South African Safari Photos to Inspire You
We just got home from the trip of a lifetime – South Africa! We spent a few days seeing the touristy areas in Cape Town, followed by an epic safari adventure. This post is mainly going to be a collection of all my South African safari photos to inspire you to take a safari as well. I could gush forever about this trip, it was very special. And I hope someday, you get to take a similar trip and experience the AWESOMENESS of South Africa. 😊
*DISCLAIMER: Some of these photos are slightly graphic and might be too much if you have a really weak stomach. Nothing too crazy, but nature is brutal. We did see some animals eating other animals, and you will see some photos of that in this post.
I’m going to keep this post mainly focused on the photos, with just some small details and stories throughout. If you’re looking for more details or itineraries for this type of trip, check out my South Africa page! I have a ton of tips including what to wear on safari, what to do in Cape Town, tips for visiting Franschhoek, and more.
A Bit About Game Drives & The Lodge
The Lodge
We stayed at Arathusa Safari Lodge, which is in Sabi Sands. Sabi Sands is a nature reserve in South Africa, in a similar region with Kruger National Park. Sabi Sands is known for its big cat sightings, especially leopards (more on that later in the post 😉).
Arathusa Safari Lodge was amazing in every aspect and I would 1000% return. I picked this particular lodge because of the watering hole on the property, and I’m so glad. We had the ability to see so many animals, including elephants and hippos, right outside our hut in the watering hole. The hospitality and service was wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. I have a full Arathusa Safari Lodge Review, incase you want to read more!
Game Drives
We went on two games drives per day – in the early morning, and the late afternoon/evening. This is obviously when it’s cooler, so the animals are more active and they’re also hungry, so sightings are more frequent.
The way the game drives are done is with a driver/guide, and then a tracker. The driver obviously drives the jeep while giving us info, while the tracker focuses on watching the path for tracks. It was so amazing how they can tell which paw prints belong to which animals, they can tell which gender the tracks belong to, if the animal was old or young, if it was pregnant, and they can even tell if the animal tracks were several hours old or fresh. Sometimes, the tracker would see fresh prints and would hop down off the jeep and walk around on foot looking for the animal, while our driver drove us miles away to see something else! I just can’t get over how nonchalantly our tracker would walk around on foot looking for leopards, or lions, or rhinos!
Funny story: we had to take this picture in the jeep multiple times. We had a guy in our group who wasn’t super kind. He would pop his head into people’s pictures to be rude (not just ours, he did this to other couples). Luckily, we did eventually got the picture I wanted after days of trying. So just a lesson on travelling and the types of people you can meet! 😂
Lions
Our First Lionness Sighting
This first pair of lionnesses napping in the shade were actually the first animals we saw on our first safari drive! They were laying maybe 100 feet from a male leopard, who kept walking around, eyeing them. It was interesting to watch. Seeing these lions up close was our first experience, and we realized just how close we would get to wildlife over the course of our trip. Super incredible! They look so cute & cuddly don’t they? 😉
Our First Male Lion Sighting
We saw this male lion on one of our early morning game drives. It was super cool because we got incredibly close to him, while he was snacking on an impala head. We were so close we could hear the bones cracking as he ate. Kinda gross, but also amazing to see. I couldn’t believe how unbothered he was by us! We were maybe 6 feet from him while he ate, and he paid us no mind!
This was actually the only male lion we saw during our safari trip. We actually followed him around for quite awhile. We watched him eat, get up and stretch, and even walk down to the watering hole for a drink. Our group was lucky enough to be the jeep that spotted the lion, so our guide said we had dibs to watch him for as long as we wanted, before letting another jeep follow him instead.
Side note: our guide explained, the rule is no more than 2 jeeps can watch any particular animal, at a time. This keeps the animals from stressing out and also allows good viewing opportunities for guests. If there were 5-6 jeeps watching and following one animal, it would be loud for the animal and crowded for us trying to see it! I thought that was super cool. I was actually constantly impressed at the measures they take to ensure they don’t interfere or bother the animals at all.
