South Africa Safari – Pink Pouch

Back on October 31st I wrote about our experiences in Londolozi when our land rover became stuck and our ranger and tracker had to free it. At that time I wrote:

“On the drive back to camp I asked Richard why he didn’t call for help to get out of the wash. His reply was along the lines of what I expected. Apparently there are no consequences to getting stuck at Londolozi, as long as you can free yourself. However, if you have to call for help the leather ammo pouch that each ranger carries on his belt is replaced by a pink ammo pouch for a month!”

It turns out that this is not just a myth that the rangers tell visitors. Last Saturday Mike Sutherland posted the following on the Londolozi blog:

The proud new owner of the Pink Pouch, Mr Byron Serrao. (Photographer not given)

Byron Serrao is only the most recent holder of the Pink Pouch. For more detail about the story behind the pouch check out James Tyrrell’s post from August 13th. 😉

Enjoy!
Mark

Advertisement

South Africa Safari – Day 10

What day 10 lacked in variety it made up for in quantity. One again we started the day by tracking a pride of lions on the hunt. It was clear that they sensed nearby prey but we never figured out what they were after. We stayed with them for over 30 minutes and they stalked through the dry grass before moving on.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

We explored the veldt for about 40 minutes before coming upon a few elephants at a watering hole. Unlike yesterday the light was good and we stopped to watch these magnificent animals.

We moved on but almost immediately came upon the rest of the herd. For a moment we thought we were going to see a scuffle as two males challenged each other. However, the smaller of the males showed good sense and backed down.

We drove ahead of the herd and parked at a second water hole and waited. Within minutes the herd arrived and began to fill up. Along with the herd was one baby elephant. It was so young it had not yet learned how to use its trunk to drink. It was so cute as the baby got down on its knees to drink water directly with its mouth. The adults kept the baby surrounded at all times in what was clearly a protective maneuver. There was lots of other activity around the water as well. There was some pushing and shoving by some of the elephants. Some waded directly into the water while the others remained on the bank. This continued for about 30 minutes. Then the herd reversed course and headed back into the bush.

The challenge

Face off

Retreat

“and a little child shall lead them.”

With the departure of the elephants we resumed our search. We came across a few Cape Buffalo. I must admit that I find these beasts fascinating.

After about 50 minutes of exploration we found a leopard hidden in the bush with fresh prey. (An antelope or Impala I think.) We watched as the leopard ripped the fur from the carcass and then tore in to the meat. Despite the grisly scene in front of us you could not help but admire the beauty of this animal.

“…and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat”

Our afternoon drive began with more elephants. It was probably part of the same herd that we saw this morning. We grabbed a few shots and moved on.

We decided to see if the leopard from this morning was still there – and she was. She was still working over her prey. A somewhat older cub briefly made an appearance but then quickly disappeared back into the bush.

Mother and cub

As we drove around we spotted a few rhinos but not much else. Finally, around 5 pm, we came across a pride of lions. They of course were doing what lions do best – rest. We watched them lay about and groom each other. Then slowly they started to show some signs of life, eventually heading over to the water for a drink. By this time the sun was down and it was starting to get dark. (i.e.: some of the following shots were taken at ISO 12800) We left them as they were getting ready for their evening’s adventures.

Cranky

South Africa Safari – Day 9

For our first full day at King’s Camp we were, as usual, out before sunrise. We found several white rhinos rather quickly browsing for their morning meal. Rhinos have always held a fascination for me because of their compact, powerful shape. They look as much like a train locomotive as anything else and that giant horn on the front of their head serves its purpose of appearing to be very threatening.

Click on any image to enlarge

In relatively short order we sighted some steenbok, a male Kudu, and elephants.

Male Kudu

Male Kudu

Male Kudu

Steenbok

It was about 7:45 am when we spotted a pride of lions that appeared to be intently watching something. We approached cautiously so as not to disturb them. There was a herd of Cape Buffalo nearby that seemed to capture their full attention. We watched as they slowly got up out of the grass and slowly skulked their way towards the Cape Buffalo. It was fascinating to watch. Eventually they seemed to either loose interest or realized that their chances with this herd were not too great and settled back into the grass.

