Hilton Kotze Safari Blog

My first photographic for this year takes me to Sabi Sabi  bush Lodge, nestled in the heat of the Sabi Sand Game reserve this is a perfect spot to start my 2010 photographic trips.

We have booked a private vehicle specially  kitted for photographers and we have out specialist ranger Mike  Karantonis who is excellent on animal behavior prediction( important when we need to be in the right position for action shots)

We went out for our first drive yesterday afternoon and bumbeled around the bush to see what we could find .We found lovely birds at a water hole  and decided to spend some time there getting our camera settings  and eyes adujsted to fast moving objects.

Phios our tracker

The next morning we headed out early  to follow up on a pride of lions that were found late the previous evening, after some time of following tracks and some skillful tracking by

Mike and our Tracker Phios we found them just as the sun was breaking through the african bush. This made for some lovely photos in that golden hour time frame of good light.

One of the lionesses found a baby tortoise (life in africa is tough ) and was carrying it around , the others wanting some action too made for good action/playful shots. Later that afternoon we went out looking for the elusive leopard, and what a magnificent animal he was when we found him.

Here are some of the photos of our photographic trip

Lilac breasted roller

carmine bee-eater

Leopard

lioness with tortoise

It was a wonderful trip , now looking forward to the next one

cheers for now

Tags: african Safari, photographic, photography, Safari Lodge, wildlife

Kirkmans Kamp

Location:

Kirkmans Kamp is situated in the south-eastern part of the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve  .This reserve is privately owned by  some 35 different lodges and makes up a wildlife area of roughly 70000 hec (172 973 acers). Although each lodge owes its own property there are no fence between neighboring properties so the animals are free to roam wherever they want. The Sabi Sand Reserve is situated to the west of the famous Kruger national park , roughly some 2million hectares( 5million acers) and here too there are no fence between the two reserves so the animals have free range between the reserves. This global echo system stretches from round about Nelspriut in the south all the way up past Phalaborwa up to Pafuri and Crooks corner in the north (no-mans land were three countries come together, South Africa,Botswana and Zimbabwe). The eastern border is the Mozambique border and the western border is made up of a mixture of private reserves like the Sabi Sand , Timbavati , and Baluli reserves and small towns such as Hazyview ,Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa. this extended echo system is Known as the Greater Kruger national park and it in turn forms part of the international trans frontier park which stretches across various countries.

Map

Directions:

Best way to get there if you are not flying in from ORT or KMIA would be through the town of Nelspruit ( also referred to as the Gateway to the low veld or Kruger) on to Hazyview were you then head east along the R536 straight to Kruger.

The distance to the Gate is about 80 kms roughly 45min driving time as you have to drive through informal settlements for most of the way. about 60 kms out of Hayzeview you will turn left  onto a dirt road for 7-8km before getting  to the sabi sand reserve gate, best to use shawes gate (second turn off to the Sabi  Sand ) the one closest to kruger . The road is well marked with all the lodge signs.

Summary:

The lodge:

Kirkmans  is situated in on a ridge overlooking the sand river ,it has a very colonial feel to it, originally a hunting kamp of Sir Harry Kirkman appointed to establish cattle farming in the area. The lodge still has all the hunting  memorabilia as décor

The lodge falls into the And Beyond basket  and has the characteristic good level of service and excellent food.

for more lodge  click on the link:

http://www.africadirect.co.za/lodge.aspx?LodgeID=21

Size & Atmosphere: The camp is situated on a hill over looking  pristine bushveld and   sand river, It is a large camp with 18 rooms grouped together in clusters of 4 rooms. It has a very relaxed atmosphere , sort of home away from home. There is a lounge separate bar area and a library with fast internet access.

Communal Pool: It has a large pool with pristine views over looking the sand river

Mobile Phone and Internet Access: very bad mobile coverage ,have to stand under a specific tree to get a weak signal this proves very inconvenient if you need to stay in contact with your office or staff.  Internet access is good at the guest computer in the library

Spa: Does not have a full spa but relaxing massages are given in the solarium at the pool

Child Policy: This is a child friendly lodge , kids are allowed on game drive from the age of 12 unless you have a group and you and all on the vehicle know each other in which case they may allow younger kids to go on game drive.

