Tag Archives: nature

Manyeleti Magic 2024: A Leopard Surprise!

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!

Red-billed Hornbill at the nest

Red-billed Hornbill nest, opening almost entirely enclosed by mud

Yellow-billed Hornbill

Cardinal Woodpecker

Pearl-spotted Owlet

Pearl-spotted Owlet (showing eye-spots on the back of the head)

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.

Leopard

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!

Manyeleti Magic 2024: Rhinos and Oxpeckers

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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.

White Rhino

White rhinos

White Rhino cow and calf

White Rhino

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!

Red-billed Oxpecker inspecting a White Rhino’s ear

Red-billed Oxpecker diving into a White Rhino’s ear

Red-billed Oxpecker

Yellow-billed Oxpecker

Red- and Yellow-billed Oxpeckers sharing a rhino

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

Manyeleti Magic 2024: Abundant Buffaloes

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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.

One buffalo from a herd several hundred strong

A Buffalo standing on a dam wall gives an unusual perspective

Buffalo taking a little longer to chew this prickly grasshead

Old Buffalo bull

Buffalo cow with interesting headdress

Buffalo calf

Alert Buffalo bull

Buffalo cow

Young Buffalo bull

Manyeleti Magic 2024: A massive serpent in an idyllic location

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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.

Giraffes congregating at the water to drink

Giraffe checking out the water before drinking

Nile Crocodile basking on a sandbank

Hippo eyeing us from the waterhole

Hippopotamus cow and calf

Hippopotamus calf

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!

Shiny new scales on a Southern African Rock Python encountered on our Manyeleti Magic Photographic Safari

The head of a Southern African Rock Python encountered on our Manyeleti Magic Photographic Safari

Just look at the size of this Southern African Rock Python encountered on our Manyeleti Magic Photographic Safari!

July ’24 update from Rietvlei Nature Reserve

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As I was away on other tours for most of June I didn’t spend enough time at our local Rietvlei Nature Reserve to warrant a month-end update from there at the end of last month, but having now spent quite a bit more time guiding guests on drives and walks through Rietvlei this past month there’s lots to share since the previous update at the end of May. Winter’s cold has really gotten its claws into Rietvlei now – we measured a minimum temperature of -10°C (14°F) at one of the river crossings at sunrise one morning! It was therefore really surprising to see the cold blooded Nile Monitor Lizards still out and about and not hibernating. The deciduous trees have lost their leaves and the grass is now dry and brown and much thinner, making game-viewing a lot easier.

Nile Monitor

Buffaloes striding through the shallow water of Marais Dam

Rietvlei’s birds are always a treat, even when some of them sport frosty plumage in the early mornings – check the back of the wattled lapwing in this gallery! The count of bird species seen during our July drives and walks tallied to 79 (there’s a complete list at the end of this post) but, with the male Long-tailed Widowbirds starting to cultivate their summer finery already, that list should start expanding in the next month of two as the summer visitors arrive.

Arrow-marked Babbler

Reed Cormorant

White-breasted Cormorant colony

White-breasted Cormorant

Red-knobbed Coots

Black Crake

Red-eyed Dove

African Black Duck (photo by Joubert)

Yellow-billed Duck

Yellow-billed Duck at sunrise

African Fish Eagle

Bokmakierie

Common Fiscal

Egyptian Goose

Little Grebe (photo by Joubert)

Pied Kingfisher

Helmeted Guineafowl

Sacred Ibis

Black-winged Kite (photo by Joubert)

Black-winged Kite

Northern Black Korhaan male

Northern Black Korhaan female

African Wattled Lapwing covered in frost

Cape Longclaw

Common Moorhens

Common Moorhen

Common Moorhen (photo by Joubert)

Neddicky

Ostrich head

Ostrich feathers (female)(photo by Joubert)

Ostrich foot

Southern Pochards

Southern Pochard

South African Shelducks

Cape Sparrow (female)

Cape Robin-Chat

Swainson’s Spurfowl

African Swamphen

Spotted Thick-knee

Cape Wagtail

African Reed Warbler (photo by Joubert)

African Reed Warbler

Long-tailed Widowbird

Male Long-tailed Widowbird starting to sprout his summer plumage

These Pied Starlings using a White Rhino bull as a catwalk for showing off was a rather amusing sighting!

