My enthusiasm for African wildlife had been engaged and I embarked on another photographic journey to South Africa in June 2017. After a few days in Johannesburg, when I visited the apartheid museum and Soweto, I flew to Durban and then travelled north to KwaZulu Natal just south of Swaziland where I spent 10 days at the Zimanga Private Game reserve. The reserve is spread over 6000 hectares of pristine bushveld, fever tree forests and rolling hills. The land is bisected by the Mkuze River and is home to a huge variety of animals including leopards, lions, cheetah, wild dogs, hippos, elephants and rhinos. There is a huge variety of birds with over 400 species recorded. On the reserve, the owners have set up a number of hides with photographers in mind. It is here that you could get really close encounters with wildlife. The game drives were really exciting, particularly following the wild dogs, lions and cheetah. After this experience, I was determined to visit again and I did so in June 2019. Since my previous visit to Zimanga, the reserve has introduced new hides and built an amazing new lodge in the heart of the reserve. For many reasons, and unbelievably, my second trip was even more amazing than the first and has inspired me to write a second edition to my 'Africa' book with some new images included.
