These gentle giants walk past the open area in front of the lodge and make their way to the pan near the lodge. It is always such a pleasure to see. Apart from these moments, there are some amazing moments that we are able to capture on our drives as well. Clyde and I were driving alongside one of the riverbeds near Makumu and there was a herd of elephants walking through the riverbed. Observing them, we could see they were on a mission towards something. What could this be? Are they moving away from a bull in Musth? Are they leaving a potentially dangerous area? Are they trying to get to a place to feed? Are they going to a waterhole for a drink or a mud bath? Seeing their body language, we could see they were not nervous and their pace was decent, but not too quick for them to be leaving a dangerous area. Even though we are going into winter, it was still a nice and warm afternoon. Given these signs and the fact that the elephants did not give us any warnings or signs of aggression, we assumed they were on their way towards a water hole. We had two waterholes nearby that the elephants could choose from, we drove towards one of them and looked to see if the elephants were headed our way. They weren’t. Quickly we drove around, towards the other waterhole. Jackpot, one elephant was already drinking, but the other elephants had not arrived yet. We positioned ourselves very nicely and shortly after, we could see the herd emerge from the bush, three joined the elephant around the waterhole. Then another two, then some more, and even more. Some of the younger elephants could not wait to get a drink, running towards the waterhole, kicking up dust as they ran along. Soon the entire waterhole was surrounded by elephants. Adults, teenagers, toddlers and babies standing shoulder to shoulder quenching their thirst. Something that always amazes me is the way they curl their trunk up after filling it with water and releasing it into their mouth. The babies and toddlers haven’t acquired this skill with their trunk yet, so they’ll overcome this problem by going face-first into the water and getting their well-deserved water intake right from the source. As quickly as they surrounded the waterhole, just as quickly can a herd disappear from the waterhole. Since waterholes are great places for predators to pick off anything that might get distracted by drinking water. In this case, it wasn’t a predator, but out of the bush walked a big white rhino bull. Some stragglers got a fright from him and quickly moved back to the safety of the herd and disappeared into the bush. Two for the price of one waterhole, we were happy to stay with this rhino bull for the next while.

Makumu at the International Tourism Film Festival Africa 2023

Makumu’s production The Magic Begins Here – Makumu Magic received a Finalist award at the 5th Edition of the International Tourism Film Festival Africa, that took place Cape Town, South Africa, at the Labia Theatre, one of the most iconic venues in Cape Town. Makumu Private Game Lodge’s latest video, received an outstanding achievement this year at the International Tourism Film Festival Africa. Our film was selected among 378 entries from 59 countries around the world. 

