We spent our first evening drive with the lions, starting with the very handsome Dark-Maned Majingilane (followed by a sighting of an impressive Martial Eagle) and, not much later, we came across the Sparta Pride, who were having a nice nap (all but the cubs, who were too busy climbing fallen trees) before eventually being joined by a couple of the Majingilanes and wandering off to hunt in the early evening, leaving the cubs in the care of one of the lionesses. And leopards…climbing trees and exiting them.
Dark Maned Majingilane Male Lion
Martial Eagle taking off
Sparta Cub
We then spent several days bouncing from sighting to sighting, almost as if the animals were lining up waiting to see us, particularly the leopards: the Dudley Riverbank Female and her cub; the Ximpalapala Female and her 3 cubs; the Tugwaan Male; the Vomba Female and her cub; the Nottens Female; the Maxabene 3:3 Young Male; the Camp Pan Male; and, on our last drive (thanks to determined tracking by Freddy, assisted by Dean, who had joined us for the drive) a fleeting glimpse of the Mashaba Female and her cub.
Maxabeni 3:3 Young Male
The Maxabeni 3:3 Young Male
Vomba Female and Cub
Vomba Female and Cub
The Tugwaan Male
Mashaba Female’s Cub
The Maxabeni 3:3 Young Male
The Dudley Riverbank Cub
My favorite leopard sighting, though, was of the Ximpalapala cubs: when we drove up to them, we wondered why they were all up in the trees, and we soon found out why. One of them decided to come down but had barely touched the ground before scrambling madly back up to safety, having encountered a rather large hyena!
The third Ximpalapala Cub
Exiting the Tree
Returning to Safety
Two Ximpalapala Leopard Cubs
My other favorite sightings were the beautiful male cheetah on a kill:
Cheetah Kill
Cheetah Kill
A Male Cheetah and a Pied Kingfisher fishing in the pond (unfortunately, I missed the actual splash:)
Pied Kingfisher taking off
As you know, I love the birds, and I saw plenty on this visit:
European Bee Eater
Wood Sandpiper
Water Dikkop
A Pair of Woodland Kingfishers
African Jacana
Tawny Eagle Perched on Branch
Woodpecker
And, as for the larger and smaller animals:
Zebra Profile
Curious Zebras overlooking Sparta
A Pair of Mating Chameleons
Hippo Tonsils
The Marine Oxpecker
Written and Photographed by Henry Smith who shot these at Londolozi in Southern Africa
Rich Laburn is filmmaker, photographer and writer who is based at Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa. Spending his time capturing scenes of the wild and communicating the beauty of the African bushveld, he runs the Londolozi Blog as a way to entertain and engage people wishing to visit these wild lands.
