Today we moved base southwards, transferring from Satara Rest Camp to Skukuza Rest Camp in the Kruger National Park. Aside from some wonderful wildlife sightings we also drove through some of the worst fires currently sweeping through the area.
Hannes, Irving and I are still having a wonderful time with our guests here at Satara in the Kruger National Park – so much so that I totally forgot to post a blog update last night, so today’s covers 2 days!
We spent most of yesterday exploring the area between Satara and Tshokwane, and today between Satara and Letaba. Over the two days we’ve seen all of the famed “Big 5” as well as many other interesting animals, birds and plants.
This morning we caught the Airlink flight from Cape Town direct to Skukuza, where Hannes Rossouw and Irving Knight joined our party, intent on touring the Kruger National Park for the next 6 days.
Whenever we tour our country’s premier conservation areas the magnificent Lion is usually at or near the top of our guests’ wish lists, and in this respect our Manyeleti Magic photographic safari at the end of June certainly did not disappoint. We can reflect on some terrific encounters with the King of Beasts!
Lions after dark, surveying a nearby herd of wildebeest using a termite mound as a lookout point.
Being out of camp at first light gave us and our guests the best chance of finding lions on the move; still active before the warmer parts of the day lulls them into a sleepy mood which doesn’t provide the best photographic opportunities. As an added bonus the golden light of early morning, just as the sun rises above the tree tops of the savanna, really shows the lions off in a most regal glow!
On our final excursion from Buffelshoek, on the day that our 2024 Manyeleti Magic photographic safari concluded, we were treated to one of the most memorable lion sightings you could ever hope for. In a large clearing we came across a notorious group of lions consisting of three brothers with a very close bond, their half-brother and a half-sister which had broken away from a pride in neighbouring Sabi Sands and were now roaming across Manyeleti and adjacent reserves resulting in some nervous tension with the prides currently staking claim to those territories. The beautiful males and their very imposing female sibling gave us a show that we will all be thinking about for a long time to come!
It is experiences like this that will continue to call us back to Manyeleti and we’re already taking bookings for our 2025 Manyeleti Magic Photographic Safari and Workshop, to be conducted out of Buffelshoek Camp again in June of next year in conjunction with Hannes Rossouw Photography. Contact us if you’d like to join this one, or if you and a group of family and friends are keen to do something similar on other dates we’d be very glad to accommodate you!
One of the absolute highlights (yes, another one!) of our 2024 Manyeleti Magic photographic safari and workshop was the time we got to spend with three hunting African Wild Dogs – or, to translate their Latin scientific name, Painted Wolves – and a bunch of opportunistic Spotted Hyenas who had much trouble keeping up. We followed along for many, many kilometers and were astounded not only by the dogs’ fascinating behaviour but also by how well our guide Beckson knew the Manyeleti’s roads and tracks and how expertly he anticipated the dogs’ movements, time and again putting us (Hannes Rossouw and myself) and our guests in perfect position to photograph the frenetic action!
We’re already taking bookings for our 2025 Manyeleti Magic Photographic Safari and Workshop, to be conducted out of Buffelshoek Camp again in June of next year in conjunction with Hannes Rossouw Photography. Contact us if you’d like to join this one, or if you and a group of family and friends are keen to do something similar on other dates we’d be very glad to accommodate you!
Midday on the last full day of our 2024 Manyeleti Magic Photo-Safari this past June we were whiling away the hours in Buffelshoek Camp, our base for the trip, photographing a variety of birds including a pair of very obliging Pearl-spotted Owlets, a pair of Red-billed Hornbills feeding their chicks in their mud-cell nest, and a family of Cardinal Woodpeckers. Our group of eager photographers were certainly kept very entertained and busy!
It was the commotion of a group of Vervet Monkeys that moved through the camp just minutes before that first alerted us to the fact that something dangerous was about. We soon picked out the shape of a Leopard moving through the long grass, headed for the waterhole just outside of camp. Pretty quickly we were all – cameras at the ready – in the open safari vehicle and on our way towards the beautiful but very shy animal. It didn’t drink long and crept down into the drainage line, disappearing from sight.
