One recent afternoon, in the heat of a hot autumn’s day in the Lowveld, we came across a dazzle of zebra spread out across a clearing. A foal and its mother embraced and we watched as the foal nuzzled its head in the chest of its mother, satisfying an itch to its mane and using its mother to shield its face from the sun.

The Ximungwe Female leopard and her cub walking along the road. The cub is growing in confidence and comfortability with the presence of a vehicle. And what a blessing to be able to sit up ahead on the road and watch as these two leopards walk past.

Mother warthog and her two piglets. Animals that we so seldomly tend to photograph, these three didn’t run away at the sound of our vehicle, and continued to feed near the road.

A tower of giraffe? Or a journey of giraffe? A remarkable moment having a group of 14 male giraffe slowly move through the thickets, all huddled together.

The Ntomi Male leopard – an unexpected find in the middle of the open grasslands one afternoon when we went out searching for cheetah! We’re unsure whether the Ntomi Male killed the zebra foal or not but it was interesting to witness the his patience as he tried his luck creeping closer and closer to the feeding hyena.

A perfect scene. As afternoons begin to cool off as we head into the winter months, I absolutely love an afternoon drive in the open grasslands. I loved the light from this afternoon – the yellows from the grass contrasting the blue/purple hues from the afternoon sky.

Full-bellied yawn.

In the sighting with the Ximungwe Female leopard and her cub walking along the road, we came across this alert female kudu, barking in announcement when she spotted the leopards in close proximity.

We spent an afternoon with the latest mother of the Kambula pride as she approached a herd of wildebeest she had spotted in the distance. Unsuccessful in her stalk, she swiftly moved off to continue searching for any opportunity she had to hunt. With 4 cubs to feed, as well as herself, she has done an incredible job so far raising a new generation of the Kambula pride.

Two juvenile knob-billed ducks, determined to have a drink, get surprisingly close to an elephant bull that moments later sprayed water in their direction with his trunk to chase them away.

Another impressive Ndzhenga Male lion’s yawn captured at eye level.

The Ximungwe Female leopard’s cub practices her stalking abilities as she quietly and slowly approaches her mother lying in the grass up ahead. We are so lucky to watch this young male continue to develop and learn from his mother.

A Great Spotted Cuckoo. A first for me to photograph this migratory bird before it heads to Europe over our winter months. As one of the brood parasite birds, in its breeding months it is known to mostly parasitise Burchell’s Starlings/Pied Crows. The female of a monogamous pair will identify a suitable host nest and then the pair together may cooperate to distract the host in order for the female cuckoo to gain access to the nest to lay its egg.

After some vehicles were lucky enough to witness a crocodile killing an adult wildebeest (stay tuned for upcoming virtual safari!), a few days later the Kambula Pride & Ndzhenga Male lions came across the water hole only to retrieve the carcass from the water and steal the kill from the crocodile. This Ndzhenga Male, satisfied after his free meal, walks towards our vehicle before settling up for the day.

The morning after full moon. While driving our northern boundary, we stopped to admire the beauty of the full moon slowly setting at sunrise just as a herd of elephant decided to cross the road ahead of us.

Leopard in a Leadwood. The Three Rivers Female leopard scans her surroundings from this picture-perfect vantage point.

Crossing the Sand River at the Causeway is always a great opportunity to bird. As we drove across the river, we stopped eye level with this Giant Kingfisher that seemed completely unfazed by the close proximity of our vehicle.

An impressive elephant bull showers himself in sand in the heat of the afternoon.

One of the Makhatini cheetah cubs stares at the setting sun after spending the day resting and digesting after its mother successfully caught an adult impala for the four cheetah to feed on.

One of the most popular birds to photograph while on safari, these two vibrant Lilac-Breasted Rollers posed for the camera. I enjoyed editing a high-key background, accentuating their magnificent colours.

Afternoon sunshine perfectly lighting up this crocodile’s facial details, I couldn’t help but zoom in on the detail of its eye. Crocodiles have vertical slit pupils, not round pupils like humans. This slit shape is a crucial adaptation for both vision and camouflage, allowing them to effectively gauge distance, see in low light conditions, and potentially blend in with their surroundings.

With no luck in our search for the large herd of buffalo, we fortunately came across this lone buffalo bull lying in the middle of a waterhole. The yellow-billed oxpecker was in its element having also spotted the buffalo and spent the day on its back.

A Kambula lioness and three subadults quench their thirst at dusk after finishing the remains of a wildebeest they had killed.