MaYdikwe

The 2016 Photo Festival at Jaci’s Lodges was a huge success and fully booked, with 24 guests participating in the first ever four day annual event. The festival saw four photographers rotated amongst the four designated vehicles, offering the guests a chance to learn tips and tricks from each professional. It soon became evident that the photographers all have different styles and favourite methods, which made for a great learning experience.

A couple of sessions at the Terrapin hide in the middle of the lodge’s waterhole were also included for all groups. After brunch different aspects of photography and editing were covered each day, in one hour seminars and workshops.

It is quite exciting to go on drives where all the participants share an interest in photography. You take it a bit slower than on an ordinary game drive and also make the most of each subject that you come across. Often birds will be of greater interest on these drives and as they constitute a challenge and are one of my favourite creatures to watch and take pictures of, I thoroughly enjoy this aspect.

Taking portrait pictures of animals is another challenge I really like, as it is interesting to try to capture a moment that is just slightly different from most poses, be it a tongue sticking out, a weird face or something else that makes it appealing to you.

Most photographers’ aim to get the shots they want in the light they want them. The golden hour is a favourite and you can only hope that there’s no cloud cover during this short period right after sunrise and just before sunset. The challenge in nature is to find something to take pictures of before that perfect light hits your subject and then hopefully being able to stay with it, get the best angle and compose your shot. Animals are not always very cooperative of course, so patience is definitely a must.

Of course rule number one of photography is to have the camera with you, fully charged and with an empty memory card. As one of our hosts, Gerhard ‘Guts’ Swanepoel usually says, “The best camera is the one you have with you.” Packing your camera away and having to unpack it while on drive will definitely prove to be a mistake. If you’re not always alert and ready to shoot, the moment may be missed, something we easily could have experienced with this shy young leopard in the early morning light. Fortunately we didn’t miss out, and we only really had one chance…

Drink stops are also an opportunity to try some macro photography and if you look around carefully there’s always something to capture your interest. Although the mornings were already quite cold, a few insect were still to be found for this purpose, as the sun had risen a bit.

Some days it was overcast and nothing looks overly attractive, however the diffused light is actually rather great for taking photos. Also, sometimes overexposing a subject against the rather dull looking light grey sky makes for some awesome shots that can turn out even better when transformed into black and white. Not everyone loves this style, but it does have sort of a punch to it.

Equally exciting is to underexpose when an animal is lit up from the side to get a rim of light around it. Playing around with this is especially rewarding when it comes to furry and fluffy looking species, like the cats, where the hair easily catches the light.

If the light isn’t great you can always get something out of the moment anyway, which was demonstrated to us all one evening at the hide where a green backed heron and two pied kingfishers kept on catching one fish after another. Trying to photograph a kingfisher in flight in low light isn’t easy though, but against a reasonably bright sky, it is doable.

Wildlife photography is also about anticipating the animals’ behaviour and being prepared for it. A perching bird will usually take off into the wind and if it’s just done “number two”, it will most likely do so shortly.

It is also about being at the right place at the right time. We had heard about a male lion being at a giraffe carcass the previous day and went to the area the morning after, mainly hoping for hyenas. And as luck would have it, a young spotted hyena was making the most of a discarded giraffe leg. Spending time with this animal with no other vehicles around is a great privilege.

Something that Andrew kept saying is that photography should also be fun and not too serious, all the time. So some funtography is also needed to keep it interesting and creative. As long as you know the rules you’re also allowed to break them and the best pictures are the ones that speak to you. It is not the technically perfect ones that you love the most or the award winning shots, but the ones that triggers memories, makes you laugh or just have beautiful colours… so, there’s hope for us all!

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Shady lions

In the southern part of Madikwe, one of the lionesses has recently been seen spending time with her two young cubs. One morning while out on a drive, we were among the very few vehicles in the area. We went in search of her and the rest of the pride, where they had last been seen the night before. Fortunately for me and the Good family, we soon got lucky and since it was a quiet morning, we had the privilege of spending the better part of it with her and the rest of the pride, all on our own!

The two little cubs were crawling all over one of the two males, having great fun. He was very patient and never once growled at them. As the sun kept rising, the shade grew smaller and eventually they all moved closer together, under one of the larger bushes in search of some reprieve from the heat. On the vehicle however, it was getting pretty warm, as well as heated, as one of the young ones in the family was getting a bit impatient. However, the matriarch of the Goods was firm in her wish to stay for a bit longer and that settled it.

When the other male tried to squeeze in between the two other adults, to also get some shade, patience had worn thin amongst the cats though. In a blur of teeth, claws and growling on all ends, the three lions were tumbling around in a furry ball of fury.

