On the subject of things departing Londolozi just before winter, the next six weeks will sadly be ranger Dave Strachan’s last work cycle after over two years of loyal service to the lodge. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

This dwarf mongoose had rushed for shelter in this abandoned warthog burrow as our vehicle approached, but he was cut off from the rest of his troop who were seeking refuge for the night in another termite mound nearby. Knowing he would want to rejoin the rest of them, we sat patiently until he ventured out again, sniffing the breeze before making a quick dash to join the others.

Zugunruhe is a German compound word consisting of Zug (move, migration) and Unruhe (anxiety, restlessness), and is observed in migratory creatures, particularly in birds, before they depart for the season. A number of species have already left Londolozi to head towards the approaching northern hemisphere summer in North Africa and Europe, and even further afield, but a few still remain. These barn swallows are the stragglers of their species, since many thousands have already been seen flocking on grassy crests over the last few weeks immediately before flying off.

The same morning as the previous photo. There’s drama everywhere out in the bush; the Piva male leopard was lying down in the long grass on this morning, and was almost impossible to see, but it was the swallows that were swooping low over the nearby waterhole that were of the most interest.

Head tracker trainer Renias Mhlongo leads the current crop of trainee rangers down a sandy road during a morning of Track and Sign identification.

Three baboons out of a larger troop look towards the Sand River where an nyala was alarming in the distance. There will invariably be one or more bigger baboons out of the troop (usually males) that will be up in the trees acting as lookouts as the rest forage down below.

I posted another photo like this a few weeks ago of a rare white-backed night heron, but decided to include this one as it illustrates nicely where the bird gets its name. This photograph was taken at exactly the same place as the one from a few weeks ago, so is more than likely the same individual.

With the Sand River flowing once again after a long drought, life is bursting at the seams, especially when it comes to the fish population. The local crocodiles have been taking full advantage of this, lurking in the rapids near the Causeway to snap them up as they move through the heavily oxygenated water. A 500mm lens allowed for this close-up perspective, while a lowered shutter speed blurred the water slightly, drawing the viewer’s eye to the in-focus area. This photo was taken at night, when the crocodiles do a lot of their hunting.

What is more than likely the same individual waits in the same rapid earlier in the evening. A similar approach was used, with a lower shutter speed blurring the water, while a supportive beanbag kept the camera still enough to keep the crocodile’s head sharp.

The cubs of the Xidulu female are roughly a year old by now, so their mother is able to leave them alone for longer and longer periods of time. This means that a sighting like this, of all three together and in the open, is becoming a much rarer thing these days. The Xidulu female is on the left, and of the cubs, the male is the one in front. One can clearly see how much bigger he is than his sister already.

Tracker Rob Hletswayo watches a herd of zebra in one of the open clearings which they frequent.

Two white rhinos make their way slowly across the Londolozi airstrip. With succulent grass covering the reserve now, the male rhinos in particular are becoming far more territorial once more, not having to venture as far as they did during the drought to desperately seek out any kind of sustenance.

The Nanga female leaps over her cub to the higher ground. This was an absolutely incredible sighting in which the two played in and around the Manyelethi riverbed for over an hour one morning, with only myself and Londolozi’s Head of Sales Jacqui Hemphill there to observe them. We’ll be putting out a photographic blog next week with our combined highlights from the sighting…

A seldom seen individual, the Ingrid Dam female frequents the extensive bushwillow thickets of Londolozi’s north western corner. She lay down on this termite mound just as the last rays of the setting sun were striking her, allowing for some golden light photography, and then she slunk off into the long grass and disappeared.

The same sighting, this time shot with a 500mm lens instead of a 70-200mm. The same moment can be captured in a variety of ways with different lenses, depending on what you want to try and express.