A Taste of South Africa
A Sarasota group discovers wild beauty and sophisticated cuisine on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Deep in the African bush, more than wildlife is stirring. Safari camps like Londolozi in the Sabi Sand private game reserve are leading South Africa’s quest to become an international culinary destination. Chefs, like trackers and rangers, are rewarded for daring and creativity—and for rising to the daunting challenge of white-glove, gourmet service in the wild. What’s cooking is a culinary revolution, and right there on the front lines this past summer was Sarasota’s Michael Klauber of Michael’s On East and the Gulf Coast Connoisseur Club.

The Connoisseur Club on Safari at Londolozi

An epicurean adventurer who has led food trips all around the world, Klauber shepherded 27 Connoisseur Club guests to the luxurious yet astonishingly eco-friendly Londolozi reserve. The founders of the property, brothers Dave and John Varty, say they named Londolozi for a word in the Zulu dictionary that means “protector of all living things.”

“It was the trip of a lifetime. In five days, the staff and the wildlife touched our souls—we’re connected forever,” says Klauber. “The guides post photos of the four lion cubs we followed on safari so everyone on our trip can watch them grow.”

“The highlight of our trip was meeting Dave Varty. I’ve read his book, Circle of Life, and John’s book, Nine Lives,” adds Terri Klauber, Michael’s wife and co-host of 10 Connoisseur Club gourmet trips in the past eight years. “They’re untouched in eco-tourism and their commitment to bringing the bush back to its original landscape.”

Because the Sarasota group included six children, they stayed at the five-star property’s family-friendly Varty camp on the owner’s original family homestead. Every room had a private swimming pool framed by a timber deck overlooking the bush. Living spaces are raised off the ground and decorated in the style of the original Varty home. “Everyone felt a spiritual connection to Londolozi, and no one left without crying, not even the kids,” Terri says.

The Final Evening in the Varty Camp Boma

Klauber says six months of work went into planning dinners and wine events for his Connoisseur Club guests, including a surprise visit by award-winning Marc Kent, a founding partner of Boekenhoutskloof winery who brought in wines for two dinners and joined the group for game drives—the South African’s first safari.

In the process of creating menus with Londolozi’s executive chef, Craig Paterson, Klauber discovered that South Africa doesn’t really have a cuisine of its own. “It’s a layering of flavors and a melting pot of ethnic recipes from Malaysia, India, and Morocco,” Klauber explains. Indeed, Cape Town, South Africa, was founded by the Dutch East India Company, which used the port city as its restocking station for ships traveling between Europe and Asia in the 17th century. Dutch settlers imported Malay slaves to the Cape, and with them indigenous spices. Later, immigrants from England, Germany and Scandinavia followed, and more slaves from Indonesia, Madagascar and India.

Each ethnic group contributed to the culinary legacy that inspires modern South African cuisine. “There’s a mix of curries, chutneys and Eastern spices—cardamom, ginger, garlic—and Africa’s most famous ones: saffron, cumin, turmeric and nutmeg. But the food isn’t hot: South African food is aromatically spiced,” Klauber explains. Klauber and Jamil Pineda, head chef at Michael’s On East, have created a South African three-course dinner duplicating classic recipes provided by Londolozi’s chef Paterson. While Pineda and Paterson collaborated on ingredients and technique, Klauber’s role was taster.

“It was a challenge to recreate Craig’s recipes. They have different equipment than we do, and their measurements are different. I had to taste each dish until we got it right. And we did! Everyone who took the trip with us has come to the restaurant for our South African dinners, and they say we’re spot on,” Michael says

Diners, who range from those who have gone on safari to a “surprising” number of South Africans living in Sarasota, says Klauber, wax poetic about menu items like kingklip, a South African fish reminiscent of halibut, or sosaties, classic marinated lamb kabobs with dried apricots, and South Africa’s national dish, bobotie, a baked minced beef curry pie reminiscent of shepherd’s pie but with custard topping. Every dish represents a fusion of cultures, including beef samosas, the crispy beef pie made from Malay-spiced ground sirloin and served with plum chutney. Meals are finished with desserts like malva pudding and Londolozi crunchies, a cookie the Klaubers relished on game drive breaks.

One of the many leopards seen during the Safari

For those who shared last summer’s trip, the mere mention of those crunchies awakens memories of magnificent wildlife sightings, bush barbecues and dinners in the Londolozi Boma (a braai, or barbecue area, enclosed by rustic wooden poles and open to the sky). One night, the chefs sang Pavarotti and the guides serenaded Terri with I Will Remember You. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the place,” remembers Michael. “The music and camaraderie we all experienced that night were magical.”

Original Article by Carol Tisch
Photographs by: Michael & Terri Klauber

This Week in Pictures focuses on birds and it courtesy of the photographic talent of Ranger James Hobson. In particular the images below take a look at some of the more colorful, migratory Summer birds that frequent Londolozi in the warmer months. Let me know which is your favorite image in the comments section below and enjoy this Week in Pictures…

Here you can see the prominent and enlarged knob on the bill of the male comb duck (Intra-African migrant) during breeding season. It is not uncommon for birds to grow tail feathers in breeding season but I’m not aware of too many birds growing appendages. Also visible in this photo are the iridescent (literally means ‘showing rainbow-like colours’) wing feathers which mostly appear dull greyish black.

A strange looking red billed hornbill perches with a scorpion held firmly in its beak. You’ll notice the short tail which is abnormal for this bird. A possible explanation lies in the fact that females voluntarily incarcerate themselves within a cavity in a tree to lay their eggs, thereafter undergoing a feather moult. This female may be regrowing her tail feathers and the scorpion is potentially food for her chicks. Incredibly, the lack of tail feathers didn’t appear to affect the bird in flight.

Two red-billed oxpeckers display to one another on the back of a rhino. The red-billed with its all red bill and yellow eye-ring (eye-ring absent in the less common yellow-billed) and the yellow-billed are both monogamous and co-operative breeders.

An oxpecker seen in action on the back of a giraffe (they have a very high concentration of ticks given their body structure). The bill is designed for a ‘scissoring’ action for solid prey in longer fur, ‘scooping’ for fluids such as blood and mucus and ‘plucking’ for solid prey on exposed skin.

Below follows a collection of photo’s of some of the bee-eaters found at Londolozi. Carmine Bee Eater above.

Juvenile White Fronted Bee Eater by James Hobson

Little Bee Eater by James Hobson

A flock of southern carmine bee-eaters feed on insects that the white storks are flushing as they walk. This is a good example of commensalism; symbiosis where one species benefits by the presence of the other (the bee-eaters) and the other (the storks), neither suffers nor benefits.

White Stork by James Hobson

A marabou stork in all its glory! Contrary to belief, an inflated pouch is not an indication of food consumed, but rather the need to thermoregulate. They expand the sac to expose more blood to the cooling or warming influence of the air or sun.

Over the last few weeks we’ve seen quite a lot of vulture activity and on inspection there never seems to have been any predation involved. We’ve witnessed vultures descending on young impala lambs which have died of natural causes. Here a bunch of white-backed vultures squabbled over the remains.

A white-backed vulture comes into land amidst a feeding frenzy.

A white-backed vulture perches on a dead tree at sunset. Diagnostic of all vultures (with the exception of the bearded and palm-nut vultures) are the bald or lightly feathered heads and necks. This is an adaptation for probing around in dirty carcasses, the grime and body fluids being much easier to wash off than if the bird was fully feathered.

Slightly smaller than the malachite kingfisher, the violet-washed ear coverts are also diagnostic of the African pygmy-kingfisher. Interestingly, 5 of the 10 local species of kingfishes (despite their name) don’t actively hunt at water sources, the pygmy included. These birds mainly eat invertebrates and small vertebrates, captured away from water.

Unlike the pygmy above, the malachite is certainly aquatic. We were fortunate to have this one nesting in the bank next to Camp Dam for a while. Amazingly, these small tunnels can be dug up to a distance of 3 meters into banks. The point of the bill does get worn as some excavations can take up to 3 weeks or more, but because the keratin of the bill is ever-growing, the damage is quickly corrected.

Malachite Kingfisher by James Hobson

Photographed by: James Hobson

Just when you think you’ve witnessed all of the indescribable or unbelievable traits within the animal kingdom, our guide James Tyrrell and tracker Exon, pulled the ace out of their sleeves and gave us the experience of witnessing very few can say they have seen – two male lions fighting!

James mentioned at the outset of this particular morning that they had heard the roar of the Majingilane Male Lions in the early morning hours and that we were going to go see if we could locate them. And locate them we did!

Male Lion Fight by John O Brien

Upon entering a clearing in the bush, there lie 5 lions, two males and three females resting next to their respective mates along with one lone male. After watching them for no more than 10 minutes one of the males lying peacefully alongside his lioness decides to get up and charge the other male who was alongside his “girlfriend.” The two males ensued into what was a very serious brawl complete with the deep growl, claws extended and blood drawn. The whole ordeal lasted about 30-45 seconds and James had told us that at least two of the five males were brothers.

If you look closely at the pictures, you’ll notice just how intense this fight was. You’ll see one male excreting his scent and the other lion with blood on his right tooth. This was not a playful act by any means and what was most interesting was that at the end of the fight, they went back to the respective “girlfriends” and went on as if nothing ever happened. Nature, you gotta love it!

The two males in this fight are the Black Maned Male and the Golden Maned Male. If you recall watching ‘Majingilane – The Story of Lion Warfare’ you will realize that this is another example of the hierarchy of dominance amongst these 4 males, wherein the Golden Maned Male tends to be the more subservient lion. Although the Golden Maned Male does put up a small fight against the Black Maned Male, at no stage does he look to be the more dominant lion in this brawl. At the end of the conflict, you can see the Black Maned running after the female whilst the Golden Maned Male flees to safety. – rich

Male Lions Fighting by John O Brien

My wife Arti and our wonderful friends Jerome Dever and Roberto Loria selected Londolozi as our safari destination for what was described as the crème de-le-crème especially if you desire “that trip of a lifetime.” It was that and more and I can assure you, we will be back. THANK YOU Londolozi and ALL the staff at Varty Camp.

Written & Photographed by: John & Arti O’ Brien (Londolozi Guests)
Filmed by: Jerome Dever & Roberto Loria (Londolozi Guests)

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After a lengthy break from the bush it is wonderful to be back. I have returned to a very different landscape having missed the monumental floods nearly two weeks ago. I drove around yesterday and am simply amazed by how the area along the river has changed so dramatically. Over the next few days whilst out on drive I will try capture some images that will show the full extent of the floods. I do not view it as damage but rather as change.

View from the Varty Camp Deck during the flood.

On arrival back at camp I too, like many of you, was salivating to hear how the lions have shaped up since the mayhem. Below is a very brief summary that I have been able to gleam from the rangers who have been here over the last three weeks.

Tsalala Pride
The day prior to the floods the two Tsalala Sisters were seen on a wildebeest kill near Fluffies Pan. The next day the river came day in flood. Tracks of the two females headed down to the Causeway but they were not able to cross so they returned back to the wildebeest kill-site. The next day there were tracks of the Sisters again heading to the river. It was obvious that they were trying to cross the raging torrent.

They managed to do so near to Plaque Rock. The worry is that when the pride was seen again it was only the two Sisters, the eight month old cub and two of the one year youngsters. This meant that two of the older youngsters were not with the pride. Twelve days later and this is still the case. Whilst the possibility does exist that they were washed away by the floods we are all holding thumbs that this is not the case and that they will rejoin at some stage. We will keep you posted!

An update from reserves north of us suggests that the Original Tailless Female is fine and with three of the sub-adults from the Breakaway Tsalalas. We have not yet been able to cross north over the Sand River since the floods, as all three crossing points were washed away and are temporarily unusable. There is thus a lot we do not know at this time.

Sparta Pride
The Rangers have been seeing this pride along our eastern boundary in the area around Gert’s Clearing and Tamboti Donga. Apparently we have mainly been seeing the mother lioness with the two four month old youngsters. There have been no sightings of the lioness with the three tiny cubs that were born around Christmas time but reports from our eastern neighbours suggest that these lions are still in good shape. The three remaining females from the pride are being seen intermitantly by the team.

Two of the Majingilane Males cross the Sand River just prior to the floods - Adam Bannister

Male Dynamics
From the sounds of things it has been fascinating over the last two weeks with all three big coalitions being seen; that being the four Majingilane, three Mapogo and the four South Pride males. It sounds as though the area in the south west of Sparta/Londolozi around our Repeater Station has been the scene of much of this activity. In my opinion this has, for a long time, been a very vague boundary between the three male groupings. No actual encounters have been observed. Of late the Majingilanes have apparently been spending lots of time together as a complete unit of four. They are exceptionally vocal at the moment which again suggests that there may be some territory clashes in the pipeline, if they have not already happened.

I hope that that will serve for the time being to quench all your thirsts. I can reassure you that once I am back out in the bush I will continue with more comprehensive updates.

Once again it is great to be back and I look forward to an exciting next stint at Londolozi

Written by Adam Bannister

Despite the absence of our weekly regular, David Dampier (owing to his leave), I still wanted to put out an album of leopards this week. Browsing through a selection of my images I thought it would be useful to compare a variety of photographs, explaining why I took them in a particular way; the settings I used and open the floor open to any comments and questions around the photography of these elusive yet beautiful creatures. Leopards behavior is interesting to watch and challenging to photograph, yet the two go hand in hand and the more time spent watching these creatures at Londolozi, the luckier I have got with my photography.  I look forward to your questions, comments, thoughts, stories and ideas around photographing Leopards in the comments section below.

The Emsagwen Male. I photographed this male early one morning on Marthly. The sunlight was very crisp and as he looked up I snapped the picture. The eyes set the tone of the image, giving the leopard a specific character. Personally I think he has a menacing expression which fits the identity of this dominant male. I would have liked to take the picture of him with no branches, however these two branches frame him nicely nonetheless. f5.6, ISO 400, AWB.

This image of the Marthly Male was taken whilst he was looking to mate with the Vomba female. There are many elements which I like about this image, however the facial expression, focused look and mid-step are what define it for me. Leopard photography is often about capturing the single moment when the animal looks up, turns their head or flicks their tail. I touched up the pic with a mild blurry vignette around the edges and lightened up the road as I like a curved line in my images. I often find it adds another element to draw the viewers eye deeper into the picture. f4.5, ISO 800, AWB

A critical trick with photographing cats, or any other animal, is to get below the eye level of the subject matter. Too often Safari photographs look amateurish owing to the fact that they were taken from above the subject looking down. We were lucky to photograph the Maxabene Female on this termite mound one cloudy morning. Eye level with us, she turned to stare at a vehicle full of photographers, spreading her whiskers out wide. This image could have been improved slightly by, perhaps, having a greater depth of field to include the remainder of her body which is blurred out. f5.6, ISO 800, AWB.

The Maxabeni Young Male struck this regal pose in the late afternoon sunlight. Summer had just arrived and the foliage around him was lush and green. In order to bring out the animal, I put on a heavy vignette in photoshop, blurred out the edges and brought out the yellow and pink in his face/eyes. I also crushed the blacks and heightened the whites to place a greater emphasis on his camouflouge in the brush.

Sometimes great pictures arrive without the animal even needing to be there. Fresh leopard tracks in the mud, late afternoon sunlight to generate crisper, longer shadows and a shallow depth of field to set the viewers eye on one particular focal point. f4.5, ISO 400, AWB

The Tutlwa female has always been a tough leopard to find and that is what made this shot so special. Upon finding her, she allowed me to take multiple pictures of her whilst she kept an eye out for her cub not too far away. Although I love the pose, the soft colors of green, brown, blue and gold work together beautifully. As this was taken in the middle of the day I brought my ISO right down to decrease the sensitivity of the light sensor. f5.6, ISO 100, AWB.

Funnily enough, the above picture won a prize in the Cazenove and Loyd Travel Photographer of the Year and is now in the finals for the Grand Prize. If you like this image, you can vote for it by CLICKING HERE, and give yourself the chance to win a case of Moet and Chandon Champagne while you are at it.  Simply select the July Image and cast your vote.

Taken in the same sighting as above, this shot is one of those quintessential leopard poses and deserves to be included in any album about these animals. Low ISO, Fast shutter speed and waiting for the moment when she raised her head of the branch, this shot came together quite easily. f4.5, ISO 100, AWB.

One of the few advantages of taking a picture in the middle of the day is that your subject matter is going to get good light in their eyes. This picture is made by the gleaming eyes of the Tutlwa Female and her intense expression. Right after this was taken, she descended the tree and called her brand new cub out of the thick bush. f4.5, ISO 100, AWB

The Tamboti female Leopard lies in the shade of a tree after feeding. The color of the rosettes mixed with the texture bring this image alive whilst also making me wonder what she was staring at with such focus. A light, blurry vignette just around the edges to braw the viewers attention back into the subject matter. f4.5, ISO 100, AWB.

