A weekend at the Quiet Mountain Country Lodge in the Magaliesburg, just outside Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Of course, I never go out without my beloved cameras. Here are a few wildlife shots from that weekend.

For those of you who are hikers you will recognise the Magaliesburg terrain. Early in the morning when the sun lights up the east face of the range is the best time to do justice to the craggyness of the top of the range, highlighting its texture.

At the lodge itself there is a little dam where wild waterfowl congregate with the locals. This provided opportunities to photograph Fluvous Whistling ducks, White-face Whistling ducks and female South African Shellducks – never saw the male.

Interestingly, the Fluvous Whistling duck were very aggressive toward the White-face despite being a similar size, it could have been a territorial imperative. I managed to get a few shots of the White-face trying to escape the Fluvous attentions.

Apart from being a very restful weekend, we were lucky enough to see many Swallowtail butterflies on the Zinias in the large attractive garden at the lodge.

The Swallowtails were very specific about the time they came to browse and which flowers they harvested.

I am no Lepidopterologist, but the male Swallowtail repeatedly and very gently touched the female’s back and wings probably to test whether she was ready to mate.

I will add another category to the gallery later this week, which I hope you will enjoy.

Have fun

Mike