I’ve recently returned from my latest African adventure. This one was something I’ve been looking forward to for some time, as it marked our son’s first African safari experience. We traveled as a family (along with another family of friends, also making their first Africa sojourn) to South Africa and Mozambique. It was a wonderful adventure, though from a photographic perspective it wasn’t nearly as active as my past trips. This was due, perhaps in part, to the personal nature of some of the activities—I didn’t want to run them all ragged—but also I think the action was a bit more subdued than on some of my other safaris. Mozambique was intended more as a relaxing getaway (staying at the brand new Zimanga Bazaruto property, which was wonderful), so I barely touched the camera there.
As always, you can jump straight to the photo archive to view the full gallery. A short preview is below.
Our trip started with a visit to the Northern Cape in search of more elusive nocturnal critters. The effort paid off with my best-ever views of aardwolf. We saw four in one night!
I was very pleased to get another chance to photograph springhares (which look like oversized kangaroo rats). This one hopped right out in front of our car.
Spotted hyenas were fairly common on this trip, and we were fortunate to see a couple of roadside den sites in Kruger National Park.
Naturally, we were on the lookout for owls, spotting several during the course of the trip (I think we numbered five species by the end). Jenn had the best spot of a Pearl-spotted Owlet, in nice morning light.
The most commonly-seen parrot in this parts is the Brown-headed Parrot. If you look closely, you’ll see an insect hitching a ride on its back.
MalaMala Game Reserve has turned into a decent spot for wild dog sightings in recent years. We followed this pack for a morning hunt (sadly, it was only half-hearted and non-successful), while others on the reserve were following other dogs hunting at the same time.
What a beautiful pose from this Gabar Goshawk!
This was a very fun interaction to watch, as a host of young lion cubs came to nurse from one adult female… who didn’t tolerate the sharp nips and bites for long. So then the cubs moved on to the other adult female and tried to nurse from her. Same result.
The cubs were born to both females, but they nurse the offspring regardless of who’s “Mom” and who is “Auntie.”
These brothers had just reunited. They rolled over each other and hung out all morning… just missing a small pack of wild dogs hunting nearby.
One morning we came across this Saddle-billed Stork standing still in the forest. It was an odd place to see it, given they’re normally out along the open riverbeds. It also appeared to be injured, so our ranger called in the sighting.
Because Saddle-billed Storks are endangered, a rescue team came in the next day to capture the animal. Last we heard, it had indeed sustained injuries (possibly from an eagle attack), and was being evaluated.
We ended out visit to MalaMala by watching a reunion between a mother leopard and her “teenage” cub. Though she sought out her daughter, Mom was sure to keep the youngster at a distance with some pointed snarls at times. They eventually went for an evening walk, returning to a carcass the mother had stashed after sundown.
We finished the trip along the coast of Mozambique, an incredibly beautiful stretch of marine wilderness. I barely touched the camera, however.
View the full South Africa 2026 photo gallery (64 images).
Interested in joining me on safari? Keep an eye on the Workshops and Tours page for future African adventures!
