Mashatu game reserve has a northern western annex. This northern part is along the Motloutse river. It includes the Motloutse lookout, Soloman’s wall and Mmamawaga hill where the remains of the Motloutse ruins can be seen.

“We rush through our days in such stress and intensity, as if we were here to stay and the serious project of the world depended on us. We worry and grow anxious; we magnify trivia until they become important enough to control our lives. Yet all the time, we have forgotten that we are but temporary sojourners on the surface of a strange planet spinning slowly in the infinite night of the cosmos.” ~ John O’Donohue

The Motloutse ruins are situated on top of Mmamagwa hill. There is virtually nothing left of the ruins except a few artifacts scattered in the sand and in crevices. On top of this hill a lone baobab stands like a sentinel looking down from its sandstone footing onto the mopanis and thornveld below .

About two or three kilometres directly north west of Mmamawga hill is Soloman’s wall which is positioned across the Motloutse river. It is a 30 metre wide and 20 m high (above the river bed) vertical basalt dyke. It formed a natural dam wall across the Motloutse river which eventually, through erosion, was breached.

A closer view of the right hand side of the eroded Soloman’s wall as you look down the Motloutse river toward the Limpopo river which flows down to the sea through Mozambique. It is hard to believe but this river can flow bank to bank after good rains which adds significantly to the Limpopo river’s flow.

A closer view of the right hand buttress as you look west. Looking at the size of this natural wall and the flatness of the upriver area, it must have created an impressive dam in days of old which stretched back beyond the Motloutse outlook many kilometres to the north.

“Each of us carries a unique world within our hearts.” ~ John O’Donohue

A view looking back from a ridge next to Soloman’s wall along the road that will take you back to Pont Drift border post on the southern edge of Mashatu. In the distance, on the left hand side of the next image, is a sacred hill which you will pass on the way the Motloutse lookout point. Only the Paramount Chief is allowed on top of this hill. Legend has it that whoever goes up there (other than the Chief) will not come back.

The sandstone hill upon which the sentinel baobab grows was part of the larger Mapungubwe region. The first people in Mapungubwe were early Iron Age settlers who lived there from about 1000 AD to 1300 AD. According to historicans, Mapungubwe was the first state in Southern Africa in the period 1220 to 1300AD. The Kingdom of Mapungubwe which existed in the Limpopo – Shashe basin, one thousand years ago, appears to have been the centre of the largest known kingdom in the African sub-continent. The civilisation thrived as a sophisticated trading center. There is a trail, 1000 years old, linking Vilanculos on the coast of Mozambique with the home of the little golden rhino, Mapungubwe. Artifacts found along the trail suggest the people who lived along this route transacted in gold, iron, ivory, ceramics, cloth and glass beads – from as far away as Arabia, India and China. Gold findings were evidence of early gold smelting. A large amount of artifacts from the royal family were discovered at Mapungubwe in South Africa. The best known of these objects is the golden rhinoceros. The Mouloutse ruins are thought to be the remains of satellite city of the main Mapungubwe city.

“May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.” ~ John O’Donohue

I have never seen animals on Mmamawaga hill but have seen elephants, impala, zebra, baboon and hyena down in the valley at the foot of Mmamagwa, where there is a natural spring. There are droppings of klipspringer and even elephants on top of Mmamawaga, signalling their erstwhile presence. In the rainy season, the water collects between the rocks providing ample water and rich pickings for those animals who dare to venture onto this hill’s crest.

Rhodes baobab, a lone baobab tree which must have had the top part of its trunk broken off when it was much younger. Perhaps there was an exceptionally high wind on top of the hill which did the damage. It is difficult to judge the age of this baobab and it is generally difficult to tell the age of a baobab tree. The reason being that they have a succulent trunk which gets stripped by elephants for water and does not have any clear growth rings, and some of the bigger ones are hollow. These are revered trees which alongside the lion and elephant and are iconic symbols of ancient Africa. Rhodes baobab is thought to be around 1000 years old Its girth is about 20 metres. It is difficult to know how this baobab seeded itself high on this sandstone ridge so many centuries ago. It might have been a bird or even a dung beetle removing its dung ball from elephant’s droppings and rolling it away and burying it in the sandy section where it stands today.

“Many of us have made our world so familiar that we do not see it anymore. An interesting question to ask yourself at night is, What did I really see this day?”~ John O’Donohue

While looking across the ‘Land of the Giants’ from the towering vantage point on Mmamagwa hill, you can see a series of parallel sandstone ridges which stretch from inside the Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa north along the Motloutse river.

