Well another cycle has come and gone and it has been a great cycle enjoying the festive season in the bush. The rains have come and the Lowveld looks totally different to the dry barren landscape from a few months back. The rivers have been flowing, butterflies are out and the chorus of frogs singing us to sleep.

Photographically this time of the year can be a challenge given the longer grasses and the vast amount of water around dispersing the herds and their predators. One thing is for sure, there are colours of plenty and has been one of my best - photographically speaking.

A highlights blog would not be complete without a mention, and a couple of photos of the Little Bush female and her cub. This female is always a star and she knows how to strike a pose and her cub certainly also obliges very well! These photos were taken the morning after she killed a duiker, but it was the playful integration between the two that made this so special and worth a mention.

Another leopardess who knows how to strike a pose is Little Bush’s other daughter, Kigelia, who loves to ascend Marula trees for better vantage points to spot prey on the horizon. This almost seemed to work in these photos, the latter been taken just as she saw a Common Duiker in the distance.

A young female who seems to be making the Southern section of the reserve her home, is the female known as Hlarulini. I still think back to this sighting, and wonder how my tracker Sydney spotted her. It was probably about 60 meters off the road and the only thing that was visible was a part of her tail on a rock. Every day working with some of the best trackers is a learning experience and one that never ceases to amaze.

Maxabeni has also been spending a fair amount of time with us and there are certainly two very memorable sightings that I had of him over this cycle.

The first was when he had killed an impala and placed the carcass in a very open Marula tree, probably the best trees to see a leopard in. I remember sitting and watching him for virtually an entire 3 hour game drive - in awe of how much he had eaten, occasionally dropping the odd scrap to the patient hyenas below.

The other sighting that was special, was the mating between Maxabeni and the young Tatowa female. Leopards mating is always a privilege, to share those moments with these elusive cats is a complete honour.

When you are dominant like Maxabeni is, you are going to get some contenders and this has come in the way of the Kashane male. Both Toms have shown wounds, which we assume are from an altercation between the two, with Kashane coming off a little worse. However, despite his wounds, he is a confident, and extremely relaxed individual. He put on a show for one of our guests who had been going on safari for 16 years and never seen a leopard. What a male to see for your first time!

The general game sightings have also been fantastic. Due to the Marula season, we have had some large elephant herds and the presence of some huge bulls.

Now to the Southern Pride who have been so entertaining this cycle, with the cubs being up to no good as usual. It’s great to have them as they are full of mischievous energy and never allowing the females time to sleep.

One of the best examples of their energy was when there was hard driving rain. The adults took to the protection of the trees for some shelter while the cubs did the total opposite and played on a fallen down Marula tree. They were running up and down the tree, chewing on old twigs, and playing with each other - the rain didn't seem to bother them much. All of these innocuous games are ways that these youngsters can develop their skills and techniques. This was certainly one of my favourite sightings of the cycle.

The lionesses have been on a mission trying to provide as much food as possible to the growing cubs who are holding their own at the dinner table and developing the lack of manners that lions are so well known for.

The dominant males over the Southern Pride, the Charleston males, have been actively defending their territory by scent marking and travelling to the far reaches to make sure that they reinforce their boundaries. This is something that male lions need to do a lot of in the summer months due to the rains washing away their scents opening doors to other males.

These two males, despite their age, are showing great qualities which will hopefully stand the defence of the pride in good stead for the foreseeable future. In some of the greatest sightings of my career thus far, was when the Charleston males fought on a few occasions.

The ferociousness of this interaction was tense beyond words, with the noise and the intensity shown was something that Ii will never forget and something that I was fortunate enough to immortalise in these pictures.

Despite this ferocity, it is also great to see the softer side of these fierce creatures and I think that it is certainly epitomised in this interaction.

It has been a great cycle and one that I've struggled to whittle down the photos to these few. That is always a good marker and I always love writing these cycle highlights blogs because it makes me realise how lucky I have been and how much I'm looking forward to the next one.