Presents

Christmas doesn’t go by uncelebrated, even here deep in the Waterberg. And it’s not just us humans who celebrate the festive season…

A Special Christmas Morning with Elephants

Take Christmas morning, for example. It was a quiet game drive, and I should have known that the animals would only come out for brunch much later—no need to be up early today! Fortunately, the Christmas spirit kicked in around 8 a.m. when a herd of elephants decided to celebrate with us during our pancake stop. They had been patiently waiting behind the dam wall and then emerged to put on a spectacular show, complete with lots of splashing and a demonstration of their excellent ‘snorkeling’ skills.

Nature’s Gifts: Newborns Across the Reserve

We’ve also been lucky enough to discover little “presents” all over the reserve. Presents? Yes, gifts of nature—newborns. Sometimes we find them piled up snoozing under a tree, or darting and jumping around our game-viewing hide at the lodge. We encounter them around every corner while driving through the reserve: newborn warthog piglets, impala still wobbly on their new legs, and blue wildebeest calves who, from day one, seem a bit confused about what’s going on around them!

The Circle of Life in Full Display

It’s wonderful to see so much new life greeting us each morning. Of course, in the circle of life, this also means that many of the bigger predators start their festive season with easy pickings here and there. Fortunately, these vulnerable young ones are gifted with a good sense of smell, immediate sight, amazing hearing, and great reflexes—so many do manage to make a lucky escape! We are privileged to watch these little ones develop more each day—true presents from the bush.