After an amazing morning safari the guests were rearing to go. I had decided that we would leave for safari a half an hour later and then stay out a little later; firstly because it was 38°C, and secondly so that we could be there and follow the lions as they moved around on their evening hunt. As we left Little Bush Camp we were greeted by a herd of elephants feeding on marulas right next to the road. This time of the year we seem to have more elephants than impala due to the abundance of marula fruit falling from the trees. The elephants love the stuff and they are not the only ones. In the last few weeks I have seen baboons, monkeys, impala, duiker, kudu, warthog, tortoises, rangers, guests and many different birds all feeding on this fruit and with 4 times the Vitamin C found in an orange, there is no wonder why.

As we watched the herd we finally notice a week old elephant calf sleeping in the grass as the rest of the herd fed around it. When it was time to move off the mother came up and started nudging it with her feet and trunk to wake the little one up and also cash in on the stash of marula he had been lying on. In a daze the little one staggered to its feet, wobbled on its week-old legs and then flopped straight back down to sleep. Of course all the ladies in the vehicle let off a broody... aaaahhhh... and I am sure that even the men were thinking it. Eventually, after a 5-minute snooze, he got up and the herd moved on to the next marula tree to delicately pick the fruit up and eat to their hearts content.

We also managed to find a buffalo later that was relaxing and ruminating as the sun set. He was very relaxed, part asleep when his head suddenly lifted to smell the air. Then immediately he was alert and got to his feet to be in a better position to react to any potential danger. We had no idea what it was worried about until a hyena came strolling up the road behind us. They stood there staring at one another for about a minute before the buffalo charged the hyena sending it scurrying into the thick bush.

Once we had finished with drinks we started to make our way to the lions who by this stage had got up and started moving. When we got to them they were all milling around in Selati Camp’s parking area. They walked straight past the suites and across the river. We followed them through the dark night as an impending storm lit the sky up with bolts of lightening. The atmosphere was amazing as we followed the king of the night through the African bush with a major fireworks display going on in the sky. What a way to finish off a perfect day!