Wilderness Mombo Newsletter – March 2025

The Mathata Pride was sighted exploring new territory this month. This urge to venture into unfamiliar areas of our private wilderness area may have been brought about by the loss the pride suffered when one of the two brothers that made up the Mathata Coalition fell at the hands of the Tattoo Boys in October last year. The Tattoo Boys (so named for the distinct markings on their coats), have left an indelible mark on the Mathata Pride. With just one male leading the pride, it would seem they have opted to err on the side of caution and avoid the territory that was claimed by their rivals on that fateful day in October. The pride is currently one male, six females and three very precocious cubs strong. Prior to the fatal encounter with the Tattoo Boys, two females of the Mathata Pride had broken away from the pride with six of their cubs. There will inevitably come a time when the Mathata Pride crosses paths with their rivals again. Perhaps the scales of nature will tip in their favour on that day. 

This month we had the pleasure of hosting one of our multi repeat guests – Dr Mark, an avid photographer with an unwavering passion for safaris that is matched only by his warm, engaging personality. With over 200 safaris under his belt, one might be inclined to believe that he has seen it all. But as any experienced African traveller will tell you, no two excursions are ever the same. Even when you encounter the exact same animals in the wilderness, there are far too many variables at play for one sighting to be identical to the next. On this particular visit Dr Mark had quite a number of notable sightings, and as always, he would return to camp each day with many intriguing stories of special encounters, and enough stunning photographs to fill several books. We were all very sad to see Dr Mark leave. Even more so than usual as he had to cut his trip short. Please do share our best with Celia – Bush regards, your Mombo Family.

More than two centuries of hospitality experience

This month we had our annual General Managers’ retreat. These retreats are always a great opportunity to unwind, catch up with colleagues and recalibrate, as we prepare for the busiest time of the year. While there were so many takeaways from the sessions at the retreat, one of the most impactful for me was something that was highlighted by one of the Operations managers from our head office. In the speech he gave to kick off the event, he noted how privileged we were to be sitting in a room with about a century’s worth of hospitality experience to draw from. Putting that into perspective really set the tone for the engagements that followed over the course of the three-day gathering. But as I reflected on the speech, I realised that he was only half right. We were actually sitting on close to two centuries of hospitality experience in that room… an absolute wealth of knowledge to tap into as we continue to increase the world’s wilderness together!