I am currently touring some of South Africa’s most beautiful spots with someone who has been a great friend of DeWetsWild for many years, and what a privilege it is! We’re currently on the Cape Peninsula where we’ve based ourselves at the Quayside Hotel in Simon’s Town and today made excursions to the Boulders Penguin Colony and the Cape of Good Hope.
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!
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.
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.
While they’re not considered as good looking as most other antelopes, Blue Wildebeest are always a welcome sight nevertheless!
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!
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.
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.
Another antelope that is as shy as it is beautiful is the Gemsbok.
With so many thorn trees, their favourite food, and no dangerous lions around, Mokala must feel like paradise to Giraffes!
Many people consider the Greater Kudu the most regal of Africa’s antelope, and Mokala has more than its fair share of beautiful bulls!
The Meerkat – Timon of Disney’s The Lion King – really is an endearing little creature (unless you’re a chicken farmer…).
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.
The Red Hartebeest is an antelope superbly adapted to the drier western regions of South Africa and Mokala’s animals are in excellent condition.
Mokala is an excellent place to see Roan Antelope, one of the rarest antelope species in South Africa.
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.
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!
Of Mokala’s smaller antelope the Steenbok is the kind you’ll see most often.
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.
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!
Warthogs, with their plucky attitudes, are such lovable creatures even though they won’t win any beauty contests.
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!
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!
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!
DeWetsWild 