Thank you so much to those of you who came on safari with me this year, some of you for the first time and some for the 3rd 4th or even 5th time! And also thanks to those of you who have followed along with my blogs, posts, images and stories. As 2019 comes to a close, I have done my annual review of the year. This was the 2019 season and I hope you enjoy these moments as much as I did.
We returned from our annual visit to the UK to find the Luangwa in flood. We couldn’t get to our house initially, and had to stay elsewhere. But a neighbour then kindly built a bridge — using a ladder and a bamboo handrail — which carried us and our luggage safely across a flooded channel to our house. We spent a week marooned at the house, enjoying sunset views such as this….and watching crocodiles glide past, just 10m from the front of the house!
Once the water levels had receded, we were able to explore the national park once more, and I was very pleased to get photos of this strange hamerkop social behaviour. While it looks like mating, occasionally a 3rd bird will join the “pile” which suggests that there is more to it!
I visited Lower Zambezi National Park and stayed with Anabezi Lodge in the eastern sector of the park. The sighings in that area were excellent and the river safaris are very special with opportunities to photograph elephants swimming in the water in light like this….!
Back in Luangwa, my photo safari season started in April, and continued into May with wonderful sightings of all the headline species in the rich greenery of early season….
….which gave us some very special photos and unforgettable memories.
The light in the early part of the season is very special in the early morning and, here, late in the afternoon!
During a 10-night safari in May that took us to two different parts of the Luangwa, we spent a lot of time with leopards, Luangwa’s headline species. We were lucky to see them hunting…….
….and even catching an antelope on one memorable morning at Lion Camp.
That same safari also gave us an unforgettable encounter with a dead (and stinking) hippo in the shallow water of Fish Eagle lagoon. When the local lion pride picked up the scent, one lioness came to investigate and waded into the water to feed! However the crocodiles had other ideas and tried to hold her off…..in the end, the two carnivores fed on opposite sides of the carcass!
One beautiful afternoon in June, we spent a couple of hours with these large bulls as they fed from the Winterthorn leaves in a large forest of mature trees in the Nsefu Sector.
This was a special moment for me as I had been trying for many years to get a shot of lions mating that conveyed the intensity and aggression of that moment, was suitable for all audiences, and avoided being too graphic. By turning the camera portrait and finding a low angle to shoot from, we had just such an opportunity.
Chipadzuwa, a well-known leopard in the northern sector of the Luangwa, had been seen with her young cub several times in the early part of the season, but my sightings of the cub had always been fleeting and slightly unsatisfactory. So when I led a safari to Lion Camp in July, I crossed my fingers that we would encounter the two of them together. It started with a sighting of a leopard feeding on a baboon in a tree at night; the tree was so thick that we could barely resolve which leopard it was. But on a hunch, I returned there very early the next morning to find Chip with her cub leaving the tree and moving to a small channel to drink! We had a superb hour with them culminating in this perfect moment.
On a windy day in late July, we followed two lionesses as they moved from their resting place through the thickets and out on to the floodplain in search of food. They mounted several ambushes, but the prey were too vigilant, so they settled on the beach. As the light dropped, I lined up the lions with the sunset just in time for one of them to rise and kick up dusty sand against the golden backlight.
The giant ebony grove in the northern sector of the South Luangwa is a favourite spot for many safari-goers. I have been in search of a particular shot in that forest for many years, and I was thrilled when it all came together for me and my guests in August. The blue light, the framing of the trees and the placement of the small — but immediately identifiable — impala worked together to create just the shot we wanted.
During that same safari, we spent wonderful time with two lionesses and their little cubs. There were many moments during that sighting that could have made it into this summary, but this little interaction, where a cub tries to rouse its sleeping mother, is my favourite. This was shot long after sunset and we waited for almost 2 hours for the sighting to develop to this point – and I will not soon forget the smiles on my guests’ faces.
