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Giant’s Castle – summer muze | Howie's Wildlife Images
Helen and I visited Giant's Castle Nature Reserve, one of our favourite places in South Africa, in November last year. We try to visit this reserve at different times of the year to experience the differences in the wildlife, flora and scenery each time. "There is no time to be bored in a world like…
Zakouma – under spotlight | Howie's Wildlife Images
This is the last post showing images and telling stories from my fascinating trip to Zakouma National Park with DougMac Safaris in March this year. One of the wonderful aspects about our game drives with Doug MacDonald was the afternoon game drives did not end with a drive back to the Tinga camp after sundowners.…
Zakouma – interestingly different | Howie's Wildlife Images
This is the second last post from my fascinating trip to Zakouma National Park in Chad in late March this year. This post is about the different herbivores, baboons and crocodiles we saw in Zakouma, some of which were familiar and some were not. Those species that were familiar had unique differences. "If knowledge is…
Zakouma – elephants recovering | Howie's Wildlife Images
This post focuses on the elephants in Zakouma and their population recovery under the stewardship of African Parks. Once a stronghold for over 22 000 in the 1970s, the elephant population had been cut down by poachers to around 4 000 by 2002. Between 2002 and 2010 the park lost a further 90% of its…
Zakouma- avian paradise – part 2 | Howie's Wildlife Images
This is the second post showing a small selection of the birds we saw in Zakouma National Park in mid-March this year. Zakouma's wildlife is like nothing I had ever seen before. Firstly, Zakouma is in the Sahel which is the gap between the Sahara desert and the tropical rain forests of the Republic of…
Zakouma – avian paradise-part 1 | Howie's Wildlife Images
I was part of a group who visited Zakouma National Park in mid-March this year. What an incredible place, experience and privilege. While many of the storks and larger birds were similar to those in southern Africa, all the smaller birds where different so many "lifers" were to be had!! “The more clearly we can…
Zakouma – Rigueik pan | Howie's Wildlife Images
On the eastern side of Zakouma National Park it is flat with the Bahr Salamat and Bahr Auom meandering through this large floodplain. "Bahr" translates to sea or ocean. It can also refer to a specific body of water, like a lake, river, or gulf, in the case of Zakouma it refers to a river.…
Zakouma – Northern lions | Howie's Wildlife Images
The International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that between 22 000 to 25 000 lions remain in the wild. This is an estimated decline from ~33,000 lions in 2006 (IUCN 2006 a, b), a 30% loss in 17 years (i.e., less than three generations). Estimates are difficult to obtain because of lion cross…
Zakouma – Sahel super congregations | Howie's Wildlife Images
Located in south-eastern Chad, Zakouma National Park is arguably the last remaining intact Sudano-Sahelian ecosystem in Africa. Due to its close proximity to the centre of the Chadian Basin, the terrain of the park is almost exclusively flat with the exception of the striking granite inselbergs in the south-west near Ibir. “We live in a…
Zakouma – jewel of the Sahel | Howie's Wildlife Images
In mid-March, a group of friends and I visited Zakouma National Park in Chad for the first time. I have wanted to see this park since 2014 when I watched a video showing the incredible congregations of wildlife in this park. Zakouma National Park comprises 3,000 square kilometres of savanna habitat. It is situated in…
Amakhosi’s birds | Howie's Wildlife Images
Amakhosi is a private game reserve nestled in the hills of Pongola with the Mkuze river coursing through it. It is in the centre of Zululand. One of the features of this wonderful reserve is that it has open grassland and thornveld areas, and densely wooded rolling hills with the Mkuze river flowing among them…
Amakhosi-wild things | Howie's Wildlife Images
Amakhosi is a private game reserve about 25 kilometres south of Pongola in northern KwaZulu Natal, sited around the Mkuze river. The Amakhosi game reserve comprises a blend of savannah, wetlands and mountains. The reserve recently acquired access to the adjacent private game reserve more than doubling the traversing area. "It is in the wild…
Mkuze Game Reserve – Masinga hide | Howie's Wildlife Images
There are five hides in the Mkuze game reserve. I have four posts about the Malibala hide and this one is about the second largest hide, Masinga. Nsumo Pan is the best place to look for water birds and waders. Its northern bank is lined with yellowy-green fever trees and has two hides named, Nkwazi…
Malibala hide-don’t miss the small things! | Howie's Wildlife Images
