September 2025

September has come to a close, and winter is a distant memory. This month had a couple of very hot days but cooling down towards the end of the month. The last weeks temperatures averaging at highs of 28’C (82’F) and lows of 16’C (60’F). Our Sunrise is currently at 5:58 and sunsetting at 18:12. The morning game drives still had us grabbing an extra layer, but by the time we stopped for our morning coffee in the bush, those extra layers and blankets were already packed away. With the comfortably warmer evenings, we have been thoroughly enjoying dinners on the deck or by the firepit under the canopy of stars!

With Spring in full swing, new life has been welcomed in more ways than one. The vegetation is already pushing out new growth, and there have been whispers of some new lion cubs in the East! The Kietumetsi Pride has been laying low for some time now, but we had fantastic afternoon with them at Tlou dam one afternoon. At this point we had no idea that there were cubs, the mother was doing a great job of keeping them hidden and safe. We had a great deal of excitement that afternoon, the pride had been hiding in the shade of the Sicklebush for most of the day, but decided to head over to the dam for a drink. The dam was already occupied by some elephants, so as the lions tried to get close enough for a drink, the elephants caught a whiff of them and chased them around a little bit. But the lions were patient enough to wait out the traffic to have their turn for a drink. Just a couple of weeks after this eventful sighting, we heard about the exciting news of cubs. We cannot wait to see them!

We were also very fortunate to have seen the new wild dog pups on a few occasions over the last few weeks! They have officially left their den sites and are venturing out to all corners of the reserve with their puppies in tow. With both packs of Wild Dogs having additional 6 puppies to each pack, there has been a lot of searching for food and we got to spend some time with them enjoying their meals. The sounds of their excited squeaks still ring fresh in our memories. And of course, after a decent meal and being worn out from the hunts, we also got to spend some time with them playing around the water and having a dip to cool off.

September has also been a fantastic month in terms of Leopard sightings, from a relaxed young female just casually strolling alongside us and allowing us to follow her lead for a fair amount of time. To the Leopard on the rocks, resting after a meal and taking in the views. To a Leopard sitting in a small dead tree stump, staring at us until we noticed it, then slowly disappearing down into the thickets. These are just a few of our Leopard memories from this past month. With the more frequent Leopard sightings, we are hoping that we can share many more of our encounters with you in the months to come!

With the dry season at its dryest before the next rainy season starts, the bush is still looking great. There have been some stormy skies and tempting drizzles, but just enough to settle the dust until the morning sun quickly dries it all up again. With the winds slowing down and the clouds building up, you can just imagine how beautiful and vibrant the sunrises and sunsets are becoming. Definitely worth waking up early to witness the magic of the African sunrise!

Until Next Time!

The Mateya Team