All good things...

...must come to an end...eventually!

Another successful day in the lowveld as we enjoy a 'game drive selfie'!

Our 2015 part-time Nature Enthusiast Course is drawing to a close with the assessment weekend coming up in two days' time. This is always the toughest challenge but, as we reflect back on what has been an incredible year, we are grateful for the things we've learned and the lifelong friendships that have been made!

Each year at graduation we have students who tell us that they wish they could capture and 'bottle' the essence of the course so that they can somehow explain to and share with others how wonderful and how life-changing this course has been for them.

Perhaps you are one of our graduANTs, nodding in agreement as you read this!

The best we can do, for those who are yet to experience the magic, is to take you on a visual stroll through time as we present our 'Nature Enthusiast Course class of 2015' in pictures - enjoy!

The ANT Blog

The year starts off in our lecture venue - Henley Business School - with an orientation
evening - here Nicky is talking about why and what we recycle

Andre shows Mariana what to look for when examining a leaf at our introductory tree practical

Chris and Sara look closely at features like the leaf margin and venation

Arlene makes expert use of her loupe to see if there are any secretory cavities

Even the smallest students are treated with care - here Lorraine shows them a special leaf

Annie shows Dave an infloresence - the key to identifying grasses

Salim uses his loupe to great effect as he admires the Red Grass spikelet



Dave and Jenny make use of the outdoor classroom to teach a few grass id basics

Meet some of our mentors - Carla is the rose between the thorns here
- sorry Stephan and Dave junior!

Camping is completely new to some of our students, but they soon grow to love it!

The pool is an attractive feature during summer...but this year has been
an unusually rainy one, so it's been somewhat under-utilised!

The most effective way to learn how to identify grasses is by using display samples

One of the field work groups has a practical session with our resident expert, Lorraine

Rod oversees Deepak as he works out which grass is which

Andrew Hankey - the tree expert -  is one of our favourite lecturers who liberally
shares his knowledge with us on weekend practicals




Deepak holds his leaf up to the light to see if there are any bacterial nodules

Chris enjoys putting his newfound skills to use

What bushveld experience is complete without a good old South African braai?!



Welcome to our piece of paradise in the lowveld - your home-away-from-home ...
...Nkombe Camp! We trust that your week here will leave you with many happy memories!



Our friendly photographer, Justin van Doorene,
goes to great lengths to capture that perfect image!



...and here you have a bird's eye view of our social centre



Rowan gave Justin a run for his money whilst trying to capture
a dragonfly in flight over this pond



One of our favourite drainage line crossings onto an open area



During summer, we have the added challenge of water crossings!

One of the groups after their bush interpretation weekend

It's such a treat to walk in the bush! Here Freddy discusses the finer points of tracking

The first group were fortunate enough to have seen Wild Dogs on foot - what a triumph!

One of our favourite parts of the day involves reading the 'bushveld newspaper'

Chanyn explains to Lee and Mariana how you can tell which direction the elephant is going

Everyone cranes their necks to see the three rhinos
that are just on the other side of that bush...exciting!

Before each walk, the students get a chance to give the pre-trail brief

Our trails guides explain the rapid digestion of elephants



Conrad watches Keegan and Lee as they dig in a dry riverbed for water

After just having watched a crash of rhinos coming down to drink at the waterhole,
we had an opportunity to look at their tracks and signs



This occasion was very special - we heard a female kudu making regular, loud, alarm calls and we noticed the group all staring in the same direction...but as much as we looked, we could not see what she was warning them about...until a yellow blur dashed across the road in front of us and into the riverbed - it was a leopard - what an amazing sighting and all the more special to see the textbook come alive!

The following animal pictures have been captured by one of our students - Mariana Arnoldi - thank you very much for sharing them with us all - enjoy!



Is this a male or female warthog...and how can you tell?




Knowing the scarcity of these animals makes it
even more of a thrill to see them!

Not much water around, yet this Green-backed Heron!



Fork-tailed Drongo - look out for that wine-red eye!