So often when wildlife enthusiasts go to a hide, they go to see mainly animals and the larger birds. You can see so much more if time is invested in those quiet spells just looking out for the smaller birds at the edge of the waterhole. You will marvel at the abundance and their wonderfully…
Malibala hide – goose fight | Howie's Wildlife Images
One morning at the Malibala hide in the Mkuze Game Reserve the peace was broken by a pair of Egyptian geese. Up until that time, they had been the only geese at the waterhole and all had been quiet. As soon as a wandering pair of Egyptian geese flew towards the waterhole, the pair on…
Malibala hide – avian diversity | Howie's Wildlife Images
The Malibala hide is half way between the Mshophi gate and the Matuma camp in the Mkuze Game Reserve in northern KwaZulu Natal. Helen and I visited the hide every day for four days. The weather proved variable. It was surprisingly cold in late September, which is springtime. This can be a very hot part…
Mkuze Game Reserve- mammals visiting the Malibala hide | Howie's Wildlife Images
In late September last year, Helen and I visited Mkuze Game Reserve. After such good wildlife sightings at both Amakhosi Game Reserve and Rhino River Lodge in the Manyoni Game Reserve, which area in the same part of the world, we thought we would explore this part of the world a little more. We stayed…
Marievale Bird Sanctuary at the start of spring | Howie's Wildlife Images
This is my first post in seven months after an extensive home renovation which was a complete and prolonged distraction. Helen and I visited Marievale Bird Sanctuary in mid-September. This bird sanctuary is about 45 kilometres south of Johannesburg in the Highveld region of South Africa. Marievale Bird Sanctuary is a protected wetland area and…
Chobe – Avian fishermen | Howie's Wildlife Images
This post shows a small selection of the piscivorous (fish eating) birds that you can see travelling up the Chobe River along Botswana's northern border with Namibia. The Chobe River is perennial and flows past the main town Kasane on its way to join the mighty Zambezi River at Kazungula. The level of the Chobe…
Chobe – Elephant Valley | Howie's Wildlife Images
About ten to eleven kilometres up river from Kasane on Botswana's northern border with Namibia flows the Chobe River on its way from Angola to meet the Zambezi at Kazungula. A favourite place to watch wildlife come down to drink water along the river is the Kalwisi Nkanga viewpoint which we fondly referred to as…
Chobe River’s low water level | Howie's Wildlife Images
Helen and I travelled to Chobe River with CNP Safaris in March this year. That time of the year is fondly called ”the Jacana season” because African Jacanas were normally in the midst of their breeding season. This was the time when wildlife photographers would be able to see and photograph Jacana chicks with their…
Kruger – fewer mammal sightings | Howie's Wildlife Images
The weather was variable in the week we visited Kruger at the end of February this year. It was overcast and raining for periods on most days and very windy on some days. Both mammals and birds do not like the windy conditions because it disrupts the hearing and smelling senses making them more vulnerable…
Kruger – birding feast | Howie's Wildlife Images
We visited Kruger National Park in February this year. Our focus was in the southern western section of Kruger including Pretoriuskop, Berg-en-dal and Skukuza camps. That time was late summer in southern Africa and the migrant birds were enjoying the warmth and abundance of food that summer conditions brought. Kruger Parks' slogan - Custos Naturae…
Dubai – the Green Planet | Howie's Wildlife Images
In mid-January, Helen and I visited our daughter and her partner in Dubai. January was mid-winter in Dubai so the day temperatures were not too hot and the evenings were very pleasant. Dubai has first world infrastructure and there is an amazing variety of things to see and do in this desert locale. It offers…
Marievale – mid summer | Howie's Wildlife Images
My enthusiastic birding wife, Helen, and I visited Marievale Bird Sanctuary at the end of January this year. For us this is a place of practice, fun and wonder at the constant changes. The Highveld in South Africa had very little rain this summer season because of the El Niño effect. Although milder than the…
Masai Mara – watching cheetahs | Howie's Wildlife Images
The Masai Mara is well known for its relatively high density of predators. The Mara offers cheetahs plenty of space and unimpeded views across the plains. This helps them find prey and avoid competing predators such as lions, hyaenas and leopards. Cheetahs are diurnal hunters so tend not to come into contact with nocturnal hunters…
Masai Mara – wandering around the triangle | Howie's Wildlife Images
The Mara Triangle is part of the Masai Mara National Reserve which is located in the south west section of Kenya. The Triangle comprises 510 square kilometers, which is approximately one third of the entire Masai Mara National Reserve. The Serengeti is the Triangle's southern border. The Mara river is its eastern boundary and the…
