This is a short video slideshow with some of the pictures I took at Thanda and Pakamisa during my first week back in the bush.
Enjoy your weekend!
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
Two days ago, I spent the late afternoon at one of my favorite Thanda Safari water holes.
And just as the sun started to set, four giraffes arrived to have an evening drink.
When most mammals want to have a drink, they simply lower their heads to the water. Their necks are long enough and their legs are short enough to make this a very simple process.
Not so for adult giraffes. They either have to spread their front legs extra wide or do a funny half-kneel to reach the water to drink.
So the giraffes either have legs that are too long or necks that are too short!
Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 2000 | 1/2000sec | f6.3 | ev+0 | 220mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 60% of the original image.
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
… and few extra pictures from the same ‘photo shoot’:
On my way home last night, I encountered two Lionesses. They were inspecting all the various game on a open savanna with great interest. From their appearance, I could tell that their stomachs were quite empty, so I concluded that they were actually hunting.
From their shaded position upwind, they must have been quite invisible to the Giraffes, Zebras, Wildebeest, Nyalas, and Impalas. On occasion, some of them looked straight towards the two cats but did not see them.
I stayed with them for about ninety minutes until the sun had set.
Unfortunately, their patience was not rewarded that evening. As they approached a Zebra very carefully, a nearby Nyala bull spotted them and gave an alarm call. All the prey animals immediately retreated to a safe distance, and the Lionesses moved on to try somewhere else.
Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 800 | 1/500sec | f6.3 | ev+0 | 240mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 60% of original image
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/
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
It is good to be home. Just before sunset last night I took a short drive onto the reserve.
Besides all the general game and many birds I saw some of our Lions snoozing in the middle of a savanna area.
And I took this silhouette shot of a Zebra with my iPhone.
I wish you a good week!
_Technical data: Apple 14 Pro Max | Main Camera 24mm | ISO 64 | 1/19000sec | f1.8 | ev+0 | 48mm_
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
I took aerial pictures of staff members forming a heart to celebrate twenty years of Thanda Safari.
I have been working at Thanda for almost twelve years now, and I am proud to call it my home Let’s hope I will make it to my 20-year anniversary at Thanda 🙂
Thanks to everyone and Happy Anniversary!
Website: http://www.thanda.com
On the weekend we found this very young Cape Buffalo calf and its mum. The little one stayed very close to its mother, who still showed all the signs of a recent birth.
It is very important for the calf to get licked and nuzzled by mum and lick and nuzzle mum. It creates a bond that is important for them to identify one another within a herd.
We observed them for a while and I was fascinated by the big eyes in the small head 🙂
Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 2000 | 1/500sec | f6.3 | ev+0 | 150mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode
Have a good week 🙂
PS: I will be on a trip to Europe from end of this week until mid of June. My wildlife blogs/posts will resume on 17 June.
This morning, Thanda Safari published the official release for THE ROYAL THANDA CLUB.
I am proud to have contributed many pictures to the project and I am looking forward to providing my photographic services to the future guests of The Royal Thanda Club.
Please take a look at the fact sheet and brochure (links below) for these incredible new villas with their stunning views of the Rolling Hills of Zululand!
Fact Sheet:https://thanda.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/The-Royal-Thanda-Club-Fact-Sheet.pdf
Brochure: https://thanda.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/The-Royal-Thanda-Club-E-Brochure-2024.pdf
I wish all mothers around the world a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY
… with this cute image of an Elephant mom and her small calf. Have a great day!
… are noted for the impressive webs they weave. There are quite a few different species in the genus _Trichonephila_. The females can reach sizes of over 5cm (2″). The males are usually 2/3 smaller.
This picture shows what one can close-up work one can do with a good smart phone.
Technical data: Apple 14 Pro Max | Main Camera 48mm | ISO 80 | 1/85sec | f1.8 | ev+0 | 240mm
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
When a pride of lions has many juvenile members, the experienced Lionesses often leave them for a while to attempt hunting on their own.
Especially young male Lions regularly “mess up” a hunt by being too obvious and/or too clumsy.
In this picture, a Lioness returned to the pride from such an unsuccessful outing, and all the youngsters ran enthusiastically to greet her.
A moment after this image was taken, they complained (moaned) to mum about being hungry.
And a few minutes after that, a dazzle of Zebras walked by, and the whole pride (8 lions) tried to catch one of them, again with no success.
As it got very warm at the time, they all decided to settle down in the shade of a tree and try their luck again in the evening.
A great experience for the guests on my vehicle!
Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 1250 | 1/3000 sec | f6.3 | EV +0 | 150mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Cropped to 25% of the original image
If you would like to read more of my stories and see more of my pictures, you should visit my blog at https://www.sperka.com
#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 