June 2026

Another month has wandered by leading us straight over the hallway mark for the year! The winter solstice was on the 21^st of June and it brought some rainfall along with it. It is certainly not typical to receive rainfall so late into the year, but from the previous months’ updates, this year has been a bit strange in terms of weather patterns. Now with June and the Shortest day of the year behind us, we can start to look forward to our days getting longer again, but with that, we are also expecting the coldest of the weather to still come through. The sunrise is currently at 6:58 and sunset at 17:35. The temperatures for this month were mostly cold with a few days that felt like freezing! Our average temperatures were at highs of 25’C (77’F) and lows of 5’C (41’F).  The unexpected rainfall we had this month was a total of 18mm, just enough to settle the dust for a day.

The wildlife this month has spoiled us with some incredible and bizarre sightings! With all the weather changes, we were not expecting too much, but we were definitely left speechless and overwhelmed in the best ways. There were so many great safari moments this month, so we will mention just a few of the favourites!

Starting with the Wild dogs, who are not normally easy to find during this time of the year, surprised us on a few occasions with the pack coming down to hunt, not too far from the lodge, we got to watch them finish off a meal on more than one outing this month. It seems as though the one pack of wild dogs has separated and a new break-away pack of 3 has been seen moving on their own. Perhaps that’s a sign of their population doing well enough to split up and form new packs in the park, time will tell.

We have been lucky enough to see Cheetah in the north-east territories of the park again this month, as they have all been hiding in the far western corners of the park. The coalition of 5 young brothers are still sticking closer to our corner of the reserve, giving us more opportunity to see them. On one afternoon we were lucky enough to witness them attempt to hunt an impala! The tension was so high, they were all so close to the herd of Impalas and were so well hidden. We thought it was going to be an easy catch for them. The impalas were walking straight towards them, but the one cheetah brother was too impatient and broke out in an early sprint, spooking the impala herd and ruining the hunt. But perhaps it was for the best, as the hunt chased the impalas straight towards a herd of elephants, which would not have taken well to the idea of 5 cheetahs so close to their young.

Leopard have been less illusive this month, and also quite vocal! We got to hear two different leopards in different areas calling out loudly, sounding like a wood-saw going back and forth. We may not have seen them, but just being able to hear them and know that they are watching us from somewhere behind the brush. We did get to see other leopards though. The highlight of our leopard sightings this month will have to be from one evening, making our way back to the lodge. Everyone on the vehicle had their eyes scanning from left to right and back again, until the spotlight stops on something that seems out of place, a stump that is not quite a stump, but a spotted cat. We see the leopard, just staring off into the bush where we can hear some elephants eating away. This young leopard was so comfortable, completely unbothered by us, but instead was quite amused by the insects following the light beam from our spotlight. He sat for a while and then started trying to catch the insects as he walked off into the thicket again, in no hurry at all.

As for lions, there was so much lion activity, too many incredible encounters to share them all at once. But to make it brief, there was more lion drama in the north-east this month. Lafathla and Bolokega, the two male lions from the south are pushing north and not shying away from Addo and Matata, they sent Addo and Matata running further North after a territorial dispute one morning. Blonde Mane Mahiwa has roamed back towards the river to catch up with the Kwena pride, after months of not seeing him, it was a breath of fresh air. But very short lived, as Addo and Matata caught wind of Blonde Mane and one of the young males in the Mahiwa bloodline and we got to witness a chase one morning. So, all the lions are still running around in circles in the north-east. The lone Kwena female has a new cub that she brings out of hiding every now and then. And on one evening we got to witness a lioness take down a young wildebeest. It is safe to say that this month has been quite eventful in terms of predators!

If you haven’t already heard, the hide is complete and has been enjoyed by some of our guests this past month. It is everything we hoped for and more! The elephants and wildebeest are our most loyal customers so far with a few warthogs, Eland and zebras showing interest, some kudu and impala too. For us at the lodge that have been watching the progress, the construction and the anticipation we have had, it feels unreal that we get to sit in the hide and just enjoy the wildlife from this new angle. With the frequent visits from the elephants, we have daily entertainment from the hide and it is just so mesmerising to sit at ground level and to see them so close to us, completely unbothered by our presence. Listening to the animals slurp up the water, and it sounds like someone is drinking the last bit of milkshake in the glass with a straw, right next to you, it is the one time that this sound is something you enjoy!

That is a wrap for this wonderfully eventful month!

Until Next Time!

The Mateya Team.