June turned into the month of the lions! ย There has been a marked increase in lion activity around the camp over the last couple of years – most welcome indeed. ย We had an early morning visit just behind the kitchen which guests got to be part off which was fantastic. ย The one lioness was getting a bit antsy and the adrenaline in JohnD and myself was pumping…. ย but we did manage to rattle off a couple of pictures before we ran out of bravery pills….
Then a few days later the camera trap caught them walking through the campsite:
June is also the month when we do our protective burns around the camp. ย We have fine-tuned this over the last couple of years and obtained some proper equipment, and this year we were delighted to have the Game Rangers International fire team work with us. ย It is huge fun (sometimes a bit nerve wracking) as well as vitally important.
It is also the month when we start seriously gathering in thatching grass. ย This year we have to re-roof several chalets (mostly because the monkeys pull the grass out!). ย In between cutting grass, Mr Gibson and his crew do a bit of a side business in supplying baobab fruit for the Kaingu Lodge baobab welcome lemonade.
And then in stark contrast to the organised chaos of the fathers and kids fishing group in May we had a very different group. ย A ladies ‘healing and wellness’ weekend was held at the lodge. ย Again, the whole lodge was booked out and various activities were held. ย All the ladies were enthused about our various locations for sunsets, picnic lunches, meditations and so on.
I have to confess that the male staff component were not that excited about this, so Kaley and Israel decided to get into slightly more adrenaline filled stuff on a day with no guests. ย I stood by with a camera to catch some action. ย This practise session was well timed as the canoeing activities shortly thereafter started to get more and more popular.
And then equally exciting (well, almost) was a spot of birding while waiting for Kaley and Israel to bring guests down to our pickup point at the bottom of ‘snake island’. ย A Turraco – finally!!!! And the humble forked-tailed drones with their aerobatic hawking. ย Turracos are very very difficult to catch with a camera – they are always highly furtive and seem to be completely allergic to cameras!
We leave you with a few more images from June.
