The photographer tried "camera traps" with motion sensors, tying his gear onto a tree to capture images of the elusive animal.
The curious cat took a liking to the technology.
"He marked his territory ... peed all over it, as they do, then rubbed his face against it and chewed right through the glass front, but then left it."
Retrieving the gear had unforeseen consequences for Mr Kieser.
"The stink on my hands for about two or three days - I couldn't get that leopard urine off. I was travelling with a girlfriend at the time. It was a bit intense ... there was no hanky-panky, that's for sure."
The card inside the gear survived, so Mr Kieser was able to retrieve some footage, mostly close-ups of whiskers and teeth.
This year, he had another close encounter of the feline kind, at Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
"It's a really special place for me because I actually spread my father's ashes there," he said.
Looking for a spot to scatter his dad's ashes, Mr Kieser realised he wasn't alone.
"I could hear these lions roaring all night. And I thought I better find out where they are, before I go walking into the bush ... and end up joining my dad."
Near a waterhole, he set up another camera trap with heavy duty gear, before all hell broke loose.
"The next morning there was just batteries and bits and pieces of the camera trap left."
This time, there was no retrieving any photos.
Mr Kieser spent a day scanning an expanse of the Kalahari, and couldn't even find two of his batteries, let alone the memory card.
"It must have been a pride of them. And what sometimes happens is, if they find something interesting, one of them grabs it but then runs off with it."
Southern Cross Travel Insurance said Kiwis had lodged a wide range of animal-related claims this year.
"One customer was bitten by a seal at a colony while holidaying in Namibia, requiring a visit to the doctor, while another hit a buffalo while driving in a Sri Lankan street at night, requiring a trip to the local hospital," said Craig Morrison, the company's chief executive.
"We've also recently had a claim from a customer who had a suitcase and clothing destroyed by a rat trying to get at their lunch while they were on safari in Africa, and another who was badly stung by jellyfish in Malaysia -- which goes to show it's not just the big animals you need to watch out for," Mr Morrison said.
Southern Cross said the animal-related claims were all for fairly small amounts, but replacing gear and covering medical bills could be a big hassle for people on holiday.
Benign New Zealand wildlife could lead some Kiwis to underestimate the power of animals abroad, Mr Morrison said.
"In New Zealand we're not used to dealing with some of the more unusual wildlife, so it pays to remember wild animals have teeth, horns and claws and require respect," Mr Morrison said.
