I remember how peaceful it was to sit on the deck of our cabin in the early afternoon and watch this beautiful herd of elephants. They came down to a dam (just out of the picture to the left) to drink, and once they had their fill, begin heading into the (mostly) dry riverbed to feed on the abundant vegetation.
A herd of elephants seen at Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.
Part of the herd had already moved deeper into the riverbed; there were perhaps 15 – 20 in the group in total.
Just because the game drive is over doesn’t mean the wildlife viewing is over. There is often an abundance of birdlife and animals to be seen just relaxing around camp.
Watching a sunrise with giraffes is never a bad way to start a day. I’ve shared some images from this sighting before, but it was so beautiful, another one won’t hurt.
Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.
I’ve often said that if there was only one animal I could watch on safari, it would be elephants. They are always doing something: feeding, drinking, fanning themselves with their ears, and most importantly, interacting with one another.
It’s the interaction that I wanted to highlight with my selection of photos today.
This group of young elephants were having a lot of fun alongside the waterhole, where the rest of their herd was drinking and splashing. These guys were enjoying a bit of trunk wrestling in the late afternoon heat. Botswana. April, 2025.A classic trunk hug from a mama to her baby. Botswana. April, 2025.The type of mama and baby photo you normally see in illustrations, with baby holding on to mama’s tail. Botswana, April, 2025.A small family heading to the waterhole, passing by a large, solitary male. Here you see the matriarch leading the way, followed by the youngest, with older elephants protecting the youngster from the rear. Elephants are so protective of their young, and it is very common to see groups walking in this manner, to provide as much protection from danger as possible. Botswana, April, 2024.
I wish I could provide the type of tree this is, but unfortunately all I know is that I thought it was stunning, and worth taking the time to take pictures of.
This view was off of the pool deck at Simbavati Hilltop Lodge. I spent some time between lunch and our afternoon game drive playing around with long exposure photos using my infrared filter. Each time I capture images like this and edit them, I remember again how much I enjoy them, and how much more there is to learn about the process.
A beautiful tree standing tall amongst a variety of shrubs and low bushes. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa, April, 2024.
I realized I still have a lot of images from my 2022 trip that I wanted to work through, so I decided to select some images from Victoria Falls, both from the Zimbabwean side and from the Zambian side.
I first visited the Zambian side of Victoria Falls in April of 2013, and the water level was perfect for viewing as there was a strong water flow to highlight the epic scale, but not so much as to shroud the entire falls in mist. My second visit was November of 2022, and there was far less water flowing over the falls and a lot more exposed rock, which showed off the scale of the falls in a completely different way.
On the day we visited the Zimbabwean side, clouds hung heavy in the air, but I don’t believe delivered any rain that day. Our visit to the Zambian side 8 days later couldn’t have been more different, with clear blue skies and fairly significant heat and humidity, around 38C or so, going from memory.
The different viewing areas offered not only different visual experiences, but different sensory experiences as well. This particular spot was incredibly humid and misty from the proximity to this portion of the falls and the direction of the breeze. It felt like being within a localized rainstorm. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. November, 2022.Another viewpoint along the falls, but out of the pocket of mist.Walking less than five minutes down a path from the main falls area provided an amazing view of the rock behind the falls. In the wintertime, with sufficient summer rains, there would be water flowing over much of this area.Victoria Falls from the Zambian side under hot, clear sunny skies. This is an area just above the falls, and you can see a small amount of mist floating up the the left of the distant tree. Victoria Falls, Zambia. November, 2022.A view of the falls from one of the main viewing areas on the Zambian side. Similar to the Zimbabwean side, a short walk away from the main viewing area, there were huge expanses of exposed rock. This was one of the interesting things about being in the same place in a different season.The weather conditions were perfect to view a rainbow created from the waterfall mist.
After a few dreary and grey days, I was in the mood for colour again, and these giraffes images certainly fit the bill. The shape of the giraffe is so easily recognizable that they are a great subject for a silhouetted shot, if you are fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time, with both subject matter and weather cooperating.
Our progress along this road was halted for a giraffe crossing. I think we had 3 or 4 individuals that crossed, just as it got light enough to take some photos. Klaserie Sands Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.
A pair of giraffes in the last moments of light after sunset. A beautiful full moon was rising in the opposite direction. Savute, Botswana. April, 2024.A lone giraffe and the rising sun. Our guide spotted this giraffe at a distance and positioned the vehicle perfectly to watch the sunrise. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.
I was treated to a beautiful sunrise sky this morning when I was out walking my dogs; in one direction, warm yellow, orange and peach tones, and in the other, cool blues and purples. It was such a lovely start to the day. While I didn’t have my camera to take any pictures, I did have a few lovely sunrise shots just waiting to be edited from my last trip.