Masai Mara – unexpected buffalo kill | Howie's Wildlife Images
On the first afternoon of this Mara trip with Wild Eye, we found four lionesses near the lugga that led down to where we saw Nshipai, a leopardess. There were no wildebeest or zebra to be seen. The migration had moved down into the Serengeti three weeks earlier. The lionesses had managed to kill a…
Masai Mara – the migration has moved on | Howie's Wildlife Images
We were based at Wild Eye's Enkishui camp in the southern end of the Mara Triangle. The camp is located on the western bank of the Mara river about two kilometres up river from the Purungat gate. I really enjoy late September-October in the Mara because the crowds have disappeared and the skies are full…
Masai Mara – in and around camp | Howie's Wildlife Images
In October last year I joined a photographic group at Wild Eye's Enkishui camp. This camp is sited on the banks of the Mara river about two kilometres up river from the Purungat gate and rangers' camp. There camp is located in a croton grove which attracts a variety of small wildlife. The camp was…
Manyoni – scenic wonderland | Howie's Wildlife Images
We spent four days in Manyoni private game reserve last September. Manyoni private game reserve lies in the heart of Zululand and its management has a strong focus on endangered species conservation. This focus is on endangered and priority wildlife species, including the African wild dog, cheetah, rhino, lion, elephant, leopard, pangolin and vulture species.…
Manyoni – wildlife wonderland | Howie's Wildlife Images
Manyoni private game reserve lies in the heart of Zululand. Initially formed in 2005 as part of the WWF Black rhino range expansion project, Manyoni has become one of the premier safari destinations in Kwa-Zulu Natal with a strong focus on endangered species conservation. This work focuses on endangered and priority wildlife species, including the…
Amakhosi – elephants, rolling hills and the Mkuze river | Howie's Wildlife Images
This is the third and last post from our recent trip to Amakhosi private game reserve. Each morning at the safari lodge we rose at 5h30 to be ready for the morning game drive at 6h00 after a cup of coffee and a muffin. The mornings were brisk at it was the beginning of spring.…
Amakhosi – prolific birdlife | Howie's Wildlife Images
Helen and I visited Amakhosi private game reserve in September 2023. This was the start of spring in southern Africa so most of the migrants had yet to arrive and it was dry. The rains usually only arrive in late November or early December. Despite this, there is a perennial flow of water in the…
Amakhosi – all the cats | Howie's Wildlife Images
Amakhosi Private Game reserve is located on the banks of the Mkuze river about 25 kilometres south east of Pongola in Zululand, which is in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. Helen and I first visited Amakhosi Safari Lodge in the reserve in 2008. We were so impressed with the experience that we returned in 2009…
Marievale – end of winter | Howie's Wildlife Images
Helen and I visited Marievale Bird Sanctuary in late August last year. This wetland is a RAMSAR site and is therefore judged to be of International importance because of its uniqueness and biodiversity. The water levels in the wetland have a strong influence on what birds you are likely to see. The time of year…
Pafuri – birding at its best | Howie's Wildlife Images
The Pafuri area of the Kruger National Park is located in the northern region of the park. It has Zimbabwe as its northern border and Mozambique as its eastern border. The Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers converge in this birder’s paradise, where over 400 species have been recorded. "We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as…
Pafuri – elephants along the Luvuvhu river | Howie's Wildlife Images
In July 2023 we stayed at Pafuri Tented Camp. This has become one of our special places in South Africa. The camp is located on the banks of the Luvuvhu river in the Makuleki Concession. The 24 000-ha private concession is located between the Luvuvhu River to the south and the Limpopo to the north.…
Bushwa- a rewilded gem in the Waterberg | Howie's Wildlife Images
In May this year Helen and I visited Bushwa Game Lodge. For a long time we wanted to stay in the Waterberg as we drove through it every time we travelled to Mashatu and it always looked diverse and fascinating. Bushwa is located about 15 kilometres north east of the town, Vaalwater in the Limpopo…
Chobe river – beauty everywhere | Howie's Wildlife Images
The Chobe river is the east section of the northern border between Botswana and Namibia. The Chobe river starts at the south east section of Lake Liambezi flows to Ngoma and on to Kasane. The so-called "Chobe riverfront" spans from Ngoma in the west to the rapids below Kasane town. From the rapids, the Chobe…