One of Thanda’s largest Elephant bulls was standing still for a few seconds – for his close-up pictures 🙂 – before he moved on down the hill. This gentle giant was trailing the breeding herd which had crossed the road in front of the vehicle on the way to a nearby waterhole. What an experience for the Thanda guests!
Hurray! The insurance company paid out yesterday and I got my new Toyota Fortuner today 🙂
After my incident with the cow (http://wp.me/P1rzfb-1js) my old car was written off and I drove a small rental VW Polo for the last month. The little car served me well but I could not go all places I wanted to go or needed to go.
That’s over now. I am back in a Fortuner and ready for the rough roads and the rain-season-weather ahead.
But NO cows please 🙂
Website/Blog – www.sperka.com
Well, as more and more of you are using mobile devices (touch-pads and smart-phones) I have decided to change my website/blog and my picture-galleries-site to more modern – mobile-device-enabled – formats.
Have a look at both sites and let me know what you think!
Picture Galleries – www.sperka.biz
The main job of Thanda’s expert trackers is to find and interpret the signs which animals leave when they move through the bush. Foot imprints, droppings/dung , broken branches, depressed grass and cut leaves lying around the ground are only a few of these marks. Thanda guests are always fascinated to see how our Zulu trackers are able to pick up these signs.
This collage shows one of Thanda’s beautiful Leopard males and very visible Leopard footprints. Unfortunately most of the time the tracks are not that clear and obvious 🙂
Baboons have a lot of arguments. Especially the young ones are constantly busy with playful fighting.
I enjoy watching them as long as they stay out of my room 🙂
What a surprise when I arrived at Pakamisa Private Game Reserve this afternoon!
These little Ostrich chicks were on a walk-about with their parents when I got to take these pictures.
The Ostrich mom and dad were very alert to ensure that nothing would harm there young ones. I used a long lens and kept my distance 🙂
Sometimes people ask me why I live in the middle of the bush and why did I give up a well paid executive’s life in the city. Well, here is a large part of the answer.
When I took a break from my computer work today (yes, that is still part of my job, even in the bush), I stepped outside the building. Here is what I watched while I had lunch:
Five beautiful Kudu bulls strolled past Thanda House, just along the tree line. A group of Nyala was browsing along the fence while two Hadeda Ibises were looking for food under the fever trees in the garden. A group of Vervet Monkeys were playing on the house roof and in the trees. Impalas, Wildebeest, Zebra and Giraffes moved past my front gate towards the nearby waterhole. Three semi-resident Warthogs had their lunch and a beautiful butterfly was looking for nectar.
And all of this on a clear and sunny day! Any other reason required? 🙂
And now I am off to Pakamisa for a few days break – from Paradise to Paradise!
Thanda House – My home in the bush!
Off to the water past my gate.
Browsing and grasing for lunch.
A Kudu midday stroll …
At the waterhole.
Looking for lunch 🙂
Well, they are of different age and the pictures were taken in different light (therefore the colour difference). But here is the major difference:
The little Lion on the left lives with his family (The North Pride) at Thanda Private Game Reserve in South Africa. The small one on the right lives with his family at the Zoo in Basel, Switzerland. The one lives in the wild with all its dangerous and its beauty, the other one lives in captivity, at full board and with a health care plan 🙂
Congratulations to Peter Mettler, who got the correct answer!
… and now the bonus question, what is so special about this one?
What is the difference between these two Lion cubs?
A hint: it is not their looks alone!
I will blog the answer tomorrow afternoon 🙂
Have a good week.
No words – just enjoy the images 🙂
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 