When we realized that the lions had given up the hunt we moved on to hunt for other animals ourselves. Alongside the river we found one of the leopards that we had seen the previous day. We watched it for a while but apparently it did not want company and disappeared into the bush. We also spotted a troop of baboons in the river bottom. One of the baboons had a baby riding on it’s back, horseback-style. We also saw a few more giraffes, always a delight.

The rest of the morning was fascinating as we came across a couple groups of elephants. We saw one group headed in the direction of one of the watering holes so we went on ahead and waited. In short order, the elephants showed up for their morning drink. Unfortunately, the light was very harsh, terrible for photography. But we got to watch as a family composed of a large bull, a matriarch, one young elephant and one baby came up to the hole for a drink.

They finished their drink and moved on and so did we. However, the same group re-appeared out of the bush and this time we were able to obtain some nice photos.

We arrived back at camp and had our usual splendid lunch. As we left the dining room we noticed that the front lawn was being mowed – South African style.

We began our afternoon drive by telling our ranger that we wanted to find some zebras. We really had not seen that many on this trip and I think that zebras are among the most beautiful of all the African mammals. We took off and had to drive for quite a distance but we were able to locate a small herd and obtain some great shots.

After leaving the zebras we started the long drive back towards camp. Our ranger “Remember” promised us something special. We passed up some more elephants (I think they were following us that day) and headed for one of the large watering holes. We arrived just as the sun was going down, and were astonished by the sight. We drove right into a herd of Cape Buffalo. The herd appeared to be 500 to 1000 animals strong. It was one of the most amazing sights I had seen and certainly one of the highlights of the safari.

The sun had now set and we headed back to camp. However as we passed another watering hole we saw two young spotted hyenas playing in the water. We had to stop even though it was almost dark. Time to crank up the ISO to 6400 and burn some electrons! We photographed the two hyenas for a while and then spotted the mother and an even younger pup. So of course we had to take a few more shots.

We headed back to camp, or so we thought. Some of us noticed that we were going in the wrong direction. We soon discovered that the day’s activities were not yet over. The camp staff had planned an elaborate bush dinner for us. “Oh the rigors of a safari…” Yet somehow we survived the evening.

South Africa Safari – Day 8

The morning of October 2nd was to be our last game drive at Mala Mala. After an abbreviated drive  we would move to our final safari destination, Kings Camp in the Timbavati game preserve.

We were out before 6 am as usual and found the usual herd of Impala grazing near the camp. It was quite chilly that morning. Continuing on we came across a termite mound. Between our Kenya trip and this one we had seen dozens of termite mounds. What was unique about this one was that it was clearly active with steam rising from the mound and condensing in the cold morning air.

Click on any photo to enlarge

Active termite mound.

At about 6:15 we spotted a bush buck. We watched him for a while and then came across a beautiful African fish eagle and a male kudu.

Bush Buck

Bush Buck

Bush Buck

Fish eagle

Male Kudu

Around 7:30 we spotted a pride of lions at the “green slime” watering hole. One lioness was pacing at the edge of the water and staring out to the center where an animal carcass was stuck. It appeared to be a Nyala but how it got there I don’t know. What I did know was that the lioness wanted it and was trying to figure out how to get it.

We watched her try to figure out how she could get to the carcass and drag it to shore. Finally, almost without warning, she leaped into the pond only to find herself chest deep in mud. This was a nasty turn of events that clearly displeased her. When we left about a half hour later she was still lying at the edge of the water hole trying to figure out how to get the carcass.

After leaving the lions at the water hole we found another leopard. This handsome cat spent most of the time either under a tree or creeping through the brush. We followed the cat for about a half hour but then needed to head back to camp. On the way back to camp we did get a photo of a water buck. We had been trying to get a good shot of a water buck ever since we went to Kenya.

Water buck

We got back to camp, packed our bags and loaded into a small bus for the 2 hour drive to King’s Camp. The drive was interesting. We were a long way from the urban centers yet we saw a lot of residential construction. Most of the homes are very small and made from concrete blocks. Most were unfinished. Apparently people would buy construction materials as they could afford them and then continue building their homes as they were able to.

We arrived at Kings Camp, our final destination for this safari, and were warmly welcomed, as usual, by the owners and staff. Unlike Londolozi and Mala Mala, which were unfenced, Kings Camp was surrounded by a wide electric fence to discourage the wildlife from entering the compound and snacking on the tourists! Despite the fence, we were warned not to roam the camp unescorted at night.

