THANDA – Page 103 – Christian Sperka Photography

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!

2014-08-11

A bird per minute!

I was sitting for eleven minutes at Thanda’s South Gate entrance and watched the little bird bath opposite the sitting area. Eleven bird species came down to drink 🙂

Birding fast and furious!

PS: Quite a few people have heard about my car accident last night – I am perfectly OK – If you want to read the complete story go to http://wp.me/P1rzfb-1js

2014-08-022014-08-01

Just right!

Sometimes an image is just right!
I titled this one: Give me patience …
It is one of my favourite 2014 images.

2014-07-31

A Thanda Sunrise! – No words needed :-)

2014-07-30

Silly face and memorable moment!

Well, I usually try not to publish pictures of me making silly faces. But this one I have to post. While I was at a Cheetah interaction this week I tried to demonstrate to my guests how close you can get to these beautiful cats. But this Cheetah male decided I needed to be smacked for my daring. No harm done, but it was a great laugh for all the people watching.

A memorable moment with a silly face 🙂

PS: Thanks Grasie for taking this great picture – even with my silly face in it!

2014-07-27

Imagine …

… you are sitting quietly in the bush and watching six little Lion cubs playing all around you. Well that is the experience we had on today’s evening game drive. While the adult Lions were sleeping soundly in the thick bush little ones moved about, climbed trees, stalked one another and ran around like all small kittens do.

This picture is my favourite shot from this magic encounter! The little Lion on the left got interested in the clicking of my camera and posed for a portrait.

2014-07-20

Coming and Going!

Not everyone is a bird enthusiast. But, most guests do not only enjoy experiencing mammals but also enjoy sightings of colourful birds and large raptors. One of the most fascinating birds to watch is the Little Bee-eater. This small insect-hunter often chooses a convenient branch as its base of operation. From this single location it will repeatedly depart to and arrive from short hunts. If the observer is very lucky, he or she can even observe a “kill” :-).

The collage above is a merger of nine hand-held images of this fast flying bird. The camera was set on ten frames per second to record this sequence.

The picture below shows a Bee-Eater and a Bee!

And it is a good idea to bring binoculars, which are a great safari tool for observing small birds, as one cannot get too close before most birds get scared and leave.

2014-07-18

Gate guards and models!

The last few days I have been working in my office. Which is not bad, but not nearly as good as being out there on game drives. Even so, staying at Thanda house has its merits, too.

This morning our two male Cheetah came for a visit and acted as gate guards for a few hours.

They also posed as models 🙂

Yesterday, a journey of Giraffes and a dazzle of Zebras was grazing in front of the gate during midday.

And the day before our Elephants had a late afternoon drinking and bathing session at the waterhole on the south side of Thanda house.

So, my time at the office got interrupted by some of my “wild friends” offering good sightings!