Few things in life have ever gotten my heart pumping as much as having a rhinoceros during the bush on foot.
To be clear, I wasn’t searching the rhino–I had been monitoring it alongside a team of skilled wildlife researchers inside Thanda Safari, a non-hunting private game reserve in South Africa. It is one of the many unique programs provided by Thanda for guests such as me from the safari vehicles and into the wilderness.
In my case, really up close.
My safari’s Specialist Rhino Monitor, a burly 28-year-old Afrikaner from Johannesburg called Morné Arnold, was leading my small group on the road of a rhinoceros for almost an hour –scrutinizing old tracks, observing impressions in the grass, and generally following the trail like a professional wildlife CSI–after we suddenly found ourselves no more than 20 yards from three enormous white rhinos.
I froze. We all of froze. What else can you do if you are close enough to watch three colossal rhinos snorting, snuffling, and chewing in the crazy–not to mention sometimes raising their minds to tease you whenever the breeze shifts?
For me, that was the second that drove home the essential truth of an African safari: At the bush, out there on foot and surrounded by wildlife, you’re a guest in their home. And you behave like it.
I believe that’s the type of view. This is not a Disney animal park–it is character. Thanda positions you to experience it up close, camera in hand, for the type.
A white rhino grazing at Thanda Safari private game reserve.
A Focus on Wildlife Photography
Thanda Safari is a luxury Big Five private game reserve located in KwaZulu-Natal, the Zulu homeland, not far from the beaches of Durban and the Drakensberg mountain range. I visited in June as a guest of this house, during the dry season when the weather was a nice 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the day along with a mild 50 degrees after dark. That made for comfortable game drives and bush walks, in addition to great lighting all day–exceptional conditions for taking wildlife photographs.
The conditions that are perfect were no accident. Thanda is that the place to take a private safari in South Africa when wildlife photography factors into your plans. Included in each stay is a session using the Resident Wildlife Photographer, Christian Sperka of Thanda. That’s a huge deal since Thanda is the only game reserve in South Africa with its very own resident wildlife photographer available to give classes or accept guests on guided game drives.
My private session with Sperka covered the fundamentals of wildlife photography with instruction tailored to my particular camera and experience degree. “The most significant thing about teaching wildlife photography within this setting is to really sit down and proceed through somebody’s equipment and make sure they understand its full capacities,” Sperka explained in a post-trip interview through Skype. “And, of course, guests must be shown the way to capture animals in movement. I start with the camera set-up and can tailor my instruction for those who are already more advanced.”
Morne Arnold, our rhino tracker in @thandasafari in #kwazulunatal #southafrica
Like me, a lot of guests come to Sperka for education on wildlife photography using an iPhone. “I do a great deal of use smartphones,” Sperka told me. “And even there, it is possible to greatly improve people’s photography. A lot of people have no clue how to get the maximum out of the phone’s camera, for example.” Others in my little group attracted small and medium-sized SLRs as well. Sperka’s course offered tailored instruction for every camera.
Sperka also can take interested guests out in a remodeled Land Rover he’s dubbed The Green Mamba–a lavish game-viewing vehicle that has been custom-built for photographers. “I needed to make a vehicle that’s more than a typical game drive car: one which has everything I as a wildlife photographer of 17 years would love to possess. And also a little bit of extra luxury, too,” Sperka advised me.
One of the distinctive features: extra-space chairs for two photographers to permit for shooting wildlife photos from many angles, a canvas flooring for kneeling to shoot at eye level, cushioned cushioned armrests to allow for additional shooting alternatives across the face of the vehicle, and an integrated iPad to refer to for information concerning the game book’s many species of mammals and birds. And since this is a luxury safari experience, The Green Mamba also comes with a martini bar (for martinis and other beverages, including the signature Thanda Martini and the Thanda Gold Long beverage) and a built in Nespresso coffee maker and milk frother (for those early morning game drives).
Elephant at dawn.
Why Choose a Personal Game Reserve
Most people think of the large national parks, like Kruger, when they consider a South Africa safari. But in the event that you only have a limited time to see, a private game reserve might offer the greater safari experience.
Thanda Safari, at 14,000 hectares (approximately 35,000 acres), is just the right size for wildlife sightings. I saw dinosaurs moving freely across the landscape, a pack of lions stalking a herd of Cape Buffalos in tall grass at sunset, along with zebras and giraffes and rhinos all in their natural surroundings. And I did not have to look for days to see them.
Thanda’s open-top safari vehicles, and the opportunity to venture off-road for greater sightings, are also typical of the type of private game reserve experience that’s not widely available in the larger national parks–to say nothing of those guided bush walks and rhino monitoring expeditions that set you up close with the wildlife.
Greetings from Thanda Safari game reserve in South Africa. This giraffe was nice enough to pose at sunset for me on a day game drive.
Accommodations at Thanda Safari Private Game Reserve
Thanda provides three accommodation arrangements tailored to distinct pursuits, group sizes, and budgets: a safari lodge featuring nine private bush suites and a shared common area, a private villa for large groups (ideal for multi-generational households, by way of instance), plus a tented camp (think: “glamping”) to get a genuine luxury bush adventure.
Found in the heart of KwaZulu-Natal, on the eastern side of South Africa, Thanda is situated in a low-risk malaria zone. Generally, bug spray is a adequate precaution, rather than prescription malaria tablets. No cases of malaria are reported from the region in decades. This is an consideration for those with kids. (Another Thanda advantage: It welcomes kids, a rarity on safaris.)
Young lioness at rest.
Getting to Thanda Safari
I flew from New York to Johannesburg on South African Airways and lasted on via a different South African Airways flight to Durban, a lively small beach town just a couple of hours by car or bus from Thanda.
Johannesburg is a 15-hour flight from New York; it’s about 20 hours from Los Angeles. No matter how you slice it, that’s a long time. Construct a day or two in Durban either before or after your safari to cancel the long travel time. I stayed at the historic Oyster Box hotel, right on the Indian Ocean, where the sunrise views were a great way to cap a last-minute excursion.
Bucket-list walking safari ☑️
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