It’s Christmas in May and filled with anticipation I wait impatiently for 6:00 and the first game drive of the day. Be it a giraffe in the grey mist or lions in the golden rays of first light, a Londolozi morning never disappoints.
Secretary bird shot in the low light of the morning mist.
The unmistakeable roar throughout the early morning hours meant just one thing – a lion.
We found the dark maned Majingilane quickly and as the morning sun streaked across the clearing, he was slowly joined by two of his brothers – a rare occasion indeed.
And as if Santa had decided we had been very, very good, another gift of the morning was the first sighting of the Tsalala pride’s newest cubs. Not wanting to get too close as the cubs were clearly wary of us, we kept our distance.
The grasses just in front made a clear shot difficult, but with the help of the new bean bags on a clever mount, I was able to get a shot.
The cheetah was at the top of my Christmas list this year. In our past two trips in 2008 and 2011, there had not been any in the area. Finding sightings of them listed regularly on the blog throughout April gave me great hope.
This is what I call my insurance shot as we first saw the male from a distance.
In less than two minutes, we were close enough to get this shot.
We were then to follow him for nearly 2 hours. A most cooperative fellow, he gave us classic cheetah poses everywhere he stopped. Alas, the morning ended with a failed kill.
A magical sighting of Cape Buffalo in morning light. Tracker, Enoch Mkansi, estimated the herd between 900 and a 1000.The road funneled a steady stream past us while hundreds spread through the forest on either side. It reminded me of the Rye Cooder song, “You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd.” Nor can you push past one when the sighting of a new leopard cub comes over the radio.
So, we enjoyed the moment looking at individuals and the spectacle of the herd itself.
As James Tyrrell writes in another post this week, his group had also been watching the buffalo and sharp eyes had followed tracks where they discovered the Campbell Koppie female with a new leopard cub.
We joined them, keeping a respectful distance for the first viewing of the cub.
New Campbell Koppie’s cub keeps an eye on the large vehicles following down the road.
One of the many great gifts at Londolozi is the ranger. There is so much to learn and Ranger Helen Young’s infectious enthusiasm about all creatures large and small adds a welcomed dimension to each drive. Here, she educated us on the hunting strategy of this species. The pair of eagles mates for life. They hunt as a team, one swooping down low over a group of prey, and the other picking one off as the prey scatters.
The African Hawk Eagle takes off towards a confusion of Guinea fowl.
We were fortunate to have our the brilliant tracking team find a pack of 5 wild dogs late one evening.
This one stopped to have a roll in the dung as the others trotted off down the road.
And, by the way, the Cheetah did get his dinner.
An adrenaline pumping chase, he netted a young male impala who had been paying more attention to his rutting.
As I write, I hear the deep roar of the Majingalane resounding across Londolozi. My gear is by the door and Christmas morning begins again tomorrow.
Written and Photographed by Jolynne Jones – Londolozi guest
Jolynne your passion for every new ‘Christmas day’ in the bush is infectious. I love it when you walk onto the deck for breakfast after your ninth day here (with five still to go) and you are just as enthusiastic and excited about your morning sightings, as you were on day one. Your pics say it all! I particularly love the distant ‘insurance’ shot of the male cheetah. Thank you
These pictures are fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing!!
Jolynne! Merry Christmas indeed! Your story and photos took my breath away! Your photos are amazing! I’m so happy you enjoyed such an amazing time at Londolozi! Thank you for sharing!
Magnificent, Jo Lynne- thanks so much for sharing! Love your writing and of course, the photos are phenomenal as always! Merry Christmas!
Love and hugs to you and Fred
Linda
I want to go! wonderful photos! JoLynne, you have become a professional.
Maybe a second career!
Love,
C
Lovely images throughout–especially like the shot of the secretary bird.
Christmas indeed! What a wonderful way to spend the day seeking out and observing the gifts mother nature has provided us with. Thank you for sharing
The Tsalala pride with cubs are that the Main pride or the Breakaway lionesses?
Mika,
They are cubs of the breakaway pride. Keep an eye on the blog this week, James is doing a post on them.
Regards,
Kate
Thank you so much, absolutely wonderful. We all envy the sightings! Londo never ever disappoints.
Jolynne thank you so much for doing such a great post WOW!
Its great having you back!
