Spotlighting lions by the Mkuze river after dark, close encounters with cheetahs on fresh impala kills, iconic African megafauna drinking just metres from our lenses in pitch black at the night hides, dynamic vulture action plus jackals in the mist at the scavenger hide, not to mention some wonderful waterbird photography opportunities (both front-lit and back-lit) at the picturesque lagoon hide.  Our second visit to Zimanga of 2023 did not disappoint.  

The combination of game drives and custom-built hides on this reserve allows us to maximise photographic opportunities and to target and spend time with the subjects and scenarios most likely to pay dividends. On this trip Zimanga’s growing population of cheetahs was undoubtedly the headline act and it was no surprise we often found ourselves on game drives off the vehicle marvelling at them, letting these beautiful big cats dictate the pace and direction of our shots.

It was heartening to see three young females who we’d photographed as cubs the previous year doing so well now on their own. At this point the trio were still coming together to pool talents in hunts, and, despite their relative inexperience, seemed to be very successful, tucking into fast food in the shape of an impala on one occasion when we crossed paths with them. Their mother, who we saw collide with a tree and injure herself quite seriously last year, had clearly recovered well enough to see her three young daughters reach independence. She too appeared to be thriving, as our guests found her one afternoon also dining out on fresh impala.

We also had our very last encounters with the two cheetah brothers on Zimanga, who were about to be relocated to another game park, soon to be replaced by another pair of males to refresh the reserve’s gene pool. They have been brilliant and engaging subjects over the safari seasons we’ve been following them and it was bitter-sweet to photograph them grooming each other affectionately as ever and reinforcing their strong bond, for the final time.

Despite night hide sessions still being adversely impacted by excess surface water on the reserve, as a result of cyclone Freddie earlier in the year, both our groups were fortunate to capture some dramatic after-dark, wide-angle images of a big bull elephant (or two on one occasion) drinking just a few metres from their lenses. Elephants are not ‘every time’ visitors to the night hides and it’s always very special to experience their presence and sheer size so close in the darkness.

Both groups also had visits from buffaloes and lumbering white rhinos. One group had a very enjoyable session with two friendly rhino bulls who took-up residence at one of the hides in the afternoon session while the others were treated to a rhino with small calf coming calmly to drink in the dead of night.

On game drives the lion pride male made majestic appearances for both groups and everyone got the chance to do some spotlighting of the resident pride at dusk.

As for bird photography, the dual aspect low level lagoon hide and the scavenger hill hide were the top performers of the reserve’s purpose-built blinds.  Photo sessions in the morning as well as the afternoon in the lagoon hide enabled us to make best use of the potential for atmospheric backlit shots of some of Africa’s classic waterbirds as well as experiment changing our white balance, in camera, to warm sunrise shots or enhance those cooler pre-dawn hues.

There’s always an opportunity for flight action too in the lagoon hide, as subjects fly in to fish or bathe, while some wonderful light helped us capture both colourful and moody images of a variety of species, from tiny African black crakes to displaying Egyptian geese, across both am and pm sessions. An African openbill and a saddle-billed stork were two new species for us at this hide. The openbill (main picture) in particular gave us some excellent opportunities, visiting for both afternoon and morning sessions to show off the hidden iridescence of his plumage and demonstrating the workings of his adapted ‘nutcracker’ shaped bill.

Finally, no trip to Zimanga would be complete without the long-running soap opera that is the scavenger hide, with spats, sparring and full-on food fights between a host of celebrity carrion-eaters each vying for the best spot centre stage and at the table. The usual suspects turned up for us, with the whitebacked vultures seemingly going through their best martial arts moves, while a jackal enhanced his customary performance one morning by trotting up over the horizon heralded by a swoosh of swirling early mist. like dry ice.

Between our busy bouts of photography, in hides or on rides, our base as ever was the comfortable homestead on the hill known as Doornhoek. Thanks to Alice, Blessing and Fikile for looking after us so well during our stay and, of course, to head ranger Calvin Kotze for excellent guiding and good humour throughout.

Finally a heartfelt thanks from us must also go to ‘the team’ of photographers who rode with us on this one – that’s L (‘Have you checked your settings Jim’) T, wine critic and easy-going Antipodean JD, birthday boy, top birder and rim-lighting expert PA, first-class flyer 😊, ace action photographer and sweet supplier CA, Zimanga fan-girl and our very own ‘princess’ ST 😊 and last but not least the almost nocturnal AA  – we’re sorry we couldn’t have made your dream come true with every night of your trip spent in the night hides!