Rooms:

Game Drives:

Vehicle/guest policy: normally six on a vehicle rare occasions more , Note : the tracker sits on the back seat so couple could be split with one partner sitting next to the tracker and the other on the seat in front. Because the have there own property the game viewing hours are more flexible than at other lodges who share property

Property and traversing size: This is a beautiful property with a long stretch of the sand river on it so always good for game viewing, especially in winter. Game drives traverse over 6300 hectares (15 700 acers). Property is not share with any other lodge so exclusivity is more or less guarantied, occasionally you may bump into a Mala Mala vehicle as this used to be a part of Mala Mala and the still have traversing rights on kirkmans

Tags: accommodation, african Safari, directions, exclusive accomodation, information on lodges, Safari Lodge

Location:

Sabi Sabi is situated in the southern part of the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve  .This reserve is privately owen by  some 35 different lodges and makes up a wildlife area of rughly 70000 hec (172 973 acers). Although each lodge owes its owen property there are no fence between neighboring properties so the animals are free to roam where ever they want.The Sabi Sand Reserve is situated to the west of the famous Kruger national park , roughly some 2million hecters( 5million acers) and here too there are no fence between the two reserves so the animals have free range between the reserves. This global echo system stretches from round about Nelspruit in the south all the way up past phalaborwa up to Pafuri and Crooks corner in the north. the eastern border is the Mosambique border and the wester border is made up of a mixture os private reserves like the Sabi Sand , Timbavati , and Baluli reserves and small towns such as Hazyview ,Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa. this extended echo system is Known as the Greater Kruger national park and it in turn forms part of the international trans frontier park which stretches across various countries.

Directions:

Best way to get there if you are not flying in from ORT or KMIA would be throurgh the town of Nelspruit ( also refered to as the Gateway to the low veld or Kruger) on to hazyview were you then head east straight to kruger.

distance to the Gate is about 80 kms roughly 45min driving time as you have to drive through informal settelments for most of the way. about 60 kms out of Hayzeview you will turnleft  onto a dirt road for 7-8km before getting  to the sabi sand resrve gate, best to use shawes gate (second turn off to the Sabi  Sand ) the one closest to kruger . The road is well marked with all the lodge signs.

View Larger Map

The Lodges

I have taken the time to write a short lodge summary about each lodge ,the items mention below are important to me while I am traveling and  hopefully will help you to decide which one of the four you would like to stay at should you want to go., what you will read here is normally not stated on the web sites , and its my personal opinion based on actual experience, so feel free to disagree or differ from me.

All theses lodges are 5 star plus , they all have air-conditioning ,and mini bar fridges. All the lodges have a comon guest are for dining and lounges and libraries

Sabi Sabi  has 4 lodges , BushLodge  , Selati Lodge,  Earth Lodge  and little BushLodge . Each lodge has its owen character and feel and each is quite different from the others.

my personal favarite is bush lodge ,but i can fault any of the others at all , SS always had an exceptional high standard of service and the food is just to die for .

congrates to Rod and his team for eing able to consistantly delivier good service.

for more on each lodge just click on the link

Little bush lodge summary:

Size and Atmosphere  : small & quaint, 6 luxury rooms, , has a tranquale bush feel to it

Air-Conditioning : yes

Mobile Phone and Internet Coverage : yes

Vehicle /Guest Policy: max 6 people on vehicle , unless you are a group and you all want to be on the same vehicle.

Property Size : traverse roughly 7000 hectares on there own property and dont share with other lodge

for more info and photos : http://www.africadirect.co.za/lodge.aspx?LodgeID=9

Bush lodge summary:

Size and Atmosphere : My personal favarite , 26 rooms, also on dry riverbed ,over looks a water hole and you will almost always see some animals there during lunch in the winter months, always has a subttle buss to it.

Air-Conditioning : yes

Mobile Phone and Internet Coverage : yes

Vehicle /Guest Policy: max 6 people on vehicle , unless you are a group and you all want to be on the same vehicle.

Property Size : traverse roughly 7000 hectares on there own property and dont share with other lodges

more info and photos:http://www.africadirect.co.za/lodge.aspx?LodgeID=1

Selati lodge summary

Size and Atmosphere : situated more to the east of there property, overlooks a water hole aswell ,its a smaller lodge than bush, 8 rooms and is known for its romantic atmospher The lodge has a very strong character drawn from the 1800’s when they had just discovered gold and the selati railway line was build in that area to get gold to the then lourenso marcs ,(Mozambique,)

Air-Conditioning : yes

Mobile Phone and Internet Covarage : good coverage

Vehicle /Guest Policy : max 6 people on vehicle , unless you are a group and you all want to be on the same vehicle.

