As always I
was excited to go back to Africa and this time I headed of to South Africa, a
first for me. This time I really felt like I came prepared, equipped with a
brand new Nikon D4, a D800 and a D3s as backup – and of course my wife to carry
the D800 (more on that later…)
We arrived
safely in Jo’burg and were met by a friendly driver who took us on a morning
drive north into the mountainous area called Entabeni. Pretty exhausted we
arrived at the lodge just in time for lunch. After unpacking, we were ready to
go.
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| Lioness in morning glory. Nikon D4 and 500mm f/4. |
The
wildlife around Entabeni was great, and the first evening we encountered the
local lions resting just opposite our lodge. We spent two nights in this area,
just to get the feel of Africa (though temperatures plunging to zero in the
night felt more like home), and we had some great encounters.
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| Lion king in the cold morning mist. Nikon D4 and 500mm f/4. |
After
breakfast the second morning we were picked up by Jay at Africa Photographic
Travel (APT). He took of his own time and drove us all the way east to
Timbavati, bordering Kruger NP. A four hours drive turning into six due to
roadwork gave us plenty of time to look at the stunning scenery and to talk. I
hope we will do something together in the near future.
Upon
arrival in Timbavati we met with our local host Greg Du Toit, a brilliant South
African Wildlife Photographer, had a quick lunch and got onto the vehicle. And
what a vehicle it was. APT has, together with Nikon South Africa, developed a
specialized Landrover with photographic seats and bracket arms. I must admit it
felt a bit awkward the first evening, but once you get the hang of it
everything just came together. I probably missed a couple of shots due to the
construction, but in the end I think I got a couple because of it as well.
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| Spotted Hyena from ground point of view. Nikon D4 and 500mm f/4. |
We spent
three nights in the beautiful Simbavati River Lodge and had great wildlife encounters, but one day in
particular is worth mentioning. This morning the local Hippos just going crazy
outside our tent woke us up. As we were enjoying a cup of coffee on the deck we
could see these two males fighting in the river. Water was dropping so the
territorial males were disputing over the recourses, and consequently the
females. The good thing about going on a specialized photographic trip is that
when you see a picture you work on it. So instead of chasing after the Big Five
we got in the vehicle and drove the 100 meters down to the river. The next two
hours were just amazing!
Greg and I
got out of the car and onto the ground for a better angle as the two bulls
battled in the water. The fight moved around for a while and at one point I was
laying no more then a couple of meters from the water as the two males came
charging up. I was well aware of the reputation these animals have, but I kept
on shooting until I heard Greg calling my name from the other side, and
something about “get the frog into the vehicle” or something like that… As I
was way to close for my 500mm I jumped in at grabbed a shorter lens for more
action. It was fascinating horrible to watch at the same time. The strongest
male almost gutted the other one, and on the beach he was virtually chewing on
him. They got back into the river and drifted a bit further down. Suddenly we
saw this one male standing tall in the middle of the river, at the deep end! We
never saw the injured male again and we believe he was actually drowned by his
opponent right there.
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| Two Hippo males fighting over water, females and the right to live. Nikon D4 and 500mm f/4. |
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| As the Hippos came charging out of the water it was time to get of the ground. Nikon D4 and 500mm f/4. |
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| Fighting to dead. Nikon D3s and 70-200mm f/2,8. |
Still
shaking from the action we moved on and finished of the morning with a
beautiful drinking Leopard and a large group of Elephants moving down the
river. A lot to talk about over breakfast!
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| Elephants on a morning stroll. Nikon D3s and 70-200mm f/2,8. |
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| Leopard drinking. Nikon D4 and 500mm f/4. |
The same
evening we got out ready for more, and we got what we were hoping for. Good
encounters with local wildlife like antelopes, Lion, and then another Leopard.
This time a young individual in a tree. The sun had already set and I tried
some shots just to see what I could make of it. The D4 images seemed OK
considering the conditions, but I didn’t bother working on it. My wife on the
other hand was happily shooting with her D800 and a 200-400mm lens. Some people
would consider ISO 5000 and a shutter speed of 1/5 sec to be just silly on this
camera setup, but were we surprised when we saw the result! D800 might lack the
speed and noise levels of a typical wildlife DSLR but the dynamics of those
files were just mind-blowing. Did I mention my wife was happy!
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| Leopard shot by my wife Irene using Nikon D800 and a 200-400mm f/4 lens @ ISO5000, f/4 and 1/5sec! |
To end it
of we had a nice chameleon, Common Genet and Verreaux’s Eagle Owl. Just before
getting back to camp we saw our third Leopard of the day and this one was
moving along the river. We managed to follow it, thanks to excellent driving by
Chris, and eventually we ended up IN CAMP! The last thing we saw of this animal
was as it hid underneath our neighbours’ tent. I guess it is needless to
mention we had a strange feeling going back to our own tent that night…
A great
thanks to the people at the lodges, Greg for being a great guy and Jay Maan at
APT for providing a great itinerary.
After
spending the week in the bush we travelled down to the southern tip of Africa
for a very pleasant stay in Cape Town. Of course we went for some sharks in
False Bay, tasted some wine in the stunning Winelands and “climbed” Table
Mountain (love those Dassies…).
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| Great White Shark catching a Cape Fur Seal in False Bay. Nikon D4 and 70-200mm f/2,8. |
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| Cape Cormorants in False Bay. Nikon D4 and 70-200mm f/2,8. |
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| Rock Hyraxs' or Dassies, on Table Mountain. Nikon D4 and 70-200mm f/2,8. |
To sum it
up it was an amazing trip and it was all put together by Safari Opplevelsesreiser.
I really hope to do it again, perhaps with
clients.
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| Strelitzia flower. Nikon D800 and 28-300mm lens. |
