There were so many wonderful memories from our nine days there and below is a recap in photos. My heart is happy when I look at them…
If you’d like to see additional safari photos, follow along on instagram @beachbums88Posts Tagged ‘Safari’
South Africa: It’s A Wrap
Posted in Africa, Animals, Photography, South Africa, Timbavati, Travels, Wildlife, tagged Elephant, Giraffe, Photography, Safari, South Africa, Travel, vervet, Wildlife on Sunday, 16 July, 2017| 24 Comments »
South Africa: Leopards, Hyenas and Elephants
Posted in Africa, Photography, Safari, South Africa, Timbavati, Travels, Wildlife, tagged Elephant, Grey Duiker, Hyena, Impala, Leopard, Safari, South Africa, Wildlife on Sunday, 11 June, 2017| 11 Comments »
Of all the animals we saw on safari, the leopard was the most beautiful and my favorite to watch prowl. They are graceful creatures, with stunningly intense gazes. Their eyes are amazing to watch as they stare at either food or foe.
Leopards prefer hiding in the bush and are so stealth, we considered ourselves very lucky to have experienced seven different leopard sightings during our nine-day stay in the Timbavati. On our first early morning drive, Cabinet, the Umlani tracker, pointed to a female leopard hiding in a bushy area staring intently in one direction:
She still had blood on her long beautiful whiskers which indicated a fresh kill. As we drove around the corner to see if we could get a better view of her, we saw what held her impenetrable gaze:
A one-eye blind hyena was munching away on her recently killed impala. She was waiting to see if she could steal it back. Michael, our Wildeye Photographic guide, explained that hyenas are much stronger than the leopard, higher on the food chain and frequently steal their kills. Leopards attempt to get their meals into a tree and out of the reach of hyenas but this hyena was too quick for her.
As we watched the Hyena and Leopard, our Umlani guide said “Look, Ellies” ~ we turned around to see a large herd of elephants moving up to the waterhole. I was astounded that this was what we were witnessing on our first morning out. Absolutely amazing!!
All creatures in the bush give a respectful wide berth to the elephants. No one wants to be on the receiving end of a elephant tusk or foot. As the herd came in, the leopard watched closely to see if the hyena would scurry away but unfortunately for her, he confronted her. She’s a little hard to see in the following video but look to the left ~ she’s snarling in the bush. Her growl was enough to get the hyena to leave her alone
Any leopard sighting is thrilling because they are so secretive and prefer to stay undercover.
Our last morning drive we saw the same beautiful female leopard with a recently-killed grey duiker. We came full circle with her and I was pleased she finally got to eat the meal she caught.
South Africa: Big Five in South Africa
Posted in Africa, Animals, Photography, South Africa, Travels, Wildlife, tagged Cape Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lions, Photography, Rhino, Safari, South Africa, Travel, WildEye Tours, Wildlife on Tuesday, 6 June, 2017| 10 Comments »
The term Big Five was originally coined by big game hunters but is now used by those wanting to see and photograph the following in South Africa: Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros and Cape Buffalo.
I went on safari without expectations of “must see” animals. But our guides were invaluable in finding us the Big Five within the first two days of our nine day safari. Michael from Wildeye, SA not only told us about animal behavior but could predict when they would get up, yawn, walk by us, etc. It helped a lot in capturing the animal’s behaviors. Always good to have a few seconds warning to get the camera ready when there might be only one chance to snap a photo.
A male leopard was the first of the Big Five we saw on our first drive out in the bush. Back at camp, before we started on the drive, some of the guests mentioned they had been waiting days for a leopard sighting. Guests on different vehicles would compare notes as to which animals had been spotted ~ reminded me of Apres Ski talk around the fire when skiers would brag about double-black diamonds & vertical feet. Except at Umlani. talk around the firepit is all about the animals!
We are all so excited when Shadrack pointed and said “leopard” ~
The rest of the Big Five were spotted numerous times over our nine day stay.
I’ve had some people question why I would spend the money traveling to a far-away country to see animals I can view at the zoo. Those are people who don’t know me well. I cry at zoos so I don’t go. The chance to view animals in their natural environment was priceless for me. The multiple sightings were fascinating because the behaviors changed each time. My idea of heaven on earth.
Here are some of our sightings of other Big Five:
South Africa: Wild-Eye Photo Safari
Posted in Animals, Photography, Safari, Travels, Wildlife, tagged Adventure, Eco-lodge, Photography, Safari, South Africa, Timbavati, Travel, WildEye Tours, Wildlife on Saturday, 22 April, 2017| 11 Comments »
I’M GOING ON A SAFARI!!!!
A little over a year or so ago, I read about Gerry Van der Walt from Wild Eye Photo Safaris as being the one to watch on Periscope for wildlife. I started watching him on safari tours and it was amazing to see the lions, hippos, elephants, rhinos, big cats, etc ~ and all of it was live. But I became “hooked” when I switched over to Snapchat which is my preferred forum for seeing all the wildlife updates. Gerry posted lots of the baby animals. Seriously, what’s cuter than those amazing strong animals as tiny (and not so tiny) babies. Cue: Heart Melting!!
Gerry and the rest of the Wild Eye team are very consistent with updating their social media, so much so that when Gerry went quiet for a few days ~ I became worried something happened on one of the safaris. Those animals do get close to the vehicles. Turns out, I missed the snap where he said he was going somewhere without wifi and he would be off-line.
The photos and snap stories are so amazing and I shared many of them with my husband and daughter. Through Gerry’s instagram account, I found a youth photographer, David whose award-winning photo is now on exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History’s Nature’s Best Photography Exhibit. If you’re in Washington, DC and have an interest in wildlife/photography, I highly recommend seeing the exhibit. The “Leopards” photo was taken while David was on a safari in the Timbavati Private Reserve.
I’ve dreamed about going on a safari ever since those Wild Kingdom TV shows back in the day. Whenever my husband and I discussed going, it always came down to time and money. Mostly money. It seemed out of our reach. And I’m not a fan of being on tour groups where I’m required to be around a lot of people and on their schedule. I was overwhelmed with the logistics, money and basic planning. I didn’t want to go on a trip of a lifetime and not enjoy it because I didn’t know what or where to go. It seemed too daunting to tackle.
Things changed this past fall when one day Gerry asked on Snapchat “What’s keeping YOU from going on a safari?” My first thought was “the logistics” and secondly, I thought about the cost. It must be common to everyone because he immediately addressed how Wild Eye can organize a tour based on a budget provided by the guest.
I took a chance and emailed my per-person budget along with possible dates. Gerry wrote back within hours and asked pertinent questions about my preferences: which were the top animals I wanted to see, luxury v. eco-lodge, and did I prefer to be with other people or on a private guide. A few days later, Gerry recommended we go on a privately guided safari in the Timbavati Private Preserve in South Africa with Michael from Wild-Eye. Having already seen David’s (youth photographer) great photos from Timbavati, I was sold.
Timbavati borders Kruger National Park and, because there are no fences, the animals go back and forth between the park and the preserve. Bottom line, we wouldn’t be going on this trip if I hadn’t stumbled onto Wild Eye through periscope. They’ve made it too easy to plan such a fabulous adventure.
More on the details of planning in my next post but if you want to follow Wild Eye to see their fabulous wildlife images, you have your pick of social media outlets:
- Gerry (Wild Eye founder) is on Instagram/Twitter/Snapchat as: Gerryvanderwalt
- Gerry’s The Wildlife Photography Podcast is on Itunes/Soundcloud
- Our guide is on Instagram and Snapchat as: Michael.Laubscher
- For additional info on Wild Eye click here