Long before I ever visited Africa, I was enchanted by the photographs of kopjes, the granite stone islands of the Serengeti grasslands. Technically, known as inselbergs, the more common name, kopje, comes from a South Afrikaans word for ‘little head,’ and indeed some look like one poking above the grasses.
Kopjes formed when surrounding softer rocks or soil eroded, exposing dense granite or gneiss rocks formed from magma that had bubbled up from deep within the earth. These exposed rocks eroded, cracked, and split over time, and eventually created their own unique ecosystems with trees and brush not found in the adjacent grasslands. These islands in a sea of grass have attracted lions, cheetahs, and leopards which use the rocks as lookout posts for spotting game and for denning and raising cubs in the protective crevices and caves. Other wildlife use the kopjes as well, including Caracals and African Wild Cats and numerous birds of prey. Some of my favorite sightings are the times when migrating groups of Black-shouldered Kites, or Greater or Lesser Kestrels circled above and around a kopje, taking advantage of the updrafts these formations create.
From our accommodation at Karibu Sametu Camp it is an easy game drive through wildlife-rich countryside to reach several different formations and most of our game drives usually have one or more in the day’s itinerary. My favorite is the Maasai Kopjes where we frequently have Leopards, although every kopje has the potential of an exciting wildlife encounter. As game tracks encircle most of the kopjes, the changing light and angles provide the possibility of never-ending magical compositions. Some of my favorite images are made at sunrise or sunset when the kopjes are silhouetted against colorful skies or on stormy late afternoons when the low, angular light bathes the rocks in gold, framed against dramatic black skies. Any visit to the Serengeti should include the kopjes, and with UniqueSafaris and at Karibu camps and lodges there are always some nearby.
