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Cellpic Sunday – The Skukuza Fire

View of the fire from our camp.

Skukuza, South Africa.

Wildfires, manmade and natural, are common in all natural environments. On the fourth day of our safari, we transited from Satara Camp to Skukuza Camp. Our road led us through a fire area, where we got “up close and personal” with the acrid smoke and eye irritation. I will tell a more complete story of that journey in a future post, but that night, safely in our camp, we saw the fire’s glow as it burned near the Skukuza airport, some three miles (4.5 km) away. The next day, as we traveled on our early morning safari, we didn’t notice any hot spots, mostly smoldering, burned-out terrain.

About the photo: I captured this image with my Samsung S23U from the deck on our compound at the Skukuza Rest Camp. The night was dark, and it pushed the cellphone camera’s night mode to ISO 2500 at f/2.4 and 1/8 second exposure. That lighted area on the right is a bridge with train cars converted to a hotel, one of Skukuza’s luxury accommodations. Click on the image above to view it in 2K HD on my Flickr site.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s also acceptable. The second rule is to link your challenge response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment. Oh, you don’t have to post it on a Sunday.

John Steiner

40 comments

  5. Fires are devastating, but they make for stunning images at night, John. We saw a fire in British Columbia 2 years ago across the ridge from Radium Hot Springs. Seeing you picture reminded me of how scary and devastating wildfires can be. It sure was great to meet you and Lin in person. I included our group photo on my post today:

    https://secondwindleisure.com/2025/02/09/february-monthly-color-challenge-looking-through-rose-colored-glasses/

    Reply

    • They are, indeed! The fire’s size is more apparent at night.
      It was fun meeting you, as well. I knew you from your website photo, but couldn’t recognize you being out of your state.

      Reply

  6. I’ve never witnessed a fire in the Kruger Park but I’ve driven through freshly burnt land. Unbelievable that this is necessary for some plants to procreate (although you’re not sure if it was controlled or not in your case).

    Driving through the Krugerpark we remember being stopped by uncoming cars to exhange information on what we had seen and what we might see driving in the direction they were coming from. If there were Americans in the car more often then not they would ask: “Seen any cats?” Well, I did see a cat: https://picturesimperfectblog.com/2025/02/09/how-dare-you-disturb-my-slumber/

    Reply

  19. Fires are fascinating as long as they are under control. There is something mesmerizing about them. However, they mean devastation for someone or something lovely, so you can never really rejoice in their beauty. Give Lynn a big hug for me. Sorry I missed you both. Terri had a great time meeting you for the first time, she told me today.

    Reply

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