Brad Oliver Wildlife Photography

27/11/2016

Portrait of a male lion, who luckily for us decided to lie in the open late one afternoon.

23/08/2016

So I finally managed to get my act together and post some pictures from our last trip. I am so sorry it's taken yonks! It was only two weeks but it was two weeks like I've never experienced.

We had no fewer than 9 leopard sightings this trip with 7 different individuals. The most extraordinary thing was that 4 individuals were found in camp namely Shongile female, Argyle Jnr female, Machaton male and another male which seems to be making Ingwelala his home (specifically around Serengeti Plains, Thorpe's Farmhouse and Goedehoop). Leopard vocalisations were a constant fixture of the Ingwelala night. (I'm sorry if you don't know these places ;))

Lion sightings were fantastic again, with the pride of 9 spending a lot of time on the reserve and luckily this time in the presence of two different males, whether they're part of the same coalition remains to be seen.

A particularly special sighting involved both of the big cats. The lions who moved up to Klipspringer from the riverbed where they had been resting chased a leopard into the tree just next to the lookout. It didn't stop there, they started roaring no more than 5m from us. What a sighting it was.

Elephants were around as normal but we were more inclined to see bulls especially around the Nhlaralumi on Argyle. Buffalo were mostly limited to small dagga boy groupings with the odd small herd. It was particularly nice to see a larger herd of about 100 at Old Farmhouse.

Ingwelala never ceases to amaze me, we leave each trip saying "that has to have been our best trip yet". It's easy to assume that one day your luck will run out but truth is, there's always something new to see and appreciate in the bush.

11/07/2016

Happy Monday everybody!

So I know that this is yet another leopard picture series, I'm sorry, promise the next will be different. (fair warning it may just be a different leopard;)) This one is short anyway.

This is Inkanye female. Although fairly young she seems to be a regular star of the game drives at Motswari! This afternoon drive had been a slow one in the northern Timbavati. We tried earlier to see some hyaena cubs at the den but there were just a few adults mulling around the den. We decided to go in search of a nice African sunset on the Nhlaralumi and luckily the perfect spot didn't take long to find.

While chatting over some cold GnTs Chad made a rather bold statement saying that as he turns the lights on when we start to leave there'll be a leopard on the opposite bank. There wasn't, but there were two hyaenas which came to have a drink and that in itself was quite special. We bumbled on and no sooner had we left the river bank when another guide called in to Chad that there is a leopard within a stones throw of our sundowner spot. We turned back and arrived on the bridge where we watched her amble down the bank to take a few sips of water, she went back up the bank, found a cosy termite mound and sat there regally until we left.

That's the true beauty of Africa, even seemingly bizarre statements can easily hold truth. Chad never said "I told you so" but I have no doubt he was thinking it. I'll personally can't wait for the day he says "When I turn the lights on, there'll be an aardvark sniffing a pangolin on the opposite bank."

Cheers

21/06/2016

So it's been a while, but I've been in the bush and what a trip it has been!!
I am going to try something different for a while which will entail posting a few pictures from a specific sighting with a short description. I hope it goes well and would love to hear any feedback you may have. Enjoy, I know I did!

So to kick things off, I'd like to start with my favourite animal, the leopard. It just so happens that the subject in this case was my favourite one, Shongile female. Now, she isn't my favourite because she has a name and because I've attached my own Hollywood persona to her (secretly I may have) but rather because of how relaxed she is and how often I've seen her. Her territory seems to centre along the Nhlaralumi river on Ingwelala's southern property, Argyle.

She's afforded me the opportunity to gain my first real insights into the secret lives of leopards. I have seen her hunt (although unsuccessfully), I have seen her walking with one of her cubs, playing and bonding, seemingly watch over her cub trying to hunt and I have seen her interact with hyenas.

She's also the only leopard I was ever able to actively track down from following spoor to hearing impala snorting, seeing them snorting, hearing her vocalise and then finally, seeing her. I should probably put that down to sheer dumb luck rather than my tracking prowess.

Anyway, this series is by far the best I have of her, she's a leopard in her absolute prime and to withhold this beauty would be sin. I have to give huge thanks to Chad Cocking for superbly positioning us before she left Motswari Private Game Reserve into Ingwelala for her nighttime shenanigans. What a sighting it was, I hope you enjoy the shots!

21/05/2016

So just to keep you all in the loop, I've had a very good few days in the bush, with plenty of lions and leopards! So I'll be posting some soon, promise! Thanks for all of your support. Nothing makes me happier than sharing nature!

04/04/2016

Quarter 1 of 2016- Ingwelala Game Reserve, Greater Kruger National Park.

03/03/2016

I'm sorry it's been a while, but here's a portrait I took of a leopard in Kruger Park near Gudzani dam, east of Satara.

02/12/2015

Don't you just love how dramatic Africa can be?- Timbavati, Greater Kruger National Park

01/12/2015

My favourite sighting of all time. A pack of wild dogs, who had just been chased by a clan of hyenas, chased this male leopard up a tree in a dry riverbed and proceeded to rest for a lengthy period of time underneath it. The very disgruntled leopard took his first opportunity to sneak away as soon as some of the dogs got distracted and the rest fell asleep.- Simbambili, Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve.

30/11/2015

25/11/2015

Hard earned meal, a lion cub starts to feed after his father took the lion's share (so to speak).- Kapama Private Nature Reserve

24/11/2015

Awakening from the daytime slumber, a male lion has a look of menace and power at night- Kapama Private Game Reserve