Amakhosi is a private game reserve about 25 kilometres south of Pongola in northern KwaZulu Natal, sited around the Mkuze river. The Amakhosi game reserve comprises a blend of savannah, wetlands and mountains. The reserve recently acquired access to the adjacent private game reserve more than doubling the traversing area.

“It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed.” ~ Art Wolfe

We were usually up and having coffee and a rusk or muffin at 6h00 to leave for the morning game drive by 6h30. September was the beginning of spring in South Africa which meant cool mornings and hot days with little likelihood of rain. he next image is a shot taken at dawn looking east across the mist rising from the Mkuze river.

A small herd of elephant bulls were browsing on the small trees in the section south of the lodge. Two youngsters were more interested in testing their strength against each other than feeding. This was not a serious tussle and they were just pushing each other around though when their tusks clashed they made quite a loud “crack”.

I had never before seen giraffe browsing on the leaves of a Tamboti tree. The Tamboti is known for the milky latex it secretes which is poisonous to humans, but not to animals. It is a food source for many species of antelope, elephants and monkeys and black rhino. Porcupines relish the bark of the tree but if they ring bark the tree too much they can kill it. Tambotis are found in groves.

“Slow down to understand and feel the rhythm of the wild place around you. Then you will begin to see and hear things you never noticed before. This new found depth and complexity creates wonder and gratefulness.” ~ Mike Haworth

A large kudu bull browsing on the leaves of an acacia. This species forages on leaves, shoots and grass. Its is a selective browser, utilising its prehensile lips and long tongue to extract nutritious foliage from a range of plant species including long thorned acacia trees.

There is plenty of lush vegetation along the Mkuze river which is an ideal habitat for Cape buffalo. The main difference between the horn structure of a male and female Cape buffalo is that only males have a boss, which is a shield-like structure that joins their horns in the middle. This middle-aged bull kept a wary eye on us as we passed by.

Amakhosi has recently acquired traversing rights to a large adjacent game farm. The lion prides, especially females, had been crossing the fence between the game farms where the fence crosses the river. Now with increased access guests are able to see the lions even if they have crossed into the neighbouring game farm. On our last day, we crossed into the adjacent game reserve to find a pride of four lionesses and their adolescent cubs. The lion pride was lying on a small hill with a view onto the surrounding open grassland.

“The vastness of the African wilderness humbles you, reminding you of your place in the grand canvas of life. Here, amidst the towering trees and endless plains, one feels an acute awareness of our connection to the natural world.” ~ Peter Matthiessen

The lionesses were lying quietly in the morning sun when suddenly one lioness got up on her front legs fully alert. She had heard something that none of us on the game vehicle heard even with the engine turned off. She listened and looked in the direction of the sound for about a minute assessing what it might be.

Having decided that this was something she should investigate she got up and walked with purpose in the direction of the sound.

She half walked with head down to position herself behind a bush to better see what was making the noise she heard. We thought she had seen a potential hunting opportunity but after a few minutes she lay down behind the bushes.

We disturbed a young elephant bull while he was foraging on some low bushes. We must have given him a fright because he whirled to face us with ears flapping and trumpeting loudly. Thankfully he did not charge the vehicle. The bush was relatively thick and he was about 25 metres off the gravel road so we were a safe distance from him. After apologising to him for disturbing his breakfast we moved without incident.

There is a low concrete causeway across the Mkuze river which is an ideal place to stop and have a look up and down river as we start our game drive early in the morning. This particular morning the sun was up but mist was still rising off the river.

A view of the main lodge at Amakhosi from a hill opposite the lodge. The green vegetation indicates the proximity to the Mkuze river which flows just in front of the lodge.

“There is a charm about the African wilds that grips the heart and will not let go. It is a charm that knows no season, that is potent alike under the fierce glare of the noonday sun and under the soft, mysterious light of the moon.” ~ Frederick Courtney Selous

We were fortunate enough to have the private house which is part of the Amakhosi safari lodge accommodation. It was the owner’s previous house and is superbly positioned on a rocky cliff overlooking the Mkuze river.

A view from the patio of the private house looking over the Mkuze river valley. This house is “private” and a five minute drive to the lodge. A perfect place to spend a few days in the bush with a view and no disturbance.