The sun just peaking up behind a hill in Savute Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.Sunrise over Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.Another Savute sunrise. The skies in Botswana are magical. April, 2024.
Today, my eyes were drawn to dramatic, saturated colours, so I selected a few landscape images to edit. While today was a lovely day, with sunshine and blue skies to accentuate the fresh snow on the trees, I often find this time of year lacks in colour, and that, along with the lack of daylight, leaves me feeling rather blah. It’s nice to have these images to look over to perk me up as needed.
I snapped this image while waiting for our guide to pick us up for our morning drive. If I would have had more time, I would have set my tripod up for this, but even though I had to crank up the ISO to accommodate the shutter speed, I’m happy enough with the results, because at least I can remember the dramatic pink and purple skies. So many of the images I have can transport me right back to where I was when I snapped the shutter. I look at this and hear the chatter of early morning birds, smell the freshness of the bush at dawn and feel the slightly cool breeze. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.
Sunrise on the Chobe River, during a morning boat cruise. It was such a peaceful morning out on the water. Chobe National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.Our guide was upset that we spent so long with a bull elephant eating reeds in a channel, that we missed the sunset. But based on this image, I don’t think we missed anything at all. The colours at sunrise and sunset in the Okavango Delta were something I looked forward to prior to my trip, and they did not disappoint. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.A sunset drinks stop, complete with hippos. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.I was so happy I was able to capture this sunrise, as I was having issues with one of my cameras while it was happening. I was getting an F0 message on the camera body that had a 150mm-400mm lens, but the error resolved when I switched to a smaller lens. A quick search on the internet yielded the likely cause of the issue, and thankfully one of the people in my group had a small screwdriver allowing an easy fix, but it definitely had me perplexed for a bit. It turns out, the weight of the 150mm-400mm lens over the years had loosened some screws in the body of the camera. This was taken my last morning in Moremi Game Reserve. Botswana, April, 2024.
I chose to highlight some of the predators that I saw on my last safari. Of course, there is more to predators than just animals; there are reptiles and birds that also fall under this category, but today I am sticking with the four-legged variety.
Predators are what a lot of people aim to see while on safari, but a game drive is so much more than seeing a glimpse of a lion or leopard. It always bears repeating, that the best game drives are the ones that you go on without a strong agenda, and allow the beauty of Mother Nature to unfold before you, and experience all that is on offer.
A mother leopard and her cub grooming each other. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.A lion cub very relaxed in the shade on a very hot afternoon in Savute. Savute Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
A rare sighting of an African wild cat, which is slightly larger than an average house cat. Savute Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
A hyena that approached our vehicle with a pack of wild dogs nearby. At the time we saw this individual, we only had two of the dogs in our sight, but they soon took us to where the rest of the pack was. The hyena didn’t follow. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.
A wild dog relaxing in the shade. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.Some lion cubs playing in the cool of an early morning with one of the mothers watching from the sidelines. This was a small part of the pride that was in the area, and all the youngsters were having fun before it got too hot to do anything but lie under a bush. Savute Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.You can’t ask for much better than a leopard posing on a termite mound. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.A young lion in the tall grass, being kissed by the late afternoon light. Klaserie Sands Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.A pair of hyena with an impala ram submerged in a small pond. We were incredibly fortunate to come across this sighting. We were lead to it by seeing a tawny eagle with a piece of very fresh meat, and our guide knew there had to be a very fresh kill nearby. Klaserie Sands Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.
You never know what you might cross paths with when out on a safari game drive. Between the guides, trackers and all the guests, there are eyes scanning in every possible direction, off into the far distance. But sometimes, the wildlife makes it easy by hanging out on the road or crossing right in front of the vehicle, making them very easy to spot and view.
All of these images are animals spotted on the roadways; these are the types of traffic jams that I never mind being a part of.
A leopard tortoise crossing a road through Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana. We came across the tortoise when it was already most of the way across the track, or we would have been stopped for quite some time, as there wasn’t a great option to go around it. Botswana, April 2024.A pair of hyena taking a fork in the road straight towards us. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.An African hoopoe searching for breakfast along the roadside. Savute Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.This young zebra was napping on the road until we drove up, disturbing its rest. Savute Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.A roadblock I will never be unhappy about! A wild dog pausing in the middle of the road. Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.Both zebra and giraffe putting a pause on our early morning game drive. Klaserie Sands Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.The soft sands of the roads through Chobe National Park are very helpful for seeing tracks. Even more helpful is coming across the animal leaving the tracks. Here we have a male lion crossing the road, following a female that had crossed moments before (her set of tracks are between the male lion and our vehicle). Our amazing guide Miss B was always in the right place at exactly the right time. Chobe National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.