Black Rhino Game Lodge Weekend Getaway

Black Rhino Game Lodge

It is the morning on a Friday while I am driving towards a private game lodge that is called the Black Rhino Game Lodge, which is situated about two hours from where I stay, in the Pilanesberg. I am only staying for a few days unfortunately but I am grateful for the time I am going to spend in nature nonetheless.

The time was about 10 am and I arrived at approximately 12 pm during midday, not the most ideal time when it is blazing hot from the sun, but the opportunity to experience Africa’s nature and see some wildlife definitely makes up for that.

There is just something about the African bushveld that is so calming and relaxing, it puts you in a meditative state. It is also fun not knowing what you might come across on your journey while you are on a safari. Sometimes you see a lot of animals, and sometimes you only see a lot of grasslands and trees. Both are good to look at anyway.

With my time being spent there for only a few days I was fortunate enough to go on quite a few safari drives throughout the beautiful area. Black Rhino Game Lodge is situated inside Pilanesberg, so there is a part where you first have to drive a little bit before entering the Pilanesberg nature reserve. It is absolutely beautiful though, there are a lot of trees along the way until it reveals wide open pastures and a little pool of water for the animals to drink at.

The same day that I arrived, we went on a short game drive in the afternoon where we were lucky enough to stumble upon an entire herd of Elephants. I think I actually took the majority of my trip images that afternoon. Elephants are such majestic creatures and seeing their behavior and how they protect their young is interesting to watch. We spent quite a long time with the Elephants. I was a bit overwhelmed at first because I didn’t really expect to see so many Elephants in one place when it was the first animals that we come across. It took me by surprise and there were so many Elephants scattered around I wasn’t sure where to start to take beautiful images of the creatures, luckily I managed to get amazing images of them.

The following days we started the safari trips very early, I woke up at about 04:30 in the morning, after I had some coffee I was ready for what the day holds. Don’t forget warm clothes though because let me tell you it is bloody cold early in the morning on a Land Rover going underneath trees with the wind in your face. Luckily it doesn’t last too long, only until the sun starts to come up which helps a bit. It also takes a while to reach the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve, which is blocked by a boom upon entry. You drive between some hills first before you reach the boom that lets you into the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve.

It is quite a sight when you see the sun peeking over the horizon, brushing over the African grasslands and trees. It is no wonder they say that the best quality of light is usually in the early mornings and in the afternoon. We saw quite a lot of animals while driving around, from Baboons, Springbok, Impalas, Giraffe, Kudu; Rhinoceros, a few Lions, a Cheetah, and a Leopard to name a few. Even though they are all beautiful sometimes it is difficult to create good images because of the long grass, so I think my personal favorite sighting was the day when I arrived and went on the afternoon game drive, seeing all the Elephants doing their thing. That same day we also got stormed by some angry Elephant, but it makes for some cool images at least.

I decided to turn these images into black and white because I am a huge fan of black and white photography. Removing all colour from the image and being left with only different shades of gray allows you to focus more on the scene and shapes with minimal distractions and also allows you to observe the light in the scene more clearly. I have nothing against colour but I just think wildlife is a good subject that suits black and white images. It also creates more of a unity between the images, bringing the tones together in a pleasant way, making it more interesting to look at in my personal opinion…