As we round off our photography month, we enjoy a week where the changing seasons is evident. The late afternoon and early morning light illuminate the sky with hues of gold, purple, blue and orange that shine through onto the subjects.
The leopard viewing has been great as usual, where the Three Rivers Female features regularly and more often than not, within the branches of a marula tree. The Ximungwe Young Male has also been seen a number of times this week where he descends a marula tree and moves across to a small puddle to quench his thirst. Not having seen the Plaque Rock Female in a little while she rests up atop a termite mound for a beautiful black and white shot.
The mother cheetah and her adolescent cub have also been seen on a number of occasions providing a bonus sighting right when things couldn’t get better. And let’s not forget about the wild dogs that have been seen roaming through the reserve every now and then.
Let us know your favourite image in the comments section below.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
The Ximungwe Young Male, who now matches his mother in size, carefully descends the trunk of a marula tree.
A single cub of the Ximungwe Female's second litter. Initially rather skittish but is very relaxed now. Birth mark in his left eye.
Sitting in silence to watch and listen to this large herd of elephants drinking, hearing them slurping up the water was such an amazing way to start off the morning game drive.
Such an incredible setting with this playful young elephant bull occasionally spraying a trunk full of water out against the setting sun’s golden rays that would shine through to illuminate the water as he exhales.
The western horizon was rich with golden orange colours as the sun was setting that reflect off this waterhole as a male waterbuck was there for a drink.
An elephant’s trunk must be one of the most advanced adaptations of the natural world. It forms a vital part of many of an elephant’s day-to-day activities including drinking. Large bulls can fit about 7 litres of water in their trunk at one time!
After finishing up a feeding session on an impala ram that his mother had caught the day before, the Ximungwe Young Male quenches his thirst from a small puddle.
A mother elephant and her six-month-old calf.
Having had a pack of wild dogs move through the property a number of times recently, an opportunity to get this silhouetted shot presented itself as one of the males walked over the top of a termite mound near our vehicle.
The Plaque Rock Female scans the surroundings from the vantage point of a termite mound.
A pretty young playful female found along the river to the east of camp
In search of their next meal, this pack of wild dogs started off by moving through the area around the Londolozi airstrip, a well-known hunting ground for large herds of impala.
The Three Rivers Female props herself up on a fallen marula, as she intently scans the horizon for any impala.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
While adventuring into the southwestern grasslands we took a moment to enjoy this spectacular scene of not only the setting sun but rather the stunning clouds.
I loved the way this elephant bull’s front leg mirrored perfectly as he stepped into the waterhole for a drink.
When you get the chance for some backlighting shots take them! This Ndzhenga Male follows the three Ntsevu Lionesses as they disappear into the darkness.
Getting a little creative, by deliberately selecting a slow shutter speed, the movement of the water past the statue-like crocodile is blurred creating a sense of movement in the photograph.
The Three Rivers Female is becoming a fairly regularly seen leopard in the eastern parts of the reserve. Being a younger mother she is still playful and adventurous, often climbing fallen trees just for the sake of it.
The mother cheetah has done a sterling job of raising this cub to around a year old. It is still a long and difficult road ahead, but we cant help revel in her success so far.
After a morning of roaming the grasslands, the two cheetahs settle in the shade of an Acacia nilotica.
Making the most of the early morning sun’s rays, this water monitor lizard rests on a dead tree trunk. Allowing for a good close up look at its ferocious claws.
As the Three Rivers Female began to settle on this branch, her mischievous cub couldn’t resist climbing up and playing with her.
A close up view into the eyes of one of the Ndzhenga Males.
With a bank of dark clouds rolling through in the distance, the golden sun shone through on the foreground here illuminating this dazzle of zebra as the stallion on the right used a wooden stump to scratch his chin.
This female raises her head to see her littermate emerge over the rise. Soon after this moment the greeting began; an abundance of affection.
The Londolozi team is making it impossible to choose a favorite image of the week, as there are just too many amazing shots. Sean and Chris, your elephant images are fabulous, and Sean, your landscape highlighting the beautiful clouds is stunning. But then, there’s the water monitor close-up and croc that are unique…. Love the big cats…. Okay, I give up and appreciate each and every one. Thank you!!
Sean, TWIP is just beautiful. Thanks for sharing the many animals of Londolozi.
Thank you so much, William.
Incredibly rich and various set of pictures under the “gold” theme. It’s too difficult to pick up one, I’m over the moon for the cheetahs, they are so rare and the leopards of course. The elephants are my favourite subjects here, so beautifully melt in the rich vegetation and giving a sense of peace. Water is a main theme as well, the waterbuck is lovely and zebra, lizard and crocodile are all great pictures. The Ndzhenga male looks almost older than the Birmingham male in the last images, so deeply scarred.all animals are embroidered in golden poetry and landscapes are fabulous. Great.
Thank you so much, Francesca. It was a fabulous week for photography.
