Tag Archives: cheetah

Manyeleti Magic 2025: Day 5 (16 June)

It always astounds me just how quickly time goes by when we’re out in South Africa’s wild places, and our June 2025 Manyeleti Magic photo-safari and workshop, hosted in conjunction with Hannes Rossouw Photography at Buffelshoek in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve, was no exception. All too soon our final morning arrived and we had just one more drive from camp to enjoy with our guests before everyone headed home again.

Early morning light reveals a herd of elephants

Still excited about the amazing photo-session with the cheetah-family the previous afternoon we opted to go looking for them again, and found them up another termite mound from where they were surveying their Lowveld home for prey and danger. Two spotted hyenas were also hanging around, hoping to get an easy meal if the devoted cheetah mother made a kill. The cubs were in a playful mood and practiced their hunting strides on each other and even occasionally on the hyenas, giving us a lot of entertainment.

Cheetah cubs

Cheetah cubs – there’s always that one in a family photo that has their eyes closed!

Cheetah cubs

Cheetah cub

Cheetah cubs

Cheetah female

Spotted Hyena

Cheetah family

Cheetah family watching the hyena closely

Cheetah family

Cheetah cub

Cheetah cubs

Cheetah female

Cheetah cub

Cheetah female

Cheetah cubs

Cheetah cub

Cheetah cubs

Soon after leaving the cheetahs we found a herd of elephant at a nearby waterhole – drinking elephants always make for interesting photographs!

Elephants at the waterhole

By now it was time to start making our way back to Buffelshoek for breakfast, but a tree full of vultures distracted us. Nearing the spot the vultures took flight – great for attempting some pictures of them in the air – and then we noticed two magnificent male lions walking around in circles around the area, smelling and marking as they went. It was obvious that the two shared a close bond and woe to the interlopers that try to muscle in on their territory!

White-backed vulture in flight

Lion male

Lion males

Lion male at Manyeleti

Lion male marking territory

Lion male

Lion males

Lion male

Lion males

Lion male

Lion males

A small herd of plains zebra and blue wildebeest were our final sighting before arriving back at camp after yet another exhilarating drive.

Plains Zebras

Blue Wildebeest

Plains Zebra

After a final scrumptious breakfast it was time to say goodbye to the management and staff of Buffelshoek who took care of us so wonderfully the past couple of days. On the way to the gate, and home beyond that, Manyeleti had a final gift for us – another encounter with the cheetah family pacing through the veld!

Cheetah female

Cheetah cubs

Manyeleti certainly delivered the magic again! Hannes and I will be hosting two photo-safari workshops at Buffelshoek again in 2026, in June and September – do get in touch with us to keep a spot for you!

Manyeleti Magic 2025: Day 4 (15 June)

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Our first early morning sighting, of a little Crowned Lapwing chick, shortly after setting out from Buffelshoek was quite suprising, considering how dark and cold it was for the little one to be venturing out from underneath his mother’s wing!

Crowned Lapwing chick

Soon afterwards the sun was rising beautifully over the Lowveld horizon and we couldn’t resist parking and watching in awe as the rich colours tinted the sky, nor could we resist attempting to capture it with our cameras.

Manyeleti sunrise

A pack of spotted hyenas lounging at a waterhole was our first predator sighting of the morning. In the waterhole a hamerkop was trying to catch frogs, not in the least worried about the hyenas all around.

Spotted Hyena

Spotted Hyenas

Spotted Hyena

Hamerkop

Our next sighting of note was of a breeding herd of elephants accompanied by a very impressive tusker.

Impressive Tusker

Elephant family

Baby elephant

Of course we also saw many other kinds of birds and animals on our morning excursion before getting back to Buffelshoek, where three elephant bulls visited the local waterhole just after we finished breakfast.

