Notten’s Bush Camp day 3

We were again woken up by a gentle knock on the door telling us that it was time to get up for the morning game drive. This morning the sky is clear with a chink of dawn appearing on the horizon as we drank our hot drinks in the summerhouse before departing on the jeeps. It wasn’t long before we circled back towards Notten’s as one of the jeeps had spotted a pack of wild dogs. They had just feasted on a kill so were very happy and playful. They were a wonderful surprise as they are endangered because of rabies killing about half of their population. Before long we spotted an adult leopard creeping through the tall grass and crossing in front of our jeep. We were about to follow her when a message came through that something exciting had been spotted not too far away. Before long we spotted two lionesses each with two cubs strolling down the track. In the jeep we were able to follow then overtake them so that we could get a fantastic view as the pack headed towards the river bed. At one point the lions stopped as they sensed that there were water buffalo around the corner, hesitated and then decided to go an alternative route so the water buffalo couldn’t threaten them. It was wonderful to be so close to such magnificent animals.
Back at Notten’s we had breakfast and rested until lunch. After lunch we sat on our balcony as a few of the bush animals appeared in front of us; Kudu, waterbuck, impala and even an elephant visited!
Our final evening game drive begins with revisiting the lions that we saw this morning who had spent the whole day on the sandy dry riverbed. One of the lionesses was a bit restless and prowled past us as if heading out to keep guard. Leaving the lions we headed off agin, this time finding both a rhino and two elephants in the same spot. After that we turned back towards the backdrop of Notten’s to see if there were any birds in the pond. There were different storks from the morning - this time saddle-billed storks moving sideways through the water to catch fish. We also noticed an elephant right in front of the summer house. Tonight’s sundowner was close to Notten’s with another chance to listen to Joseph’s animal impressions in front of the camp fire. The stars were amazing tonight. We could clearly see the southern cross and its pointers as well as Orion. Dinner tonight was served in the summer house.Read more