Deteema Springs Wildlife Stories December 2025
Weather Report
Hwange National Park saw a beautiful mixture of sunshine and rain throughout December. Breathtaking sunsets and massive clouds left us in awe, while the heat gave us an excuse to drink refreshing beverages. Daytime temperatures peaked at 37°C, but thanks to the frequent showers, it dropped to as low as 23°C.
Elephant Parade
Deteema Springs Camp is incredibly blessed to be smack-dab in the middle of the Hwange National Park. Every afternoon, while we went on our baboon look-out, we spotted different herds of elephants in front of our camp’s main area. The rain has created quite a few watering holes and mud puddles across the region, but it seems like the elephant herds enjoy drinking and taking mud baths in the one right in front of us.
New Life
While on a walk around camp, one of our staff members witnessed an impala giving birth. He quickly called everyone in camp to be part of this special occasion, but by the time we got there, the mother had left her calf on its own. After a few minutes, she returned and started licking, nursing, and helping the little one to stand.
Merry Christmas Sighting
On Christmas Day, we prepared a special gin sundowner for our guests. During a heated football conversation, camp radioed to inform us that a lion had been spotted in front of camp. We raced back and found the famous Deteema Pride’s males lying on the rocks in front of camp.
Plains Game
A wonderful variety of plains game can always be found around the Big Toms area in Hwange. During one particular game drive to that area, we encountered eight adult Tsetsebe antelopes. The poor things were skittish and ran away, but the sighting alone made our hearts race with excitement.
December was one of the most memorable months we’ve had in 2025. Join us next time to find out if January 2026 started on a good note. Here's to another year of spectacular wildlife sightings at Machaba.
Until next time,
Ntandoe
Deteema Springs Camp
