Some of the lions in the Kruger
The Mluwati concession spans an area bordered by Orpen, Satara and Tshokwane areas of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Amongst the big five animals (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo) present in abundance in this area, the most intriguing are undoubtedly the lions. There are three private game lodges in this area including Imbali, Hamilton's and Hoya Hoya. These lions were seen on the Imbali game drives.
Access to this area of the Kruger National Park is best made through the Malelane gate situated in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. This is approximately a five hour leisurely drive from Johannesburg, the most popular city of entrance into South Africa through the Oliver Tambo International Airport. Cars in South Africa drive on the left hand side of the road. The roads are exceptionally good between Johannesburg and the Malelane Gate. The same cannot be said of the road between Delmas and the Orpen Gate of the Kruger National Park. This stretch of road is treacherous with massive potholes, a testimony to poor service delivery in this part of the country. Having sacrificed an expensive sports utility vehicle tyre on this stretch of the road, you may understand why I caution against using this access (the Orpen gate) to the Kruger National Park. Cars can be hired easily at the OR Tambo Airport or the necessary arrangements for conveyance to the park can be made with tour operators. There is also airline access to the Kruger National Park from OR Tambo Airport.
The story behind these photos is that the lioness was rather aggrieved by the presence of two male lions in the vicinity and was roaring her displeasure at them. We were led to believe that they were all part of the same troupe of lions. I surmised for myself that the male lions were off gallivanting for the day leaving the lioness with the responsibility of caring for the cubs. She was rather peeved by their laziness and the prospects of having to leave the cubs unattended to at some time during the day to go out and seek food for them and for the good for nothing male lions to eat. Or so I think...
This pack is apparently known as the "Hamilton lions" as they frequent the area around the Hamiltons tented camp. During a stay of three days at the Imabli Game Lodge, lions were seen on two of the three days on the Imbali game lodge drives. On the day of departure, a whole pack were present just outside the entrance to the Imbali Safari Lodge. I used the word entrance rather than gate in its proper context as the Imbali private safari lodge does not have an entrance gate. This was a worrisome aspect of being a guest at this lodge given the number of wild animals that frequent this area of the Kruger National Park. Whilst in the Imbali game lodge, we noted the presence of elephants that had come into the area of the lodge during the night...but that's another story and perhaps a consideration when you visit the Kruger and when you choose to stay at the private game reserves within the park.
Do note that the pictures and content of this blog are subject to the usual copyright laws.
Access to this area of the Kruger National Park is best made through the Malelane gate situated in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. This is approximately a five hour leisurely drive from Johannesburg, the most popular city of entrance into South Africa through the Oliver Tambo International Airport. Cars in South Africa drive on the left hand side of the road. The roads are exceptionally good between Johannesburg and the Malelane Gate. The same cannot be said of the road between Delmas and the Orpen Gate of the Kruger National Park. This stretch of road is treacherous with massive potholes, a testimony to poor service delivery in this part of the country. Having sacrificed an expensive sports utility vehicle tyre on this stretch of the road, you may understand why I caution against using this access (the Orpen gate) to the Kruger National Park. Cars can be hired easily at the OR Tambo Airport or the necessary arrangements for conveyance to the park can be made with tour operators. There is also airline access to the Kruger National Park from OR Tambo Airport.
The story behind these photos is that the lioness was rather aggrieved by the presence of two male lions in the vicinity and was roaring her displeasure at them. We were led to believe that they were all part of the same troupe of lions. I surmised for myself that the male lions were off gallivanting for the day leaving the lioness with the responsibility of caring for the cubs. She was rather peeved by their laziness and the prospects of having to leave the cubs unattended to at some time during the day to go out and seek food for them and for the good for nothing male lions to eat. Or so I think...
This pack is apparently known as the "Hamilton lions" as they frequent the area around the Hamiltons tented camp. During a stay of three days at the Imabli Game Lodge, lions were seen on two of the three days on the Imbali game lodge drives. On the day of departure, a whole pack were present just outside the entrance to the Imbali Safari Lodge. I used the word entrance rather than gate in its proper context as the Imbali private safari lodge does not have an entrance gate. This was a worrisome aspect of being a guest at this lodge given the number of wild animals that frequent this area of the Kruger National Park. Whilst in the Imbali game lodge, we noted the presence of elephants that had come into the area of the lodge during the night...but that's another story and perhaps a consideration when you visit the Kruger and when you choose to stay at the private game reserves within the park.
Do note that the pictures and content of this blog are subject to the usual copyright laws.
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