There is seldom a week that goes by that leaves me without inspiration. It is difficult to caption or explain the way in which one is fulfilled after spending many hours under a warm winter sun, in the mist and the rolling hills of caramel coloured grass. There is a feeling of self worth, preservation, enlightenment and change. It is an experience that has the ability to change the way in which you see the world around you. So let the land, beauty, animals and people, open your mind and capture your soul. Be inspired by the magic that is Londolozi. Enjoy the Week in Pictures.
A young Sparta pride male moves quietly in the darkness.
The Vomba young male continuing to show his presence.
An elephant never forgets.
The winter morning approach of the Vomba young male. Golden and crisp.
Mark Nisbet and Elmon Mhlongo await the arrival of the sun.
A very young cheetah cub shows itself in an opening. Keep an eye on the blog to read the full report on the life of these small cubs.
An incredible moment in my guiding career.
A sunset cat.
The Mashaba young female poses perfectly for our cameras.
Sunrises in the Sand River.
Staring into an eye that knows many stories and has seen many things.
Warmth of an afternoon in the north.
Life, keeping warm in the morning.
A fun morning in the bush tracking lions.
A Sparta pride lioness rests in the sun after a cold morning.
Contrasts and textures of elephants always intrigue the camera.
The seldom seen Maliliwane female.
The Tamboti young female makes a return after a two week absence.
One of the smallest rhino calfs around.
There is something wonderful about venturing into a reserve in the early morning. What do you like best about a morning game drive? Share your thoughts with us below.
Written and Photographed by: Mike Sutherland
Awesome pics. Amazing pics of the cheetah cub. Mashaba young female is just as beautiful as her mother.
Absolutey amazing set of photographs from this past wee. I love the early morning mist on winters morning drive. What camera are you photographing with?
TGIF -another week in pictures! The morning light is beautiful. I bet there is a bit of a chill to get everyone going for the drive. Thanks much for photos of Vomba Young Male, Mashaba Young Female and Tamboti Young Female. The future leopards of Londo are looking good. Always love the rare Maliliwane female photo. There looks like maybe some tufts of fur on her lower left belly. Could those be suckle marks? The cheetah cubs are too cute for words.
Seeing Life reminds me of the time we spent together March 2013. He has the best stories that I still tell my grandkids. Of course it is wonderful to see the young Mashaba female growing up. And of course, the baby rhino–my favorite. Thanks for a wonderful week. See you all in September.
Im ure there would have been alot of emotions if you had seen the little rhino calf Arden! Life is still well and telling stories as he always does!!
Thank you Mike, the pictures are fantastic as always. I’m looking forward to the story on the cheetah family. Is the Sparta male sick or just needing some food? Have a lovely weekend & now I wait for the next WIP’s or something exciting in between 🙂
Hi Wendy, thank you for comments! The Sparta young male was definitely a little thin in this image, but I love it as it shows the strugglers of every day life! Since this picture was taken, the Sparta pride has killed a large male Kudu, a buffalo and are now busy trailing another buffalo herd!
The poor male Sparta boy is too skinny . He can do some good feeding like now for a long time in order to exist
I love watching the sun rise and all the beautiful colours and sounds of the bush that come with an early morning game drive. Beautiful photographs Mike, I especially love the Cheetah cub….so sweet. Thanks for sharing!
The Rhino calf photo does show the advantage of getting as low down as possible for the photo. I suspect that was taken from the passenger seat next to the driver.
The perspective is great from low down. To get this shot I held my camera in my foot well and used Live View on the camera to get the angle and composition correct!
Amazing photos as usual Mike! Love the fine hair on the neck of cheetah cubs.
I know sightings are great in the winter but I am really miserable when cold so have to visit in the summer. Then I could stay for months1
Lovely image Judy! Thanks for sharing. Summer is definitely a lot warmer!
Had no idea this is what was uploaded. Definitely not one of my favorites. Thanks for the kind words.
This is one of my favorites. 2010 with Mike Miller and Freddy Ngobeni.
I loved getting out into the crisp morning air and feeling it slowly warm with the rising of the sun.. Thank you for the pictures.. I hope that Sparta boy found himself a meal!
Nice work Mike. Glad to see Life is keeping warm on these winter mornings.