Botswana: Okavango Delta Safari 2013: Day 9

Leopards ruled the day, in particular, a female leopard who was working her way slowly through a baby tsessebe kill. She was up and down different trees, giving us great opportunities to photograph her. We also got to spend around 2 hours with 3 large male lions, who were on the move. In between all the cat action, we saw elephants numbering in the hundreds! Good bird sightings as well as great general game rounded off a fantastic day.

Major sightings of the day:

Female leopard in tree with kill
3 male lions
Hundreds of elephants
Good general game
Female leopard

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Botswana: Okavango Delta Safari 2013: Day 6

Another beautiful sunrise, and another great day! A hyena den site was our first success of the morning, with a female and a youngster active around the den. A large herd of buffalo, many great birds (including the aways difficult to find broad-billed roller) and several herds of hippo were seen throughout the day, but there was one species that dominated – elephants! Around every turn, at every water source and at every other sighting we were at, there were herds of elephants! The day was ended by a very camera-aware leopard; she posed for us for over an hour, right up until the very last of the light.

Major sightings of the day:

Spotted hyena and cub at their den site
Several herds of hippos
Over 200 elephants
Large herd of buffalo
Broad-billed roller
1 lioness
Ground hornbills
Leopard in a tree

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Botswana: Okavango Delta Safari 2013: Day 5

The day started well with 3 male lions crossing a small river straight towards us! They were the 3 lions we had seen feeding on the buffalo – so we went to check out what was happening at the carcass. 6 more lions had come into feed on the buffalo, obviously having chased the 3 young males off. The amazing morning light meant the cameras were working overtime! A female leopard was spotted not long after we left the lions and buffalo, and she was equally as obliging as the lions. She put on a great show, ending up nestled comfortably in a large tree. We found a pair of wattled cranes as well as sighting lions on 2 more occasions. The leopard from the morning was more active in the late afternoon and, as has become the norm, there were many herds of elephants out and about. The day ended on on a real high with a late night spotting of an african wild cat!

Major sightings of the day:

3 male lions crossing a river
6 lions feeding on a buffalo kill with vultures present
2 lionesses
Female leopard climbing tree
2 large male lions
Ground hornbills
Wattled cranes
Several herds of elephants
African wild cat

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The Great Migration Safari 2013: Day 3

We started off with a female leopard first thing in the morning – which is never a bad way to start the day, but the real highlight was our first crossings of the safari. After a day and half of build up and anticipation, the wildebeest and zebras took the plunge and crossed the mighty Mara River. There was the usual mix of panic, chaos and crocodiles, which all made for some fantastic photography! A clan of 7 hyaenas also popped up for a late afternoon photo shoot, as well as 5 ground hornbills and 2 very playful baby giraffes.

Major sightings of the day:

Leopard
Hippo
Several crossings of wildebeest and zebra
Crocodiles
Elephants
7 hyaenas
Buffalo
Ground hornbills
Baby giraffe

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The Classic South African Safari: Day 4

Our final morning on safari started off with a bang, with a large male leopard actively marking his territory. We spent a good forty minutes with him in some glorious light, before he slinked away into the reeds. A couple of good rhino sightings and a great look at the largest African eagle provided some good photo opportunities, followed by an hour spent with a herd of elephants coming down to the river to drink.

Overall we saw 6 different leopards (7 sightings), 2 prides of lions, many herds of elephants, several rhino sightings, numerous buffalo, great general game including giraffe, zebra and hippo, and close to 70 different bird species! The Classic South African Safari never disappoints, and this was no exception!

Major sightings of the day: