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Monday, November 26, 2012

KENYA PHOTO SAFARI - November 2012

The Kenya photo safari has just ended and we had yet another amazing trip filled with some fantastic photo opportunities and experiences.
We had amazing weather, again quite unusual for November as we did expect some rain as it is the start of the short rains. However we were treated to full days of great light !!

Samburu Reserve surprised us with a beautiful green flush after some heavy rain, quite uncommon for this very dry part of Kenya, but the green provided some unusual back grounds, quite different to the trips in August. We had a great sighting of a female Leopard on the first afternoon and we did see the Lions too. Perhaps the Elephants were most interesting covered in their red mud which really made them stand out against the greenery :)

On to Lake Nakuru which has risen even more and new roads are under construction away from the edge of the Lake. We got some great time with a group of White Rhinos and the Pelicans are still there in good numbers. The group decided to try a day visit to Lake Bogoria, about 2 hrs away to see if we could have some joy with the flamingos and the decision to go was a good one. The Lake is very beautiful and we got really close to the edge and to groups of feeding flamingos.

Final destination - the Maasai Mara which provided a lot of action starting with a cheetah chasing down a baby Impala only to be chased off by a herd of Hartebeest !! the poor injured Impala was then snatched by some opportunistic Hyaenas who had watched all the commotion from a distance.

We had Lions drinking, with cubs, on kills and on termite mounds :)

A big female Leopard in a tree with a Reedbuck kill produced some great shots and the Elephants were in good numbers and in good areas for scenic shots and sunsets.

Many thanks to all the staff at the lodges we stayed at and to our guides, James, Julius and Silas !! we are looking forward to next years trip !!

Enjoy some photos and the tour video !!

Kindest regards to all

Stu


Movie clips from Photo Tour



Giraffe in Samburu

Giraffe in Maasai Mara

Leopard in Samburu

Yellow Necked Spurfowl - Samburu

Elephants - Samburu

Female Gerenuk - Samburu

Lions - Samburu

Pygmy Falcons - Samburu

Grevy's Zebra - Samburu

Cheetah - Maasai Mara

Zebras - Maasai Mara


Hippo - Maasai Mara

Lion on kill - Maasai Mara

Serval - Maasai Mara

Sleepy Cheetah - Maasai Mara

Little Beeaters - Maasai Mara

Cheetah chasing Zebras - Maasai Mara

Male Cheetah - Maasai Mara

Zebras fighting - Maasai Mara

Topi fighting - Maasai Mara

Male Lion shaking flies off - Maasai Mara

Photographing Lions - Maasai Mara

Cheetah - Maasai Mara

Cheetah and Elephant - Maasai Mara

Elephant - Maasai Mara

Leopard and Giraffe - Maasai Mara

Giraffe - Maasai Mara

Waterbuck jumping - Maasai Mara

Topi - Maasai Mara

Elephants - Maasai Mara

Lioness - Maasai Mara

Hartebeest - Maasai Mara

Lions - Maasai Mara

Elephants at sunset - Maasai Mara

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Best of Kruger Plus Big Cats and MALA MALA October 2012

Here are some photos from the latest photo safari which included stays at the Big Cat Reserve, Kruger Park and Mala Mala.

The rainy season has started and the transformation in the bush is beautiful at the moment. We had the first rains whilst at Satara and the contrast between some still dry areas of the central section and the southern areas around Lower Sabie is incredible.

We had an amazing sighting of a male Leopard catching a Porcupine, 4 sightings of the Cape Hunting dogs, one pack near Crocodile Bridge and the other near Skukuza.

We also saw the three cheetah brothers south of Satara as well as the same young male Leopard, seen on the last trip, also close to Sunset Dam resting in a tree after some lions had chased him up it.

The greenery at Mala Mala is wonderful, the wild flowers are out and the short bright green grass and foliage really adds superb colour to the photos.

We were treated to a sighting of the two cheetah brothers seen on our trips earlier in the year, as well as the Airstrip male stalking warthogs, a young female Leopard and all 4 Manyeleti Male Lions.

That is it for this season here in South Africa, the next and final trip in 2012 will be to kenya and I will post a report from that trip as soon as I return in late November.

Many thanks again to Jaco for looking after us at the Big Cat Reserve and to Gary for another great stay at Mala Mala.

Thanks too to the staff at both establishments :) !

All the very best to everyone and happy shooting.

Kindest regards from the WILD4 team.

Stu

Natal Spurfowl - Kruger Park

Lesser Mased Weaver - Kruger Park

Hornbill with Scorpion - Kruger Park

Elephant Tusk - Kruger Park

Yellow Billed Hornbill territorial display - Kruger Park

Bateleur Eagle and Ground Hornbill face off - Kruger Park

Male Lion - Mala Mala

Lioness - Mala Mala

Male Lion - Mala Mala

Newington Male - Mala Mala

Two Cheetah Brothers - Mala Mala

Young Leopard cub - Mala Mala

Leopard cub in tree - Mala Mala

Black Bellied Bustard - Mala Mala

Airstrip male stalking - Mala Mala

Side Striped Jackal - Mala Mala

Male Klipspringer - Mala Mala

Female Kudu - Mala Mala

Hunters the Cheetah - Big Cat Reserve

One of the three male Cheetahs in the Kruger Park, stalking Wildebeest

Kori Bustard in display - Kruger Park

Male Lion drinking - Kruger Park

Leopard with Porcupine kill - Kruger Park

Helmeted Guinea fowl

Lesser Striped Swallow - Kruger Park


Hippos playing at sunset dam - Kruger Park

White Crowned Lapwing - Kruger Park

Young Cape Hunting dog - Kruger Park

Dung Beetle - Mala Mala

Young Male Leopard near Lower Sabie - Kruger Park