Early start today as up at 5.30 and on the game ride at 6.  It was quite chilly but the animals were out and about.  First sighting was a white rhino and it’s baby.

The Black rhino is more elusive and rushes into the thicket if it hears the car coming.  We did see a couple but they were gone before we could prime the phone!  We asked our guide, Leon, how many rhino were in the Reserve but he said that’s not something they talk about.  Mostly because of information going back to poachers.

Then we spotted a lion, the current leader of the pride with 2 wives and several cubs. Again he was at a distance and phone cameras cannot do it justice. He began to growl and call to mark his territory and it was incredible.  We can appreciate that you can do all this at the zoo but to hear it on his ground with scurrying antelopes not wanting to be his next lunch was amazing.

Shamwari also have a rehabilitation centre for injured or ill animals and run this as part of the Born Free Foundation. Formed in 1984 by the actress Virginia McKenna and her husband Bill Travers it is an international Wildlife charity that campaigns to “keep wildlife in the Wild”.

In 1966 they made a film called Born Free, a true story , about a lion called Elsa who was hand reared by a naturalist called Joy Adamson.  This film inspired them to become wildlife activists and their son is currently CEO.

All the animals, once recovered go back into the reserve.  They try to be as ‘hands off’ as possible. Some animals need a long time to recuperate and a companion animal will join them so they aren’t lonely and help their recovery.

Shamwari are also in partnership with Vulpro, a vulture conservation group working to increase and protect the African vultures.  There are over 100 vultures here who cannot be released into the wild as the damage to them is permanent. Some can’t fly, some are blind and many have sustained injuries from power lines or poisoning.  Many are poached because, like the Rhino horn, people believe they have supernatural powers based on ‘muthi’, (traditional medicine), beliefs to bring good luck , cure illness etc using their heads, brains and feet. Here at Shamwari they are running a 25 year project to populate the Eastern Cape.

The birds only lay one egg a year and once it’s laid it is taken away to an incubator and the bird sits on an artificial one as they damage the real one. Once the chick is born it is returned to the parent. It is fitted with a tracker and when it is old enough it is released into the wild.  It is a slow way to repopulate hence the 25 year project.

We ended the day with another game drive and saw another of the Big 5, the buffalo.

This evening we had a BBQ with traditional African meats and spices. Then our lovely cooks and waiters burst into song and entertained us with traditional African songs A lovely way to end the day.  Tomorrow, 6 am we’re off to find the elusive cheetah and leopard.