We searched high and low for it for several minutes, but the leopard vanished just as quickly as it appeared. If this little Three-banded Plover, who was at the water’s edge the whole time, knew where the big cat went it wasn’t giving up the secret.
If this little Three-banded Plover, who was at the water’s edge the whole time, knew where the big cat went it wasn’t giving up the secret.
We’re already taking bookings for our 2025 Manyeleti Magic Photographic Safari and Workshop, to be conducted out of Buffelshoek Camp again in June of next year in conjunction with Hannes Rossouw Photography. Contact us if you’d like to join this one, or if you and a group of family and friends are keen to do something similar on other dates we’d be very glad to accommodate you!
With poaching still an enormous concern in South Africa it was wonderful to enjoy a couple of great sightings of white rhinos during our 2024 Manyeleti Magic photographic safari in June.
Invariably the rhinos we saw were accompanied by both red- and yellow-billed oxpeckers that were not at all shy about the intimate spaces they were inspecting for ticks!
We’re already taking bookings for our 2025 Manyeleti Magic Photographic Safari and Workshop, to be conducted out of Buffelshoek Camp again in June of next year in conjunction with Hannes Rossouw Photography. Contact us if you’d like to join this one, or if you and a group of family and friends are keen to do something similar on other dates we’d be very glad to accommodate you!
We had two terrific late afternoon Cheetah sightings during our 2024 Manyeleti Magic photographic safari at the end of June. Our guests were most appreciative of these two beautiful models!
Our first cheetah sighting of the trip was courtesy of this male patrolling and marking his territory. We could follow along for quite some distance and our guide positioned the vehicle expertly for great shots, even in the fast-fading light.
Our second cheetah sighting of the trip was of another male using a fallen Marula tree as a vantage point from which to check for prey or danger – we never figured out which it was as he disappeared from view in a thorny thicket shortly after jumping off.
We’re already taking bookings for our 2025 Manyeleti Magic Photographic Safari and Workshop, to be conducted out of Buffelshoek Camp again in June of next year in conjunction with Hannes Rossouw Photography. Contact us if you’d like to join this one, or if you and a group of family and friends are keen to do something similar on other dates we’d be very glad to accommodate you!
The Manyeleti Game Reserve has a large population of buffaloes and we encountered several enormous herds of these bulky bovines while exploring the reserve on our recent Manyeleti Magic photographic safari. Being able to venture so close to animals this intimidating is always a thrilling affair.
We’re already taking bookings for our 2025 Manyeleti Magic Photographic Safari and Workshop, to be conducted out of Buffelshoek Camp again in June of next year in conjunction with Hannes Rossouw Photography. Contact us if you’d like to join this one, or if you and a group of family and friends are keen to do something similar on other dates we’d be very glad to accommodate you!
Late afternoon on the third day of our 2024 Manyeleti Magic photo-safari we were driving through a most beautiful spot of towering trees lining a stream and waterhole, with the most glorious golden light illuminating the scene. It was a little slice of paradise filled with various animals and birds and it is hard to describe just how blessed we felt to be there in the moment.
Our guide Beckson was the first to notice an enormous Southern African Rock Python slithering across the two-track road we were on. It was a magnificent specimen and must’ve only very recently shed its old skin as it was now resplendent with shiny new scales amplified by the golden light of the afternoon sun. With pythons, especially this size, being a rare sighting we all got off the vehicle and our guests had a chance to photograph the enormous snake from all angles before it moved underneath an old leadwood stump and disappeared from view. A most memorable encounter; the kind of which we’ve learned is pretty much par for the course in the magical place that is Manyeleti!
We’re already taking bookings for our 2025 Manyeleti Magic Photographic Safari and Workshop, to be conducted out of Buffelshoek Camp again in June of next year in conjunction with Hannes Rossouw Photography. Contact us if you’d like to join this one, or if you and a group of family and friends are keen to do something similar on other dates we’d be very glad to accommodate you!
DeWetsWild 