Towards the end of August 2021, I had a safari with 4 ladies to the northern sector of the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. There’s one species that the Sabi Sands trumps most other reserves, and that is Leopards. Arriving in the “Sands”, it was the normal dry that you come to expect from the lowveld in the middle of the dry season. Most of the Bushwillows were bare, but the ones that did have leaves, were varying shades of Yellow and Red. On the first afternoon, the Sabi Sands lived up to it’s reputation, delivering a beautiful young female Leopard, perfectly posing on a Marula Tree, this was classic Sabi Sands!
The next morning was spent exploring the eastern parts of the traversing area. It was a bit quiet from a big game perspective, but we found some great birds. The guests set me a challenge to try and find 100 species within the 4 days. We rattled up a couple of goodies, such as African Fish Eagle, White-Crested Helmet-Shrike, Double-Banded Sandgrouse (with chicks) and Golden-breasted Bunting.
That afternoon, we decided to head to the southern part of the traverse, and head to an active Spotted Hyena den. We arrived at the den, with 3 pups mulling around the edges of the termite mound that they called home. It almost seemed as if they were egging each other on, to just go a little bit further away. However, the bravado quickly dissipated when they heard a sound!
We then decided to go and see if we could find the female Leopard from the previous afternoon, and we found her feeding on the remnants of an Impala. This gave us the opportunity to try and get some spotlight images, but all the branches, did make it a little tough.
The next morning started off with some White Rhino, feeding on the nutrient rich grasses on a termite mound. This gave us some really nice perspectives, as we were able to get much lower than the Rhino’s’.
We bumbled around, and eventually made our way to a female Leopard, with 2 cubs feeding on an Impala in a drainage line. The riverine bush was quite thick, and it was difficult to get a great angle, but the young female cub was obliging, and approached the vehicle, giving us some magnificent moments with her.
The afternoon started off with a bang! A large Elephant herd, was swimming in the dam in front of the Lodge. We must have spent almost an hour with the Elephants, as they frolicked in the water. The calves and young bulls, definitely providing the most entertainment .
The rest of the afternoon was spent looking for Lions in the east, close to the Kruger national Park boundary, but alas, the biggest cats in the area were giving us the run around. We stopped for a drink, and low and behold. Another Leopard payed us a visit. A young female that went for a drink at the pan, close to where we stopped. This was now our 5th Leopard, but who was counting!
The next morning was fairly quiet! We started off photographing the Hippo’s at the camp, with that beautiful golden pink hue on the water. They weren’t aggressive at all, but very curious, bobbing their heads up every now and again.
The rest of the morning was spent checking the east for Lions, who had come in to the traverse, and then before we could find them, were off again. We got some more really nice birds while we searched for the Lions.
In the morning, we had heard of 2 female Leopards on a Grey Duiker kill in the north west of the traverse. We slowly meandered south and then back north up the Manyeleti drainage line. The birds were magnificent, and we nailed the 100 species challenge. We arrived at the Leopard sighting, with the female sub-adult feeding on the duiker, in a big Weeping Boer-Bean tree. Some Spotted Hyena’s were mulling around, staring hopefully into the tree. The adult female was lying on a termite mound, about 100 meters away. With the sun starting to set, we positioned for that shot, of a Leopard with the setting sun.
The sun had set, and the sub-adult left the last vestiges of the kill precariously dangling from the tree. She went in search of her mother, who had since left the scene. The Spotted Hyena’s harassed the sub-adult a little bit, and she took to a large Marula Tree. With another vehicle in the area, it gave us the opportunity to try some Rim lighting, which worked beautifully!
The last morning was cold and wet, as a light drizzle had descended on the lowveld. I think the game was chilling at home, sipping on hot chocolate, because the bush was quiet. We did however push our bird list over 110 species, and got a really nice Coqui francolin, which made the morning worthwhile.
This gives you a really nice idea of what a Sabi Sands Safari is like. Please check out my Safari page, as I have a really good SADC deal for a 3 day Sabi Sands safari in the same area.
I look forward to you getting touch!
Darren
