About the Author

James Tyrrell

Alumni

James had hardly touched a camera when he came to Londolozi, but his writing skills that complemented his Honours degree in Zoology meant that he was quickly snapped up by the Londolozi blog team. An environment rich in photographers helped him develop the ...

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16 Comments

on Why Not Finding the Animal is Sometimes Best

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Lovely blog. Great memories.

Love the blogs – brings the bush closer – I am overdue for some bushveld medicine!

Steven
Guest

I absolutely love keeping up with the blog. The stories and pictures are amazing. My family will visit Londolozi one day. We don’t know when, but because of stories like these, we will always be looking for a way to get there!

In my next life I am definitely coming back as a tracker. Or a ranger. Woulda, coulda, shoulda a long time ago. Wonderful blog James.

Sean
Guest

Thanks for the article. Have you guys thought about publishing a weekly update on all the lion prides in the area? That would be awesome to get a more frequent check-in as to what’s happening on a normal week.

I second Sean’s motion!

James T
Guest

Hi Kevin and Sean,

It is an idea that we are looking into, but if it does materialise it will probably be a fortnightly thing or even a monthly publication. Lion prides can be off-property for a while and not viewed doing too much, so it would only really be worthwhile if there was reasonable content to publish. Watch this space…
James

Yeaaaaaa Majingilane! Well written JT 😉

Senior Digital Ranger

Wonderful blog James! It is an amazing experience watching the Tracker & Guide working together to find, be it Lion/Leopard sightings as you said both bent over “staring” into the ground “wandering around” to see what’s there! That is why we are glued to the PC in the evenings to see what you have been up to during the day! Thanks always 🙂

Wonderful story, James. I felt like I was there.
Thank you!

Jill Grady
Guest

Great blog James, I love the journey! Lions or no lions, there is always something beautiful and memorable about every incredible moment spent at Londolozi. I can’t wait to return and breathe it all in again.

Master Tracker

I think you were lucky to have such understanding guests. I don’t mean that in a nasty way, just that your guests understood what was happening and why the tracking proved to be abortive. The first time I came to Sabi Sands , I stopped at a place we might call Alam Alam. I had a similar experience and the driver/ tracker team did an excellent job of tracking a pride. They followed the spoor for a considerable time, but at one point the driver said we were reaching the boundary. Well we reached the boundary and there waiting was a vehicle from a neighbouring property. A polite and friendly conversation followed and we turned back. The guests were furious and the next day- they were in a different vehicle. Very unfair on the driver/ tracker who had worked hard on their guests behalf.
Sometimes you can have a drive ruined by bad driving and sometimes a drive can be ruined by bad guests..
By the way I never had any desire to revisit Alam Alam- but am working out the ways and more importantly means of getting back to Londolozi. I had 2 drivers and trackers on my last trip and both teams were excellent.

Tanya Omoike
Guest

Awesome story. I experienced a day similar to that, and this brought me back. Surprisingly, we were just happy to have had the experience of being like trackers ourselves (you should hear us with “I see something!” “Is that a track?” etc hahaha!) We also would engage in meaningful, heavy discussions about life in the bush in general. I believe the friendships we created in the process left no room for any disappointments we normally would have felt not seeing the animal(s) we worked so hard to encounter. Other days were adrenaline filled :)’ I can’t wait to return to Londolozi.

Wonderful story James and I fully agree that witnessing the tracking is part of the experience. It gives you a thrill. I’ve visited many many lodges all over Africa and the superb tracking and the effort what the Londolozi team is putting into it, is what makes Londolozi for me the best place to visit. My favorite place to be. Thanks.

Lauren Smith
Guest

Fabulous blog post, James. My husband Chris and I had the pleasure of having a similar experience with you and Mike tracking lions, and we still vividly remember the thrill of the hunt. We were there in October 2014 and you, Mike, Graeme, Jess, Trista and our amazing trip to Londolozi are still part of our conversations weekly. A life changing experience in so many ways and we can’t wait to come back soon for a visit.

James T
Guest

Hi Lauren,

Great to hear from you!
When are you planning on returning, as Mike and I would love to drive you again!

James

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