Luke Street | A Week In Pictures
Welcome back to another week in pictures at Tanda Tula Safari Camp! Lately, the Timbavati,and the Greater Krugerarea as a whole, has been experiencing some rather chilly weather. Cold front after cold front seem to be descending on South Africa. These fronts generally hit the coast all the way in Cape Town before moving inland towards Johannesburg and then finally east towards the Kruger. Luckily, by the time they get to us, they have lost a lot of their strength. Due to the altitude we find ourselves at, our experience of these cold fronts is nothing like the bitterly cold nights that Johannesburg gets. None the less, it is definitely cold enough to make Chad and myself moan.
With this interesting weather comes overcast conditions, which is always strange at this time of year as the eastern portion of South Africa is generally known for noticeably clear-sky winters. This, of course, means that the light is somewhat tricky for us wildlife photographers as we struggle to find the detail in our images that gorgeous sunshine so often presents. However, I can’t complain too much as the wildlife has not skipped a beat!
The only thing I really struggled to capture this week were lions, but that doesn’t mean everything else was hiding away. Sadly though, it does seem that our resident River Pride have gone through a bit of turmoil, as we can only find tracks for one of the six cubs at the moment. It has happened in the past that the females leave 2 or 3 cubs here and there while keeping the others with them, but this time it feels different. Only time will tell if all the cubs are in fact alive and well. We will be sure to keep you all updated!
The winter months always bring loads of elephants to our little piece of heaven and this week was no different. There are big herds everywhere and when you can’t see them, you can definitely hear them… or smell them. It’s such a pity that we can’t share this magical time with you all. For those of you that have been to Tanda Tula, you will know that our camp watering hole is teeming with the giant pachyderms at this time of year. On most days, herd-after-herd keep coming through for a drink.
The dogs have also been around as of late and we have managed to see them a couple of times. We believe that they are denning somewhere towards the east and most probably within the Kruger National Park – the boundary is not far from Tanda Tula. The reason we believe this, is because we seem to encounter the mutts towards the east more than anywhere else at the moment. I managed to get some shots of them and one of their hyena familiars late one afternoon very close to camp. Sadly, it was only after dark and only once we were home, did we hear them making a kill, followed by the haunting sounds of hyena trying their hardest to steal said meal.
Towards the end of the week, we were also very excited to spot the young son of the famous leopardess, Ntombi. Some of you may know him by now, we call him Hlangana. It was actually eagle-eyed Britt who spotted his kill hanging in a tree with him lying under that tree. You’ll have to watch our episode of Sofa Safari coming out on Sunday in order to see more of this awesome sighting and this stunning cat.
Come rain or shine, hot or cold, no matter what, we will always get out there to document the weeks sightings for you! We continue to look forward to the moment we can host you all in person again. Stay safe folks.
Until next time, happy snapping,
Luke
Rates are quoted in South African Rand (ZAR) and include VAT. Rates are reviewed quarterly and are subject to change.
PROVISIONAL:
Bookings can be held as provisional for up to 14 days, after which the booking is required to release or confirm. A 20% refundable deposit is required to confirm the booking.
CONFIRMED:
Once confirmed with a 20% deposit, the booking is held on a status of ‘confirmed with refundable deposit’ until any of the following becomes true:
Final payment is due 60 days prior to arrival. Any outstanding balance on the total reservation value shall be required to be settled at 60 days prior to arrival.
All refundable deposits, commitment fees and full payments are held in a separate call account and do not become part of the operational cash flow until the guest has stayed.
The amount stated on the invoice is what must be received by Tanda Tula nett of bank charges.
CANCELLED
Cancellations must be received and acknowledged by Tanda Tula in writing.
‘Confirmed with refundable deposit’: bookings carry no cancellation fees up to 61 days prior to arrival.
‘Confirmed with commitment’ or ‘Confirmed with full-payment’: in the event of any reservation being cancelled after Tanda Tula has issued a confirmation, for any reason other than a WHO-recognised pandemic that impacts the booking, the following cancellation fees will apply:
All cancelled bookings that qualify for a refund, will be refunded less a handling fee valued at 5% of the refund amount.
PANDEMIC DISCLAIMER
Tanda Tula will allow postponement of a booking for up to 12 months, if travel is cancelled with a commitment fee or 60 days or less prior to arrival due to a WHO-recognised pandemic directly impacting the guests’ ability to travel (e.g. lockdown, no flights, guest not allowed to board a flight, guest falls ill due to a pandemic and unable to travel).
In the event of a WHO-recognised pandemic directly impacting the ability of Tanda Tula to meet its obligations with respect to the booking, all monies received, including the commitment fee, will be fully refunded (e.g. lockdown in RSA, government restrictions on trade).
Any refund is given at the discretion of Tanda Tula management and will be charge a handling fee valued at 5% of the refund amount.
All travellers are advised to take out fully comprehensive travel insurance with ‘cancellation for no reason’. This insurance must be able to fully cover cancellation of travel fewer than 60 days prior to arrival.
The Terms and Conditions are subject to change without notice.
