Petrichor | ˈpɛtrʌɪkɔː |
noun
a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.
After a photographically amazing dry period, we are elated to finally have the heavens open, releasing a much-needed downpour of life-giving rain, saturating the desiccated soil that dominated the landscape. The pungent aroma of petrichor fills our nasal passages, it is a smell that evolutionarily we are biased to be drawn to. Up until this point, the backdrop to every photo, a bokeh of gold, grey and brown with a hint of green through the handful of evergreen trees and shrubs. Highlighting the subjects and adding a stunning hue of warmth to every scene, which perfectly mirrors the rising temperatures of summer that we have been enduring. Lending to the perfect opportunity for a large breeding herd of elephants to stream down to the Sand River and cool off for hours, rolling around in the mud, splashing themselves with water and quenching their thirst. We spent hours with this herd and captured a handful of stunning images as they all crossed through the river, stay tuned for more on this.
On the lion front, the dynamics are certainly getting interesting. We have had three new coalitions of male lions moving through the area over the last few weeks and I have a strong feeling that things are going to get rather spicey in the near future regarding lions. On the leopard front, we have had a few sightings of the Nhlanguleni Female lounging about in a couple of trees, a few snaps of mine from when the Maxim’s Male and Piccadilly Female were mating. The Three Rivers Female tossing about shooing away some flies and then the Ndzanzeni Female feeding on an impala while the Nweti Male rests on the ground nearby. And, the Tortoise Pan Male is becoming more of a regular feature in the North.
Outside of that, we throwback to some fantastic images of the newly hatched ostrich chicks, a few giraffes, and some other birdlife.
Let us know your favourites in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
While she mated with the Maxim’s Male, we also had a few great views of the Piccadilly Female. In between mating bouts, she would often settle down and groom herself.
This female is most often encountered near the Sand River to the east of the Londolozi camps.
One of the new arrivals on Londolozi, a Nkuhlu Male rests in the shade after he and one of his brothers were found feeding on a giraffe carcass at Monzo Sheet Erosion.
Having these males now venturing deeper into the Ndzhenga Males’ territory is a rather interesting turn of events. I can smell something intense brewing.
Following the Maxim’s Male, the drab bushveld at the moment made her rich golden coat stand out even more.
One shot, out of probably my best sequence out of all the images in this TWIP. We arrived down along the Sand River and were spoilt for hours with more than 60 different elephants moving through the area. This herd crossed right in front of us and I ended up taking hundreds of snaps and so had to eventually choose one.
The Nhlanguleni Female rests in the shade of a large sausage tree where she has a hoisted carcass.
Initially skittish she spent a lot of time in the Sand River, now relaxed she makes up the majority of leopard viewing west of camp.
A little family portrait of giraffes.
The Three Rivers Female rests in the shade along the Maxabene River, it is amazing to see how long the whiskers really are on a leopards face.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
While sitting with the Tortoise Pan Male in the north at a large waterhole, this elephant bull came down for a drink and mud-wallow. He then began thrashing his front foot through the water, sending mud and water flying everywhere. Thankfully, I was just out of reach and didn’t get drenched, although it would have provided some relief to the heat late into the morning.
I love the contrast of colours in the image, the bright blue sky against the lime green bellies of these Brown-headed Parrots and then the tree trunks complimenting the heads of the birds.
Focusing in on the small details is something I find fascinating, here is the blotchy nose of one of the Ntsevu Male’s.
One the train of detail, I bet not many people knew how textured the underfoot of an elephant is.
Battle of two beasts.
A stunning view of a large Spotted Eagle Owl. I love how they always appear to be so surprised with their eyes wide open. They are not surprised, but it appears so.
Once again, the Nhlanguleni Female makes an appearance, this time draped over the branch of a large weeping boer-bean tree.
A welcomed site in the north. Now becoming a fairly regular feature, the Tortoise Pan Male has found a liking for Mahlahla Dam.
Lion tracks steaming down the road first thing in the morning. A marvellous site, and one that builds childish levels of excitement.
Then the reward of discovering the lions themselves is the cherry on top of the cake, especially out in a clearing like this.
An image speaks a thousand words they say. More than just the rump of a giraffe, its the one that got away. Take some time to study this image. At first, you notice it is missing its tail and wonder how that happened and how it impacts its life and ability to chase off flies and communicate? Then you look closer and see the multiple scars and scratches of none other than a pride of lions.
The fresh water of the Sand River, a prized resource at this time of year.
An iconic view of the Nhlanguleni Female. Golden light bathing her as she lounges about in a large jackalberry tree.
A magical little window into a gorgeous scene.
Moments before getting up and limping across to a hoisted carcass behind here, she yawned.
Head up, this male ostrich was on duty looking after the new clutch.
Repositioning one of the unhatched eggs closer so that he could continue to incubate it along with three other eggs.
Ostrich eggs are remarkably strong, being able to withstand the weight of a fully grown man standing on top of it.
And somehow, these little chicks are able to break their way out.
Revealing the cutest, fluffiest hedgehog-like figures.
Often the female leopard will initiate the mating bout by flirting and persistently brushing up against him, a process known as lordosis. Here the Piccadilly Female bumps head with the Maxim’s Male who would probably be more than double her weight.
Fairly skittish male that is presumed to have come from the Kruger National Park.
If looks could kill! I almost feel he is saying to me, “Give me a moment, please!”
But in reality, he probably wasn’t saying that because he went about his business as though I wasn’t even there.
Another of the ‘newcomers’ to Londolozi, the Southern Avoca Male rests in the shade after feeding on a warthog. Stay tuned for Sunday’s Virtual Safari for more on the male lion saga.
Another elephant crossing. The lighting was amazing and the elephants did there part.
The dexterity of an elephant’s trunk is amazing to spend time watching.
Elephants and water are a photographers dream, but the issue I had in this sighting was I didn’t know where to focus, there was always something going no matter where you were looking.
The White-fronted Bee-eaters also can be so rewarding to sit with.
On the edge of the watercourse in the Sand River, these elephants had created a mud-wallow where they all took it in turns rolling around in there coating themselves in mud, cooling off and having a bit of fun.
At first glance, it looks as though the Ndzanzeni Female is guilty like we have just caught her eating that cake from the fridge in the middle of the night. Anyway, not the case she was just curious and looked toward our vehicle.
This female is a success story all in herself, being born as a single cub to the Riverbank 3:3 female in early 2012.
Late afternoon light, highlighting this waterbuck bull, feeding on the greenery in the Sand River. A place with the only green grass at the moment, but not for long.
The Ntsevu/Kambula Males are back and looking more impressive than ever. I could not believe how much they have grown and how big their manes are.
Although still sporting very blonde manes, I am sure this will begin to change and their manes will start turning dark and black.
Leading the way, the Maxim’s Male was set on marching south while being followed very closely by the Piccadilly Female.
A shot that is not easily got of the MAxim’s Male, well at least not in the past as he is normally always moving and often away from the vehicle.
After pulling down a knobthorn branch with a few new leaves on it, this elephant then gently tried to eat them.
Why was the Nhlanguleni leopard limping? Thank you
She has an injured leg. We are not sure what happened.
I hope she’ll be ok . She will be in my thoughts 😢