The Classic South African Safari: Day 4

This was another busy day on safari! We started off with 5 lions having a great time in the river; the 3 youngsters were playing for close to 2 hours that made for wonderful photography. We then found a large male rhino, followed by an adult female rhino with her calf. Those sightings took up most of the morning, and we were feeling really good about getting some breakfast in, when the real treat jumped up next to us and caught a female nyala! We spotted a female leopard crouched in the grass, and within 30 seconds she was onto the unlucky nyala like a flash! It was a truly unbelievable sighting. The afternoon was also productive, with several sightings of elephants, buffalo and rhino. It was a very special day indeed, well, unless you are a nyala…

Major sightings of the day:

Pride of 5 lions, playing in the river
7 sightings of rhino
Female leopard hunting and catching a female nyala
Male elephant
3 sightings of male buffalo
2 sightings of elephant herds

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The Classic South African Safari: Day 3

We started the day searching for elephants, which were rather obliging, and several herds came out to pose for photographs. We also found a few old male buffalos spread out along the river, as well as a young hyena on the move. The day however belonged to the leopards, with 4 different leopard sightings! The first leopard was going about his business until he ran into 3 hyenas that were finishing up a nyala kill. The second was attempting to get her kill back from the third leopard, who was feeding in a tree above a hyena patiently waiting for any falling titbits, and the last leopard for the day was out hunting some impala! There was a lot to photograph, but we managed. This was yet another brilliant day on safari.

Major sightings of the day:

5 sightings of elephant herds
4 sightings of male buffalo
Male leopard
Crocodile
Hippo
2 sightings of rhino
Female leopard
Male leopard in a tree with an impala kill and a hyena underneath
Male leopard hunting impala

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The Classic South African Safari: Day 2

We started off in much the same way as we finished up on day 1: with a female leopard on the move. She soon retired to the shade of a tree so we moved on and managed to find a whole host of different animals to photograph, including herds of elephants, giraffe, a pride of lions and a couple of spotted hyena. We had ample time with each of the animals, and managed to spend a good deal of that time creating lasting images. Just as we felt we had been spoilt enough for the day, a second female leopard emerged from the bush late in the afternoon. We had a good look at her, but she was more interested in sleeping, so we let her be, giving the camera a well earned rest!

Major sightings of the day:

Female leopard
Hippo
7 lions
Side-striped jackal
2 spotted hyena
Herd of elephants
3 male buffalo
Female leopard

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The Classic South African Safari: Day 1

Straight out of the gate we found a female leopard on the move, and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon with her. This is never a bad way to spend your first afternoon on safari. The leopard was showing a lot of interest in a herd of impala, zebra and wildebeest and stalked her way into a good position, giving us many great photographic opportunities. The cameras were worked all though the afternoon, and into the night, starting us off with a lot of great images.

Major sightings of the day:

Female leopard
Large herd of zebra, wildebeest and impala

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The Gorilla Safari: Day 3

Beginning our day at the National Park HQ, we got assigned to a different family of gorillas for our second venture up the volcanoes. This family of gorillas live on the volcano right behind our lodge, which added a little something extra. Once again we found the gorillas after a relatively short trek up the volcano, which was lucky because we spent a rain-free hour with them; watching the youngsters play around with each other, and surprisingly, with the big silverback too. Just as we were leaving the family to go about their day, the rains came down! What an experience – the warm equatorial rains are something to see. The landscape was transformed in a matter of minutes, creating hundreds of mini waterfalls that came cascading down the edges of the volcano. The cameras were tested in the rains, and came through shining with some very unique images!

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