Female buffalo just chewing the cud



We thought this was a funny place for the oxpecker to sit!



This hornbill waited for our crumbs to drop at the coffee stop

 

This guy's stomach was so distended we think he may well have eaten an entire buffalo by himself!

We end off with a cute shot of this mother and baby Waterbuck - what an amazing experience!

What a week to be on foot...

Hi there everyone!

We had an extremely special week filled with unforgettable sightings of big game as well as invaluable experience and knowledge gained…

Walking in the bush is such a treat!

To experience the African bush on foot is truly a wonderful privilege. One uses all of one's senses to become a part of the wilderness. To view the Big Five on foot is a whole different experience than from a vehicle and, even though you can’t get as close to the animals on foot, I feel it is still a much better, priceless experience.

Our trails guides were lucky enough to experience this as they had all these brilliant animals on foot… in only one week!

On one particular day we were walking in the south of the reserve, which is an extremely beautiful area to be in on foot. We came across some buffalo, which we soon realised was a breeding herd. We planned the approach and halfway in we spotted some ears flicking around in the grass. We almost couldn’t believe our eyes as six lionesses were lying camouflaged in the tall grass not too far from the buffalo! We then did a successful (and unforgettable) approach on the lions as well as the buffalo before extracting out of the area. After walking a couple of minutes we then again found some buffalo in the distance. We planned another approach when, to our surprise, we noticed the lionesses to our left following the breeding herd! This was an unbelievable sighting as we got to see these animals in their environment carrying on with their natural behaviour - amazing!



We heard stories about other people's experiences with rhino middens

Another incredible walk took place as we approached a couple of elephant bulls very close to where our camp is. We approached and had a beautiful look at these magnificent animals as they continued feeding along the drainage line. As we extracted back to where we had come from, we heard a horrifying sound coming from a very short distance to our right. No-one knew what had made this frightening sound until we saw a leopard explode from the bushes only metres away from us! The female cat had dashed away from us into the drainage line and we actually had a surprisingly good visual of her as she walked on the other side of the dry riverbed. Something none of us will forget!

As if the above is not enough, we had what we called an 'Elephant Friday'…It all started on Thursday evening as the camp was woken up in the middle of the night by the majestic rumbling sound of elephants, followed by numerous trumpeting calls. All of this took place literally in our camp. This was the followed by the whooping and cackling of a hyaena clan in camp, as well as the moaning of a male lion coalition. It was one of those evenings where all the activity was at Nkombe Camp and it was definitely the place to be!

The next morning we set out for our walk, expecting some elephant encounters…and that is exactly what we got! We had encounter after encounter as the reserve seemed to be booming with elephants. We then experienced something extremely special and it must go down as my favourite sighting of all time… 

Watching the elephants going about their business

We approached a breeding herd of elephant that were far in the distance. We had elevation on our side, as well as a big termite mound on which we stood and viewed the animals.

We were lucky to see so many elephants!

We watched them from across a relatively open area, whereupon they decided to approach us. We stood our ground, knowing that we had the perfect extraction point, as well as being secure in the fact that it was the elephants choosing to approach us. We watched in admiration as the matriarch lead the rest of the group towards us. They eventually walked past us only twenty metres away and continued feeding on the go. It was such a spectacular sighting!

These are only a couple of examples of what the week had in store for us and what a fANTastic week it was! Unforgettable moments and, as always, so much to be learnt!

The ANT Blog

Ps. A big thank you to Craig Fitt for all the photos!



The group enjoys a moment to reflect on their amazing time in the bush!

 

The best sighting EVER...

Hi there everyone!

I’m not sure where to begin as this past week or so has been so eventful and has been filled with endless unforgettable, unbelievable sightings…

First of all, we have received some unexpected and much needed rain and this has brought forth a wide variety of life in the area (even more than usual!). The bush has started to turn a refreshing shade of green, with new shoots emerging on the recently burnt areas. This has made for fantastic scenery, coupled with the stunning animals which have been showing off for us these past few days.