“Africa is a living laboratory of evolution, and its landscapes hold the secrets to our past and the clues to our future.” ~ Louis Leakey

Amakhosi is one of our favourite places in the bush to visit. The lodge itself is well appointed and the staff are friendly and efficient. The location is superb with a large deck overlooking the Mkuze river and a very comfortable place to have breakfast and dinner. The game viewing in Amakhosi is very good and the birds are especially good. This is one place we will keep returning to.

“Cherish sunsets, wild creatures, and wild places. Have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the earth!” ~ Stewart Udall

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Helen and I visited Amakhosi private game reserve in September 2023. This was the start of spring in southern Africa so most of the migrants had yet to arrive and it was dry. The rains usually only arrive in late November or early December. Despite this, there is a perennial flow of water in the Mkuze river which courses through the reserve. The Mkuze river is known for its wonderful diversity of birdlife. Around 420 bird species can be seen in this reserve. There is something for every wildlife enthusiast from the “big five”, birdlife and frogging in the wet season. As a wildlife photographer I am interested in all wildlife.

There is a remarkable diversity of birdlife around the lodge. At breakfast, after the morning game drive, I found myself regularly getting up from the table to photograph new birds which showed themselves in the trees next to the pool and above the deck in front of the lodge.

“In the cathedral of the wild a glorious language is revealed in every breath.” ~ Robbie George

We saw this Orange breasted bushshrike outside our room at the safari lodge. I have often heard these small bushshrikes but seldom saw them as they are normally found at the top of the tree canopy. Thankfully each species of bushshrike has a distinctive call. Once we heard the call we started to look for the vividly coloured bushshrike. This bushshrike has a vivid yellow forehead, throat, belly and rectrices. It has a black bland across its eye from its beak to ear coverts. Its nape and the top section of its back is grey which wraps around to its ear coverts. Its lower back and wings are a green-yellow colour which blends well with the colour of the tree’s leaves.

This bushshrike is not a migrant and is highly active constantly moving in the branches of tree foraging for insects such as beetles, caterpillars, bees, ants and wasps.

This Red-billed firefinch is a small gregarious seed eater and is often seen on the ground foraging for seeds alongside Blue waxbills. This male has a pinkish-scarlet forehead, face throat and breast. Its uppertail coverts are scarlet as are its rectrices. Its nape, back, wings and belly are brown tinged with scarlet.

Next to the lodge is an inviting swimming pool. At the deep end it has a fountain flowing across a large boulder which attracts many birds to drink. One of the regular visitors was a group of Cape white-eyes. These small insectivores have yellow plumage with a slight green tinge and a distinctive white eyering.

“Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?” ~ Sir David Attenborough

In many of the reserves in the northern part of South Africa you will see Brown-headed kingfishers but in this reserve you will see mainly Striped kingfishers. This species is an insectivore. It has powder blue rectrices and primary wing feathers. Its crown is light brown with dark brown stripes. It has a whitish buff coloured cheek and nape and its eye stripe is dark brown reaching from behind the eye around the back of the head. Its breast and belly are a whitish buff colour with dark brown stripes. It beak comprises a dark brown maxilla and red mandible which is diagnostic feature.

Lesser striped swallows were constantly flying around the lodge hawking flying insects. These are large swallows with a russet coloured head, nape, ear coverts and upper tail coverts. Their back and upper wing coverts are steel blue in colour. Their throat, breast and belly are white with thick black streaks. The primary and secondary wing feathers are a black-dark brown in colour. The outer rectrices are long streamers, which are longer in the male.

Next to the dining area and deck that overlooks the Mkuze river, there are coral trees. The nectar in the florescences attract a variety of birds from weavers and Cape white-eyes to sunbirds. The Scarlet chested sunbird is a large dark brown sunbird with a vivid scarlet chest. It aggressively protects its feeding area from other sunbirds such as the smaller Collared sunbird.

The Collared sunbird is also strikingly coloured with an iridescent green back and head and yellow underparts. This small sunbird has a short beak so it feeds on different parts of the florescence to the Scarlet chested sunbird. The male has a purple collar which is absent in the female.

