In referencing a previous blog written by Chris Taylor, A 12 Day Safari in Pictures, I agree that there is enormous value in a longer stay at Londolozi. Previously a set of guests of mine stayed with us for seven nights, this is slightly longer than the average three to four night stay and allowed us to spend a lot more time in many of the sightings that we had. Not that people staying with us for longer have preferential treatment in the sightings but rather because we knew that we would still be able to get around and see everything else over the course of the seven days. Practicing the art of patience I guess. Spending more time with the animals in the hopes that they do something special, in our case spending a lot more time waiting for a particular animal to do something.
Time and patience can be the key when it comes to viewing awesome sightings. Often, the more patience you have the luckier you get.
Early one morning the Plaque Rock female Leopard was found with an Impala kill hoisted in a beautiful Marula tree on an open crest which, photographically, is a dream if she is up in the tree. Having been far from this particular sighting that morning, the plan was to head there in the afternoon to hopefully capture some amazing shots with the setting sun in the background.
Leopards feel safe in trees. In particular Marula trees, they are able to hide their kills and find comfortable branches for them to rest on.
Setting out from camp we had high hopes that the leopard would be draped over the branch in a picturesque manner, with the sun slowly dropping in the background. However, the scene we arrived at had everything we anticipated except the most important feature, the leopard. She was nowhere to be seen, but hope was not lost as her impala kill was still hoisted in the tree. We sat waiting and scanning the surroundings for about 15 minutes hoping she’d be lying in the grass somewhere nearby, waiting for the heat of the day to pass. But nothing. We then drove around the closest thickets hoping to spot her dappled coat in the shade.
The Plaque Rock female draped over the branch of a marula tree in a previous sighting.
Still nothing. The risk of leaving the area and returning, later on, was that we would miss her going up the tree which provides amazing photographic opportunities. Our final decision was to just sit and wait. We sat for over two hours and watched the sunset behind the Drakensberg mountains and the only visitors were a few hyenas sniffing around the base of the tree. Eventually, we decided to return to camp for dinner and hoped to try again the next morning.
Hyena will often scavenge at the base of a tree when the kill is hoisted by a leopard. In this case, the Leopard wasn’t in the tree feeding so the Hyena knew its only chance was to sniff around and try to find any tit-bits on the floor.
As the sun came up our first port of call was to see if anything had changed with the Plaque Rock female. Still, nothing. Having waited for the whole morning drive for her and just as we were about to give up and move on to search for something else we decided to give it one last try and look along the thicket line again. Tracker Freddy Ngobeni spotted her approaching the tree from a distance. Overwhelmed with joy and excitement after almost two whole game drives of just waiting, we all contained ourselves, made sure our settings were correct and our cameras were held nice and still. She walked straight up to the marula and in three quick bounds, she was up the tree.
The Plaque Rock Females first Leap into the tree.
Her second leap propelling her higher.
The third leap. It’s amazing watching the agility of these elusive predators. Making it appear effortless. One can only imagine the strength it takes to carry her well-earned meal up in the exact same manner.
Her final ascent into the canopy to enjoy the remains of the kill.
Finally, we were rewarded for our patience. We knew that she would eventually return to feed and we just needed to be there when she arrived as it is so exciting watching leopards gracefully ascend the tree.
What an amazing sequence of photos of her climbing up the tree! Well done! Thank you.
Hi Dan! Is pink nose a trait of younger leopards or just a feature of some of them? Thank you for the pictures and well written article
12 day visit in July–can’t wait!
Freddy Ngobeni is truly masterful!
Absolutely stunning foto’s Dan of the plague rock female climbing up the marula tree. Now a person can see the agility and strength of these majestic cats. So beautiful and for them it is second nature to climb up a tree with such ease. The Nkoveni female is her mother if I am correct, and the Mashaba female is Nkoveni females mother. Hope I have the family tree right. What extra ordinary foto’ s today. Thank you so much.
Super sighting , well worth the wait.
Some times, the hardest thing is to sit and wait – especially if time is limited or if this is the one and only time you will be able to go on safari
Lovely photos of Plaque Rock’s ascent, Dan; that was certainly well worth the wait! I totally agree about staying longer – the 1st time we came to Londo we stayed 4 nights, then 5 the year after. The next year I came for 6 nights ( on my own), and have done that duration ever since. I imagine the rangers all prefer longer stays too, as it takes the pressure off you as well? There’s always days when leopards just don’t want to be found, and the lion prides have temporarily gone awol.
I like Nkoveni and her daughter, too
You’re correct Dan in that patience and diligence are key to experiencing great moments during a safari. I’m so grateful I spent a week there and will do it again!!
Plaque Rock is worth waiting for! What a superstar cat that she has become! Loved seeing her in Aug 2019 just before her independence from Nkoveni…..Kunyuma tracked her and found her in a tree with a hoisted carcass and proceeded to steal her meal!
One of my favorite sightings, although rare, is a leopard climbing up or coming down from a tree! AMAZING! Patience is the key!
Yes, being patient with animals is so much worth it. Sometimes you come across a totally exciting, unexpected and surprising sighting – we had lots of them during my long stay at Londolozi. Sometimes it needs enough time and patience to really see something special, which also was the case during my stay , e.g. while we were watching the wild dogs one evening. We had been watching them for nearly two hours. Suddenly they made contact calls with another pack member, rushed into that direction and flashed out and hunted down a young impala in a few seconds. Just incredible sightings!
Love the pictures of the Plaque Rock female, Dan.
The shots you got of the Nkoveni female climbing the tree were fantastic. That sun was showing her golden colors beautifully. Yes, it was worth the wait.
WOW!! .. Bootiful big kitty! 🙂 .. Love the 2nd and 3rd picture of the Leopard sitting in the tree just like a regular domesticated cat, and the one of her napping.
Certainly is worth the wait Dan… I’m still waiting to get there let alone be there to enjoy a week😁🙏🏻..but with patience this too will become a reality 😊. Fabulous photos !!
Kyle, loved 🤗
You all proved the maxim “Patience accomplishes all things!”