April 2023 Wildlife Report

We are moving into that time of year when the grass is all yellow and the leaves are just starting to change colour. Animal paths are forming all over and watering holes are getting busier. I was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly the bush has changed after returning from my off days and according to Shelley I say this every year. I just find it crazy how quickly this happens, but I have to say we have had a few very warm autumn days. The mornings and evenings are cooling down nicely though. All images in this article were taken by Stefan Breuer, Owner and Ruan Ferreira, General Manager. Leopard: Leopard sightings have been really good (touch wood), they have been all over the traverse and Makumu property especially has been pumping with leopard sightings. Pale male has been very busy around the lodge area and also Manzi and her 2 youngsters. I have to say that Xivindzi has been a little scarcer. We also received the good news that the one female on our neighbouring property has 2 cubs that have really shown themselves very nicely to us and a few lucky guests. Hopefully, we now get a chance to view her at a distance across the river and get her to relax a little bit more. The newish young male, coming in from the north and walking from windmill pan to Malembeni, has also been quite busy. He is such a beautiful individual and gaining more and more confidence, calling and marking. We actually saw him and Xivindzi walking together, so we were really hoping for some mating there and hoped that that might be the reason that she has been so scarce, guess only time will tell. Lion: Lion sightings have been really good. The smaller group of 7 seem to hang out together on a more regular basis and we get to see them quite often, the larger group of 15 has changed their patterns slightly and is pushing a lot more to the west and then back onto Makumu. The two large males have been seen quite far up north with the Timbila pride and the other day a sighting of them was reported on the Olifants River, which is very far from where they usually walk. The 2 young boys or should I rather call them young men walking with the group of 7 are turning into two very handsome lions. Looks like they are going to be a force to be reckoned with. Was nice to see their tracks as cubs and now as young mature males. Elephant: Elephant sightings have been off the charts, they have been all over. Large herds, smaller herds and bachelors all over the place. And then babies, babies all over and even though all animal babies are cute, elephant babies are out-competing them all, especially with all that personality. The elephants are mostly responsible for most of these larger animal paths leading to the watering holes. We have many elephants feeding close to our house, and our 19-month-old daughter cannot get enough of them, she loves elephants, and even has a stuffed toy one. Buffalo: Buffalo sightings have been the more difficult ones for us to find. We have only seen the odd buffalo bull down in the river. We do find their tracks and fresh dung on the roads, then they disappear into the long reeds to enjoy the cool water and walk around at night enjoying the cooler evenings for feeding. With the sand banks forming, lots of the short grass is starting to grow and is fairly easy to pull out. Hyena: Hyena sightings have been really good again, they have been moving to the Malembeni watering hole and the best time to see them is just as the sun goes down. They then seem to be crawling out from somewhere, where they spent the day resting, and they are super curious to see what the two-legged creatures are up to while we are enjoying a sundowner.    Highlight of the month: This time it wasn’t a specific sighting, it was a specific day driving down Makumu highway. This is the main road leading to the lodge and to Malembeni watering hole. It started with a lion sighting at our lodge pan, then we had two different leopard sightings and then found the wild dogs at Malembeni itself. This all on one road, it was very special. I always say and still believe, you do need a lot of luck out here, but also that patience and persistence will eventually pay off. Thank you for reliving this wonderful experience with us.

March 2023 Wildlife Report

Even though the cold weather is slowly moving in, we are still lucky with a luscious green bushveld after the big floods in February. The water dams and rivers are still full and flowing strong. Welcome to another update from the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve and Makumu Private Game Lodge, your home away from home. I will be covering some of the exciting things that we encountered over the last month. All images in this article were taken by Stefan Breuer, Owner.  Lion & Hyena: Our rangers came across a cool sighting of a hyena running across the road, right out of the blue, with a giraffe skull and some fresh meat left in its mouth. They followed him for a while, and not long after they spotted some lion tracks. Our legendary trackers then hopped off to do what they do best, and they did not disappoint as they came across a pride of lions resting in the shade. It was really a fun build-up for the guests. Leopard: We had an amazing encounter right in front of the lodge with Manzi and her 2 cubs, who are not so tiny anymore, enjoying themselves at the waterhole and playing around the vehicle. They stayed around the camp for about a week after successfully hunting a duiker around the camp. Our guests were able to check in every night for a few days. Elephant: There are big herds of elephants around and in Makumu Camp, just enjoying the luscious green bushveld and our overflowing swimming pool. Makumu is not fenced and is completely open to the wild which creates amazing opportunities for animal life around the camp day and night. What better way to enjoy your safari than on your doorstep? We also had our usual treat of elephants at our photographic bunker which will always be such a special treat for our guests.

LUXE Travel Magazine – Safari Getaways

We are thrilled to announce that Makumu Private Game Lodge has been featured in the prestigious LUXE Travel Magazine’s Safari Getaways issue. Our luxurious lodge is showcased as an exceptional destination for wildlife enthusiasts, offering an unforgettable safari experience. We invite our guests to also read the article on page 15, where our owner shares their insights on conservation and the sustainable practices implemented at Makumu Private Game Lodge. We are honored to be recognized by LUXE Travel Magazine and look forward to welcoming our readers to experience our unique brand of African hospitality. Read the full article plus the interview with Stefan Breuer, owner of Makumu, on page 15.  LUXE Travel Magazine