All the confidence and beauty of a young female leopard reaching maturity. With her right paw laid across the termite mound and confident stare straight into the lens, this leopard's pose truly signifies her coming into her own. It was great to be able to photograph her straight on making eye contact the entire time. The curve of her front paw also adds a nice dimension amongst the gold and blue shades. f4.5, ISO 400, AWB

Probably my favourite picture of the year. This image captures all the intensity, focus and elusive nature of the leopard. In the closing seconds of an August evening, the Vomba Young Female walk towards our vehicle and looked us dead on. As I said above, a split second later and the moment would have been missed. I contrasted the blacks in photoshop and popped the vibrancy to give the image a final edge. You could even make the image darker if you wanted to, but I quite like it with the golden edges. f4.5, ISO 650, AWB

“As a child I had always wanted to visit Africa and go on Safari. To see firsthand the natural bushveld, get up close and personal with the animals and experience the call of the wild. At the end of 2011 a lifelong dream came true when I had the opportunity of going on safari to Londolozi Game Reserve. Prior to the trip, images of ‘Out of Africa’ danced in my head.”

My objectives were simple, I wanted to see the animals. Lots of them. Emphasis was on the iconic leopards and lions. Armed with a new camera and not really having the time to investigate its attributes, taking pictures became a process of catch as you can. I got lucky. The ‘Big Five’ PLUS, did not disappoint. Mesmerized, excited, my adrenalin pumping, a male leopard simply going about his business, strolled up close and SO personal that I could actually pet his spots.

The Male Leopard who came right past our vehicle

When our ranger got wind that a pride of lions were close by, resting on the bank of the Sand River, we raced out to see this magnificent pride. Eight lions in all: young brothers and sisters, a lioness without a tail and two young cubs – all simply napping on the river bank as if they did not have a care in the world. I later learned this pride was called the Tsalala Pride, and that the little male cub would be lost in the wild for 5 weeks only to lose his life to a scar nose Majingilane male lion –his father after reuniting with the pride.

The Young Tsalala Lion Cub

When we came upon a pack of wild dogs- 13 in all- with their yapping pups going at a fresh kill, our Ranger told us that this was a very special sighting. They had not seen this pack for over a year.

One of the dogs from the pack

Heading back to the lodge one evening, we rolled by a scorpion the size of a dollar bill and an angry bull elephant in musth ripping down every tree in his path. There was a sighting of a male leopard dragging his kills- two antelopes- up into a tree. We sat watching him crunch on the open carcass. Two hyenas gathered below waiting for the spoils to drop.

A Very Large Scorpion

One afternoon, while we ate lunch on the open deck of Tree Lodge, a herd of elephants with their young meandered through the tall grasses below us grazing on the vegetation. An early morning outing produced a group of hippos wallowing in the muddy waters with only eyes exposed. Then there were the zebras playing. The rhinoceroses staring at us- always in pairs. Nyalas, water buffalo, exotic Leadwood Trees, vultures, fish eagles and dramatic sunsets. Africa exposed. Mother Nature at her best.

A pair of White Rhinos

A beautiful vulture in the morning sun

Written & Photographed by: Marjory Moskowitz (Londolozi Guest)

This video was forward to us by our recent guest James who managed to capture some fabulous footage of the Sparta Pride and their new cubs over the Christmas period. Growing in size and attitude each day, these cubs are going to be interesting to watch as they mature into adulthood and form the foundation of the new Sparta Pride. Not only does this pride have these two cubs but also a new set which was seen late last year. Together with these new cubs and the stability of the Majingilane Males, the future looks seemingly bright for the further growth of this particular pride.

Filmed and Edited by: James Rendell

This week started off beautifully with some fantastic sightings of the Sparta Pride and their new cubs, a pack of Wild Dogs crossing the Sand River and an unknown Female Leopard in the North. The Majingilane Males were seen interacting with the Sparta Pride cubs which bodes well for the future considering the dynamic which played out last year with the young Tsalala Cub. By Monday, however, it had started raining. Two solid days of rain saw the Sand River rising to flood levels previously unseen in decades gone by. Fortunately Londolozi was not too badly hit by the floods and the sun appears to have come out, drying both the lodge and the wildlife. Enjoy this week in pictures…

The two Sparta Pride cubs play with a twig whilst their mother rests in the background. Growing at a rapid rate, these cubs are gaining more and more of an adventurous and curios streak which sees them investigating every aspect of their surrounding environment.

It is not often that we get the opportunity to view the Ximungwe Pride. Their territory falls lies quite far west of our break and are thus infrequently seen by our guiding & tracking team. When we sighted them on this particular morning, it was the perfect opportunity to capture and image of one of the pride's lioness and her cub.

With their penchant for covering large distances on a daily basis, only large obstacles such as the Sand River will slow down the pack of Wild Dogs. The characteristically big ears intently listening for strange sounds and clues, it was only a matter of minutes before the pack decided to go straight through the river and continue their journey north.

It is interesting to see the tipping points in a pack of Wild Dogs. Once the first member had taken the plunge into the water, closely followed by the second, the remaining member of the pack all ran headlong into the water not wanting to be left behind.

Safely on the other side, this member stopped for a brief moment, ears pricked forward, allowing me to capture this portrait.

Male Weavers spend hours building their nest in order to impress the potential female mates. More often than not, the female will fly along and strip the nest bare if she is not happy with the quality of the build. Clearly this male was too focused on getting it right the first time to notice our presence close by.

There is an unrelaxed female leopard who spends much of her time on the Marula Crests in Marthly. We were fortunate enough to have a brief sighting of her delicately perched in a Marula tree. Eyeing us out and clearly, still uneasy, about being viewed she soon descended down the trunk of the tree and melted off into the brush.

A Steenbok looks and listens in the tall grass. Hiding & camouflage are their primary means of defense again predators and given their large hindquarters, they will crouch down in the bushes, barely moving a muscle before exploding away at speed should a predator come near to them. This tactic of explosive speed serves them well against many predators who cannot match their speed over short distances.

One of the Sparta Pride cubs walks towards us. The beautiful dappled spots on his legs should lose their intensity over the next few months and fade into tawny markings. It is always such a pleasure to watch these cubs grow and progress in a seemingly stable pride environment.

The darkness of the night is when the Majingilane Males are most active. The dusk has just turned into darkness when we flipped on the spotlight and captured this image of one of the males staring intently into the night.

The next morning we realized why as the Sparta Pride and cubs had joined up with one of the Majingilane Males. The cubs were playful and inquisitive, spending much of their time jumping on the big male.

True to form, he tolerated their presence for a while and then snarled his disapproval at this cub who scampered away.

One of the lionesses was obviously not impressed with the males behavior and promptly walked over to swat him. Much to his consternation she succeeded causing him to leap back in fright. If you look to the left of the photograph, you will see the young cub watching the dynamic unfold with obvious fascination and fright.

Perhaps she was scowling at the cub for upsetting the male or for something else, either which way this young lion certainly learnt a new lesson about pushing the tolerance boundaries of the pride members. As Freddie mentioned to me, however, it is very encouraging to see how the Sparta Lionesses have accepted this Majingilane Male into their pride allowing time and exposure for both the male and the cubs to occur.

An enormous hippo yawns exposing his large teeth.

Although these are not my images, I felt I could not leave out a few pictures of the floods that came down the Sand River over the last few days. This picture is of Granite Room 3 Plunge Pool. Typically the river flows behind the tree line in the background of the picture.

A view from Tree Camp Deck. For a lodge built around Leopards, Leadwoods and Orchids this raised deck had a much closer river view than usual. You will see the northern banks of Marthly far in the background of the picture.

And lastly, a view from Varty Camp Deck.

Dear Friends,

Over the last few days a large amount of bad weather has moved through from the Mozambican Coast covering much of the Kruger National Park in heavy rain. Certain parts of the Kruger have experienced flooding and here at Londolozi the river levels have risen substantially since the beginning of the week. This map provided by the Naval Research Laboratory give an indication as to the weather patterns.

Visuals Courtesy of the Naval Research Authority

The Londolozi management wish to reassure our current and soon-to-be visiting guests that the situation is under control. All guests and staff are safe. We are maintaining a holding position until the heavy rains have passed. According to weather predictions we are anticipating being fully operational by 20th January. We would encourage that no guests should consider arriving tomorrow (19th January) but rather plan to arrive 20th January. We will continue to update our blog should the situation change.

Any arriving guests who wish to contact Londolozi regarding their reservation should email: reservations@londolozi.co.za

Sincerely,

The Londolozi Management

No fast food here – A Londolozi Leopard’s ordeal just to get a good meal.  One thing you won’t see at the zoo is a leopard killing its prey and then climbing 50 feet above the ground to stash it on a top branch of a nearby tree.

Camp Pan Male Hoisting Impala - Lauren Major

This featured video provides an inside look at a recent safari expedition to Londolozi in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Take a look at how the 13-year-old Camp Pan Male Leopard cleans and then stashes his most recent kill.

Londolozi Leopard’s Kill from Major Multimedia, Inc.

Watch what this intelligent, fierce and undeniably beautiful leopard must do to survive in the wild and make sure he will not lose his meal to hyenas or lions in the area. Under the guidance of our ranger, David Dampier, we observed the Camp Pan Male for three hours in its natural habitat, recording the preparation, meal and then storage of a one-year-old impala.

Camp Pan Male Feeding in a Tree - Lauren Major

Written, Filmed & Photographed by: Lauren Major (Founder of Major Multimedia)

Introducing: Majingilane – The Story of Lion Warfare

A male lion takeover is a hard reality of the wilderness. Since the 8th June 2010, when the Majingilane Coalition arrived in the Sabi Sands and began to take control from the Mapogo coalition, the rangers, trackers and guests of Londolozi and its surrounding properties have witnessed this reality.  This film is a visual representation of how a male lion takeover takes place using the story of the Majingilane Coalition as the subject matter. This is the story of Lion Warfare.

This film would not have been possible without the contribution and permissions of the following individuals to use their footage, much of it shot at the actual events taking place during the course of the takeover. My sincere thanks goes to the following people for their footage:

Adam Bannister – Londolozi Ranger
John Varty – Londolozi Co-Founder
Brian Anderson – Nkhoro Guest
John Holley – Londolozi Ranger
David Dampier – Londolozi Ranger
David Ford – Londolozi Guest
James Weis – Eyes on Africa
Rex Miller – Londolozi Ranger
Rob Jansen – Londolozi Guest
Dawn Judd – Londolozi Guest

The Majingilane Coalition are in full force as we speak. They are a formidable yet incredible force of nature to witness from the safety of a game drive vehicle. Come to Londolozi and see these magnificent creatures living out their lives…you won’t regret it. ENQUIRE NOW

The Camp Pan male was in full force this week as he mated with the Tamboti female. This young female has developed more and more of a territory for herself along the central eastern areas of Sparta, Londolozi. With the Dudley 5:5 Male Leopard infrequently visiting this area, there are no other competing male leopards that the Camp Pan male needs to worry about. As David mentioned in his post on Wednesday, we are all holding thumbs that the Tamboti female falls pregnant, giving birth to a set of cubs in about 3 months time.

The Tamboti Female just prior to mating - David Dampier

The frequency of mating varies depending on how far into the cycle they are, but can be as much as once every five minutes or so at the peak of the roughly five days that they spend together - David Dampier

My own experience with this female leopard has been interesting.  The last sighting I had of her was on a hot November’s morning. In the sweltering and muggy heat we watched her lie on a termite mound until she eventually decided that the grass underneath our car was much cooler. Gracefully she slid underneath chassy of the vehicle and lay their for a full 10 minutes before moving off. An interesting experience which reinforced the amazing connection and levels of comfort between Land Rovers and Leopards at Londolozi. If any of you have had a similar experience with this leopard or with leopard sightings in general, please tell us your story in the comments section below.

The Tamboti Female just prior to crawling underneath the vehicle - Rich Laburn

Thank you to our oft returning guest, Pat Flanagan for the great footage.

Rich

Sometimes when guests ask, ‘When is the best time of the year to come to Londolozi?’, my response is that if you are a photographer, and interested in the big mammals, then winter is preferable. The dry weather provides clear skies, excellent light, and less dense vegetation to block the view. This week, however, I realized that answer is completely wrong. Instead of getting irritated with the low light, tall grass or wet conditions, I tried to use them to capture the essence of summer and how the animals fit into their environment. Enjoy this Week in Pictures…

The afternoon light catches a group of waterbuck on Winnis' Clearing.

A Lesser kestrel, a very rare bird for this area, flies with a grasshopper. We saw it for a brief minute and somehow my camera focused on it as it flew by, luckily as I needed the photo to get a proper identification on the bird!

We waited for 2.5 hours in order to capture a potentially epic sighting of a leopard climbing a tree. Unfortunately for us she did not move a muscle, proving that sometimes you just have to be content with getting a glimpse of a leopard in the first place.

The Maxabene Female relaxes in a Marula tree. This leopard is famous for her tendency to rest in thickets, so when she was spotted this week sleeping up the tree, out in the open, we were all very happy!

Two zebra stallions fight for dominance in a bachelor group.

As David Dampier mentioned on Wednesday, one of our big sightings this week was of the Camp Pan Male and Tamboti Female mating. Early on in the week, they started out aggressively, typical of leopard mating.

The Tamboti Female stares longingly towards Camp Pan. Female leopards are generally the ones to initiate mating.

As if we weren't lucky enough to see leopards mating, they also drank side by side!

The Tamboti Female tries to seduce Camp Pan.

`Five days is quite a long time for a mating pair to remain together. They definitely started to slow down towards the end. Here, they seemed more interested in posing for us than actually mating.

Towards the end of the five-day honeymoon, they began to resemble a couple in an argument!

A Burchell's coucal, nicknamed the 'Rain Bird' because of its tendency to call before a storm, comes out of its usual habitat - deep in a thicket - giving us a rare glimpse out in the open.

A Ground hornbill holds its prize while calling to other birds nearby.

A young Bateleur eagle flies above. Spending their early years with a tawny brown plumage, these young birds only grow their distinctive black and white feathers once they are mature enough to hold their own against other territorial bateleurs.

The Vomba Young Female uses a termite mound for elevation to look at a herd of impala. She was unsuccessful in her hunt, but we returned the next morning to find that she had killed a wildebeest calf instead nearby.

After mating with the Tamboti Female, Camp Pan was very hungry. He luckily managed to kill an impala and hoist it in a tree, and we were lucky enough to catch him when he climbed up it one morning to feed.

A young zebra feeds on grass from a termite mound

A young elephant bull gives himself a mud bath. I just love the airborne mud about to crash over his back.

If you have ever wanted to know the difference between a male and a female Plum Coloured Starling, look closely at this image. On the left is the male with stunning plum colored feathers on his back. To the right is the female with speckles on her breast.

The scar nosed Majingalane cranes his neck to look behind our vehicle. All 4 members of the coalition spent time as one unit this past week. An impressive sight to witness but also to observe the ever unfolding dynamics of dominance between each of these 4 male lions.

High above the wilderness a Martial eagle flew above our vehicle carrying a kill. After looking closely at the image I am still unsure what was grasped in its talons. Can you see what it is holding?

Seeing a chameleon at night is a special sighting to begin with, but seeing one during the day is perhaps even better. The natural light allows one to carefully observe the complex arrangement of patterns, colors and textures that these 'Dwarf Lions' have dappled all over their bodies.

A herd of impala stare at the Majingilane Coalition as they nonchalantly started stretching in the late afternoon. Herd animals, these impala use a variety of alarm calls to indicate potential dangers or outright distress.

A member of the Majingalane Coalition drinking. After a few deeps sips he looked up to a noise in the bush, his eyes staring intensely at the source of the commotion - a Swainson's Francolin.

It is a common sight to see flocks of Red-Billed Oxpecker feeding off the tics on a buffalo's hide. What is unique, however, is to witness one oxpecker feeding another. Here an adult feeds a juvenile whilst one looks on.

Two piglets nuzzle each other in the late afternoon. Having being born along with the rest of the calves, lambs and foals in Nov/Dec these two have done well to stay out of harms way.

This was probably the most unique sighting of the week for me. I had never seen a crocodile actively feeding. Apparently it had killed this large male warthog when it had come for a drink

Love was in the air this week as the Camp Pan Male and Tamboti Female spent over five days together-hopefully creating a new set of cubs for a few months time. The Vomba Young Female was also prominent this week, spending a number of days feeding on a wildebeest calf that she managed to bring down. Enjoy!

Whenever climbing a termite mound, a leopard will always get into stalk mode when nearing the top, not knowing whats on the other side until they have a clear view.

Just like any other leopard, the Vomba Young Female doesn't enjoy her presence being given away-here she snarls at an annoying Rattling Cisticola chirping incessantly above her head, alerting any potential prey nearby of the threat.

Having spotted a herd of impala rams and wildebeest cows with calves, she is immediately alert and begins planning her approach

After being seen by some impala, she settled down, waiting for the commotion to pass. We left her to hunt in peace from there and on returning the next morning to follow up, Byron and Judas found her with a wildebeest calf that she had killed. She spent the next few days feeding on the carcass. This is another attempt at an "arty" (with arty generally being the term used to describe a photo that you completely messed up but are trying to salvage something from!) image of her walking across a clearing in the full moon to have a drink. It didn't quite come out as I had hoped, so will have to wait for another full moon to try again!

