Brendon Reports: Everyone was here by lunchtime yesterday ... and none of the guests have experienced the wonder of Elephant Plains before!So, it was with great excitement that we left for our first afternoon drive.And Elephant Plains sure lived up to its well deserved reputation.We were hardly out of the gate to the Lodge when - about two minutes into our safari - we found two lionesses. As we approached we recognised Bebe from the Salala Pride. She was accompanied by a young - probably about two years old - gorgeous young lioness. The two were lying out in the open on the airstrip, soaking up the afternoon sun. While we started filling our cameras with images of these two we heard alarm calls nearby. Then again, more urgently! Baboons were in a real state, letting all and sundry know that there was real danger close by.We followed the sound and sure...
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Blog posts tagged in Lions
Brendon Reports: Everyone was here by lunchtime yesterday ... and none of the guests have experienced the wonder of Elephant Plains before!So, it was with great excitement that we left for our first afternoon drive.And Elephant Plains sure lived up to its well deserved reputation.We were hardly out of the gate to the Lodge when - about two minutes into our safari - we found two lionesses. As we approached we recognised Bebe from the Salala Pride. She was accompanied by a young - probably about two years old - gorgeous young lioness. The two were lying out in the open on the airstrip, soaking up the afternoon sun. While we started filling our cameras with images of these two we heard alarm calls nearby. Then again, more urgently! Baboons were in a real state, letting all and sundry know that there was real danger close by.We followed the sound and sure...
Ben Reports: We went in search of the lions that had spent a fruitless but persistent day hunting yesterday and found them easily before sunrise.During the night they had finally managed to capture a Lechwe ram, and when we arrived they were still tucking into the final remains - a few meagre morsels were all that was left. After a few photos using the spotlights ... ... we positioned ourselves so that the colours of the sunrise appeared behind the lions. When they had eaten enough the lions slumped on nearby mounds to catch the first rays of the rising sun. This gave us an excellent opportunity to practice some HDR photography, and as the sun began to rise, we...
Wim Reports: We went straight to the vantage point that overlooks Paradise Island this morning to see if the buffalo would be returning to this side of the wide water channel. When we reached the vantage point the first morning sun rays were beginning to pierce the sky. We started to take photos of the beautiful scene ... and as it became lighter we saw the buffalo. And not only the buffalo!A pride of lions was using the shadowy light to stalk the buffalo, and the lions had created a semi-circle around their unaware prey.And chaos reigned for the next two hours! The buffalo were chased left and right, back and forth. They regrouped to chase the lions, but the lions were wily, and as the buffalo charged some of the pride members, others attacked from the other side. The commotion was compounded by the bellows and snorts, and water and...
Ben Reports: We found the buffalo before sunrise even closer than we had anticipated after seeing them yesterday. Within minutes we spotted a pride of lions across a serenely quiet water channel.Realising that the lions were heading toward the buffalo we positioned ourselves to catch not only the river crossing but also the encounter between the two. Our rewards were phenomenal.The river crossing was one of the most spectacular I have seen. The water was incredibly still and reflected the images of the lions like a highly polished mirror. The lions crossed one by one, and between each crossing the water settled again into that reflective surface, meaning that we captured portraits of each lion with unbelievably clear reflections.And now the action started. The lions were clearly hungry and started to hunt almost immediately. They gathered and with their tails whipping they charged, causing the buffalo to scatter in all directions -...
Andrew 's News:Our first stop in the predawn darkness was for four lions - two lionesses from the Talana pride and two large males from a different pride. We used spotlights and some flash to capture images as they interacted with each other. One of the males was very interested in one of the females but she consistently rebuffed his flirtations. This confused him somewhat but he persisted - and again and again she made her lack of interest very clear! We remained with them until the sun was well above the horizon, enjoying the amazing, almost gentle interactions between the four. And the beautiful light made photography a cinch. We left the lions eventually to enjoy our morning coffee break - and to watch the glorious sunrise, with an ethereal mist over a small dam - and lazy hippos popping up to show their heads in the mist...
Andrew Reports:It was still a bit cloudy when we started out early, intent on finding Salayexe, the young leopard mother resident in the area.We found her tracks with those of her cub and were following these through a dry river bank when we looked up and saw a young Hippo bull on the river bank at eye level with us. After a stop for for about ten minutes for photographs we followed the leopard tracks again. In an open clearing we encountered four hyenas ... three adults and a young subadult. They were cavorting around, playing and enjoying family interactions in the early morning light. Thirty elephants were drinking at at waterhole when we arrived. The youngsters and babies were enchanting, ...
Wim's News:Breakfast on the boat in the still, magical predawn added an element of mystique and excitement to the early still dark morning.We were on the water about five minutes before an absolutely spectacular sunrise. Fish Eagles were out early and were swirling around, diving, and grabbing fish in full view. These magnificent birds fishing against that warm, vibrant sky created scenes to behold.(And photograph!) In a backwater we encountered a pride of lions. They had a kill close by but unfortunately for us they had dragged it behind a bush - inaccessible for our boat. But the interactions between the members of the pride and the arrival of hordes of vultures that were continually chased by the lions, only to return again and again, kept us busy until it was time to return to the Nguni Voyager for brunch.After relaxing and thoroughly enjoying the surroundings from the boat, we...
Ndutu: Home of one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the WorldFrom Hilton:A visit to Ndutu has to be a major highlight for any wildlife photographer, and it features on many bucket lists. Our ODP Safari to the area again this year reminded us again why this is so. It is a special place with fantastic photographic opportunities.March in the South-Eastern plains of the Serengeti is the site of one of the most spectacular events in the wildlife calendar. The activity is concentrated in the Ndutu area where about one and a half million wildebeest gather annually for calving. During this time many hundred thousand calves are born. The open grasslands create an ideal place for...
Brendon's News:We were up extra early to maximise the wonderful time we have had on this safari. On the way to the buffalo we found the pride of seven lions ... and they were in the middle of a meal, having caught a lechwe during the night.The sun provided backlighting for our first shots, and then we moved around to get photographs of the lions not only feeding feeding but also interacting with one another. Right next to where the lions were eating was as all pond and suddenly an unusual drama erupted out of the water. A young lone hippo has taken refuge here after being kicked out of his pod. And he was guarding his pond jealously and with vigour. . He charged furiously out of the water and sent the lions scampering away. When...
Brendon's News:On the way to the buffalo herd this morning we encountered the pride of lions from last night. We stopped for a few seconds only to capture some photographs against the first signs of the dawn. After an even shorter stop for an elephant we raced on to catch up with the buffalo before they started to move. As we arrived the sun was rising, creating that magical, diffuse, liquid light and when we could see, there was one of the lionesses from Silver - Eye's pride. Looking around, we saw the other lions also emerge from the lightening duskiness - including the dominant male and one of the subadult males that had been chased by him yesterday. The buffalo stood up and seeing the lions nearby started to move away from the area. The lions followed close on their heels, but made no attempt to hunt. Through water...