Hi Sean for me my favorite foto is the setting sun and beautiful clouds. The clouds are all different shapes and the setting sun is a stunning foto. Secondly is the foto of the crocodile with the water gushing past him. Fantastic foto’s . The others foto’s are all awesome.
Thank you so much, Valmai. The Sunsets have been amazing of late.
Tough to pick one favorite shot. The solo wild dog, stunning sunset with clouds and crocodile are my top three. Counting down the weeks until our August visit . . . .
Thank you so much, Willa. Those are some great choices. I am sure the excitement is building for your trip. We look forward to having you here with us.
I love the water monitor. But how do you know it is a watermonitor and not another one?
The shape of the heads is the most noticeable difference. The Rock Monitor lizard has a much rounder larger head. And since the water monitors spend more time in the water their skin looks a lot cleaner and is brighter green and yellow. The rock monitor is more dusty and greyish in colour.
When the quality is so high it’s always hard to choose. I love the ellies in water – but I’m hoping this or a similar scene will appear in the video, as it’s wonderful to hear them as well as see them. Chris’ crocodile is great and obviously the cats are always fab, especially the 3 Rivers with her cub. But you’ve edged it Sean, with your gorgeous sunset and clouds – just stunning.
Thank you so much, Suzanne. I am so glad that it is tough to choose a winner as it means that the overall standard is high.
Impossible to pick one! Loving leopards so much, especially the Three Rivers female, I love the photo with her and her cub playing. That landscape photo with the wonderful clouds is striking! The elephant with his perfect reflection in the water and the silhouette of the wild dog also are also terrific. The crocodile combined with a slow shutter speed really pops out as so creative and fascinating! Great TWIP! Looking forward to next week’s already! 👍👍👍
Thank you so much, Darlene. There are some great images this week.
Oh such Beauty once again captured on Londolozi lands! Love the clouds with the setting sun–conjuring time for Sundowners! The Cheetah are stunning. But the Croc with the slow gushing water is my pic for today!!!
Thank you so much, Camille. That pic of the crocodile is such a great image.
I love all your beautiful photos. Just amazing.
Thank you so much, Christa.
Great photos. I particularly like the photo of the Water Monitor Lizard – the eyes and claws are riveting.
Thank you so much, Jeff. The water monitor lizards are such fascinating creatures and the image of it is so captivating.
What a great group of photos! I kept hitting “favorite”! Of course, any elephant or rhino picture is my favorite – ha! – but I also love the lion eye shot, the dog silhouette, the lizard closeup, the water cascading from the mouth of a croc! Bravo!
Thank you so much, Linda. There are some great images this week and you have chosen some amazing ones.
Really great pics Sean – a really good week for ohotography. Loved them all and thanks for sharing with us.
Thank you so much, Leonie.
Absolutely love all the elephant pics! ♥️
Thank you so much, Carly. The elephant pics are always among the favourites.
Hard to pick a single favorite, but really loved your use of nature’s lighting in your 3 images. Also thought Chris did a great job with the crocodile image.
Thank you so much, Vin. It has been a great week for photography. We are having such fun at the moment. Chris’ crocodile image is stunning.
Some super photos , the elephants at the water , makes good use of the “golden hour ” lighting and the croc photo is a wee bit special .
Thank you so much, Ian. There are some great images this week, but the crocodile pic does seem to be a favourite.
Sean – wonderful photography in golden skies.
Leopards are my favourite, followed by lions, elephants, cheetah and everything else.
Thank you
Thank you so much, Susan. The sunsets have been so stunning at the moment so allowing for great opportunities with a camera.
Sean, thanks for an amazing set of images this week. We are super impressed with the scenic shots you presented. The availability of all of the Leopards in close proximity to the camp must be a real bonus for the guests who are with you. We loved the focus on the elephants too!
Thank you so much, Michael and Terri. The sunset was spectacular so made it easy for me to capture something special. Yes, the viewing of the leopards has been so great over the last few weeks.
Wow Sean, stunning array of photos, and impossible to choose a favorite! If pressed, I love the intensity of the croc, and the composition of the cheetah mother and cub is brilliant!!
Thank you so much, Paul. Those are two great choices and seem to be the favourites.
As many have already said, it is nearly impossible to pick a favorite from among so many first rate photos. I love the ellies and the cats, the wild dogs are so spectacular, and the landscapes/clouds are phenomenal. Thank you so much for continuing to share the beauty and splendor of Londolozi with us until we can return.
Thank you so much, Karen. I agree there were some great images this week and difficult to choose a favourite.
This weeks picture, of course, are all stunning but the ones that caught my eye the quickest was your sunset with the clouds and Chris’s Croc pic. The colors are so beautiful. The way the water is appears in the croc picture looks almost like a painting, I guess is the only way I can describe it!
Finally a moment to catch up on last weeks TWIP and boy they are all incredible…what a way to break into the winter season…the light in all the photos is stunning, particularly the male kudu and your fabulous photo of the autumn sky Sean .
Loved the crocodile but to be honest you guys makes it so hard to pick a favorite . Just spectacular thanks to you all 💗🙏🏻