BEST of KRUGER plus BIG CATS photo safari May 2011

Greetings to everyone. At last the photo season is underway, and here are some photos from the latest photo safari conducted in the Kruger National Park and at the Big Cat Reserve.

Next tour will include visits to the Kruger, the Big Cat Reserve and Mala Mala.

Best regards to all

Enjoy !!
The Wild4 Team....

Male Leopard - Big Cat Reserve with off camera flash

Female Leopard - Big Cat Reserve, with off camera flash

Vervet Monkey jumping - Kruger National Park

African Wilddog, Big Cat Reserve

Lion cub, Big Cat Reserve, with off camera flash

Giraffe drinking - Big Cat Reserve

One of the Lionesses in the pride of 14 seen on the Timbavati Road in Kruger Park

Elephants drinking at Kumana Dam, Kruger National Park

Pied Kingfisher at Sunset Dam, Kruger National Park

African Fish Eagle - Sunset Dam, Kruger National Park

On the road to Crocodile Bridge we spotted 8 Hyaena

Lilac Breasted Roller in flight, Kruger National Park

Red Billed Oxpeckers on Giraffe, Kruger Park

A rare White Headed Vulture, Kruger National Park

Chacma Baboon, Kruger National Park

Young female Impala, Kruger National Park

The Male Lion we saw mating near Crocodile Bridge in southern Kruger

Burchells Zebra drinking from one of the many water pans still with water, in Southern Kruger

White Rhino near Crocodile Bridge, Kruger

The Leopard cub we photographed near Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger Park

Purple Roller near Satara in Central Kruger Park

Male Greater Kudu on the S100 road near Satara

Barred Owl photographed near Satara in Kruger Park

Elephants drinking, photographed from the Sweni Bird Hide in central Kruger

Egyptian Goose, Sweni Bird Hide, Kruger Park

Black Backed Jackal near Satara

Wildebeest in early morning, on the S90 near Satara, Kruger Park

Swainson's Spurfowl near Satara, Kruger Park

Yellow Throated Longclaw, near Satara in central Kruger

Lioness yawning - Kruger National Park

New Lion Cub at Big Cat Reserve

The first scheduled tour of the season starts on Saturday the 14th May and I will post a trip report at the end of the safari.

Once again we have had late rains and the bush is still very green and quite thick in some areas.

Exciting news for those visiting the Big Cat Reserve as part of the Kruger plus Big Cats Photo Safari and the Lions & Leopards of Mala Mala tours later in the year, is that there is a new male Lion cub, and some exciting opportunities for flash photography.

Here are some photos from my trip to the reserve a week ago.

Enjoy and best wishes to all,

Kind regards

Stu

The new Lion cub at 2 weeks old

Using the remote flash system. Two remote triggers and a Gorilla Pod are available

for hire on the safaris.

The multiple flash system I developed for the night shoot with the Leopards

This allows a flash for each photographer to be fired off camera, again making 

use of the radio remote flash triggers

Some results from the night shoot with the leopard. For this shot two flashes were

used and fired at a 45 deg angle to the subject to eliminate eye shine

Another result from the leopard night shoot

Settings were ISO 400 f8 1/250sec with the flashes powered to 1/16 and extenders used

Phottix radio remotes

TANZANIA - recce trip for new WILD4 Photo Safari

In late November I travelled to Tanzania to check out a few of their reserves with the idea of putting together a new photo safari to a new location.

I visited Lake Manyara which is a beautiful little reserve but I did not think it was worth going there for photography - personally I think that you can get better shots staying at Lake Nakuru in Kenya. There were a lot of flamingos on Lake Manyara - more than I have seen at Nakuru but they are so far away from the roads that they were not even worth a photo. The park is also famed for its tree climbing Lions and I am sure at some point you would come across them but only if you were extremely lucky and after many visits. Most of the park is very thick bush - even thicker than Kruger ! :)

I then headed to the Central Serengeti which for me was my most favourite. It is a beautiful park with varied landscapes and many many photo opportunities. You are a little more restricted to the roads in the Serengeti than you are in the Masai Mara (on the northern side of the river) but the place is very big and has an endless feel to it - much more so than the Masai Mara. In 5 days I saw 68 different Lions, 6 Cheetah and 4 Leopards, not all good for photography, but it is good to know that there are good populations of cats in the area.

The scenery in the central section if wonderful - cloud scapes with rocky Kopjes in the scene WOW - this is the place !!  those of you who enjoy black & white & infra red - the Serengeti was made for you :)

I then visited the Ngorongoro Crater - it is definitely a unique place and certainly worth a visit although being restricted to the roads means that there is a good deal of luck involved to get great shots - we saw 13 Lions and a cheetah - but did not take a single photo of any of them - on that day they were just too far from the road. On another day it might be different.

It is a good place for scenic shots with the crater wall in the background and as I said certainly worth a visit on the way to the Serengeti. I would only spend 1 full day there though.

The trip idea I have in mind would be during late Jan / Early Feb, it is quite late for a 2011 trip but I will be offering the dates for anyone who is interested.

Jan / Feb is when the wildebeest and zebra give birth - mostly in the southern Serengeti, along with this comes great predator action and sightings. The trip then would be split between 4 nights in the central Serengeti to include the resident wildlife that inhabits this very scenic part of the reserve with its mountain backdrops and rocky Kopjes. Then we would move to the southern Serengeti for another 4 nights to witness the 1000's & 1000's of Wildebeest on the open grass plains.

Summary would be
1 night Arusha - arrival day
2 nights Sopa Lodge on the rim of the Crater
4 nights central Serengeti
4 nights southern Serengeti
fly from Serengeti back to Kilimanjaro for departure

Accommodation in Arusha and at the Crater will be in a lodge whilst accommodation in the Serengeti will be in comfortable Mobile Tented camps - both with en-suite toilet facilities and communal recharging area.

If anyone is interested in doing this photo safari in Jan / Feb 2011 please let me know as soon as possible. I will be posting more info and prices on my website soon.

Enjoy a selection of photos from the Serengeti & the Crater
Regards
Stu

Typical "Kopje" in Central Serengeti



Rain storm over the southern grass plains of the Serengeti

Zebra on the grass plains - Serengeti

Topi Silhouette, Serengeti

Herd of Zebra passing a Kopje

Pride of Lion walking across the Serengeti plains

Zebra

Cheetah

Masai Giraffe - Serengeti

Zebras running through water

Male Von Der Decken's Hornbill

Group of Lion cubs resting in the shade

Common Ostrich eating fruit

Zebra

Elephant

Helmeted Guinea fowl

Young male Leopard in central Serengeti

Lilac Breasted Roller

Male Lion and females - Serengeti

Coke's Hartebeest - Serengeti

 

Young Lion - Serengeti

Mobile Tented Camp in Central Serengeti

Mobile Tented Camp in central Serengeti

Lioness stalking

Lions on the open grasslands

Red and Yellow Barbet - Lake Manyara

Lioness on top of a Kopje - Serengeti

Lioness with cubs - Serengeti

Thompson's Gazelle running

Fischer's Lovebird - Serengeti

Serengeti Sunset

Secretary Bird

Coke's Hartebeest

Male Lion with baby Thompson's Gazelle

Male Lion with Thompson's Gazelle

Male Lion

Ngorongoro Crater

Cape Buffalo in the Crater

Ngorongoro Crater