A new day in Pilanesberg

A familiar sight in the park are the hot air balloons that are seen at dawn, when they take off in the park. It was early one morning, I saw the balloons over the lake. I decided to go in that direction, but came across one of the Big Five, I just had to stop and photograph this magnificent lion. Sadly by the time I was finished taking pictures of the lion, the hot air balloons had drifted further away. I was however able to get a couple of pictures of them over the water. This would seem to me to be an incredible way to view the game park, as the balloon is silent and above the ground, which would give a different perspective to that from a vehicle window.

National Zoological Gardens/Pretoria Zoo

Pretoria Zoo is the largest in the South Africa and covers 85 hectares of land. For those who would prefer not to walk the 6km length of the zoo, there is a cable car which takes visitors to the top of the hill from where there are excellent views of central Pretoria.
The long term strategy is to develop the zoo's research, training and conservation of Africa's biodiversity. The NZG supports Countdown 2010, a campaign by various governments worldwide to save biodiversity by 2010 and helps put words into action.








The black rhinoceros is native to eastern and central areas of Africa. It is critically endangered species and approximately only 3000 exist in the world. Conservation efforts have helped to stabilise their decline but a lot more is needed to secure the future of this magnificent animal.







The hippotamus, pictured here, had her calf with her which highlights the successful breeding of this animal at the zoo. The cheetah is extremely rare and I have not yet been fortunate to see this elegant and graceful animal in the wild.







The zoo is home to thousands of specimens of mammals, birds and fish species. It also has an reptile park and is home to the largest inland marine aquarium in the country. For further information visit http://www.nzg.ac.za/.

Golden Gate National Park

The rainy weather in Johannesburg was chasing me away. I decided to go to the Golden Gate National Park. On my previous visit to South Africa I had collected a couple of brochures of this park and had decided it would be a must to see on another trip. The park boasts beautiful landscapes which are a must for anyone wanting to learn how to shoot landscapes. The views are incredible. I have done a couple of panoramic shots here. The cloudy weather also offering some challenges, at times I have had to wait up to 30 minutes to take a single picture. One thing that I have discovered about this area is that it can get rather cold, so you would need to go prepared for anything, including cold weather in the middle of summer. I have taken the shots of Golden Gate National Park and the surrounding areas using my Canon EOS1DS Mark3 with 24-70 2.8L and 70-200 2.8LIS Canon zooms. I have visited the small town of Clarens which is a short distance from the park. The town is an artist’s paradise. There are several art galleries and the town is rather touristic. The roads to the town are extremely scenic and I have spent a lot of time shooting these views. I do have to mention that I spent a couple of nights at Jastelle Self Catering Cottages, where you will find the accommodation to your satisfaction, with the three well maintained cottages. There is space for campers here aswell.

Pilanesberg National Park

Saturday afternoon I took a drive to Pilanesberg National Park. The park is about 50 km north of Rustenburg. It hosts a large variety of game, including the big 5, as well as cheetah, hyena, the rare sable antelope as well as hippo. I spent a day and a half in the park. I found the park attractive with the scenic landscape and the hills all around. I have captured some stunning pictures of zebra and blue wildebeest here. These are two species which have previously eluded me in other parks. I have also managed to get one shot of a herd of springbok, which unfortunately took off right there after. I once again realize that a larger lens is a must when shooting wild animals.

Monte Casino Bird Park

Thursday morning I awoke to more gloomy weather, but surprisingly at around 10 am a couple of breaks appeared in the clouds. I decided to visit a Bird Park I had heard about. Situated off William Nicol Drive, Monte Casino hides a treasure in Gauteng! I was surprised to find one of the most beautiful animal parks I have ever seen. I would highly recommend this park at Monte Casino for both young and old!
Firstly I did not need a 500mm lens here. The birds were close enough, sometimes even too close, to shoot, which is not a normal occurrence with wildlife! There are many different species of birds and most of them are used to being close to people, so they don’t fly away when you take shots of them. The birds are enclosed in what one could call an enormous cage, which has been created with a very large net. Under the net you will find what would appear to be natural habitat, with various species trees as well as a water feature which creates a wetland habitat.











There is a bridge through the trees, which makes it possible to view the birds at eye level in the tree tops. I have taken so many incredible pictures of the birds using my canon EOS1DS Mark3 with a Canon 70-200LIS 2.8 plus Canon extender 1.4 and a 580 Mark2 flash. I decided to return to the park for a second day of wonderful shooting.