Pied Starlings on their Rhino catwalk

As per usual Rietvlei was not going to disappoint us when it comes to the game-viewing experience!

Cape Buffalo

Curious Buffalo

Cape Buffalo

Eland

Red Hartebeest at sunrise

Hippo

Black-backed Jackal

Black-backed Jackal soaking up the first rays of the morning

Slender Mongoose

Yellow Mongoose

Serval walking away

Springbok

Waterbuck

Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest carcass – perhaps fell prey to the cheetah?

Plains Zebra

List of birds I’ve seen at Rietvlei during June and July 2024:

Scientific	Afrikaans	English
Acridotheres tristis	Indiese Spreeu	Common Myna
Acrocephalus gracilirostris	Kaapse Rietsanger	Lesser Swamp Warbler
Afrotis afraoides	Witvlerkkorhaan	Northern Black Korhaan
Alopochen aegyptiaca	Kolgans	Egyptian Goose
Amblyospiza albifrons	Dikbekwewer	Thick-billed Weaver
Anas capensis	Teeleend	Cape Teal
Anas erythrorhyncha	Rooibekeend	Red-billed Teal
Anas sparsa	Swarteend	African Black Duck
Anas undulata	Geelbekeend	Yellow-billed Duck
Anhinga rufa	Slanghalsvoel	African Darter
Anthus cinnamomeus	Gewone Koester	African Pipit
Ardea melanocephala	Swartkopreier	Black-headed Heron
Bostrychia hagedash	Hadeda	Hadeda Ibis
Burhinus capensis	Gewone Dikkop	Spotted Thick-knee
Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus	Gryskopmeeu	Grey-headed Gull
Circaetus pectoralis	Swartborsslangarend	Black-chested Snake Eagle
Cisticola fulvicapilla	Neddikkie	Neddicky
Cisticola juncidis	Landeryklopkloppie	Zitting Cisticola
Cisticola tinniens	Vleitinktinkie	Levaillant’s Cisticola
Colius striatus	Gevlekte Muisvoel	Speckled Mousebird
Corvus albus	Witborskraai	Pied Cow
Crinifer concolor	Kwevoel	Grey Go-Away Bird
Curruca subcoerulea	Bosveldtjeriktik	Chestnut-vented Warbler
Dendropicos fuscescens	Kardinaalspeg	Cardinal Woodpecker
Dessonornis caffer	Gewone Janfrederik	Cape Robin-Chat
Dicrurus adsimilis	Mikstertbyvanger	Fork-tailed Drongo
Dryoscopus cubla	Sneeubal	Black-backed Puffback
Elanus caeruleus	Blouvalk	Black-winged Kite
Estrilda astrild	Rooibeksysie	Common Waxbill
Euplectes orix	Rooivink	Southern Red Bishop
Euplectes progne	Langstertflap	Longtailed Widowbird
Falco peregrinus	Swerfvalk	Peregrine Falcon
Fulica cristata	Bleshoender	Red-knobbed Coot
Gallinula chloropus	Grootwaterhoender	Common Moorhen
Icthyophaga vocifer	Visarend	Fish Eagle
Jynx ruficollis	Draaihals	Red-throated Wryneck
Lamprotornis bicolor	Witgatspreeu	Pied Starling
Lamprotornis nitens	Klein Glansspreeu	Cape Glossy Starling
Laniarius atrococcineus	Rooiborslaksman	Crimson-breasted Shrike
Lanius collaris	Fiskaallaksman	Common Fiscal
Macronyx capensis	Oranjekeel Kalkoentjie	Cape Longclaw
Microcarbo africanus	Rietduiker	Reed Cormorant
Mirafra africana	Rooineklewerik	Rufous-naped Lark
Motacilla capensis	Gewone Kwikkie	Cape Wagtail
Netta erythrophthalma	Bruineend	Southern Pochard
Numida meleagris	Gewone Tarentaal	Helmeted Guineafowl
Oena capensis	Namakwaduifie	Namaqua Dove
Passer diffusus	Gryskopmossie	Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
Passer melanurus	Gewone Mossie	Cape Sparrow
Phalacrocorax lucidus	Witborsduiker	White-breasted Cormorant
Plectropterus gambensis	Wildemakou	Spur-winged Goose
Ploceus velatus	Swartkeelgeelvink	Southern Masked Weaver
Porphyrio madagascariensis	Grootkoningriethaan	African Swamphen
Prinia subflava	Bruinsylangstertjie	Tawny-flanked Prinia
Psittacula krameri	Ringnekparkiet	Rose-ringed Parakeet
Pternistis swainsonii	Bosveldfisant	Swainson’s Spurfowl
Pycnonotus tricolor	Swartoogtiptol	Dark-capped Bulbul
Saxicola torquatus	Gewone Bontrokkie	African Stonechat
Scleroptila gutturalis	Kalaharipatrys	Orange River Francolin
Sigelus silens	Fiskaalvlieevanger	Fiscal Flycatcher
Spatula hottentota	Gevlekte Eend	Blue-billed Teal
Spatula smithii	Kaapse Slopeend	Cape Shoveler
Sphenoeacus afer	Grasvoel	Cape Grassbird
Spilopelia senegalensis	Rooiborsduifie	Laughing Dove
Streptopelia capicola	Gewone Tortelduif	Cape Turtle Dove
Streptopelia semitorquata	Grootringduif	Red-eyed Dove
Struthio camelus	Volstruis	Common Ostrich
Tachybaptus ruficollis	Kleindobbertjie	Little Grebe
Tadorna cana	Kopereend	South African Shelduck
Telophorus zeylonus	Bokmakierie	Bokmakierie
Threskiornis aethiopicus	Skoorsteenveer	African Sacred Ibis
Trachyphonus vaillantii	Kuifkophoutkapper	Crested Barbet
Turdoides jardineii	Pylvlekkatlagter	Arrow-marked Babbler
Urocolius indicus	Rooiwangmuisvoel	Red-faced Mousebird
Vanellus armatus	Bontkiewiet	Blacksmith Lapwing
Vanellus coronatus	Kroonkiewiet	Crowned Lapwing
Vanellus senegallus	Lelkiewiet	Wattled Lapwing
Zapornia flavirostra	Swartriethaan	Black Crake
Zosterops virens	Kaapse Glasogie	Cape White-eye

