THANDA – Page 99 – Christian Sperka Photography

2015-01-03

Two boys on the move!

These two male Cheetah were having a good look at the approaching Lions and then moved away very swiftly 🙂

2014-12-30

In the last two days I captured and released two more snakes on the reserve. First a Mozambique Spitting Cobra was spotted around Thanda house. I capture the young snake and released it near one of Thanda’s waterholes, far away from Thanda house. The goggles I wear in the picture are just a precaution, in case the Cobra should choose to spit in its defense. This youngster only spat at my snake stick during the capture. The collage shows the release of the snake.

This image shows my snake handling gear and my snake barrel. In this picture the Cobra was inside the barrel, ready for the drive to its new home.

The second release and capture was of a young Puff Adder. It had hidden under a staff vehicle in the parking lot of Thanda’s base camp. For its own safety and the safety of the many people walking around that area we decided to catch the snake and release her in a safe distance away from the camp. This first collage shows the capture operation…

… the second collages shows the release of this shy reptile.

The images were taken by Magdel Geldenhuys, Letishia Kleinschmidt (thanks!) and my GoPro.

2014-12-232014-12-23

Morning drinks!

Thanda’s North Pride of Lions having a drink at a waterhole last Sunday morning. One of my favorite images of 2014!

2014-12-20

Buzzing!

This Red-billed Oxpecker – while sitting on a Cape Buffalo – was indulging himself on ticks with hundreds of Flies buzzing around its head. I like this image, which I shot this morning on my way back from the Thanda Tented Camp to Thanda House.

2014-12-15

Rosettes, Horns and a Gorgeous Bird!

Two amazing days at Thanda! Even our most frequent safari guests were very impressed when we had Leopard and Black Rhino sightings two days in a row.

After last night’s exciting encounters with a young Leopard and three relaxed Black Rhinos (a bit of a contradiction in terms :-)), we spotted a big Leopard male early this morning and then found a quite nervous Black Rhino bull (being nervous is more standard Black Rhino behavior).

But the most exciting sighting for our guests was a Gorgeous Bush Shrike. This very colorful bird is often heard, but seldom seen (especially in good photographic condition). So after six years in which our guests were tracking this species in many different places around South Africa, yesterday Bheki and I were able to show them this beautiful creature (and we even got some decent pictures).

PS: I should mention that during their two-nights stay our guests also saw Lions, Elephants, White Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Cheetah, Black-Backed Jackal, Giraffe, Zebra, Kudu, Nyala, Impala, Wildebeest, Warthog and many different bird species.

Young Male Leopard

Nervous Black Rhino Bull

2014-12-02

Modern Zulu – Traditional Zulu – more images …

I promised some more images from my recent photo shoot [ttp://sperka.info/2014/11/29/modern-zulu-traditional-zulu].

Here they are (these versions are in sepia, which I think works very well for such images).

2014-11-29

Modern Zulu – Traditional Zulu

Today I had the opportunity to do a rather special photo shoot. A group of young Zulu dancers from one of the local communities is performing regularly for the Thanda guests. This afternoon I got the chance to take some pictures of the group in daylight, as they normally only perform in the evenings around a camp fire (with not very good light for photography).

But I was not only taking pictures of them dancing in their traditional attire, but I also took portraits and group shots in their modern day-to-day outfits. Nowadays, as in many other cultures, traditional Zulu dress is only used on special occasions and festivities.

I really like these two portraits of this young dancer, one as a modern Zulu and one in traditional attire. Stay tuned for more images from this photo shoot …

2014-11-28

Afternoon Guests

This week, when sitting in my office, I had two repeat guests at Thanda house. On various occasions the breeding herd of Elephants came to drink at the waterhole and Thulani, one of our two large and old Elephants bulls, made his way from the water along the the fence around our garden. And a pair of Striped Kingfishers made their home in our garden. Both birds get very excited about their reflection in my office windows and they knock at them regularly. These good looking little birds are very territorial and obviously not too bright 🙂

2014-11-232014-11-23

Best of KwaZulu Natal

My brother Stefan visited me from Germany. He stayed in South Africa for the last two weeks.

We had a great time at three of the best places KwaZulu Natal has to offer!

First we enjoyed pure luxury on the Indian ocean staying at The Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga. Then we moved on to my “home ground” to experience the Big Five at Thanda Private Game Reserve in the heart of Zululand. The last five days we spent horse riding and relaxing on Pakamisa Private Game Reserve with its magnificent views over the hills of Northern KwaZulu Natal.

A perfect way to spend two weeks in Africa. What a life!

2014-11-15

Aggression!

Hippos are quite aggressive. To one another and to anyone who challenges their territory.

The picture above was taken yesterday during a “Hippo and Crocodile” tour on the estuary of Lake St.Lucia.

And so were the pictures below: Nile Crocodile, Yellow Weaver, Pied Kingfisher, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Swift Tern, Frey-headed Gull, Caspian Tern, African Fish Eagle and a Baby Hippo.