At the start of today’s morning game drive we found ourselves in the middle of Thanda’s herd of Cape Buffalo …
… Then we watched a herd of Elephants drinking at a waterhole and …
… at the end tracked down the North Pride of Lions (the images shows a young male at his morning cleaning routine).
Three out of five – a good morning!
Our two Cheetah boys were lying in a recently burned area when we spotted them from the road. Driving off-road is not allowed on freshly burned ground so Bheki and I walked our guest a few meters to get a good view of those two magnificent creatures. Our guest enjoyed the experience very much. The two brothers kept us in view for a few minutes and then lost interest in the six humans nearby. What a sighting!
On today’s evening game drive we followed the Thanda Elephant herd for almost three hours. We saw them moving over a hill, drinking at a waterhole, racing away from the water, crossing one of Thanda’s major roads and then feeding in a beautiful fever tree area.
It was difficult to choose one image for today’s post, but my favorite shots are of the two youngest Elephants in the group. The Thanda guests on my vehicle agreed on the high “cuteness factor” for these two!
Thanda guests enjoyed watching the herd of Elephants taking a mud bath at a waterhole. After an enjoyable swim and the mud bath they were dusting themselves before they disappeared back into the bush.
Elephant use mud and sand as a sunscreen, protecting their skin from ultraviolet light. Although tough, elephant’s skin is very sensitive. Without regular mud baths and dust baths to protect it from burning, insect bites and moisture loss, elephant’s skin may suffer serious damage.
Over 1,000 additional antelopes and zebra arrived over the last few month at Thanda Private Game Reserve. These Impala, Wildebeest, Nyala, Zebra and Kudu will enhance the excellent Thanda Game Drive Experience even further. Besides seeing the Big Five on daily drives it is very exciting to see large groups of these herbivores roaming on the reserve.
The images show the release of a young Nyala bull and a group of Zebra.
The most important task for the Thanda Guiding Team is to show guests the many aspects of the Thanda ecosystem on game drives.
Another important responsibility is the bush-clearing of roads. During the summer many plants grow into the roadways and can turn a game drive into a “thorny” ride.
This collage shows the “before” and “after” of the road maintenance work of the guiding team, which ensures that the guests have a comfortable drive on the major routes through the reserve.
… but I had to post it 🙂
My first night back at Thanda and what do you think woke me up?
… Thanda’s dominant male Lion was roaring this morning and it sounded as if he was in front of my door. The sun had not risen yet, it was still quite dark. I got up and opened my front door to see the large male crossing the road outside the gate.
I had no camera in my room so I grabbed my iPad and took this (very marginal) image of the male disappearing into the grass. See if you can spot him.
A bad image, but what a wake-up call!
Today Bheki and I saw this Serval on the way back from the Lodge. A very special sighting!
Thanda’s three month old Cheetah cubs were on a early morning walk down the road with their mum and the Thanda guests had a good look at them.
When the cubs are this young we do not view them “off-road” so this was a very special treat not only for the guests, but also for all trackers and guides who got to see them that morning.
When I left Thanda at sunrise our two male Cheetah walked directly towards me. In this picture the “visible” Cheetah’s breath is a sign for a cold winter’s morning in Kwazulu Natal.
I spent an enjoyable day at a hide in Mkuze Game Reserve and I will post a few of today’s images in the near future :-).
… and thanks for all the kind birthday wishes!
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 