Looking back…Jamala Madikwe in retrospect.

Before putting the Madikwe images into my archive,
I decided to share one last posting from our trip
to Jamala Madikwe.
This lion was not a happy “kitty”.
He seemed to be limping and the rest of the coalition
left  him lying under the trees to rest his leg.
I do hope that he has recovered and is once again at full strength.
An injury to a predator can have dire consequences.

Mating season and the stallions were fighting for dominance.
50 shades of Black and White?
Every day of our visit provided images of fierce competition.
Luckily, nothing fatal, but a LOT of biting and kicking

Hip, Hip, Hippo…
Although NOT one of the Big 5,
the hippo is responsible for more deaths on the African continent
than all of the Big 5 combined!

Spider webs in the early morning light
These brothers look like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths.
They were having a post kill drink…
You can see battle scars on this fellow’s face.
A result of fights between them to establish mating rights.

While the ladies in their lives played with elephant dung.
Well they ARE cats after all…
And they can inflict some of the scars as well.
Dating in the bush is NOT easy,
and the “women” can be VERY choosy!

This is often the view that predators have of Impala.
Often referred to as the MacDonalds of the bush,
these antelope are eaten by almost everything.
From pythons to baboons and most predators in between.
If you believe in reincarnation,
then you DO NOT want to return as one of them!

A young leopard watching his potential meal vanish.
We saw this fellow twice, but without a kill on both occasions

“Madness” in the eye of this stallion.
As we did not see any actual mating,
I cannot say who won or lost the battle

I am grateful to have been able to photograph
these Rhino before they all vanish.
Despite the best attempts of various conservation organizations,
they continue to be slaughtered.

Not certain what this male was trying to accomplish,
other than get a face full of mud.
Considering the two females that he was with were ignoring him,
perhaps this was to make him feel better

Despite their place in African folklore
and their almost satanic connotations,
I do like the spotted hyena.
They are great family creatures and
the interaction between young and old
is a joy to behold.
This particular individual was alone and
my hope was that the rest of the pack was not too far away

I wonder what the Zebra is thinking.
The group of Banded Mongoose disappeared under a bush,
and the zebra stuck his nose in to see what they were

Elephants at water holes do NOT like competition.
This teenager took his job seriously and chased every other animal away.
Including a journey of giraffe that took off leaving this one behind.

“I just washed this and now I can’t do ANYTHING with it”…
Mud = Happy Ellie.

“He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother”…

Probably Africa’s MOST dangerous mammal.
Hence the African Buffalo being Number 1 on the Big 5 list.
Maybe not officially, but certainly as far as I am concerned.

Time to head back to camp…

Happy to have survived the day?

Lazarus, our Jamala ranger that made magic happen…
My brother from another mother!
On our first visit 2 years ago he was on leave,
I am glad that we finally got to spend time together

To find out more about what this wonderful Lodge has to offer,

please visit their web site:

Carolyn and I on our final evening game drive