It was almost 4 pm by the time we began our afternoon drive. Our Ranger/Driver for King’s Camp was “Remember” and our tracker’s name was Elvis. Almost immediately we discovered a giraffe busy munching on trees nearby. With that long neck and horns on its head the giraffe always appears rather cartoon-like. Continuing on our way we soon came across a pride of lions. They appeared to be tracking some nearby wildlife. They were clearly attentive but unhurried. The largest male had a large abscess or growth on his left front leg. Eventually they settled down in the grass and do what lions do so well much of the time – nothing.

We saw a herd of Cape Buffalo nearby and headed in that direction. After watching the herd for a short while Remember mentioned that there was a watering hole nearby and the herd seemed to be slowly moving in that direction. He suggested that we go down to the watering hole and wait for the herd there. We arrived at the watering hole and positioned ourselves strategically such that we would have good light when the buffalo arrived. Remember was correct. Within 10 minutes the herd was meandering towards the water for an afternoon drink. And we were in the perfect position to capture nature in action.

The Cape Buffalo finished up and wandered off about 5:15 so we took off in search of other animals. In short order we came across a spotted hyena. Hyenas are very odd animals, looking like they were built with left over spare parts of other animals. Some people consider them to be ugly, but I just think they look kind of strange.

As we were driving around I spotted a tree with whitish/yellow roots growing on top of a boulder. I asked Remember what type of tree it was. It was a Large-leaved Rock Fig tree (Ficus abutilifolia), a member of the mulberry family. They characteristically grow out of the rocks with their roots penetrating the cracks, searching for water. The fruit is said to be quite tasty.

Large-leaved Rock Fig Tree

By now it was almost sunset. One thing about southern Africa is that the sunsets are typically spectacular. Presumably this is due to the presence of the Kalahari desert to the west which kicks up lots of dust into the atmosphere. Whatever the cause, the colors are incredible.

Sunset

On the way back to camp we lucked upon another leopard. This cat was definitely on the prowl for its dinner. We followed it in the gathering darkness for about 20 minutes. To our surprise it headed for our camp! When it came to the electric fence the cat was not deterred in the least. With one easy leap he soared over the fence and into the camp. Now I understood the warning about not roaming around the camp unescorted at night!

Kings Camp electric fence

Leopard inside the camp after jumping the fence.

South Africa Safari – Day 7

When we rolled out of bed at 5:00 am on day 7 we had no idea what an exciting and  interesting day was in store for us. As usual, we were on the trail before 6 o’clock. It was a beautiful morning and the light was magnificent. We had barely gotten out of camp when we came across a small herd of impala. Even though we had lots of impala photos the light was so golden we had to stop and snap a few photos.

Click on any photo to enlarge

We left the impala behind and headed down to the river.  As we were crossing the river we spotted two saddle billed storks a couple hundred yards away. We had only seen these birds once before, and that was 2 years ago in Kenya. They are tall, colorful and spectacular. We watched and photographed them for over 30 minutes, although it seemed a lot longer. It was fascinating to watch them catch fish and then toss them down their throats. While watching the storks we also spotted some three banded plovers and Pied Kingfishers.

Saddlebilled Stork

Saddlebilled Stork

Saddlebilled Stork

Three Banded Plover

Pied Kingfisher

Leaving the storks behind we began to explore and see what else we could find. It was only 7 o’clock and the light was still good. As we drove under a tall tree a Vervet monkey issued warning calls. We drove through an area of rocky outcroppings hoping to spot leopards. Instead we spotted something ever less common, a Klipspringer (rock jumper). The Klipspringer is a very small antelope that has adapted to the rocky outcroppings as its home. He was very cute as he stood proud on the edge of a boulder surveying his domain.

Klipspringer

Vervet Monkey issuing a warning call.

Shortly thereafter we came across another pride of sleepy lions. We watched for a short time and realized that this group had no intention of moving anytime in the near future so we left. Our ranger Ross mentioned that a rhino had been killed by a poacher the day before and the rhino’s horn sawed off. We asked if the rhino was nearby and if we could see it. We took off for a short drive. We spotted conclusive signs that we were getting close.

We arrived at the rhino carcass and got to witness first hand the horror of poaching. The rhino was killed, the horn sawed off and the animal left for dead. It also appeared that one leg had been cut off, for reasons unknown.

688 rhinos have been killed in South Africa in 2013, half of those were in the area of Kruger and Mala Mala.This one made it 689. To find out a bit more about this incident take a look at my blog of October 14th.

The rhino carcass had already been partially eaten by scavengers. When we arrived there were just a few vultures present. Then a leopard showed up to help himself to a piece of rhino flesh before heading off to the bush. With the leopard gone the vultures moved in with a fury. It was fascinating to watch nature at work. As the following photos show, there were times when so many vultures were fighting for food that you couldn’t see the carcass.

If you would like to really see what a feeding frenzy this was you can check out some video of the scene on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbfbbSrrMJ4

We spent over an hour at the site. It was one of the most meaningful and relevant experiences of the trip in many ways. But it was time to move on.

As we started exploring again we came across a waterhole with an Egyptian goose and a hippopotamus immersed in green slime. Not real photogenic so we moved on. We also found some wildebeest, an elephant and a male and female kudu in the brush.

Male Kudu

Female Kudu

Our next discovery really impressed me. I am always astonished at how good our rangers and trackers are at spotting hidden animals. As we were driving along the trail at a pretty good speed, Ross all of a sudden pulls over by a tree and holds up his hand for silence. He takes out his binoculars and stares intently into the tree for a few seconds and then turns to us, points and says “white faced owl”. And sure enough, hidden in the branches of this dense tree was a smallish owl. The owl flew from place to place in the tree before settling down. It took us a bit of maneuvering to finally get in position where we could get a photograph of it. It was gorgeous with white and grey feathers and bright orange eyes

Southern White Faced Scops Owl

.As we started to make our way back to camp we came across a herd of Cape buffalo. These animals are interesting. In the two trips that I’ve taken to Africa the Cape Buffalo has shown the temperament of a cow, yet it is renowned to be among the fiercest of animals. I guess I should be happy I haven’t seen that side of their personality.

We had seen a record number of species during the morning drive. Fifteen different animals by my count. We had also seen nature in action as the vultures moved in to clean up the rhino carcass. Could the afternoon possibly keep pace?

Shortly after taking off we “bumped” into a grazing white rhino. You can get pretty close to these guys as long as they are not defending turf or females. This is why the recent announcement by the Dallas Safari Club that it was going to auction off the trophy rights to kill a black rhino (endangered, only 5000 left in the world) makes no sense. It takes no great skill to kill a rhino. You drive up to it and shoot it!

See also Black Rhino to be Killed by Dallas Safari Club

After leaving the rhino we sighted a herd of elephants in the river bed and headed off in that direction.

The herd included elephants of all ages and sizes. One was so young and small that it had not yet learned to fully control its trunk. Mom was going up the bank by the river and junior was trying to follow but couldn’t quite make it. Mom had to turn around and pull him up the bank with her trunk.

Mother pulls baby up the river bank with her trunk.

There were a number of large bulls that looked menacing and some teenagers that tried to look tough. We did see a couple of males fighting over a female. It wasn’t a death match but it wasn’t play time either.

Big Bull

Testy Teen

Mom and baby

Fighting

After leaving the elephants we spotted a leopard, who for the most part was content to just lie in the grass. We watched and tracked it for about an hour before moving on.

Even though we had seen a number of male kudus we hadn’t yet captured a really great photo of one. It was just about 5 pm, an hour before sunset and the light was great, when we spotted a beautiful male. We started to follow him and managed to get a great shot that took advantage of the “golden hour” lighting. We also captured another lilac breasted roller in this same light.

Lilac breasted roller

Male Kudu

In the morning we found a pride of sleepy lions. We decided to check up on them before returning to camp, hoping that they were awake and ready for action. While we caught a few nice portraits in the golden evening light, most of the lions were still catching zzz’s.

Thus ended day 7. As the sun went down we caught one last photograph in memory of a great day.

