Deteema Springs Wildlife Stories June 2026
Weather Report
Winter had fully arrived in Zimbabwe, leaving us with chilly mornings, hot afternoons, and cold evenings. Although it is the coldest season of the year, it is also the dry season in southern Africa, with dramatically less rain and thinned-out vegetation. This combination of factors makes for an unmatched safari game-viewing experience, thanks to the clear skies and unmatched visibility.
Friendly Elephants
During our afternoon game drives, we often see elephants drinking water from our Deteema Dam. We would then stop and have a picnic, enjoying the sighting from afar. On this occasion, we went to the spillway to see some more elephants, where they came close to our safari vehicle as if to say hi.
Deteema Lions
The Deteema lion pride is one of our favourite prides to show guests in the Hwange National Park. When we heard them calling one morning, we thought that was a perfect opportunity to show them off some more. We followed the sounds, eventually picking up the tracks that led us straight to them. When we caught up to the Deteema Pride, lions, lionesses, and cubs were all fast asleep.
“Big Log”
We had a slower morning with fewer wildlife sightings towards the middle of June. We ended up going to the Big Toms area and having some tea and coffee when one of our guests spotted a “big log” across the road. As our guide moved towards it to remove it from the road, he saw it moving slowly across the road. Upon closer inspection, the “log” turned out to be a massive African python that measured two and a half meters long!
Guest Buffalo
While everyone else was out on an evening drive, some of our staff were out in the main area watching elephants. As they watched, they noticed some buffalo bulls walking with the elephants until they got into the seep in front of Deteema Springs Camp. Once they got there, they waded into the water and wallowed for quite a while.
Deteema Springs Camp had some amazing sightings this past June. We can’t wait to see what July has in store.
Until next time,
Ntandoe
Deteema Springs Camp
