My favorite image taken at Nsumo Pan 🙂
I had to post this one separately!
A Mid-Morning Snooze …
A Cold Winter Morning, a Hippo Island and a Slender Rarity
Yesterday I went to Nsumo Pan at Mkhuze Game Reserve. I wanted to evaluate if this large pan system with its well positioned hides is a good place for excursions with Thanda’s ‘serious photographer’ guests.
Judge for yourself!
I enjoyed the seven hours photo session which included a lot of water birds, a Hippo mum with her small calf out of the water, an African Jacana which used a Hippo as a mid-pan-island, and a Slender Mongoose posing for the camera (a very rare sighting).
In connection with the khMasinga hide (I will post some recent images from this hide, soon) I think this natural pan will work well for ‘serious photography’ guests as long as they have a 500mm+ lens and if they are also interested in birds. For birding enthusiasts it is a paradise – even without pictures.
Enjoy the gallery!
African Fish Eagle
Nyalas on the opposite bank
Morning snooze …
In case you are interested here all the 27 different species I have seen on that day:
Hippos * | African Fish-Eagle * | African Openbill | Spur-winged Goose * | Egyptian Goose * | Nyala * | Impala | Blue Wildebeest | African Darter | African Jacana * | Nile Crocodile | Black-winged Stilt * | Brown-hooded | Kingfisher * | Warthog | Pink-backed Pelican * | Great White Pelican * | Red Duicker | Cattle Egret |Great Egret | Grey Heron | Red-billed Teal | Greater Flamingo | Water Monitor * | Terrapin | African Spoonbill | Slender Mongoose * | Goliath Heron * | * = good photographic condition/distance
In just one day …
During my last time off-work I spent one day in KwaZulu Natal’s most famous National Park, the Hluhluwe-Imfolzi Game Reserve.
I packed all my long lenses, as animals in National Parks are often further away then on Thanda, where we can drive off-road to get closer. In a National Park one has to stay on the roads. The day turned out to be very windy, so I saw almost no general game and very few birds. But most of the “big ones” made their appearance.
Just after I entered the park I drove by a Lion kill sighting (in the thick bush off the road), just as a White Rhino walked by. A herd of Cape Buffalo stared at me near Hilltop Camp as I passed quite close to them. I had many White Rhino sightings (with a lot of ticks on all the Rhinos :-)). Two Elephant bulls strolled up a hillside far away (work for my 500mm lens!) and finally I got to see a few Impalas.
As the sun started to set I watched a Baboon family at their daily grooming ritual and then took a few scenery sunset shots before I left the park.
All in all a productive and relaxing day, despite the wind. I hope you will enjoy this online-image-gallery!
Baboons’ Cleaning Ritual
Rhino, Lion and Park Visitors
Colors!
In the animal kingdom there are many colors. And birds provide some of the most beautiful examples of a multi-color-display.
This Gwala-Gwala (Purple-crested Turaco) shows fluorescent greens and purple combined with the most stunning crimson under the wings.
Another one of my favorites!
Scarlet Beauty
A few images of one of my favorite birds – Scarlet-chested Sunbird – I took them this weekend on Pakamisa.
Brothers!
… no more words, just the image …
Thanda Year 10
These are four images I used in the last part of the campaign celebrating the last few days of Thanda’s 10th anniversary year!
They really show how magical and beautiful the place is.
See also http://thandablog.com/2015/05/18/anniversary-celebration/
Patience rewarded!
It took me thirty minutes to get this picture 🙂
This Common Duiker ran off into thick bush when I came around a corner on one of Pakamisa’s roads. I stopped the car, lowered the window, positioned my 500mm lens and then did not move, as the little antelope looked in my direction.
It was very suspicious of this “new thing” on the road and it took almost 40 minutes before it moved out of the really thick stuff and presented itself. I moved the camera very slowly into position and got only three shots before it decided that hanging around here was far too dangerous. It ran straight up a hill and disappeared from sight.
I like to image, which documents the shy nature of these small and extremely fast antelope.
A bit mad!
What does a wildlife photographer – who lives on a big five game reserve – do on his day off work? He goes to another game reserve to spend a day taking more wildlife pictures 🙂 – sounds a bit mad, but I enjoyed myself!
This “Lion-Rhino-Car” encounter is just a teaser for the images to come from my recent off-day at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi National Park!
This picture shows a White Rhino bull walking calmly by a young male Lion. This youngster was part of a large pride of Lions devouring a Buffalo bull, which they had killed in the morning hours next to this road, only 20 meters (50 feet) to the right in thick bush. I drove up to this scene just moments after I entered the park. And a few more minutes after I took this picture cars started piling up at this sighting which made it impossible to take any more good images. I moved on and left the madness behind me.
Hlomo Hlomo
Recently I was invited to a small game reserve in Northern Kwazulu Natal, called Hlomo Hlomo.
In beautiful morning and evening light I was able to take picture of two species which we do not have on Thanda: Blesbok (the rarer white variety) and Ostriches. I especially enjoyed the magnificent scenery!
I hope you like this picture gallery. For more information about Hlomo Hlomo go to www.hlomohlomo.com
Wildebeest at Sunrise
Ostriches at Sunrise
The Hlomo Hlomo Valley
Hlomo Hlomo Mountain
White Blesbok
Magnificent Morning Light
The Homo Hlomo Mountain in the Mist
Sunrise
White Blesbock
