The giant eggs – from one of which this little one hatched a short while ago – are the largest of any living bird (15cm long and weighing as much as two dozen chicken eggs).
Ostrich eggs are incubated by the dominant female by day and by the male by night and the chicks hatch after 35 to 45 days.
#christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #pakamisagamereserve @pakamisagamereserve
There are 27 species of bee-eaters worldwide (in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia). They have one of the most complex social structures of birds.
Most species are monogamous and many live in large colonies in family groups with up to four generations. They appear to recognize family members and nesting neighbors from voice recognition.
The birds in this picture are White-fronted Bee-eaters.
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #pakamisagamereserve @pakamisagamereserve
Golden Orb Spiders sometimes create caches of food for storage to be consumed later. I took this picture of a female spider cocooning a Blister Beetle.
She worked on this storage project while she had two other smaller ‘kills’ in her web, waiting to be eaten.
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography #pakamisagamereserve @pakamisagamereserve
It seems that the years go faster the older I get. But my mother tells me that is the ‘modern’ world around me going faster and faster. Be that as it may, this busy year went by very quickly.
Here are 12 pictures. One for each month as a reminder of an interesting and eventful time.
I wish all of you a Happy New Year 2019!
In January I took this picture of a Secretary bird during a visit to Ithala Game Reserve. One of my favourite national parks in KwaZulu Natal.
On 19 February we had over 100 mm of rain and the Thanda House waterhole was full to the rim. In my over six years at Thanda I had never seen so much water!
I call March the month of the Lions. All North pride females presented their litters to the world and all the sudden we had 10 new Lion cubs!
One of my favourite subjects to photograph are White Rhinos on the Thanda Safari savanna. I really like this shot taken in April. The savanna was still quite green at the time.
It is always very existing when a herd of Elephants appears around a corner and one has to practice driving backwards to get out of their way. On this day in May the herd was in a hurry to get to a waterhole. And so was I!
Chewing the cud. This Giraffe was supplementing its body with calcium and phosphorous from an old bone by chewing on it. This picture was taken in June, one of the winter month when this behaviour can often be observed.
I love the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Lake St.Lucia. A boat cruise on a day in July presented many opportunities to take pictures of sparring Hippos.
Thanks again to many of you around the world who help me supporting Inkanyiso Creche in one of our local communities. In August I delivered a first batch of goodies (tables, games, pictures, …). More will follow in the new year!
A visit to Tembe Elephant Park is always worthwhile. In September I had the opportunity to visit again and I got some great Elephant and Buffalo images.
October: A bit of hanky-panky in spring. The most natural thing in the world. Making new Zebras! Note the Buffalo in the background watching with interest.
Baby animals are always cute, but little Hyena puppies win this year’s price for cuteness. Since November we had many sightings of them around their den.
Summer rains have started properly and the savanna is turning green again. Our new Cheetah males love the open areas which they share with many species. In this December image Zebras, Impalas and Rhinos are posing in the background for this Cheetah portrait.
And in case you would like to view more of my 2018 pictures just have a look at my images on Instagram – www.instagram.com/christiansperkaphotography
I will now take a few days off relaxing at Pakamisa Private Game Reserve.
I will be back in 2019 with more pictures from Thanda Safari and many other places in the South African Wild.
This is a selection of pictures documenting my work for the last eight weeks. I has been busy and interesting. I hope you will enjoy this picture collection 🙂
#christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
Luxury – Surfing – Cleopatra – Gourmets – Giants – Tsessebe – Dung – Flowers – Giraffe
One picture per day …
I hope your like my weekly summary. For many more pictures please subscribe to my Instagram channel (ChristianSperkaPhotography).
#christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
One picture per day …
I hope your like my weekly summary. For many more pictures please subscribe to my Instagram channel (ChristianSperkaPhotography).
#Christiansperkaphotography @christiansperkaphotography
In the last few month I had organized some very special safari experiences for overseas guests. I really enjoy arranging and hosting these customized trips with Thanda Safari (my work place and home in South Africa) as the center piece of each program.
It started in September 2017 with a seven day photo safari. A lady from Switzerland wanted to learn wildlife photography properly and we had customized lessons every day using the Green Mamba 1 (my luxury photography vehicle) for the bush sessions. Bheki and I enjoyed this immensely and I am proud to say that my student wants to come back to Thanda Safari this year for additional advanced lessons.
