THANDA – Page 100 – Christian Sperka Photography

2014-10-182014-11-23

No camera :-) :-(

What an evening.

As I drove up to the Lodge on Friday evening – for a meeting – a Leopard appeared around a corner in front of my vehicle and calmly walked up the road for about ten minutes, illuminated by my headlights, before settling down next to my car in the bushes.

On the way home an Aardvark crossed the road in front of me and stayed for about five minutes on the road, just sniffing around.

Now that was the good part of the evening, the bad part was that I had no camera with me. A beginner’s mistake!

But I will never forget these sightings, especially my first Aardvark on Thanda.

These two images are of similar sightings a few years ago (with camera :-))

2014-10-082014-10-07

Just cows? Not so much ….

Sometimes safari guests think that a Cape Buffalo is just another type of cow. Far from it. These stocky herd animals can turn from fairly docile bovines into very dangerous opponents within seconds.

When threatened a herd will form a “battle array” with the large males up front, the younger males on the sides and the females and calves behind. In that formation they can even stand down a pride of Lions. For Humans on foot they can be one of the most dangerous encounters in the bush. There position as one of the Big Five is therefore fully justified.

This picture shows the Thanda Buffalo herd leaving a waterholes.

Picture by Christian Sperka – Specialist Photography Guide and Resident Wildlife Photographer – Thanda Private Game Reserve

Never miss a message from Thanda! Sign up to the Thanda Blog and receive an email with every new post – http://thandablog.com/follow-the-blog/ and/or sign up to our Newsletter – http://www.thanda.com/newsletter-sign-up/the-newsletter.htm

2014-10-05

Operation Cheetah

Today we changed the radio collar on our Cheetah mum so that the Wildlife Team can continue to monitor her progress – I was allowed to be hands – on for a moment – Thanks to Warren for taking the picture 🙂

And this is a collage of the operation – before – during – after

2014-09-262014-09-26

Unpublished

While browsing through some of my older images today I found this Leopard picture I took many years ago. It was never published. So here it is now.

Enjoy your weekend 🙂

2014-09-242014-09-24

Ignore the car!

Lions normally ignore game drive vehicles, especially when the encounter is on their terms. The Thanda dominant male was passing within touching distance of the vehicle, undisturbed by the humans within the car.

It was not necessary to tell any of the Thanda guests to sit very still and be quiet during this sighting, that was done quite naturally 🙂

What a morning!

2014-09-202014-09-20

Ready for my close-up!

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!

2014-09-152014-09-15

A Leopard and his Tracks

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 🙂

2014-09-032014-09-03

From Paradise to Paradise!

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 🙂

2014-08-24

Airborne

No words – just enjoy the images 🙂

2014-08-20

Summer is on the way!

The last few days Thanda guests enjoyed summer temperatures, making good use of the pools at the Thanda Safari Lodge, Thanda Tented Camp and the Villa iZulu.

The Thanda Elephants did the same, enjoying a mid-day drink and bath. As always an impressive sight!