Property Size : traverse roughly 7000 hectares on there own property and dont share with other lodges

more info and photos : http://www.africadirect.co.za/lodge.aspx?LodgeID=8

Earth lodge summary:

Size & Atmosphere : this is their flagship lodge and truly something special, sunken into the side of a ridge ,it  has almost zero visual impact on the echo system.it over looks a water hole and has a great view of the valley and oposite side of the ridge. It has 13 rooms well spread out on either-side of the main guest area , so you have a wonderful sense of privacy.

Air-Conditioning : yes

Mobile Phone and Internet Coverage : yes

Vehicle /Guest Policy : max 6  usually 2-4 depending on staff availability.

Property Size : traverse roughly 7000 hectares on there own property and don’t share with other lodges

It is the only lodge in their  basket were each luxury suite has its own private plunge pool, and the rooms all have a sky light to view the stars.

for more info and photos : http://www.africadirect.co.za/lodge.aspx?LodgeID=3

Tags: accommodation, african Safari, exclusive accomodation, Game reserve, information on lodges, lodge, private Lodge, Safari Lodge

Busanga plains of Northern Kafue

Our next stop was The Busanga plains of northern Kafue. What a place ,it’s a very scenic drive from Lufupa up north all along the Kafue and lufupa rivers, saw lots of game and swatted many tsetse flies.

I must say that the tsetse flies only live in the woodland areas ,once we hit the bottom part of the busanga plains there were no more flies.

The plains are roughly the size of the Sabi sand reserve ,about ,70 000 hectares of open grass land with dotted islands ranging form the size of large termite mounds to islands of 1 km x 800m wide. It floods for 6months of the year then from about June starts dying up and leaves these open grass lands were you can see for miles and miles.

The open plains with small islands of Busanga

Busanga is truly a photographers paradise. The place is teeming with game , as the plains dry up little rivers and streams are left and all the game congregates around it.

Herds of Rhone ,sable puku and letchwe were all over the place and of course the predators literally falling out the trees.

Rhone antelope on the Plains

The predators have learned to climb trees in the wet season to get out of the water,so it is not uncommon to see lions in trees here.

Busanga pride male

The Busanga plains is a definite must for any photographer, tons of birds and wild life, the sad thing is that you only really have a 4 – 5 month window period to go ,July through to Nov ,the plains are totally inaccessible in the wet season.

spur winged duck

I must say that the Busanga plains is a very special place if you are a birder, nature lover or wildlife photographer it is a must

Sunrise on the Busanga Plains

Tags: Busanga plains, Kafue national park, photographic, photography, safari, wildlife, Zambia

Zambia ,Kafue national park

The next leg of our trip takes us to  kafue national park some 225000 square km big ,it is an hour and a half’s flight from Livingston into central Africa , you literally fly the hole time over bush veld, not one town just un-spoilt bush.

Vic falls leaving Livingston

We landed at Lufupa camp , our first stop in Kafue. It’s a lovely semi luxury tented bush camp situated on the confluence of the lufupa and Kafue rivers, more or less in the central part of Kafue. I say semi luxury as there is no electricity , there is however lights and hot water powered by solar pannels and camera and laptops can be charged at the office from the generator which runs while guests are our on drive. Although there are no air cons the evenings were not hot as there is a constant breeze off the water that blows through the tent ,I found it very comfortable even though we were there in the hottest time of the year (oct)

The mighty Kafue river at sunset

The activities are mixed between game drives and boat cruises .The size of the Kafue and Lufupa rivers is mind blowing ,this is definitely an undiscovered secret of Africa. A great advantage in Kafue is that you can follow animals off road, some thing not often possible in national parks.

