… from, where this picture came from. Stay tuned …
Vigilant ‘house cats’, the neighbours’ kits at play and an excited gentleman in front of the house!
Well, this title might be a bit misleading 🙂
When I left Thanda House this afternoon for a quick visit to friends on a neighbouring reserve, I left Thanda’s two Cheetah boys in charge of perimeter security around Thanda House.
As I drove onto the reserve where my friends live, I took pictures of two little White Rhinos at play. 
And when I got back to Thanda a young Elephant bull gave me a rather excited welcome. From the way he reacted to my vehicle, looking at the glands on his forehead and judging from other obvious signs of excitement :-), he may be getting into musth.
Not the regular house cats, not the average kits at play and a rather unusual excited gentleman in front of the house, but another really good afternoon in the African bush!
The Day of the Dead Moon
Thanda Private Game Reserve now offers a new package named ‘Battlefields and Bush‘ in cooperation with a place called Fugitives’ Drift. I went to have a look at this new package-partner and to take a few images which we will be able to use for our advertisement and for our social media messages. I did not have particular expectations as I knew very little of the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879 and I did not have any great interest in the subject before my visit.
But, it was amazing!
The art of storytelling, together with this fascinating part of South Africa’s and Britain’s history, combined with the stunning scenery of the battlefields made this one of my best trips in a long time. The Fugitives’ Drift lodge is very beautifully located on a 5,000ha heritage site. It is very comfortable with excellent food and very good service. 
Below is a picture record of my stay. It documents me experiencing ‘The Day of The Dead Moon‘, which is the title of the story of this war, as it has been recorded, superbly told by David Rattray.
The audio record is available online at http://www.fugitivesdrift.com/shop.
Upon my arrival I was greeted by a Giraffe as I entered the Fugutives’ Drift Heritage Site. The Isandlawna mountain, which plays an important role in this story, is visible in the background.
From a high-point on the reserve one gets an excellent view down to the Buffalo River, the border between Natal and Zululand.
What a sunset on my first evening!
Mphiwa Ntanzi was the most excellent guide and story teller for the visit to the Isandlwana Battelfield on the second day of my stay.
The Battle of Isandlwana was the first major confrontation in the Anglo-Zulu war. On 22 January 1879, midday – in a very hot and humid summer climate and during an eclipse of the sun (which the Zulus call ‘The Day of the Dead Moon’) – the Zulu Nation won its greatest victory in this war and the British Empire experienced its most devastating defeat. Of the 1,412 British soldiers at the start of the battle only 55 survived. A disciplined army of over 20,000 Zulu warriors was victorious. The British camp was on the left-hand slope of the mountain. The viewpoint -from which this image was taken – was the ridge, from which the main body of the Zulu army moved towards the mountain and attacked the British position.
Just imagine how you would feel to be one the British soldiers (who were in average around 5’2″-5’4″ tall) standing in the high grass (which at the time was up to 6′ high) listening to the war cries and shield-bashing of 20,000 Zulu warriors advancing on you. And remember it was quite dark on that day as the moon blocked out part of the sun around the time of the battle.
This picture shows some of the markers and memorials of British graves on the battlefield of Isandlawana…
… and this is an image of the memorial to the fallen Zulus. It represents a Zulu necklace, which is awarded to a Zulu warrior for exceptional valour in battle. It is arranged in a horn formation, which symbolizes the traditional attack structure of a Zulu army.
The ‘Day of the Dead Moon’ came alive when Mphiwa told us the story as we were sitting in the shade of the tree on the edge of the battlefield. It was a very moving story, masterly presented.
In the late afternoon (on the same day – 22 January 1879), and during the subsequent night, the British fought one of the most heroic battles in history (this story is the basis for the famous film ‘Zulu’). As we visited this site, where a mere 137 men defended the small mission station at Rorke’s Drift against thousands of Zulus, Doug Rattray was telling us the story of the second battle of this historical day. Only 16 of the British soldiers died in this fierce encounter. Victoria crosses were awarded to 12 of the British for their bravery, more than in any other battle in history. Doug’s excellent storytelling skills turned this afternoon into much more than just another visit to a historical site.
I also took a walk to the Buffalo River at Fugitives’ Drift, where some of the survivors from the Isandlwana disaster crossed on their flight from the pursuing Zulus at the same time as the Zulus started their assault on Rorke’s Drift. Dickon, our guide on this walk, told us the gripping story of the British soldiers who died in the attempt to save the Regimental Queens Colours. Two more Victoria crosses were awarded for bravery on this occasion.
It was great to hear all the stories, especially because the three guides always tried to explain the British view and the Zulu view of these tragedies.
As I left Fugitives’ Drift I was certain that I will be back. If you are interested in history and if you enjoy stunning scenery, then Fugitives’ Drift should be part of your agenda when visiting KwaZulu Natal.
All pictures: Christian Sperka Photography (C) 2015
Links:
http://www.thanda.com/packages/battlefields-bush.htm
http://www.fugitivesdrift.com
http://www.anglozuluwar.com
http://www.fugitivesdrift.com/shop
http://www.thanda.com
http://www.sperka.com
Five+
What a morning!