Comparison of Telephoto Lens Sharpness

I’ve written previously about the Panasonic GH-3 micro four thirds camera and the 100-300 mm lens. ^{1, 2}  We were certainly delighted with the results we obtained during our recent visit to Africa. But how would it stack up against my professional Nikon 200-400 f4.0 lens? Furthermore, how would it measure up to the new Nikon 80-400 mm zoom?

I decided to put these lenses, as well as a Sigma 150-500 mm zoom, to the test. The question was, how would I test them? Some people claim to be able to see minute differences between photographs taken with different lenses. I’m not one of them. I can tell the difference between a great lens and a crappy one, but can I tell the difference between a great lens and a good one? I’m not so sure. I needed a more objective method for testing them. (I know, I could go read the reviews in Popular Photography and DxO data, but where’s the fun in that.) And then it struck me. How does my eye doctor test my visual acuity? With an eye chart! I decided to create an eye chart for my lenses.

So here is what I created. A bunch of lorem ipsum text in fonts that ranged from 8 to 20 point that I printed out on my laser printer. I attached the chart to a clipboard to hold it flat and then mounted the whole thing on the fence in our backyard. I set up my tripod about 50 feet away.

An “eye chart” for my camera.

Actual shot of “eye chart” with a 400 mm lens at 50 ft.

The four lenses that I tested were:

• Nikon 200-400 mm f 4.0
• Nikon 80-400 mm f 4.5-5.6
• Sigma 150-500 mm f 5.0-6.3
• Panasonic 100-300 mm f 4.0-5.6

The first 3 lenses are full frame (FX) lenses which I mounted on a D610 camera body for the test. All were adjusted to a focal length of 400 mm. The Panasonic lens is a micro 4/3s format with a crop factor of 2.0. (The Panasonic lens was tested at 200 mm, the equivalent of 400 mm in an FX camera.) In all four tests the cameras were mounted on a tripod. Ambient light was measured with an incident light meter and the exposures set manually. The settings were 1/60th sec., f8.0 and ISO 400. The shutter was triggered with the camera’s self timer to minimize shake. As the photo of the clipboard shows, the target type was very small. I was wondering if anything would show up.

I imported the photos into Lightroom. I did no adjustments to the images other than to crop them to the same size for comparative viewing. Immediately upon viewing the photos I could see a difference between lenses. For presentation here I am only showing portions of the 20 point type and 8 point type.

Click on image to enlarge

Comparison of 20 pt. fonts.

The 20 pt. type shows a significant difference in sharpness between lenses. Not surprisingly the Nikon 200-400 gives the best, sharpest results, followed by the 80-400, the Panasonic 100-300, with the Sigma coming in last.

Comparison of 8 pt. fonts

The 8 pt. data are a bit harder to interpret. Again, I was impressed that any of the lenses resolve the 8 pt. fonts at 50 ft. Once again, the Nikon 200-400 mm lens was the winner. However, the Panasonic lens appears to have beaten out the 80-400 mm lens slightly. All three gave amazing results, however. The Sigma…not so good!

Conclusion

So what does all this tell me?

1. The Nikon 200-400 is still the best lens that I own and represents the gold standard of quality.
2. The Panasonic GH-3 / 100-300 mm lens combination is a viable alternative to lugging around the heavier pro gear when weight and size are an issue.
3. The new Nikon 80-400 mm lens offers excellent results that are close to the 200-400 mm lens in a much smaller and lighter package. Combined with the D610 body it is an excellent wildlife/action combo.
4. We may have to consider what the future has in store for the Sigma 150-500 lens.

Footnotes:

1. Panasonic GH-3 Passes the Test, https://pembertonphoto.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/panasonic-gh-3-passes-the-test/
2. Panasonic Lumix GH3 Review by NE Explorers Mark & Cathy Pemberton, http://www.naturalexposures.com/panasonic-gh3-review/

South Africa Safari – Day 6 Mala Mala

When we went to bed the previous evening it was unclear if the weather was going to cooperate with us for our game drive in the morning. When we woke up, as we feared, it was still raining, although it had slowed to a drizzle.  We got together at 5:30 am as usual but decided against going out. The forecast was for clearing skies and we decided to wait it out.

Click on any image to enlarge

Male Nyala shelters from the rain outside our bedroom window.

Male Nyala shelters from the rain outside our bedroom window.

Male Nyala shelters from the rain outside our bedroom window.