She then proceeded to drink for almost fifteen minutes at this small wallow!

She tried a number of different poses, constantly looking over her shoulder for any potential danger.

The Tamboti Female was seen this week as well, but quite far out of her territory...

The reason for this soon became clear as on the following day she was seen mating with the Camp Pan Male. A males territory is up to five times the size of a females-as such she will often have to leave her own territory in order to mate. Here she presents to Camp Pan, flicking her tail in his face. Males often come across as reluctant and disinterested participants in the mating ritual

Tamboti Female takes a break from mating, resting on the cool sand of the Mxabene drainage.

As you can see above, mating is quite an aggressive affair. This is in part due the male's barbed penis-this in fact helps stimulate ovulation during the first few days of mating.

She was almost always alert in between bouts of mating, and he immediately passed out after the deed was done!

The frequency of mating varies depending on how far into the cycle they are, but can be as much as once every five minutes or so at the peak of the roughly five days that they spend together

In the animal kingdom monogamy is the exception rather than the rule…

One of the cutest of all the animals out here in the bushveld is the Side-Striped Jackal; being small and secretive they are often overlooked. They are delicate creatures; light on their feet as they dance through the grass. These animals are a perfect example of monogamy gone right! They pair for life and maintain a territory which they mark with scat and urine. Being very vocal we often hear them barking away throughout the night. No predator sneaks past them undetected.

Old termite mounds are used as den sites and it is both parents who help rear the youngsters. A wonderful aspect of the Jackals breeding regime is that assistance of the pups is rendered by the previous year’s offspring. Being primarily nocturnal they run throughout the night foraging for anything they can eat. Upon finding adequate food they run back to the den and regurgitate for the pups. They will do so until the pups are old enough to come out and search for themselves in the grasslands.

Anything between 2 and 6 pups can be born and at anytime of the year. There does, however, seem to be a peak in births between the months of August and November. One large obstacle for these young pups is the high levels of predation by snakes, eagles and even Leopards.

A pup surveys the long grass from an elevated spot on a termite mound. Curiosity took over and he ran over to a tree and began biting at the bark - Adam Bannister

In terms of what these little creatures like to eat: their diet is hugely varied. They are the true definition of omnivorous. In the wet summer months they predominantly feed on invertebrates and wild fruits; when the winter months arrive they switch to a diet based more on smaller mammals, often hunting together in their pairs. The diet of snakes, beetles, crickets, spiders, fruits, rats and berries is also supplemented by a fair amount of scavenging.

Although small, these little animals sure are brave…

They deserve attention for being able to make a living in such a hostile landscape.

Written and filmed by Adam Bannister

A brand new electric Land Rover arrived at Londolozi over Christmas. Courtesy of Barker Performance Products and Land Rover, the electric vehicle was sent here to be put through a rigorous and rough field test owing to the success and pioneering development of Londolozi’s first three prototype electric Land Rovers. Having unveiled this new product at South Africa’s Tourism Indaba in May, Land Rover and Barkers Performance product have created a hugely impressive vehicle and when it arrived on our doorstep just before Christmas, we simply had to put it to the test!

Putting the Electric Land Rover to the test - Rich Laburn

Although we are testing the vehicle over a number of weeks, we decided to examine the performance through a few different disciplines: Acceleration & Speed; Gradient; Silence and Sand.

The Electric Landrover runs off an Air cooled AC Induction Motor with 330Nm of Torque and 59kW of Motor Power.  The batter is comprised of Air cooled Lithium Phosphate and has a voltage of 300V.  Ranging from 80km per battery on the open road and +20km through a game reserve, the vehicle is able to offer a game drive of approximately 8 hours.  The gear stick features Drive, Neutral and Reverse with 4WD and Low Range.

Land Rover's Electric Game Viewer

Londolozi has been at the forefront of pioneering the first ever Zero Emissions Safari Vehicle. The vision for this vehicle is to run purely on battery power which in turn is charged by solar panels. The carbon output would thus be zero, except for that used during the manufacturing of the vehicle.  Since 2009, when we unveiled our first prototype electric Landrover, the journey has been extremely fun yet also challenging. Our second prototype burnt down soon after completion, owing to an electric failure.  Yet with the help of Anton Komar and Sid from Green Rover we managed to achieve a reasonable level of success with our prototype number 3.

The Electric Land Rover going through Water - Rich Laburn

Our intention at Londolozi is to continue to be a leader towards a truly Zero Emissions Safari Vehicle and change our entire fleet to electric vehicles as soon as the opportunity presents itself.  This initiative, in particular, forms part of our broader goal to dramatically minimize our carbon footprint on the environment.

Written & Filmed & Photographed by: Rich Laburn

Some of you may be aware of Dr Steven Farmer,the shamanic practitioner, psychotherapist and professional healer. Through his numerous texts and talks he aims to facilitate and inspire a deeper awareness and appreciation for our relationship with Spirit and the natural world.

Soulful eyes protected by long eyelashes - Adam Bannister

He speaks a lot about the use of Animal Spirit Guides. They show up in our dreams, meditations, or ordinary reality. When they do they’re attempting to give you a message. Now whether or not you believe in this kind of thing is up to you but I can tell you that out in the bush certain animals do have a knack of arriving at certain times.

Even if not your cup of tea it is fascinating to read some of his thoughts on certain animals and what they mean. Here is an extract taken from his book Animal Spirit Guides. I have chosen the Elephant as they seem to have popped up a lot in my life in the last week. I also know that a lot of people who drive with me are transfixed by the African Elephant and can’t seem to think of why. Perhaps there is something to all this talk of power animals…

If Elephant Shows up, it means
Make it a point to be of service in some way to the young, elderly, or those less fortunate than yourself.
Do not let anything stand in the way of attaining this goal that is so integral to your purpose.
You have the determination and persistence required to overcome the current challenges you are faced with.
Trust your senses, and if something in your life “smells” bad, take the necessary action to do away with it.
Remain loyal to those closest to you in spite of anyone questioning their integrity.
It’s a good time to renew your sense of connectedness to the divine.

Elephant tusks in black and white - Adam Bannister

Close up of elephant's face - Adam Bannister

Extract from Animal Spirit Guides, Steven Farmer, Ph.D
Written, filmed and photographed by Adam Bannister

This week was abundant with leopard sightings, as David Dampier mentioned on Wednesday. There were many familiar faces, but perhaps what was most interesting for me was seeing some leopards new to the area. We are so fortunate at Londolozi to view leopards that are very relaxed with the game drive vehicles, and because of that, a common question from guests is whether or not we are ‘bothering’ the animals when following them.  My answer is always that they will make it very clear if we are, through either running away, hiding, or, in the case of two females we saw this week, showing more subtle behaviours which indicate they are not so sure of whether we are friend or foe.  As guides and trackers, we aim to be sensitive to these signs, and respond to them with full respect for the animals’ stress levels, which usually means leaving them be.  This week some of our guests got to experience this firsthand, and, I believe, gained a greater appreciation for the elusiveness of these lovely cats.

The week began with an appearance by the Marthly Male. Still arguably the most dominant male in our area, he has been spending much of his time near the river of late, which means that sightings of him are a bit rarer due to the thick riverine vegetation and high water at this time of year. Luckily he posed nicely for us on a termite mound after stalking impala on a cloudy morning.

Another visitor this week was a very large 'mustering', or 'phalanx', of White storks, which are not normally common in the area.

We also came across an unknown and rather shy female leopard in the 'Deep South' of Londolozi. She was relaxed enough to let us view her, but definitely kept a watchful eye on us. She was laying low in a thicket watching a dazzle of zebra and an implausibility of wildebeest, both with youngsters. Unfortunately they moved off before she could get close enough to hunt.

At one point she circled in the small thicket which hid her amidst the open plains, all the while you could see a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

A kudu bull stands tall atop a termite mound. Even though we view these beautiful animals fairly often, I have always struggled to get decent photos of them due to their rather shy nature.

More common to see sitting in the roads at night, this Nightjar was a fantastic daytime spot by Robert Hlatswayo, with whom I worked for a few days this week. Completely blending into his perch on a stump, a close look reveals its very large eyes, perfect for viewing its insect prey at night.

A White rhino bull after a mud wallow. He had been showing off for some nearby females, and marking his territory, rather aggressively digging his horn in the mud. He was definitely in a territorial mood, and just after this photo was taken, even trotted towards our vehicle in a gesture of, in no uncertain terms: 'You are in my space and need to leave now!' We obeyed.

After James Tyrell's post yesterday, these two Sparta cubs seem old! They are growing fast, and were an absolute treat to watch as they played in the mud. The pride had been feasting on a wildebeest kill, and while the females were far too full and tired to move, the little ones had some energy to burn. One of the Majingalane Males was also present at this sighting, and it was interesting to note that they played with him quite happily. They are the fathers, but given the recent Tsalala Pride tragedy, it seems that anything is possible with these males.

A Yellow-billed stork fishes at Taylor's Dam.

I think wildebeest calves are becoming some of my favourite animals! They are simply adorable, and definitely don't fit the classification of being in the 'Ugly 5'! It has been a joy over the past few weeks to watch the Londolozi population grow immensely. They seem to play more than many other young antelope, and can often be seen lying together in nursery groups. Quite often, as seen here, wildebeest intermingle with groups of impala: the more eyes and ears the better when it comes to predator detection.

Another unfamiliar leopard, this time on Marthly. This female was very skittsh, less relaxed than the one we had seen in the south. We still managed to view her, but at a distance. She curiously looked at us from atop this termite mound. Since that day she has been spotted quite a few times in the same area. Personally, I believe the fact she has remained in the area is a good indication she may eventually become more used to seeing the vehicles.

An extremely rare bird for the area, the Kori bustard, was seen this week at Londolozi. It holds the esteemed title of being the heaviest flying bird on earth.

Quite often in the bush it's not the wildlife that takes your breath away but the dramatic landscapes, particularly at this time of year when the weather is unpredictable.

The 'older' Tsalala cubs are really maturing. They are paying careful attention when their mother hunts, and, as they approach their first birthday, are looking less like cubs!

The Maxabene 3:2 Young Male feeds on a zebra foal. Perhaps taking after his father, the Camp Pan Male, who loves to hunt prey 'bigger' than your average impala, he managed to kill a young foal and hoist it into a nearby marula tree, where he fed on it for about 2 days. He spent much of this time lying on the ground beneath, resting between feeds, but we were lucky enough to come have a look while he was active.

As they feed on a carcass, leopards have to continually shift it to anchor properly, so it doesn't fall down. Here there was only the forelegs and neck left, and he eventually stopped bothering trying to keep it in the tree. Apparently he felt the threat from hyenas was minimal, so he brought it down himself and fed on the ground.

A Lilac-breasted roller shows us his stunning colours.

Two impala lambs run back to the herd, realizing they've strayed too far!

A big bull elephant picks up some small shrubs, while bypassing the effects of years of elephant impact through feeding: the tree skeletons that have been ringbarked, as well as a living knobthorn tree that has also been partially ringbarked. Even though the trees have died, however, they provide essential homes for many different bird, reptile, mammal and insect species.

I've included this photo as the start to a series of shots taken of a great leopard sighting. One blog reader asked recently how the leopard's spots help to camouflage them... Can you spot the leopard in this photo?

When zoomed in, you can see that she is lying in the shade to the right of the tree. The spots help the best in dappled light to hide them, blending into the shade. Here, the Vomba Young Female was stalking impala to the right, only about 40 m away. They could not see her, but unfortunately the wind shifted and they smelled her. They came even closer, alarming, but still could not see her as she remained dead still. Sometimes if impala don't get a visual confirmation that a leopard is around, they will continue on their way. In this case, however, the lead ewe was just too suspicious and she turned the rest of the group around.

Having been discovered, she sat up and began grooming, the white on her tail raised as a 'surrender' flag to those sounding alarms around her. Usually in this situation, a leopard will move off. However, just as I was explaining to the guests the leopard's need to ambush prey and hence her

The Vomba Young Female took her title as 'opportunist' very seriously that morning. It was already about 35 degrees and while us spectators were boiling and thinking it was not a good time to hunt, she kept pursuing the impala as they moved over the rolling hills. Here she squints her eyes from the already harsh sun.

She eventually found a patch of shade to lie in, but not before chasing (and not catching) two very surprised Slender mongooses. I hadn't seen this beautiful female in a while and she is always fantastic to photograph.

Many people have a bucket list. Things to do and see or places to go before they die. Our sighting last week was something so rarely witnessed in the bush that nobody would sensibly put it on their list, knowing how remote their chances of seeing it to be: A lioness ferrying her newborn cubs from one den-site to another, carrying them each in her mouth, before returning for the next one.

The Sparta lioness carries one of her cubs across a clearing on her way to her new den site - James Tyrrell

A brilliant spot by Candy, one of my guests, revealed the lioness to us, walking about 50 meters to our right in a dense thicket.  Reversing quickly, I managed to get a brief view of her back as she crossed a gap in the bushes, but we failed to find her again after we took the vehicle in after her. We guessed that she was one of the Sparta lionesses, most likely returning to the pride from a den-site, as we were fairly certain that her 10-day absence from the other four females meant she had given birth somewhere.

Driving around to a road further along her anticipated line of march, we failed to find her or any tracks in the sand, so we headed back to where we had last seen her to try and establish in which direction she had walked. Myself and senior tracker Eckson Sibuyi left the Land-rover and walked towards the thicket, stepping down into a wide drainage line scarcely 20m from the vehicle. As we descended, we both glanced to our left at the same time, and froze immediately as we saw the lioness staring at us from about 50 meters away. She was coming towards us, moving in the direction we had originally seen her going, but she was now further back towards where she had come from. The small bundle she was holding in her mouth immediately sent our pulses racing, as it was very evident that it was a tiny, tiny cub.

Sparta Lioness carrying her cub - James Tyrrell

We immediately retreated back to the vehicle, and watched her calmly walk by in front of us, barely glancing in our direction, and vanish once more into the thicket where she had first disappeared. I was pretty incoherent with excitement by this time, scarcely believing what we were so privileged to be seeing. Again losing her in the dense bush, we were amazed to see her re-emerge after only about 5 minutes. She was clearly going back for another cub. We re-positioned ourselves on the road with a clear view in both directions, and were rewarded when she returned after a further 5 mins, bearing another precious cargo. She didn’t come back out and so we moved off, absolutely speechless.

The Lioness disappears into the scrub with her young cub - James Tyrrell

I am now considering handing in my notice, as I know that as long as I work in the bush I will most likely never again see something so special!

Written and Photographed by: James Tyrrell
Filmed by: Derek Pollard

The past seven days have produced some amazing sightings of leopard and I was fortunate enough to witness quite a number of them. From a photographic point of view, they were extremely co-operative, going about their business in some beautiful light and surroundings. Hopefully some of the photos below do some justice to another fabulous week!

The Short Tail Male looks back over his shoulder towards a disturbance somewhere in the long grass

After a long walk through his territory, calling and scent marking, he settled down to groom himself, showing his bright white underbelly

The Maxabene 3:2 Young Male sits atop an enormous termite mound. Estimates as to the age of mounds this big range from anywhere between 100-700 years. Unfortunately they don't have defining markings, such as the rings of a tree trunk, so no-one really knows for sure.

On the following morning he was found with a very young zebra foal hoisted in a marula tree. After watching him sleep for some time, he finally woke up and launched himself up the tree with ease.

He pauses for a moment once up the tree before moving to the kill

Ever alert to the potential threat of another leopard, Maxabene 3:2 Young male pauses mid-meal, with a large chunk of zebra mane dangling from his mouth

Sometimes a leopard will bring a kill down from the tree to feed more comfortably. For some reason he decided to bring it down after eating and store it on the ground. I can only think that inexperience is the reason for him putting his kill at risk of being stolen by hyaenas.

Maxabene 3:2 Young Male-back down the way he came, this time with the zebra in tow.

We had stopped to view some white backed vultures when Lucky spotted the Tutlwa Female as she stuck her head up from some long grass.

After her first attempt at hunting impala failed, she regrouped and searched for another opportunity

At this time of year we have been seeing more and more of this female on the clearings north of the Sand River. As the grass grows longer with the summer rains it provides just enough cover for her to hunt the large herds of impala that congregate there.

The change in intensity of her facial expression is immediately evident as she spots an impala lamb that seems abandoned, some 300m from the main herd

Low to the ground, she gives a good illustration as to where the term "leopard crawl" comes from!

On the final approach she picks up speed. By using a slow shutter speed and panning the camera with the object you are photographing, you can get an effect like this where part of the picture is in focus, but the rest blurred. Unfortunately for her, the main herd of impala spotted her a mere ten meters from the lamb, alerting it just in time to make a hasty getaway.

