Elephant plains photographic safari

Just got back from an amazing trip to Elephant Plains in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve bordering the Kruger National Park, South Africa. It's known as a superb destination for photographing leopards and it failed to disappoint. The bush was unusually thick for this time of year and the weather mainly cloudy so conditions were somewhat challenging but we were never short of subjects. I will post some of my favorites as I get through my processing over the next few days, starting with a beautiful male leopard.

This was a female spotted a few days before at sunset.

Beautiful, thank you for sharing these !

Jorgac wrote in post #19148090
This was a female spotted a few days before at sunset.

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That is just a beautiful image. Fantastic lighting.

Living in South Africa you’re lucky.

Going to Africa from the US right now is 1) difficult at best and 2) not much fun with all the COVID restrictions and requirements.

Can you tell us what they required of you i.e wearing masks everywhere, social distancing etc. doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.

Thanks for the great pictures . Envious.

i-G12 wrote in post #19148447
Living in South Africa you’re lucky.

Going to Africa from the US right now is 1) difficult at best and 2) not much fun with all the COVID restrictions and requirements.

Can you tell us what they required of you i.e wearing masks everywhere, social distancing etc. doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.

Thanks for the great pictures . Envious.

You're dead right. Very lucky living here at the moment. USA is currently on the list of countries banned from leisure travel to South Africa along with UK, France, Germany and many others so getting here is difficult. Not great for the economy as a whole but one benefit to local tourists is that the game lodges have lowered prices dramatically in order to survive the lockdown. Masks are mandatory here in public spaces (as is social distancing) so we're all used to it anyway. Being required to distance and not have someone on the seat next to you in an open air game vehicle is actually a bonus. Still great to get to go on safari even with the Covid requirements. Strange to go to a private game lodge in SA and not hear any foreign accents. Can't wait til we can again, whenever that will be.

A beautiful male leopard we came across while he was finishing off a drink in a small puddle. We had tracked him earlier and lost him in thick bush and were really lucky to come across him again.

Jorgac wrote in post #19148651
You're dead right. Very lucky living here at the moment. USA is currently on the list of countries banned from leisure travel to South Africa along with UK, France, Germany and many others so getting here is difficult. Not great for the economy as a whole but one benefit to local tourists is that the game lodges have lowered prices dramatically in order to survive the lockdown. Masks are mandatory here in public spaces (as is social distancing) so we're all used to it anyway. Being required to distance and not have someone on the seat next to you in an open air game vehicle is actually a bonus. Still great to get to go on safari even with the Covid requirements. Strange to go to a private game lodge in SA and not hear any foreign accents. Can't wait til we can again, whenever that will be.

Thanks for the update and information Jorgac.

I am so depressed as we have a trip scheduled for late August 2021 to the Masai Mara for the Great Migration.

I'm trying to be positive but it looks doubtful the trip will happen. The virus is spreading like wildfire in the US and everywhere in Europe. It's really difficult to see how this thing ends. A vaccination is apparently the only answer and even with that there is so much uncertainty.

Female leopard from our first evening game drive

Oh my word, these are fantastic! Keep them coming.

SJC from VT wrote in post #19149345
Oh my word, these are fantastic! Keep them coming.

Thanks Sandy, here are a few other species

This spotted hyena led a pack that chased off the african wild dogs. You always need to be quite quick grabbing some shots of wild dogs. They always seem to be on the move. Especially if hyena are around!

Jorgac wrote in post #19149630
This spotted hyena led a pack that chased off the african wild dogs. You always need to be quite quick grabbing some shots of wild dogs. They always seem to be on the move. Especially if hyena are around!

Hosted photo: posted by Jorgac in
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forum: Wildlife

Love the additional photos! I'm sure you have plenty more...

Amazing shot

Great lighting and great cat