Wow, what a visit! We have been Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa, but the Sabi Sand Game Reserve remains our absolute favourite place. We have been to Londolozi several times prior to this recent visit and all of our visits have all been memorable.
However, this visit to Londolozi was very special indeed. Leopards everywhere! Of course. This is Londolozi – famous for its leopards. But it wasn’t just leopards; it was leopards in action; leopards with cubs; leopards at night reflected beautifully in the moonlit water; leopards on kills; leopards in hiding; leopards with hyenas.
All in all, we saw over ten different individuals.
Actually, the trip WAS about leopards, but it was also so much more…
The Mashaba female, heading in the right direction.
The Anderson male scent marks while an impala ram keeps a careful eye on him…
The Ingrid Dam Young Female resting in a Jackalberry tree.
She kept a careful eye on us before eventually descending towards the Manyelethi Riverbed.
The Inyathini Male resting after a kill.
The Anderson Male; Londolozi’s biggest.
The Anderson Male looking as intimidating as ever.
The Ndzanzeni Young Male staying in cover next to a waterhole he frequents.
The Flat Rock Male after he realized the tsalala lioness was close.
The Ximungwe Female near a kill, careful of descending vultures.
Marula trees, like this on the Ximungwe female is in, are favoured by leopards.
The Ximungwe Female moving the carcass of a young giraffe into the thicket.
Having got the carcass up a tree, safely out of reach of hyenas, it was safe for her to feed.
We also managed to see the new dominant lion coalition; the Birmingham males. We saw all four (one has since disappeared), but only three together at one time. We sat mesmerised as their huge mass of muscle and strength walked by us in the darkest of night lit only by the single spotlight or silhouetted by others. They roared in front of us and the deafening noise could be felt reverberating through the Land Rover’s framework.
The Birmingham males sport impressive manes.
Birmingham male at night.
A big yawn just before getting going.
So many of our sightings were spectacular; with animal action and interaction. We had a two-hour sighting involving a mother giraffe, the carcass of her young calf; a hyena and the Ximungwe Female. Each exhibited the behaviour appropriate for their position in the predator/prey hierarchy.
We saw the Tsalala lioness within 40 meters of the Flat Rock Male, each unaware of the others’ presence and, unbelievably, we left that sighting to go find the Anderson Male leopard; a huge dominant male that is not often seen.
We spent sundown into the dark night watching him on patrol and attempting twice to catch some kudu. While we were waiting for him to move, we saw a glorious journey of giraffes beautifully silhouetted in the setting sun.
I haven’t even mentioned our close crocodile encounter, numerous elephant interactions, rhinos taking mud baths, several birds of prey and my favourite bird sighting; the lilac-breasted roller. The list goes on and on.
A Sunset Silhouette
Eye to eye with an elephant.
A Crocodile blocking our passage across the causeway.
To some, a spa, to rhinos simply a day-in-the-life.
Bedding down on a cool morning.
All of that was great, but the highlight of our stay, no doubt, was an unbelievable sighting in the very early morning with 8 African Wild Dogs and 10 hyenas fighting over an impala kill. It was in our top 10 sightings EVER, and after 30 years of going on safari, that says a lot.
We were surrounded by the noise, the energy, the fighting, and bits of the carcass flying. Dogs fighting with hyenas; dogs fighting with dogs; hyenas fighting with hyenas; and all of the action happening within meters of our vehicle. It was indescribable.
A hyena attempting to hold its own.
Watching the approach of the wild dog pack for another scrap.
Their faces are covered in blood from the impala kill.
This time during our visit we stayed at the newly refurbished Granite Suites room 2; it was indescribably beautiful. Many of our afternoons were spent simply watching the elephants and monkeys drink from our pool; and our post-game drive banter at the bar was always entertaining before sitting down to an excellent dinner with fine wine. The service was impeccable and personalized but not smothering or overbearing.
As Robbie, our expert butler, would say…everything about Londolozi this visit was “Cool Beans”.
Hemingway was correct; how can one not be happy in Africa….but especially at Londolozi. Thank you for sharing all these exquite images from your most recent safari. You and David must still be smiling!
Dear Janice: What an incredible blog today! Your photos are beautiful! And how fortunate you were to see the Anderson male……we looked for him but had no luck as he remained elusive during our stay. Thank you for sharing your pictures – loved the two of the rhinos. Mary Jane
Jackpot! What an amazing trip.
Incredible sightings!!! Nice to see that the Anderson Males eye has almost completely healed!
And how did the Ximungwe Female manage to catch a young giraffe??!!
Callum we don’t know if she did catch it. It may well have been a still-born…
Impressive photos, especially for the Ingrid Dam Young Female , a real 10/10 photo for her coming down the tree.
That would my wall candy
Great report Janice! We have visited all of your locales except Zambia and agree that Londolozi is dearest to us. As you described, the leopard sightings are numerous and incredible. Guest to our home cannot believe that we can get even better leopard images each time we return–which we are doing for the 4th time in July.
What a visit, Janice! I’m thrilled for you as I totally understand your enthusiasm. Much like you, Bob and I are experienced Africa visitors, but Londolozi is something special – every time! Great photo memories, too!
Thank you for sharing your awesome trip Janice! We agree that Londolozi is THE most special place on earth, and we will never get tired of visiting ?
Perfection and so beautifully portrayed. Thank you for sharing this with us. I’m hoping to see some rosettes when we visit in January.
Hello Janice!
What an adventure!! Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures! The picture of Flat Rock Male with the green all around him was so fresh and crisp! Eye to eye with an elephant was so artistic! And a very hansome crocodile you meet!
What a fantastic experience to see the african wild dogs and hyenas fighting.
My most beautiful memory from our safari last year was when we vist a hyena den in the late afternoon and they were all at home and I felt so enourmousely welcome!! I had a magical contact with one of them. I will never forget that moment and today I have a photo at my desk at that beautiful hyena.
I totally agree; ” I never knew of a morning I woke up in Africa and was not happy!”.
Amazing experience Januce. Beautuful images.