A beautiful morning
(Sony RX1R, 35mm, ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/200)
Right at the exit from the camp we saw some beautiful and impressive birds
Saddle-billed stork (Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 500mm, ISO 2000, f/5.6, 1/1000)
African Sacred Ibis (Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 500mm, ISO 280, f/5.6, 1/1000)
Hamerkop (Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 400mm, ISO 220, f/5.6, 1/1000)
We soon came to the location where a leopard has been spottet feeding on a recently killed impala. As Ocean told us, this leopard is the mother of the young female leopard we had seen yesterday. And to our surprise the young daughter was with her mother feeding from this kill.
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 460mm, ISO 2000, f/5.6, 1/1000)
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 360mm, ISO 2000, f/5.6, 1/1000)
The sun got higher and higher, the temperatur rose, then leopard had fed enough, so there was time for an extended rest in the shade. We observed them for some more time, but then we decided to continue our drive, slowly in the direction back to our camp.
Steppe Eagle (Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 500mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/1000)
On the way we saw this magnificent Steppe Eagle.
Back at the camp we had a spectacular time observing all the action happening right in front of our cabin.
First we saw a group of elephants a little distant from us.
(Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 24mm ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/500)
They moved closer and closer, finally crossing the river right in front of our cabin.
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 440mm, ISO 180, f/5.6, 1/1000)
The elephants were not alone, some hippos joined them.
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 320mm, ISO 220, f/5.6, 1/1000)
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 500mm, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/1000)
An absolut highlight was the fight between a big heron, that had caught a fish and two fish eagles constantly attacking him. The heron had a really hard time defending his kill, but he managed to do so and finally the eagles gave up.
Goliath Heron fighting with African Fish-Eagle
A much more relaxing scene, two monarch butterflies (Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 500mm, ISO 140, f/5.6, 1/1000)
In the afternoon, on the way back to the location where we had seen the leopard, we saw this happy looking baboon.
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 420mm, ISO 1400, f/5.6, 1/1000)
We found the leopards more or less at the same location like this morning.
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 370mm, ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/1000)
For 20 minutes or more there was no action, the leopards laid on the ground and were not in the mood for any activity. So the other vehicles pulled out of the area and we were the last one.
Ocean knew that nearby is a small water pond and he anticipated that the leopards will move to this water source. So he positioned our vehicle in the perfect spot. We did not need to wait long, for the leopards moving in our direction.
What followed was magic. Seeing mother and daughter close together, sharing some tender moments, relaxing, drinking and playing. And all that happened right in front of us, no one disturbing this beautiful scene.
(Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 115mm, ISO 2000, f/8, 1/500)
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 390mm, ISO 3200, f/8, 1/1000)
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 420mm, ISO 3200, f/8, 1/1000)
(Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 24mm, ISO 1600, f/8, 1/500)
Pure love ! (Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 240mm, ISO 2800, f/8, 1/500)
Playing with mom is best ! (Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 200mm, ISO 2500, f/8, 1/1000)
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 200mm, ISO 3600, f/8, 1/1000)
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 200mm, ISO 4000, f/8, 1/1000)
We knew it would be difficult to top that experience, but the day was not done yet.
Back to the nearby location where elephant sometimes cross the river, we were lucky again. This time we saw elephants in the water and crossing the river. The low sunset light was just perfect for this scene.
(Sony A7R3 24-240mm at 29mm, ISO 400, f/9, 1/500)
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 200mm, ISO 1100, f/8, 1/1000)
Just right behind this elephant an elegant heron arrived and landed in the grass.
Grey Heron
We started to prepare for our sun downer at this beautiful location …
(Sony RX1R 35mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/640)
… when we heard about a group of wild dogs being not fare from our current position. So we skipped sun downer to see the wild dogs.
(Nikon D500, 200-500mm at 290mm, ISO 16000, f/8, 1/160)
We found the group soon. As usual there was some internal fight going on, this time about the head of a killed impala.
This kill attracted also two hyenas.
The wild dogs tried to protect their territory and their kill.
But the hyenas did not give up. In the meantime the sun went down and the pitch dark night set in. A guide from another vehicle lit the scene with a red torch and this way we could follow the fight.
The fight moved closer and closer to us, until we found us literally in the middle of the fight. One hyena protected its back by touching our vehicle and fought this way against the wild dogs. The other hyena was less lucky and got bitten several time in her hip. Finally the hyenas run off, but not with empty mouth.
Even for Ocean this was something he has never seen before. Once the fight was over we waited for some more minutes and then drove straight away back to the camp.
The light was so low, that photographing was impossible. Thanks to the torch light I could capture some moments of this fight on video. The video is with the original sound, clearly distinguishing the wild dogs and the hyenas.
After a very tasty dinner I tried some night photography. But the view was not really good and the sky covered with scattered clouds. But still I like the image.
(Sony A7R3 16-35mm at 21mm, ISO 1600, f/4, 20sec)
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