Jonny Motsieloa
It was with some anxiety that we first went to Mosetlha Bush Camp & Eco Lodge because there would be no electricity, no WiFi, our hot water would be collected from a donkey boiler, the loo was a long drop and our experience of most field guides left much to be desired - that said, it only took us just one night and we were hooked!
You can read more about our most recent Mosetlha experience here.
Jonny Motsieloa - Mosetlha Bush Camp's senior field guide
As we have said many times before, the field guides / rangers are the people who can make or break your safari.
You spend 6-7 hours each day with them and you are there to see and photograph interesting birds and animals, so you're relying on them to find these subjects for you and then position the vehicle so that you get the perfect shot.
We had Jonny as our field guide at Mosetlha and he was superb! This is his story and our experience with him.
Jonny started work in Madikwe as a security guard back in 1992 and his career was seriously kick-started when he was chosen to attend the Mafisa Training Programme where he learnt about field guiding and other aspects of the hospitality industry.
Many people don't realise that wildlife photography is part of a field guide's training. Some field guides are interested in photography while other are not - Jonny is a keen wildlife photographer, so that is another big advantage as he understands animal behavior, lighting, positioning of the vehicle etc.
He is humble and takes his job seriously.
In November 2021, Jonny was voted one of the world’s top specialist guides, receiving bronze in the prestigious Wanderlust Travel Awards, launched in December 2005, to recognise the unsung heroes of the travel world: guides and tour leaders.
The organisers of the Wanderlust Travel Awards believe that guides and tour leaders are the remarkable individuals who turn their clients’ trips into life-enhancing and life-changing adventures.
Thousands of travellers globally voted one of South Africa’s finest as one of the world’s best!
We found that from day-one, Jonny put in that extra effort for us and his other guests.
We had just arrived at the camp and Jonny had left to drop previous guests off at their vehicle at the admin center.
While there he saw wild dogs at the Vleisfontein waterhole, then on the
way back to camp he spotted a leopard in a tree so he took some photographs of
both animals.
I think many other guides would have left it at that as this was now their 'off-time' but Jonny rushed back to camp, told Caroline, the owner, who promptly rounded us and the other guests up and Jonny took us to see the leopard, who was still lounging in a dead leadwood tree...
The leopard stayed in the tree for about 15 minutes and then climbed down, walked past us and disappeared into the bush...
We were then off the Vleisfontein to see the wild dogs!
When we arrived there were five African wild dogs and we
captured some super images in the late afternoon sun...
- all this before our official game drive had even started!
Another thing that we found was many guides are simply not interested in sunset or sunrise - doesn't excite them or they cannot plan their drive to be at a suitable spot in time for the setting or rising sun.
Jonny not only got us to sunset or sunrise spots on time - he suggested new spots that we had not seen before.
Many lodges have set routines, coffee and rusks, brunch, high tea and lastly dinner. This can get monotonous, so on our last day Jonny suggested we have a picnic lunch / high-tea at Guy’s view so that we could get some landscape images.
We ended up seeing the big-5 animals plus wild dog and cheetah (making the super-7 animals).
Jonny found Felix the cheetah at Eastern Springs. This is how it went- we had arrived at Eastern Springs and there were some wildebeest and zebras milling around. Jonny suggested we wait and see what happens.
About 10 minutes later the wildebeest and zebras start running away and we then spot Felix walking out of the long grass! Patience is a virtue in wildlife photography.
And at night, Jonny would let us know if the rare civet and brown hyena were in the camp...!
Where else can you get ground-level shots of wildlife, especially at night?
Jenny was standing to the side with the flash pointing towards the subject while I was lying on my stomach. If the flash was on the camera you would get the dreaded eye-shine reflecting from the subject's eyes, so the flash, torch and/or spotlight must be to the side of the subject.
I'm sure you can see from the above, that Jonny has earned his accolade as one of the world’s top specialist guides!
For more information or to book your stay, please visit the Mosetlha Bush Camp & Eco Lodge website or contact:
Caroline Lucas on +27 (0)83 305 7809
+27 (0)11 444 9345
email: info@thebushcamp.com
website: thebushcamp.com
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"It's 768 pages of the most amazing information. It consists of, well, everything really. Photography info...area info...hidden roads..special places....what they have seen almost road by road. Where to stay just outside the Park...camp information. It takes quite a lot to impress me but I really feel that this book, which was 7 years in the making, is exceptional." - Janey Coetzee, founder of CAROK (Camps and Roads of Kruger) South Africa
"Having a passion for the region itself and having to know about all dynamics, water holes and ideal roads for a period of 6 years - I wish I had this guide on my first trip already!" - Morkel Erasmus, Secunda, South Africa
"Mario and Jenny take you to places that are not always visited, and their descriptions of the more remote camps will allow you to make an informed decision without wasting time and money" - Bob & Sherry Shepardson, DeBary, Florida, USA
"Your time and money are valuable and the information in this book will help you save both." - Don Stilton, Florida, USA
"I highly recommend the book to anyone visiting Etosha National Park to photograph the animals - or anyone considering an African photography safari in the future." - Anne Darling, Cognac, France
"As a photographer and someone who has visited and taken photographs in the Pilanesberg National Park, I can safely say that with the knowledge gained from this eBook, your experiences and photographs will be much more memorable." - Alastair Stewart, BC, Canada
"This work is so much more than an eBook, because it is also a guide, a tutorial, an inspiration and a must-have for anyone interested in wildlife photography" - Findtripinfo.com, USA
Photo Safaris on a Private Vehicle - just You, the guide & the animals!
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