The Vomba Young Female rests in a marula tree at last light

The Vomba Young Female descends the same marula tree. This is taking motion blur photos to the extreme, using a 1/5 shutter speed. Unfortunately I managed to cut off her front legs, but it illustrates the effect nonetheless, looking more like a painting than a photo.

In the next few days, a 15 minute short film on the Majingilane Coalition will be released on the Londolozi Blog. Produced by myself for YOU (the loyal and devoted viewers of the Londolozi blog), as well as all other lion and wildlife enthusiasts around the world – here is a little taster, teaser & trailer of the full movie to come. Please feel free to share around your social networks if you enjoyed it.

Rich

New Years Eve is one of the biggest events on the Londolozi calendar and this past year was no exception.  Paying tribute to the original pioneers of Londolozi, Charles Boyd Varty and Frank Unger, who purchased the land (sight unseen) after a tennis match in Johannesburg back in 1926 – this years theme was ’1926 Tennis’.  Donning white shorts and tennis miniskirts, the Londolozi family and our treasured guests enjoyed a spectacular evening which, in true Londolozi style, included many Gin n’ Tonics as well as numerous glasses of Moet Champagne.

One of the original trophies won by Maidie Varty in her tennis career. It is, of course, surrounded by numerous jugs of Pimms Cocktails

The Varty Camp deck was the venue for the evening and with her usual flair for excellence, Alex Paterson did a spectacular job of turning this elegant family camp into a tennis themed ‘Center Court’. Fairy lights were strung above the dance floor and illuminated the big white walls, adorned with images of the early Pioneers in their heyday.

The New Years Eve Dinner Setup just before the Guests arrived

Tennis Balls, Candles and Moet Bubbly

Clearly the Londolozi family were intent on getting into the spirt of the evening and arrived dressed to the nines. From short and sexy to clean cut white to Rex Miller (who came dressed as an actual Dunlop Tennis Ball) the relaxed and fun tone of the evening was set from early on.

The Londolozi Camp Managers and Butlers Getting in Full New Years Dress

Rex dressed up as a tennis ball, James as a tennis racquet and Sean as the Baseline

Our Executive Chef, Craig Paterson, provided an outstanding 6 course meal which began with West Coast Oyster Canapes followed by Tomato Gaspazio and Duck Liver Parfait. For the main course he dazzled with Crayfish Tails with Lamb Rack shortly after. His dessert was a selection of treats such as Chocolate Brownies, Meringues as well as Strawberries and Cream!

Guests enjoying Executive Chef, Craig Paterson's, New Years Dinner Menu

Kirsty collecting another round of Gin n Tonics

And…in the tradition of last year’s New Year Video, here is a one minute snapshot of the evening from the Photobooth. Enjoy!

Photographed by: Rich Laburn
Video Photographs by: Funbooth

It’s New Years Day 2012 and here at Londolozi we wish you all a very prosperous and absolutely brilliant year ahead.  2011 was mind-blowing throughout Londolozi and much of it was reflected right here on the blog.

Right from the beginning of the year we knew that the pride dynamics were going to be interesting to observe, the new leopards fascinating to watch and of course much of the Londolozi family amusing to observe.

So without further ado, here are our Top posts from 2011:

Lion Cub Saved by Mother

It’s interesting and amusing to note that one of the most popular stories we featured in 2011 did not actually take place at Londolozi.  This tale, expertly photographed by Jean-Francois Largot, tells the story of a young lion cub in the Masaai Mara who is rescued by his mother after falling off the edge of a cliff.  High drama and emotion surrounded this post with a plethora.  Sent to me by Dave Varty, it was a point of much bragging as this popular post occupied the spot of ‘Most Visitors in 1 Day’ on the blog for a couple of months.

Canon vs Nikon: Which is Better?

So many photographers love to discuss this topic and when an interesting info graphic was published online, it was an apt illustration of the very subtleties of this topic.  Although I think that both manufactures produce outstanding cameras, brand loyal enthusiasts tend to disagree according to their predilection of photographic equipment.  If you want to see who wins, go and take a look for yourself.

The Valentines Rush

Another Valentines Day, another crazy Valentines Video featuring the all star Londolozi Ranging Team.  Desperate to win the heart of the femme fatale, the ranging and tracking team fight amongst themselves for the single rose.  An action packed race through the bush and with each other, this video features not only the good looking areas on the Londolozi property, but also the good looking fellas in the Londolozi ranging and tracking team.  Filmed in slow motion…it’s a riot…

5 Month of Lion Cub Survives 5 Weeks Alone

The drama of the Tsalala pride has been an emotional roller coaster.  Keyboards around the world have been destroyed owing to the litres of tears shed over the lives of this incredible pride and their beloved cubs.  The offspring of the Majingilane Coalition, this pride signals a new era of lion dominance in Londolozi and their tales reflect all of the hardship, struggles and success which epitomize the life of Africa’s most noble creature.  In this post, we tell the story of how one of the younger Tsalala pride cubs survived 5 weeks alone, isolated from the pride.  Having been separated during an attack by a clan of hyenas and later reuniting with the pride, this story if worthy of a Hollywood epic.

Buffalo Escapes Death – Attacks Lions

These relentless enemies are constantly at battle with one another.  Usually we feature the lions as the victors, however in this astonishing post this buffalo bull regains strength after a number of hours and manages to escape from the lion’s claws of death.  An amazing tale of resilience, never giving up and fighting against all the odds.  The video is most certainly not for the faint hearted!

Movember at Londolozi

“At Londolozi we chose to not only raise awareness for men’s health by supporting the Movember tradition, but also took the opportunity to raise some funds for a cause closer to home – the Madlala High School.  By the end of Movember, some interesting styles had emerged – each with a fitting name.”  This was, without a doubt, one of the most hilarious posts we have published on the blog.  Profiling each of the Londolozi Mo-Bros and the famous counterparts provided some interesting comparisons to figures in history both living and dead.

The Lions: Majingilane Coalition

The notorious bad boys of Londolozi and surrounding properties, the Majingilane Coalition have been on the tips of everyone’s tongue this past year.  From their violent and aggressive behavior to their total dominance over the Tsalala and Sparta Prides, this post profiles each of the 4 males and provides some more insight into the history, behavior and activities of these infamous beasts.  Dark Maned Male, Scar Nosed Male, Hip Scar Male and Golden Mane Male are now also the stars of their very own short documentary which is scheduled from release on the Londolozi Blog in January 2012.  The trailer will be out soon, so stay tuned!!!!

The Week in Pictures

The brainchild and product of our very own ranger (and photographic guru) Talley Smith.  The Week in Pictures is a firm favourite amongst many readers of the blog.  Published every Friday of the week – the Week in Pictures showcases the best stories and images of the week photographed by Talley whilst out on game drive with her guests.  This amazing series has provided snapshots into the lives of many of the animals which call Londolozi their home and has also presented the world with Talley’s beautiful images. Click on the link above to see the full list of all the Week in Pictures since she began earlier this year.

The Leopards of Londolozi

What would every Wednesday be without a regular update about Londolozi’s most beloved and iconic animal – The Leopard.  David Dampier does a great job in showing and telling us the happenings of many of the well known Leopards of Londolozi in this weekly blog post featuring his stunning Leopard images.  Regular characters include the Vomba Female, Marthly Male, Camp Pan Male, Vomba Young Female, Maxabene Brothers, Tutlwa Female and the Nyeleti Siblings.  These enigmatic and elusive (well not so much at Londolozi) creatures never fail to delight, especially in the eyes of one of our best photographers, David ‘Doyle’ Dampier.

The Grand Lady, Varty Camp Refurbished

Varty Camp is the heart and home of Londolozi, the crucible from which the campfire has burned for over four generations and eighty five years. Fusing family, tradition and specialist photographic safaris, the newly refurbished Varty Camp offers one of the best value for money safari experiences in South Africa.  This camp is all about tradition, laughter and storytelling. From sipping an ice-cold Pimms on the Varty deck, gazing out into 18 000 hectares of exclusive traversing to sitting around a boma campfire and listening to stories of the past, Varty Camp has a tangible feeling of soul, place and a sense of essence.  Check out the Varty Camp video and view some of the images from the stunning makeover this camp received earlier on in 2011.  If you would like to enquire about staying at this beautiful camp, send us a message by CLICKING HERE

The Best Photographic Equipment to Bring on Safari

If there is one item that you must bring on your trip to Londolozi, it is a digital camera.  No matter what your budget or level of skill is, the beauty of photography allows anybody to be an artist.  For many individuals coming on safari, they have no idea which equipment they should include in their packing and what type of camera to bring along.  This post proved to be particular popular as it offers a factual breakdown of effective camera bodies, lenses and other accessories across a wide variety of price ranges.  One thing is for sure though, if you are coming on safari to Londolozi you MUST bring your camera with you!

Winter Calendar 2011

“The best time to explore the Eastern Lowveld of South Africa is in the cool dry months of May to September”
Charles Boyd Varty – April 1926”

The Londolozi Winter Calendar is now entering its 6th year in 2012.  This past year saw another incredible winter with myriad activities, incredible sightings and beautifully lazy days in the balmy lowveld weather.  To get a better understanding, take a look at the Winter Calendar Video in the above blog post.  In the same vein as our 2011 Winter Calendar we are offering a special value add for the months of May and June 2012:  Book 3 nights or more at any of the Londolozi lodges in May or June and get two nights free in Cape Town paid for by Londolozi.  In Cape Town you will be staying at some of the finest boutique hotels in Cape Town such as Colona Castle, Welgelegen, Mannabay and Kensington Place.  To find out more about this special: CLICK HERE

Camp Pan and Dudley 5:5 Come to Blows

Two of Londolozi’s biggest male leopards battle with one another in this spectacular video blog.  Captured by Londolozi guests and myself, this event was truly one of the most incredible sightings I have had the privilege of witnessing in the wild.  Add to the sighting the Vomba 3:2 Female, the Marthly Male, a lone hyena and you get a high action video which shows the real drama behind the battle for territorial dominance amongst leopards.  The ferocity with which these two animals fight each other is truly humbling, frightening and awe inspiring at the same time.

We would love to hear from you which your favorite post has been over this last year.  Any suggestions are welcome in addition to the posts I have presented above.  Here’s to another fantastic year on the Londolozi Blog, all of which would not be possible were it not for you our loyal readers and visitors to Londolozi.  Thank You!

Rich

This week, through the deluge of rain over Christmas and the hot, humid and termite-filled aftermath, the bush was full of diversity. We had some great highlights including some fantastic leopard sightings, but unfortunately also some lowlights with the most recent Tsalala Pride incident.

My dear friend Shaun, who was a faithful follower and supporter of the weekly photos, passed away recently. His spirit and love of the African bushveld will continue to inspire me and I’m sure anyone who had the privilege of spending time with him.

The week started off with a heavy rain which settled in for a couple of days and somewhat dampened the Christmas spirits of our sun-seeking guests. In terms of wildlife viewing, however, aside from the tracks we rely on to find the animals being washed away quickly, the rain can bring out different sides of the bush. Here, an 'implausibility' of wildebeest huddle around their soaked calves as they wait out the storm.

A lioness from the Sparta Pride braves the rain before seeking shelter under a nearby bushwillow tree. As all of us shivered under our ponchos, we were reminded yet again of the hardships these animals must face from day to day!

One of the two Sparta cubs was not so keen on the intensifying storm, and trotted to shelter long before the adults.

A flock of Wattled starlings try to dry their feathers in a brief break from the downpour. These chattery birds are often seen in large groups in the summertime following herds of herbivores, hoping to catch the insects they stir up as they graze. The male has the distinct, striking yellow and black wattle on his face.

As I've mentioned before, another benefit to wet game viewing is that leopards seem to like hunting in a light rain! Freddy and I aren't shy of a good couple of hours spent following an individual animal, and in this case we shadowed the Vomba Female as she stalked, hunted and territorially marked on another rainy afternoon. We noticed immediately that she had an injury to her right eye. I have seen similar injuries in leopard a few times which for the most part, seem to heal quickly.

After spotting a herd of impala, she ran in a crouched position into thicker cover. Unfortunately, the impala saw this and shouted alarms.

After the failed attempt at impala, she used this fallen tree for some elevation in the thicket to try to spot other prey.

As the rain subsided, her journey became more territorial than for hunting, and she continued on her typical eastwards route crossing the airstrip. However, she suddenly leapt up in an acrobatic flip, and we could only assume she had been stung by an insect!

She then searched around for whatever had disrupted her walk, looking back at us with a bit of embarrassment, it seemed!

That evening, the clouds began to break, which provided a striking scene with the Leadwood skeletons against a dark sunset.

A Fork-tailed drongo mobs a Wahlberg's eagle on a cloudy - but finally rainless - morning.

In the aftermath of rain, there are lots of puddles around, and it's always a nice surprise to drive round a blind corner to a leopard drinking in the road! The Tamboti female, apparently full from a recent feed, has a drink before beginning a very territorial walk around the Tortoise Pan area.

Showing clear signs of having been in a fight, with a big gash on her side and on her face, she scent-marked heavily and growled as she moved through the area. We are not sure who she fought with: perhaps another female for territory, or even hyenas or another leopard for her kill?

That evening, a stunning pink sunset marked the first sure sign of a sunny morning ahead!

We got some well-appreciated sunshine the next day, and the animals came out in full effect! Here, a female Saddle-billed stork shows off her brilliant colours while searching for frogs at Serengeti Pan.

After a big rain, the insects are everywhere! Specifially at this time of year, termite 'immersions' flood the sky as the winged creatures leave their mounds in swarms to start new colonies in the softened soil. This makes for incredible bird sightings, as many birds (and mammals) like this pale morph of a Wahlberg's eagle, sit at immersion sites waiting for the protein-rich insects to come out. However, it also creates an interesting aspect to our night drives back to camp: we warn the guests, 'Zip up your jackets, put your sunglasses on, and close your mouths!' Even though they are harmless, and, in fact, edible to humans, the shrieks of the guests (and sometimes rangers) can be heard for miles!

The Camp Pan Male struts towards us after a day-long snooze in the shade. He was lying next to Tortoise Pan, the same area where we had seen the Tamboti Female the day before.

He had a drink at the pan and then walked around the area, smelling curiously and scent-marking on top of the same places where we had seen the Tamboti Female scent-marking.

A Red-footed kestrel catches the late afternoon light.

On his final morning, the young Tsalala cub, or 'Shayne' as he was known by some of his biggest fans, lies away from the rest of the group. That night would be the fateful evening when one of the males, who is potentially his father, killed him as described in Adam's post yesterday. A tragic end to his short but incredible life.

A Vervet monkey keeps watch from a tree while the rest of the troop forage below.

One of the South Pride Males looks for his three companions after a day of sleeping in the long grass.

One of the other males rests his head on a branch nearby.

The biggest of the four South Pride Males walks by, showing us his stunning profile. His mane is looking very full, and they are getting stronger by the day it seems. They have not behaved territorially as of yet, but it could be soon...

A young elephant bull passes close to us, showing off his long eyelashes as well as the reason for them: with all the vegetation they move through, their damp eyes attract lots of debris.

On a less rainy day, we were able to have another sighting of the Sparta cubs, and this time they were slightly more keen to stay out in the open! Here, one of them chews on a stick after having stolen it from her sister.

Playing in lion cubs often imitates hunting behaviour in adults. Here they both playfully employ the strangle tactic on each other.

Update on the hyena den site... they just keep growing! Our visit this week luckily had one of the mothers present, so the youngsters were out and about. This cub's mother, however, was not there, so he (or she) seemed to jealously pace around the other cubs who were suckling on their mother.

One of the more exciting sightings of the week was watching the Tutlwa female hunt and kill an impala lamb, and take it back to where we presume she had left her cubs. As with any 'kill' sighting, particularly during the daytime, when we get back to camp the question is always, did you get photos? Well, I did get a photo... but unfortunately this was it! Seeing a kill is rare enough as it is, but seeing a photographable one is even harder. Here, the impala lamb was lying in the tall grass before she pounced on it. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the sighting and not worry about taking photos!

Luckily the aftermath was photographable! Here she demonstrates her strength and determination as she drags the carcass in the direction of where we think her cubs were hidden.

She walked for a very long time, pausing occasionally to catch her breath. We were secretly hoping to watch her hoist it in a tree, but also knew her main goal was to get close to her cubs, who were in an area inaccessible with our vehicle. We can only hope she and her two youngsters enjoyed the meal safely!

It is with great sadness that we have to inform you of yet another loss to the Tsalala Pride.

On the evening of the 26th December 2011 the Majingilanes were on a rampage. All four of them had grouped together and when a distant call of the Tsalala Pride could be heard it was a call to action. Three out of the four males marched their way across Londolozi roaring continuously. It was fascinating to watch the order in which these males charged forward. Leading the march was the Dark Mane Male, followed closely by the one with the Golden Mane Trailing 20 meters behind was the Scar Nose Male. I was intrigued that the Hip Scar Male did not participate in the proceedings and actually headed in the opposite direction.