Lionnesses Hunting Impalas At Nighttime
This was something SO unique to experience. It’s the kind of thing you obviously can’t experience anywhere, except on a safari. One night towards the end of our evening drive, we found a pack of lionnesses hunting a group of impalas. Our guide pulled the jeep SUUUPER close to them, turned the lights off, and we just sat there and listened while they hunted. It was eery knowing we were so close to this pack of lions, but we couldn’t really see them because it was so dark. This was another time where I was impressed with how they treat the animals. They didn’t want to shine the lights to give the lions an unfair advantage during their hunt, or the impalas an unfair chance to get away. So, we sat in the dark and listened! We didn’t end up hearing them catch an impala, but it was still cool. They’re so tuned into the impalas they’re watching, and I think it’s neat that the females actually do the hunting, not the males! (Unfortunetly, since it was dark, I don’t have pictures of this, but wanted to mention it because it was awesome).
More Cute Lionnesses
We saw some more lionnesses again throughout our different drives. You never get over how close the lions allow you to be to them or just how incredible and large they are up close. It’s totally amazing. I could’ve sat in the jeep and watched them just nap all day. They make very similar movements and sleep in similar to positions to my house cat, which was adorable.
Zebras
We actually saw these zebras very briefly on our way to another sighting, but the pictures of them turned out pretty cool for a quick stop!
Hippos
The hippos were super interesting because a little family of them was always in the watering hole, directly outside our hut at the lodge. So we saw them everyday and got to watch them float and play around. There was even the tiniest, little baby hippo! I was actually shocked at how small it was, I totally expected it to be bigger, being a hippo and all. I was also pretty surprised at how they seemed unbothered by other animals playing in the watering hole. Several times elephants played in the water right by them, and they didn’t care.
We also saw a different pair of hippos in another watering hole, miles away. We drove past this particular area several times during our trip, and the hippos were always there! Our guide explained they are very territorial, and once they claim a water area, they tend to stay there and protect it.
Giraffes
We were extremely lucky with giraffe sightings. We drove by them a few times and had wonderful opportunities to watch them walk around and snack on the trees. One early morning drive, we even saw them on the lodge’s private airstrip. When planes land or take off from the airstrip, a guide has to go drive out there and “clear” the airstrip to make sure there are no animals nearby!
Giraffe Fun Fact: You can tell females from males, by if they have hair on top of their little horns. Males fight eachother and the hair typically gets plucked out during their fights. The females don’t fight, so they keep their hair on their horns.
Leopards
Sabi Sands area is known for its leopard sightings, and it did NOT disappoint! I’d heard over and over to not get my hopes up about seeing even a single leopard, let alone more than one, as they’re very camouflaged and also very elusive. But we saw them 3 times during our trip, including one with a kill in a tree!
Leopard Fun Fact: Leopards can carry 3 times their weight up into a tree! They do this to keep their kill away from other animals. Our guide said hyenas and lions will commonly try to steal food from leopards.
This particular leopard sighting was among the top moments of our trip. We saw this on our last drive before we left Africa, so it felt extra exciting. Our tracker found this leopard on foot, while we were miles & miles away looking at lions. So our tracker called our driver, and we went speeding away to see the leopard. I still can’t believe how close we were to it. We were right under the leopard and it felt like he was staring directly at me! We could even smell the meat from the impala. Definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Elephants
Seeing elephants as frequently as we did, was another huge highlight of the trip. When we arrived at our lodge, we were given a tour, and immediately saw a family of elephants swimming right outside of our hut. I mean, could you ask for a better welcoming committee? 😊
One morning while on a game drive, we saw a few elephants, and our driver took us off-roading a bit to get closer. After sitting in the brush for a few mintues, more and more elephants came over, and eventually we were literally surrounded by them! It reminded me of a scene from jurrasic park! They were even close enough that one reached its trunk out and touched our jeep. We got to sit for quite awhile and just watch them eat and play and tromp around. It’s amazing to watch their trunks move and to see just how large they are up close. Plus, we even saw a baby elephant who kept trying to come see us, but his mom kept trying to keep him away. It was sorta like watching a human toddler be mischievious!
Hyenas
The first time we saw hyenas, I was actually the one to spot them – score! They blend in super well to their surroundings, but I saw a head move and pointed them out. We saw them a few times throughout our various drives. They especially like to hang out near a kill a different animal made. We saw them under a tree waiting for a dead impala (a leopard kill) to fall down so they could snack on it too. We were told by the guides that leopards take their kills into trees for this exact reason, to keep hyenas from stealing them.
