Madikwe, pronounced mah-DEEK-way, is a private game reserve in South Africa’s North West Province, bordering Botswana. It’s about 750 square kilometres and is totally surrounded by fence in order to keep the animals in and the poachers out.
Thanks to Project Phoenix, more than 8000 animals, including 340 different species of birds, were transported over a period of seven years in order to establish this wildlife sanctuary on what was mostly failed farmland. There’s an army of anti-poachers keeping 24/7 vigilance against those who would mutilate or kill these gorgeous animals for personal profit.
It is among only a handful of game reserves in the world established as one the most sustainable and suitable land uses in the area.
Now. On to
The First Morning Drive
There’s a knock on my door at 05.00. Since I’m ready to go (I've been up for a while in eager anticipation), I follow the lady with the torch to the Lodge’s main hall.
This morning we focus on lions.
Mitch drives to a different part of the reserve and we are in luck. (He knows where he's going.)
First, he hears a conversation between two lions. It’s a bunch of roars. We drive toward the closer roar; and are rewarded with two large females and two juveniles. The kids are harassing a nest of ring-tailed mongooses (not mongeese). They chitter away in their den while the kids try to figure out a way to get at them. They can’t.
They eventually tire of their efforts and tag along after their mothers. The mongooses peek out, up into the sunlight, to make sure the little predators are gone. Then they are off on their daily search for food.
We drive along the road and stop well short when we see the four lions ambling onto said road.
The little ones decide to plop down in the centre of the road, onto the warm sunlit dirt. The first mama crosses to the other side, but the second joins the children.
We sit quietly, far enough away that the felines take little notice of us.
Mama lion rolls onto her side.
But then she perks up, sits up and begins a heart-stopping series of grunts, calling out to other lions, calling out to papa lion; calling out to other females by marking her territory with her grunts.
Mitch tells us the lion’s grunt can be heard from miles away. I can feel it in my bones. You can see how the female uses her entire body to make those sounds.
The other safari car includes both a ranger in the driver’s seat and a tracker sitting on the left front fender with his binoculars. (we don’t have a separate tracker: Mitch is both Ranger and Tracker. And he’s good. Very good.)
The tracker adjusts his binoculars, which attracts one of the lionesses, and not in a good way. She turns to him and gives him the evil eye and a short but loud growl. The meaning is clear: “Don’t mess with us.”
A blond lion appears strolling across the road. You can see they’ve all had a kill during the night by their full bellies.
I watch with equal parts fascination and trepidation as the troop of five stroll past us down the road, only 10 feet away. There is no fence, no barrier between us and certain death if any of them decides they want us for lunch. (Well, Mitch has his rifle.) Whatever Mitch is saying while that lioness strolls past, I do not hear. I am on her side of the car and she is just a might too close for me to do anything else but pay attention and be quiet. Most especially when she looks at me!
When they move on, so do we, in search of the other male.
We find him, along with two other females and a younger cub.
Apparently, the two sets of females don’t like each other. (Mitch knows all.)
While these entertaining cats monopolise our morning, we still manage to see:
Wonderful warthogs - Mitch says they make great pets but they’ll ruin your garden
Wildebeests AKA gnus - bigger than I expected
Springboks and impalas So many so many! And a kudu or two.
Also giant Matabele ants, a dung beetle pushing his baseball-sized ball of dung across the road (with his back feet - an intriguing sight)
A lilac breasted roller and his cousin the purple breasted roller - both of these small birds will eat a mouse whole. A mouse the same size as the bird.
We stop for our morning coffee in the bush. It's laced with a bit of creamy Amarula, a liqueur made from the nut of the marula tree. It makes for an especially tasty morning coffee.
On the way back to the Lodge and breakfast we pass a lone wildebeest (gnu) sitting in the morning sun, waiting for his lady love. Mitch says he is seen here almost every day, but alas the female gnu never shows.
Later, we are once again seated for lunch down on the lawn across from the watering hole. We are served by a gentle, friendly man named Innocent. He regales us with the story behind the very nice white wine we are drinking, MAN wine. It is named for the wives of the three men who are the vintners.
Three men would go off together, to where, their wives did not know. After several days of the men disappearing the wives became cross and demanded to know what these guys were doing. Of course they thought the guys were just going to the bars. It turns out they were making wine.
They name their wine MAN wine, in honour of their three wives: M for Marie, A for Anette, and N for Nicky. You can find this fun history at www.manwines.com
Next stop:
The Saturday Afternoon Drive
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