A recent video of African wild dogs playing during a safari at the lodge. They love to run and they never seem to ran out of energy, but they are not the most acrobatic as you can see. It is always difficult to explain to guests how special it is to see these endangered animals as they do not possess the drawing power of lions or elephants but it is actually a lot more special to see them than almost any other animal on the African continent.

Mark took this video close to Pride rock on the 25th of March. He found the cubs again after a lengthy search much to the delight of the guests in his safari vehicle. The area around Pride rock is very rocky which makes it an ideal place for lions to hide their cubs as it provides safety from other predators. Their are about 5 -6 den sites spread out over the area and eager guides often go there first thing in the morning looking for the elusive cubs.

Guests visiting Pondoro saw a group of about 10 elephant bulls swimming at Ngwenya dam on the morning on the 19th of March. It is a very special sighting as we do not see this that often. The enjoyment for the elephants are easy to see and we sat for about 45 minutes enjoying their antics.

Mark and his guests had the rare privilege to find the lioness and her 3 cubs yesterday morning. The mother then proceeded to pick one up and took it to a new den site about 300 meters away. She then came back and fetched the others one by one. Very few people have managed to see this in the wild as cubs of this size are normally hidden in very thick bush far from any roads. Pondoro safari cruisers can drive off road making rare sightings like this possible. This one of the big advantages of visiting a private safari lodge as off road driving are not really permitted in Kruger National Park due to the number of private vehicles driving around.

A video taken by Mark one of the Pondoro guides of a playful elephant calf. It is such a privilege to go on safari and see how trustworthy the elephants are towards the safari vehicles and where they allow us to get so close. They are however wild animals and one must remember never to become complacent.

Young calves never venture too far from their mothers and the bond is incredibly strong. The vehicles are such fun as it helps to break the monotony of following their boring mother.