This week, it’s photography’s Best in Show from our safari camps in the Greater Kruger Park and Botswana. With so much to see and everywhere to look, it doesn’t take a lot for the Average Jo to recognise the natural beauty that abounds in regions like the Okavango Delta, the Olifants River, the vast Klaserie, and the Sabi Sand, but it takes something special to capture moments on camera that evoke wonder and amazement from the audience. These are our picks for this edition of the Week in Pictures.
The Klaserie’s treehouse-inspired safari lodge has hosted weddings and honeymoons in simple elegance, and with the essence of the bush in every detail. nThambo Tree Camp conducts Big 5 game drives and guests have come to expect encounters with lions and elephants almost every day. Aside from the big beasts of the wild, there are smaller members of the bush to note, like this African scops owl feeding on a spider, and a little bee-eater basking brightly in the sunlight. The big and bulky hippopotamus is far from small, but somewhat overlooked as it mostly stays submerged in the water. This one, however, emerged with a splash!
In the wilderness that is Botswana, Afrika Ecco Safaris delves deepest. From the most recently appointed World Heritage Site – the inimitable Okavango Delta – to the phenomenal wild land of Moremi Game Reserve; this mobile camping operation offers some fantastic photographic opportunities. The stark landscape of Makgadikgadi Pans, and the lush Green Desert of the Central Kalahari in summer add to the list of destinations that Afrika Ecco explores by road, by river, and on foot. This week, our selection of Best in Show are these shots of an elephant in the Okavango reed bed, a herd of impala clustered together at sunset in Moremi, and a spotted hyena hot on a trail of something tasty.
On the open border of the Kruger National Park and possessing a long stretch of the Olifants River is the Balule Nature Reserve. Within these boundaries lie Ezulwini Game Lodges, two luxury locations for a safari holiday that will leave you overflowing with wild inspiration. The diversity of this reserve hosts a variety of wildlife from the greatest of all eagles, to the smallest of the tallest mammals, while the tranquil presence of the river offers the perfect platform for a pink sunset.
Umkumbe Safari Lodge in the prestigious Sabi Sand – Greater Kruger’s most well known safari destination – produces some of the best leopard sightings in South Africa. There’s no secret about that. This private Kruger Reserve is part of ancient history, and here in the midst of big cat paradise lies Umkumbe Safari Lodge. Many safari guides are inspired by their wild environments and pick up the hobby of photography. And why not? The subjects are some of the earth’s most sought after creatures, and this is an opportunity to watch and record them in their beautiful, natural habitat. These shots of a Charleston Male lion, a leopard called Mahlatini, and a herd of dangerous buffalo were shot by Umkumbe guides, taking their experience in the bush to the next level.
Africa on Foot‘s modest position in the vast Klaserie Game Reserve makes it one of the wildest places to go on safari. With unfenced perimeters and a treehouse out in the open, this is where an experience with the wild world comes alive. Early morning walking safaris and evening game drives in the private big 5 reserve result in some of the most quality game encounters one could wish for. The changing season is transforming the thirsty bushveld, bringing the water-loving leopard tortoise out into the open, and framing even the wartiest warthog rather beautifully.
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