We’ve been incredibly lucky with wonderful sightings in the past few weeks. The predators have been of particular interest, varying from wild dogs, to cheetah and numerous lion and leopard sightings.

Sabi Sabi, with its beautiful plains areas attracts large amounts of general game species, particularly zebra, wildebeest and large herds of impala. On an afternoon safari a couple of days ago, myself and my guests witnessed two zebra stallions fighting with each other for females. These fights can often become very violent and often ends in death.

This cheetah sighting was particularly memorable. When I asked my guests what they were hoping to see during our morning drive, they all simultaneously said cheetah!!! I laughed it off and explained how rare they are and how unlikely a sighting would be, when all of a sudden Ruth called in on the radio that she had found one! We quickly joined Ruth in the area and were elated when the cheetah moved out of the thicket, straight towards our vehicle. We spent quite some time with the cheetah, even following it down to a watering hole, where it drank, alongside a large elephant bull.

On the following afternoon drive, we had a magnificent sighting of a pride of lions, in perfect afternoon light, walking in an open clearing, not too far away from Bush Lodge.

The leopard sightings have also been unforgettable. We’ve had several days of windy or overcast weather, which provides the predators with a good opportunity to go hunting, whilst remaining largely undetected. For this reason, I was lucky to see several kills hoisted up into trees by various leopards, and have also seen the leopard cub, alongside her mother, in the south on a few occasions too.

The wild dog sightings have been unbelievable! One morning, we followed a large pack of wild dogs around and eventually they spotted an impala in the distance. The chase was on! They managed to make the kill very quickly but were forced off the kill by nearby hyenas. The action was unbelievable, and the sounds were unforgettable.