Lilac-breasted Roller

Magpie Shrike

Grey Go-away Bird

Rattling Cisticola

Kudu cow

Kudu bull

Giraffe

Elephant bulls

Elephant bull

Our afternoon drive delivered spectacularly again when an off-duty guide sent word of a female cheetah with four cubs, about 7 months old, just a short drive from Buffelshoek. When we arrived at the spot the family lay claim to a termite mound from which they could keep an eye out for both prey and danger. Apparently just the day before we arrived in Manyeleti the mother was hurt in a fight with a leopard and the wounds were still evident on her right front leg, though it didn’t appear to have caused her too much discomfort and she is expected to make a full recovery.

Cheetah Cub

Cheetah Cubs

Cheetah Family

Cheetah Cub

Cheetah Family

Cheetah Cub

Cheetah female

Cheetah Cub

Cheetah female

Cheetah Cub

Cheetah female

With Buffelshoek being so far from all the other lodges in Manyeleti we had the beautiful cheetah family all to ourselves for a considerable time, and by the time vehicles from other lodges joined the sighting we had taken more than our fair share of photographs. We could therefore move on to another of Manyeleti’s special corners, a tranquil spot next to a stretch of water where we could enjoy our sundowners being watched – and serenaded – by hippos!

Grey Heron

Being watched by a hippo

Manyeleti sunset

Back at Buffelshoek my new Scops Owl friend was calling from early on. What a way to end another day in wild Africa…

Scops Owl

In the next post we’ll show you everything we encountered on the final morning of our 2025 Manyeleti Magic photo-safari and workshop. The 2026 dates are yet to be confirmed, but do get in touch with us to keep a spot for you!

Manyeleti Magic 2025: Day 2 (13 June)

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Your day starts early on a wildlife photo-safari through the Manyeleti Nature Reserve with DeWetsWild and Hannes Rossouw Photography. Coffee and rusks await our early-rising guests in the dining room at Buffelshoek around 15 minutes before we head out in the morning, which is usually about 30 minutes before first light.

Out in South Africa’s wild places an early start is handsomely rewarded more often than not. On our first morning drive our second animal sighting after leaving camp, the Lowveld still shrouded in darkness, was a male cheetah. Eventually we spent about 90 minutes following him through the veld while he was patrolling and marking his territory and making several (unsuccessful) hunting attempts on duiker and impala. Thrilling stuff!

Cheetah male at Manyeleti

The rest of our morning excursion gave us many opportunities to point our cameras at various kinds of birds and animals before we arrived back at camp.

Lilac-breasted Roller

Elephant bull in musth

Elephant Bull in Manyeleti

Some elephants came so close to us that we noticed the hair around their ear openings!

Elephant bull

Brown Snake Eagle

The break between breakfast and lunch was the prefect excuse to practice our bird photography skills – especially shooting them in flight – from the elevated deck at Buffelshoek.

Yellow-billed Hornbill

Pearl-spotted Owlet

Chinspot Batis

Cardinal Woodpecker

We got up from the lunch table and got straight onto the game drive vehicle for our afternoon drive. The highlight of our encounters that afternoon was a huddle of six lion cubs hiding in the long grass where their mothers left them when they went off hunting. Considering how boisterous baby animals can be these little lions were very well behaved – perhaps their mothers have this discipline thing all worked out!

Well-behaved lion cubs waiting for their mothers

The runt of the litter hiding deep in the long grass

Lion cub practicing his intimidating starei

Lion cub

Lion cubs

Lion cub

Lion cub licking his lips

Lion cub

Lion cubs

After a day packed so full of the most amazing sightings and experiences we cherished the beautiful serenity of the sunset even more!

Manyeleti sunset

In the next post we’ll show you everything we encountered on day 3 of our 2025 Manyeleti Magic photo-safari and workshop. The 2026 dates are yet to be confirmed, but do get in touch with us to keep a spot for you!

Snaps on Tour: Cheetahs that weren’t all that hungry…

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It was mid-morning as we were driving back towards Shingwedzi along the S50 road that skirts the mostly dry course of the Shingwedzi River when we came across three youngish cheetahs on their way towards one of the few waterholes remaining this deep into the dry season. By then we had already seen Africa’s two other species of big cat, lion and leopard (more about them in posts to follow), on that same stretch of road that same morning, so we were thrilled to add the third to our tally even before 09h00!

