If you ever wondered what a Lion sees from a shady spot under a tree. Here is one possible answer: A group of Humans walking by :-)…….. I am sure that we walk quite often through the high grass and do not even know who spots us.
On our walks over the last two days we saw a few Cape Buffalo and an Elephant bull.
When I arrived at the camp two days ago this Bull was greeting me with a good head shake.
I seldom take pictures on my iPad but I thought I quickly show you my “home away from home” for the next two weeks.
This is the view from my tent at the African Nature Training ANT camp at the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. I am looking forward to eight days of walking in the bush 🙂
PS: … And as you can see the web connection works so I will provide some “walk blogs”.
Today’s pictures are of a Nile Crocodile and of a Hippo on Lake St.Lucia. They were both giving me a “sharp look”. I was glad that I was not in the water. These pictures were taken from a boat.
Well, this will be the last post for a little while. I will be in Pretoria for two days and then I am off to the Sabi Sands for another week of trails guiding contact sessions (with Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Buffalo and Rhinos :-)).
If I have internet connection I will keep you updated during this time. If not, you will hear from me again on 23 March!
I have added 169 new images to my “New Wildlife Images” Gallery. (The new images are at the beginning of the gallery),
Here is the link: http://www.sperka.biz/new
Have a good week!
PS: The picture above is a b&w art image of a Zebra with the sun lighting it from behind.
Mfazana hide is one of the best hides I have ever seen. Built on two levels it allows great views of one of the waterholes at iSimangaliso Wetland Park (former St.Lucia Wetlands).
I stayed for about three hours and I got images of Grey Heron, Malachite Kingfisher, Cormorant, Water Lily, Saddle-billed Stork, Egret, Reedbuck, Waterbuck, Little Grebe, African Jacana, African Fish-Eagle and White Rhino.
My favorite shot is the one of this African Jacana male and his young chick.
This Lion cub was concentrating hard on the “toy-stick”. He got so upset with the branch that he even used his claws!
Have a good weekend and relax 🙂
On the first two days of my off-time I took a short trip to Cape Vidal on the Indian Ocean. This was the first time I was near the ocean since I arrived in South Africa last June.
In the next few days I will post a few picture stories from my excursion to the St.Lucia Wetlands and Cape Vidal.
This picture shows me walking on the beach at sunset. During the day there were a few dozen people on the beach, but in the late evening only the overnight guests at Cape Vidal remained. I had most of the beach to myself. Good for thinking. I loved it!
On the last day of our work cycle we had some unusual sightings. The Thanda guests on today’s morning game drive enjoyed a Spotted Hyena crossing the savanna in full daylight (a very rare occurrence).
We caught a glimpse of a young Leopard before it retreated into very thick bush and …
… we ended the game drive with an unusual view of the Elephant herd on the side of a hill, on which we cannot drive with our vehicles.
We also saw Cheetahs, a White Rhino, Giraffes and a Yellow-billed Kite on the same drive. A great morning!
After a very long work cycle (26 instead of 21 days) I will now be off for eight days before I leave for another “Trails Guiding Contact Session Course” with African Nature Training – ANT (www.africanaturetraining.co.za) in the Sabi Sands. I will return to Thanda on 24 March.
There will be fewer blogs during this time, but look out for the unusual ones 🙂
Imagine you are a Lion!
You are feeding on a Zebra kill and you had already a lot to eat. So it is a bit hard to move with your full belly. And just as you feel ready for a snooze a herd of Buffalo is crashing the dinner site of your family. They chase all of you around a bit.
You climb a tree and find out that the tree you chose was not high enough.
You growl at the Buffalo and they get even more agitated than they already were.
At the right moment you jump out of the tree and you flee to the next tree.
There you wait until the annoying bulls and cows are gone.
Only then can you re-join your other eight family members (coming down from other trees) to continue the meal and the now well deserved snooze.
Not your best day!
A very special sighting at Thanda Private Game Reserve 🙂
It is always an unexpected thrill when Lions pass within hands reach of the vehicle. All nine Lions of the Thanda North Pride were walking along the northern fence line when we had this beautiful encounter.
The Thanda guests on this morning game drive loved it, even if their heart rate was up a bit 🙂
Below is the Thanda North Pride “Organization Chart”!
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 