I ran a safari in late-August where the guests were all many-times repeat visitors. It’s always a pleasure to see them again, show them new areas and see what the Luangwa might offer this time around. Our first afternoon was a highlight as we spent time with the Nsefu Pride as they climbed on fallen trees and lolled in the dry Crocodile river….
….after one youngster climbed the fallen tree, all the others followed suit, apparently interested to find out what the first had discovered! This gave us several chances to try different compositions as they climbed and descended the tree.
A fun moment with several inquisitive young giraffes in the Nsefu Sector.
In September, I ran my first full-length photo safari to Mana Pools in Zimbabwe. It turned out to be one of the most memorable times of my life, not only for the wonderful feeling of being out on foot with large mammals…..
….and for the stunning lighting and photo opportunities….
…but also for an intense and heart-wrenching sighting that I will never forget.
Back in the Luangwa, I started one of two long late-dry-season safaris, the first of 15 nights and the second of 19 nights. This time of year is carmine bee-eater season and we spent lots of time working on techniques to capture these stunning birds.
The dry season, when there is very little ground cover, usually gives us the best sightings for photography, with little vegetation to block the view or disturb the camera’s autofocus system. But I could never have expected that we would be able to spend nearly 30 minutes with a porcupine, let alone to get a clear, unobstructed image such as this. In fact (and perhaps this is a first in safari history) we left the sighting first, rather than the porcupine!
This leopard sighting was special for me because, for once in Nature, everything came together exactly as I had hoped it would. Follow the link for the full story, but in short, we hoped that the leopard would finish her meal and descend the stunning shape of this angled fig tree before the light dropped….it came together beautifully!
In late September, I took a group of repeat guests on a 19-night safari at 6 camps in the Luangwa. We particularly enjoyed our time in the photo-hides at Shenton Safaris and it was in the last-waterhole hide that we enjoyed this cheeky little elephant….
….and this very close up encounter with a large and docile bull!
Moments like this, where 4 elephants line up with an interesting and multi-coloured sunset come along perhaps once a year, and I was thrilled that we were able to find an angle where we could make the most of it. After shooting furiously for a few minutes and ensuring we had all bagged great shots, we relaxed and simply soaked up the scene.
I’d seen these lion cubs earlier in the year, and this particular group were very keen to see them, so I was thrilled that we were able to find them in such a picturesque location. As the sun dipped close to the horizon, it broke out from behind a thick bank of cloud and saturated everything in a rich — and almost unreal — pink colour.
Having watched leopard for many hundreds of hours, nothing much surprises me anymore. But when this young male leopard suddenly grabbed the carcass he was feeding on and climbed rapidly through several branches, I must admit that I didn’t see it coming! I always advise my guests to keep their cameras ready for action, with higher shutter speeds than are “required” for the scene we are shooting, so they were all able to grab some great shots!
We had been waiting for these lions to emerge from the forest where they’d been eating a hippo for a couple of days. They emerged as it began to grow dark and started to drink from a narrow channel. Shooting from the other side of the water, and using the light from another vehicle, we were able to create this special effect.
At the end of a long 19-night safari, it was lovely to kick off our shoes, open a beer and paddle in the shallow Kapamba river (which runs close to the camps operated by the excellent Bushcamp Company).
After the end of the season, I took a recce trip to Kafue National Park and spent 4 nights with Jeffery & McKeith Safaris at Musekese and Ntemwa Bushcamps. While in the northern Busanga plains area, I was thrilled to see my first cheetah in the wild, a sighting that crowned an intense and wildlife-rich year!
I ended the season in the refreshing and different Nyika Plateau National Park in Malawi where rolling hills are dotted with roan antelope, eland and zebra. There are also small pockets of afro-montane forest in the folds of the hills which are home to several species of unusual birds that are found only in that habitat. As well as being wonderful family time, we also had a valuable R&R after a busy but very rewarding season.Thank you to all my guests who have come on safari with me this year, sharing in Nature’s wonders and being great travel companions. I wish you, your families and friends a very Happy New Year!
