Summer rains turn the Lowveld into a lush paradise.
2025 has come alive with some good rains and a flush of dense grass cover and trees in full leaf. The transformation has been nothing short of magical, with the reserve now boasting numerous puddles of water, offering a host of choices for animals to drink from and create favoured mud wallows. Consequently, viewing from Umgede Hide has dropped off compared to the end of 2024, but this hasn’t meant we have been deprived of some great sightings.
2024 ended with quite a dry spell, and with the impalas only lambing late in the middle of December, it did feel as though we were heading for a potential drought. However, some intense rain showers early in January seem to have quashed that fear, and the grass and other small herbaceous plants have created a real dense ground layer. Compare these two photos from the hide camera taken only 3 weeks apart, at the end of December and in the third week of January.
Spotting lions that are sleeping in the grass is a challenge, but it does create opportunities for great composition with photos when they decide to lift their heads above the grass or the elephants fill their mouths with one trunkful of verdant fodder after another. Maybe it is better to search for leopards on top of the rocky koppies where there is less obstruction.
In December, we saw two male lions feeding on a young giraffe near the road, providing excellent views for 2-3 days.
There were many young animals, especially after the impalas lambed. The mothers initially looked thin but have regained their health with good grazing, showing shiny and healthy coats again.
During game drives, we enjoyed watching 4-5 jackal puppies, especially one curious pup that often approached our vehicle. Although the dense vegetation now obscures the puppies, we still occasionally spot them near the road in January.
Birdlife on the reserve has been thriving. Hornbills are tending to their young at camp, while cape glossy starlings appear to be nesting in a dead tree by the waterhole. Broad-billed rollers have made a few exciting appearances, a first for Ian in December. A black stork paid a visit to the waterhole, while white storks arrived on the reserve in large numbers briefly, and marabou storks have been more frequently seen. Red-billed queleas are currently in small flocks, but may form larger groups as grass seeds become abundant.