Landscapes & Sunsets
During the afternoon/evening drives, we always found a spot to stop for a bit. We would get out and watch the sunset, while having a cocktail. We also stopped for a break during our morning drives, but we had coffee or tea instead of cocktails. One morning during our break, a giraffe walked by!
Rhinos
This was another animal our tracker actually found on foot, while we were miles away! I still can’t get over the fact that they walk around the brush knowing they could stumble into a rhino or a leopard at any moment!
We saw rhinos twice on our trip. The first time was just a momma & her baby, and the mom seemed very stressed, so our guide just pointed them out and kept driving. He didn’t want to bother her and her baby. I really love that they don’t go out of their way to exploit the animals.
Rhino Fun Fact: As part of conservation efforts by the wildlife refuge, rhino horns are actually removed. This helps keeps the rhinos safe from poachers, as the poachers hunt them specifically for the horn. According to our guide, this is a painless & harmless process. Their horns are made of keratin, so they’re basically a giant finger nail!
Wart Hogs & More
All I could think when we saw wart hogs was, “When I was a young wart hoggggg” from lion king. The song was playing in my head the rest of the morning.
Photography Equipment
Just wanted to quickly mention what I used to take these photos, incase you’re taking a trip soon and want some direction on camera equipment!
My Camera
Almost every photo on this post was shot using my Fujifilm XT4. It’s a great travel camera because it’s very lightweight, weatherproofed, and durable. I bought this a few months before our trip so I had time to really learn and practice using it. I’m so beyond happy with its capabilities, and I find it very beginner friendly if you’re willing to do some research. Check out pal2tech on Youtube for basic settings and info.
I was able to buy my camera used, but in great condition. Try shopping the used options on Amazon, or on KEH or B&H for used cameras and lenses. I bought my camera from KEH & my lenses from B&H.
Camera Lenses
99.9% of the photos for the entire trip were taken on my kit lens, which is a Fujifilm XF 18-55 mm f/2.8-4. The close up of the leopard was taken using a Fujifilm 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6. Before our trip, I read SO MANY forums that all recommended using the 100-400 for safari photos, and I wish I wouldn’t have listened. I never needed it and that thing is HEAVY, I would have had a lot more packing room without it. I do think I could have used a lens in between the ones I had though. Something like an 18-135 mm would be perfect I think! Also keep in mind, there are a lot of low light situations during safari drives, so opt for a lens with a lower aperature.
Camera Accessories
Camera Bag: I use a “theft proof” backpack from Amazon and love it! The zipper is in the back, which is perfect for busier cities, so nobody can open it and steal from you. It’s a perfect size for the camera, my kit lens, my giant zoom lens, and some other accessories like batteries and more. If I don’t have my zoom lens in the bag, I could easily fit a tripod, water bottle, and more.
Camera Hard-Sided Case: I keep my camera in this, inside my backpack. I am clumsy and drop things a lot, and this gives me a lot of piece of mind. Especially when travelling, anything can happen, so I recommend this case to protect your camera as much as possible! You can also carry this by itself, without putting it in a backpack.
Camera Strap: I use the Peak Design Camera Strap. It’s super durable so I never have to worry about my camera dropping or breaking. It has a quick release system to attach my camera to other Peak Design accessories as well.
Lens Hood: This just protects your lens from damage via dropping and also helps shade your lens from sun glare. I found an affordable one on Amazon that fits great.
Memory Cards: I used SanDisk 128 Extreme Pro cards. I had two and could’ve probably used a third. I like to save my raw and jpg photos, as well as shoot video, so I ran out of space after a few days.
Iphone + Accessories
There are a few pictures within this post taken using my iPhone. Sometimes I use my phone because it’s easier to set up on a tripod quickly, or because my husband doesn’t like to use my camera. I have an Iphone 13 Mini & my husband has an Iphone 12, so not the highest upgrades, but we find they work great still.
Iphone Tripod: I never go on a trip without this thing! It folds up small so it’s easy to pack, but it extends pretty tall. And it’s so affordable! It’s been great to set up quickly on various trips to capture photos, without setting up a giant camera tripod. It has a bluetooth remote you can use to take the photos, but I usually take them using my Apple Watch as a remote. The pictures below were taken on my Iphone, using this tripod!