List of mammals I’ve seen at Rietvlei during June and July 2024:

Scientific	Afrikaans	English
Alcelaphus buselaphus	Rooihartbees	Red Hartebeest
Antidorcas marsupialis	Springbok	Springbuck
Canis mesomelas	Rooijakkals	Black-backed Jackal
Ceratotherium simum	Witrenoster	White Rhinoceros
Connochaetes gnou	Swartwildebees	Black Wildebeest
Cynictis penicillata	Witkwasmuishond	Yellow Mongoose
Damaliscus pygargus	Blesbok	Blesbuck
Equus quagga	Bontsebra	Plains Zebra
Herpestes sanguineus	Swartkwasmuishond	Slender Mongoose
Hippopotamus amphibius	Seekoei	Hippopotamus
Kobus ellipsyprymnus	Waterbok	Waterbuck
Leptailurus serval	Tierboskat	Serval
Syncerus caffer	Buffel	Cape Buffalo
Taurotragus oryx	Eland	Eland

If you’d like to join me on a guided tour of Rietvlei – on a hike or on an open vehicle drive – you can book through melanie@rietvleicoffee.co.za / +27(0)74-820-9926.

Postcards from Mokala: Animals

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The Mokala National Park is home to an amazing diversity and number of animals and morning and afternoon drives exploring the Park, or time spent at the Stofdam Hide, invariably produces wonderful encounters with them. Come along as we share some of what we saw during our tour of Mokala last month.

Gemsbok and Springbok

Vervet Monkey and Warthog

The Black-backed Jackal is definitely Mokala’s most regularly seen carnivore and, besides regularly coming across them them as you traverse the reserve, you are very likely to hear them calling from sunset and into the night.

Black-backed Jackal

While they’re not considered as good looking as most other antelopes, Blue Wildebeest are always a welcome sight nevertheless!

Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

We’ve had better sightings of Mokala’s buffaloes on this trip than on any previous visits. While it is not clear whether this is because the population is expanding or whether they’re becoming more used to tourist vehicles we’re certainly not complaining!

Iconic Mokala: Buffalo, thorny savanna and low hills

Buffalo

Buffaloes

Buffalo

Buffaloes

Buffalo

Buffaloes

Buffalo

Buffaloes (photo by Joubert)

One the other side of the scale is the numerous kinds of butterflies that you’ll find at Mokala, even now during the cold of winter.

