The Classic South African Safari: Day 3

We started the day searching for elephants, which were rather obliging, and several herds came out to pose for photographs. We also found a few old male buffalos spread out along the river, as well as a young hyena on the move. The day however belonged to the leopards, with 4 different leopard sightings! The first leopard was going about his business until he ran into 3 hyenas that were finishing up a nyala kill. The second was attempting to get her kill back from the third leopard, who was feeding in a tree above a hyena patiently waiting for any falling titbits, and the last leopard for the day was out hunting some impala! There was a lot to photograph, but we managed. This was yet another brilliant day on safari.

Major sightings of the day:

5 sightings of elephant herds
4 sightings of male buffalo
Male leopard
Crocodile
Hippo
2 sightings of rhino
Female leopard
Male leopard in a tree with an impala kill and a hyena underneath
Male leopard hunting impala

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The Classic South African Safari: Day 2

We started off in much the same way as we finished up on day 1: with a female leopard on the move. She soon retired to the shade of a tree so we moved on and managed to find a whole host of different animals to photograph, including herds of elephants, giraffe, a pride of lions and a couple of spotted hyena. We had ample time with each of the animals, and managed to spend a good deal of that time creating lasting images. Just as we felt we had been spoilt enough for the day, a second female leopard emerged from the bush late in the afternoon. We had a good look at her, but she was more interested in sleeping, so we let her be, giving the camera a well earned rest!

Major sightings of the day:

Female leopard
Hippo
7 lions
Side-striped jackal
2 spotted hyena
Herd of elephants
3 male buffalo
Female leopard

To join us on safari, click here!

The Classic South African Safari: Day 1

Straight out of the gate we found a female leopard on the move, and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon with her. This is never a bad way to spend your first afternoon on safari. The leopard was showing a lot of interest in a herd of impala, zebra and wildebeest and stalked her way into a good position, giving us many great photographic opportunities. The cameras were worked all though the afternoon, and into the night, starting us off with a lot of great images.

Major sightings of the day:

Female leopard
Large herd of zebra, wildebeest and impala

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The Gorilla Safari: Day 5

What a shame this wonderful safari had to come to an end! We made the most of our final hours at the lodge by photographing some pretty cool birds flying around the garden, before heading back to Kigali. In the capital we had a few extra hours on our hands and visited the genocide memorial. This is a must-do if you are ever in Kigali; it is a sobering experience, but stands a great testimony to the people of Rwanda for being able to create such a peaceful community after having survived those terrible months in 1994.

It is always disappointing when a safari comes to an end, but these were wonderful days, which left us with great images of amazing animals and scenery. I cannot wait to head back up the volcanoes, and spend more valuable time with the mountain gorillas!

To join us on safari, click here!

The Gorilla Safari: Day 4

Despite a similar start to the day, we had a new adventure in store. We were after a different quarry: the beautiful and exotic golden monkeys. Like the gorillas, these rare monkeys also only occur in the Virunga Mountains and can be quite difficult to find. We had great success though, and spent some quality time with a family of around 100 members – that translates to loads of monkeys to photograph! This we did with some pretty cool results. Another highlight in an already great day was the large male of the family (he is twice the size of the females) who showed himself right at the end of our time with the monkeys. The bamboo forests we were trekking through were as unique and beautiful as the animals we came to see, so we spent a bit of time photographing some different compositions. Overall, it was a fantastic day!