Buffalos often get overshadowed by Africa's more famous wildlife, but these resilient, intelligent, and powerful creatures deserve admiration. As one of the Big Five, Cape buffalo have a reputation for their formidable nature—but there's so much more to appreciate beyond their strength and survival instincts.
Wild Wings Safaris guide Simon Vegter travelled to Laikipia Wilderness Camp in May 2023, seeking the legendary black leopard, Giza Mrembo—Swahili for "the beautiful darkness." This rare melanistic leopard, moving like a shadow through Kenya's acacia-dotted landscape, has captivated wildlife enthusiasts worldwide.
With their stunning rosette-patterned coats, leopards are among the most captivating predators in the wild and spotting one of these elusive felines with her cub in the vast expanse of South Africa's Kruger National Park is a rare and exhilarating experience.
Wildlife highlights from our Kruger safaris in August 2022 included a female cheetah with a missing tail, a honey badger and Casper, the famous White Lion of Kruger. We spent time at a dam watching elephants play in the water and came across another cheetah stuck in a tree. We saw African wild dog pups explore their surroundings after leaving their den for the first time and a whole lot more...
July 2022 brought us some incredible predator sightings. We saw African wild dogs take down an impala only to have a clan of hyenas move in and steal the kill. We encountered a lioness "sharing" a kill with hyenas and a jackal until a male lion arrived and claimed the kill for himself. Other wildlife highlights from our Kruger safaris in July include rhinos, leopards, painted wolf pups, buffalos and a hilarious encounter with elephants who decided to give us a mud bath.
Warm and sunny days, cloudless skies, fantastic sunsets, beautiful sunrises and incredible wildlife sightings made easier by thinning foliage are just some of the reasons why safari enthusiasts flock to Kruger in winter. Highlights from our June 2022 Kruger safaris include skittish leopards, playful hippos, young giraffe bulls fighting, elephant calves nursing, a pair of African Fish-eagles and more.
The month of May ushers in the turning point in Kruger as the climate starts to transition into winter. The impending dry season brought pleasant daytime temperatures, chilly early mornings and outstanding wildlife sightings. Our May 2022 Kruger safaris wildlife highlights included playful elephant calves, lazy lions, the elusive African wild cat, the shy civet and a number of raptors like the African Fish-eagle, the African Harrier-hawk and the Martial Eagle.
April brings autumn to Kruger which means the vegetation in the park gradually begins to dry out and colours fade from green to shades of brown and yellow. With foliage thinning out, it became easier to spot game on our game drives. Elephants, rhinos, zebras, hyenas, leopards and lion cubs galore feature amongst our top April 2022 Kruger wildlife highlights. We also had the good fortune to spot a pair of hippos mating.
March marks the last of the summer months in Kruger and, while daytime temperatures dropped slightly, our guests were treated to fairly hot days, pleasant evenings and wildlife sightings second to none. The Big Five —lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant— made an appearance but it was the cheetah cub, African wild dog, bushbaby and bird sightings that took our game drives to the next level.
Our Kruger safaris in February 2022 brought us some incredible leopard sightings that will be difficult to top. We also encountered lion cubs, elephant calves, zebra foals, rhinos, buffalo and vervet monkeys. February is a great time to go on safari in Kruger because there aren't many tourists around and that means we get to have some wildlife sightings all to ourselves.
What an incredible start to the New Year! January 2022 pulled out all the stops for us, and guests on our Kruger Park safaris were treated to some wonderful wildlife sightings. Leopards, cheetahs, African wild dogs, lion cubs, African wild cats and one of the best sightings we've ever had of Casper, the wild white lion of Kruger.
December is the height of summer in Kruger with daytime temperatures soaring to well over 30° C (up to 90° F). A lot of the wildlife we spotted on our game drives seemed unperturbed by the hot weather, though. Zebra stallions put on quite a display play fighting and we also spotted boisterous elephant bulls engaged in a wrestling match. December also sees the return of migrant birds to Kruger.
The cat's out of the bag! November really could be the best time of year to go on safari in Kruger. We've always loved how the bush comes alive after the first rains in November. Flowers bloom, leaves turn green and baby animals abound. Everything smells fresh and new and there's a feeling of anticipation in the air.
If you were one of the lucky ones who managed to escape the onset of autumn in the northern hemisphere for an October safari in South Africa's Kruger National Park this year, you would have enjoyed a daily average of 8.8 hours of sunshine, temperatures well over 30°C and cheetah cubs, baby warthogs, rhino and elephant calves and leopard cubs sightings.
September is a fantastic time to go on a Kruger safari. It's the end of the dry season and just before the rainy season. The days are beautifully sunny and warm with temperatures ranging between 22°C and 30°C and there are wonderful wildlife sightings to be had. This year, we found a hyena den we returned to time and again, spotted a honey badger, witnessed a leopard making a kill and saw lions mating.
August is the month African wild dog pups make their first appearance after the winter denning season, but the chances of spotting pups are slim. This year, we discovered a den site and were able to spend a great deal of time watching the wild dog pups explore their surroundings. And August had even more surprises for us in store ...
What does the South African version of a winter wonderland look like? For us, it's Kruger National Park in July. As the winter season wears on, more and more animals gather at rivers and waterholes to drink. Lion and hyena cubs, hippo, elephant, buffalo and rhino calves and a honey badger on a night raid count amongst our favourite sightings from our July 2021 Kruger safaris.
Winter is generally one of the best times to go on safari in Kruger. And this year was no exception! The days were sunny and warm, the dry bush made it easy to spot game and the wildlife was prolific. Big Five, wild dog, cheetah and lion cub sightings were just some of the highlights from our June 2021 Kruger safaris.
The green Kalahari is a magical, ancient paradise in South Africa's Northern Cape Province. We interviewed our managing director, Onne Vegter, about his recent visit to Tswalu Game Reserve and asked him what he thought of Tswalu and the game viewing experience.
"I wouldn't call it a passion. It's way beyond that." We sat down with award-winning wildlife and landscape photographer, Wim van den Heever, to talk about his craft and where his love for fine art wildlife photography comes from.
Ever been lucky enough to see a herd of elephants on the move? Then you'll have noticed that the babies are snuck away safely between the adults. Sometimes, they hold onto the elephant's tail in front with their little trunks (more cuteness). But what is the story behind cuteness in animals - besides giving you some of the best once-in-a-lifetime wildlife photography shots?
A visit to Namibia could change you forever. There's something about its largely-uninhabited wide open spaces, fascinating people and cultures, vast distances, desert-adapted wildlife and arid, stark landscapes that touches your very soul.
Can I still see white rhinos in the wild? Following the sad news of the death of the last male northern white rhino in 2018, leaving only two females, the northern white rhino is now virtually extinct. Some tourists continue to express concern that they will no longer be able to see white rhinos in the wild.
One of Kruger National Park’s cleverest spotted felines seems to have perfected a way to keep herself and her young cub fed on a regular, almost fool-proof basis.
Why not chat to one of our safari experts who can answer all your questions and help you design your dream trip to Africa.
