A great time was had on our Love Limpopo safari in May 2024. We had a really wonderful group of women travel with us in the Limpopo Province of South Africa and across the Limpopo River into the south-eastern corner of Botswana. Firstly a couple of maps for orientation. The map on the left shows the bigger picture of the location of our 2 destinations 1 = Welgevonden Game Reserve and 2 = Tuli Wilderness. The above map shows Welgevonden Game Reserve within Limpopo Province. We travelled through Polokwane and Vaalwater - we had our first lunch stop here and investigated what became known as THAT shop (the intriguing Black Mamba art and craft store). It also shows Hoedspruit - where we live. Our first destination was Welgevonden Game Reserve in the Waterberg District - far north of Johannesburg, heading towards the Limpopo River. Welgevonden - a Dutch word - can be translated to a "serendipitous discovery" and it was just that - particularly with all those amazing (horned) white rhino. We stayed at Metsi Eco Lodge and were very well looked after by charming owners Catherine & Geoffrey Mauvais and, of course, their brilliant staff. Welgevonden Game Reserve Elephant feeding Watch the video of the elephant crossing over the sand road in front of the vehicle HERE. Listen out for the rumble and the sound of footfalls on the gravel. Southern Giraffe Ostrich (male) Blue Wildebeest Buffalo Some of the smaller things. A firm favourite - the Large-fruited Combretum pods. Tuli Wilderness Then we headed up across the Limpopo River in to the south eastern corner of Botswana and into vast Northern Tuli Game Reserve - a special, remote and rugged wilderness area like no other. We stayed at Mohave Camp and were well taken care of by the friendly and caring team there. No shortage of lion here! Watch this compiled clip HERE- it is from when we came across the male and two young females with the remains of the eland carcass. The one female had those three very young cubs who dashed off down the bank and out across the dry river bed. Their very attentive mother set off after them and called continuously until they scampered back and joined her. This is the same spot where we had that great flehmen response which is one the most interesting lion (and other mammals and most cats) behaviours. It is most important to the male of the species - he sniffs a patch of urine left by the female to check if she is coming into oestrous and receptive to mating. He sniffs, lifts his head, and holds his lips back in a strong grimace to test the chemicals and hormones in the urine, using an organ in the nasal cavity that opens into the roof of the mouth. He ended this performance with some of his own scent marking. Another interesting observation was this lioness covering up any blood in the sand around the eland carcass. She scraped dirt up around the remains for some time. The thought is that she was masking any scent that could attract predators in order to protect her very young and vulnerable cubs. And then the elephants! We did see one or two other things! Bat-eared Fox (on the run) Black-backed Jackal Yellow-spotted Hyrax The view from Eagle Rock showcases the vast open beautiful space that is Tuli Wilderness. And our last sunset looking out over the rocky terrain.