While we were having sundowners, we had several visitors. When the sun was up we were visited by common flat lizards and skinks. As it got a little darker, an elephant shrew came out but it was too dark to get decent images of this fleet-footed mouse-like creature. The Elephant shrew is one of Africa’s “little five” (other four are Ant lions, Leopard tortoises, Buffalo weavers and Rhino beetles).

I did manage to get a few images of this Common Flat lizard which is easily identified by its dark green back with light green spots, bluish belly and rust to yellow coloured tail. It is endemic to this area and frequents these rocky outcrops normally feeding on invertebrates but will readily eat the crumbs dropped from our sunset drink snacks. The Flat lizard family are specialised to live on these types of rock outcrops. This group is so-called because of their flattened body shape which helps them fits into crevices in the rocks.

“As I sit under your bough, I am reminded of ‘Grandmother Willow’ and my musings paint with all the colours of the wind. I listen to the singing sandstone cliffs and wonder if I will hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon.” ~ Mike Haworth with memories of Pocahontas.

Some of the oldest baobabs are estimated to be over a thousand years old. The oldest baobab is thought to be Panke, a sacred giant in Zimbabwe, which is estimated to be between 2 450 and 2 500 years old. Baobabs are called the pachycauls of Africa. These are plants with a disproportionately thick trunk for their height and have relatively few branches. Baobabs are affectionately called the “upside down tree” because when bare of leaves, the spreading branches of a baobab look like its roots sticking up in the air. Africa is home to two of the nine species of baobab. Interestingly, these trees bloom at night and are pollinated by several species of fruit bats. The flowers are large enough to support the bats while they lick up the nectar and do their cross fertilisation work.

“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.”~Abraham Lincoln

On the west side of the trunk of Rhodes baobab, about 1.5 metres off the ground, you can faintly see the initials CJR and ADS carved into the bark. The tree has, over the millennia, thankfully healed and mostly covered up Rhodes’s desecration. CJR are the initials of Cecil John Rhodes and ADS is Antonio de Silva, who was Rhodes’ secretary. The history books show that Rhodes was in the region around 1893 surveying a route for his proposed railway line from Cape Town. Cecil John Rhodes had a dream of building a railway line from the Cape to Cairo. It transpired that the terrain was not suitable and the railway was built from Kimberley to Mahikeng in South Africa and on to Gaborone and Francistown in Botswana and on further north to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.

“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamour of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

There is a mystical quietness on top of Mmamagwa. You sense it as soon as you stand on top of the rocks near its sentinel baobab. The enormous vista enables you to see far and wide. One of our favourite times of the day to visit this magical place is in the late afternoon so that we can watch the sunset from its impressive sandstone ridge. I have said it before, but one gets a sense of reverence on top of Mmamagwa hill. I am not sure whether it comes from the quietness and perspective you get from looking down from such a height or whether there is a lingering sense of many souls who have lived here in another time and in another civilisation.

Once we hear the baboons barking in the gloom and hyaenas starting to whoop, we know it is time to descend and come back to earth. It is a tricky descent in the semi-light because you have to clamber over rocks and the bottom section is littered with loose stones.

“I gaze down upon your vastness and beauty with serenity. The quietness has a spiritual quality. The faint breeze carries voices from across the millennia. It is a place that humans can visit but could never call their own. History echos around this wild place.” ~ Mike Haworth

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

This is my fourth post from our last trip to Mashatu. This is a private game reserve located in the south eastern corner of Botswana at the confluence of South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. This part of the world undergoes a phenomenal transformation in the wet season, which is from November until April.

“Nature has hidden lessons for mankind underneath its silent saga. The trees teach us to give without discrimination, the seasons proclaim that time keeps changing for the better and the vastness of the sky bears the amount of love we should hold in our hearts for everyone we come across throughout the day.” ~ Sanchita Pandey

We were fortunate to be able to visit one month before the coronavirus lockdown which closed Mashatu game reserve and the country’s borders. By pure chance our timing was perfect. Heavy rains had just stopped and we were visiting before the magical transform was about take place from its dry barren brown into a ‘garden of Eden’ draped in green with carpets of yellow flowers.

