3 Weeks of Sheer Bliss at Tsendze Sept 2018

[Lisbeth]

You really love to take pics of lions

[Peter Betts]

You really love to take pics of lions

Unashamedly my favorite animal ...but I have to be alone and it must be early in the day before they sleep in deep shade usually far away with MANY cars ..I dont indulge in that

[Lisbeth]

I have noticed that

[Peter Betts]

The Shawu Vlei was always alive with Buff and Ellies and with the mist rising and the sunrise breaking through in the east I was able to shoot into the sun while these conditions were present

[Richprins]

A very big buff that second one!

[Peter Betts]

A very big buff that second one!

Lovely symetrical deep curl horns too and he is young as well

[Richprins]

One can put it up on 100ponder's thread!

[Lisbeth]

Not big enough

[Peter Betts]

Not big enough

..Agree..I never saw any Buff Bulls big enough in the large herds

[Peter Betts]

Lovely pics again Peter! But you took a whole card of pics and we only see 2?!!!

These 3 Pics will give an idea on how I connected with the pride ....Top Pic I arrived at the dam and swung left and drove down onto the Dam floor below the wall and there was a nice Saddlebill at the waters edge showing a great EARLY morning reflection but I needed to have my drivers window on the water's side instead of straight ahead through the windscreen which meant I would have to first turn right and do a hard left turn to do this ..As I turned right to begin the manouvre the top of the dam wall was now in front of me and for some reason looked different..This was why!!!!

...The one lioness half cut off far right in the pic was actually on the 'on ramp' to the wall path so I decided to take a far off group shot from below (See above) and then slowly retraced my route to the point where I had originally turned left ..at the entrance to the dam complex on arrival. I now turned right and moved very slowly to the on ramp so as not to spook the lioness at the onramp and the rest too. I parked across the onramp and switched off having already placed my 10 kg beanbag on the passenger window sill . I waited 5 mins and sure as eggs and past experience the lions all one by one got up and moved to my position and settled as in this next pic (This does not happen at a multi car sighting)

..I was then able to take regular pics now that they knew I was OK 3rd Pic of a lion full body portrait

...They now knew my vehicle for the next few morning arrivals into their presence ...Grootvlei ..jou Doring!!(AGAIN please click on the images to get full value)