The most frequent visitors to the trees around the lodge were Purple crested turacos. Like most turacos, it is a large vividly coloured fruit eater. This species has a bright red eyering and its primary and secondary wing feathers are bright scarlet. Its crown has a purple-blue crest which extends down its nape. Its throat, back, belly and shoulders are an olive green. Its chest is an apricot colour tinged with olive green. This is a large, beautiful noisy turaco which is always on the move in the tree canopy. We saw this species feeding on fruit in the cycads at the entrance to the lodge and fruiting trees around the lodge.

“Tranquility of the heart is a blessing one receives from the wilderness.” ~ Robbie George

These turacos found the soft red seeds from the cycads around the lodge very enticing. The antics of these turacos around the pool area of the lodge provided plenty of entertainment.

A White-browed scrub-robin foraging in a open dry area close to where we found the cheetah family. This species of scrub-robin has a distinctive pale white superciliary (above its eye) stripe. Its crown, nape and back are light brown and its upper tail coverts are a rust colour. It has a buff coloured throat, breast and belly with dark brown stripes. Its greater and lesser wing coverts are distinctively white striped. This is a restless insect eater foraging mainly on the ground.

“I would like to paint the way a bird sings.” ~ Claude Monet

When we have meals at the safari lodge on the deck overlooking the Mkuze river, we were visited by a pair of Mocking cliff chats who were quick to pick up scraps of food dropped on the floor. There were quite habituated to people which gave us a chance to see them close up. This cliff chat is black all over except its belly and undertail coverts are chestnut brown. This species has a distinctive white shoulder patch. It is a very “chatty” chat.

Similar to all chats, this species lifted it tail just after it has landed. The male’s upperparts are black while the female’s upperparts are a dark grey. This species inhabits rocky boulder strewn areas and well-wooded rocky ravines. On the opposite side of the Mkuze river to the lodge is a high, well treed rocky cliff.

This Groundscraper thrush is an upright standing thrush. It is a bold, long legged thrush with a short tail. Its upper parts are a grey-brown and its cheeks, and underparts are white with bold dark brown spotted which join together around the face creating a malar and ear stripe. It characteristically, runs long distances on the ground hunting insects, stopping and standing bolt upright all the while flicking its wings. The Groundscraper Thrush is predominately terrestrial, hopping on the ground like many thrushes and scrapings among fallen leaves and other dead vegetation for insects. Sometimes it can be seen cocking its head to listen for prey moving in the leaf litter.

While having breakfast we were visited by a pair of Black backed puffbacks who hopped around in the trees close by the lodge’s deck. This small shrike has white underparts, a black head, variegated black and gray lesser and median coverts. Its back is black as are its rectrices.

“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.” ~ Gary Snyder

The male and female Black-backed Puffbacks are similarly coloured but the male has an all black head with the black becoming white just below its ruby red eye. The female’s face is mostly white face and she has a white eyebrow. These little shrikes also have a distinctive call which announces their presence. Thereafter it requires some patience to see them clearly.

The Pied wagtail is also a strikingly pied coloured wagtail. It has a long black tail which it wags up and down constantly. It has black upperparts and white underparts. It has a strong white eyebrow and a black stripe down its throat which broadens out into a black apron on its chest. It has a white panel of feathers on the leading edge of its wings. This insect eater seems to prefer to be close to water, be it a swimming pool or a river.

The other side of the Mkuze from the lodge is a steep rocky cliff with a small valley between the cliff faces leading down to the river. The opposite bank of the river is lined with large trees. On several occasions we heard what we initially thought was a baby crying but it turned out to be a family of Trumpeter hornbills. This pied colour hornbill has a wide pink area of skin around its eyes. This species is a large hornbill, compared to its yellow or red billed cousins. It has a large grey casque on top of its maxilla which is bigger on the male than the female.

On two occasions, the family of hornbills flew from their roosting trees on the other side of the Mkuze river to the fruiting trees around the lodge. They made quite a noise while communicating with each other.

This adult Fish eagle was perched on a broken branch close to a large pool of water in the river. There must be plenty of fish in the river because we saw a number of Fish eagles.

“Nature’s beauty is that is cultivates appreciation and gratitude.” ~ Louie Schwartzberg

We found a lone African hawk-eagle perched on a fallen tree. It had a high position from which to scan its surroundings. This raptor prefers savanna and and riverine forest habitats where it primarily hunts gamebirds, such as francolin and guineafowl. This hawk-eagle hunts by swooping from a perch, quartering low over the ground or stooping from a soaring position. It is aggressive and highly territorial.