February 2023 Wildlife Report

February has been a rather interesting month. I have not seen so much rain in a very long time. We had nearly 360mm of rain in less than a week and just over 400mm in less than a month. The bush is beautiful, so lush, so green and the river has been flowing from one bank to the other. We even had 3 or 4 days where we could not even cross the drainage at the lodge or cross the river. With all this beauty comes its challenges, like limited areas to drive, and vehicles getting stuck. We had 6 vehicles stuck in our traverse area in two days, including a tractor. For the genuine bush lovers, this did not stop them, they were still out there with us enjoying what nature had to offer, even though sightings were a little slower than what we are used to. There is just so much water at the moment in the bush and small drainages, no animal is forced to go to the river or a watering hole. All images in this article were taken by Ruan Ferreira, General Manager. Leopard: Leopard sightings have been tough, they are definitely still around, we do see their tracks, the bush is just so thick and wet. They are inside the blocks now, from where they can find their water, very little pushing them out to come to walk on the open roads. They do however need to come out to mark their territories as all scent trails got washed away with the rain. It is just so difficult to see tracks with water seeping (draining) out from the bush onto the roads. One sighting did stand out however, we drove from Malembeni in the direction of the windmill pan when we saw very fresh leopard tracks… We started tracking straight away, and after about 15min of tracking, we lost the tracks. We stopped the vehicle to check the last tracks we saw, to get direction and the next moment, in a flash, we heard a growl and saw a female leopard jumping up a tree. We very quickly got back in the car to view the sighting and to our surprise, there was the young male that we have been tracking. He and the female must have bumped into each other while looking for food. He chased her up the tree and was just lying at the base, whenever he moved she would hiss and growl at him. He at one stage came rushing up the tree and chased her high up into the canopy, he stopped halfway, jumped down, marked his territory around the tree and walked away. This was all a display of dominance over the smaller female. Lion: Lion sightings have been up and down. We had the group of 7 stuck on our side of the river for a few days, so we had some nice sightings of them. The group of 15 was stuck on the other side of the river and killed another giraffe which we could not view as there was no place to cross the river. Something very interesting happened fairly recently, where one of the older young river pride males mated with one of the females with the large males not being present, it was very short, so the female could have possibly been in a false heat. After this happened a month later one of the large males mated with the same female, so will be very interesting to see what is going to happen there. I am still very surprised that the dominant males have not chased away the two younger males, they are 3 years old and getting big and confident. Is it maybe a case that they have been accepted into the pride and that they won’t be chased away, due to the fact that the large males have been spending more time up north, who knows, only time will tell. Elephant: Elephant sightings have been on and off. There is water all over the place. During the first few days, we saw 2 breeding herds almost daily. It was interesting to watch them. They would feed up on the crest and walk down the river daily to go and inspect the water levels as they wanted to cross over, and every day in the same spot. With the river flowing so strong and with new born, they turned around every time until sand banks started forming only then they crossed. There has been plenty of nice large bulls around, some in musth and temperamental and others very relaxed minding their own business, just strolling along mudding themselves and feeding on the marula fruits. Buffalo: Buffalo sightings have been very good. We have seen buffalo almost daily around the lodge. They are enjoying all the mud pools that are filled up with water and the thick grass growing along the drainages. It is bachelor groups only, no breeding groups, even though it has been nice seeing them even in some larger groups up to 20 which is quite large for males-only groups. They split and walk all over the traverse and then get back together again. Even though we had all this rain, the days have been really warm and humid. Hyena: This is usually a very common sighting throughout the traverse and something Makumu has been known for, but we really struggled with hyena sightings. Their tracks are all over, every single road and they come through camp. We just can’t seem to find them and every time we do, then they just disappear into the thick bush. The highlight of the month: This was definitely the pack of 30 wild dogs we had around the camp for the day. They swam through the river early on in the morning from east to west and moved up to the lodge. As usual, the vultures were following hoping for a free meal. The dogs made 3 different kills throughout the

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