We had a hearty breakfast and the rain did indeed clear. We were out by shortly after 9 am. That’s not to say that the weather was perfect. Even the animals seemed to be complaining. We came across a number of birds desperately trying to dry out. A lilac breasted roller was fluffed up like a cotton ball. An entire tree was filled with white backed vultures with wings extended trying to dry out. An a yellow horn bill was looking very bedraggled – like Richard Lewis after a hard night on the town. We were also fortunate to see a Brown Hooded Kingfisher and a Warburg’s Eagle.

Lilac breasted roller

White backed vulture

White backed vulture

White backed vulture

Yellow billed hornbill

Yellow billed hornbill

Warburg’s eagle

Warburg’s Eagle

Brown Hooded Kingfisher

Just to round out the day’s birding we also came across a red-billed oxpecker taking a bath in a mud puddle, a helmeted guinea fowl and a beautiful Greater Blue-eared Starling. Although not a member of the avian kingdom we did come across another of Africa’s smaller mammals – the dwarf mongoose.

One  of the most fascinating creatures in all of Africa has to be the giraffe. It is almost without comparison throughout the rest of the world. One would think that that long neck and spindly legs would make it unstable and ready prey to lions and other carnivores. Yet we watched a few giraffes take off at a full “gallop” and they are both fast and graceful. Last weekend I was watching a National Geography special on TV and saw a giraffe kick an attacking lion with it’s hind legs about 15 feet into the air. Male giraffes will battle for supremacy by “necking” or swinging their heads and necks at each other. On this particular morning we got to watch a couple of males “necking”.

The sun was out fully now and we could appreciate the beauty of the landscape. In addition, the animals were starting to move about.

The Lowveld

Steenbok

Impala

Impala

Warthog

Impala

It was now about 11:30 and we came across a pride of lions doing what they do best – nothing. They were obviously well fed and resting in the mid-day sun. Not much to do but watch and enjoy their beauty.

After watching the lions lounge about for a while we decided it was time to head back to camp. Our ranger and driver Ross was flying down the trail when JoAnn called out “Leopard”. Sure enough, right by the road was a leopard resting under a tree. Of course we had to stop for photos. Shortly after we stopped, the leopard decided he didn’t want company and took off. By then a second land rover had joined us and we followed this fellow for quite a while. He made us work for our photographs but in the end it was worth it.

After tracking the leopard we broke for lunch but resumed our drive at the usual time of 3:30 pm. We saw a number of animals that afternoon but one of the coolest was a mother white rhino and her young calf. It’s hard to describe the calf as “cute” but no other word fits.

We stayed out until sundown as usual. On our way back to the camp in the dark we had two very rare sightings. The first was a large spotted Genet. Although not endangered they are not often sighted because they are nocturnal. The second sighting was extremely rare – an endangered white-tailed mongoose. We were thrilled to have captured photos of both!

Large-spotted Genet

Large-spotted Genet

White-tailed mongoose

South Africa Safari – Where in the World is Londolozi?

I thought I’d take a short break today from all the animal photographs and answer a question or two that I’ve received regarding our trip to South Africa. Several people have asked where is Londolozi, Mala Mala, etc. So I’ve prepared a few maps to give you a quick idea where we went.

Londolozi, Mala Mala and Kings camp are in the northeastern part of South Africa, just to the west of Kruger National Park. Londolozi and Mala Mala are part of the Sabi Sands Game Reserve while Kings Camp is in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.

We arrived in South Africa via Johannesburg and flew in a small commuter plane up to Londolozi. At the end of our trip we visited Cape Town for a few days.

This next map is a closer look at the 3 camps.

This third map shows the relationship between Londolozi, Mala Mala and Kruger National Park.

Londolozi and Mala Mala are private reserves located within the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. Londolozi occupies about 37,000 acres. Mala Mala is slightly larger at 39,500 acres. Londolozi and Mala Mala are exclusive privately owned reserves. Kings Camp shares the Timbavati Private Game Reserve with several other camps.

There are no fences separating any of the reserves or Kruger National park. Thus the animals are free to migrate from area to area as they wish. With 544,000 acres, Kruger National Park provides an immense amount of biodiversity that is shared among all the wildlife reserves.