Brown-veined White and African Migrant butterflies congregating at a mud puddle

Zebra White Butterfly

The Eland is by far the largest antelope and yet their very skittish nature makes it tricky and rewarding to get a photograph of them. Luckily Mokala has a sizable population of Eland, making the task a little easier.

Eland

Another antelope that is as shy as it is beautiful is the Gemsbok.

Gemsbok

Gemsbok (photo by Joubert)

With so many thorn trees, their favourite food, and no dangerous lions around, Mokala must feel like paradise to Giraffes!

Giraffes

Giraffe (photo by Joubert)

Giraffe calf (photo by Joubert)

Giraffes (photo by Joubert)

Many people consider the Greater Kudu the most regal of Africa’s antelope, and Mokala has more than its fair share of beautiful bulls!

Young Kudu bull

Kudus

Kudu bull

Kudu cow

Sunset Kudu at Mokala

Young Kudu bull

The Meerkat – Timon of Disney’s The Lion King – really is an endearing little creature (unless you’re a chicken farmer…).

Meerkat (photo by Joubert)

Meerkat

One of the animals you’ll encounter most frequently at Mokala is the Plains Zebra, and what makes Mokala’s population even more fascinating is the high number of individuals carrying relatively few stripes.

Plains Zebra

Many of Mokala’s Plains Zebras have fewer stripes that animals in most other populations

Plains Zebra foal drinking

Many of Mokala’s Plains Zebras have fewer stripes that animals in most other populations

The Red Hartebeest is an antelope superbly adapted to the drier western regions of South Africa and Mokala’s animals are in excellent condition.

Red Hartebeest

Red Hartebeest (photo by Joubert)

Mokala is an excellent place to see Roan Antelope, one of the rarest antelope species in South Africa.

Roan Antelope

Rock Dassies find Mokala’s boulder-strewn koppies perfectly to their liking.

While some will give the title to the Kudu for me it is the Sable Antelope that ought to be crowned King of Africa’s Antelope.

Sable Antelope

A quick visit by this Cape Grey Mongoose at our bungalow in Lilydale was a very welcome surprise!

One of our national sporting emblems and the country’s national animal, the Springbok is a beautiful antelope of which Mokala has a large population – an absolute delight to behold!

Springbok

Female Black Springbok

Springbok

Springbok (photo by Joubert)

Of Mokala’s smaller antelope the Steenbok is the kind you’ll see most often.

Steenbok

Steenbok (photo by Joubert)

Another antelope that is rather scarce in South Africa but which thrives at Mokala is the Tsessebe, also renowned as being the fastest of all the antelopes.

Tsessebe

Tsessebe (photo by Joubert)

Vervet Monkeys are a lot of fun to watch, though at Mokala, as in many of our other reserves, you shouldn’t trust them with open doors and windows, be it on your vehicle, tent or hut!

Vervet Monkey

Warthogs, with their plucky attitudes, are such lovable creatures even though they won’t win any beauty contests.

Warthog

Warthog hurrying to Stofdam

Warthog

Warthogs

Warthog (photo by Joubert)

Warthogs (photo by Joubert)

We also had several fantastic sightings of Mokala’s White Rhinos but, due to the continued threat of poaching and the locations where we saw them being easily identifiable I’m regrettably not able to show you any pictures of them in this post.

Remember that DeWetsWild can help you book a stay at Mokala National Park and I’d also be glad to escort you there on a guided tour!

Postcards from Mokala: Birds

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The Mokala National Park is a bird watcher’s paradise, being populated by large numbers of a wide variety of bird species indigenous to the various habitats that make up the reserve. This is just a small portion of the many kinds of birds we ticked off during our visit in June – and as winter is by no means the best season for finding birds you can just imagine what a spectacle it must be during summer!