As the cheetahs approached the waterhole a herd of impala noticed them and started running away, prompting one of the three cheetahs to follow in hot, if unsuccessful, pursuit. The remaining two cheetahs, less energetically, sauntered to the water and then took up a position in the open to wait for the return of their companion. While lying there a family of warthogs almost stepped right on top of them but our excitement at the prospect of an easy hunt for the cheetahs were quickly dashed when they just turned their backs on what looked like easy pickings.

Cheetah

Cheetahs

Cheetah

Cheetahs

Cheetah

Cheetah and Warthogs. Will he or won’t he?

Cheetah and Warthogs. No, he won’t.

I am a fully accredited and legally registered tour guide (with all the necessary insurance, professional drivers license and first aid certification) – don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like me to arrange a guided tour of beautiful South Africa and all her natural wonders, like the Kruger National Park, for you as well, or even just to assist with your holiday reservations for our national parks and nature reserves throughout the country.

Manyeleti Magic 2024: Cheetahs

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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.

Cheetah

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.

Cheetah

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!

Caught between Painted Wolves and Cheetahs

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Shortly after leaving Ndzhaka Camp on our first guided morning drive in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve earlier this month, we found a pack of Painted Wolves, better known as African Wild Dogs, in the road. There was great excitement among the younger Dogs in the pack as the adults had just returned to them with meat from a fresh kill, and all of them were in a very playful mood. We got some wonderful photographs and video of the Dogs playing around the vehicles at the sighting.

Wild Dog in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Playful Wild Dog pups in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Wild Dog in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

After a while we noticed two Cheetahs walking along the road in our direction, very aware of the Wild Dogs but apparently not fazed enough by them to immediately head for cover.

Two cheetahs walking along the road in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

It didn’t take long for the Wild Dogs to also notice the Cheetahs though, and they immediately set off in their direction.

Wild Dogs running along the road in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Now this is the point where I can kick myself! I thought I was videoing the whole sequence, but in the excitement I never pressed the recording button… Next time I will do better, I promise… As the Wild Dogs trotted ever closer one of the Cheetahs broke cover and charged at them, seemingly thinking that offense is the best defense. The Cheetah was however immediately surrounded by the adult Wild Dogs, hit with its front paws on the ground, hissing and spitting, and then ran through a gap in the Dogs and up a dead tree, where we pick up the action with a photograph or two.

Cheetah after being chased up a tree by Wild Dogs in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Cheetah jumping out of the tree

With the Dogs satisfied that they’ve given the Cheetahs a run for their money and setting of on another hunt, we followed the now reunited Cheetahs for a while until they moved into dense cover where we lost sight of them. By then, the Wild Dogs had also ventured further into the bush and out of sight.

Cheetahs in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Cheetah in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

African Wild Dogs can cover enormous distances, and we found the pack again that afternoon, this time on a drive from Buffelshoek Camp. In the heat of the afternoon they were a lot less energetic and more content lazing in the shade at the side of the road than hunting.

African Wild Dog in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

African Wild Dogs in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Don’t miss the opportunity to visit Manyeleti along with DeWetsWild and Hannes Rossouw Photography!

Satara Summer 2021 – Challenging Cheetah Camouflage

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See if you can spot the female Cheetah in this photograph. We spotted her on the 15th of December a few kilometers south of Satara. With her were two cubs; they were even more difficult to see. This was the first of 5 Cheetah sightings during our December 2021 visit to the Kruger National Park.

See if you can spot the cheetah?

Four days later we had a decent enough sighting of a group of four young Cheetahs hunting close to Nwanetsi. They didn’t stick around for photos very long though before their fleeing prey forced them to follow deeper into the bush.

Cheetahs hunting near Nwanetsi

Our next Cheetah sighting, on Christmas Eve, was another very challenging one. While this individual lay perfectly out in the open about 150m from the road that spotted pelt is excellent camouflage.