It happens quite often that Thanda guests can experience more than one of the Big Five during a single game drive.
But it is a very rare treat when all five of Africa’s most famous animals make their appearance within a single 3.5 hours drive.
Today was such a day. During this morning’s drive we had an excellent sighting with a few Elephant bulls, watched five young Lions waiting for their mothers’ return from a hunt, spotted three Black Rhinos on an open savanna area, observed a large herd of Cape Buffalo grazing and then – most spectacular of all – surprised a beautiful male Leopard on our way back to Thanda’s Villa iZulu.
It is hard to believe that we also saw Giraffes, Nyalas, Impalas, Warthogs, Wildebeests, Zebras, Yellow-billed Hornbills, Cape Glossy Starlings, Red-billed Oxpeckers and a Brown-hooded Kingfisher on the same drive.
This collage shows six images taken…
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A Mid-Morning Snooze …
My favorite image taken at Nsumo Pan 🙂
I had to post this one separately!
A Cold Winter Morning, a Hippo Island and a Slender Rarity
Yesterday I went to Nsumo Pan at Mkhuze Game Reserve. I wanted to evaluate if this large pan system with its well positioned hides is a good place for excursions with Thanda’s ‘serious photographer’ guests.
Judge for yourself!
I enjoyed the seven hours photo session which included a lot of water birds, a Hippo mum with her small calf out of the water, an African Jacana which used a Hippo as a mid-pan-island, and a Slender Mongoose posing for the camera (a very rare sighting).
In connection with the khMasinga hide (I will post some recent images from this hide, soon) I think this natural pan will work well for ‘serious photography’ guests as long as they have a 500mm+ lens and if they are also interested in birds. For birding enthusiasts it is a paradise – even without pictures.
Enjoy the gallery!
African Fish Eagle
Nyalas on the opposite bank
Morning snooze …
In case you are interested here all the 27 different species I have seen on that day:
Hippos * | African Fish-Eagle * | African Openbill | Spur-winged Goose * | Egyptian Goose * | Nyala * | Impala | Blue Wildebeest | African Darter | African Jacana * | Nile Crocodile | Black-winged Stilt * | Brown-hooded | Kingfisher * | Warthog | Pink-backed Pelican * | Great White Pelican * | Red Duicker | Cattle Egret |Great Egret | Grey Heron | Red-billed Teal | Greater Flamingo | Water Monitor * | Terrapin | African Spoonbill | Slender Mongoose * | Goliath Heron * | * = good photographic condition/distance
Sunlight!
A lucky moment 🙂
This Thanda Leopard was enjoying the warming afternoon sun on a cool winter day. Leopards are very shy cats which usually do not like to be seen during the day. But this beautiful male made an exception to this rule to collect the last afternoon sun-rays before moving off into the thick bush.
What a sighting!
Pictures by Christian Sperka – Specialist Photography Guide and Resident Wildlife Photographer – Thanda Private Game Reserve
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12:36 – A new Giraffe is born!
Thanda’s youngest Giraffe calf was born today at precisely 12:36.
Members of the Thanda Wildlife Team observed the birth of the young boy and stayed with him and his mum until he was ready to walk properly. It took over four hours from the first appearance of the legs until his 1.80m fall into life. After he hit the ground it took him thirty minutes before he raised his head and it took another 1.5 hours before he made his first successful attempts to stand. As soon as he was firmly on his feet he started looking for milk and – after a short search – he found mum’s teats. To bond with him and to clean him Mum licked the little one with her long, rough tongue. For the actual birth (from the appearance of his head to his fall to the ground) his mum was hiding behind a thicket. There…
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In just one day …
During my last time off-work I spent one day in KwaZulu Natal’s most famous National Park, the Hluhluwe-Imfolzi Game Reserve.
I packed all my long lenses, as animals in National Parks are often further away then on Thanda, where we can drive off-road to get closer. In a National Park one has to stay on the roads. The day turned out to be very windy, so I saw almost no general game and very few birds. But most of the “big ones” made their appearance.
Just after I entered the park I drove by a Lion kill sighting (in the thick bush off the road), just as a White Rhino walked by. A herd of Cape Buffalo stared at me near Hilltop Camp as I passed quite close to them. I had many White Rhino sightings (with a lot of ticks on all the Rhinos :-)). Two Elephant bulls strolled up a hillside far away (work for my 500mm lens!) and finally I got to see a few Impalas.
As the sun started to set I watched a Baboon family at their daily grooming ritual and then took a few scenery sunset shots before I left the park.
All in all a productive and relaxing day, despite the wind. I hope you will enjoy this online-image-gallery!
Baboons’ Cleaning Ritual
Rhino, Lion and Park Visitors
Colors!
In the animal kingdom there are many colors. And birds provide some of the most beautiful examples of a multi-color-display.
This Gwala-Gwala (Purple-crested Turaco) shows fluorescent greens and purple combined with the most stunning crimson under the wings.
Another one of my favorites!
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 