South Africa - Shinzela
Going into this trip, I predicted that Kruger National Park would be the highlight for me. In some ways, it was. After touring the park for the entire day, though, we were whisked away to another private reserve - a tent camp called Shinzela that would ultimately lead to an even more exciting experience. There, we would spend several days searching the reserve for wildlife on guided safaris. Like Kum Kula, the reserve shared an open border with Kruger, meaning that each game drive would provide us with a more intimate and targeted chance to see wildlife wandering in and out of the national park.
Day 1
Our first game drive started out slow. The roads were extremely muddy, and we had to be careful not to get stuck. We saw a few animals here and there - elephants, a European Roller, an Egyptian Goose - nothing extremely surprising. Suddenly, our guide Ruben, after paying close attention to the radio in his ear, stopped the jeep and asked us if we wanted to see something "really special." We'd have to move fast to catch it, though. We enthusiastically agreed and braced ourselves as he raced us down the bumpy trail.
After some time, we slowed our approach to a crawl. Ruben had brought us to an intersection right on the border with Kruger. This is as far as we were allowed to go. We saw a few more safari jeeps a little further down the road bordering the park as we slowly approached. Closer and closer we crept. Ruben asked us to be extremely quiet and to avoid sudden movements. We were just feet away from a pack of wild male lions.
Getting to photograph lions this closely was already "really special" to me, but these lions weren't even what he meant to show us. Among these lions was another animal so rare that there are only four known to exist in the wild in the world. The last sighting of this particular animal by Ruben himself had been months prior - this was an incredibly special moment. I'm talking, of course, about a white lion!
Day 2
On the second day, we found out that Ruben was a fellow photographer with an impressive portfolio! (Here is his Instagram - check it out!) We spoke a bit about photography, and he confessed that getting to see the 'Big 5' so often had gotten him interested in birding (since it was something new and novel to photograph). He brought his camera along for the morning game drive.
After the game drive, we stopped for coffee by a lake. Ruben had, unknown to me, selected this spot because he knew it was great for birds. Across the lake hung several nests made by Masked Weavers. On top of them, we spotted a Striated Heron:
As we were pointing this out to the others, we noticed something really awesome - a kingfisher! I had just spent the better part of 2022 trying to capture a nice photograph of a Belted Kingfisher at home. After multiple failed attempts and many hours chasing them, I finally managed to capture a photo I liked right at the end of my 2022 season. (In fact, it was the last photo that I captured for my 2022 photo book!)
With that context in mind, getting to see an African Malachite Kingfisher was very meaningful to me! As I got down on one knee to take a shot, though, a territorial terrapin came charging toward me (well, as fast as a terrapin can charge, at least). Awkwardly, I had to make a snap judgment about whether to move or to hold, brace myself, and get the shot of the kingfisher at the expense of a bite. Thankfully, I called the terrapin's bluff and I both avoided a bite and got a shot!
To top everything off, when we arrived back at camp we saw another kingfisher! This time, it was another species called a Woodland Kingfisher! I got extremely lucky (no terrapins were trying to bite me this time) and I nailed one of my favorite photos of all time:
That evening, on our third game drive, we encountered a variety of wildlife, but my favorite had to be an owl with spectacular yellow eyes. We also stopped, surrounded by wild hippos, to admire the Milky Way galaxy and the Southern Cross. The sky was unbelievably clear, and I shared both awe for the night sky and anxiety that we were too close to dangerous hippos. Thankfully, the hippos returned to the water so that we could be on our way.
Day 3
Day 3 was bittersweet - it was our last morning at Shinzela. I thought then, and I maintain now, that I could have done the entire trip at Shinzela and been happier for it. We did not want to leave! On the other hand, I felt extremely lucky to have seen all of the wildlife the previous two days, and I considered anything we might find on the third morning a bonus.
After a calm morning, mostly filled with elephants and eagles, we began our return to camp. The night before, we had briefly seen a female leopard in a tree with an impala carcass, and we hoped to be lucky enough to see her again on the way back. As we bounced along, searching in all directions, one of our companions shouted with excited panic, "Leopard leopard leopard!"
Ruben stopped the jeep and killed the engine. We were sitting directly below a male leopard, napping in a tree. It was unbelievably close to us. I couldn't believe we had struck gold again on the final game drive!
So, to end where I started - Kruger National Park was amazing, but Shinzela was the crown jewel of our time in South Africa. When I return (not if, but when), Shinzela will be my primary stop!
