Category: iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Today we went on boat trip on Lake St.Lucia (from Makakatana Bay Lodge). Beside the obligatory Hippos we especially enjoyed the many in-flight bird sightings.

Above are just two of the many motion photography opportunities of the day (more below)

The picture on the left shows an Osprey in flight with the remains of a fish in its talons. The picture on the left depicts a African Darter with a freshly speared fish.

Here is the technical data for both shots (for the photographers among you 😊):

Technical data (left): Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 1600 | 1/2000sec | ev+1.5 | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Continuous shooting | Multi-point focus

Technical data (right): Canon R6 with RF lens f11/800mm | ISO 100 | 1/750sec | ev+0.5 | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Single shot | Centre-point focus

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography 

On Friday afternoon and Saturday morning I went for three drives to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (on both sides of the Lake St.Lucia estuary, called the Eastern Shores and the Western Shores).

Thanda Safari offers guests a midday excursion for a Hippo and Croc cruise on the Lake and I often take guests for a multi-day-stay to this incredibly diverse National Park. But this time I went all by myself for a bit of time off and some relaxing birding and photography. And I had quite a lot of of very good mammal sightings as well.

This is a short slide show with 24 pictures which I took during the three drives. Enjoy the pictures from this great place!

In case you are interested:

Accommodation: 

I overnighted again at Serene Estate Boutique Guest House (my favourite place in St.Lucia). This is where I usually stay with my guests. And on occasion I also use another of my portfolio places called Makakatana Bay Lodge (The only – and very beautiful – 5 star lodge inside the wetland park).

Sightings:

These were the pictures/sighting/species in the slide show  (in order of appearance):

• Hippopotamus and African Jacana
• Yellow-throated Longclaw
• Waterbuck
• Black-headed Heron
• Hippopotamus
• Reed Cormorant
• Waterbuck and Cattle Egret
• African Cuckoo-Hawk
• Cape  Buffalo
• Collared Pratincole
• Spotted Hyena
• Lesser Masked Weaver
• Spotted Hyena
• Reed Cormorant
• Bushbuck
• Brown-hooded Kingfisher
• South Africa Giraffe
• African Pygmy Kingfisher
• Burchell‘s Zebra
• Little Egret
• Rufous-bellied Heron
• Malachite Kingfisher
• White-backed Duck
• Purple Heron

I also saw (observed, but no good quality images): Saddle-billed Stork, Egyptian Goose, Spur-winged Goose,  Yellow-billed Duck, Great Egret, Squacco Heron, Red-capped Robin-chat, Red-billed Oxpeckers, Trumpeter Hornbill, African Wood Owl, Red-breasted Swallow, African Stonechat, Southern Fiscal, Fork-tailed Drongo, White-faced Whistling Duck, Crested Gunieafowl, Crested Francolin, Burchell’s Coucal, Ring-necked Dove,  Common Moorhen, Black Crake, Little Grebe, Wattled Lapwing, African Darter, White-breasted Cormorant, Hadeda Ibis, Hammerkop, Speckled Mousebird, African Hoopoe, Dark-capped Bulbul, Southern Boubou, Pied Crow, Rattling Cisticola, Kurrichane Thrush, …

Technical data:

All pictures were taken with one of the following three camera/lens combinations: Canon R6/Canon EF70-200 L f/2.8 – Canon R6/Canon EF500 L f/4.0 – Canon R6/Canon RF800 f/11

My drives:

1 – Eastern shores – main road, grassland loop (afternoon 11:30-17:30)

2 – Eastern shores – main road, vlei loop, grassland loop (morning 6:00-10:30) 

3 – Western Shores – main road, western loop (13:00-15:30)

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography 

If you want to read more of my stories and see more of my pictures, you should visit my blog at https://sperka.info/blog/ 

… stands for ‘miracle’ in isiZulu.

It is also the name of a world heritage site, one of the most beautiful places in South Africa.

Yesterday, we went on an all-day excursion to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a rather rainy day, but despite the weather, we had an excellent day.

It started with a morning Hippo and Croc Cruise (on one of the smaller Shakabraker Tours boats) on Lake St. Lucia Estuary. We saw a lot of birds, a young Crocodile, and many Hippos. The latter gave impressive yawning displays and even left the water right in front of us to do a bit of grazing.

Then, we had a superb lunch at St. Lucia’s best restaurant, called ‘Reef and Dunes’. My guests had fresh seafood and fish, which they enjoyed very much. St. Lucia is a small tourist town located on the Indian Ocean at the mouth of the estuary. It is a good base for all activities around the wetland.

After lunch, a quick jump into the Indian Ocean was on the agenda. We walked down the sandy beaches in St. Lucia, and my guests braved the high waves, enjoying the rather warm water for their swim. The sun made a brief appearance for that part of the program.

Instead of using the busy N2 highway for the journey home, we took a leisurely two-and-a-half-hour drive through the western part of the wetlands from Dukuduku gate to the Nhlozi gate. We enjoyed the beautiful water soaked scenery with many more birds, Waterbuck, Reedbuck, and even more Hippos. Wetlands at their best!

Upon our return in the early evening, we agreed that this was a very good all-day program for a rainy day!

If you would like to read more of my stories and see more of my pictures, you can visit my blog at https://sperka.info/blog/

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography