Summer and Christmas of 2024
Where have the last 3 months gone to. I could not believe it when I went to check the date of the previous blog only to discover that I have not written anything since Tony Park came to do his book launch. I kept saying to myself I needed to sit down and do something, but I must admit in all honesty that time has just flown by.
There has been so much happening in these final few months of 2024 as well and I think the longer I left it the more daunting the prospect of writing a blog became. Some of the news is old by now but I feel I must still include it for any of you that may not have seen any posts on our social media in the interim.
A night to remember for our solitary guest
The end of September probably created the most memorable sighting to date from inside the hide. For once there were guests in camp to witness it- OK maybe only one guest. Jordi had visited us on his own for 3 nights and had such great sightings I am not sure he will be able to match them when he returns in 2025. Sitting alone in the hide on his 2nd night here he was privileged to see a pack of ten wild dogs come past. Messages started coming through on my phone along with photos. I was torn as to whether to go down and join him in the hide, but I chose not to. A few minutes later he messaged to say they had killed something, but he could not see as it was behind the bushes. I am convinced they had taken the female bushbuck who had become so relaxed around the camp with her lamb. I have not seen her again since that fatal night. Not long after a lioness ran past followed by three hyenas. In the ensuing chaos, the dogs moved off and the hyenas ended up with the scraps while at the same time harassing the lioness. She was so flustered by their attention she ended up running back towards the hide and climbed into the Leadwood tree next to the hide. Once she had managed to get back down again, she tried to depart past the open shutters only to get a fright when she saw Jordi filming the whole episode from the hide. A quick snarl, a dropped camera, and she turned and ran off past the far side of the waterhole. Follow this link to watch the drama, https://youtu.be/20_QgQByMOE
October 2024
October was also a busy month at the camp with a few return guests and some new ones. The predators were quite active with several sightings from the hide. A few of our recently introduced friends whose name I cannot mention for obvious reasons also came past creating quite a bit of excitement for everyone. There were a couple of sets of days when the elephants went away on holiday, only to return in numbers. There is almost a trend that every 3 weeks or so they go away for 3-4 days and enjoy someone else’s water.
We had a visit by a leopard the one night. This individual seemed to be quite nervous on the camera and I don’t believe we have seen her here before. It was on the same night as the one pride of lions, so maybe there was good reason to be nervous. Trap cameras are wonderful for collecting information while we all sleep!
A memorable sighting away from the camp was of a pride of around sixteen lions feeding on an elephant carcass. The elephant was killed by another elephant and the lions took advantage of the feast on offer. We were lucky enough to be able to watch this over about 8 days and there were some amazing photos taken by various guests. It is not everyday that you are lucky enough to watch something like this.
The lion and the elephant
November saw the onset of the rainy season. Or should we rather say a couple of decent storms which gave us around 90mm of rain- there has been precious little since then! There was a distinct change in the activity at the hide as a result. Sightings were basically restricted to elephant and impala with the odd kudu and predator showing up. Even the impala were quite scarce by their usual standards. This is not to be unexpected considering there would be water lying in natural pools across the reserve now.
However, the highlight of November was the dramatic story of a young lion who showed up and was so thin it was doubtful he would survive much longer. It would usually be a case of leaving natural events to play out their course, but a turn of events meant we had to intervene.
I was busy trying to sort of some new lights and repositioning one of the cameras at the far side of the waterhole when looking up I noticed this young lion had come down for a drink. He settled down on the opposite side of the water and lay down in the shade of the hide resting up against the shutters. Realising that he was in no fit state to pose a danger to me I continued with my tasks only to be disturbed by splashing water- an elephant had snuck in quietly past me and was drinking a few meters from the lion. Time for a photo I decided. I still have to pinch myself to think I was sitting on the ground with a lion and an elephant only 12m away from me.
As the day moved on, so the lion decided it was time to find a cooler spot and he found a gap between the fence and the hide and went and lay down by the door to the hide. (That gap has since been closed off!) Our guests could not believe their luck, but they would like to get into the hide at some stage to get their photos. The warden was called and after luring the lion out of the camp with an impala and realising that even that was too much for him to consider eating, the vets were called and sadly a decision was taken to humanely euthanise the lion. This was the only right decision that could have been taken once the wounds were examined and the extent of his condition established. A sad day but one in which we were all thankful that we had actually done something right to ease and end the suffering of an animal.
Maintenance and a sprinkling of baby impala
The end of November saw more important maintenance being done during a spell without guests. Some of you who had been to the camp recently would have noticed the drawers in the kitchen cupboards were not looking their best anymore. Water had got into the woodwork, and this required us stripping them all out and rebuilding. The cause of the leak was not seepage under the draining board like I had assumed but it turned out to be a leaking pipe in the wall and so the job got bigger and bigger. Anyway, a couple of days later everything was back to working order and hopefully there will be no more issues for many years to come.
We also installed a TV monitor in the dining area so that our professional photographic guides can conduct workshops on photo editing with their guests. I am sure someone though will use it for other purposes even though we discourage that- after all the only TV you really need at the camp is a live stream from inside the hide
Usually by the end of November the rains will have started in earnest, the bush would be lush, and the grass would be knee high and there would be loads of baby impala running around and many others too. The rains have still not come, other than the 90mm in November, and the grass is still not growing. The trees are full in leaf and seem to have swallowed up all the previous rainfall and so the bush has an illusion of being green and verdant but if you look beyond the trees, it is obvious we are heading into a dry season. The impalas are still to drop their babies, and we are almost halfway into December already. There are maybe a handful here and there, but they are definitely way beyond their due date. To make conditions worse we are also experiencing some severe hot days when the mercury reaches into the mid 40’s. On the trail camera on the hide the temperature actually recorded as 53C one day- admittedly the camera is in full sun and so those temperatures are elevated.
Recently Mel and I were treated to a great sighting of Minona, the female leopard who regularly comes past the waterhole. Sadly, for Mel it was a very frustrating moment as her camera is sitting in Jo’burg being repaired and so all she could manage was a few photos and videos with her mobile phone. That night and the following night also had a couple of lion prides come past around midnight, but we were fast asleep in our beds!
2024 overall has been a wonderful year for us at Antares and we have been privileged to welcome at least 690 guests at the camp. Over 150 days of the year saw the camp occupied and we are grateful for all the support that has come our way. 2025 is already filling up fast and we look forward to another successful year. We hope to see many return guests but also some new faces and as always, we hope the animals play their part in allowing our guests to capture their treasured memories. Wishing you all a very joyous Christmas and a very prosperous New Year.