The landscape of Sabi Sands is classic Lowveld bush savanna. The elevation is approximately 1000 ft. The land is flat with dense bush and thickets covering much of the area. (Lots of places for the animals to hide)

The following is a video that I shot by clamping my point and shoot camera to a seat rail on the land rover as we drove around. The video, while not terribly exciting, gives a good idea for what much of the landscape looked like.

I hope you enjoyed this brief informational interlude. If you’d like more information, Londolozi has a FREE book titled “Londolozi, Eco-Guide” available for downloading from iTunes. Now, back to the animals.

Day 4 and 5 – Final Days at Londolozi

On our 4th day at Londolozi we were well acquainted with the process and were out for our morning drive before 6 am. It turns out that this would be lazy cat day. After quickly stopping to take a few shots of some Nyala we continued on. Shortly thereafter, Like and Richard thought they saw some tracks in the road and jumped out for a closer look.

Click on any image to enlarge

Like and Richard

Looking for tracks

And off we went. While the tracks did not pan out we did hear about another leopard over by one of the watering holes. We got there about 6:30. It was a single female leopard but she really didn’t seem interested in doing anything except sitting in the grass. She changed location once or twice but that was about it. She was a beautiful animal, however.

We stayed with her for about an hour and 15 minutes and then went in search of other game. We soon came across a couple of rhinos lounging in a watering hole with a beautiful Egyptian goose posed right in front of them. Of course, before we could even raise our cameras the goose was gone! In addition to the rhinos there was a bush buck posing nearby.

For our afternoon drive Richard was determined to improve on the morning’s results. Once again he and Like were out of the land rover and tracking on foot. Richard was looking very macho toting his rifle.

We did quickly come across some warthogs, impala and kudu. In addition, Cathy got a great shot of a small tree squirrel. We then spotted a small herd of zebras, with one young colt.There is something about zebras that is fascinating, and the colts are very adorable.

About 30 minutes after leaving the zebras we found a pride of lions.  However, since this was lazy cat day they seemed much more intent upon sleeping than anything else. Yawning seemed to be the major activity. Nonetheless, it was interesting to watch them interact and then as the sun approached sunset, they began to move (a little).

Overnight, we had some rain and the weather was looking none too good for the last of our morning game drives. But we headed out anyway. I was not concerned about getting cold and wet but that our cameras would get damaged. We managed to see some giraffes and Nyala but the weather continued to worsen. Of course no one wanted to be the one who suggested going back so I filled that roll. Surprise, surprise, surprise! The others readily agreed.

Getting back early had it’s benefits. Instead of our morning box breakfast we got to enjoy breakfast in the camp. And they served up a beautiful spread.

Breakfast is served

Thawing out

This was our last morning at Londolozi. It was time to move on to our next camp, MalaMala. MalaMala is just to the east, between Londolozi and Kruger National Park.

It took about 40 minutes to drive to MalaMala. The weather was not cooperating either. Rain continued to come and go. We were warmly greeted when we arrived at MalaMala despite the cold weather. We checked in and moved into our new accommodations. However, due to the inclement weather, we elected not to have any game drives that afternoon. Actually, Tom and Ray went out, but of course they’re nuts…

MalaMala Main Camp

Our Room

Looking forward to tomorrow!

South Africa Safari – Day 3

Day 3 rolled around and it was another great day in the bush. Within the first hour we had already seen and photographed impala, a crocodile, a malachite kingfisher, an Egyptian goose, a fish eagle, a lilac breasted roller and a spotted hyena. Not bad for the first hour.

Click on any image to enlarge

Lilac Breasted Roller

Malachite Kingfisher

leopard or lion track

Crocodile

Then Richard got a call on the radio that one of the other rangers had spotted a female leopard with 2 cubs. The opportunity to see leopards was one of the primary reasons that we had come to South Africa, so we were very excited.

When we arrived at the location we found out that the cubs were hiding and that mom was out hunting. This was disappointing because the rules in the preserve state that if cubs are unattended you can only stay for 10 minutes. To hang around longer than that might draw attention to the cubs and put them at risk from other predators. However, just at that moment we saw some movement and up popped one little head. The cubs were moving. For the next 5 minutes or so we got to watch as they climbed around on the rocks and through the heavy brush. These two were just beautiful. However, we had to leave.

