Magnificent Sable!

I photographed this Sable bull after he had just had a drink at Makwa pan.

There was a second, slightly younger bull near by as well... They rested in the area for most of the day I saw them again on my way back to camp in the evening!

Swimming!

A magnificent sighting! I photographed these Elephants having a swim in Makwa pan just before sunset...

If you look closely you will see many more elephants in the background. After swimming, they would go and dust bath!

Secretarybird

 I photographed this beautiful Secretarybird near Ngweshla pan, we saw a pair together!

Hwange's Birds

A tiny Green-winged Pytilia. Difficult to spot, I photographed this male coming to drink from a small bird bath in camp!

Three Southern Pied Babblers, just having their afternoon siesta!

Red-billed Hornbill, not as common as their Yellow-billed cousins, still many around!

Up close!

We spent about 15 minutes watching this female Giraffe eating the leaves from a young Acacia tree. She remained within 15 meters of  the vehicle, and didn't even move when we started up to move on! This shot was taken at about 100mm zoom, allowing a magnificent close up, showing the dexterous tongue in action!

SAVE foundation

We had a group of 19 guests, lead by Nicholas Duncan stay in camp for 3 nights this week. The foundation concentrates mainly on the Rhinos, providing funding for anti-poaching, equipment, etc. This is a link to their page for more info: http://www.savefoundation.org.au/

So, I have just uploaded a few pics from their trip!

A beautiful young male Leopard, seen on the groups first afternoon drive! An amazing 15 minute sighting, out in the open, just before sunset, allowing ample photo opportunities! Along with the Leopard we also saw 2 herds of Sable and a Roan antelope that afternoon!

The next morning was very productive as well, about 20 Giraffes were on The Hide concession. Including about 4 youngsters. So brilliant sightings, and excellent photos in the morning light!

The rest of the day was productive, finishing off with a magnificent sunset at Makwa pan:

Just as the sun set a Spotted Hyena approached, too far and too dark for me to take any pictures, but still a great sighting. That evening at The Hide pan a big male Leopard came to drink during dinner!

The next day was also very good, with many Giraffe, Zebra, Roan, Wildebeest, Elephant, Buffalo and countless bird species sighted!

Overall a great 3 nights of Safari!