Hi there , folks, well 2009 has started with a bang and it feels as if its going to be a great year.
I thought I would start by sharing my first safari of 2009 with you as it was a hectic schedule. We visited 12 lodges in 12 days in three different reserves. The purpose of this trip was to scout out the lodges for possible options to send our clients on safari, and also to see which would specifically be suitable as photographic safari destinations.
The weather over our 12 days was not the best for photos . but we still enjoyed every minute of the trip.
male lion
We started out in the north of Sabi Sands private reserve at a lodge called Djuma .We spent two days there at their two different lodges. The highlight in terms of game viewing was a male lion on the runway, a leopard and a cheetah which is a rare sighting in the sands.
cheetah
The next stop was Kings Camp in the Timbavati .It has a slightly different vegetation , it’s a dyer area, although we were experiencing lots of rain at the time. We had one afternoon of sunshine and we took the opportunity to get some good shots of elephants and lions and then the bonus was wild dogs
young male lion
The next two days was back in the Sands at Leopard Hills and Savannah. We had some good sightings and a fleeting glimpse of a leopard again , however as we tried to get closer the land rover sank away in the water drenched soil , so we spent the best part of an hour trying to get unstuck, quite an adventure that was.
We then left the area and headed for Madikwe Game Reserve in the North West province, right up against Botswana.We spent the next six days at various lodges there . The general game is good in Madikwe but the highlight here was definitely the wild dogs ,and we were fortunate enough to spend good quality time with them.
wild dog
All in all it was a great 12days and from a photographic perspective I would go for lions and leopard in Timbavati and the Sands, leopard more so in the Sands although you should see leopard in a two to three night stay in the Timbavati .
Madikwe is a very good destination for wild dogs and the general game is good at all the reserves .
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