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South Africa - Kruger, Tshukudu Game Lodge, Moholoholo Forest Lodge & Khamai Reptile Park
23 October - 6 November 2012
Usually you can bet on it that I spend my holidays photographing wildlife in Africa, mostly in Kenya or Tanzania but after years of pondering I finally decided to give the Kruger a chance. I was supposed to go on a Kruger & Botswana tour mid Sept together with other photographers but the deal fell through. The alternative was Kenya again and all was set to go, but at the last moment the local agent would not confirm my lodgings so that was the second cancellation I received at short notice. I still wanted to see the Kruger so I booked a private tour with a local Photo Safari company.
Map
After an 11 hours flight from Amsterdam to Jo'burg I arrived late in my hotel only to find out that they were fully booked. Oh great, I had already let them know in advance that I would be arriving late. They upgraded me to a 5 star hotel, all I wanted was a bed to sleep in and preferably as fast as possible. It was midnight and I had been up since 05:00. Next morning I returned to OR Tambo airport for a one-hour flight to Nelspruit. Jaco Venter picked me up in a Nissan Safari 'bakkie' that was converted to a photography vehicle. Wild4 Photographic Safaris was the organisation I booked my private tour with. My trip was loosely built on their Kruger & Bit Cat trip + Vulture & Reptile extension.
Tshukudu Lodge
Jaco and I took of towards the Numbi gate of the Kruger and settled in to Pretorius Kop camp. Two nights we stayed here as we went on various trips to discover the wildlife. The rainy season had already started so everything was green and impenetrable for the camera. At first I thought 'what am I doing here' but bear with me it gets better. From Pretorius Kop we made our way to Skukuza camp for a 2 night stay and after that a 4 night stay at Satara. We would go out early (05:30) and return for a late breakfast around 11:00 or so. In the evening we would throw a boerewors on the braai and eat this with some bread rolls and a soft drink.
The bush changes to more open areas as you travel northwards from our starting point. I am so used to the open plains of East Africa so this was a bit of a shock at first. Exiting Kruger at Orpen gate, where I had an excellent double espresso, I made my way to Tshukudu Game Lodge, a 2-night stay full board. After that I was taken to Moholoholo Forest Lodge for a 2 night stay full board and from there to Hoedspruit Airport to Jo’burg and back to Amsterdam. All 3 Kruger lodges have a braai outside the cabin; Skukuza even had some pots and pans so we could enjoy boerewors with baked beans. The Kruger section was self-catering.
Wild 4 Photographic Safari company:
Is an excellent Photo Safari operator run by a dedicated professional photographer, Stu Porter. Their vehicles have been adapted
for photographers and go beyond the normal outfit of safari vehicles. Stu's wife Justyna runs the administration and he can rely on
parents to step in where needed. Jaco Venter is a qualified ranger making a name for himself as a professional photographer and he
accompanied me on this trip as my guide & driver and more important a new found friend. He's very service minded, knowledgeable and
patient young man. Jaco divides his time between guiding for Wild4 and working as the head ranger at Tshukudu lodge.
Tshukudu swimming pool
From Pretorius Kop Camp where the bush is thick the trip started off a bit disappointing, I had no idea what to expect as I am more familiar with Serengeti and Maasai Mara. We didn't see lots of wildlife but what we did see stayed put! It's as if the soil contains invisible glue. I am so used to Impala and Warthogs fleeing as soon as you stop resulting in mostly bum shots but here in the Kruger no such thing. They stay, wow!
Tshukudu welcome letter
Yes, an iPad was observed too. We were watching lions mating in the distance and a car pulled up next to us. Rear passenger window rolls down and out comes an iPad to film the scene. I relied on a 500mm lens to capture the scene (frame filling) but I am selling all my stuff and will take my iPad along for future Safaris. It must give some amazing results. I wish I had known this beforehand. Around Skukuza where the bush changes to more open plains chances of seeing animals improved.
Guests of Wild4 who visit Tshukudu are in for a real treat. It offers the opportunity to photograph big cats up close and I did a day
and night shoot with leopard.
Tshukudu Lodge - room
Around Skukuza where the bush changes to more open plains chances of seeing animals improved.
On this trip the following animals were photographed:
African Hawk Eagle, African wild cat, African Wild dog, Ants, Baboon, Bateleur Eagle, Black backed Jackal, Black collared Barber,
Black headed Bulbul, Black mamba, Blacksmith plover, Blue tailed skink, Blue waxbill, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Boom slang, Brown hooded Kingfisher,
Brown Snake Eagle, Bushbuck, Cape Buffalo, Cape vulture, Cape Wagtail, Caracal, Cattle Egret, Chameleon, Cheetah, Crested Franklin, Crocodile,
Dung beetle, Egyptian Geese, Eland, Elephant, European bee eater, Fire finch, Fish eagle, Flap neck chameleon, Gaboon viper, Giant Plated Lizard,
Giraffe, Golden Brown baboon spider, Green backed heron, Green dove, Green Mamba, Grey heron, Guinea fowl, Hippo, Hoopoe, Hyena, Impala, Jacana,
King cheetah, Klipspringer, Kori Bustard, Kudu, Lappet faced vulture, Leopard Gekko, Leopard Tortoise, Leopard, Lilacbreasted Roller, Lion,
Longtailed Shrikes, Marabu stork, Martial Eagle, Mopani caterpillar, Nyala, Ostrich, Oxpecker, Pintailed Paradise Whydah, Puff adder,
Red billed buffalo Weaver, Red billed hornbill, Red crested Barbet, Red crested Bustard, Reed Cormorant, Rock Monitor lizard, Rock python,
Scops Owl, Snouted Cobra, Southern Black Mask Weaver, Southern ground hornbill, Spitting Cobra, Sungazer lizard, Superb starling, Tawny Eagle,
Terrapin turtle, Tortoise Leopard, Vervet monkey, Warthog, Water Thicknee, Waterbuck, Wattled Starling, White backed vulture, White Rhino,
Whitefaced Wesling duck, Wildebeest, Yellow billed Hornbill, Yellow Rat snake, Yemen chameleon, Zebra.
Observed were the African Wild cat, Honey Badger, Black mamba and porcupine and numerous small unnamed birds.
Tshukudu Lodge breakfast & lunch area
Moholoholo Forest Camp - room
The Kruger is, despite the rainy season, a reserve I will definitely revisit but most likely in another season (Jun-Aug). The opportunities I got at Tshukudu & Forest Camp/Reptile Park were fabulous BUT these can only happen when booking with Wild4. Flying back from Hoedspruit to Jo'burg I stayed at the most relaxed and quaint airport I've ever come across.
Hoedspruit airport - outside lounge
Gear:
Two Canon bodies (1DIV, 1DsIII), 20-35mm, 28-70mm, 70-200mm, 500mm, 1.4x. Gitzo tripod used only for indoor shots, Wimberley WH200,
flash, pocket wizards, cleaning equipment, various chargers, CF cards, spare batteries, flashlight, MacBook Air, 2 external hard drives,
2 card readers and various bits and pieces.
Hand luggage was a fully packed ThinkTank backpack approx. 16 kg and another 16 kg of checked luggage most of which was photo equipment too.
I never pack a lot of clothes as these can be washed at camps. Note to self - Next time bring the 100 Macro too.
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