Every day here in the middle of the African bush is a special one as each day brings new, unpredictable sightings along with more knowledge...which leads to a better understanding of how nature works. 

One day in particular stood out far above the rest and it started out like every other day. We woke up to an overcast morning and decided to go out for a game drive to see what the bush had to offer. It turned out to be more than anyone would ever have expected…

 

A young Buffalo calf

The first incredible sighting was one of an enormous herd of buffalo. We switched off the vehicle and watched in amazement as we became surrounded by these amusing bovids. We were lucky enough to see all sorts of behaviour from youngsters suckling to impressive bulls head-butting one another and even saw how one male actually mounted another in order to show his dominance! At times we had no clue where to look, as all this entertaining activity was taking place around us. I personally love viewing buffalo as they each  have their own facial expressions which ensure there is never a dull moment…

The gorgeous male leopard

We then came across a scene in which a very young male leopard had stored an impala kill in a massive Jackalberry tree. He had been feeding on this along with his mother for the past two days and he was panting from gorging himself on his well-deserved meal.

We found him lying comfortably with his limbs hanging either side of a large branch with his kill not too far away on a lower branch. This was an absolute treat as we could view the gorgeous cat only metres away from us without any obstructions. We then realised that his mother was lying in a patch of dense vegetation in close proximity to the tree, which was even more of a bonus. Scanning the surroundings of the open area, we saw a couple of old buffalo bulls which were also very close to the leopard. They showed interest for a moment or so then remained unfazed with the predators nearby and carried on with their normal behaviour.

After a couple of minutes, something appeared in the far distance across the plains…a lion! We could not believe our eyes, as we looked through our binoculars to see a dishevelled and hungry-looking male lion which appeared out of nowhere. We decided to drive closer to inspect the scruffy cat as he sat staring into the distance towards the leopard kill. We stopped near the lion, expecting him to remain lazy and lethargic, as most lions do during the day...until the wind direction changed and he got a whiff of a much needed meal! He immediately got up and walked past and behind our vehicle (as if deliberately using it as cover) and made his way across the open area towards the leopards.


The lion stealing the kill

His eyes remained focused on the lifeless impala and he started to gain speed and run to the tree, without even glancing in the direction of some very angry and alert buffalo nearby. 

We were absolutely stunned by the scene unfolding before our eyes and somehow it was all happening so quickly…Before we knew it, the mother leopard had scattered out from behind the bushes and disappeared in a flash. The young male shot higher up the tree and found himself balancing amoung the flimsy, thin branches, left only to watch dumbfounded as the lion clumsily climbed the tree to steal his kill. The lion struggled to keep his balance and quickly returned to the ground with the remains of the impala. He then proceeded to consume the rest of the kill, biting and chewing through the carcass in minutes, whilst the leopard remained helpless in the safety of the Jackalberry. The sighting of a lifetime!

 

A magical moment...

We were convinced we had seen it all and thus didn’t expect to have another unbelievable sighting but, once again, we were proven wrong… After some classic sundowners in the bush, we were on our way back to camp when one of the students spotted some eyes reflecting in the distance. We assumed it was Impala, as usual, until we approached closer...to find that it was actually a leopard!

When we got close enough, we were delighted to see that it was in fact a mother leopard as well as her cub. We could not believe our luck as we followed these two leopards and watched the playful cub wander about and interact with her mother. It was a unique sighting and we spent quite a bit of time with them, enjoying observing their natural behaviour. The leopards eventually came to a water-hole where they had a drink before moving off into the night.  It was such a memorable experience! 

Life's tough in Africa!

After this we had another fantastic sighting of a male cheetah as well as at least fifty Marabou storks, African Fish eagles and many more! We have been extremely lucky and never take anything for granted…Today the students start with lodge placements at one of the prestigious lodges in the area where they will get the full experience of how a lodge environment works. Exciting!

Stay tuned to see what happens next…

The ANT Blog

Another fantastic sighting of two lions doing what they do best!

The King of the Jungle stares intently into the distance...

A Spotted Hyaena near the Leopard kill