“True, the sun and the wind inspire. But rain has an edge. Who, after all, dreams of dancing in dust? Or kissing in the bright sun?  ” ~ Cynthia Barnett  

On our second day, at first light we left camp to go and explore The sun had not yet risen as we drove around the rock outcrop behind our camp. We often hear a leopard coughing from this outcrop before dawn. There is also a hyaena den close to this outcrop, on the opposite side to the camp. This particular morning we saw a kudu bull standing on top of the outcrop. I was quite surprised as any ‘get away’ would be very difficult. There must have been some very tasty bushes on top of this outcrop to attract this browser.

Sure enough not long after we saw the kudu bull we found this female hyaena on her way back to her den after a night of actively searching for food. Judging from her swollen teats, I presume she was suckling her cubs. Her face was still covered in blood so she must have been feeding earlier on a kill somewhere nearby.

As the sun climbed high in the azure Botswana sky we made our way down to the Majale river. There were still large pools of water in the river but it was no longer flowing bank to bank as it had been days earlier. Knowing how dry this part of the world can be in winter, the water in the river is a beautiful sight.

“Petrichor is that pleasant earth scent that accompanies a storm’s first raindrops. Of course rain itself does not smell. This smell actually comes from the moistening of the ground. Petrichor is a combination of fragrant chemical compounds, some of which are organic oils but mostly of which are from actinobacteria.”~Tim Logan

A male Steenbok lying in the semi-shade. This small antelope has large ears which were turned outward suggesting there were other sounds behind it. The ears rotate horizontally on the side of his head to locate the direction of the sound. This little antelope is a browser and survive the dry winter periods with minimal water as he gets his moisture from the vegetation that he eats. These little antelope are territorial and mark their turf on the ground with their defecation and scent mark bushes from the glands below their eyes.

Warm dawn light washes over the mist laden vlei in the south of the game reserve. It was quiet, still and colourful creating the sense that dawn held her breath for just a moment.

A scout came out of his underground labyrinth to see if it was safe for the rest of the family to come out. This male banded mongoose was on guard. Having seen us he decided the family should stay under ground until we left.

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

A young male kudu sitting down in the shade around mid-morning just up from the Majale river. His youth was evident in the partial first twist in his horns. He needed to be alert as he was vulnerable among the bushes near the river.

A family of warthogs. The male at the back watching out for his family with the female and her three semi-grown piglets watching us. The piglets had just been suckling when the parents suddenly realised we were watching them. This was a typical warthog family but they can extend to seven piglets. The presence of lion, leopard, hyaena and cheetahs in Mashatu are likely to trim any large warthog family.

“When life throws you a rainy day, play in puddles.”~ Pooh Bear

As we were making our way back to camp for brunch, we found this leopard tortoise enjoying a drink from a puddle of rainwater in the middle of the gravel access road. We stopped and watched his character drink his fill and wander back in the bush undisturbed.

This lioness had her cubs nearby but she saw the big lenses staring at her and reciprocated. This has happened many times with a large prime lens. The lioness must have just seen a large eye and was watching it extremely carefully for any sign of a threat. The size of her irises was small responding to the bright sunlight beyond the shade. Her stare was mesmorising and threatening at the same time. Once she had assessed there was no threat she relaxed and gave a soft grunting sound to call her cubs after which she got up and moved with her cubs for a little more peace and quiet, probably away from the stares.

Two young giraffe sticking together away from the parents. The tufts of hair on their ossicones signify their youth. The one on the right is a few months younger than the one on the left. Difficult to tell what sex they are as their leg positions hide the possible penal bump on the belly, if they were boys.

A bat-eared fox in a threatening posture with its fur fluffed out on its back and tail, and its back arched to make it look bigger. These diminutive foxes feed mainly on insects such as termites, scorpions and spiders preferring beetle larvae. They detect the underground larva with their large highly sensitive ears. Once located they use their paws to dig out their meal.

Steenboks are very vulnerable to most species of predators, from caracals, servals, jackals and leopards. Normally a Steenbok will remain dead still and use concealment as the main form of defense but as the last resort will dash away from the threat. This male Steenbok used the last resort option.

Late afternoon – busy day. This large young male baboon was just ‘chilling’ while the rest of the troop where foraging and “chemering” to each other. His reclined posture looked remarkably human-like.

The stillness of the morning was reflected in the mirrored surface of this large pool of water in the Majale river. A time of abundance.

A group of three female eland standing in front of a wide bent in the Majale river on a partly cloudy morning.

