This young Thanda Safari Lioness was following her mother across a recently burned area. I took this picture last night just as the sun had set. I love the stark contrast between the cat and the background.
Technical data: Canon R6 with EF lens f2.8/70-200mm | ISO 16000 | 1/500sec | f2.8 | ev+0 | 200mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode
This was the view morning from the Villa iZulu deck towards its waterhole. A herd of Elephants stopped by for a drink before moving on for more grazing and browsing. It was a most beautiful scene enjoyed up close by the guests on two of Thanda Safari’s game viewers.
And it was a perfect beginning to a Thanda Safari wedding day. The celebration started the previous evening with a romantic dinner under the stars. A moving wedding ceremony with 75 guests in the bush on a hilltop was followed by a creative photo shoot for the couple, a superb wedding reception with a multi-course gourmet meal, ended this morning with a bush breakfast on a warm, sunny morning.
I am happy that I was part of the team that made this happen!
Just a few minutes ago I stopped at a Thanda Safari waterhole on my way home and I encounter our oldest Lioness with her new cubs having an evening drink. As cute as it gets! Enjoy your evening.
… is what this Cheetah male would have been thinking if he were human.
One often sees animals limping and usually assumes a dire injury inflicted by predators during a hunt, broken bones, or a gruesome infection from a wound.
But a lot of times, it is just a thorn, of which there are plenty lying around, which get stuck somewhere in the underside of the feet.
And having no fingers does not help. It can take a long while to get the offending piece out, usually by vigorous tongue-licking, as shown in this picture.
With visible relief, he followed his brother across the savanna after his paw was thorn-free again.
There also a few more images from this sighting below. Have a good week!
Technical data: Canon R6 with EF lens f2.8/70-200mm | ISO 6400 | 1/750sec | f2.8 | ev+0 | 200mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode
This afternoon, I returned to Thanda House driving along the reserve fence. This large Giraffe bull did not want to step out of my way as he was ‘air-sparring’ with another bull on the neighboring game reserve. Normally, bulls stand next to one another as they spar or fight by hitting one another, swinging their massive heads.
As these two could not get together, they were swinging at the air! (short video below) I took this eye-level shot as I passed him while he stepped back towards the fence.
[Taken from my Suzuki Jimny with an Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max using the 24mm main camera at Thanda Safari]
Using a very long lens (800mm) from quite a distance away, the shooting angle becomes very shallow, even though I was about a meter (3 feet) above the eye level of the two young males. It is not always possible to get at eye level or below, so a bit of distance helps to get close to a good shooting angle.
Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f/11 800mm | ISO 5000 | 1/500sec | EV +0 | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 80% of the original image
