Hilton Kotze Safari Blog

March 2009 Sabi Sand Private Reserve Photographic Trip

Hi Folks, well, as promised here is the trip report on the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve!

We started out at Elephant Plains in the north of the Sands, as expected this time of the year the weather was a little overcast with sun breaking through at times (normally when there is nothing to photograph). 

Mafufanyane

We did find Mafufunyane, a legendary dominate male leopard of the area. One can see that he is under pressure from boy on the block, Tyson,so it will be interesting to see the dynamics change in the next couple of months.

We then moved on to Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge. It was a mind blowing experience in terms of service, everything just ran like a well oiled machine. A wonderful feature at Sabi Sabi is that they have a special photographic land rover with extra brackets for camera mounts, and because they have a large property of their own you are not limited to game drive times as in some of the lodges that share traversing rights on smaller properties, so it’s a definite option for good photographic safaris!

We found the southern pride of lions and managed to get in a few creative shots with back lighting .

lion

We then moved on to Inyati situated in the western sector on the banks of the Sand River. If you are pressed for time (only have 2-3 days ) this is a very good area to come to. Although the lodges share traversing over a 1200ha area so your sighting and game drive times are regulated, the game viewing is so good you will 9/10 times see everything you want more than once. I have never gone to the western sector and been disappointed in the photo opportunities or photos I got.

Sabi Sand is a prime area for wild life photography especially for the cats, it’s a must if you are into photographing leopards and lions.

Kalahari Photographic Trip.19 – 25 February 2009

Hi folks, just returned from the Kgalagadi photographic trip. Although the weather was not the greatest for photographic purposes, it was a wonderful trip.

We spent the night at Wit Sand and did some landscape shots in the dunes. With enough time there is plenty of opportunity for good photos .The accommodation was very nice and well priced. I would have liked to stay longer but we had to get moving.

wit sand

We then left for the Kgalagadi Trans Frontier Park and up to Polentswa on the Botswana side, were we camped for 4 days, you can only camp there and you have to be totally self sufficient.

camp site at Polentswa

I must say there is something exhilarating about camping in the wild with no fences to protect you from the lions walking through camp.

lion drinking

The area has five water holes close by, Polentswa , Kousant , Langklaas, Bedinkt and Kwang which range from 3km to 20km stretch of each other and the campsite .

All these water holes have good lighting for photographing in the morning and afternoon.

lioness

As mentioned before, the weather was not the greatest, but we had to make the best of it.

The grass is extremely long so the game viewing was difficult; however we did get a couple of nice landscapes in amongst the wild life.

thunder storm on the access road

In my opinion, this time of the year a better option for game viewing and photography would be to stay along the Twee Rivieren/ Mata Mata road , it’s a lot more open so the game is more visible.

I will definitely go back to Poletswa but between July and November/December, for game viewing, scenery is fantastic all year round

I have posted a couple of the photos on the following link. hiltonkotze.co.za/Kgalagadi_Photographic_2009/

If you have any questions about the area or future trips feel free to contact me.

photos of the campsite: http://www.hiltonkotze.co.za/polentswa/

Our next photographic safari will be to the Kwai River area of Botswana from 30 August – 7 September 2009.