African lions, butterflies and an elephant interaction

Rambo and me

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

The second full day of our safari tour (15 Sep) started with an early morning walk round the Lodge area, led by our guide Tommy. On the way to reception I came across an Impala. During the walk I photographed 9 species of butterflies and saw more, all warmed up and not wanting to pose much.

After lunch we visited Manyoni Private Game Reserve (formerly Zululand Rhino Reserve) where we enjoyed an elephant interaction at Bayete Zulu. This was followed by a tour of the reserve.

Impala, Aepyceros melampus

Impala

Umkhumbi Lodge reception

acacia thorn tree

bindweed

early morning walkers
Colin, Ina, Vanessa, Chris

Nyala ♂, Tragelaphus angasii

Monkey Orange, Strychnos spinosa

Red Duiker, Cephalophus natalensis

Red-veined Darter, Sympetrum fonscolombii

safari wagon

Tamboti tree, Spirostachys africana
the sap numbs gums

termite mound

Three-banded Plovers, Charadrius tricollaris

Tommy briefs the group

Tommy resting on the 'elbow' tree

Brown-veined White, Belenois aurota aurota

African Veined White, Belenois gidica abyssinica

I could not be certain about the species for these two Belenois butterflies so I obtained local expertise via www.ispotnature.org for the best id. The Northern Cupreous Blue was also identified by this method. The other ids were obtained using Butterflies of South Africa's National National Gardens

Common Orange Tip, Colotis evenina evenina

Common Orange Tip

Damara Copper, Aloeides damarensis

Dancing Acraea, Acraea serena

Dancing Acraea, Acraea serena

Ella's Bar, Cigaritis ella

Northern Cupreous Blue, Eicochrysops messapus mahallakoaena

Scarlet-tip, Colotis danae

Scarlet-tip

Silver-spotted Grey, Crudaria leroma

Afternoon tour:

Greater Kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros

Greater Kudu

African Elephants

Its feeding time and the rescue elephants Rambo, Rachel and Jabulani know where to come. Their early years made them dependant and as a result they crave human contact and are bonded to their handlers at the reserve.

Black-collared Barbet, Lybius torquatus

Burchell's Zebra, Equus quagga burchellii

Greater Kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros

Impala, Aepyceros melampus

Waterbuck, Kobus ellipsiprymnus

Nyala ♂, Tragelaphus angasii

Lions, Panthera leo

African Helmeted Turtle, Pelomedusa subrufa

Bateleur, Terathopius ecaudatus

Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Halcyon albiventris

Egyptian Geese, Alopochen aegyptiacus

Giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis

 

Nyala with an Impala

Greater Kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros

Greater Kudu

Greater Kudu

Nyala with an Impala

Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea

Hippos, Hippopotamus amphibius

Hippo

Hoopoe, Upupa epops

Impala, Aepyceros melampus

Lion, Panthera leo

Nile Crocodile, Crocodylus niloticu

Nile Crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus and African Helmeted Turtles, Pelomedusa subrufa

Three-banded Plover, Charadrius tricollaris

Water Thick-knee, Burhinus vermiculatus

Woolly-necked Stork, Ciconia episcopus

night time at the lodge:

Giant Red-legged African Millipede, Ephibolus pulchripes

Praying mantis

Raucous Toad, Amietophrynus rangeri

Speckled Emperor, Gynasia maia