Mashatu Game Reserve, located as it is in the eastern corner of Botswana, has long been one of our favourite wildlife destinations. Like many other reserves in this part of Southern Africa, Mashatu experiences a dry season during the months of the southern winter, usually May to September. Very little rain falls during this time which can result in standing water becoming scarce. Amongst many photographers, including ourselves, it is a good time to visit, as the game viewing is strong, and reliable, and the famous, low-level Matebole hide is at its best for its ground-level opportunities. The colours of the dry season are yellow grasses, rich red and brown earth tones, and blue skies.
But, there is a complete green transformation in the summer!
Later in the year, usually sometime in November or December, the first summer rains start to fall. Mashatu is located in a semi-arid part of the Limpopo River Basin, and the annual rainfall may range from 300mm to 600mm, the majority of which comes from localized thunderstorms. The start of the rainy season greens up much of the Mashatu environment, most especially those with the grasses and shrubs that grow only in the summer, all over the reserves lower lying areas. These greens make pleasing backgrounds for our wildlife images.
Early in the season, the colours of the grasses are at their richest, and they make great backgrounds for our wildlife images.
All the animals that we usually see during the dry season can still be found at Mashatu – which makes it a little different than some protected areas in nearby South Africa, where the summer rains can make game viewing much harder.
There is also more to the rainy season at Mashatu though, than just the brilliant greens. Lemon yellow-coloured flowers, called Devils Thorn (Tribulus terrestris) spring up all over the reserve. The flowers transform the landscape, adding a magical feel to the scenery.
The rainy season is also a time when some of the animals are moving with youngsters. During the summer, especially the early part of it, we enjoy viewing baby impala, baby wildebeest, black-backed jackal cubs and also young bat-eared foxes.
The Devils Thorn flowers are not only pretty, but are fed on by some of the mammals that inhabit Mashatu.
In the last five years or so, Mashatu has gradually become one of the better locations in southern Africa, to see cheetah. There is a healthy population in the area.
Spotted hyaena, as well as leopard and lion, also occur in the reserve.
Migrant birds also choose this time of year to visit Mashatu. There are a reasonable variety of them.
Some, like the Amur falcon pictured above, may come and go throughout the summer. Their presence is associated with localized rain fronts and the insect activity that follows. Others, like the Great Spotted Cuckoo and Levaillants Cuckoo, will spend the whole summer in the reserve.
There is yet another thing that we like about the rainy season at Mashatu, and that is the clouds that sometimes build up. Thin clouds act as very effective and welcome filters of the strong light which can otherwise become overly bright.
We are never quite sure of our favourite time to visit Mashatu. The dry season, May to October, offers predictable light, the possibility of numbers of animals visiting the waterhole at the underground hide, and moderate midday temperatures. In contrast, the summer season, November to April, adds fresh colours to the scenery, along with migrant birds and some baby animals. Of course, there is always the chance of rain during the summer, so we make sure to stay for long enough that we have time on our side. Fortunately we don’t have to only pick one time of year for our visits.
Images in this blog post where taken with these lenses: an EF 600 f4 IS ii, an EF 500 f4 IS ii, an EF 100-400 IS ii and an RF 24-105 L IS.
Grant. I notice you have used an RF 24-105 l is lens, does this mean you have used the EOS R camera. If so could you please do a video of it and its uses. Kind regards Andrew Washington
Hi Andrew
We owned the R and an RF 24-105 for 9 months but have traded it in now. We kept the RF 24-105. We found it to be not the easiest camera to shoot side by side with our 5D, 1DX and 6D, 7D bodies due to its entirely different control set. Soon as Canon bring out a RF mount body that has a focus joystick, and controls that match better the DSLR bodies, we will get one :-).
Cheers
Grant
Hi Grant,
My late husband was the photographer & i just admired specially the cheetah & the elephants.My painting of the elephant is on my wall.here a was painted by a lady from Australia. She called the painting The Power of One.
I’ve been to many areas where the King Cheetahs were & also have a print of a cheetah. We went to Mashatu the cliffs behind are very inspiring. I enjoyed your photos & as i had just collected my travel Africa this morning i thought i would let know my thoughts.
Regards,
Maureen Duncan
Regards,
Hi Maureen, we really appreciate your comments and glad to be able to share our Mashatu images with you.
Cheers
Grant