They caught up with the Tsalala Pride on Winnis Clearing and all hell broke loose. The young male lion cub of the Tsalala Pride was killed instantly by the Scar Nose Majingilane. He roared multiple times as he lay on top of his victim. The pride was sent scattering in all directions.

NOT FOR SENSITIVE VIEWERS

Fortunately a subsequent sighting of this pride confirms that all members, bar the dead cub, are fine and recuperating in the vicinity of Ximpalapala Koppie.

This is very sad for the lovers of the Tsalala Pride, as it was this cub which had escaped death once before when he survived out in the bush for 5 weeks alone. Not too long ago we published a piece about the story of this individual lion and the sheer number of responses tells one how special this pride is to so many people. He had survive both Hyenas and weeks without substantial food. Who would have though that one of his fathers would put an end to his life. He will be missed.

Why would the Majingilane Males kill their own cub? I do not have the answers… Did the Scar Nose Male not mate with the female, thus was he possibly not one of the fathers? Are the Majingilane Males not direct brothers as we had initially thought? All this is confused by the fact that the four males seem so relaxed around the Sparta Pride cubs? Nature is brutal and sometimes very difficult to understand. Did they target this individual lion cub or was it because he was simply the slowest to run?

So with huge respect we say farewell to a brave cub. With his death comes a question mark over the social status of the notorious brotherhood of the Majingilane. I would love to hear from you if you have heard of male lions killing their own cubs before and what you opinion is on this incident.

The young male (left) and the young female (right). This photo was taken a few days ago and it was still clear that the cub was smaller than his sister; a result of the 5 weeks alone. Whilst the male was killed on the 26th December his sister is still alive

Written, photographed and filmed by Adam Bannister

This week saw a number of interesting happenings on the leopard front. The Tutlwa Female was seen hunting and killing an impala lamb and the Vomba Female keeps returning to the same inaccessible area in the Sand River, reinforcing our suspicions that she may have cubs. The sighting of the week, however had to go to the Maxabene Brothers who, on the 25th December no less, seemed to confirm the view of some that Christmas is, in fact, nothing but a scheduled family argument! Being such a unique interaction, we decided to dedicate the entire post to just this sighting. Enjoy…

We had stopped to view a bird when our tracker, Lucky, calmly got off from his seat and moved to the back of the vehicle. His favorite joke is to tell guests that he has seen a snake and he is too scared to be sitting up front-at which time I know he has spotted a leopard and he is now waiting to see who will spot it next! Sure enough the Maxabene 3:2 Young Male was perched on a termite mound nearby, scanning the area for potential prey.

After moving termite mounds for a different view, he settled down to groom himself.

Not too far away another ranger and tracker team, Melvin and Milton, had been tracking a young male leopard-when they heard we had found the Maxabene 3:2 Young Male they assumed it had been his tracks they were following. On driving to meet us, however, they found the Maxabene 3:3 Young Male, his brother, about 200m away. He was stalking a Common Reedbuck (which in the Sabi Sand area is anything but common!) that was lying hidden in long grass. He stalked slowly for about forty minutes before the reedbuck sensed something was up and bolted-and just in time as well as they were no more than ten meters apart. Here he looks on as his potential meal heads for the horizon.

After missing the reedbuck, the 3:3 Young Male climbed the nearest termite mound to get a view of the surroundings, having been stalking in the long grass for some time. It was at this point that he was spotted by his brother, the 3:2 Young Male. If you look in the top left corner of the photo, you can just make out his blurred shape at the top of another termite mound in the distance

The 3:2 Young Male crouches as low as possible, ears flattened, as his brother, unaware of his presence at this stage, approaches.

And still, just meters apart, the 3:3 Young Male in the foreground has no idea his brother is watching.

Finally the 3:3 Young Male spots his brother and for a moment they both freeze, ears flattened and ready to pounce

Suddenly, the 3:2 Young Male, who has the advantage of higher ground, launches himself at his brother. In a move designed to protect the spine from any bites, as well as allow the free movement of paws for defense, the 3:3 Young Male flips on his back and claws his brother in the belly.

The actual clash was over in a split second, and the two brothers resorted to the more usual form of leopard confrontation-a large amount of close-quarter growling, scent marking and frothing at the mouth! They tend to try and avoid serious violent confrontation as, being solitary animals, any injury which impaired their ability to hunt could prove fatal.

After claiming the top of the mound from his brother, the 3:3 Young Male looks on as a hyaena, attracted by the sound of the fighting leopard, sniffs around to see if they had perhaps been fighting over a carcass. Whether claiming the top of the mound, whilst his brother lay in the long grass below, was a sign of victory or not, I am not sure. If so, it is interesting, as growing up it always seemed as if the 3:2 Young Male had been more dominant.

The hyaena gets a little close for comfort and is told in no uncertain terms to back off. The hyaena did eventually move off, but barely acknowledged the presence of the leopard, paying no attention to the growls and snarls directed at him.

After the dust had settled, the 3:3 Young Male, from his outpost on the mound, kept a wary eye on both his brother and the lurking hyaena. Neither of the leopard seemed to have been injured in any way and by the afternoon drive had gone their separate ways. A truly unique interaction between two brothers who are every day getting closer to trying to establish themselves as a dominant presence on Londolozi.

I must start off by wishing you all a Merry Christmas. I trust that you had a wonderful day and that you were surrounded by friends, family and loved ones. As a wildlife photography fanatic I am continually seeking new ways to shoot and portray images in nature. One quite exciting idea that I have been introduced to recently is the power of the Fish Eye Lens. An exceptionally wide open lens allowing the photographer to capture a large amount of scenery in the shot. This opens up an entire new ball game in terms of creativity. It enables one to take a scene which has been shot numerous times and put a fresh twist on the whole thing.

A fisheye lens is a wide-angle lens that takes in a broad, panoramic and hemispherical image. Originally developed for use in meteorology to study cloud formation and called “whole-sky lenses”, fisheye lenses quickly became popular in general photography for their unique, distorted appearance. They are often used by photographers shooting broad landscapes to suggest the curve of the Earth.

Although I do not have a Fish Eye Lens for myself, a guest I had a short while ago took these photographs whilst on Safari at Londolozi Game Reserve. You can see how this Lens, if used correctly, deserves a place in every serious photographers camera bag.

It's great how a Fish Eye Lens shows how much fun it is to cross the Causeway, one of the passageways to the beautiful northern parts of Londolozi.

A new perspective is captured. Here the Lens is used to effectively show the openness and freedom allowed through driving in an open vehicle with no roof on Safari

The view from the Sycamore Fig overlooking the Sand River

A walk in the wild

The Fish Eye Lens is best used to show space! It works well to put something of a known size to show perspective. The people walking in this picture work perfectly for this job.

Ximpalapala Koppie - an icon of Londolozi.

A creative way to portray a Hibiscus.

Written by Adam Bannister
Photographed by Craig Hayman

This week brought slightly less ‘kill’ action but more diversity amongst the species, and interesting behaviors.  We are still embracing summer with all the youngsters, migratory birds, and reptiles around every corner.  We saw a few familiar faces amongst the predators, and also had a few return visits from some long lost friends.  Enjoy this Week in Pictures…

The Maxabene 3:2 Young Male. You can see from this picture that his left eye still has a slight abnormality, but it does not seem to be affecting him too much. Here he was stalking monitor lizards around Shingalana Pan. He is quite often seen within the same vicinity as his father, the Camp Pan Male, although this is most likely because this young male is not yet territorial and Camp Pan's territory provides a 'safe' zone from other dominant males, rather than either leopard seeking out the other.

There are loads of wildebeest calves this year! The young wildebeest is a different colour to the adults for the first couple of months of their lives, presumably to help conceal the youngsters while they are lying in the grass.

At first glance, this newborn calf is enjoying the morning sun happily with its mother, herdmates and some cattle egrets. However, the 'mother' behind it is too young to have produced offspring. After some time watching the little one follow its friend, we figured out that the herd had been split the night before by a pride of lions, and that this calf was, at least for now, abandoned. Luckily for him, those lions had not killed that night, and hopefully the mother found him later.

A Long-tailed Paradise-whydah displays atop a torchwood branch. Like the Pin-tailed whydah featured last week, the male of this species grows a beautiful tail for the breeding season.

A warthog piglet races, tail raised, to catch up to its mother. It will have to be careful as it grows up, as many of the Londolozi leopards seem to have a taste for baby warthogs...

The Tsalala older male cub takes a break from the females to catch some sun. In this sighting, he was with his mother, her sister (the new Tailless Female) and two (younger) cubs. The older Tailless Female was presumably somewhere with his 3 female siblings. They were separated for a few days, with no sign of the others... but we weren't terribly concerned, as after watching the older Tailless raise so many cubs both of her own and of her offspring, we knew she would be taking good care of them. Indeed they were all found together a few days later, fat and happy on a wildbeest kill.

Two buffalo bulls wallow and ruminate in the afternoon heat.

I think this crocodile might become one of the familiar faces of Londolozi... or at least the Week in Pictures! Last summer, it was usually in the Sand River at one of our crossings, in the same spot, mouth open in the rapids, seemingly waiting for a fish to pop in. This summer, he's back, and gives us up close and personal views of a deadly predator which is normally quite shy and elusive.

The Tutlwa Female watches a warthog run into its burrow. Tutlwa made a few appearances this week, and in this sighting we found her because of her rather dramatic entrance into another sighting. We were watching impala, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe and warthog all in large numbers on a open plain, and all of the sudden they started alarming and ran past our vehicle on all sides. Tutlwa then ran by, hot on the tail of a warthog who managed to escape. Afterwards we followed her while she continued to hunt. There have been a few sightings of her two cubs, but unfortunately they are still quite shy.

A group of Red-footed kestrels settle in for the night on a dead knobthorn. These birds are often found in large flocks at this time of year: beautiful to see so many raptors all at once!

A Rhino bull wallows on a muggy morning.

Another one of our interesting sightings of the week was of some female nyala fighting, head butting and chasing each other quite aggressively. Usually female antelope (most species) do not fight with one another, and this was a first to see even for Freddy! All we could guess was that, because this was a particularly large group of female nyala, there was increased competition and perhaps they were trying to branch off into smaller groups. Thoughts?

We haven't seen the Secretarybirds in a while, but at least one seems to have returned recently.

While watching the large herd of buffalo, one cow came quite close, and I tried to get a shot of her eye. What I didn't realize at the time was that you can actually see the reflection of our Land Rover in it. We are approaching what is generally the peak time for buffalo calving, so we are looking forward to it!

Two young hippos play fight at Taylor's Dam. Hippos mainly rest during the day, but as the evening falls they start to become more active, particularly youngsters like these. Regardless of their age, you can see the menacing tusks.

The Leopard orchids are in flower at the moment, and bring a bit of life back into many of the tree skeletons around Londolozi.

A Majingalane Male sits in the spotlight. This was taken in very low light and, although not a good photo, preceded an incredible sighting. Two of the Majingalane Males got up and pursued the two Tsalala females with their six cubs, seemingly with friendly intentions as after all, they are the fathers of the cubs and do spend a lot of time with them. However, the Tsalala females were not in the mood for the visit and ran at the males, erupting into a huge fight that lasted for about twenty intense and loud minutes until the females finally ran off with the cubs. Luckily noone was injured, but it was a very strange event that left most of us wondering why the females had reacted so aggressively.

A family of Egyptian Geese decide to divert their route to avoid the 'business end' of a sunbathing crocodile.

The Southern Pride Males made an appearance on Londolozi this week. Here they lazily enjoy the afternoon sun, following an exciting evening of buffalo hunting. We had watched them make several attempts to separate a few individuals from the herd of over two hundred, only to be chased away each time.

Three White-backed vultures, crops full, settle in for the evening.

The young Tsalala females (the four that are no longer with the tailless lioness) also paid us a visit this week, and we had the opportunity to watch them hunt. When I took this photo, they first saw something that interested them ahead, so we switched the light off. We waited and listened to their soft movements in the dark as they stalked. Unfortunately they did not catch whatever it was they had seen.

The week finished off with a visit from the Wild dog pack! The nine dogs swept in and killed an impala lamb in the typically fast-paced, chaotic style.

Afterwards, they had a drink and a rest at a nearby pan. They were playing at the edge of the water, trying to cool off, but all the while clearly worried about crocodiles. Each time there was a ripple in the water they leapt away quickly!

The Nyala is one of the most beautiful antelope you will see at Londolozi. What stands out with the Nyala is the extreme sexual dimorphism, with the two sexes looking completely different. You could even be excused for thinking that they are two different animals entirely. Both sexes have a white chevron between the eyes, and the bushy tail is white on the underside. Otherwise the differences are radical…

The female
The female is short haired with a rufous chestnut coat. There are no horns on females, and there is no mane on the neck. It is distinctively smaller then the male. The female has very prominent white markings running vertically along the sides of the animal.

Female Nyala jumping through the Sand River - James Hobson

The Males
The males are larger than females, and have a shaggy dark brown to charcoal grey coat, often with a bluish tinge. There are fewer and less conspicuous markings than on the female, but there is a bold erectile white dorsal crest. The lower legs are tawny and a similar colour to that of the female’s coat. He has yellow tipped horns that can grow to about 80 cm spiralling as he ages.

Fully grown adult male Nyala with his dark rich chocolate brown coat

Immature animals
One thing I find striking is that the young males start off looking like their mothers and then start changing their colouration after 10-14 months to start resembling their fathers. Size and the presence of horns and a shaggy mane are often more easily used to ID a male then the actual colour.

Here you can see how even a young male has the darkening of an adult male. His horns are small suggesting he is young but even at this age he resembles his father in appearance - Adam Bannister

An unusual morph
Of late we have started seeing an adult male with a female coat. This strange morph makes this animal look quite remarkable. I cannot answer why he looks like this and would love to hear if any of you have seen a similar thing with Nyala or any other antelope for that matter. I would love to know from someone with a veterinarian or genetics background whether this is simply a colour morph or will he actually exhibit some female characteristics. A heightened level of femal hormones? Could he be infertile? He has been seen a number of times in the presence of a bachelor herd of ‘normal-looking’ male Nyala in the Dudley Riverbank area.

Whilst reading Skinner and Chimimba’s: The Mammals of the Southern Africa Subregion I read the following… “Dorst and Dandelot (1970) stated that adult males with bright chestnut colour of the females have been recorded” – that is exactly what we have been seeing here. See the photo below.

If anyone can shed some light on the matter please do let us know…

The unusual adult male Nyala with female colouration - Adam Bannister

Written by Adam Bannister

The summer heat is building as we fast approach Christmas, but that hasn’t stopped the leopards from putting another great showing-this despite the lions doing their best to overshadow their feline counterparts for the second week in a row. Once again, enjoy this next installment on the Leopards of Londolozi…

The Dudley 5:5 Male has shifted his territory further east as Camp Pan has regained his foothold. Here he has his tail raised in typical leopard fashion as nearby impala alarm at him.

The Marthly Male is continuing to spend extended periods of time south of the Sand River. The big tear out of his right ear, along with his characteristic "mane"make him instantly recognisable.

As the late morning heat starts to build, the Maxabene Female takes refuge in the canopy of a marula tree.

Maxabene 3:2 Young Male has a good scratch whilst resting on a patch of long summer grass

As the available shade shifts, so does the Maxabene 3:2 Young Male!

Probably the wrong time of year to be staking out a waterhole, as with the summer rains water is widespread and prey animals aren't attracted to the major watering points in the same numbers as they are in winter-something the Maxabene 3:2 Young Male will learn in time as he sits out a fruitless day at the edge of Tortoise Pan

The Tutlwa Female made a few customarily brief appearances this week-here she uses a fallen marula tree for a better view

Vomba Female rests in a marula tree-the tell-tail signs of blood on her right paw are evidence of a recently consumed impala lamb

The unfortunately harsh reality that befalls a number of impala lambs at this time of year

As mentioned a short while back the Sparta Pride appears to be on the mend. The one lioness has two cubs that are thought to have been born around September this year…they are incredibly cute. They play around with not a care in the world, oblivious to the chaos that surrounds them.

Two days ago we had a fascinating sighting that really did strike me as unusual. Now, I have watched the Tsalala Pride Female’s and their cubs at length and observed their behaviour around the Majingilane Coalition Males. It seems as though whenever there is just one of the four brothers they are relaxed and happy to let their youngsters play around, biting and climbing on top of dad. As soon as a second male is present the entire feeling changes…the mothers become agitated and tense. When a third male appears the mothers will protect their youngsters as they run away for cover. And when on the very rare occasion it does happen that the four brothers unite with the pride; the Tsalala Pride bolts leaving trails of dust as they flee. They will not tolerate the four brothers near their cubs.

My take on this behaviour is that the mothers are uncertain about how the fathers will react when the other males bring their testosterone levels to the mix. The unpredictability of the males means it is not worth the risk. Just the slightest quarrel could lead to the death of the precious cargo. I thought this was how females, cubs and large coalitions operated.

