Author: Christian Sperka

Christian Sperka is a wildlife photographer based at Thanda Private Game Reserve, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. Over the last 11 years, Christian has traveled the world photographing animals in wild game reserves of South Africa and Namibia, the jungles of Costa Rica, in Yellowstone National Park in the USA, as well as zoos in Europe and the United States. His work has been featured in wildlife magazines, in books and in many zoo publications. He actively supports wild cat conservation, working as a partner photographer for Panthera, the world's leading organization devoted to the conservation of all wild cat species (panthera.org). From 2009 to 2012 he has worked as the official photographer and photography teacher at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Tennessee, USA (nashvillezoo.org). Christian is also a qualified South African field guide. He now works as specialist photography guide on Thanda Private Game Reserve in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa (thanda.com).
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Afternoon Guests

This week, when sitting in my office, I had two repeat guests at Thanda house. On various occasions the breeding herd of Elephants came to drink at the waterhole and Thulani, one of our two large and old Elephants bulls, made his way from the water along the the fence around our garden. And a pair of Striped Kingfishers made their home in our garden. Both birds get very excited about their reflection in my office windows and they knock at them regularly. These good looking little birds are very territorial and obviously not too bright 🙂

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The Horse Photographer :-)

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I love Wildlife Photography but I also enjoy taking pictures of horses in action (with riders or without).

The picture above is of …
… me and Kara, a pure Arabian mare, looking at one another after a photo shoot.
… Isabella Stepski – Pakamisa’s owner – holding Kara.
… Mark – a Pakamisa guest – on Zulu (a Boerperd) smiling at the unusual scene with me posing in front of the camera :-).

Thanks to Daan for taking the picture!

Below are a few more images from my last stay at Pakamisa. Enjoy the variety!

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Tina on El Dorado “speeding”

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Two geldings on the way to dinner

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Excitement at the stables

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A Wildebeest with war paint 🙂

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New arrivals – Impala fawns appearing all over the place

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Another picture of me on Badger – having a good time!

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Sunset at Pakamisa

 

 

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Best of KwaZulu Natal

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My brother Stefan visited me from Germany. He stayed in South Africa for the last two weeks.

We had a great time at three of the best places KwaZulu Natal has to offer!

First we enjoyed pure luxury on the Indian ocean staying at The Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga. Then we moved on to my “home ground” to experience the Big Five at Thanda Private Game Reserve in the heart of Zululand. The last five days we spent horse riding and relaxing on Pakamisa Private Game Reserve with its magnificent views over the hills of Northern KwaZulu Natal.

A perfect way to spend two weeks in Africa. What a life!

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Ellis and Hippos :-)

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Today I went the first time on a Lake Jozini morning cruise. This large lake is located in Northern KwaZulu Natal, between Mkuze and Pongola, along the N2.

Despite the overcast weather I got some great Elephant and Hippos shots.

This picture shows a large herd of Elephants (over sixty individuals) coming for a “lake-side” morning drink stop. We spend almost one hour observing the Elli family life.

After we left the Elephants we saw a herd of Cape Buffalo on the opposite side of the lake and we observed Nile Crocodile, Common Reedbuck, Juvenile African Fish Eagle, White-faced Whistling Duck, African Javana, Spur-winged Goose, Egyptian Goose, Grey Heron, Secretary Bird, Western Great Egret, Marabou Stork, African Jacana, African Spoonbill, Red-billed Oxpecker and a few pods of Hippo.

The second image shows one of the Hippos “mock-charging” our boat. This female let us know that she wanted us keep our distance, which we did 🙂

What a day!

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Aggression!

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Hippos are quite aggressive. To one another and to anyone who challenges their territory.

The picture above was taken yesterday during a “Hippo and Crocodile” tour on the estuary of Lake St.Lucia.

And so were the pictures below: Nile Crocodile, Yellow Weaver, Pied Kingfisher, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Swift Tern, Frey-headed Gull, Caspian Tern, African Fish Eagle and a Baby Hippo.

Pied Kingfisher
Great Egret
Yellow Weaver
Grey Heron
Swift Tern, Grey-headed Gull, Caspian Turn
African Fish Eagle
Baby Hippo
Nile Crocodile

 

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Watch her!

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It is not easy to get prey and predator into the same picture, unless on occasions when one is eating the other :-).

But on this evening a Thanda North Pride Lioness was resting on a waterhole wall as a Giraffe female kept an eye on her; both in the right position for a great photo opportunity. After a while the Lioness walked off in one direction and the Giraffe the opposite way.

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Fight!

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Hippo males fight a lot! These two were giving quite a performance. Another unpublished image I found during my “filing work”.

Have a good weekend 🙂

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Spectrum

I am currently reviewing many of my older images as I am looking for more material for a new book.

And I came across this – so far unpublished – image of a Lilac-breasted Roller. One of my favorite birds with its many colors!

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Zulu for Guests :-)

Learn a bit of Zulu …..

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Thanda Faces

Our guests enjoy getting to know our staff along with their Zulu culture during their stay with us just as much as spotting the wildlife! We are regularly being asked for the Zulu translation for everyday words such as hello and thank you and have drawn up a list as a reminder for those who have recently visited. We thought it may also be of interest to those who may soon be staying with us:

Hello –Sawubona
Thank you – Ngiyabonga
Delicious – Kumnandi
Beautiful – Muhle
Good – Kuhle
Go well – Hambakahle
We are happy – Sijabule
May I please have this – Ngicela lokhu
How are you – Unjani
Sleep well – Lala kahle
See you tomorrow – Sobonana kusasa
Spoil your self – Zithokozise or Zijabulise
Good choice – Ukhethe kahle
Lion – Bubesi
Elephant – Ndlovu
Buffalo – Nyathi
White Rhino – Nkombe
Black Rhino…

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