Sabi Sands: February 2010 (Part 4)

Let's carry on with this trip report, shall we? If you need to get up to speed, check out the previous chapters here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

We were awoken in the early hours of the morning by the persistent (and close-by) roaring of male lions. I knew we were in the general territory of the infamous Mapogo male coalition, and a hope was ignited to perhaps see them on our morning drive. Our wake-up call came, and with a quick coffee in our bellies we set out and our tracker picked up the lion spoor just outside of the lodge. It wasn't long before we came around a bend in the road to be greeted by this sight...

They were being pretty useless, but it was awesome nonetheless to spend time with them.

Have you ever been THIS lazy?? Check out this badboy just peeing over himself, too lazy to get up and do it properly!

We drove around them for another view...but it was more of the same...

We decided to move on - and wisely so. First off we found a lone impala standing in the middle of a dam/waterhole of some sorts. Our first thought was that Painted Dogs or Spotted Hyaenas had chased it in there, but after sitting with it for more than 30 minutes with no pursuer appearing, we decided to go and search for leopards...which we found!

The leopardess Mambirri was moving along a drainage line with her yearling cub, and we headed to a suitable point to "intercept" (PS: Mambirri has since passed on, and you can read a lovely tribute with great images by my friend Rudi Hulshof on his blog HERE).

We found a great spot thanks to Marius Coetzee's knowledge of the leopard routines of the area...and we were able to enjoy a quality sighting on our last morning in the Sabi Sands.

The cub was curious and as they sauntered down the road into the drainage line she checked out some scents she picked up...

They moved into the drainage line and across some large riverine boulders...

They then disappeared into a thicket. We circled around, again based on Marius' knowledge/hunch of where they were headed...and after waiting a little while they popped up where he said they would.

We were hoping they would come and play on a very photogenic hardwood stump in front of us, but for some reason they turned around and headed back the same way they came...

We stayed with them until Mambirri left her cub in a thicket to go off and hunt...although we were primarily behind them for the rest of this sighting, so photographs are few and far between. We headed back to the lodge for our last lunch before departing - it was a wonderful time, and I am grateful for having had this experience. We latched a couple of days in the Kruger National Park on the back of this trip, but I will leave that for another report.

We are busy ironing out the details of a return visit to Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve - and I can't wait to see how the big cat dynamics have changed in the Western Sabi Sands in these 4 years!

Thanks for following along.

Morkel Erasmus

Butterfly Hunter

When you are out on safari, one of the biggest pitfalls you can find yourself in is only chasing the "big" sightings and the iconic species, and moving past so many amazing moments of natural history that play themselves out every day in the bush. During the recent photographic safari I led to the Chobe river in Botswana for Wild Eye, we sat watching a herd of elephants drinking from the river one afternoon, when suddenly we noticed a commotion around the nose of the small photographic boat we were sitting in. The boat was banked just on the riverbank, and there were yellow butterflies fluttering all about. A couple of birds had taken an interest in these butterflies, and started hunting them down as they realised this was a quick and easy chance for a snack.

The Whitecrowned Plovers (or Whitecrowned Lapwings, as you please) were particularly entertaining - often striking a pose akin to those of hunting dogs (think Pointers, Golden Retrievers) as they assumed the pre-strike position. You can see it in the photo below...

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f5.6  |  1/1250 SS  |  ISO-140

click on the photo to display at optimal sharpness and resolution

Always keep your eyes open for the opportunities delivered by the smaller critters in the field!

Morkel Erasmus

A Day in Mana Pools

I mince no bones about the fact that I absolutely love Mana Pools.
It is currently (and will probably remain for a long time) my favourite safari destination in Africa.

This is an older post of mine over on the Wild Eye Photo Chat blog, describing how a potential day on safari with us in Mana Pools might go. Just looking at it again makes me yearn to be back there!

You can read the original post, with plenty of eye candy in the form of photos, HERE.
You can also find out more information about joining me in Mana Pools on a safari ini 2014 HERE.

Have a great day, friends...

Morkel Erasmus

Kruger: December 2009 (Part 5)

Let's carry on, shall we??

During our time of rest in the Shingwedzi camp, I photographed this woodpecker around our chalet...

We were going on an official Sanparks sunset drive that afternoon, and it proved to be an afternoon for the birds. As we left on our drive we saw this endangered Saddle-billed Stork...

...as well as this migrant Broad-billed Roller...

How about this Verreaux's Eagle Owl?

And this Woodland Kingfisher?

All these lovely birds were seen on the short 3km drive from Shingwedzi camp to the main link road between the central and northern parts of Kruger...

We headed north to the Mphongolo river road, and had a beautiful yet quiet drive. This Sharpe's Grysbok was a highlight.

We also came across some Open-billed Storks in a muddy pan...

As it got dark and we were on our way back to camp, we came across this cute Flap-necked Chameleon...

We got home, made haste to get our meat on the "braai" (grill) and get into bed for another early morning drive.

The next morning we got up to an overcast sky and a light drizzle in the air. Needless to say the temptation was great to have a late snooze in...but we resisted it and braved the gloomy weather by heading out of the gate. It seemed that everyone else in camp was doing the "lying low" thing we were tempted by. We would be so glad we went out, though!!

We headed north - I wanted to drive the lovely Mphongolo loop again as it wound through the lush riverine forest along hte Mphongolo river.

First up - the resident baboon troop.

Some mean-looking Buffalo boys...

As we turned onto the Mphongolo loop we saw a Brown Snake Eagle...

We moved on and the road was quiet from here on in...until we passed the first link back to the main road, that is...

...watch this space!

Morkel Erasmus

Kgalagadi: September 2009 (Part 3)

Last time I left you as we were crossing the upper dune road to get back to the Auob riverbed.

We came across this young Gemsbok (Oryx) on the dunes...

Once we reached the Auob river, we turned north as we still had a ways to go before we reached our camp for the night. There were some giraffes on a ridge...

This herd of Blue Wildebeest were moving towards the nearest waterhole.

Just past the Urikaruus Wilderness Camp turn-off, I spotted something in a tree. We had to stop and reverse to have another look - often it's just the shape of a branch or a weird play of light - but not this time...African Wild Cat!!

This was my first sighting of this elusive cat in many years of regular safaris to the denser bushveld/lowveld area of South Africa (read: Kruger National Park).

Only a few hundred meters on we found a Spotted Hyena den close to the road - and the cubs were out in force...

The adults also went about with some funny business!

Time was starting to tick over so we had to leave the den site and push on. We didn't have to go far...just past the 13th Borehole we came across 3 cheetahs lazing about...and decided to stick around some...

But this is a tale for the next episode...

(hey, I've got to keep the suspense going)

Morkel Erasmus