December brings us to the end of a very busy and productive year and renews our hopes and expectations of another great year at Chitabe to look forward to. As every year we again hosted 12 of our staff's children for our annual Christmas party and as always it was a huge success and fun was had by all. Our new little ambassadors for conservation were delighted by the plane ride into camp and the subsequent game drives and educational games that they had.

The bush is teeming with wildlife and around every corner you will find a newborn of every species, which has made for extraordinary game viewing. All the different shades of green, dotted with splashes of red, yellow and blue wild flowers, paint an amazing portrait of this beautiful place -  it's as if Monet himself used Chitabe as a canvas. The rain arrived quite late for the month but when it did arrive, we had an impressive downpour of 95mm over four days, which made the roads a bit more adventurous to drive on. All in all, we experienced great weather, as the thunderstorms would dissipate quickly, revealing clear skies.

For those of us who live and work here, this is probably one of our favourite times of the year! It's not just the lushness of the bush and the spectacular skies and sunsets which are so enhanced by the amazing light that radiates through; especially after a rain shower, but it is the abundance of new life that really makes it so special. From the summer migrant birds that call this home for a few months to the newborn zebra, wildebeest and impala to name a few, everything seems so fresh and joyful.

The wildlife sightings have been extraordinary, and the predators have put in some amazing displays for the guests. On one morning all the guests on the Chitabe Concession witnessed the Chitabe Pack of wild dogs make five kills in one morning - unfortunately the casualties were all newborn impala, but at this time of the year, that is the favoured prey.

The Chitabe Lion Pride are sporting some new additions to their own family with four newborns which are being watched closely by all members of the pride. We still have to see the new arrivals in our leopards, but the mothers are well and truly taking advantage of the lush green environment to conceal their young, so we'll have to keep you updated on this one, once we are able to identify them.

The collared cheetah female and her cub (which is the sole survivor of the four she originally gave birth to and who is already the same size as the mother) has put in regular appearances as well as chasing one of the planes upon landing at the Chitabe airstrip, which in itself has made the guests extremely happy. What a way to be welcomed at Chitabe!

"Loved the personal attention to detail. Staff are very personal and knowledgeable. Honeymoon special dinner was awesome/very appreciative. It was way more than we expected - it was beyond perfect!" Vanessa and Jonah.

"The guides were great and enthusiastic. They went out of their way to accommodate everyone's different needs. I would return in a heartbeat. It is hard to make such a remarkable place more amazing." Valerie.

"Saw amazing animals, Anthony was an excellent guide, the staff was incredibly friendly, and the food was amazing!" Jeremy. 

"Our guide was excellent! Patient and great with our family, very knowledgeable. Everyone was wonderful at the camp - so gracious and friendly. We loved the food." Cathy and Keri.

Managers: Trevor, Alex and Masedi. Moalosi and Kris at Lediba.

Guides: Gordon, Luke, Thuso, Barberton, Molemi and Anthony.