In today’s blog, long-time repeat guest Tony Goldman once again shares his photographic splendours, this time highlighting the diverse array of everything other than birds.
“Most people tend to travel in order to see the Big Five, and this forms the core of most game drives. But as one drives around a reserve such as Londolozi where there is a plethora of animals equally as worthy of photographic opportunity.
It is often in the moments that you have stopped to take a photo of a butterfly, impala, or something small that you end up hearing the alarm call of bushbuck or herd of impala indicating that there is likely a predator nearby.
Leopards are in my opinion the most stunning of all the cats and having travelled extensively, it is these amazing animals that continuously draws us back to Londolozi. However, it is more than just seeing them, the habituated nature of many of the Leopards of Londolozi, allows for the photographic opportunities to be some of the best I have ever experienced with the leopards presenting themselves out in the open or walking straight towards the vehicle.
On our most recent trip we enjoyed many other sightings of lions, elephant and of course the stunning cheetah just to name a few. “
Enjoy this spectacle of Wildlife…
During our stay, we were spoilt with predator sightings and to see many of them on the move was great.
The curiosity of a young elephant still excites me to this day.
The Ximungwe Young Male was a leopard that we saw often during our stay and being such a good-looking young male we got some fantastic shots of him.
A single cub of the Ximungwe Female's second litter. Initially rather skittish but is very relaxed now. Birth mark in his left eye.
The distinctive ‘freckle’ in his left eye helps to identify this male.
It can often be the smaller things that slow you down and the bright pops of colour from the variety of butterflies are exciting to try to capture.
While following this cheetah, we hoped that it would climb this fallen marula tree, but instead it rather scent marked underneath the branch and then continued with the search for anything to hunt.
One of the Talamati Young Males is showing promise to be an impressive male when fully mature.
An impressive impala ram stands with a backdrop of thick mist early in the morning on the left. To the right, a large kudu bull uses a grassy termite mound to gain a vantage point and scan for any threats in the vicinity.
The Three Rivers Female walks down the road towards our vehicle. By getting in position early enough you can capture the front-on shot of her walking towards us.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
The Nhlanguleni Cubs peer out from the dense foliage of a tree they had climbed into, enthralled by the vehicle’s presence.
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.
During the wintertime, there is one flower that is bound to catch everyone’s attention. The Crimson and white flower of the impala lily stands out amongst the browns and greys of the drying landscape. Impala lilies contain a milky latex that can be toxic to a number of animals, however, this Elegant grasshopper is able to process the toxins and use them to make itself toxic to other animals if they consume the grasshopper.
Warthogs are fascinating creatures, that get their names from the protrusion that stick off the sides of their faces. Males sport larger warts just beneath their eyes, whereas the ones on females’ faces are much smaller.
Vervet monkeys are so inquisitive and make eye contact with the camera transforming the image into a much more personal connection.
A zebra crossing the airstrip glances back over its shoulder towards us with an oxpecker on the floor nearby.
Excellent shots. Especially the first one of the Ximungwe Young Male is stunning!
Agree with you about the photo opportunities multiple visits provide. Nice job!
Wonderful images!
Wonderful pictures capturing your Londolozi experience. Thanks you Tony for sharing.
So many of the photos in my favorites gallery are your shots. Thanks for sharing them.
Gorgeous photos! Such a unique and creative eye. Thank you for sharing.
Tony what stunning foto’s you took. Loved the Ximungwe male leopard fotos, he is such a beautiful leopard and I agree with you Tony they are the most stunning cats of all. Gorgeous little cubs of the Nhlanguleni female. Fantastic foto of cheeky little elephant. Thanks for sharing.
Stunning photographs. I am filled with admiration for the photographer.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos Tony! I’m amazed by the color and patterns on that grasshopper.
Wonderful photos
Absolutely amazing photos! Love the Three Rivers Female walking towards the vehicle. Such a fabulous shot. Warthogs! Don’t you just love them? Some people say they are ugly but I find them comical and so interesting. The shot of the zebra was a fitting final photo to this blog, signalling the end of the blog however the backward glance seems to indicate there is more to come.
Really good pics, ard to pick a favourite, but love the baby ellie one – they totally melt my heart. Thanks for sharing – enjoyed this blog very much.
Hello Tony,
Beautiful photos! All of them!
The photo of the Nhlanguleni cubs in the tree was wonderful and so was the photo of the Vervet monkeys! Thank you for sharing!
Spectacular photos Tony and I’m in total agreement with you about the viewing opportunities within Londolozi, especially the predators. A technical question for you: are you shooting in total manual or manual with auto ISO? Thanks.
Thanks very much,Denise -for animals not moving I use Aperture priority and auto iso. For predicted animals in motion and particularly birds in flight I use manual with auto iso.I rarely use total manual but do when panning with slow shutter speeds!
Beautiful photos!
Fantastic photos Dr. Goldman.. Thank you for be so generous and sharing them all with us.
Another fantastic collection. I especially loved the intricacies of the grasshopper, and the vervet monkey.
I love the warthog portrait you captured. Really accentuates that unique profile- and on quite a specimen! Fantastic pictures all around.
Thanks very much everyone for the truly wonderful comments and hope to back at Londolozi soon !!
Tony, Once again, you blow our minds with your spectacular images! We love the way you find such interesting angles to get the wildlife at its best! Hope to see you sometime in Sarasota!
Thanks,Michael and Terri for the kind words .
Tony Goldman always has fantastic photos!
Thanks,Lisa 🙂
The angles of some of your photos are just perfect. I love the montage of the vervets.