Week in Pictures: African Nostalgia

It’s a tough job having to select the best photographic captures of the week; sifting through folders of outstanding safari moments and bookmarking the ones that evoke emotion, admiration, and nostalgia. We are tasked with the job of flipping through albums of wildlife action caught on camera, sunsets that warm the soul, and quiet moments shared through the lens of a camera. The #FOMO induced by the job is real, but as per our Friday tradition, we get to lighten the load and spread, far and wide, this niggling feeling of “wish I was there”. We get to sprinkle the essence of safari to the recipients of this blog post, and bring that yearning urge to travel to Africa to the forefront of your mind. Without further ado, enjoy this selection of the week’s top shots, and try and ignore the singing in your heart… The Week in Pictures: African Nostalgia.

nThambo Tree Camp, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

A sunset reflects vibrantly on the water as a hippo wallows and absorbs the last of the day's heat

One of nature's 'Ugly 5' - the marabou stork - is illuminated in golden light and given a flattering glow atop its perch in the Klaserie

A curious hyena cranes its neck to get a better look at the photographer joining them at the sight of an impala feast

A Mapoza male lion picks up a trot as he follows one of the Breakaway lionesses through the bush.; a buffalo kill creating a tense environment among the lions

 

 

Umkumbe Safari Lodge, Sabi Sand Wildtuin, Greater Kruger Park

Kigelia's liquid movements over a rocky outcrop show the stealth and focus so typical in these magnificent cats

A young elephant makes haste across an open plain as he rushes to rejoin the herd, which mingles among a herd of buffalo

An African harrier hawk, also known as a gymnogene, is rather a rare sight among the raptors, and is typically seen clinging to weathered trees and peering into the holes used as nests by other birds and monitor lizards

A waterbuck in his happy place: waist deep in a waterhole surrounded by green shoots of grass

Ezulwini Game Lodges, Balule Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

Examining in detail the young tusk of an elephant, while the world debates over whether it is worthy of CITES protection

The lion's biggest competitor: the spotted hyena, seen here strutting through the Kruger bushveld, satisfied from a recent meal of impala

A female giraffe gazes down on the earthlings with those warm, brown eyes, deciphering whether or not we present a threat

An oxpecker takes a break from its incessant grooming, but remains steadfastly connected to the back of its host; an African buffalo

Africa on Foot, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

A moment of beauty and elegance with one of the bushveld's most poorly reputed birds. The marabou stork is one of nature's less glamorous species, making this capture one in a million

This hyena sighting offered some superb photo opportunities as the hyenas were as curious about our presence as we were of theirs

An image of an African wonderland; a combination between a scorching Kruger sunset, and the romance of a bare winter forest - the place this pearl-spotted owlet calls home

An African wild dog blends into the bush as the pack races to devour a fallen duiker

Tuskers Bush Camp, Moremi East Wilderness Area, Botswana

A zebra gazes across the Moremi plains and pauses mid-mouthful to share this moment with its admirers

An elephant hurtles through the bush kicking up Moremi dust and creating a wild scene of an African safari

A male waterbuck glances back at the camera as if to pose before turning back to his waterlogged feast of Summer's green grass

The perfect form of a day lily, a common, yet beautiful, feature of the Okavango Delta waterways. Saluting the sun all day until closing its petals at sunset.