The dominant male in the group of eland. His darkening grey pelage indicates his age. Aging adults tend to lose their hair resulting in the overall colour becoming bluish-grey due to the skin reflecting through the coat. A longer tuft of dark blackish-brown hair covers the forehead of adults and is associated with a gland that secretes a strong, scented substance. The colour of this tuft in adult bulls changes to copper red-brown and becomes bushy with age, giving the appearance of a hairy proboscis known as the rostrum according to Deon Furtsenburg of GeoWild Consult. The clicks of his knee tendons were clearly audible as he walked. These clicks are signals to other males of the his size and fighting ability. They sound like castanets and can be heard a hundred metres away.

Ever stealthy, this young female leopard was lying in the cool dappled shade. It took the “eagle-eyes” of our guide Justice to see her lying under the thick green bush.

“Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.” ~ Wayne Dyer

This Temmnick’s courser found a patch of soft soil in which to have a dust bath.

This wildebeest bull was vigorously defending this territory when we found him. He was chasing other males away from the females in his territory. He also must have dug his horns into the mud to make himself look bigger. I have seen eland and kudu doing this. It was fascinating to see how hyped up this character was.

Two lion cubs distracted in the midst of their play. Something caught their attention.

As we were driving back to camp after sunset we came across this Mozambique spitting cobra moving down from the rock outcrop toward the road. This cobra is around one metre long when fully grown and is most active at night. This snake’s back is varies in colour from slate to olive or tawny black in colour with some of the scales havimg black-edges. Its underside varies from salmon pink to purple yellowish, and it has black bars across the neck. The ventrals are speckled or edged with brown or black. Ventral scales are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck. This cobra is considered one of the most dangerous snakes in Africa. It can spit its venom over three metres and usually at its victim’s eyes. It’s bite causes severe local tissue destruction much like that of a puff adder. Needless to say we just watched this character from a distance.

Sunset over the Majale river. I often find I have to pinch myself when I look at the colour saturated sky. It seems so other worldly. With every evening being so different, I could never grow tired of looking at such beauty.

Wandering around the “garden of Eden” is a humbling experience. The transformation took place without any human intervention. The change was miraculous and reminded me that I have much still to learn from the bush and the community of beings which live in the wild.

“A balmy evening bathed in saturated sunset colours, standing high on the bank above the quietly flowing Majale river. A bitterly cold drink in one hand and spiced cashews in the other. The warmth of friends animated chatter. The sky perfectly reflected off the water’s surface. The musical “queeto-queeto” of the last sandgrouse taking off and making their way home at last light. The male Scops owls starting his “bruuup” calling to his mate on this calm balmy evening. A hint that later that evening the Pearl-spotted owl would start his fluted whistling “tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu”. The perfect end to another intriguing day in Africa with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and peace.” ~ Mike Haworth

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Summer is not the easiest time for predators in Southern Africa. Having good rains means that there is plenty of water all around and the animals which usually need to come down to the rivers to drink in the dry season, now disperse.

“Stop for a moment. Hold your breath and listen. The breeze carries a distant roar. Instinctively you know it is his place. The roar sends shivers down your spine – a reflex from some deep primal memory. The roar is far way but his message is clear to family and foe.” ~ Mike Haworth

Occasionally, as we are driving along a dry river bed densely lined with trees, we come across a predator either walking in the shade or lying on the cool sand.

The Mashatu logo on the door of a game vehicle. Mashatu is a land of large beings – trees, birds, reptiles and mammals – Mashatu trees, Martial eagles and Kori bustards, African pythons and elephants.

When the game vehicles go out first thing in the morning, the guides usually radio each other to communicate what they have seen either that morning or the evening before. It must have been around 7h30 when our guide, Justice, found the dominant male lion in Mashatu. Often when one group of visitors moves on after having seen the animal, the animal moves on, and the next vehicle needs to a little time searching and tracking to find where it had moved to.

The length of the shadows indicates it was still relatively early in the morning when we found this male lion. The shadow was to the right of the broken bush indicating that it was morning light and he was still lying in the open signalling that, although warm, it was not too hot for him. He was not with his pride so must have been resting while out patrolling his territory. He has had a relatively easy time without too much competition. He banished some of his sons a few years ago and they moved north and west. There has been surprisingly little competition and he has a handsome unscarred face to prove it. The status quo is always fluid so the time for a take over is coming.

The next day we found two females with cubs. Judging from their size they must have been around three to four months old and still sucking. The females, when they are in the mood, are remarkably gentle and attentive.

When your mother bares her teeth like this, even in a yawn, best you know your place. Judging from the condition of her canines she was a relatively young mother. We found her and her cubs around 17h00 in the evening and she was yawning as she was waking up and getting ready to get going. An adult lion’s clock is opposite to ours. They usually sleep during the day when it is hottest and do all their moving and hunting at night when it is cool and they can exploit their competitive advantage to its fullest, their night vision.