That was until I watched the Sparta Pride…the new mother appears to be exceptionally relaxed around the big males. So much so that we had the four males, a great sighting in itself, together with the two Sparta Females and their two female cubs. The cubs ran around playing whilst the lioness slept relatively unconcerned about the males, their bushy manes and their testosterone.

Try as I may I cannot figure out for the life of me why the two prides should treat these males so differently when in the presence of the fathers. I would love to hear your opinions on this piece of lion behaviour and whether you have had any experiences…have your’s been Tsalala or Sparta type reactions?

Three of the four Majingilane Males just prior to crossing the Sand River - Adam Bannister

Written, filmed and photographed by Adam Bannister

The Rangers and Trackers were randomly divided into two teams; these teams would compete against each other in the inaugural ‘Boerewors Week‘. A week set aside in the busy calendar year to strengthen partnerships, morale, improve skills, increase banter and have great fun amongst work colleagues. All done to shape this already superb field guiding team into a exceptional unit.

The reward of each days hard work was getting to eat boerewors rolls out in the bush

Over the duration of a week the teams competed for points in a variety of exercises. Points were awarded for an event victory and team-mate participation. Activities included: Rifle practice, birding, branch cutting, first aid training, walking scenarios, photography, scavenger hunts and of course no week at Londolozi is complete without a Touch Rugby game…an explosion of colour and speed.

Refreshing the skills and techniques required for CPR in the First Aid program

Armed with machetes, cutting overhanging branches off the roads - boys will be boys

Rifle training for the Trackers

Solly Mhlongo ready to start his rapid firing task

Ranger Jess Boon showed the boys how its done

Jerry Hambana takes aim with Byron looking on. If Jerry ever misses a shot he has 3 knives on his belt to finish off the job.

Vivid colours and outfits graced the touch rugby field. A shot of the two teams before battle. Please take special notice our Head Ranger, Chris Goodman who is lying in the front!

The highlight of each day however was that as the sun started setting the two teams would head out and link up at a random spot in the bush armed with a braai grid, a cooler box of drinks, rolls and lots of boerewors. Around a campfire each night we would tell stories, make fun of each other, laugh, discuss strategies, techniques and opinions. A sharing of knowledge. Years of experience combined under starry African skies…It’s a tough job that someone has to do!

Day 1: Our first braai of 'Boerewors Week' was had in the beautiful Tugwaan Drainage

A hard day spent at the rifle range

Day 2: Team shot in the Maxabeni riverbed

Yet another superb way to end the day. A Boerewors Braai on the top of Ximpalapala Koppie

The reward after the last afternoon of cutting branches...ice cold beers

As for which of the two teams walked away with the title…well there is still a little bit of debate on the matter! It was a huge success; grounding everyone, putting us all out in the bush, getting us dirty and on a level playing field…clearing the mind for the very busy festive season ahead.

The Londolozi Field Team would like to thank Marius from Vleisland in Hazeyview for very kindly donating the greatest boerewors in the lowveld. Your generosity was much appreciated!

Written and photographed by Adam Bannister

You’ve heard of Batman and Superman, even Spiderman.
Now meet Elmon the Ecoman, whose sharp eyes guided us through the wonderland of Londolozi.
My wife Lynn and I hadn’t stayed at Londoz since I was Sky News’ resident Africa Correspondent 17 years ago.
Now we know what we’ve been missing all these years! Super-tracker Elmon Mhlongo and ranger, James Hobson, ensured it was an unforgettable return. Three days of superlative safari.

Jeremy Thompson at Londolozi's Pioneer Camp with Ranger, James, and Butler, Phanuel

Like Charlize Theron’s colourist, I’ll just pick out the highlights. Leopards, of course. We’ve been in the bush enough to know what a rare privilege it is to see these amazing predators. But five sightings in three days, all in broad daylight and all of them memorable. That is special!

There was the father who wouldn’t let his daughter get a sniff of his impala, which she’d killed. Boy is she going to have parental abandonment issues when she grows up! He even dragged the devoured and deflated carcass away so she couldn’t get near it. Luckily, we saw her sneak up the bank and snaffle one small filet mignon left behind by mean old dad.

Leopard dragging kill whilst Londolozi guests look on - James Hobson

We watched in fascination as a young female leopard patiently stalked a waddle of waterbuck (sorry we got into finding the silliest collective noun for all the game we saw) – only to find they turned and faced her down like a grumpy Boks rugby team staring out an All Black haka. She looked very taken aback.

One morning coffee stop by a waterhole had to be abandoned because a very handsome male had got there first and was watching us with curiosity from atop his termite mound. He then stretched and strolled down to lap up some water just feet in front of us.

Leopard drinking at a pan - James Hobson

What great sights we saw – wallowing rhino, waddling muddy hippos, a green-backed heron giving a frog a severe headache, large herds of wildebeest, buffalo and zebra.

We hardly dared to breathe for half an hour as we watched three female lions stealthily track a kudu only to be outwitted just yards from their breakfast.

Then there were the babies. A delightful young family of elephants playing in the riverbed below our deck in Pioneer, lion cubs resting on ball of elephant dung (cuter than it sounds) and sweet little hyena pups peering out of their den. Lynn’s thinking of launching a re-branding campaign for hyenas. We love them. But she thinks they get a really bad rap, almost certainly down to The Lion King’s villainous portrayal of hyenas as Scar’s scheming chums.

Little Hyena pocking their heads out of the den - James Hobson

As for the night drives, hawk-eyed Elmon spotted us a marvellous view of a genet lying along a branch, as well picking out of the darkness a boomslang and several chameleons hiding in the trees.
Anyway that’s all the Breaking Gnus from me.
We had a brilliant time and we’ll be back.

Elmon Mhlongo

In fact, after enjoying around 100 safaris across Africa over the last 20 years, Lynn and I reckon those three days at Londolozi was one of our greatest ever bush experiences.
Thanks to all of you for making it so memorable.

Written by: Jeremy Thompson (Londolozi Guest)

This week was action-packed, and I suppose if there was to be a general theme, it would be the circle of life. We continued to see babies and even witnessed the birth of a wildebeest (sorry no photos as we were walking at the time!). We saw animals mating as well as birds in full courtship mode.  However we also experienced the final moments of some animals’ lives, some of which were not very long to begin with.  Enjoy this week in pictures…

Our week started with a fantastic sighting of the Vomba Female. We watched her as she stalked impala through alternating bursts of rain and sunshine. Patience is truly her game and we spent quite a while watching a bush which was concealing her as she waited for the impala to approach. We thought we had lost her when a large male baboon suddenly ran through and chased her into the Sand River.

Just when we were about to give up searching for her, we came across an hours-old impala lamb, and were admiring how cute it was when all of the sudden, the Vomba Female reappeared and grabbed it! Luckily she killed it very quickly and, although its life was short, ended without much struggle. We then watched her carry it to a nearby thicket.

When she seemed to feel secure enough, she laid down under a jackalberry tree and fed on her prize. She finished the entire carcass within a few hours and was seen hunting again by the afternoon. Her hunger furthered our suspicions that she might be carrying cubs!

A crocodile lies outside Ronnie's Dam, showing its deadly teeth. They open their mouths to aid in thermoregulation, as they release heat through the mouth.

The older Tailless Female of the Tsalala Pride takes a drink at Xidulu Pan. We had spent the previous evening following the pride in the hopes they would hunt and make a kill, as they were looking very hungry. They did not kill while we were with them, so when we found this female with a bulging belly the next morning at the pan, we were hopeful they had had some success!

The Tailless Female walks across the clearing, eventually leading us to the rest of the pride. The storm clouds in the sky remained from the previous evening, which most likely helped them hunt successfully. The less light from stars or the moon, the more of an upper hand they have over their prey who mostly have diurnal vision.

The hungry cub gets a meal! When the Tailless Female led us to the rest of the pride, most were belly-up, full from their wildebeest kill. The cub that had been missing for all those weeks, however, was still trying to feed, despite being very full.

In her full state, the 'new' tailless female was lying belly-up with her injured foot in the air. This is the first proper glimpse we've had of her mangled foot, and it is amazing that she is able to walk on it without a limp!

We were fortunate this week to be joined by some guests who have a huge appreciation for birds. We therefore spent a lot of time around the river and other water sources waiting to see what would come out for us. After a bit of patience, we were able to get a great view of this Diederik's cuckoo. They parasitize some of the weaver species, which is why we hear them quite often around the water at this time of year.

Update on the hyena den site: when we visited them this week, we thought they were sleeping deep in the burrow, and almost left without seeing them. They soon appeared from a nearby thicket, having been exploring the surrounding area. They are getting brave now, and leaving the safety of the burrow without the mothers nearby!

Another interesting sighting was of these two Knob-billed ducks fighting. They started by circling one another with their heads down, sizing one another up. The two males were competing for a female who watched nearby.

They then engaged in all-out battle, flapping and kicking one another until the victor chased the apparent loser away from the pond.

On our way to view the Tsalala lions, we had a sighting that proved to be of more entertainment to the guests than the sleeping lions provided... a pair of leopard tortoises mating! The male is usually smaller, and more determined, than the female, which made for an amusing scene of romance.

The Camp Pan Male has a drink from a puddle after a night of heavy rains. We followed him all morning, mainly marking territory and half-heartedly attempting to hunt impala. He was chased by two hyenas at one point, as well as an elephant bull who wasn't too happy to see him.

Always seeming to be a willing subject for the camera, the Camp Pan Male's intense stare is a classic!

A Cinnamon-breasted bunting looks for seeds on the ground.

A Pin-tailed wydah looks for its mate nearby. These stunning birds in their breeding plumage are beautiful, but carrying that heavy tail around can be tiring!

One of the Majingalane Males listens intently to the distress call of a wildebeest nearby. Three of the four brothers were together, sleeping on a hot morning, when the cries broke the silence.

It turns out the sounds came from an extremely sad situation. A wildebeest had been trying to give birth all morning, a process that usually lasts minutes in wildebeest, but clearly the calf was stuck and both would eventually die. Here, one of the Majingalane Males, the one with the scar on his nose, runs towards the incapacitated wildebeest.

Luckily for the wildebeest, the lion strangled her immediately, putting her out of her misery quickly. Seeing the wildebeest struggling was probably the hardest thing I've ever watched in the bush, a harsh reality of nature. Watching the lion kill her was more of a relief than gruesome.

Once the prey was dead, the second Majingalane came to feed on the wildebeest with his brother. Then the third Majingalane Male approached cautiously. This was interesting to watch because with a quiet growl from the two feeding, the third seemed to know his place and stayed away from the kill. Physically he is the same size as them, but clearly they have a pre-established dominance amongst them which is most likely challenged often in situations like this, or in mating with females.

The third male relaxed in the shade as the first two fed on the carcass.

We were slightly surprised to see they left the fetus for last. They seemed much happier to feed on the female wildebeest, and cast the fetus aside. Finally one of the males carried it away and fed on it in the shade.

In mid December each year a Soccer match is played as a curtain raiser to the Staff Christmas Party. The well know Londolozi Leopards; our very own established football team consisting of butlers, gardeners, and trackers take on the make-shift team nicknamed the Londolozi Hyenas… to call the Hyenas a Soccer/Football team is a huge overstatement. It is basically a collection of as many unfit rangers, camp managers and accountants as can be thrown together on the day. The Hyenas are then supplemented by any other staff member who is capable of kicking a ball. It’s an exhibition match that gets the staff in a joyous mood as they all flock to the sidelines of the field to cheer the two teams on.

The Londolozi Leopards

The Londolozi Hyenas

What the game lacks in skill and flare it makes up in passion and effort. Even though it is a game that has no meaning at all…there is the major factor of bragging rights. It’s a David vs. Goliath event and played in great spirits! This year for the first time in decades the motley bunch of untrained, uncoordinated Hyenas managed to beat the Leopards in a high scoring game.

The Londolozi Leopards...a well oiled unit of players

The whooping sounds of Hyena Fans could be heard throughout the 60 minute match. We ran in circles around the field chasing the Leopards back and forth; our bodies not quite what they used to be. The final score of 6 – 4 is evidence of the very open nature of the game. It was anyones for the taking. The game included wonderful moments of sportsman ship, passion, aggression, brilliance, laughter and comedy…it even included a staff member streaking across the field.

Goalkeeper and Head Ranger Chris Goodman had a great game in goals...even if he was using boxing gloves!

After the final whislte was blown the Hyenas held their hands up in victory…no one at Londolozi can remember the Leopards being beaten. Gracious in defeat, the Leopards joined the Hyenas and the fans at the village for the christmas celebrations that would continue into the early hours…

If only Byron were a little faster...

...and Boyd Varty slots it home from about 3 meters out...skyrocketed into the back of the net. We won't mention that his eyes were closed and he nearly missed the ball.

Chaos in the Hyena's goalmouth

Goal celebrations for the Hyenas

Well done to both teams on a fantastic match and thanks to all the spectators for the support.

Written by Adam Bannister
Photography by Jill Mason

After being on leave it has been some time since the last leopard post. This week the leopards, for a change, played second fiddle to some of the other happenings on Londolozi, despite having some great sightings of them. The news of the “back-from-the-dead” Tsalala cub was an especially big one. However, the leopards, particularly Camp Pan and the Tamboti Female, went about their business as usual and we were were fortunate to view them a number of times, along with some other regulars. Enjoy!

The Vomba Young Female peers out from the safety of a fallen False Marula tree-she had just been chased up there by the pack of nine Wild Dogs. She also seems to be showing some scars on her nose-the result I am sure of setting up a new territory

After some time she retreated a little further to the top of this termite mound-still keeping an eye on the pack below, with the mist and Sithlawayisa Koppie providing a great backdrop.

We had been watching the two Sparta lioness and two cubs when a distress call nearby woke them up. The two females charged off, leaving the cubs behind, and were shortly feeding on a young wildebeest-nearby, the Camp Pan Male looked on from a marula tree as his hard earned meal was devoured by the two.

After realising his meal was lost and it was safe to come down, Camp Pan descended the tree and moved off.

One of the other vehicles followed Camp Pan as he descended the tree, whilst we returned to where the lioness were feeding. We then noticed that there was a female leopard also looking on! It turned out to be the Tamboti Female. It seemed she had been mating with Camp Pan and they were separated when the lioness came charging in. We followed her for around forty five minutes as she tracked Camp Pan by scent, finally finding him around a kilometer away.

After the long search, the pair mated immediately a number of times-the very low light meant a sharp photo was not possible, but the slow shutter speed created an interesting effect, as the blur of paws and claws associated with leopard mating is well illustrated.

After their reunion on the previous evening, the pair were seen together over the next three days-here we managed to have better light than on the previous occasion.

The Tamboti Female rests on a termite mound in the afternoon sun, taking a break from mating.

This is a story so unbelievable that only Nature could have the creativity and courage to let it play out.  This is a story that shows the fighting spirit, resilience and the complexity of Africa’s most revered mammal…the Lion.

The star of the show is a member of the Tsalala Pride. This time, however, the lead is played not by one of the three tough pride lionesses but rather by a male lion cub born on the 29th May 2011. Having survived a buffalo stampede which claimed the lives of his two brothers; he together with his sister managed to keep afloat in turbulent times. A tipping point would soon follow which would really test the pride…

The recent post entitled ‘Hyena bites Lioness’s Tail off‘ details how the Tsalala Pride were ambushed and attacked by a clan of hyena whilst in the middle of enjoying a zebra carcass…

“One of the smaller cubs was missing and the mother had been brutally wounded. It looked painful as her back left leg was very obviously bitten and still oozing blood. The big damage however came in the form of her backside…her tail had been bitten and ripped off and it looked terrible. She lay motionless in the shade…the pride was in tatters.“

The recovery process of the injured lioness has been slow but with each day you can see her gaining in strength and power…she has had the continual support of the pride, which has made this healing process all the more bearable. The cub that disappeared that night was written off by everyone. At first there were one or two comments about maybe it having gotten separated and lost in all the commotion but when after 5,6,7…10 days there had still been no sign of the cub, it was assumed dead. So certain were we that we even wrote a piece on the current composition of the Tsalala Pride leaving the ‘missing cub‘ out completely. At that stage the Tsalala Pride numbered eight (Original Tailless, New Tailless, Lioness, 4 older cubs and the sole surviving youngest cub).

In the late afternoon of the 12th November Richard Ferrier was driving around Weaver’s Nest Road when he saw the impossible. Drinking out of the muddy waters of the pan was the ‘missing cub‘. He had been alone for ten days and was still alive! Richard followed the cub at a distance and was led back to the zebra kill site and the spot where we think the incident and mauling of his mother had happened on the 2nd November.

The ‘missing cub‘ had come back from the dead and silenced all of us. There was a strange euphoria amongst the team, in that we were witnessing first hand an epic battle for survival. We had no clue how at 5 months, this young cub was able to feed and look after himself in one of the most predator rich environments around.

When the one month mark hit on the 2nd December and he was still alone we all began questioning what exactly was happening. Had he made a conscience decision to ‘go it alone’ , did his mother in her current state not want to take on another burden or had they simply just been missing each other each night as the pride moved around their hunting grounds and he wandered through the long grass scuttling after mice and lizards in silence?

