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.