In my experience, adult African hawk eagles hunt in pairs. The only time I have seen a single African hawk eagle was when it was a fledged juvenile.

An adult Martial eagle perched on a large aloe on the side of a hill looking down onto the Mkuze river. This is the area where we found the three year old male lion hiding from the coalition. This is one the largest and most powerful species of booted eagle. Also found in Amakhosi private game reserve another large and very powerful booted eagle, the Crowned eagle, which is sometimes called the “flying leopard” because of its colouring. The Martial eagle is one of the few eagles which hunts primarily from a high soar followed by a high speed stoop once it has located its quarry.

We saw many more interesting birds but I was not able take a good images of them. Two species which proved difficult and elusive were the Crested guineafowl and the Gorgeous bushshrike. Many raptors appeared to move up and down the river but were usually on the other side of the river to the lodge. I never got to see a Crowned eagle this time but we did see a pair of Crowned eagles in 2008 sitting in a large tree above a female bushbuck which they had killed.

“Birds provide a treasure trove of colour, diversity and sound. Treasures that can be seen on every game drive.” ~ Mike Haworth

We plan to return to Amakhosi in September this year before it gets too hot. I still want to get a good image of a Purple crested turaco flying, and try to see and photograph a Crowned eagle. Brown hyaena, civet and a serval are also on my mammal wish list.

“You never know what may cross your path and fuel the wildness of your soul.”~ Robbie George

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at bits interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Amakhosi Private Game reserve is located on the banks of the Mkuze river about 25 kilometres south east of Pongola in Zululand, which is in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. Helen and I first visited Amakhosi Safari Lodge in the reserve in 2008. We were so impressed with the experience that we returned in 2009 to find some significant changes. There had been a land claim and 10 000 hectares of the original 22 000 hectare reserve had been awarded to the claimants leaving 12 000 hectares of the original private game reserve. We had a wonderful time in 2009 despite the reduced size of the private reserve because of the quality of the safari lodge and the staff. The reserve has the Mkuze river coursing through it and has lush valley bushland, rolling savannahs, majestic mountains and thriving river wetlands which support a wonderful diversity of wildlife.

“If I have ever seen magic, it has been in Africa” ~ John Hemingway

In September 2023, Helen and I decided to return to Amakhosi to see how things had developed. To our very pleasant surprise it was excellent, as good as before. The safari lodge and staff had maintained the high level of standards regarding cuisine and service. Even more impressive was how well maintained the roads were in the reserve. It is a “big five” reserve and we were privileged to have had many good sightings of mammals and the birdlife, which in that part of the world is prolific.

The reserve introduced two new male lions in early 2023. These two aggressive male lions are the dominant coalition and any young males do their best to hide from them. The male lion at the back is collared so they can keep track of them. Interestingly, the blonder male is the more dominant and more aggressive.

Initially, when the two males were introduced to Amakhosi, one of the males regularly mock charged which must have increased the pulse rate of the guests on the game vehicle. We had no mock charges and the males seemed to be settling down in their new environment.

The two dominant males were very active and one many occasions we found them patrolling their territory. This was not because it had been raining and they had to remark their territory, but probably because it was still so new to them.

In the southern mountainous section along the Mkuze river, we found a three year old male hiding from the coalition. Remarkably, a day later, the coalition which was out patrolling their territory they came to the exactly same spot where we saw the young male hiding. This reminded us of how developed and sensitive their olfactory senses must have been.

“Vulnerability is the biggest attraction to all predators. But your survival instincts are also at the highest when in danger. Use them, don’t let fear shut them down.” ~ Mitta Xinindlu

The Amakhosi private game reserve has a male and a female cheetah. We were fortunate enough to see the male and female on separate occasions. The female had five cubs. Our first sighting of the cheetah family was early in the morning when it was light but before sunrise. There was still some frost on the dry grass and the cubs were curled up in the embrace of their mother. She was lying in an open section of grassland probably for protection so she could see and sense any danger coming.

Cheetah females become sexually active after two years and can give birth to as many as six cubs, with the average around three. Unlike the males which usually form coalitions, the female remains solitary and does not maintain a territory.