Acacia Pied Barbet

Ant-eating Chat

Black-faced Waxbill

Black-faced Waxbills

Black-throated Canary

Black-winged Stilt

Brubru (photo by Joubert)

Cape Glossy Starling

Cape Robin-Chat (photo by Joubert)

Chestnut-vented Warbler

Chestnut-vented Warbler (photo by Joubert)

Common Scimitarbill

Crimson-breasted Shrike

Familiar Chat

Red-billed Firefinch

Fiscal Flycatcher

Gabar Goshawk (photo by Joubert)

Golden-breasted Bunting

Greater Kestrel

Grey-backed Sparrow-Lark

Orange River White-eye

Orange River White-eye (photo by Joubert)

Ostrich

Pied Crow (photo by Joubert)

Green-winged Pytilia

Red-billed Quelea

Red-crested Korhaan

Red-eyed Bulbul

Red-headed Finch

Sabota Lark

South African Shelduck male

South African Shelduck female (photo by Joubert)

Scaly-feather Finch

Sociable Weaver

Southern Masked Weaver

Violet-eared Waxbill

White-backed Mousebird

White-browed Sparrow-weaver (photo by Joubert)

Shaft-tailed Whydah male in transitional plumage

Yellow Canary

Remember that DeWetsWild can help you book a stay at Mokala National Park and I’d also be glad to escort you there on a guided tour!

Postcards from Mokala: Scenery

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The June school holidays saw us conducting a tour of the Mokala National Park, one of South Africa’s lesser-known wildlife gems, located just south of Kimberley on the edge of the Karoo and Kalahari. Our base for the trip was Lilydale Camp with its wonderful setting above the Riet River. Covering 284km² of open plains transected by rugged low hills, Mokala this winter is a feast to behold with wide swathes of Wild Rosemary bushes in seed, giving the veld a snow-covered appearance (hence the Afrikaans name “Kapokbos” for the Wild Rosemary) under absolutely cloudless skies.

Lilydale Unit#1, Mokala National Park, June 2024

View over the Riet River from Lilydale

Wild Rosemary (aka Kapokbos) in seed dot the veld in Mokala

Gemsbok walking through Wild Rosemary (aka Kapokbos) in seed

Dead tree statue in Mokala

Gemsbok scaling a hill in Mokala

Roan Antelope

Sociable Weaver nest

Springbok at sunset in Mokala (photo by Joubert)

Mokala sunset

Full Moon over Mokala

The enormous nests of Sociable Weavers are always a marvel, but this one looking like a human head spiked on an electricity pole was really creepy!

Remember that DeWetsWild can help you book a stay at Mokala National Park and I’d also be glad to escort you there on a guided tour!

Come along to “The Smoke That Thunders”

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While staying at Senyati Safari Camp we made use of their very convenient shuttle service to spend a day at the Victoria Falls, just 80km away in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya; “The Smoke That Thunders”, the Victoria Falls really is one of the most awe-inspiring sights on the planet and most worthy of its inclusion among Unesco’s World Heritage Sites. It was named in November 1855 by explorer David Livingstone in honour of Britain’s Queen Victoria. Here the Zambezi River drops over a cliff 1.7km (more than a mile!) wide into a ravine 108m deep, making it the largest sheet of falling water on earth. On average more than a million liters of water flows over the falls every second – the highest ever recorded was almost 13-million liters per second! The spray from the falls rise up to 800m high and can be seen from over 50km away on a clear day. Even with a raincoat or umbrella you are sure to get soaking wet! Don’t miss the chance to walk onto the bridge connecting the Zambian and Zimbabwean border posts for a view of the gorge below the waterfall.

Looking downriver over the Devil’s Cataract

Walking through the rainforest that surrounds the falls

Rainbows everywhere!

Devils Cataract

Looking down the gorge below the falls

Devils Cataract

Victoria Falls

Pathways wet from the misty rain

Victoria Falls

Danger Point

Bridge connecting Zimbabwe and Zambia just below the falls

Precariously perched tree below the falls

Around the falls on the Zimbabwean side the rainforest and associated wildlife is protected in the Victoria Falls National Park, while on the Zambian side you’ll find the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park.

Statue in honour of explorer David Livingstone

Vervet Monkey of the race C. p. ngamiensis photographed in the Victoria Falls National Park

Wild Fig fruits

Grey-backed Camaroptera

Chobe Bushbuck ewe

Chobe Bushbuck ram

Southern African Tree Squirrel interacting with a Wahlberg’s Striped Skink

Wahlberg’s Striped Skink

Terrestrial Brownbul

Yellow Pansy Butterfly

If you’re planning to visit, the flow over the falls is usually at its most spectacular during April and at its lowest during November. You can fly directly to international airports at Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) or Livingstone (Zambia) and there are many accommodation establishments to choose from (and DeWetsWild will gladly help with your bookings!).