Wilderness Mombo newsletter – December 2025

This year, the turnout for our baobab sapling planting was even greater than all previous. All the guests we had in camp on Christmas morning decided to join in on the ceremony. We named the baobab tree we planted with our guests on the day Medupi, after the soft, gentle, life-giving rains that bring blessings and relief. We hope it will live on for thousands of years to come, joining a long line of time-keepers that have seen countless generations of all species come and go.  

Our guests’ opting to take a moment out of their morning safari to help us in our efforts to contribute towards preserving these magnificent trees really speaks to our shared passion for nature and conservation. We are eternally grateful to all our wonderful guests. 

On the 15th of December we held our annual Christmas Games. Judging from the build-up as we approached game day, I knew the 100m dash and the 400m relay heats were going to be an intensely competitive affair. But who knew a sack, bucket or egg race could inspire the same levels of competitive tension? 

In the weeks prior to the Christmas Day Games we had two young male lions coming into camp on an almost daily basis. Then most interestingly, on the day, the two brothers were nowhere to be seen. Even Norman (the resident hyena) was noticeably absent on game day – and the week that followed.

In fact, the only animals we saw around camp while the games were on were a few giraffe that looked on curiously from the safety of the tree-line. I can only imagine how confused, and perhaps unsettled, they were by the sight of a group of primates screaming and shouting, while others ran about with buckets on their heads and others with eggs balanced precariously on spoons. The games provided a great opportunity for the team to unwind and recalibrate in preparation for the year ahead. 

December is officially football season in The Place of Plenty. Once again, we had the pleasure of hosting a beautiful family with a few football (or soccer) fans amongst them.  So we decided to dust off the ball, and make a day of it. Having retained the concession trophy for the third year running, a few of the guys from our football team were eager to join the festivities after they caught wind of the Soccer Sundowner we had set up. 
 

While the kids were caught up in the action on the pitch and the grownups watched from the side-lines, a couple of elephants suddenly came into frame, just to add that extra bit authentic Mombo magic to the scenery. This made for a lot of amazing photographic opportunities, which Matt, the chief photographer amongst the family took full advantage of.   

As we reviewed the pics back in camp, I was deeply stirred by not only the images, but his reaction to them. Watching the kids having a blast on the soccer pitch, parents with cocktails in hand, against a backdrop of elephants silhouetted by the fading sunlight, was just sublime. How all these different elements came together to create moments that will live on in our collective memories for years to come is, to say the least, quite awe-inspiring.