August 2026

August is behind us and Spring has already forced its way in! We experienced a brief cold front this month, with temperatures dropping to as low as 0’C (32’F). There were also a few days of unusually warm weather for this time of the year, with our warmest temperatures going up to 34’C (93’F). As for general average temperatures of the month, highs were averaging around 28’C (82’F) and lows of around 12’C (54’F). With the weather patterns, we had a few cloudy days that provided us with magical sunsets. Our sunrise is currently at 6:25 and sunset at 18:04.

August has been an incredible month in the bush. Despite the indecisive weather, the game viewing has been wonderful. We didn’t have to look too far, and most of the game seemed to have been waiting for us to turn the corner and see them sitting there.

We have seen so much this month, where do we begin? Well for one, the lions were very active and spread out. Addo and Matata are still making waves, as is usual these days. The prides are seemingly more tolerable of them. However, we have heard that there are some new cubs in the Kietumetsi pride, so some of the females have ventured further west, outside of the territory that these males are now roaming. The remaining Kietumetsi females are still seen most days, and on of the females of this pride that is still very active in these parts is definitely show signs that she is nursing, so it is just a matter of time now. The Kwena pride members are sticking close to the river and venturing more south along the eastern boundaries, they are spending more time with the Bolokega and Lafathla Males. The one Kwena female that has just the one cub, is lingering fairly close to where Mateya is. We have seen her on quite a few occasions this month, and she is favouring the big dam just around the corner from us.

Once again, we have been seeing a lot of both the Spotted and Brown Hyenas this month. The Spotted Hyenas are still denning near Mateya, which means we have been getting to either hear or see them on the daily. We were treated by an incredibly and rare moment earlier this month, we got to see a Spotted Hyena carrying a nearly new born cub in her mouth. This is not a common sight, so much so, that we did a double take and had to look back to the photographs that we had taken, just to make sure it was indeed a baby spotted hyena. When they are born, they are almost completely black in colour, helping them to blend in perfectly inside the dark burrows where they are hidden. We assume that this mother was moving her young one to a communal den site.

There have been more frequent sightings of the Wild Dogs this month, at first, just the pack coming down to hunt and then heading back to the den site. Then they started spending more time away from the den and roaming further. And finally, there have been sightings of the new puppies! Numbers have not yet been confirmed, but it is looking like at least one of the packs has done very well in terms of puppies this year. We are very excited to get to spend time with them as soon as they start roaming the reserve! We are now heading into that time of the year when sighting of the wild dogs will become more plentiful.

As we head into our Spring, we must note that the vegetation seems extra ready for this season. The Shepherds trees, the Stinky to be more precise, have been smelling quite strongly already. So, if the smell is not to your liking, we will be looking for less fragrant trees to seek shade from during the heat of the weeks to come. The Yellow Pomegranates are already starting to paint various areas of Madikwe with the vibrant bright yellows. Most of the vegetation has dropped last seasons leaves and are starting to push the new growth out. Madikwe is changing colour again, and it is bound to be beautiful!

Until Next Time!

The Mateya Team.