I have tried again and again to come up with a day-to-day account of our stay, or to summarize by game drive, but nothing could do it justice. I have an easy time of talking to people about aspects of the trip, of individual and unique moments we experienced, like lion cubs playing on a tree branch, or watching two leopards involved in a territory struggle; but it’s not something I can sum up other than to tell people “just go, you have to see it to understand.”
We came across this female shielding her calf from our view. After a few minutes, she moved to the side and her calf moved forward to suckle. 1/80sec f7.1, ISO200, 170mm
I really couldn’t bear to leave, so I went on a half morning game drive on our departure day. Across the river, these two Fish Eagles were in the perfect early morning light. 1/320sec, f5.6, ISO200, 300mm
I had a lot of luck photographing the beautiful birds we came across. We spent several minutes with this Hoopoe while it was picking in the grass next to the airstrip for something to eat. 1/500sec, f5.6, ISO200, 300mm
While the Kudu kept a watchful eye towards us, the Oxpeckers on her back found something else of interest. 1/250sec, f7.1, ISO100, 210mm
I can say with ease that I have never felt more at home anywhere than when I arrived with my parents at Tree Camp; we were so well looked after by Mark, Robert and Sersant during our stay (just to name a few), and had an amazing time out on drives with Talley and Freddy. I’m sure Talley thought we were joking (or completely crazy) when we said each day “just find us some impala and we’ll be happy, everything else is a bonus,” but honestly, that was very much our feeling, as everything – plant, bird, animal – small or large, was beautiful and wonderful to see. I lost count of the number of times I heard “This is special, people don’t normally see things like this.”
On our morning drive we found a female leopard early on, and followed her for some time. She made her way into thicker bushes, and a couple minutes later, Freddy pointed out this male. The leopards were amazing to view that day, as we saw a second male a short time later. 1/200sec, f5.6, ISO100, 300mm
We had spent ample time with this lion earlier in the morning, and then headed off to see other things. On the way back to camp, when we were a few meters past him, Freddy asked if we had seen the lion in the grass. In reverse we went, and much laughter ensued at our failure at lion spotting. 1/60sec, f5.6, ISO200, 70mm
The Lilac-Breasted Roller was one of my favourite birds to spot while on game drives; the variety of colours in its feathers is dazzling in bright sunlight. 1/100sec, f5.6, ISO100, 200mm
This starling gave me the opportunity for a lovely mirror image shot. The luck with bird photos continued. 1/500sec, f5.6, ISO100, 300mm
This tree held 12 vultures and a single hawk. One by one they all took off – I liked the look of this one set against the bright blue sky. 1/1250sec, f5.6, ISO200, 240mm
For me, this experience can’t be distilled into a few lines of text, a couple of simple paragraphs talking about holiday photos and all the best-of moments. It needs to be experienced and felt to be understood. Yes, there are beautiful vistas and amazing animals that aren’t seen in day to day life, and yes there are amazing people to meet; but the whole is so much more than the sum of the parts, and I am not near skilled enough with words to tell of the magic of my first trip to Africa, and of my first time at Londolozi.
Photographed by Jen Sawicky – Londolozi guest
Beautiful photos….and narrative! Thanks so much for sharing!
Amazing images Jen, some beautiful photographs in here! Love the Hoopoe! Thank you for sharing 🙂 rich
The Hoopoe is my Mom’s favourite – he’s printed and hanging in her living room. I dream of being there for the migratory birds 🙂 I bet there would be some amazing photo opportunities. By the way, your Wild Dog shot featured on Facebook recently – brilliant!!
Jen – your words will ring true for all who have had the privilege of a trip to Londolozi and hopefully reach those who have yet to go – my mind is still so full of the joy of being there and the wonders that are
presented to you on each and every drive – precious moments. Your photographs are lovely. Store those memories well and each time one comes to mind, you are guaranteed an inner glow.
I never tire of your beautiful pictures and look foward to Week in Pictures each weekend. -Sam
Beautiful Lilac-Breasted Roller shot!
Thank you – that’s one of my favourites!