Cheetah cubs are blind at birth and their eyes open after 10 days or so. The cubs are born with a mantle of white fur running from the back of the neck down to the rump. This mantle is thought to provide camouflage in the grass.

The cubs’ mane of white hair disappears after three months and they are usually weaned around four months of age. At this point their mother no longer hides her cubs and they begin to follow her.

Paradoxically, cheetahs are the most productive cat yet they are endangered with a global population of only around 7 000 wild individuals. The main reasons for their decline are human-wildlife conflicts, prey decline, and habitat loss and fragmentation. In a private game reserve these factors are managed. The vulnerability of the cubs arises when their mother leaves them alone to go hunting. When small cubs they are easy prey for lions, leopards and hyaenas and, at times when they are very small, even jackals. Even when their mother is close she is often unable to protect the cubs from lions, leopards and hyaenas. Her best survival strategy is to keep the cubs far away from these predators.

We found this lioness around mid-afternoon lying close to a waterhole. We could not be sure, but judging from her behaviour she may have had cubs hidden in the shrubs among the rocks overlooking the waterhole. This was the only lioness we saw.

At dusk one afternoon, we had been watching a large herd of elephants drinking from the Mkuze river in the mountainous southern section of the park. After watching the herd in the water for a while it was getting dark. So we began making our way back to the lodge. On route our tracker, Zakele, caught a glimpse of a leopard in the thick bush next to the road as he was sweeping his spotlight from left to right looking for any interesting nocturnal wildlife. We stopped, reversed a short distance and our ranger, Jacques, turned the vehicle so we were side on to the road. To everyone’s amazement this leopardess walked out onto the road in the spotlight with year old male cub.

“Give your all to every experience, feel it breathe it appreciate it, nothing lasts forever, when it’s gone you’ll remember the feeling it once gave you and sometimes that’s enough.” ~ Nikki Rowe

The male cub was very affectionate to his mother. He looked to have be around a year old. Male leopards have usually leave their mothers by two years’ old and can start breeding from three years.

This male was too young, but the method of aging leopards older than three years, is usually done by looking at their dewlap size, the condition of their ears and the degree of facial scarring and sometimes the colour of the nose.

We were privileged to see this leopardess and her male cub walking around in the spotlight for what must have been around 15 minutes. The two were inquisitive and even walked close to the vehicle. For such secretive predators this was a remarkable sighting which left all of us on the vehicle quite breathless with excitement.

On the western boundary of the reserve there was a fence and on the other side of the fence was a huge open area. Early one morning, we found the two males walking along the fence line watching a lioness who was just the other side of the fence. The male lions on the other side of the fence had been roaring and these two male replied.

There were no “flat cats” on this particular morning. These two males were very interested in the female close to the fence but on the other side.

These were unusually confident male lions judging from their disregard for our vehicle and interest in what was the other side of the fence. Both males were large and were in good condition. Dr Jennie Miller in her Panthera Field Notes for Panthera’s Lion Program noted that lion biologists have long used unique natural markings (like whisker spots, ear notches and scars) to identify individuals but these factors do not help determine the age of the male. Research found six traits which notably changed with age – nose darkness, facial scarring, teeth colour and wear, and jowl slackness. These males looked to be around five year old.

“It starts with a series of grunts. Then the roaring starts. If you are close, it will send primordial shivers down your spine. The sound is deafening and awe inspiring at the same time. The game vehicle vibrates and you can feel the roaring in your chest.” ~ Mike Haworth

“He was a killer, a thing that preyed, living on the things that lived, unaided, alone, by virtue of his own strength and prowess, surviving triumphantly in a hostile environment where only the strong survive.” ~ Jack London

Amakhosi’s predators looked to thriving in the reserve. We had exceptional sightings of all the cats. On one occasion early in the morning, we had a fleeting glimpse of a Brown hyaena. According to the ranger, Jacques, there are many Brown hyaena in the reserve but they are nocturnal and very skittish in the daylight.

“There is something about safari life that makes you forget all your sorrows and feel as if you had drunk half a bottle of champagne — bubbling over with heartfelt gratitude for being alive.” ~ Karen Blixen

Being a “big five” reserve we also had excellent sightings of elephant, rhino and the birdlife was prolific.

Explore seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike