May 2010 Photo Safaris - a selection of images

The heavy rains at the end of April certainly had an effect on the condition of the bush and the May Safaris produced an unusual collection of photographs with lush green backgrounds. Southern Kruger was particulary green but central Kruger around Satara Camp was more typical of this time of year with the grass turning yellow as Autumn sets in.

Cheetah at Big Cat Reserve


Hippos at Sunset Dam, Kruger Park


Elephants fighting at Nsemani Dam near Satara


Chameleon feeding, Reptile Park


Lilac Breasted Roller in flight, Kruger Park


Leopard in an Apple Leaf Tree on the Timbavati River, Kruger Park


Lioness on the S100 near Satara, Kruger Park


Lioness in tree, Kruger Park


Marabou Stork at Sunset, Forest Lodge Extension


Flat Rock Scorpion under ultra violet light, Reptile Park


African Wilddog, Big Cat Reserve


Swainson's Spur Fowl, Kruger Park


Common Waterbuck family, Kruger Park


Yellow Billed Stork with fish, Kruger Park


Bateleur Eagle Eating Terrapin, Kruger Park


Yellow Billed Hornbills, Kruger Park


Running Zebra, Kruger Park

A very Rainy April

Usually by this time of year the amount of rain has decreased as the year begins to roll into Autumn. However this years rainy season was out of sync, not much during Feb & March and then in April the heavens decided to open up. This is of course good news for the animals as they would have struggled more than usual, come late October.

However the rains have brough fresh new growth and parts of Southern Kruger are thicker than ever. Particularly in the south and south western parts - tall thatching grass in these areas will make game viewing more challenging. I am sure that on the first safaris of the season we will be exploring more to the east to stay away from the thick growth.

First up are two trips, back to back, beginning today. I hope to be able to update from somewhere in Kruger with an in the field report of current conditions and sightings. - Stay Tuned !!

Regards

Stu

Something different !!

During March we visited a few of South Africa's other National Parks and wanted to share some info on them as far as photography goes and some photos of the species found there.

Karoo National Park near Beaufort West in the Cape was our first stop - beautiful park, rugged and dry with a few very scenic drives. Stunning night skies - but not so productive from a wildlife photography point of view.

Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock in the Cape - by far our most favourite of the three parks we visited. Absolutely stunning mountain views, a good deal of wildlife and quite easy to photograph. Some good opportunities here !! There are 24 cheetah in this park but sadly we did not get to see any. They would make for some great photos on the open grasslands with mountain scenery all around - maybe next time !!
Excellent for Black Wildebeest and Mountain Zebra.

Addo Elephant National Park near Port Elizabeth - a nice big park which is expanding all the time, good news for conservation !!
There are different sections of the park, with different access points. We stayed at the main camp / wildlife viewing area. A good road network of roads but the vegetation is not friendly to photography - scrubby Spek Boom everywhere !! and not much else. Some open patches which used to be farm fields - still look like cleared areas, not so natural looking. Good opportunities for photographing herds of elephants, but not much else. There are Lion in the park but we did not get to see them.

It was lovely to see these parks, but for wildlife photography Kruger is still tops !! the variety is unrivalled !!

Here are some of the different species we photographed on the trip - not found in Kruger - it was great to see and photograph these !

Gemsbok or Oryx

Springbok

Red Hartebeest

Black Wildebeest - endemic to Southern Africa

Ground Squirrel - larger than the lowveld tree squirrel

the Endangered Cape Mountain Zebra - more compact stripes and all the way down the legs.

Black Wildebeest in the Mountain Zebra National Park

New Look - New Safaris !!

Along with our new look website, we have also launched a few new itineraries. Take a look at the websites PHOTO SAFARIS page for more details.

There is very little space left on the Kruger Safaris for this year (2010) and the first November trip to the Masai Mara with extension has SOLD OUT.

Cheers for now

Stu

WILD4 PHOTO SAFARIS page

Savanna, the Legend

I wanted to pass on the sad news to everyone who has been to the Big Cat Reserve and photographed that beautiful cat - Savanna.

Savanna and her cubs were released late last year and were doing well out in the reserve. In December we photographed them all at an Impala kill. Many thanks to David for climbing the closest Marula tree to get an unusual photo from above :) !

Unfortunately they must have come across the Lions on the reserve and Savanna died trying to defend her cubs. The cubs made it back to the lodge.

She will surely be missed by all who came into contact with her and especially those who had the unique opportunity to photograph her.

LAUNCH OF THE NEW WILD4 WEBSITE AND BLOG

Dear all,
Welcome to the WILD4 Blog !


The new Blog will offer all the latest up to date news about our photo safaris and will introduce newly added itineraries as and when these become available.


The Blog will also offer the latest availability on upcoming tours and will host the trip reports and video clips from completed safaris.


Interesting sightings and photographs will also be posted on a regular basis all of which will be archived on the Blog.

Here's wishing you all the very best for a wonderful year.


Kind regards


Stu, Justyna & Molly !