The Bontle Bush camp is situated near a watering hole, and you get to camp out in the open, with nothing between you and the wildlife. The park is fenced however, and predators are kept away from this part of the park. It is, however quite a shock to wake up and find rhinos grazing about 20 feet from your tent!   The next day, I drove around and found the Rhinos that had kept me awake at night, and found them about 1/4 mile away – still gazing.

Rhinos at the Marakele National Park, South Africa.

Through the weekend, we drove around and kept a sharp eye out for wildlife. This part of the park is very fun to drive around as you can spot wildlife in the most unexpected place. Like these Giraffe that decided to use the road for a few minutes rather than the thick brush.

Driving behind Giraffes

The park makes great hiding for the beautiful Kudu, one of my favorite animals in South Africa. This lovely animal is called the “Grey Ghost” as it seems to disappear without a sound, even though it’s quite large.

The Kudo

Perched atop a rocky hill, I found 3 Mountain Zebra staring me down. I quickly took this shot before they bolted off.

Mountain Zebra standing his ground

We drove around for several hours and then headed to our next campsite, the luxury tented site called Tlopi Site.  This site is located within the fenced predator area with lions and other carnivorous animals.  As you approach the Predator area, there is a push-button that opens an electric gate, that then closes just after you enter. This part of the park is the most scenic, but also a big more rough in places. There are 4×4 trails and a narrow one-lane road that climbs up atop one of the mountains, where the largest number of Cape Vultures in the word live.

As we drove towards the Tlopi tented site, we came across a large group of Baboons. At first, I only saw one run across the road, causing the guy in front of me to stop suddenly.

The road to the Vulture overlook

Then, I found them in the trees just a few feet in front of me.

Baboons in the Marakele park

We finally got to the campsite, and found the facilities very cozy! The tent is situated on a small pond at the base of a rocky hill.

Tented site at the Tlopi camp site

As the sun started go down, Megan wanted to drive up to the top of the hill and watch it. We headed up, and got there just as the sun started to set. In the distance you can see the flat plains heading West towards Botswana, and in the middle the tiny pond we were camping at. The sounds of the night life had just begun, which I can not begin to describe!

Sunset at the Marekele National Park

I set my telescope up on the deck overlook the pond and enjoyed the incredible dark South African skies.  As an astrophotographer South Africa is one of the best places on Earth to capture stunning photos of the Cosmos.  Here’s a photo of my equipment, with a friendly monkey who was looking for food.  Perhaps the bright yellow end-caps on my scope made him think I had bananas!

A monkey is interested in my telescope

Here’s two photos I took while in South Africa.  The Omega Centauri globular cluster on the left and the Eta Carinae nebula on the right. The globular was a single 10 minute exposure and the nebula was 15 minutes on 35mm Fuji 400F Provia slide film.  You can find more of my astrophotography at www.CosmicColor.com.

Astrophotos take at the Marakele national Park