The rain that began falling at the end of March kept going for a few days into April, making things rather tricky for the vehicles – ruts formed in the muddy roads, meaning if you took the wrong track, you would sink and be digging yourself out for quite some time. Reaching Tau Pan if you were game enough to self drive became more of an adventure than normal, but each person managed to make it, with only the odd rescue party having to be launched from camp.
At the start of the month, there were few animals around the pan, as there was little vegetation to eat. Much of the game had moved to greener areas many kilometres away, but the heavy rain that had been falling over the last few days promised the return of the green grass and the return of the game. In the meantime, the waterbirds made a visit to the area – including whit storks, Abdims storks, bitterns and so on! A few springboks and gemsbok tiptoed through the water logged areas, and bat eared foxes foraged as insects and scorpions were forced out of their underground holes.
Only a few days into the month, and the rains stopped, and things started happening. Lots of giraffe, ostriches and general game were seen moving along the cutline. Hartebeest started making a return. Two wild cats were seen next to Tau Pan playing around, jumping up and down from a tree. Ground squirrels were out and about, busy renovating their burrows and removing excess mud that had built up from the rains.
The good weather brought out not just the general game, but an amazing array of raptors: tawny eagles, kites, giant eagle owls, barn owls, kestrels and falcons! Two lionesses were found at 8km road with their four cubs. There were lots of vultures in the area, so it’s likely that the lionesses had made a kill further in.
And the rain had brought a few special visitors – five male elephants found along Phukwe road, relaxed and enjoying the green shoots of the new grass growth. The same morning, a brown hyena was found walking along the airstrip, his hind leg slightly injured. And a little later, a leopard made an appearance at San Pan. Three unusual finds, all in one day!
Two dogs spotted a couple of days later near Phukwi pan, calling for the rest of the pack.
Now the grass has returned, the general game at the pan is excellent. Lots of springbok, oryx and wildebeest dot the pan. Lions were found feeding on a springbok the females with their four cubs, and one big male lion. Two males from the Tau Pan pride had also been seen around the pan – one of them badly injured from a fight with other males.