Then came another curve ball…an incident one evening in the north resulted in  one of the four older cubs being separated from the Tsalala Pride. For the next couple of days we watched in disbelief as it looked like the pride now numbered seven. But after the ‘missing cub‘ had come back to life we were certainly not going to write off the 10 month old. It was this 10 month old individual who, in fact, may just have saved the day. In an attempt to reconnect with the pride he patrolled Londolozi searching for them. In his wanderings he stumbled upon the ‘missing cub‘. He had managed to find the needle in the haystack. Now it was just a matter of finding the rest of the family. He managed this in a day…

Although no one witnessed the actual reunion one can only imagine the emotions when the cub realised it’s days of going solo were over, the emotion the injured lioness must have felt when she saw, smelt and licked her young cub.

The truth is truly stranger than fiction could ever be. This young cub survived out in the wild for 5 weeks and is now back with the pride. We hope that all the drama is over but we still watch with interest to see if his weak physical condition improves. If he does manage to pull through and survive one thing is for certain…this young male is going to make for one special lion. I look forward to writing about his life as he moves forward as yet another integral thread in the ‘Tsalala Pride’s Epic Story’.

I hope this little highlights package gives you a hint of the emotional rollercaster we have gone through in the last 5 weeks. Let me know your thoughts on this remarkable story…

The two younger cubs delighted to be back together again - Talley Smith

This picture of the missing cub shows how his physical condition has deteriorated - Talley Smith

The injured ' New Tailless Female' mother and her cubs ( the one at the front is the little girl and the one at the back is the boy who has been alone for nearly five weeks ) Note the healing stump at the base of the lionesses' tail. - Talley Smith

The younger and older Tsalala Cubs walk in single file - Talley Smith

Written by Adam Bannister
Photographs by Talley Smith

Summer is now in full swing at Londolozi. As Adam mentioned on Wednesday, there are babies everywhere hiding amongst the thick green vegetation. The cascading call of the Woodlands kingfisher competes with the shrill Red-chested cuckoo’s song with the constant buzz of Christmas beetles during the day, and at night a chorus of frogs emanates from the Sand River. As well as these ‘small’ summer wonders, this week also brought us a huge amount of activity from the larger mammals, specifically lions. We were visited by several different prides and males, plus, the leopards did not disappoint!  Enjoy this Week in Pictures…

Upon returning to Londolozi this week having heard about the discovery of the new Sparta cubs, we couldn't wait to see them. On our first game drive, despite the rain, we found the two youngsters with their mother and another Sparta lioness sleeping, but quickly woke up to suckle, then play.

The first offspring of the Majingalane Coalition of male lions and the Sparta Pride, these two youngsters are already extremely relaxed with the vehicles and, when in the mood, put on an adorable show!

As with many baby animals, the feet are priceless... as well as a playful set of eyes looking out from behind mom's protection.

Other babies around this week, though a little more common than the lion cubs... impala! They are absolutely everywhere and, being just as agile and fast as their parents, are fantastic to watch as they acrobatically run and play amongst the nursery group on their spindly legs.

The Woodlands kingfishers are back! These very vocal birds can be heard calling throughout the day, and display their bright blue colours beautifully by spreading their wings when in the presence of others.

The Camp Pan male peers out at some impala from his hideaway under a fallen bushwillow tree. He had already killed a baby wildebeest and stashed it under there while he rested. It is not uncommon for successful leopards to create 'larders' at this time of the year with so many baby antelope around, whereby they have more than one carcass hoisted or hidden at the same time, often in different locations. The summertime brings thick cover making it more difficult to get a 'clear' photo in situations like this, but it is also easier to portray how well these animals blend in to their environment.

More cover also creates a challenge to capture a more interesting shot. Here he had lazily turned away from the potential prey nearby to resume resting under the bushwillow.

We returned to the sighting of Camp Pan later that afternoon to find him feeding on the wildebeest carcass, having dragged it out from under the tree. Two mornings later, we found him elsewhere, very full and showing signs of having killed and eaten a baby impala. Clearly Camp Pan is enjoying the lambing season!

A very interesting sighting of one of the 'Little Five', the leopard tortoise. When we first spotted the white shell, we thought it was an old skeleton of an animal that had died. Upon closer investigation we realized it was still alive and very healthy, despite having lost most of its scutes. Freddy thinks this most likely occurred during the fires we had a few months ago.

The Maxabene 3:3 Young Male comes down from a termite mound. Taking advantage of the elevation, he scanned the plains for prey as he stalked though Open Areas. Now that we know he is in this unlikely area, we have been viewing this male more often.

The Maxabene 3:3 Young Male peers at impala on the plains from his perch in a false marula.

A Sparta lioness gazes at some kudu in the distance. Most easily identified by her pale colour in comparison to the rest of the pride, she has other distinguishing features such as the scar above her eye as well as a large notch in her tongue and a lack of hair on the 'tuft' of her tail. She has been helping to take care of the two cubs, but they are not her own. She and the mother of the cubs seem to be watching the cubs independently of the other 3 lionesses in the pride, for the time being at least.

One of the new Sparta cubs curiously gazes at us from behind a bushwillow tree. Both cubs are female.

And of course what would the week be without several visits to the hyena den site! They are getting much bigger now, and even more curious. The mothers were never present during our visits this week but the cubs still came out to see what was going on.

The den site, a reconverted termite mound, provides excellent protection and cover for the youngsters in the clan. They are extremely well behaved and do not stray far from the entrance when the mothers are not present.

One of the four runs towards us in a playful move to get to its sibling.

This week the Ottawa male lions made an appearance amidst a Serengeti-like scene. This beautiful young male and his brother were found because some nearby giraffe were staring at them. There were also many zebra, wildebeest, 3 elephants, 200+ buffalo and a rhino in the scene around them. The terrain was too open for them to consider any hunting in the daytime, however.

The Vomba Female walks towards us after having been spotted by the impala she was hunting. Amidst the alarm calls, she walked along the road and then disappeared in a thicket near the river. We still think she might be close to having cubs, and are patiently awaiting their arrival!

A herd of buffalo drinks and wallows during a muggy morning.

My favourite sighitng this week by far was of the Tsalala Pride. Here the cubs drink from Fluffies Pan. The photos I took after this will be posted on Monday, when a full update on this pride will be given by Adam. Be sure to check it out!

This is one of my favourite times of the year to be in the lowveld…the lush green grass, dry heat, late afternoon thunderstorms and most of all the babies…Impala and Wildebeest newly borns running around the bush make for a magical season of joy and festivity. I trust you will enjoy this very small collection of photographs and film that I shot two days ago whilst out on drive…

An impala lamb springs over a fallen log

Elegance in full flight

Little guys like this make christmas in the bush a very special occasion

A new born Wildebeest calf experimenting with the joys of movement

It's truly amazing how something only a few days old can run so quickly

Turning this way and that...

But never too far from the protection of mom

Written, filmed and photographed by Adam Bannister

Yes! Seven leopards in seven days thanks to the special eyes of my tracker, Solly Mhlongo, and ranger, Adam Bannister. Knowing Londolozi is famous for their leopards still did not prepare me for this amazing adventure. Having the opportunity to spend so much time obseving their behavior gave me a better sense of how unique each leopard is. Their lineage, behavior and territory is known intimately by the rangers and explained with passion to the guests of Londolozi. I know my photos and my few words can’t capture what it feels like to be in the presence of these magnificent creatures and among such wonderful people of Londolozi. You will have to come experience it for yourself!

Short Tail Male Leopard

Short Tail Male Leopard

Short Tail Male Leopard

Vomba Female Leopard

Maxabene Young Male

Vomba Young Female

Camp Pan Male Leopard

Dudley Riverbank Young Male

Written & Photographed by: Irene Nathanson (Londolozi Guest)

It is with much excitement that we can confirm that there are two new additions to the Lions of Londolozi. In the last 3 weeks we have started seeing two cubs belonging to one of the Sparta Pride lionesses. Although we can not be completely sure as to a date of birth we speculate it at around the middle/late September 2011. The Sparta Pride have had a real up-and-down last 2 years since the passing of the notorious Shaws Male back on 1st January 2010. It is with a big smile on my face that at last I can tell you that the pride appears to be in good health.

The two Sparta Pride Lion Cubs play around in the green summer grass - Adam Bannister

A mother's tail is the ultimate play toy - Adam Bannister

Currently the two very relaxed cubs are spending time roaming around the central and eastern sections of Londolozi under the guidance of their mother and another Sparta Lioness. The remaining three females from the pride are always not too far away and we are hoping that there may be more additions on the way from their side.

The father’s of the cubs are the infamous Majingilane Coalition who appear to have settled in nicely into the central and eastern portions of the Sabi-Sands. I don’t want to speak too soon but it does appear as if, at last, the Lion dynamics in the Sabi Sands are starting to stabilise some what. One thing is for sure though…we are still in for lots of excitement as we now have two prides at Londolozi with youngsters.

Written, filmed and photographed by Adam Bannister

32 Chefs inspire the first cook book featuring recipes from Relais & Châteaux member properties across Southern, East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands.

Bringing together the styles and techniques of some of the most highly regarded chefs in Southern, East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, Relais & Châteaux, in conjunction with publisher Peter Marshall, has created its first ever African inspired cook book that serves up a unique collection of menus.

The recipes embrace the diverse and innovative talents of the Relais & Châteaux chefs, within this delegation, including the two Grands Chefs, Margot Janse of Le Quartier Français and Peter Tempelhoff of The Collection by Liz McGrath.  Also included in the book is Londolozi Executive Chef Craig Paterson

Says Craig, “The Londolozi kitchen uses alot of locally sourced food products, particularly fresh vegetables grown on site, in the recipes detailed in the Cookbook. Not only do I feel that this reflects our continued drive for sustainability in the kitchen, but I truly believe that these locally grown products enhance the flavours of my dishes. Although presentation remains a huge part of cooking, the hero of the day will always be flavour.”

Relais Chefs at the Launch of the Cookbook - Andrew Brown

Relais & Châteaux Director for Southern, East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, Annie-Claude Bergonzoli says: “A great deal of passion has gone into the creation of this cook book, which shows the culinary diversity of our delegation’s unique region as well as the incredible talent shared by the Chefs from all the properties.”

Publisher, Peter Marshall says, “It was a true honour to work on this cook book side by side with the Relais & Châteaux Association and we hope it takes readers on a culinary “Route du Bonheur” through this region to learn more about the spirit and soul of Africa.”

From the technically challenging and groundbreaking to the classic and traditional, the recipes featured all encourage the use of the freshest ingredients that are locally sourced whenever possible. They reflect the enthusiasm and dedication of each chef to combine the textures, flavours, aromas and visual appeal of nature’s produce, adding their own flair and natural ability, to create wonderful dishes that you can now recreate in your own kitchen. Each chef showcases three recipes and a ‘home dish’, something simple they enjoy cooking at home.

Regional favourites such as bobotie and braai are featured along with recipes using the best of local ingredients such as Karoo lamb, springbok, gemsbok, kudu, ostrich, and crayfish from the West Coast, seafood from the ocean, freshwater fish from Lake Victoria in Tanzania, pineapple from KwaZulu-Natal, vanilla pods from Zanzibar, Kalahari truffles and the world-famous Rooibos tea.

With recipes for every level of ability, this book hopes to bring hours of pleasure and achievement to all enthusiastic cooks and awaken dormant talent in others.

The cook book will be available for purchase at each of the member properties, the U.K’s Chef magazine website  and also leading bookstores throughout South Africa.

Original Article: Click Here

The photography bug really has taken hold of everyone here at Londolozi. Here we feature something a little bit different from pictures taken by our talented guiding team. Instead we show off some of the work taken by our newest up and coming photographer…one of our most talented trackers Jerry Hambana.

Jerry was very kindly given a camera and has taken it upon himself to begin learning how to master the numerous intricacies of photography. During the day one can often find him approaching the rangers quizzing them about ISO, white balance, aperture and how to improve his composition. Alternatively he will be sitting outside his house polishing his shoes, reading numerous field guides or brushing up on the soccer news.

As his teammate Tom Imrie has said time and time again, Jerry is the most wonderful, kind and well natured man in the world!

“I’ve written before about Jerry’s specialness as a person and I frequently introduce him to guests as the nicest person on the planet. Spending as much time as I do with Jerry is a privilege and I’ve subconsciously added him to my shrinking list of close friends.” – Tom Imrie

Together Tom and Jerry have formed one of the most potent and entertaining guiding teams in Africa.

It is wonderful to view some moments through the eyes of one of Londolozi’s trackers. Scenes from both out in the bush and back home in the community. It comes as a breathe of fresh air to watch a man from a completely different background embrace his newly found passion for photography and want to learn more. I feel especially lucky to be able to view a couple of portraits taken by Jerry of his family…to just briefly be allowed to step into the life of another.

To spend time in the bush learning from Jerry is a privilege and one that I leap at, at any opportunity. It is something I am incredibly thankful for. When he approached me the other day asking me to help him in storing and backing up his collection of photographs I was more then ready to teach him and help him about how to copy and paste, moves files and burn dvds…it is the least I can do for a man who has been through so much and is still eager to give so much of himself to any who is willing to listen.

Camp Pan Male Leopard

Giraffes silhouetted by the fading afternoon sun

Leopard descending tree

Wild Dogs stretching after a successful afternoon hunt

Lions in the midst of a feeding frenzy

Leopard with kill

Photograph of Jerry's late grandmother at her house in Mozambique

A family gathering to celebrate the life and the passing of his grandmother

Photograph taken on the day that Life Sibuyi's brother 'graduated' to become a traditional healer

Portrait of Life Sibuyi (back row, right) and his brother (back row, centre) during the celebrations

Photography by Jerry Hambana
Written by Adam Bannister

Last month we brought you a story about the Caiman Ecological Refuge situated in the Southern Pantanal, South America.  This ecotourism destination, much like Londolozi, is home to many spotted cats and where we have abundant Leopard, they have the Jaguar.  The Caiman Ecological Refuge is currently undertaking the Restoration of certain areas of the Pantanal in order to create a balance between wildlife and cattle ranching and the team there have embarked on a jaguar habituation programme with a vision to soon be able to offer jaguar viewing to guests at Caiman, similar to which has been achieved with Leopards at Londolozi.  The below post is an interesting report from the environmental manager, Helder Brando, detailing how they are collaring Jaguars to be able to monitor their movements and gain a better understanding of their behaviour.  Not only does this information aid in better understanding the cat, but it also allows for the Jaguars to be tracked, found and thus habituated with greater ease.

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‘At two o’clock in the morning the Onçafari Project team was preparing itself for the first jaguar capture. We were running through the forest edge towards the expected location and when we went out of the car we could see a beautiful female in the trap. As expected, she was calm and we did all the preparations for the sedative. The photo below shows the dart already fired. She was so quiet with our presence that she didn’t even respond to the dart firing.

Female Jaguar

At the horizon a powerful storm was approaching and as we were working, the sounds of thunders and the cold wind built the scenery. It was an unique experience to work with the Americas’ largest wildcat surrounded by the sounds of the Pantanal rain. It was a beautiful female weighting 85 kg and about 5 years old. The whole process of setting the GPS collar was done quickly and in less than two hours she was recovering herself already.
Her coat was wonderful without any apparent marks, a healthy young adult. The storm was gone weak and was now a gentle rain. She recovered quickly on the wet grass and her name couldn’t be more appropriate: CHUVA, meaning “Rain” in portuguese.

Female Jaguar

Two days later, another pleasant surprise awaited us. It was about eight o’clock in the morning. We knew that four jaguars were using that area, when a soft sunlight showed a beautiful jaguar resting on the track. Even though it was attached to the trap, the jaguar was sleeping when we arrived. Its honey-colored eyes showed a calm and confident expression.

In five minutes, the jaguar was already lying down and in a few seconds would be totally sedated. It was a soft yellow coloured male with very dark spots and rosettes. Working during the day was very special and eventhough we were quite concentrated we could appreciate all the experience and all the details of this big cat.

Male Jaguar

It was a spectacular morning. Being close to this undenger animal is a unique opportunity for those working in conservation and ecotourism. This was a big jaguar male, with powerful muscles, huge paws and prominently large jaw and at the same time showing a smooth behavior. Working with an animal so relaxed made the whole procedure easy to the veterinarian Joares May and the biologist Helder Brandão. Setting the GPS collar, the biometric measurements, the biological sampling, collecting ticks and the monitoring of the vital signs were done quickly.

Male Jaguar

All the work was done on the back of the Onçafari Project vehicle and soon after the animal was placed in a hammock forest to recover itself. At this point the Caiman community had the opportunity to witness this phase of the capture, an important moment for environmental education and awareness of the importance of the jaguar in the ecosystem. This is one of the objectives of the Onçafari Project, stimulated by CENAP: stablish an educational channel of communication among communities, ranchers and researchers.

