So here we are at Tshukudu again. I had been looking forward to the trip for several months but little did I know that it would be my last visit for a while. When I put this page together - January 2006 - I still hadn't found the time to go back. It's got to be this year.
It gets very dry in the African winter and sometimes nature just doesn't provide enough. Before man arrived on the continent, the animals would have just moved on. Now that we have fenced them in, we have to make sure they have enough fodder. This was taken from the deck in the bush camp where we stay when at Tshukudu.	An interesting animal, the waterbuck, equipped with an extremely effective defense against predators ... they don't taste too good. I don't remember the detail but they have an ensyme of some sort that makes their meat unpalatable to most of the predators. Consequently, they are one of the last things on the menu.
The antelope for which the farm was named: kudu. There are quite a number in the park although I really couldn't tell you eaxctlay how many. What I can say is that they are very shy.	When you get this close to a buffalo you need to be sure you're sitting safely out of harm's way - preferably on top of a very large vehicle, which is exactly where we were.
Hippos, believe it or not, kill more people a year than any other animal in Africa. You do not want to be on foot around a hippo ... especially if you get between it and the water. You can't see it in the photo but this one was heading back to the river.	Rhinos typically have one calf at a time. Calves stay with their mothers until almost fully grown, helping to form a team to keep a wary eye out for danger. But rhinos don't have a natural predator, except man, so you might wonder why. Simple, a playful elephant can easily kill a fully grown rhino - Thabo has done it more than once at Tshukudu so the watchfulness is warranted.
I love this pic. Lioness and cub sheltering from the heat of the day in the bushes as we drove past. I used a 300mm lense so they're not quite as close as they appear.	This was a first. I had heard that there were a couple of crocs on the farm but it took three visits before I saw one - and this on a farm measuring a mere 5000 hectares in area.
Yes it's a leopard and no, it's not running around in the wild. Ian had taken us to see an old friend we first met as a nipper. It's the baby leopard we first saw on last year - only now he's about eighteen months old and a whole lot bigger ...	... but still as playful as a kitten but just a little bit bigger. Grant, the guy on the left, is on his first trip to Tshukudu and I suspect he'll be back. You should recognise the chap getting a chunk taken out of his hand, it's Ian, one of the owners of Tshukudu.
After visiting the young leopard we came across Savannah and, as usual she made a point of flopping down on the ground in front of us - a clear sign that she was in the mood for love.	Time for the 'walk with lions' only this time we only have one feline escort. Not to worry, we would see a lot of other inhabitants on the way down to the water hole.
This lioness is very young - about two years old if I remember correctly. We were able to stroke her when she came within range and we did ... but carefully.	Thabo got impatient and came to see what was taking us so long. Once he had assured himself that we were indeed on our way, he set off for the waterhole again.
Satisfied that we were on our way Thabo heads for a drink ...	... while Bheki and her calfarrive from a different direction.
Bheki was not imporessed with our company and after a bit ...	... put herself between our young lionness and her calf.
At the water hole we were blown away. If you look carefully, you will see four of the Big 5 in this single photo ... the inset is from another photo I took from a slightly different angle but you should see a spot of colour over the back of the buffalo on the right.	This is another shot featuring four of the Big 5 - the lioness is a lot clearer now, hiding in the rocks to the right of screen. A few minutes later she actually started stalking the baby elephant but, naturally, thought better of the idea.