Majete Wildlife Reserve

Morning Game Drive

Following information about Samuel - our driver-guide - received last night about a lion sighting, he heads towards the airfield. We do see lion tracks, but no lion.

Cheetah

What we do see soon after, however, is a male cheetah walking along the road, blending extremely well into the undergrowth.

This is the son of Nora, one of the original four cheetahs introduced to the park from South Africa in 2019. Her two cubs have been seen hanging around in this area, while mum has moved further south within the park. The adult cub wanders down to a tree where he marks his territory before sniffing and hanging around the tree for a while.

He then looks at us as he sprints across the road.

Such a magical moment, and we are the only ones to experience it. Samuel is on the radio to the other cars, but before they have a chance to get here, the magnificent animal has disappeared into the bush once more.

Rhino Tracks

Samuel spots tracks in the sand belonging to the elusive rhino and gets very excited. He explains that a team of trackers is employed purely to keep an eye on where the rhinos go. They have to find one rhino every day and submit a photo.

The way this stick has been cut diagonally as if by a knife, confirms that a rhino has indeed passed by here.

Samuel also points out a burrow in the ground. He is able to pinpoint the type of animal that has used this crevice from the type of roots left over. This one belongs to a porcupine. I would love to see a porcupine, but sadly they are nocturnal, so not likely to show their face at this time of day.

Impala

In the cold mornings (it is winter here in the Southern Hemisphere, of course), many of the animals keep warm by having their hairs stand on end to make their coat thicker, as you can see on this impala.

Hippos

Down at the Shire River, a number of hippos are grazing, and some are even out of the water.

There are a few crocodiles too.

A Pied Kingfisher hovers above the water before diving in for his breakfast.

An African Darter arrives after a fishing expedition and proceeds to dry his wings as he sits on a rock near the river.

As we make our way through the bush, we spot other birds and animals.

Little Bee Eater

Yellow Baboon

Collared Palm Thrush

Another Impala

Marabou Stork

Waterbuck

The management of Majete Wildlife Reserve was taken over by African Parks in 2003. Prior to this, Majete was an unknown reserve where almost all its wildlife had been hunted out – only a few antelope remained. Samuel shows us remains of a settlement in this area, a huge grinding stone that was too heavy to be transported when the villagers were relocated to make room for the wildlife reserve.

Juvenile Bateleur Eagle flying

I am particularly excited about seeing this Böhm's Bee Eater - it is one of many birds on my wish list.

Nyala

Breakfast

We go straight to breakfast on our return to the lodge.

My egg and bacon

David's full English breakfast

TrailCam

Last night we put a motion-activated TrailCam up just outside our room, but when we check out the memory card, we are disappointed to find that all we captured in the night was a domestic cat!

Waterhole

We spend the rest of the morning watching the animals at the waterhole located just beyond the restaurant, and we are certainly not short of visitors.

I spend some time chasing this Arnot's Chat around the bushes

Fork Tailed Drongo

Impala

Impala at the waterhole

Warthog arriving

Nyala arriving

Then something spooks them

They return

A tender moment

Suckling

Waterbuck

Lunch

I barely have time to stop for lunch which is served while we are busy photographing the animals:

Chicken wrap - while the wrap itself is quite hard to cut, the filling of minced chicken is warm and tasty, and the salad has a refreshing balsamic dressing

Banoffee Swiss Roll to finish - much of a nothingness, really

Kuche Kuche local beer

TrailCam

Being disappointed with the images from the traincam last night, David removes it from outside our room and with the help of a member of staff, places it on a tree overlooking the waterhole.

I return to my position by the waterhole after lunch.

Yellow Baboon

I think they look just like hairy spiders in this position

It's not until mum stands up that I realise she has a baby hanging under her belly. Lucky it didn't drown!

And then the elephants arrive

Afternoon Game Drive

Our chariot awaits, this time with a crate to help me climb in

The first wildlife we see on this drive is this Bateleur Eagle in a small pond

Fork Tailed Drongo

A young Waterbuck, part of a small creche involving several youngsters, while mum sits in the shade watching her offspring eat.

Shire River

We see this huge Verreaux's Eagle Owl on a branch, but whatever we do, we cannot get it to look around. Even driving to the other side of the tree, he is still looking away.

Eventually, he turns his head so that we can see the face. Samuel explains that their hearing is extremely fine-tuned as a result of one ear facing upwards and the other opening downwards towards the ground.

A bushbuck on the other side of the river

Yellow Baboons preening each other

Lion

Samuel gets a call on the radio to say that a lion has been spotted, and we race to the place only to find it has gone back into the bush. We can still make out his outline, however.

Lots of roaring takes place, apparently a ‘conversation’ between this lion and another one on the opposite side of the river. We hang around for some time, but the big cat seems quite content where he is. It is getting dark now, so we go for sundowners overlooking the river.

View of Kapichira Power Station from our picnic site

Just as we are finishing our drinks and snacks, a call comes on the radio to say the lion has made it out of the undergrowth and crossed the road in front of some of the waiting tourists. “I know where it will come out” Samuel states with confidence. He is right.

Along with a couple of other trucks, we follow the lion as he wanders left to right, and right to left, with guides shining powerful spotlights on him (avoiding his eyes as best as they can - they don't want to temporarily blind the poor thing)

Eventually, we leave him alone and head back to the camp. A Side Striped Jackal flits from one side of the road to the other, far too fast for me to photograph. Samuel stops, however, for this millipede on the side of the road.

When threatened, the worm-like bug curls up and turns red from cyanide production. Their main predator, the nocturnal civet, will shake the millepede to try and expel some of the poison before eating.

Thawale Lodge

Back at camp, we discover fresh elephant prints on the path leading to our room.

Dinner

To start we are served a very hot, very thick, and very tasty tomato soup.

This is followed by a T-bone steak, which is far too tough for my liking – I am struggling to even cut the meat with a steak knife. The vegetables are cold, but at least they are not overcooked. The sauce is nice and tasty, however.

Dessert is a Milk Tart, with a crusty and tasty base. A bit like a custard tart.

After dinner, we retire to our room to indulge in a little Duty-Free Tia Maria alongside a cappuccino (we brought some sachets along with us from England), while listening to the rustling caused by elephants gracing outside our room.

Thank you to Undiscovered Destinations for making this Great Africa Trip 2024 possible.