On the back of the Oncari Project Vehicle

This beautiful cat weighed 110 kg, having all the necessary tools to defend its territory and compete for females. With an estimated age of 7 years old, this jaguar was very healthy with well-preserved teeth and in reproductive period. The jaguar captures for setting the collars and to monitor the territories were a success and the goals were achieved this year. The process of habituating jaguars to vehicles has begun and the future looks very promising. Check out the look of this great jaguar, although still without a specific name. Perhaps with this history someone can come up with an interesting name. Notice that it is a very strong and large male, but yet quite calm and confident, showing signs of struggle with other males and presenting scars on the forehead and face.’

The below maps show the movements of the different Jaguars we have collared around the Caiman Ecological Refuge situated in Southern Pantanel, South America.  To view the original post Click Here

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Author: Helder Brandão (environmental manager)

“During November each year, the Movember (Moustache- November) is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces around the world. The aim is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically cancer.”

At Londolozi we chose to not only raise awareness for men’s health by supporting the Movember tradition, but also took the opportunity to raise some funds for a cause closer to home – the Madlala High School. On Movember the 1st, the ‘Mo Bros’ of Londolozi paid their entrance fees, to be donated to the Madlala High School, and began grooming and trimming their unique moustaches.

Now…picking a moustache style is no mean feat. Not only do you have to sport something original yet fashionable, but there is also the added dimension of  “growth curveballs” which can have some unexpected side effects on the development of a man’s moustache.  By the end of Movember, some interesting styles had emerged – each with a fitting name:

Steve Siegel: The “Pablo Behind-the-Bar”
Named after the Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Our resident bar manager seemed less concerned about moustachery as he was about embracing his character in full. Staff members all agreed he was getting a little carried away when he paid his Movember entrance fee in a black plastic bag, simply marked “For the cheeldrin- regards, Pablo”.

Steve Siegel - The Pablo Behind the Bar

Chris Goodman: The “Duran Duran”
Named after the famous boxer Roberto Duran. Initially Chris set out to grow the “David Boon” sadly however, he was hit square in the face by a growth curveball (or lack thereof) and had to change tactics to a style with a little less volume. Having just purchased a boxing bag and gloves to match, Chris was not overly disappointed in his new character and could often be seen running around the soccer field wearing a hoodie singing “the eye of robertooooooooo” at the top of his voice.

Chris Goodman - The Duran Duran

Mike Miller: The “Delfuago”
Classic Biker Handle bar moustache. Mike started slipping into this character months ago by continually wearing vests around camp and sporting leather jackets on leave. It was a natural transition when he finally had the handle bars to match.

Mike Miller - The Delfuago

Rich Ferrier: The “Earl Hicky”
Named after the lead character from the popular series “My name is Earl”. Coincidently the comedy series is based on the lead character Earl paying off his debt to society. Very fitting indeed.

Rich Ferrier - The Earl Hickey

James Tyrrell: The “Swamp thing”
Named after the pilot from the movie Con Air. James was visibly and audibly disgusted with his assigned name and stormed out of the office muttering “How come Rex Miller gets to be Robert Redford? Naught, this is way unfair”.  We thought about letting him argue his point but after comparing the images below, we felt he had no leg to stand on.

James Tyrrell - The Swamp Thing

Dean Smithyman: The “Purple Cobra”
Named after the lead Character White Goodman in the movie “Dodgeball”. When asked why he had gone for this particular style he replied “Mens health and supporting our future generation’s education is pretty important and we all need to take the bull by the horns…..literally……it’s a metaphor…but this one really happened.”

Dean Smithyman - The Purple Cobra

Lucien Beaumont: The “Hulk Hogan”
Similar to the “Delfuago” (see Mike Miller) except blonde and with more volume. Lucien used his natural growth areas beautifully here to produce an almost unrivalled volume display.

Lucien Beaumont - The Hulk Hogan

Daniel Buys: The “Bieber”
Named after the teenage heart throb Justin Bieber. Members initially felt guilty for assigning a style that so openly mocked a Mo Bro’s inability to get solid growth, but when Dan’s girlfriend walked into his room and saw him practising the Bieber flick in front of the mirror singing “I’ve got the fever, I’ve got the Bieber fever” all sympathies went out the back door.

Dan Buys - The Bieber

Sean Carter: The “Tom Selleck”
It’s just a pure volume game here. This style was made famous by the 1990′s series “Magnum PI”, maybe one day someone will call it the “Sean Carter”.

Sean Carter - The Tom Selleck

Byron Serrao: The “Reese Feldman”
Named after the lead antagonist in the Movie “Starsky and Hutch”. When asked why he had chosen this style, Byron’s response was an emphatic “I am to the Reese Feldman like seafood is to a good white wine on a tropical beach somewhere, besides, I’m a bit of a gangster myself….”.

Byron Serrao - The Reese Feldman

James Hobson: The “Mark Lievremont”
A style synonymous with the French National Rugby Coach, quite fitting when one considers James’s passion for touch rugby. Once, when asked if he was the best rugby player in the Sabi Sands he replied matter-of-factly “Probably not the Sabi Sands, but definitely Londolozi”…sorry John Holley.

James Hobson - The Mark Lievremont

Rex Miller: The “Sundance Kid”
Named after Robert Redford in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. When asked about his chosen style Rex replied “I was a little disappointed I couldn’t get the required growth to be Paul Newman, but I guess I’d rather be Robert Redford than the Swamp thing”. This remark did nothing for James Tyrrell’s jealously issues.

Rex Miller - The Sundance Kid

Wade Williams: The “Che Guevara”
When asked his thoughts on this style, members realised Wade had actually put some thought into growing his mo, “Not only are we going to revolutionise the way we raise funds for Madlala, but also the way we view our health, I have already stopped smoking cigars”. At least somebody hasn’t lost sight of the cause.

Wade Williams - The Che Guevara

Adam Bannister: The “Hetfield”
Named after James Hetfield, co-founder of the heavy metal band Metallica. This is clearly Adam projecting his childhood dream of becoming a rock star. He still shudders as he recalls his audition as a teenager to become a lead guitarist in a heavy metal band when he was told offhandedly “The auditions for Simply Red are down the hall”. We are all pleased Adam finally got to express himself, even if it was in monochrome ginger.  Be sure to monitor his musical prowess in a Londolozi boma near you.

Adam Bannister - The Hetfield

David Dampier: The “Dave Varty”
Named after Dave Varty of Londolozi. When asked why he was sporting this particular style Doyle commented “You don’t just sprout a Dave Varty 80’s moustache over night, you have to grow into it’s character. There’s a certain charm and charisma to this style that says, I’m a businessman, but I could track and find a pride of lions if I chose to…And I like that…Besides we have the same name anyway, we’re practically brothers”. Dave Varty was unavailable for comment.

David Dampier - The Dave Varty

Tom Imrie: The “Merv Hughes”
Named after the charismatic Australian cricketer who opened the bowling for his national side in the 1990′s. Merv Hughes is still revered today as one of the game’s greatest sledgers and Tom was very pleased with this persona. Under much duress, our blog team finally agreed to post Tom’s picture in black and white in order to draw a more reasonable parallel to Merv after Tom’s growth came out unexpectedly orange.

Tom Imrie - The Merv Hughes

Jimmy Marshall: The “Chuck Norris”
Jimmy Marshall grew a moustache at the age of 18……seconds. Not many candidates are able to pull the “Chuck Norris” off, but after 25 years of Londolozi Bomas we decided in a strange twist of irony that Chuck Norris in fact wears the “Jimmy Marshall”.

Jimmy Marshall - The Chuck Norris

As of today, the 30th November, the Londolozi Rangers along with donations from staff and guests have raised over R 3000 for the Madlala High School. To find out more about the Madlala High School and the work that the Good Work Foundation is doing, be sure to Like their Facebook Page to receive the news updates.

The Londolozi 'Mo Bros'

Let us know in the comments section below who you think best resembles their accompanying picture, we are looking forward to hearing your thoughts and comments.

John Varty (JV) is an acclaimed wildlife filmmaker, conservationist, musician, author and one of the founders of Londolozi Game Reserve. He has dedicated his life to the conservation of Big Cats, most notably the leopard. During the 70′s, 80′s and 90′s JV’s wildlife films drew attention and awareness to the beauty, behaviour and lives of these phenomenal cats of which Londolozi is proudly home to. JV’s most recent film, Leopard Queen, is currently being screened on Nat Geo Wild and features two decades worth of footage of the famed Londolozi leopard ‘3:4‘. In this the fifth of a series of interviews with John Varty, he talks openly about 3:4′s life, behaviour and her phenomenal life as a Leopards of Londolozi.

It’s been 5 years and at last we are DONE! Every camp at Londolozi has been refurbished, with the final phase being the complete overhaul of Varty Camp, whose roots go back as far as 1926. Reintroducing this “grand old lady” to our guests in March this year was a huge privilege. Varty Camp has enjoyed remarkable occupancies, tremendous support and amazing feed back from our industry partners, who seem to have really embraced the simplicity, tradition and return to old bushveld elegance that this Original Londolozi Camp offers.

The Brand New Varty Camp Deck

It continues to amaze us how our friends in the trade, and our extended Londolozi family, have responded to the improvements that have been made and continue to support all of our camps with strong bookings and many repeat visits. We extend to you all our sincere thanks and we assure you of our continued commitment to further improving the overall Londolozi experience.

It is because of this support that we have been able to push new frontiers in redefining the Londolozi Conservation Development Model. During 2012 we plan to actively engage with South African rural society in advancing green frontiers via the creation of Wildlife Corridors. These Corridors will link together the existing parks along ancient migratory roots, whilst allowing the economic benefits of the Economy of Wildlife to reach the wider rural community.

The dream is to not only restore nature’s original grand design but also to provide economic, ecological and social stimulus for over 600 000 people who live in the region where this Corridor is being planned.

Kruger to Canyons

In association with the Good Work Foundation, an NGO affiliated to Londolozi, we are in the process of establishing “leap frog” Digital Learning Centres along these corridors with an objective of addressing the needs of young learners and offering them a unique and new perspective to education, one which has never before been seen in South Africa.

Through the Good Work Foundation’s 4 Pillars of Literacy, enrolling students are invited to make the personal choice to equip themselves for a rapidly changing future such that they are able to participate in a modern African society with global reach, whilst also caring for the functionality and viability of their family.

The Learning Centres are founded on three core beliefs; the importance of ancient African wisdom; the quantum possibilities of technology and the enduring intelligence of nature. The vision is to redefine rural education and close the digital divide in rural Africa. Pioneering stuff with thrilling results!  Be sure to visit and Like the Good Work Foundation’s Facebook Page for regular updates.

An early Christmas, courtesy of the Good Work Foundation, at the Madlala Digital Learning Center

Therefore, as 2011 draws to a close, we look forward to embracing 2012 with the dawning of a new era, meaningful partnerships with our neighbours, the building of quantum “leap frog” Digital Learning Centres across South Africa and continued strong associations with our travel partners around the world.

What remains is for the Londolozi family to extend to you, and your loved ones, our best wishes for this year’s festive season, trusting that 2012 will be filled with many enquiries, plentiful bookings, healthy occupancies and lots of happy guests!  We look forward to keeping you entertained and up to date in 2012 on the Londolozi Blog and trust that you will continue to comment on and share the stories that you find interesting.

And so in accordance with tradition, and in appreciation of our strong and enduring association, without further delay, for your own personal enjoyment, for the fourth year running; the amazing… the incredible… one of a kind… not yet seen before on screen… cinematic master piece… THE 2011 LONDOLOZI CHRISTMAS VIDEO… starring the Lone Rangers, Father Christmas and the students of the Madlala Learning Centre. ENJOY and THANK YOU.

Best Regards,

Dave Varty

YOU are invited to join the Christmas Drive…

***It costs R150 per child per month to attend the learning centre classes (R1800 per annum). You are very welcome to sponsor a child who is keen to learn but not necessarily able to afford the fee.

Santa Claus at Madlala

We were just about to leave camp when we heard the rasping call of a big male leopard in the distance. I looked at Richard Siwela (my tracker) and suggested to him that it might be Camp Pan. However Richard disagreed as he seemed to think that this call, although deep, was not as loud nor as deep as Camp Pan’s roar. You see to the untrained ear – all leopards’ calls sound the same. However every leopard has a unique
call and if thus if you are as experienced as Rich was you would be able to pick up the subtle differences.

We listened for a few more minutes and heard him call again which allowed us to pinpoint his position. We left camp excited and started to move in to try and find this mystery leopard. Richard was right as within minutes we found the Marthly Male setting up an ambush outside the entrance to an active warthog burrow. We sat with the Marthly male for nearly an hour as he lay waiting patiently for the warthogs to come out. Thank goodness for our patience.

The Marthly Male with his warthog - Mike Miller

Written by: Mike Miller
Filmed by: Alexa Schenk (Londolozi Guest)

This week I have been (unfortunately) out of the bush, so have put together another installment of some of the bird shots I have taken over the past six weeks.  People often ask when is the ‘best time’ to come to the bush, and if you have any interest in birds, that time is definitely now!  Many of the migrants, like the cuckoos and the raptors, have returned, but we are still eagerly awaiting some later arrivals such as the bee-eaters, kingfishers, and European rollers.  Enjoy this Week in Pictures…

A juvenile Black Stork rests at Nanga Pan, on Marthly. Now that summer is upon us, we're seeing a much wider variety of the storks especially.

I was quite excited to get another shot of a Malachite kingfisher recently. These little birds can take you by surprise: usually they are seen close to water; naturally, as they are aquatic feeders. On two occasions recently however they appeared in random locations during our game drives, including at the active hyena den which is nowhere near water!

One of the migrants to recently return... the Violet-backed, or Plum-coloured, starling. It is difficult to give justice to the brilliant iridescent plumage of the male of this species, particularly as they prefer being in thick cover, and you have to be very patient with them to come out once you've spotted them. Here, one did perch in the sun momentarily, and you can see a bit of the deep purple colour... but watch this space as I am determined to get a nice photograph of this stunning bird!

A Pied wagtail sits atop some elephant dung in the Sand River at Taylor's Crossing. Wagtails will give any hesitant birder confidence in bird identification, their exaggerated tail movement is impossible to miss!

A Southern pale chanting goshawk looks for prey, its feathers being ruffled by the wind. Even though this is not a rare bird, it is not common to see one in our area, so we were quite happy to come across this one on Marthly. It was searching for lizards in one of the rocky outcrops.

A Yellow-billed stork searches for food at Taylor's Dam: fish, frogs, or crabs perhaps. They walk through the water stirring up prey and 'blindly' grasping with their bills until they catch something. This method seems to work very well especially in shallow waters like this. He caught a small fish shortly afterwards!

Some Helmeted guineafowl peck at the ground in the afternoon sunlight.

The Red-chested cuckoo is a migrant, one of the first to return to Southern Africa in the summer. Usually another 'heard but not seen' bird

This juvenile fish eagle has been frequently seen close to camp, most likely the offspring of the pair that gives guests wonderful shows during breakfast and lunch on the deck.

One of my favourite birds is the Black-collared barbet, a bird heard far more often than seen out in the open like this. They are usually in pairs and have an incredible 'duet' call which is always so flawless that you won't believe it's two birds synchronizing unless you actually see them doing it.

A Reed cormorant tries to dry off by perching on a high branch above the Sand River.

A while back I posted a photo of a large brood of Egyptian geese: 9 chicks in total. They are getting much bigger as you can see, although unfortunately their numbers seem to have decreased.

These beautiful little birds - Blue waxbills - are often seen around camp but rarely sit still to pose for a photo.

A chick of one of the Crowned plover pairs who claim territory in the open areas around our airstrip. For the following few days, we drove by the nest area to see it again, but could only see the parents. We assumed the chick had lived only a short life, as we had also seen a snake nearby, and know that lots of other predators would be out for this little one. However, about a week later we saw the chick again - a testament to how well concealed they can be when they want to! Also, when looking for it, we may have fallen into the trap of following the parents - a 'distraction' mechanism they use to lure potential predators away from the chicks.

An unlikely pair? Not really, believe it or not! This brave little Fork-tailed drongo is taking advantage of the elephant inadvertently flushing insects from the vegetation while he feeds. You will often see these birds amongst groups of herbivores, especially larger ones like elephant and rhino... either that or pecking at the heads of large birds of prey that they don't want in 'their' area! There is no shortage of confidence in the Fork-tailed drongo!

I know they're not birds, but I wanted to include a pic of another one of the 'smaller things' around the bush lately. The dung beetles have been out in swarms and make for very exciting sightings! Generally you will see a dung ball being rolled by the male, with the female clinging to the side, like above... but being able to secure a dung ball and a female was no easy feat. The hot spots for dung beetles are usually 'middens' (frequently used dung piles) of territorial mammals such as rhino, where there are sometimes hundreds of beetles fighting to create a ball. This male was constantly fighting off others try to 'steal' his ball, and had to push it at high speed through rough terrain to try and get away from the chaos of the midden. He will eventually bury the ball, and the female will most likely lay her eggs inside so that when they hatch out, they can feed on the dung ensconcing them.