Can you spot the Cheetah?

On Boxing Day, late afternoon while heading back to camp along the H6 road, we found two Cheetah brothers sitting in the rain intently staring into the distance. Just what they were looking at we never figured out as we eventually had to depart in order not to be locked out of camp.

Cheetahs like statues along the H6

Our next and final Cheetah sighting was also in pouring rain on the 31st of December, this time along the S37 road leading to Tshokwane from Nwanetsi; a group made up of a female with 4 fairly large cubs who would take turns to sit up in the rain and keep a watchful eye while the others kept their eyes shut against the pelting drops.

Cheetahs in the rain along the S37

Cheetahs in the rain along the S37 (photo by Joubert)

Cheetahs in the rain along the S37

The Cheetah is endangered, not only in South Africa but across the whole continent, where its range has been drastically diminished. South Africa is home to at least 1,100 of these beautiful animals, with about 370 living in Kruger National Park and adjacent reserves. For us to have seen five different groups during our 3 week visit to the Park was extremely lucky! The Endangered Wildlife Trust is again calling on citizen scientists to submit photos of Cheetahs (and Wild Dogs) taken during visits to the Kruger Park to their 5th Cheetah Census, and while Joubert and I didn’t really get useful images on this trip we hope we can encourage other visitors with more luck to participate in this important project.

Summertide Diary: Exploring Mountain Zebra (part one)

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1 January 2021

As soon as the gates opened on New Year’s Day we headed for the Rooiplaat Loop, the sightings board at reception having indicated that Lions and Cheetahs were seen there the previous day. And we did not wait long – right where the road skirts the Park’s boundary fence we came across a big male lion, known as Nomad, patrolling his territory.

We supposed that it was the proximity of the big predator that made these Black Wildebeest so jittery!

Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

It’s early morning in the Mountain Zebra National Park and there’s so much to be seen!

Kopieva bloom

Blesbok ewes and lambs

Blesbok lamb

Blesbok ewe and lamb

Grey-winged Francolin

Windpump along a stream in the Mountain Zebra National Park

Red-billed Teal

Wide open spaces in the Mountain Zebra National Park

Cape Sparrow (male)

Jackal Buzzard

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Scaly-feathered Finch

African Pipit

It was on the link road between Rooiplaat and Ubejane Loops that we happened upon these cute little Bat-eared Fox pups and their elders. More photos of them tomorrow!

Bat-eared Fox pups

Along the main road, between the two junctions with the Ubejane Loop, we saw this pair of unusually tolerant Secretarybirds – they’re normally quite nervous and move away from the road the moment a vehicle approaches, so this was a great opportunity to watch them in action.

Secretarybird (photo by Joubert)

Secretarybird

Wind-blown Secretarybird

Secretarybird

Secretarybirds

At the southern junction of Ubejane Loop with the main road there’s a small earth dam filled with rainwater. By the time we arrived there at mid-morning Cape Mountain Zebra families were arriving from all corners, along with some other wildlife, to slake their thirst and it was wonderful to watch their social interactions before heading back to camp.

Cape Mountain Zebras

Cape Mountain Zebra

Cape Mountain Zebras

Red Hartebeest

Cape Mountain Zebras

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Cape Mountain Zebras

Back at camp there was time to kill either side of lunchtime, and thankfully there’s very much of interest around the accommodation and camping area.

Vervet Monkey

Cross-berry

White-browed Sparrow Weaver

Red-eyed Bulbul

Four-striped Grass Mouse

Western Rock Skink

Cardinal Woodpecker

Laughing Dove

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Neddicky

Familiar Chat

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Red-headed Finches

Imposing Sweet Thorn thorns

Seeroogblom

Chestnut-vented Warbler

Black-throated Canary

Snake Aloe

Southern Rock Agama

Vygie

African Grass Blue butterfly

Gazania

Pied Starling

Bar-throated Apalis

Neddicky

Sweet Thorn tree

Southern Rock Agama

White-necked Ravens that caught a Red-winged Starling chick

White-necked Raven that caught a Red-winged Starling chick

Grey-headed Sparrow

Familiar Chat

Red-eyed Bulbul

Neddicky

Southern Masked Weaver

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Cape White-eye

Karoo Scrub Robin

Our route for the afternoon would first take us into the mountains along the Kranskop Loop before taking another jaunt around the Rooiplaat Loop.