The dispute was quickly settled and the latecomer reluctantly went for a rest in a patch a bit sunnier than he would have preferred – at least for a little while. Normally lions don’t hold grudges, and soon the lions would be the best of friends again. The two cubs got the freight of their lives however and had gone scurrying off, to not accidentally get caught between the combatants.

Eventually the cubs carefully made their way back to the rest of the pride and, with some reassurance from the shade-winning male, peace was restored once more.

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River of Dreams

Jaci’s Lodges recently unveiled the new specialised photographic vehicle, equipped with Gimpro Game Viewer mounts and photographic equipment. To instruct and guide guests on their photographic experience at Jaci’s Lodges, I was sent to get some photographic training with Pangolin Photographic Safaris under the tutelage of some of the best photographic guides in the business – Guts Swanepoel and Janine Krayer as well as Charl and Sabine Stols.

We spent a lot of time out on the Chobe river in specially equipped, eight seater photographic boats with Gimpro mounts. We also did a couple of trips in the houseboat’s four seaters with the same setup and into the park on land, to find different bird species. The first thing I learnt is that the right equipment makes all the difference.

I haven’t had any experience with either Canon or Nikon previously, as I’ve always used Sony. So, to begin with I was handed a Canon 7D II and was just told to get acquainted with it. Thrown in at the deep end, as usual! My first boat trip on the Chobe was mind-blowing! I realised that my eight year old, reasonably priced camera would no longer do. The fast shutter speed needed to capture birds or animals splashing around in water has had me frustrated before, but now I’ve learnt that it is doable, without the pictures turning out too dark – something which usually happens with my camera. The mounts, with arms that are moveable in all directions, also make a huge difference, as a 100-400 lens and camera can quickly become heavy and unsteady, which causes blur.

I managed to play around a bit with exposure compensation the first day, and got some nice shots of a great egret by under exposing, and hippos in the water by over exposing.

The second thing I learnt is to always be prepared for action. As the days passed I quickly became used to setting the exposure compensation back to zero, the f-stop to about 7.1 and having a relatively fast shutter speed ready between sightings, to be prepared for almost anything.

A leopard in a tree, that I badly over-exposed, taught me that lesson. I didn’t have time to reset everything once we spotted him. I got some shots and realised they weren’t good. As I was trying to right this wrong, the guy next to me got an awesome shot of the animal in sunlight looking straight at us, while I didn’t even get an over-exposed version, since I was busy with the camera.

The elephants playing around in water turned out well however!

The depth of field and what point of an animal you decide to focus on also has a huge impact on your pictures, and I immediately got into the habit of playing around with this, especially when it came to reptiles. Unlike most animals, crocodiles and monitor lizards tend to be reasonably still for a longer period, giving you the chance to experiment a bit with the settings. Crocs became a favourite subject of mine to photograph in all their raw pre-historicness.

I spent two nights on a houseboat and we were lucky enough to see some really great bird species. We went to specific places to look for some of the more elusive ones. The bird that I struggled with the most was the shy, fast-flying and shade-loving half-collared kingfisher. After a lot of searching, following and patience, the troublesome bird was caught on camera. Maybe not some of the greatest of my photographs, but at least it satisfied my inner bird nerd.

I soon realised that I had already learnt quite a bit about photography, as I was getting comfortable instructing others! My experience as a field guide also proved to be an advantage when it comes to anticipating what’s going to happen and what you need to focus on, and I was happy to see that some of the guests got the shots they wanted.

As I became more acquainted with the cameras I started focusing a lot more on my previous fear – birds in flight. It is difficult, but not impossible, and at times I managed to get some really great photos. The larger birds tend to fly a bit slower, and they have a more predictable flight path so were much easier to capture.

But when we spotted a fish eagle doing a couple of flybys we all followed it with our cameras and I was excited to get some great shots of it swooping down for an enormous barbel. The kingfishers and bee-eaters however are still a problem for me, but I’m not giving up!

The camera-lens combinations I had been using are rather good for macro photography too and of course I needed to try that out. The garden around the house was perfect for this, with all its flowers and the insects they attract. Depth of field and light can really make or break this type of photo. Luckily, flowers normally don’t go anywhere and that gives you time to adjust and readjust your settings. The biggest problem was wind, as the flowers kept blowing out of focus with even the slightest air movement.

I made a habit of trying to find things to photograph in the garden. But, you definitely know you’re a weirdo when the gardener comes to tell you there’s a snake in the garden, you come with, realise it’s a mamba and you’re first reaction is to turn around and leg it… to get your camera as quickly as possible.

We had big plans to do some star photography and star trails, but unfortunately we didn’t have one clear night during my two week stay. Weather is the one thing you can’t do much about, but in all we were lucky to not have to cancel one game drive or boat trip during my stay.

