Did you know that cheetahs can’t really be said to be territorial cats like lions, but they still leave their mark, by which they signal their presence? Rhulani’s ranger Alasdair tells us more today about the scent marking of the two cheetah brothers, the “Phinda Males” that we recently found.

This zebra has found a branch at a suitable height where it can scratch its back, and that feels so good. Great sighting!

In the last few days we have installed a camera at various beautiful spots in the Madikwe Game Reserve and can now watch the sunsets, the animal visiting the watering holes and the idyll of the African bush in time lapse. Enjoy it!

We are now in the middle of the winter season, where the days are sunny and dry, but also shorter and quite cold, especially at night. All the better that the plunge pools on the outside decks of our guest chalets are heated.

The two young lion cubs have grown dear to us and especially to Ranger “Captain Redbeard” Alasdair. He is always so happy when he finds the young cats somewhere out in the bush and sees how they grow up and that they are doing well. The cubs are also special to him because there hasn’t been a lion birth in our region of Madikwe Reserve for many years. On a recent game drive there was an extremely remarkable sighting.

Two lionesses, very quiet and inconspicuous, but purposeful on their way under cover of night. What are the two big cats up to?

Did you know that elephants love to frolic in the water? Rhulani’s ranger Willem tells us more about such sighting he had at one of our full dams, explaining that in the very dry Madikwe Reserve this was an exceptional sighting that occurs in the rainy season only.

It was almost completely dark when we drove past this watering hole and spotted a cheetah that came here to drink water. The light was no longer good, but the wildcat’s reflection in the water made for a special moment.

The search for water is and remains one of the challenges for Rhulani Safari Lodge. In today’s blog we will show you the result of our last search. In the middle of the lodge area, we actually found - quite surprisingly - what appeared to be a very good water vein, and the drilling then brought a positive result.

So-called “geophage” is a behavior that can be observed in many mammals, also in Madikwe Game Reserve. Here we see a Klipspringer. Geophage means the animal is feeding on soil, deriving nutrients from soil or the sediment as a result of starvation or lack of something in the diet.