C4 Workshop, Mashatu Game Reseve - November 2014

With the onset of the rainy season and the first rains the weather proved to be challenging in terms of photography, but there is one very famous saying, “Mashatu always delivers”, and that it did indeed.

In anticipation for the bad weather, we all decided to head into the underground hide on our first morning with the hope of getting lucky before the rains. Luckily we had 3 different processions of elephants come down, who where elegantly dwarfed by the moody skies.

 

Elephants at the underground hide with moody skies

Photographers in the hide

 

Over the course of the next few days, things became more difficult in terms of light but somehow every drive produced the goods. The challenge of shooting in these conditions pushed the boundaries of our equipment, but it sure proved to be a massive learning curve for everyone in terms of photography.

 

Testing the elements

 

Despite all obstacles, we certainly had one of the best workshops ever in terms of the uniqueness and rarity of sightings.

To name a few of the special moments we had:

·         A live cheetah kill which ended up with the mother letting her 4, 5 month old cubs practise and learn the art of the kill.

·         One of the very first sightings of the new 3 lion cub additions.

·         A courting pair of ground hornbills in very close proximity.

·         Massive herds of migrating elephants moving back into the region after the long and dry winter.

 

Mother and cub

2 months old

Ground Hornbill with puff adder kill

Elephant enjoying having it's river flowing once again

Cheetah mother with impala kill

4 cubs taking over the kill from their mother

Revived elephants after a long dry winter

Hyena cub at den site

A very curious hyena sniffing out the game drive vehicle

Photographers in action, although the subject is a bit small to spot

 

Not only where the sightings spectacular in terms of mammals, but the eruption of termite alates brought in a few temporary visitors, including an excellent sighting of a Steppe eagle. Janet, one of our serious bird enthusiastic guests managed to get a list of close to 140 species over the course of 4 days, not bad going considering the weather.

Overall, we where all incredibly privileged to witness some amazing spectacles of nature and capture it all, albeit a challenge. 

A massive thank you to all the guests who partook, we thoroughly enjoyed hosting everyone over the course of the workshop.

 

Mashatu landscapes slowly turning colour after all the rains

 

 

Until next time,

Kyle de Nobrega