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Looking back...

At the end of March last year, I arrived at my new home, Madikwe game reserve in the North West province, bordering Botswana. The area used to be farm land, but wasn't very successful, so the government decided that the best use for the land would be a game reserve. It's home of the big 5 and is the 5^th largest game reserve in South Africa, with its 750 km².

Madikwe´s claim to fame is the wild dogs which are facing many challenges, such as rabies, other predators but also competition between packs. What has surprised me in Madikwe is probably the great sightings we often have of two predators that are rarely seen in other parks and reserves, the dogs as well as the brown hyeana.

My new home did offer some challenges I struggled a bit with in the beginning. I have the habit of eating every four hours when awake and only three meals per day are included... figure that one out when my hours of being awake is 4:30-23:00 in summer!!! I got the advice to stock up on food, but with no fridge or stove, that was a bit of a mind twister... Long-life milk and muesli, fortunately turned out to be a life saver! Luckily (?) it was quickly getting cooler as we approached winter and my bathroom turned out to be an alright fridge for the time being. On the other hand I do think the kitchen is running an all you can eat pap (tasteless polenta) buffet for the staff...

 

Another hick-up was the lack of a bathroom door in my first room... especially when the stomach has to get used to this new and weird eating routine. I was horrified when I was told I may even have to share this room with someone... as if your own fumes wouldn't be bad enough!? A few months down the line I managed to get another room however, only to find out that I actually was getting a room mate... that turned out to be a disaster, but thankfully, a very short lived one!

 

After a couple of weeks in the reserve, the other guides felt the need to put me to the test and see how easily grosed out I am. Luckily I was very much aware of this, as we approached the elephant bull that had died a week earlier, in a fight with another male. The stench was horrific... two of our guides kept a very respectful distance, while me and a couple of other guides did our best to open up his thick skin, so that the scavangers could finish this massive animal quicker.

As I saw the head ranger gagging I was relieved... not throwing up proved to be all I had to accomplish. This was a good thing as the ginormous knife I was handed was as sharp as a buttering knife and my upper body strength left something to be desired. For a few days I couldn't get the smell out of my nostrils and the smell stayed with my boots for another few weeks, much to the excitement of the lodge owner's dog.

 

When I first met guides from other lodges in the reserve they weren't very impressed that a blonde Swede, with almost no experience (only six months in Kruger), had been hired by Jaci's lodges. To be honest, I'm sort of still waiting for someone to come tap me on my shoulder and tell me I'm out, much as I did during my time at university... But I'll go kicking and screaming at least, since me being here has costed a lot of blood sweat and tears, literally, as well as money and time. It took three trips back to Scandinavia last year and I don't know how many medical exams and blood samples to get the work permit sorted. I must be the person with the most well monitored health in the whole of South Africa by now... which is a good thing, so that I don't spread some horrible Swedish deceases over the entire African continent.

 

The lodge has a lot of families visiting, as it is one of few lodges that accept young children on drives. This also entailed a lot of children's activities to take care of... and as FNG (F***ing New Guide) it was my responsability to keep the little ones happy. Most of the time we went for short walks inside the fenced in lodge area, via the river path to the hide.

When lucky we've had elephants happily drinking only a few metres away and a lot of nice birds... and when not so lucky, the bunch of unruly monkeys I was looking after scared off anything living within a few miles' radius! But, as always, a few of them I almost plotted to steal from their parents and run for the border.

 

When far from civilisation you have to create your own entartainment and a lot of it consists in gossip, insulting eachother and making up weird drinking games... some of which so daft I refused to join in for months (Just gonna say it; Sevens!?). But I don't have TV and what else am I going to do, right? To make it more fun, we added our own twists to the more familiar ones... and I guess this is how you end up naked in the middle of the reserve in the middle of the night!

Once in a while we do go fishing or swimming (or both) at the wier, as we did for my enormously important birthday in December. This is of course a summer activity though, as the Marico river gets freezing cold during winter.

 

The Marico runs past Jaci's and if lucky you can see a lot of different animals coming down to drink. Once in a while the elephants are nosily enjoying a proper bath, to everyone's delight. Unfortunately the river banks are rather steep in some places, which makes it difficult for the young ones to get back up... and one day we could hear a whole heard crying out because of a young baby's attempts to get out were getting weaker and weaker, though the mother desperately tried to push from behind. After an hour or so, all became still and the cow just stood there in the cold water, exhausted. Finally she tried to get out herself, but she was too tired to manage and the rest of the herd, that had been worridly cheering them on from the banks, left. Two days later, she eventually got out of the river and could join the others, probably overcome with hunger, hypothermia and grief however.