Doornhoek Guest House overlooks the Doornhoek Dam and is a national monument

Highveld Cabbage Tree

Rocky outcrop

South African Shelduck

Hyrax

Southern Rock Agama

Amazing scenery along the Kranskop Loop

Black Harrier

Scale-feathered Finch

Namaqua Dove

Red-billed Quelea

Rock Monitor

Black-backed Jackal

Eland

Gemsbok

Wide open spaces at Mountain Zebra National Park

Steppe Buzzard

The Rest Camp at Mountain Zebra National Park blends in beautifully with the surroundings

A real highlight of our afternoon drive was an encounter with a group of three Cheetahs – one adult and two youngsters – on the Rooiplaat Plateau, just half-an-hour before we had to be back in camp.

Cheetah

Cheetah (photo by Joubert)

Cheetah

We posted a special feature about Mountain Zebra National Park following a previous visit, if you’d like to learn more about this special destination.

Map of Mountain Zebra National Park from the SANParks website (https://www.sanparks.org/images/parks/mountain_zebra/mznp-map.jpg)

A day in Pilanesberg: Hour 5

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We’ve just been commenting on the scarcity of giraffe sightings so far into our day at the Pilanesberg National Park when we find ourselves in the middle of a giraffe roadblock on Tlou Drive.

Giraffe

Giraffe roadblock

It takes a bit of patient waiting before the giraffes clear the road for us. We turn off into Tshukudu e Ntsho Road to go and see what Makorwane Dam has in store for us. There’s a huge crocodile and a pod of hippos in the water, but a group of very noisy humans in the hide are spoiling the experience for everyone else and we don’t stick around for longer than necessary to use the ablutions. The view from the bridge over the stream feeding the dam is much more serene.

Back on Tlou Drive and then right on the Nare Link, there’s more wildebeest, red hartebeest and giraffes to see, and then…

“There they are! There they are!” Joubert sees the cheetahs first, some distance away from the road but thankfully out in the open and clearly visible despite the pouring rain. A female cheetah known, fittingly, as “Rain” and her three almost fully-grown cubs. We last saw Rain about 5 years ago, when she was still the only adult female cheetah in the Pilanesberg and already raising a litter of cubs. Since then the Park’s cheetah population has grown considerably, in no small part due to Rain’s success as a mother.

The Cheetah female Rain and her latest cubs

As we are watching the distant cheetahs this very wet black-shouldered kite is keeping an eye on us:

Soppy Black-shouldered Kite

If you’d like to follow along as we explore the Pilanesberg, a map may come in handy (for a large format version click here)

Tlou Drive to Nare Link via Makorwane Hide

If you need to catch up on our drive through the Pilanesberg National Park, you can read all the previous posts here.

To be continued tomorrow.

The bloody fight that never was

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At the end of our Satara Summer, on the way to the Kruger National Park’s Orpen Gate from where we were to head back home to Pretoria, we were lucky to see a lone Cheetah resting in the shade of a small thorn tree. Having stopped for a last photo or two, it was Marilize who noticed a Spotted Hyena heading straight towards the Cheetah. Knowing just how hateful the relationship between Africa’s large predators are, we were sure we were probably going to witness a tremendous fight when the two meat-eaters meet, especially when the Cheetah noticed the Hyena, snarled at it viciously, and got up to defend its turf. But turns out this Hyena was not a fighter; he walked straight past the Cheetah as if it wasn’t even there, and not paying the cheetah’s tantrum any attention whatsoever. It was rather amusing seeing the Cheetah standing by himself, looking decidedly confused, as the Hyena disappeared from view…