It was great to be back on Mashatu. Our first afternoon underlined exactly why the place is so special, especially in the company of a camera and a small band of like-minded travellers. Two leopard sightings provided a taster of what was to come, while a sudden and successful cheetah hunt threw up tons of backlit dust and settled our ‘first night’ nerves perfectly.

That opening drive set the tone for the rest of our stay. Big cats, including Mashatu’s famous leopards, definitely took centre stage. Yes, we loved seeing the reserve’s breeding elephant herds striding towards us across the plains, mud-bathing, digging for water in the riverbed or with their trunks aloft nibbling flowers from the branches of stately Mashatu trees. And obviously we couldn’t pass by the tumbling playfights of baby jackals without lifting our lenses. It was the same with the skittish bat-eared foxes and the young but already gigantic Verreaux’s eagle owlet getting more than a little tangled in the branches as it pushed the boundaries of its home turf.

We delighted in the dancing bee-eaters, the calling cuckoos, the hunting rollers, the first woodland kingfishers of the season heralding summer, the vultures filling the skies after a kill. The haunting chorus of hyenas calling en masse one morning in the riverbed, echoing eerily around the reserve, will stay with all of us.

But it was the cats that captivated…

The cheetah mum with three almost fully grown cubs, the same cat that took down an impala on our first drive, did us proud by staying in the area. We crossed paths with the family several times and the encounters were always memorable. The second time we found them we didn’t expect much as they’d clearly already eaten. The light was beautiful, but we were about to give up on them when suddenly the youngsters started wrestling with each other – a ball of spots, bright eyes, bared teeth and flying tails. It was a joyous display of their youthful exuberance.

On another occasion we crossed paths with the mother attempting to school her litter on how to stalk a group of impala. The sight of her silhouetted atop one of the rounded hummocks that punctuate Mashatu’s open terrain, the cubs by her side, was as emotive as it was beautiful.

Then there were the lions. The tiny cubs of the Majale Island pride we’d photographed on our last visit were obviously much bigger now, but no less curious and energetic. We’d left the pride a year ago busy with an eland bull they’d taken down. In the interim they’ve clearly moved up a notch in terms of hunting ambition. It was astonishing to see them tucking into not one, but two sub-adult giraffes they caught during our stay. Spectators at their feast on both occasions, we couldn’t have been closer to nature quite literally ‘red in tooth in claw’.

We found the lions on many occasions, but they also, oddly, had a knack of finding us, including the time one of our vehicles broke down and the occupants had to sit tight waiting for a relief set of wheels. The wait could have felt long, eating into precious photography time, but a surprise walk-past by the pride kept our stranded snappers busy.

Another time we were busy photographing birds when one of the two pride males rocked up and distracted us. He was clearly heading to the water. While we were concentrating on perfecting shots of him drinking the rest of the pride sneaked up behind us and we found ourselves surrounded by lions, sipping contentedly right under our noses.

After two brief glimpses that first afternoon our leopard sightings ramped up. We found a beautiful young male cub in wonderful light perfectly posed in the low branches of a tree. Not far away the other group were excitedly photographing his mother in another tree, capturing her as she jumped down and went walkabout with a fabulous opportunity for some backlighting. We located leopards through our guides’ expert tracking, we tripped over a couple we hadn’t expected to find, and we followed up leads others passed on to us. We saw the mother with the beautiful young male cub on several occasions and memorably found an impressive big male late one drive which we were able to photograph under spotlight both as he went on patrol and later when he stopped for a drink.

We had leopards reclining on branches and with their kills in massive Mashatu trees. We had them leaping up and down effortlessly from those trees. When they were on the move we followed them, through the forest, across open terrain and along the meandering riverbeds. And at every chance we could we stared down the barrel of our lenses at them, eagerly trying to capture how it felt to be this close to such marvellous creatures.

We knew of course that no matter how many times we photographed them we could never fully do them justice, but we also knew we never wanted to stop trying.

We conclude with special thanks to everyone who helped make this trip such a memorable and enjoyable one. A fanfare first for our excellent guides Kaiser and Goms and tracker Albert with a big shout out in particular for their amazing leopard ‘spotting’ skills. Thanks too for the surprise, impromptu cocktail stop. Witnessing Kaiser throwing shapes on the kopje at dusk was a definite highlight.

A big friendly wave also goes to all the fellow photographer friends who joined us on our quest for spotted cats. Thanks for all the chat, laughter and shared experiences. Special mentions include JT – you lost your specs by the lions but you never lost your poise; to safari stalwart ST,  we hope the leopard family history you are no doubt busy quilting is coming on a treat; to K (‘I’m too sexy for my African safari shirt’) S; to CB – we did consider spray-painting a leopard black in your honour; and last, but not least, our two budding Percy Edwards, CS and PS for the many wonderful dawn choruses shared.