A few months ago almost the same thing was being played out in front of the lodge and I thought we'd have to witness yet another tradgedy. This female though did find a place where the banks didn't plunge as steeply into the water and she successfully pushed her young one out and they both ran trumpeting back to their waiting family.

 

To be able to drive with a rifle in Madikwe and to walk as backup guide, you need to pass a shooting test... and then another one to be able to lead walks with guests... “just” passing your Advanced Rifle Handling, isn't enough. Madikwe got a really bad ass test, Jungle Lane, that freaks the living daylights out of me. I was able to witness one guides doing his assessment last year, and I thought I'd never dare to myself. However, I conjured up some guts and did it in February, just to try it out. Of course everyone knew it wouldn't be a proper Jungle lane test, so I had to be the last one, on the last day to not interfere with everyone else's assessments. This meant that a lot of people were around, waiting to get a party started. Our own Rambo of the park kindly suggested everyone to join, which meant that four of the most experienced, and therefor intimidating, guides, in the park were with me! If I wasn't nervous before, I sure was now! The fact that three of them were joking around in the background, laughing, didn't help much, as I was sure they were laughing at my rifle skills. Rambo was however calm, collected and helpful and talked me through everything I had done... and should have done. Next time I'll be a bit less nervous... and, who knows, third time lucky?

For now I'll keep driving with my rifle and hopefully I'll soon have enough walking hours to walk as backup.

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Fun & games

On a cloudy morning in February one family I was driving had still not seen lions, after spending three nights at the lodge. This creature is usually number one or two on most people's lists and no African safari feels complete without making their acquaintance. In most cases though, they are lazy buggers laying in the shade of a bush, an ear and half an eye visible through the thicket, if lucky. This was not going to be an ordinary morning however...

As we approached the site where one of the prides had been found we were told on the radio that they were now up and moving about and we made our way down towards the river, as they seemed to slowly be heading in that direction. Just watching them walking and drinking is a privilege and the guests were stoked, and so was I, as we were not really expecting much activity at all.

The water seemed to be revitalizing the juveniles however and they figured it to be an excellent opportunity to practise their stalking techniques, on their mothers and aunts.

Since the adults weren't up for these boisterous fun and games though, the siblings and cousins quickly turned on each other instead.

Soon we had oversized kittens chasing around on all sides of the vehicle, kicking up dust and enjoying the relative relief from the heat that this morning offered.

The appearance of a thirsty giraffe interrupted the activity and the young lions decided to take him on. Normally giraffes are very weary of lions, but youngsters around a year old don't really pose any sort of threat. He was more worried about the adults resting under a tree a bit away from the river. The boldness of their chosen prey probably surprised them a bit...

For a few seconds they just stared at him before running towards him. Like any animal, the sight of 6-7 lions running towards him, sent him scurrying for safety.

The lionesses watched their offspring’s latest game with no apparent interest to join in and after a while the large giraffe bull seemed to realize that there were no adults involved in the hunt and calmed down. Restoring his dignity, he slowly went down towards the river again and the youngsters finally found the warmth of the morning tiring as the clouds slowly scattered.

 

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An Ordinary Morning at the Airstrip

One morning one of the larger lion prides in the eastern part of the reserve had been kind enough to take down a wildebeest right next to the airstrip. Granted “Madikwe International” is not one of the busiest of South Africa's airports, but still, a flight or two per day isn't unusual...

The carcass had not yet started to smell, so it was clearly rather fresh, though already almost finished. As we approached, a lioness and two juveniles were still busy feeding, while the others had taken to the shade, panting like crazy while digesting the meal. Two black-backed jackals were wearily assessing the situation from a safe distance, patiently waiting their turn.

I had at first been a bit worried that a sighting like this would be too much for the two younger guests in my vehicle to stomach, as the lions were ripping apart their prey only a few metres away... but they were delighted and and so were their parents.

As the morning progressed and the heat got more intense, the female decided that she'd had enough of the sun and carried the rest of the food in under a bush, and the two younger individuals followed.

This was the chance the jackals had been waiting for! They came rushing for the stomach and other goodies that had been left behind by the lions. These intelligent little canines form pairs for life and often share food, but were regardless of this quarrelling about the left-overs and chasing each other around.

A few of the younger pride members weren't too impressed with this behaviour and decided to do something about the thieving pair. Jackals are however far too agile and alert to be taken by lions out in the open. The heat probably made the attempt from the big cats less serious than it could have been as well. The chase did trigger some playfulness though and for a while the youngsters were running around without a care in the world in the early morning hours.

A couple of hours later as the first flight of the day was making it's decent, both the carcass and the pride were long gone.

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