For the next couple of hours we continued our explorations. Shortly after leaving the cubs we came across some steenbok, the smallest antelope in South Africa. They are also very skittish and take off quickly when approached. White-backed vultures, impala and warthogs rounded out the first part of the morning.

Each morning we would finds a nice shady spot, that appeared to be devoid of man-eating carnivores, and pull over for some coffee and a bush breakfast. This gave us a chance to stretch our legs and have a bite to eat. Our boxed breakfast usually consisted of a croissant, yogurt, juice, a few other items and coffee. It was always tasty and enough to stave off starvation until we returned for lunch.

Bush breakfast with Tom, Richard, Like and Cathy

We heard of the radio that the mother leopard had returned to her cubs so we headed back to where we had left them earlier. We arrived to find that mom was back and she had brought a kill back with her for the cubs to eat. Only mom and one cub were visible and they were both under some bushes and hard to see. We were also the 3rd vehicle on site and really could not get a very good angle to see them. We found the best spot that we could, parked and observed. Even though we weren’t in a great spot for photography we were able to watch the mother and cub interact. After a while the other cub came out of hiding and began to nurse.

Eventually mom decided to move over to a large rock and rest. She was posed perfectly for a photograph but once again we were at a bad angle. Richard put the land rover into gear and crashed through the under brush and over some sizable trees to get us to where we could have a good view.

And there she was in all her splendor. We had the opportunity to photograph her unimpeded by branches and bushes. Eventually she left. It was time to go hunting again.

The other two land rovers left first and then Richard started ours. Problem! In driving over the trees to get us into position they had wedged at an angle under the vehicle making it impossible to back up. Unfortunately in front of the land rover was a sand filled wash. If we went forward we would almost certainly get stuck in the wash, but backing up was impossible.

Richard put the land rover into its lowest gear and struggled forward. After much lurching and bouncing about we freed ourselves from the trees and dropped into the wash…where we promptly became stuck in the sand. Richard and Like tried for about 10 minutes to get us out with no success. Richard asked us to get out of the vehicle and walked us through the brush to the nearby trail that served as a road and told us to wait there for them. He then went back and he and Like pulled out a Come-Along hand winch to try and pull the land rover from the wash. I thought about asking him to leave his rifle with us but he was already gone.

So Tom, Cathy and I are left standing in the middle of the road all by ourselves wondering if momma leopard is going to return at any minutes. I was also thinking “why don’t they just call one of the other land rovers back to pull us out of the wash.” I figured that it had something to do with male bravado and a code of independence in the bush. However, having tourists eaten by leopards couldn’t be good for business.

Finally we heard the land rover start up and saw Richard come bouncing through the brush and out onto the road. On the drive back to camp I asked Richard why he didn’t call for help to get out of the wash. His reply was along the lines of what I expected. Apparently there are no consequences to getting stuck at Londolozi, as long as you can free yourself. However, if you have to call for help the leather ammo pouch that each ranger carries on his belt is replaced by a pink ammo pouch for a month!

Our afternoon game drive could be named the day of elephants. They were everywhere that we went. We did see some other animals such as nyala, cape buffalo, a maribou stork, giraffes and wildebeest, but largely the afternoon was devoted to observing elephants.

Giraffe

Maribou Stork

Male Nyala

Cape Buffalo

We saw several herds of elephants that afternoon. There were large bull elephants and young ones too. The young ones were cute. One was so young that he had not yet figured out how to control his trunk.

We stayed out past sunset on this day. It was already dark as we were heading back to camp when Richard stopped the land rover and turned the key off. We looked ahead of us and about 30 yards away was another herd of elephants, walking down the road directly toward us. Richard whispered to remain silent and to not move. The elephants continued to come directly toward us, lead by a large bull. As the elephants approached the land rover they split into two columns, one on each side of us. As each one passed, it turned its head slightly to look at us, and continued on. What was amazing was that this all took place in almost complete silence. All we heard was the slight rustle of grass from the elephants walking by. These huge animals passing silently by us in the dark,only a few feet away was one of the most spiritual moments of the trip.

The evening meal at camp was always an elaborate affair with gourmet food and wine. Every two or three days we would have a bush dinner to create a special atmosphere. These were indeed special (although sometimes a bit cold) and memorable.