The rivers are at times 80 -100m wide and teeming with game ,  from the boat there is brilliant birding with tons of African fin foot, malachite kingfishers ,half collared kingfishers ,African skimmers ,western banded snake eagles just to mention a few, there is also the lovely senic images of sunset that get imprinted in your brain.

sunset silhouette on the Kafue river

Game viewing from the boat was also good with leopard elephant hippos crocs and various antelope sightings.

dominant male lion in Lufupa area

The game drives were interesting from the point that you had to fight off the tsetse flies for most part of the drive, this can be some what annoying, but we had good game viewing , saw Rhone antelope eland elephants and lion.

Next we are off to the Busanga plains of northern Kafue

Tags: Add new tag, Kafue national park, Kafue river, Lufupa camp, photographic, photography, safari, wildlife, Zambia

Zambia photographic trip

My Zambia trip starts at Livingston ,more specifically Toka leya a wilderness safari camp on the Zambezi

This is camp is well suited for those looking for comfort and style in the bush

The camp is on raised decks overlooking the Zambezi river ,a perfect setting for an African safari experience.

Boat cruise on the Zambezi

The afternoon activity was a boat cruise on the Zambezi, were we are expecting to find the African fin foot and the African skimmers( two big ticks for birders a must for any photographers portfolio).

We had a wonderful time here and saw some awesome sightings, a special one for me was an elephant swimming across the Zambezi river .

Elephant swimming the Zambezi

The river was a hive of activity but sadly on the Zimbabwe side all was quiet,our guide mentioned that is apparently because of no fuel for boats to go out. Its such a shame the someone can cause such a beautiful country to almost come to a standstill.

My next stop is Kafue national park

Tags: Add new tag, photographic, photography, Toka Leya, wildlife, Zambia

Khwai Photographic

Unfortunately we have come to the end of the Khwai photographic , it has been a wonderful experience for all who went . I think its safe to say that we all learnt something about photography ,(I even learnt some new things), we not only learnt about photography but also learnt something about ourselves .

It was a very diverse group, from Adri and Rassie from Pholikwane ,regular bush fanatics who love camping frequently to Ali from the UK , who landed 3weeks ago for the first time in Africa and landed on a totally self sufficient camping photographic in Botswana.

Ali from the UK shooting up african wildlife

We were fortunate enough to have lions close to camp and we could experiment with some night photography form the game viewers.

we were shooting manual at 800 ISO ,between 1/50 -1/100 s  at f/4

male lion at Khwai

Some other high lights were the 17 sable we found , as well as the mating leopard and wild dogs

group of sable antelope at Khwai

Some pics from the trip

ODP members on game viewers at Khwai

The group taking memory shots

ODP members taking memory pics

Michael and Evert in action

Michael and Evert in action

AS the Group heads back to SA after a very successful trip ,thanks to ODP and Bernie from 4×4 mega world for supplying the logistics and chef Godfey

I head on to Explore the photo graphic possibilities in Zambia , so I will keep you posted

Tags: Botswana, camping, photographic, photography, safari

Khwai River Camping

Getting to the Khwai river was an exciting expedition , with all the rain there were a couple of water crossing but the most exciting one was the actual crossing of the Khwai river from Mababe side.

Here are a couple of ODP members crossing the Khwai river.

Michael Bossman crossing the Khwai

More river crossings

Hilton crossing the Khwai

We got to the camp site at Khwai and set up camp, and got ready for game drive.

We went out and photographed some sunsets ,and scouted the area for morning and evening shooting spots.

The photographic is going well , seen loads of elephants ,lion and a high light was a group of 16 sable antelope .

Elephants playing in the river Khwai

The group are getting great shots and having a ball.

Khumaga

We left Kwa Nokeng and headed north for the Makgadigadi pans were we set up camp at Khumaga. Khumaga is a lovely camp site on the Boteti river on the western side of the pans.

Due to the good rains in June July the once arid and dry river bed was now flowing for the first time in sixty years ,its remarkable to see the metamorphosis that takes place when  the rains have fallen.

Boteri River flowing for the first time in 60 years

We took a drive a drive onto the pans ,saw lots of game along the way ,unfortunately all the zebra’s that we were expecting to see at the river were now on the pans, still a wonderful sight.

It was ausume to be on such a vast expanse of africa, some of our group took the opportunity to express their excitement.

Ali from the UK having fun on the Makgadigadi pans

Evert Nel getting dirty

Evert Nel on the Pans

We are off now on the third day to pick up supplies in Maun and then we head off to Khwai.  

Tags: Botswana, Makgadigadi Pans, photographic, safari