South Africa’s Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve has long since been on the top of the list for luxury safari-goers and wildlife photographers looking to experience some of Africa’s most sough-after wildlife under intimate and superlative conditions, whilst been offered some of the highest guiding and guest experiences in Africa.
My guest and I were at MalaMala earlier this year in May for her private Mashatu & MalaMala Photo Tour, and having been to the Sabi Sands before but never at MalaMala, she was captivated by the utter beauty of the property and the variety of wildlife and sightings we had of them. She understood then why I have been raving about this destination for years, I wanted to come visit again, and soon.
Fast forward to November, and there saw my guest and I on a flight from Johannesburg to Skukuza to start our safari experience of two highly reputable lodges in the Sands; MalaMala’s Rattray’s Camp and Londolozi’s Founders Camp.
Leopards are a species that is loved passionately by both myself and my guest, so they naturally became the focus of our 9-night photo safari. This isn’t to say that other wildlife were excluded, as we still spend some time with a pride of 14 Lion, large Elephant herds with calfs, African Wild Dogs and more.
For this specific safari, we had superb sightings of wildlife in lovely environments. The term “lovely” also incorporated more trickier environments in terms of what could be described as “busy” and “distracting,” so I encouraged my guest in these environments to look at specific compositions and camera settings to either create the scene to flow with our vision, or capturing what we could in camera to edit afterwards to the vision and style she sought.
Our stay and exploration at MalaMala offered us a lot of opportunities to photograph a wide selection of young wildlife! It was a very pleasant surprise! Some of the Leopard cubs were new specials for me to see, with the Piccadilly female’s cub growing up quite a lot since I saw her in May. We spent some time with African Wild dog pups - which are always a treat as they are busy little bees! Even full-bellied and sleepy, their movement is like an ocean wave; they surge then settle, surge then settle. A delight is always hearing their chirping to the adults and seeing their constant curiosity to the environment around them.
One sighting that really was one of my top, was with a White Rhino calf. We were driving in a river bed when we saw a large female happily munching away on grass at an elevated position to us, with her calf standing behind her. Turning the engine off, we sat in silence as we drank in the sight before us; moving between capturing stills, videos and just watching.
While Londolozi offered us another section of the Sabi Sands to traverse and explore, we were greeted by sightings of some Leopard that we had seen at MalaMala - some have territories that span both properties - and others, new.
Again, I was always making sure my guest was aware of certain elements that would improve or negatively impact her created image, bringing animal behaviour to her attention, showing her examples of the compositions I was creating and explaining why, as well as just having a wonderful time together in a place that fuels our souls and ignites our hearts. It is so important to be an observer too, to be mindful and aware of the incredible space we are in and the sightings we were witnessing.
Next adventure with this guest? India in March 2026! But that’s a story to come at a later stage.
“Go where you feel most alive”
Your Photographic Tour Leader,
Last spaces available on Penny’s 2026 small group scheduled Photo Tours:
- Kenya - Black Leopard Photo Safari IV 2026 - 1/3 spaces available
- Zambia - Lower Zambezi Photo Tour III 2026 - 2/4 spaces available
- South Africa - Tiger Canyon Photo Safari 2026 - 1/3 spaces available
- Mashatu – Hides & Predators Photo Safari 2026 - 1/3 spaces available
- South Africa - Sabi Sands: The Big 5 Photo Safari II 2026 - 1/3 spaces available
- Zambia - Lower Zambezi Photo Tour II 2026 - 1/4 spaces available
To explore your personal photographic vision and experience on a private photo tour departure with Penny Robartes, tailored to you specifically, please email private@oryxphoto.com.
