Category: wildlife

Bashful lion

A beautiful male lion bashfully looking away. What an incredible feeling to be so close to these animals, and to notice that they don’t even see the open safari vehicle that you’re in! At first my hands were shaking, but with time I have confidence to come away unscathed…

Close encounter with a lion

Before our first gamedrive in Madikwe, our safari guide asked us, “What do you want to see?” Well, we had just been in Pilanesberg and seen both lions and leopards on multiple occasions, but always from far away or hidden in the bushes. So we said, “The big cats, but a little closer!” And boy did we see big cats! “Is this close enough?” our guide asked. It was so close that my 300mm lens almost didn’t want to focus…

Majestic bull elephant

A majestic bull elephant in Madikwe Game Reserve. These animals are so big and so impressive! I know they are often called gentle giants, but for me the emphasis is on giant, and not so much on the gentle. If such an elephant wants to go somewhere, he will, no matter whether your car is in the way…

Lioness resting

An old lady lioness lying on the ground with a full belly in the sunset. Her eyes seem to plead for some undisturbed rest. Although gamedrives keep their distance and do their best not to disturb the animals’ lives, I sometimes do feel like an intruder in their world…

Elephants coming down to drink

Every day around 2 PM the elephants in Madikwe Game Reserve come down to the waterhole in front of Jaci’s Tree Lodge. It is a beautiful sight to see these huge animals make haste to get to the water and have a drink!

Yellow meerkat

In Afrikaans, the yellow mongoose is called rooimeerkat or witkwasmuishond. The ‘meer’ in meerkat is derived from the word ‘mier’, which means ant or termite. Mongooses and meerkats use termite mounds as shelter and the termites themselves as food. This yellow meerkat in Rietvlei Nature Reserve was digging away, looking for some nice grubs to eat.