News / Camp News

The area is still looking nice and green, making the 180°-view we have from Ongava Lodge even more beautiful. The rain took a break towards the end of January, and the animals are now showing up regularly at the waterholes and giving guests excellent sightings.

The temperature can climb to as warm as 38ºC (100°F) in the afternoons and some guests opt to go for the afternoon drive at 17h00 instead of 16h00. It starts getting a little cooler after 17h00 and that's when the wildlife starts moving from away from the shade and out into the open at the waterholes - especially rhino and lion.

We had amazing sightings at the waterhole in front of Ongava Lodge this month - as well as the rest of the Reserve. A lot of black rhino have been coming to drink at the waterhole. We even saw up to six rhino at the waterhole on some evenings. They don't share the waterhole - they always give each other a little space. The "strongest" will have a drink, move away to the salt stones, and the next will move to the waterhole, have a drink and move away, and so it goes... This is very interesting to watch.

The lions belonging to Stompie's Pride are still around and roaring near camp in the early mornings. The guests love this and can't imagine a better wake-up call. The lion have tried to hunt at the waterhole in front of Ongava, but to no avail - perhaps because the area is too open and the animals can see them from far enough away to escape safely. Having said that, there was a zebra killed just 500 metres away from the waterhole. It was lunchtime and suddenly we heard what sounded like lion fighting. When we drove to where the noise was coming from, there was a fresh kill.

On one evening we witnessed five black rhino sharing a waterhole with two giraffe! I'm sure this isn't something that is often seen. It was quite extraordinary - and made for a very special Ongava evening.

Towards the end of the month, Abner, our guide, who is well known to be lucky in spotting cheetah on the Reserve, found three cheetah having a springbok for dinner. The guests were very impressed and so happy that they forgot to return to camp in time for dinner! They arrived very late and did not even mind. It is very rare to spot cheetah at Ongava as they are quite shy here.

Guides: Teacher, Abner, Kapona, Hennock, Lister and Michael

Managers: Adriano, Ment-Anna and George