Golden light at sunrise perfectly framed one of the Ntsevu lionesses as she led her latest litter of cubs approaching us from across an clearing.

My first view of the Ntsevu’s latest litter of cubs, and oh boy are they cute! While mom paused for a drink in the little water left at a nearby mud wallow, the cubs curiously approached the water trying to avoid their paws sinking too deeply in the muddy edge.

After waiting patiently at the wild dog den, the pups emerged for only a brief moment to be fed, before disappearing back into the den – full-bellied and satisfied!

A unique view of the Sand River. It’s not often that I find myself along the south-eastern corner of Londolozi at sunset. On this particular evening, after spending time with the Nottens Male, we couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate the beautiful view of the river.

Having a longer lens in this particular sighting would’ve been beneficial, but I think I made it work simply having the 70mm-200mm. This particular buffalo bull seemed to attract the crowds, and for the most part he didn’t seem to mind one bit.

Full moon perfection. After a long afternoon search for the Nkoveni Female and her cubs, we were rewarded with a picture perfect spot of one of Nkoveni’s cubs lying in a large Knobthorn.

A fairly large, relaxed elephant bull slowly moves across the open grasslands.

While spending time with the two full-bellied Ndhzenga Males on a buffalo kill, we spotted a curious Nottens Male on the periphery of the thickets who had come to investigate the scene. Safe to say all my images from that sighting were of the Nottens Male in all his beauty, and none of the successful lions hehe!

We could not help but be entertained by these four utterly adorable cubs that were attached to their mother’s hip!

Epitome of a crisp, winter morning sunrise. There is something so special about this time of year to be able to witness first light and the sun rise while already on game drive, completely surrounded by wilderness.

Terrapins and a hamerkop rest on the back of a hippo in the late afternoon heat, surrounded by a background of greens and reds from the duckweed that covers many of the low-leveled water holes at this time of year.

The horizon on fire. Nothing beats closing down for a sunset drink “sundowner” in the open grasslands to take in the simple magnificence of the sun’s rays as they refract light for the final few moments in the day.

The face of concentration. We seemed to be positioned perfectly to capture a look of intent as the Nottens Male’s spotted an Nyala in the distance.

As temperatures began to drop for the afternoon, the Kambula pride stretched and yawned and proceeded to walk across a firebreak. The dust from their steps, remnants of the burnt bushwillow leaves and backlight all created a rather unique scene and halo around the pride as they approached.

The Nkuwa Young Male confidently exploring without the protection of his mother or sister nearby. It’s the first time in a long time that I’ve seen this leopard, and I look forward to hopefully seeing him pop up on the reserve more often.

Pausing on the boundary.

There’s always something special about witnessing animals on the runway. The three Ntsevu lionesses were seen early one morning away from the cubs on the hunt for their next meal.

Relaxed honey badgers! For what is normally just a fleeting view of a honey badger running through long grass away from the vehicle, we got to sit with these two for a good 15 minutes completely unphased by our presence.

One of Nkoveni’s cubs rests on a fallen tree trunk to avoid the dewy grass in the early hours of daylight.

Turning a fallen tree into playground.

One of my favourite sightings of buffalo is finding them while on approach to water. Nothing beats looping up ahead of the herd and simply watching them approach the water’s edge in the hundreds…

Excited with the prospect of their next meal, we watched the Nkoveni Female lead her two cubs across a crest after going to fetch them after a successful hunt. Energetic and excited, this cub leaped up onto this marula only for a minute, but just long enough for us to capture it.

Towering above the clouds.

A rather unexpected find to the start of drive, we spent most of the morning following this cheetah. The short winter grasses, and aftermath of the firebreaks allowed us to have an unobscured view of this cat.

A quick snap of the full moon rise, and I was pretty content with the result!