LATEST NEWS
Farewell Bertie
We didn’t expect to wake up to news of our favourite hippo, Bertie, having had the battle of his life. Whilst on morning game drive, Alfie and his guests came across a hippo who had succumbed to his battle wounds in what looked like a ferocious fight between two males...
A Rare Treat
They always say that when on Safari, you never know what's around the next corner. Every game drive is different and the anticipation of what's to come is what makes it so exciting. On a beautiful winters morning we set out, eager to find some lions. Not long into the...
The Avoca pride feasts on our runway
During lockdown the lion sightings have been unusually rare. By not exploring the whole Makanyi area fully, we knew that we had lessened our chances of seeing them. We remained hopeful that they would appear one day. That day came and what a sighting it was. We were...
Clever or Cheeky?
Every year around spring, the lesser masked weavers are hard at work building nests and attracting females. Not only do they try to make their nests as impressive as possible, but they also dress up for the occasion. Their plumage changes from dull colours to bright...
A Family Feast – warning graphic content
The Avoca pride is our resident pride and it consists of 6 adult females and 5 cubs just over a year old. With the cubs growing in size, the pride is forced to search further afield for food as they need to increase the amount of animals caught in order to sustain...
A buffalo calf finding its feet
The African buffalo forms part of the Big 5 animal group, an old hunter’s term given to the 5 most dangerous animals to hunt in Africa. These majestic animals reach shoulder heights of up to 1.5m and weigh up to 750kg and are primarily grazers (grass eaters)....
Amazing cheetah sightings
We have been fortunate of late to have some incredible cheetah encounters while out exploring the magnificent Timbavati Landscape. With an estimated 7100 left in the wild and only +-120 left in Kruger / greater Kruger national park spending time and sharing some...
Spiny Flower Mantis
A visit to Makanyi Lodge will leave you wanting more as you never know when the next unforgettable sighting / photographic opportunity will happen. While walking around the lodge our GM, Rico, spotted this beautiful Spiny Flower Mantis close to reception. It is such...
Adorable 3 week old wild dog pups pop out
We have been fortunate to have a pack of wild dogs (which is currently the second most endangered mammals in Africa) den close to the lodge. This has resulted in us spending most days getting to know the pack as we encounter them on a daily basis while out on safari....
Standoff between impala and wild dogs
Makanyi Private Game Lodge is ideally located overlooking an active dam in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. On one particular morning, guests were enjoying a cup of coffee on the deck before heading out on a morning game drive, when we suddenly noticed movement...