Matabole Hide, Guest Image Gallery - By Karin Braby

Mashatu Game Reserve guest Karin Braby shares some amazing snaps from her outstanding morning spent in the C4 Matabole Hide this month. Karin and friends were treated to an array of mammal species at the hide, starting off with a blood strewn hyena that was in desperate need of some water to wash down his indulgent night. As the clouds cleared up the ellies took centre stage streaming in, in the hundreds for the rest of the morning.

Thank you to Karin for sharing some of her incredible shots from the morning with us.

 

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First Day Of The Best Month!

August is by far our favourite month at the C4 Hides. Animal activity has really been picking up around the waterhole, with daily visits from the elephants and an array of bird species visiting for their daily drinks.

Yes, we are only one day into the month, but take a look at the awesome sightings the first day of August has already provided us with...

 

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A Productive Morning at the Hide

After a night of strong winds, we were unsure of what the morning would hold for our regular Matabole Hide session. We set off from the lodge before dawn into the crisp morning air, all wrapped up for our 30min drive towards the hide. As the sun slowly rose where excited to see the many puffs of scattered cloud cover slowly illuminate creating a fantastic backdrop to what we hoped would be a great hide session.

On arrival to the hide we set up our camera gear, we even experimented with a more artist approach to shooting with a Go Pro that we had lodged inside the waterhole. All set up and ready to go, and right on queue an elephant bull arrived. The bull gave us a good show before meandering off back into the Mopane. He most certainly set the tone for the morning with great birds following pursuit, as well as, herds of impala, a troop of baboons, a terrapin and a shy squirrel.

Feeling very content with our morning spent at the hide, we decided to head back to camp for brunch. Jokingly we mentioned between us that all we needed to top off an already top class morning in the bush would be a leopard ... and in true Mashatu style a leopard we did see!

 

Clouds making a perfect backdrop for the morning activity

 

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C4 Valley Hide

It’s been an impressive start to the establishment of our newest hide edition on Mashatu Game Reserve, The Valley Hide.  The hide has been created using the same design principles as the existing Matabole Hide, which has served many photographers in capturing the renowned low angle intimate shots the hide is known for.

The Valley Hide is no different, and in its first few weeks of operation has proved to be a very active little waterhole drawing a variety of species to the hide. The visitors include; multiple visits from the valley’s resident leopard, giraffe, zebra, jackal, hyena, steenbok, impala, eland, warthog and of course a variety of bird species.

We look forward to witnessing the Valley Hides first full year in the bush, and capturing and sharing the cycle of visitors the waterhole attracts to it.



Drinking giraffe close up

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Mashatu Photo Workshop - November 2014, By Trevor Kleyn

Some more great feedback and images from C4’s last Mashatu Photo Workshop of the year. Some incredible moments where shared in the bush during this workshop, despite the ‘far from ideal’ weather conditions.

With a little bit of applied patience and excellent guiding, shots such as these by workshop host Trevor Kleyn where achieved.

Hide activities

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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

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Month of the Mud Bath

To the wildlife of Mashatu yesterday was just another day in their lives. To me, it was the best day spent in the underground hide I have experienced thus far. As temperatures have begun soaring into the 30’s, the wildlife on Mashatu Game Reserve have had to adapt and make some changes to their everyday routines. These changes are bringing life to the waterhole of the C4 Underground Elephant Hide like never before. Hundreds of elephants have been pulling in from afar not only for a quick drink but also a mud bath. Alongside the elephants we have impala, warthog, kudu, eland, monkey’s and not to mention the birdlife – all co-existing together in harmony...for a change!

 

Here are a series of images from our jammed packed morning of hide activity, hope you enjoy pictures as much as we enjoyed our morning!

 

First herd of the morning arriving in full force

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August Winds

The August winds have once again brought change to underground hide.  New mammals, birds and herds have made regular visits to the hide this month making for an interesting viewing experience to all those who have visited the hide.

Kurrichane Thrush
 

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C4 Hides Update

The C4 hides at Mashatu Game Reserve are in full swing at the moment. The elephant hide has been teeming with bird life, everything ranging from guinea-fowls to fire-finches and parrots. As the great Matabole River slowly dries up the mammals on the reserve – especially the elephants – are becoming more and more dependent on the waterhole as their permanent source of water. Regular visitors this past month include impala, baboons, elephants and warthog, the more occasional visitor’s include vervet monkeys, eland, hyena, banded mongoose and lion.

Mashatu's towering giants having a drink at the elephant hide

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Mashatu Underground Hide

Professional Wildlife and Nature Photographer, Martin Harvey, recently visited Mashatu and the underground elephant hide. Martin spent much of his time taking video footage at the hide and put together this beautiful video.

Waterhole from Martin Harvey on Vimeo

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Mashatu Magic

C4 client Hendri Venter has just returned from a few days at Mashatu Game Reserve. Below a few images taken while there and using the underground elephant hide!

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