Week in Pictures: Safari Stars

Time might seem like it’s flying as we enter the second month of 2017, but the timelessness of the bush slows us right back down and reminds us that every moment holds something special. The stars come up every night, but so seldom do we take the time to glance up and gaze at it. Every rustle in the untamed bush, every flash of movement, every crack of a twig brings time to a standstill and our senses to a peak. There is no predicting what we will see in the bush, so every moment holds the promise of something, anything, everything. Slow down the pace and scroll through our top captures in the Week in Pictures – it’s the weekend, make every second count!

Africa on Foot, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

The galactic extravagance of the Milky Way, lighting up the skies above the Treehouse

Confident attitude portrayed in this mother leopard's face as she finishes off a meal

Duma - a name meaning 'thunder' - commands his audience with a simply mesmerising gaze

The sisterly bond between the Ross Breakaway lionesses, captured in black and wihite

nThambo Tree Camp, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

Bundu, young male leopard, relaxes indulgently in the cradle of a marula tree

Duma, meaning 'thunder', looks every inch a king with his famous mane in pristine condition

A Ross Breakaway lioness exposes her unusual, toothless dentistry with a big yawn

A young member of the herd picking up the pace to keep up with the rest

Tuskers Bush Camp, Kwatale Conservancy, Northern Botswana

An elephant bull emerges from a waterhole at dusk in the Kwatale Conservancy's Little Nxai Pan

Future king of the Moremi gazing contemplatively into the tree canopy

The joyous relief of scratching that itch...

The flight of the open-billed storks

Ezulwini Game Lodges, Balule Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

A leopard on a lazy night

A hippo bathes in a sunlit waterhole at dusk

A single ivory tusk lights up the shadows

A European roller perches, showing off its cinnamon-dusted, folded wings

Umkumbe Safari Lodge, Sabi Sand Wildtuin, Greater Kruger Park

Young Tatowa relaxes on a ridge and surveys her surroundings after diligently marking her territory

A buffalo, outshone by one of summer's prettiest weeds

A journey of giraffe direct a sceptical gaze at a cheetah in the grass

Mxabene, after giving up on a zebra chase, relaxes in all his bulky glory. What a leopard!