Cubs of the same sex often begin life long friendships when they are in the pride. The male cubs friendship group often grows into a coalition after they leave the pride, The females usually stay in the pride and bond for life.

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”~ Plato

The cubs, of course, do not follow the adults’ pattern and can be very playful during daylight hours. They use each other as sparring partners where they build their coordination and learn to practice some of the moves that they have learnt from watching their mother.

Usually the lionesses are very patient with their cubs and even the other lionesses’ cubs. They can bite and pounce on their mother with little reaction. It is only when they have made their mother’s nipples raw with their sucking and biting do the mothers react firmly. The mother will often get up and walk away from the cubs to get a break.

“Two things define you. Your patience when you have nothing, and your attitude when you have everything.” ~ Unknown

When you spend a little time watching the cubs, it becomes very apparent that they have different personalities. Some are thugs, some are shy and retiring and others are more pensive and like to watch all the action from a distance.

Hide and seek, tripping, tackling sand stalking are all part of the games that cubs play at this age to build strength and coordination and begin to hone some of their hunting skills. Every lion has different skills and this is typically they time the differences start to show.

Lionesses usually have two to three cubs in a litter. She has only four nipples, so any more than four cubs is problematic. The cubs are introduced to meat around three months of age and are unusually weaned after about 10 months of age. Lactating females are prepared to feed any of the cubs in the pride and only chase them away when their nipples are getting too sore.

“Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.”~ Heraclitus

Cubs grow quickly in their first year. They are able to walk under their mother’s stomach until about two months old and reach just below their mother’s shoulder height by one year old. When looking at these cute little characters, it is hard to accept that around half of them die in their first year and about 80% of youngsters do not make it to adulthood. In Mashatu, the survival rate is higher as there is not the same level of threat from wandering nomad male lions but there are plenty of hyaenas and leopards. It is also not beyond a Martial eagle or a baboon to steal a very small cub.

On our third afternoon in Mashatu, we were out on an afternoon game drive. Justice, our guide, found the two lionesses and their cubs in an open area between two croton groves. It was late afternoon and the light was a rich golden colour. The lion families were lying in the grass in the shade but eventually some of the cubs started wandering toward a small pool of rainwater which was close by. Cubs are always playful even when they are just walking together.

One lioness moved out of the shade of the large trees surrounding this open sand patch and walked down to the pond to drink. What was so impressive about our guide, Justice, was that as soon as the cubs started to move toward the pond he moved the vehicle. With excellent anticipation he moved the vehicle in the opposite direction to everyone else and got us into position with a clear view of the pond such that the direction of the sun illuminated the pond perfectly. We then just sat and waited. Eventually, after about ten minutes, the first lioness walked down to the pond for a drink with the rich golden light bathing her from the front.

There is just no substitute for accurate anticipation of animal behaviour and good light. The anticipation of animal behaviour comes from spending time watching them and slowly learning their ways .

Once the lionesses were drinking at the pond, the cubs inevitably followed. The one lioness on the right hand side objected to one of the cubs biting her haunches. It was a sublime few minutes when all the lions gathered alongside the water’s edge to drink in the rich saturated late afternoon light. These times last a few minutes then they are gone, but the memory lasts long after the light has faded.

We are fortunate to always see lions when we visit Mashatu and usually see cubs of various ages. I never take for granted the privilege of seeing these “tawny paws” given the drastic dwindling of their numbers in Africa. I also value that we see these magnificent predators in the wild, not in some form of human containment.

“Lions were once found on three continents but have since disappeared from 94 percent of their historic range. Now fewer than 25,000 wild lions are estimated to remain in Africa.” ~National Geographic

I am fortunate enough to visit Mashatu twice a year and it seems to me that the lion population is relatively stable. There is plenty of game which also sustains a large population of hyaenas in the game reserve. The dominant male lion has had a long run with his pride, with little competition. The time must be coming that younger males will eventually wander into his territory looking to take over. New males will most probably come from the Zimbabwean side on the east of Mashatu, as the north and west have villages and the south borders on South Africa which is mostly fenced.

“There will be three cats, kin of your kin, with the power of the stars in their paws. They will find a fourth, and the battle between light and dark will be won. A new leader will rise from the shadows of his death, and the clan will survive beyond the memories of his memories. This is how it has always been and always will be.”
~ Erin Hunter

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike