Christian Sperka

2013-11-08

In front of the camera :-)

Photographers seldom end up on pictures. Well, there are not very many pictures with me in them, especially not during interesting wildlife operations.

But at this Rhino darting operation one of the subjects of my pictures (it was actually Kingsley Holgate, a well known South African explorer, humanitarian and author – who was present during the operation) took the camera away from me and shot this image. Thanks!

And then a member of the wildlife team took this image with all the guides, trackers, game guards and the Rhino boy involved in this procedure.

So, two picture with me in it in one day – must be a record 🙂

2013-11-08

Zulu People and Zulu Culture (1)

Thanda is located in the heart of Zululand. With this location comes responsibility to the Zulu People and the Zulu Culture, which have existed in this area for centuries.

Most of the personnel at Thanda come from the surrounding local communities and Thanda has close relationships with the community leaders and the people. Both sides benefit greatly from these good relationships!

For the interested guests – from all over the world – Thanda is not only a superb place to experience the African bush but also an ideal base to explore Zulu culture and customs.

Visits to a traditional Zulu homesteads and to local schools can enhance the appreciation for the rural life in South Africa. A visit to a Sangoma (Zulu Spiritual Adviser) can give a great insight into the Zulu believes connecting God, Nature and the Ancestors.

There will be a series of blog messages and images documenting this unique part of the Thanda experience.

This first blog/images show a group of Thanda guests with the children at a local school. Many guests support the schools by donating supplies and toys when visiting them during their stay in South Africa.

If you would like to incorporate the experience of “Zulu People and Zulu Culture” into your Thanda visit contact reservations@thanda.co.za

First images above: The school children were having fun running around the school yard with one of the Thanda guests.

The school children perform a few songs for the foreign guests.

These boys were singing and dancing about the Black Rhino.

A young lady from Spain in a friendly conversation with young students.

2013-11-03

Stay where you are!

This small Thanda Elephant bull wanted to make sure that we came no further towards the herd. All the adult females were very relaxed when this little one showed us that he is a big Elephant already.

We adhered to his wishes and approach no further. He shook his head in “big bull fashion” and turned away to continue with his feeding.

A very memorable Thanda Elephant encounter 🙂

2013-11-01

The Small Things!

It is not all about the Big Five. A game drive on Thanda is much more than just looking at the “famous grand creatures” of the bush.

Enjoying the presentation of a Scorpion by Bheki, one of the experienced Thanda trackers, spotting a male Southern Tree Agama in its “ready for mating” coloration or viewing a African Blood Lily growing in a burned area after the first rains of the season are just some of the special sightings of “Small Things” which make every day in the African bush very special.

2013-10-31

Catching and Releasing a Mozambique Spitting Cobra!

Well, a lot of you got it right! (see previous blog)

I use these goggles when catching or releasing spitting snakes (or if I do know which snake I might encounter). In this case I caught a Mozambique Spitting Cobra (in Zulu:Mfezi) which had strayed into a room at Thanda house late at night. Today I released it onto another part of the reserve.

This collage of images shows the release of the snake. Thanks to Warren Beets for taking the pictures (I could not take any myself – I was busy :-))

PS: I will add a GoPro camera to my equipment set so I can record these sort of procedures on video – from my view-point.

2013-10-31

Be prepared?

It looks like a silly picture, but I was preparing for something serious!

What was I preparing for? Have a guess?

I will blog the answer this evening 🙂

Picture by Warren Beets

2013-10-302013-10-30

My first week!

From Thanda’s dominant male Lions point of view …

“It was a hard first week, but what a place! As soon as they let me out of the boma – which was pretty nice, by the way, with full room service and everything – the Thanda Lion ladies were most hospitable…

… The first three days I spent with the most experienced female of the North pride and when she left I was pretty exhausted …

… From time to time these strange rolling animals with lots of round eyes came by. One can’t eat them so I just ignore them …

… On Thursday a younger Lion lady showed up and she was very forthcoming. But I was just too tired. Maybe next week …

… I was just “lion” around when another of these large animals with the round eyes came by – it must like me! It followed me for a while …

… when I heard another male roaring. I decided to investigate. The funny animal was still following me ?:-)

… I showed it how to sharpen my claws – just in case! …

… and then the strange animal almost got stuck in the muddy ground – which gave me quite a scare – Now it is gone and I will have a little rest – what a first week!”

This is a “record” of the new male Lion’s first week at Thanda Private Game Reserve, observed by many Thanda guests (sitting in the strange rolling animals with the round eyes :-).

2013-10-28

“Time Lapse” Collages

These are two “time-lapse” collages made from various images of a camera trap.

This small camera is installed at a small waterhole in the western part of Thanda.

We have identified many different species drinking at day and at night (including Lion, Hyena, Nyala, Zebra, Kudu, Impala, Warthog, Giraffe, Wildebeest, Elephant).

The camera trap will stay in place for a little while longer – we may catch more Thanda residents having a drink!

2013-10-27

Kings and Queens!

This is a picture of the departure of future kings and queens from a Termite hill. As the rainy season starts “winged alates” leave the Termite cast communities to meet with possible kings or queens from other Termite hills to form a new society.

Termite live in a cast society where every member gets “assigned” its role in life before birth. The workers and warrior Termites cannot reproduce. But here they fulfill one of their their major roles in life to ensure that the “reproductives” (or winged alates) can leave the community unharmed to procreate the species.

These winged Termites can only start reproducing once they found a partner and after they have dropped their wings. Once underground the females abdomen will swell to become a huge “egg-laying-machine”, also called the queen of the Termite community.

If one looks carefully at the center of the picture one can see a winged alate coming up through a hole in the ground (with its wings still tucked in).

The Thanda guests were most impressed with this “micro sighting”.

2013-10-26

Strange Encounter!

At the small waterhole in front of Thanda’s Villa iZulu a Spotted Hyena and a journey of Southern Giraffe met and interacted for almost an hour. This image shows Bheki in between the actors in this early morning drama.

… The Hyena had come to the waterhole when the Giraffe interrupted its morning drink…

… It moved off when the tallest land mammals came in to have their drink …

… But not far – at one time the carnivore ventured almost to “kicking distance” …

… We left after watching this scene for almost an hour – On the way back to Thanda’s Safari Lodge we ran into an Elephant road block. The matriarch was having an eye on us while we followed the herd slowly until they made their way through the bush to another waterhole. What a morning!