Mashatu Workshop March 2008

If the last workshop was one for Predators, this one was definitely made of elephant sightings. Make no mistake, predators were seen and photographed, but this time is was the turn of the pachyderms.
As always, the first game drive was used to reconnaissance the reserve and follow up on any sightings. There was no time was for reconnaissance though, as in the last light of day, we found three lions lying up in the warm sands of the Mojale river. We stayed with them as they woke up from their lazing and watched them slowly saunter off into the night.The next morning, the weather was overcast, which makes for photographing some subjects better than others. So we spent some good time with black backed jackal and lo and behold a Honey badger, which we watched and photographed sand bathing a wound it had on its back.Elephant herds too were seen and photographed, but the better of these was still to come. Especially nice was viewing a breeding herd of elephant as they descended into a dry riverbed and crossed right past us. These scenes are very reminiscent of 'old Africa' and remind one of the reason why Mashatu is such a great reserve to visit.

Close encounters with breeding herds of elephant are common in Mashatu- making photographs that much easier.	A honeybadger scurrys along, with a garish wound on its back.	Full moon rises over the rugged and dramatic Mashatu landscape.

That evening we witnessed on of the funniest scenes I have seen in the bush ever. We were photographing a cheetah mother and her two cubs feeding on a fresh Impala kill, when a young elephant bull came along. Scenting that predators were around he proceeded to make a large flap and trumpet, which eventually ended up in a charge. The elephant however,neglected to look in front if its feet and tripped over a log landing flat on its head! I have never seen an elephant backing off from a confrontation in my life!

The following morning, the sky was clear and the sun rose as a golden globe. We headed out and soon found a large breeding her of elephant heading toward the Pitjane riverbed. We drove ahead of them and with the help of Dan, our ranger, positioned ourselves where he thought the elephants would cross the river. Two minutes later, the herd came walking right past us. All was silent, except for the crunch of elephant feet on dry river sand.

Then the totally unexpected happened. One cow had a tiny, two week old calf. As the herd walked past us, she allowed the calf to walk on the open side of her, giving us a clear view of the calf. Elephants are normally very protective of their young, and to witness such relaxed behaviour was very special indeed. The cameras were clicking away as we sat in silence appreciating the scene.
From there on the morning could only get better, and better it did. We watched a troop of baboons playing on the riverbank, climbing up and falling down the sandy bank, found more elephant browsing on the open plains and found lots of general plains game including some very relaxed eland. The cameras were working overtime!

A mother allows a calf to walk out in full view of the vehicle- a beautiful moment.	A cheetah starts a stalk no a herd of Impala. The impala got wind of the cheetah very soon after this image.	A beautiful bird found at the water around the camp

You would think that being back at camp, much needed rest would be the order to catch up from the early mornings. But the birdbath was a hive of activity and kept all the photographers busy with many species coming to drink. In 30 min, we photographed 6 different species of birds- the main interest being the interaction between the species at water.

On the open plains, elephants feeding make beautiful subjects.

Elephant were again the order of the game drive, with many breeding herds as well as bulls seen and photographed, with the same cheetah seen and photographed. The last evening, one of the clients had a GPS with them,giving the exact time of the full moon rise. We set up our cameras and watched as the moon rose at precisely the correct minute, casting a beautiful glow over the rugged, Mashatu landscape, with the Mashatu trees fittingly in the foreground of the images

As the workshop drew to an end, we spent a great morning with some more lions, who, as they can do, posed beautifully for us and then gave us a curious inspection as they decided to move into the cool shade of the riverine shrubbery.


And so it was that another Photo workshop had come to an end atMashatu- many photos taken, many great sightings, with cheetah andelephants being the order of the day at this workshop. Every time wehold a workshop here, I am reminded just what keeps us coming back- itis just that good.