Christmas indeed over the last week, great pics Jolynne, shame we didn’t see you before we left, have a great last few days and thank Fred for entertaining us last night, he’s amazing… See you next time.
You nailed it Jolynne, every day is Christmas day at Londolozi, I’m counting the days until I return. Thank you for the interesting post and great photos.
Hi,
What an experience for Jolynn and what wonderful world class photos of the wildlife!
However, I have a gripe about this leopard’s name that may get me thrown to the Styx pride.
This Is NOT the Campbell Koppies female, but rather the Campbell Koppies Young Female (which is a terrible name and too long, causing people to shorten the name erroneously)
The reason this is important is because the real Campbell Koppies— mother to this leopardess and grandmother to the cub— is alive and well and has territory slightly to the north and east of Londolozi. Like her sister Vomba, this old girl has territory near two of her surviving daughters.
Campbell Koppies and daughters Ostrich Koppies and Campbell Koppies Young female all gave birth to cubs in the last 6 months! The real Campbell Koppies sadly lost her remaining cub a few weeks ago. It becomes very confusing to see a mislabeled photo with her daughter and her cub.
How about a better name for this stunning young leopardess? Cambell Koppies Young Female is also known as Kwatile (“the angry one”) in the North and Mlowthi female elsewhere.
Campbell Koppies the older has an alias also, Ntima (“the dark one”), in the North. She has a facebook page (Imagine!!!) if you want to compare photos of mother to daughter.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/NtimaCampbell-Koppies-Leopardess/280259885364351
A wonderful photo from last October (by Adam Bannister) of Campbell Koppies Young Female is also mislabeled. You can often recognize the daughter by her torn ear.
http://blog.londolozi.com/2012/10/leopards-of-londolozi/
Brian
Wonderful photos and it looks like you guys have seen some amazing stuff! I am so jealous, keep the pictures and stories coming!
Jo Lynne, so glad you had a great time on your trip!! Can’t wait to hear about the stories from Dad and Rosemary! I love your picture of the African Hawk Eagle taking flight!
All I can say is I am so happy for you. Not only have you captured your trip with these beautiful photos, you have totally moved me. I never wanted to go to Africa before, but with this email/photos, I want to add this to my dream vacation. Thank you, JoLynne.
Jo Lynne, congratulations on your 1st Londolozi blog ‘appearance’ and a collection of wonderful photo’s! I am completely jealous of the amazing sightings you had!
I hope you had a great time and am sorry to have missed out on Fred’s guitar and song in the boma!
Regards,
James
Gorgeous photos Jo Lynne! Love the blog post. Wonderful way to share your fabulous experience. Merry Christmas!!! 🙂
With all the good work you and Fred have done in the field of education, I am so, so glad you now have the time to enjoy things that were put on hold for a long time. Savor every moment and when you get home, we look forward to seeing ALL the pictures and hearing ALL the details.
JoLynne – these photos are truly A++++. You have achieved a level of professionalism that is stunning and not surprising given your passion, enthusiasm and patience. Most of us would have given up a long time ago at getting just the right shot, but you kept at it, learning more from each trip, and the framing of these pictures is just spectacular. The one of the cheetah and his kill is just breathtaking. Congratulations and thanks for sharing!
Jo Lynne, what fabulous pictures, and your post is so moving and descriptive. Congratulations on such a tremendous trip and accomplishment. Sandy and I have always wanted to go to this region of the world to see this flora and fauna, and your story has greatly renewed our interest. I hope we can see more of your outstanding pictures and hear the rest of the story some day. Our very best to you and Fred. Merry Christmas!
It’s my guess no one back at SMN would have had any idea you’d someday be walking on the wild side and capturing your steps of furry/feathered likenesses.
I keep choosing a favorite photo then change with each forwarded shot.
I’ve learned:
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A MATE AS A FOUR-FOOTED GAL-A
THERE’S AIN’T MUCH FUTURE IN A MALE IMPALA
Your impressed bud,
Carol
Wow! Your writing is as spectacular as your photos! I feel like I was there right along with you!!!
Gorgeous!
OMG! Reconnecting with Jo Lynne after 40+ years (Fred and I are members of the infamous ATO Hurricane Pledge Class) has been a real pleasure and as her many talents are gradually revealed, a most rewarding experience. This is my first viewing of her wildlife photography skills. What can one say. They are awesome. I am envious of her talent and experiences. You rock, girl!