Reserve Manager Botilo explains what s currently going on with the wild dog pack since they’ve split up some months ago: Wild dogs are remarkably lean, and for a good reason—they expend a tremendous amount of energy daily. Their hunting strategy involves marathon-like chases that exhaust their prey into submission. At the Limpopo-Lipadi, which spans 18 km in length and up to 14 km in width, our wild dogs have roamed every...
Green season abundance at Limpopo-Lipadi
Posted by Limpopo-Lipadi on Tue March 4, 2025.
Just before the massive summer rains in Southern Africa started, co-owner and wildlife photographer Anton and family made their way to Limpopo-Lipadi for their summer holiday escape.
Here is his story:
“We love a visiting Limpopo-Lipadi early December. The hot dry season is transitioning to the wetter and greener summer months. The bush isn’t thick yet, making visibility and game viewing easier, but the migratory birds are back, and the veld is turning beautifully green. The game viewing and birding didn’t disappoint, in fact our stay started off with a bang!
Our first afternoon we decided to go and relax at the stunningly beautiful Old Man’s waterhole. A few minutes after arrival a very relaxed female leopard made her appearance. She approached the waterhole with caution and then proceeded to have a lengthy drink at the waterhole, in the perfect afternoon light. After she had a drink, we decided to follow her for a few hundred meters until she disappeared into the thickets. What a start!
We decided to head back to Old Man’s dam for sunset and reflect on our marvelous start. When we arrived back at Old Man’s, a pack of African Wild Dogs were at the waterhole, we had only been gone for less than 10 minutes…
The rest of our trip was just as rewarding – with numerous sightings of African Wild Dog, Lions, Elephants, Spotted Hyena and general game. Birding was also excellent as always with Eurasian Golden Orioles, plenty of Cuckoos, White-backed Night Heron, Temminck’s and Bronze-winged Coursers, Dwarf Bitterns…and the list goes on!
But the stand-out bird was finding a pair of Pel’s Fishing Owl in front of camp! It is a privilege to have them on the reserve, and it was incredible spending hours in their presence as they hunted for fish in the few remaining pools of water in the Limpopo River adjacent River Camp. Read the full article published some weeks ago.
In the middle of our week the Limpopo River started to run again after a heavy storm. It took about 5 hours for the river to be filled to the brim. But with this…the sightings of Pel’s Fishing Owl unfortunately disappeared…
It was an incredible week. On our final morning drive we went north, and as we approached Thelma’s waterhole – a leopard appeared from the north, heading towards the waterhole. We quickly made our way to the waterhole and enjoyed a memorable sighting of her drinking at the beautiful Thelma’s…not often that you start a trip with a leopard and then ending it in the same magnificent fashion. We can’t wait to visit the magical Limpopo-Lipadi again…
More Stories from the Reserve
Wild Dog Dispersal: A Tale of Survival and Sociality
Fri July 25, 2025
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The Wild, Unfiltered
Wed July 9, 2025
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As a longtime co-owner of Limpopo-Lipadi, Mauro knows that not everything in the bush is calm or cute—and that’s part of what makes it so real.
A Night Under the Baobab: Bush Luxury and Wild Visitors
Thu June 26, 2025
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In early May, co-owner Tom and his old school friends made the trip to Limpopo-Lipadi for a week of adventure. While Tom has obviously visited the Reserve many times before, seeing it through the eyes with his newbie safari-goer friends, made him appreciate again how special Limpopo-Lipadi is. Read his story here: We spent a week at Limpopo-Lipadi with a special group of people—six couples, all close friends for over 20 years....
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