A young elephant bull slowly ambles through the leadwood forest in the northern reaches of Londolozi. We ended up sitting with the rest of this herd for over an hour as they feed through the forest.

Taking flight, a White-backed vulture leaps into the air as it begins to soar in search of a thermal.

Resting on a termite mound, amidst a territorial patrol, the Plaque Rock Female then spotted a herd of impala in the distance, before she could get close enough the impala caught sight of her and the element of surprise was lost.

A giant land snail, recently awoken by the soaking rains, sets off on a mission to find some food. The summer periods where food and more importantly moisture is abundant allows for the snails to go through more intense periods of growth which is evident by the banding in the colouration of the shell.

In order to ensure this cheetah cub was safe from two black-backed jackals, she took off after them, chasing them away. Meanwhile, the cub sat sizing up a pair of Black-backed jackals that were alarming at her and her mother.

After spending most of the morning with the Ximungwe Female and her cub, we decided to make our way towards the river to stop for a cup of coffee. Just as we were coming down the marula crest, we spotted the Senegal Bush Male in the fork of this large tree. We can’t be certain but we think he was chased up there by something as he was looking rather agitated. Perhaps it was a herd of elephants that passed through the area.

A Guineafowl keeps a wary eye on a passing leopard.

High-key photography is made significantly easier when the perfect subject presents itself against a brighter background. The Plaque Rock Female did exactly this while searching for any prey.

As the winged alates (flying termites) make their nuptial flight out of the mounds, numerous birds condense into the area to feast on this high calorie, never-ending supply of food. Many of the birds of prey take advantage of this too, here a Tawny Eagle rests on the mound itself as the last remnants of the sunset fade.

The Nweti Male takes a break from mating with the Mashaba Female to rest in the road between our two vehicles. This was an especially exciting sighting as we had been tracking the pair for several hours by this point.

This was one of two African Hawk Eagles that were perched in the beautiful branches of a dead leadwood tree. Both birds had rather full crops (the slight bulge in the upper chest of the bird) indicating that they likely caught a meal earlier that morning. We know that a flock of guineafowl tend to roost in this same tree so maybe one fell victim to these Hawk Eagles.

Following the Nkoveni Female one afternoon lead us to the Maxims male. He has been expanding his territory further into Londolozi for some time now but sightings of him don’t come by often. He is elusive and also arguably one of the biggest male leopards in the region at the moment.

The Cleanup Crew hard at work. A male dung-beetle stands atop his prized ball of dung, performing a quick 360-degree spin around to reorientate himself with the sun overhead, before descending the ball and rolling it away with the female attached to the side.

Earlier this week we ventured up into the northern parts of the reserve in search of lions and had our expectations exceeded. We stumbled across the Nkuhuma pride as they were devouring a buffalo in the late afternoon. This sub-adult male had had his fill and walked over to lay down in the shade of our vehicle.

This was a typical Lowveld summers day. Temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) during the midday while a large thunderstorm brewed to the south. The cloud formations turned out to be incredible so we stopped for a quick drink to watch the storm roll in before heading back to camp ahead of the rain.

With the setting sun, a pod of hippos begins to get antsy in preparation for leaving the sanctuary of the Sand River on an evenings mission to feed on the lush green grass that has arrived with the summer rains.

The Nzuthini Female strikes a regal pose on a termite mound. The energetic curiosity of this female kept us entertained for well over an hour. She is a new female leopard to see on Londolozi and is being seen more and more regularly as she appears to be taking up residence in the unoccupied patch of turf in the southwest; here’s hoping that she’ll stick around on Londolozi!

A giant Martial Eagle, perched in the open desolate tops of a dead tree, scanning the surroundings for any potential prey.

Before launching off to assume another perch on a tree on the horizon.