Then followed a nine day program at Pakamisa and Thanda for a couple from Nashville. This was their first safari and they had a fabulous time on both reserves experiencing the African bush and learning about my way of doing wildlife photography. What a pleasure it was to host two people with such passion for wildlife.
In November I was the guide and photographer for a very special group (6 guests) from the USA. I had organized a 12 day trip to Ngala, Sabi Sabi, Pakamisa, Phinda and Thanda. The whole group was amazed about the variation in accommodation and surroundings and this extraordinary way to experience the African Wild.
And over New Year I was hosting a couple from Switzerland experiencing Thanda, Pakamisa and St.Lucia/iSimangaliso at the Serene Estate Boutique Guest House. It was their first safari trip to some of the most stunning locations KwaZulu Natal has to offer. And I was having a good time taking all the pictures to document their stay.
This is a ‘two-pictures-a-day’ record of the last one of these trips. IÂ will also post pictures from all the other programs in the next few weeks. I hope you will enjoy the images and the stories. In case anyone is interested in one of my customized programs please send an email to info@sperka.com.
30 December 2017 – 10 January 2018
http://www.serene-estate.co.za
Lake St.Lucia boat tours and iSimangaliso night safari by http://www.shakabarker.co.za
In case you are interested here is the detailed agenda:
Thanda Safari Lodge
Day 1Â (Arrival) – 30 Dec
– Evening game drive
– Dinner at the Thanda Safari Lodge
Day 2 – 31 Dec
– Morning game drive with a special Rhino conservation activity
– Evening game drive
– New Year’s Eve dinner at Thanda Safari Lodge
Day 3 – 1 Jan
– Morning game drive
– Thanda luxury spa experience
– Evening game drive
– Dinner at the Thanda Safari Lodge
Day 4 – 2 Jan
– Morning game drive
–Â Drive to …
Pakamisa Private Game Reserve
– Evening bush walk
– Dinner at the Pakamisa
Day 5 – 3 Jan
– Morning bush walk and stable visit
– Evening bush walk
– Dinner at the Pakamisa
Day 6 – 4 Jan
– Excursion to Ithala Game Reserve
Day 7 – 5 Jan
– Morning horseback safari
– Clay pigeon shooting
– Dinner at the Pakamisa
Day 8 – 6 Jan
– Morning horseback safari
– Drive at iSimangaliso Wetland Park (western shore) to
Serene Estate Boutique Guest House St.Lucia
– Dinner at Reef and Dune, St.Lucia (phone 035 590 1048)
ay 9 – 7 Jan
– Drive at iSimangaliso Wetland Park (eastern shore)
– Picnic lunch at Cape Vidal (Indian Ocean)
– Dinner at Ocean Basket, St.Lucia (phone 035 590 1241)
Day 10 – 8 Jan
– Morning boat cruise on Lake St.Lucia (Estuary)
– Sunset boat cruise on Lake St.Lucia (Estuary)
– Dinner at Reef and Dune St.Lucia
Day 11 – 9 Jan
– Morning to relax
– Lunch at St.Lucia Ski Boat Club (phone 035 590 1376 – 12-6:30pm only)
– Night safari in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park
Day 12 – 10 Jan (Departure)
– Transfer to Durban King Shaka International Airport
36 days and 36 pictures! This is a picture record of one of the busiest times I ever had since I came to South Africa.
My very popular Green Mamba 1 (Specialized Luxury Photography Vehicle) and all my other responsibilities on and off Thanda left me very little time to blog. So here is a nice long update. And as always more pictures than words!
Enjoy your upcoming weekend!
That is it. I hope you enjoyed the show!
http://www.thanda.com
http://www.pakamisa.com
http://www.sperka.info
http://www.sperka.biz
Today I had a great sighting of a Vine Snake at Pakamisa Private Game Reserve. This small specimen was quite relaxed and made for an excellent photo model :-).
Pictures 1/2/3 – taken with a Canon 1D Mark IV and a 28-300mm lens
Pictures 4/5 – taken with an iPhone 7Plus
Christian Sperka Photography | Blog & Site | Custom Luxury Tours 