C4 Photo Safari: serengeti

Showing posts with label serengeti. Show all posts

Monday, March 7, 2016

Serengeti Calving Season 2016 - By Andre Cloete

A selection of images by trip host Andre Cloete, from our first week of the Serengeti calving season safari 2016.

Some feedback from Andre, "Staying in our private camp set up just for our group of photographers, we were able to be right in amongst the migration herds. This meant full on calving action from early dawn light each day. It also meant predatory action with the predators coming into to catch the young wildebeest."

The trip was perfectly timed with the arrival of the wildebeest herds, making for an action packed first safari.

We are looking forward to seeing what next weeks Serengeti adventure bring...

Guest Image Gallery, Serengeti and Mahale Mountains: By Randall Bacon

Recently returned from the Serengeti and the Mahale Mountains is guest traveller Randall Bacon. Randall along with fellow travellers and photographers, where guided and hosted by top wildlife photographer Greg du Toit. The group’s first stop on the trip was the Serengeti, in search of the large migrating herds of wildebeest who at this time of year have begun their calving process. Unfortunately, the group didn’t catch the migration but where still treated to fantastic predator sightings on a daily basis. Thereafter, the group continued to a remote destination on the eastern banks of Lake Tanganyika, Mahale Mountain. The area offers a unique experience, of exploring the pristine indigenous forests in search of the shy Mahale chimps. The team where extremely successful in capture some incredible shots from both of these Tanzanian wilderness areas, thank you to Randall for sharing a few of your top shots from the trip.

Iconic east Africa.

Amboseli, Masai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro are all names that are at the heart of the safari industry in Africa, spread between Tanzania and Kenya. They stir up a romanticism that cannot be found in other locations. So when C4 Images and Safaris and Iconic Images International ran a safari to these wonderful locations we expected a good safari but nothing could prepare us for how wonderful the safari would actually be. We simply could not have asked for better sightings or photography

Southern Serengeti Calving Season

Words and Images by C4 Guide Albie Venter

Contrary to what many believe, the great migration never really starts nor stops ever. It is a perpetual movement of the mega herd of herbivores comprising wildebeest, zebra, and some species of gazelle. One of the main events on our safari schedule is the annual calving season during the months of February and March in the southern Serengeti. Here we caught up with the herd in a beautiful location in the southern woodland. Africa’s quintessential plains meet with the woodland and create a feature-full landscape of flat topped Acacia woodland interspersed with scenic Granite outcrops. These Granite kopje’s adds additional flavor and on them we often encountered prides of Lions, scenes reminiscent of Disney’s the Lion King.

A Scene out of Disney's Lion King! A pride on a Granite Koppie!

Quintessential East African Sunrise.

A chorus of Cape Turtle dove calls welcomed the day each morning as we travelled through the woodlands and we were treated to some of Africas most quintessential sunsets.

Our first afternoon had us photographing a pride of lionesses with no fewer than eight cubs all playing in the last rays of the setting sun.

All the large predators were present in numbers and we even witnessed a pair of newly independent Cheetah siblings taking down a wildebeest calf. Lions with cubs playing in golden light, a large male leopard and animals beyond count all contributed to a very memorable trip.

One of the Serengeti Special endemics, a Grey Breasted Spurfowl greeting calling at the end of day.

A big highlight was upon our return to camp one evening our chats were interrupted by a lioness walking nonchalantly through camp. And being a group of photographer one would imagine at least one good image between the lot of us. But alas...nothing to prove the sighting.

A Tawny Eagle taking off in early morning light.

Something I personally take real pleasure from is the fact that birds of prey were present in both species diversity as well as numbers. And although it is difficult to do proper birding during a safari in one of the worlds predator hotspots I did manage to tick off more than 120 species.

The smaller predators such as this pair of Bat Eared Foxes also added to the remarkable diversity of wildlife.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Serengeti Lamai

The most commonly associated aspect of the serious visitor to the Masai Mara is the vehicle traffic. Unless you know where specifically to go to or go out of season you will encounter vehicle traffic in the Masai Mara like no other wildlife place in Africa.

What may people don’t realise though, is just south of the border lies the Serengeti. Also just south of the border, the Mara River turns to an east-west direction before flowing into Lake Victoria. The wildebeest come up from the south before entering into the Mara and it is here where some of the largest crossings take place. Tanzanian parks have designated this part of the Serengeti a Low impact area- with only a handful of camps allowed in the area. Thus it was with two intrepid clients that myself through C4 Images and Safaris planned a weeklong trip into the Lamai area to witness and photograph the migration. 6 days later and a few hundreds and thousands of animals later, we were satiated.

The Lamai is a remote wilderness just south of the Mara. I could see all the landmarks and at times the vehicles too. But we were removed in our own little world of animal sightings and photography. It was bliss beyond belief.

Of course with the migration came the predators and we watched cheetahs hunting and killing and lions a mating and fighting. It showcased just how good a wilderness concept can be when my clients proclaimed, “This is exactly how we envisioned Africa” after lions mated on an open plain with no one else in sight… Lamai was and is a very special place in one of the most productive ecosystems in Africa. Long may it remain as such.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Serengeti Trip report - By Albie Venter

After our very eventful predator Safari in the Mara we hopped across the border into Tanzania to go and catch up with the Migration which we met in the Seronera region. It really doesn’t matter how many times one has seen this spectacle it still remains an incredible sight.

After the migration it was across to the shortgrass plains and woodlands of Ndutu where the predators put up a spectacular show for us. From the first evening being kept awake by lions roaring though camp to the last morning following four playfull cheetah cubs the action never stopped. Highlights included a female Cheetah killing a Thompson’s gazelle in full view of everyone with four cubs in tow while for me sighting such as Golden Jackal (regular in the Serengeti) and a remarkably relaxed Striped Hyena mom and cub at a den was real treats.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Serengeti - by C4 client Christine Chong

"Just wanted to says thanks again for a fantastic trip – everything I wanted in a photographic safari, complete with brilliant sightings! The locations were spectacular and the photographers on the trip not only knew how to assist the clients to increase the level of their photography within a very short space of time, they also had vast knowledge of the wildlife and their behaviour which enhanced the photographic opportunities. Many thanks to Albie and Greg! And thanks to Shem and C4 for amazing organisation and a great trip, would highly recommend C4 to anyone wanting to improve their photography!"