Kruger: December 2009 (Part 2)

Okay, so it's about time I carried on with this trip report...

We carried on in the humid and overcast weather on our first day in the Kruger Park, driving up to Shingwedzi.

This was the view over the Olifants River as we crossed it.

This flock of Yellow-Billed Storks were being lazy by the water's edge.
Next up, some Cape Buffalo...

This elephant skull served as a reminder that even the mighty of the bush can fall...life is short.

We had to wait for this little guy (and the rest of his family) to cross the road. You always give elephants right of way in Kruger!

Shortly before we reached Shingwedzi Rest Camp, we came across this "lifer" for me - a Levaillant's Cuckoo.

Some more Cape Buffalo were enjoying the cool water of the Shingwedzi river...

A family of Southern Ground Hornbills provded some entertainment before we reached our destination...this is a juvenile...

This Fork-Tailed Drongo welcomed us at the Shingwedzi gate.

We unpacked, settled in and took some siesta time. Before we headed out for our afternoon drive I spent some time with the local squirrels...

Our afternoon drive was focused around the camp to explore the Shingwedzi riverbed and the low water bridge behind the camp. It was a quiet drive...here are the highlights though...

When the water flows strongly over the low-water bridge, you can see waders taking full advantage of the easy fishing on offer...

That was the end of our first full day in the Park. The next day was around the bend, but first...a nice braai (barbeque) and some rest...

Kruger: December 2009 (Part 1)

It's time to catch up on my backlogged trip reports again...

Back in December of 2009, my wife and I took a short break to visit the Kruger National Park. We wanted to avoid the crowds so we opted to head to the far North. With it being rainy season, we knew we were in for lush green bush and migratory birds galore...

Let the photographic journey begin.

We arrived in Orpen (actually we were staying in the Tamboti Tented Camp nearby) late on the Friday afternoon and were just in time to check in and go to Tamboti. The next morning our trip was officially underway.

It was a rainy, overcast day...so I prepared myself to battle for light that morning. After our first sighting of one of my favourite birds, the Woodland Kingfisher, we came across a birding "lifer" for me - a Steppe Buzzard. He was perched so nicely out in the open and posed wonderfully.

We were driving up to Shingwedzi today, which will be our base for the next 2 nights. The road from Orpen to Satara was rather quiet, but it seemed to be a morning for Oxpeckers to strut their stuff.

It wasn't long before I ticked off another "lifer" - a Steppe Eagle this time!

By now the weather had gloomed up even more...and this European Roller wasn't too happy about it...

Shortly before we reached Satara we came across a small dazzle of Zebras. This youngster was quite cute.

He huddled up close to his mother, and I was able to capture some interesting monochrome images using their combined coat patterns as motifs - check these out!

A lone elephant bull was also keen to pose for some portfolio snaps...

We pushed on past Satara and took the popular S100 dirt road, in the hope of finding some big cats...but that was not to be. We did find some young Waterbuck...

A Swainson's Spurfowl ran by as if he was late for a doctor's appointment!

Here are some more photos from our drive up north...I will leave the text out for now, just enjoy the pics!

Giraffe

Magpie Shrike

"Slowpoke"

"Family Time"

Steenbok

Kori Bustard

Woodland Kingfisher

That's it for this edition...check back in regularly as I update this trip report! Some cool sightings to follow!

Morkel Erasmus

Photographic Safaris with Wild Eye

Those of you who follow me on social media would have seen that I am now a Wild Eye Ambassador. What does that mean?

First - you need to check out what Wild Eye is about. Browse around on the homepage:

www.wild-eye.co.za

So what does it mean? Effectively, it means you now have the opportunity to join me on various photographic safaris throughout the year. During these trips we will focus on maximising building your photographic portfolio, learning from each other and above all, having fun (because wildlife photography is supposed to be fun, right?).

You can see my profile, as well as those of the other ambassadors (all good friends of mine and excellent photographers) HERE.

The preliminary dates for my trips with Wild Eye for 2013 are as follows:

1 - 5 May 2013 

Samara Game Reserve in the Karoo desert, South Africa

The focus of this one will be the wildlife and landscapes of this uniquely South African biome. I will release more information once this goes live on the website.

17 - 21 July 2013

Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe

You've probably seen some of my photos from this magical place. Marlon du Toit and I will be leading a camping safari for max 10 people into this pristine wilderness, staying on the banks of the mighty Zambezi and exploring the floodplains, forests and riverbed. More details HERE.

22 - 28 September 2013

Masai Mara Migration, Kenya

The Great Migration is the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth, and once again Marlon and I will be there to help you capture this phenomenon on your camera - frame by frame. We will operate from the Wild Eye tented camp, a mobile tented camp on the banks of the Mara river. More details HERE.

If you've ever wanted to spend time in the field with like-minded people, having fun doing what you love to do, then these trips are just for you. There are many departures throughout the year, not all led by me, but led by amazing people who will help you grow your portfolio and have fun with the same passion and vigour as I will.

I hope to see some of you on safari next year!

Keep well,

Morkel Erasmus

Kgalagadi: September 2009 (Part 2)

Right, let's continue with this trip report, shall we? We're picking up from the last episode, where we finished our morning drive from Twee Rivieren on our first full day.

The heat in the middle of the day in the Kalahari is searing, so we went back for some siesta time (although our tent didn't provide much solace, but the swimming pool was nice). On our afternoon drive we didn't see much, but this Meerkat (Suricate) was quite cute.

As we headed back over the dunes, we came across a herd of Gemsbok (Oryx) in a wonderful setting. You will notice that I use one of these images as the page banner of the blog.

We moved on, and took some more sunset photos...

We had a great braai that evening, and got up VERY early the next morning to pack up the camp and move on. We were headed to the Kalahari Tented Camp for 2 nights, which meant we would stay in tent-chalets and not have to set up camp again.

The sunrise was moody...

On the dune road to reach the Auob river we came across a female and male Northern Black Korhaan. As with most birds, the male specimen is the colourful one.

The light that morning on the clouds was magical. I call this the "Aurora Kalaharealis"...

Some Meerkats again provided entertainment...

Another antelope (gazelle actually) that is very common in the Kalahari is the Springbok.

We decided to take the long route to the Kalahari Tented Camp. The camp is situated just south of the larger Mata-Mata rest camp, and we decided to head over the lower dune road to explore a bit of the Nossob riverbed, before heading back over the upper dune road and towards our destination.

Gemsbok were running around in the dunes.

This region is also home to a variety of canids...the Black-backed Jackal, the Cape Fox and the Bat-eared Fox. We found some jackals in the dunes as well.

When we reached the Nossob riverbed, all was quiet, except for some Secretary Birds walking around looking for a late breakfast.

These iconic and odd-looking raptors are under threat in Southern Africa as their numbers are declining. Current studies are underway to determine the root causes.

We reached the upper dune road after a bumpy ride over corrugated roads without much in the way of good sightings. Our afternoon was about to get much better, but more on that later! First off, we encountered a breeding pair of Greater Kestrels in a tree along the upper dune road.

What's more...they had lunch with them...

That's the end of this episode, folks. Stay tuned for an amazing cheetah sighting and a surprise encounter with a rare feline...




Morkel Erasmus