Instead of photographing birds from above, you can work at eye level, creating natural, intimate images with beautiful backgrounds and a completely different feeling of closeness.
And then the traffic begins.
Birds arrive to drink, bathe, rest and interact. One species disappears and another takes its place. Sometimes the activity is quiet, sometimes the pond seems constantly busy. You can easily spend hours inside the hide without noticing how quickly the time passes.
The attraction is not limited to birds. Colourful dragonflies regularly visit the water as well, hovering above the surface or stopping to drink, creating excellent opportunities for macro photography.
Around the hide, flowering vegetation provides yet another photographic stage. This is particularly attractive for sunbirds. Rhino Watch is home to a wonderful variety of these small, brilliantly coloured birds, and watching them move between the flowers can be breathtaking. Their metallic colours can change completely with the angle of the sunlight, making every photograph slightly different.
For wildlife photographers, the hide offers much more than a checklist of species. It gives you time.
Time to wait for the right light.
Time to observe behaviour.
Time to anticipate where a bird will land.
And time to create photographs instead of simply taking them.
Between safaris to photograph rhinos, elephants and other African wildlife, the bird hide becomes one of those places where many photographers find themselves returning again and again.
Sometimes the most beautiful wildlife photograph of the day may be waiting only a few metres from your room.