The New Year is in full swing, and 2024 promises to be a bright one. The season rainfall is sitting at 328.2mm, and there is lots of water around. With all this water, the bush continues to flourish, and the dense greenery still dominates the landscape. This Week in Pictures has allowed us to play around with gloomy skies and work with some incredible sunsets.
The sunsets have been out of this world over the past week, and the arrangement of clouds seems to take a different feel on a daily basis. When the sun has managed to fight its way through the clouds, it has created incredible photographic opportunities.
Leopards have been ever present, with sightings of the Nkuwa Female, Xinkhova Female and Thumbela Female taking the limelight. Watching the newly independent Thumbela Female all afternoon moving in and around boulders in the Manylethi was this week’s highlight for me.
Bird life has been incredible since we have had all this rain. The birds displaying courtship behaviour will always catch my eye, especially in the case of the pin-tailed whydah. Being breeding season, they have been making their presence known, along with the weavers who are tirelessly creating their wondrously woven nests.
The Ntsevu Males and Female are back! The buffalo hunting machines have come back into the southern parts of Londolozi after spending some time north of our northern boundary. The Ntsevu Pride and cubs continue to entertain us with their mischievous ways.
We have been blessed with 3 different packs of wild dogs creating chaos around Londolozi for the past week. The pack of three has been hanging around the central parts of Londolozi, making the wild dog to be at a premium.
The crocodiles, elephants and warthogs are all absolutely loving all the water and making the most of these wetter moments.
This week has been rainy and very wet but still allowing for some incredible sightings to take place. All the water around has certainly allowed for a different approach to photography.
Let me know your favourites in the comments below.
Enjoy This Week in Pictures…
While resting in a marula, the Xinkhova Female notices some impala in the background. She is quickly becoming one of the most frequently seen leopards around the Londolozi camps.
A stunning young female with a very similar spot pattern to her mother, the Nkoveni Female. Litter still completely intact March 2022.
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Warthogs don’t often hang around long enough to allow the photo. This boar didn’t mind our presence whatsoever and allowed us to view him with no problem.
A male Pin-tailed Whydah trying to get the attention of the female perched in the brach in front of him.
One of the males gave us a stare. Time stands still when a big male lion stares you down (I like that you can see our vehicle in the reflection of his eye in this photo!)
The horns of a male kudu are one of the most iconic things in Africa. This male took a brief moment to look at us before heading off into the drainage.
This wild dog from the pack of three takes a moment to cool down after an unsuccessful hunt.
This juvenile African hawk eagle watches its parents fly off into the distance. When viewing birds, it’s usually the juveniles that are more relaxed.
During my 4 years here, I still believe that the Nkuwa Female is the most beautiful leopard I have had the privilege of viewing.
One of two sisters born to the Nhlanguleni Female, both of whom made it to independence, the first intact litter to do so in 7 years.
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A large elephant bull resting after giving himself a mud bath like no other. The contrast of white and black on the tusk is what really draws me to this photograph.
After reuniting with their mothers, this cub had a yawn not being able to contain its excitement. The dental structure of the cub in this photo is very interesting.
Weavers are master architects spending most of their day during breeding season creating incredible nests like this to impress the females. This weaver takes a moment from franticly building to have a look at us.
The recently independent Thumbela Female resting on some boulders in the Manyalethi River. Seeing her for the first time since her independence in such an incredible setting was truly breathtaking.
Born into a litter of two, male cub did not survive. She is seen more and more in central Marthly and rapidly approaching full independence.
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Patrick Grealy
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