January 17

Sam on Safari | Exeter & Londolozi in Photos

Photography & Videos

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By Matthew Sterne on January 17, 2014

Our budding photographer/travel consultant, Samantha was recently lucky enough to spend some time away from the office, substituting her desk and phone for the open plains and wildlife of the Sabi Sand.

She started at Arathusa and continued on to andBeyond’s Exeter River Lodge and Londolozi Private Game Reserve. The latter lodges are featured in today’s photo blog where Samantha shares some of her favourite moments with us.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Samantha, have a peak at her Consultant Q&A.

Exeter River Lodge

Male lion looking for female comapany at Sabi Sand Game Reserve
“We followed two male lions who were in search of the lionesses and they would both stop intermittently, and open their lips to draw air over their Jacobson’s organ (olfactory organ on the roof of their mouth) to try and smell out their females. This grimacing gesture is called Flehmen.”

 

Female leopard at Sabi Sand
“As if on a photo shoot, this beautiful female leopard was posing for her paparazzi and preening in the shade of a massive termite mound. Ridiculously relaxed.”

 

A hornbill enjoying a snack at Sabi Sand
“Not being a big twitcher, I don’t often photograph birds at all, but this was just too perfect for words. The hornbill was literally in the tree right next to the road and was not moving at all. We wondered why it had not flown away (as is usually the case whenever one decides to attempt a bird photo). We soon realised it was due to the fact that it had a relatively large scorpion it had to kill first. We sat for a good while watching it tussle with its catch. It’s very unusual to sit this long with a bird and so close at the same time… very cool.”

 Londolozi

A Leopard caught yawning at Londolozi
“It’s always so hilariously predictable that when one is on a Land Rover or Jeep with keen photographers and comes across a predator – be it a lion, leopard or cheetah – the sounds emanating from within the three rows of the vehicle replicate that of an automated weapon. Shooting 100 rounds in a minute… click click click click… only to get the single solitary “money shot”. The joys of live action and digital!”

 

Male lions doing what they do best...resting at Londolozi
“This was such an amusing sighting! Three full male lions lay prone and struggled to even move their heads to acknowledge our arrival on the scene. Their round bellies were so bloated that they seemed pregnant and clearly they had spent the whole night before eating what was later established to be a large male buffalo. They were so cute, rolling around on their backs, with legs in the air. One could imagine them saying, ‘Aaah, I am soooo full’.”

 

More resting
“This one male, pictured above, even decided to relieve himself in exactly the position he was in when I took this picture. He proceeded to wet his entire leg as he could not be fussed to get up at all. Not often does one see three fully grown male lions together and have the sighting be so comical.”

 

A Leopard always keeping a watchful eye at Londolozi

Interested in going on your own photographic safari? It’s similar to a regular safari but tailored precisely for your photographic needs…

For more information and to start planning your Africa holiday of a lifetime, contact one of our expert travel planners.

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About the author 

Matthew Sterne

Matt discovered a passion for writing in the six years he spent travelling abroad. He worked for a turtle sanctuary in Nicaragua, in an ice cream factory in Norway and on a camel safari in India. He was a door-to-door lightbulb-exchanger in Australia, a pub crawl guide in Amsterdam and a journalist in Colombia. Now, he writes and travels with us.

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