The competition is considered the Oscars for wildlife photography, run by the Natural History Museum in London. It\u2019s been going since the \u201860s. Each year, nearly 60,000 images from more than 90 countries are entered in and only a handful win.<\/p>\n
Wim\u2019s shot, titled \u2018Ghost Town Visitor,\u2019 didn\u2019t just win under its Urban Wildlife category, it also scooped the overall title in the competition.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wim-full.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The story of how he got there spans 10 years.<\/p>\n
Wim has hosted photography tours all around the world, but the Namib Desert kept calling him back. Specifically, an abandoned diamond mining town called Kolmanskop.<\/p>\n
There, he found signs of the world\u2019s rarest hyenas passing through at night, when everything fell totally still.<\/p>\n
Brown hyenas are shy, nocturnal animals. There are only about 4,000 to 10,000 left in the wild. They\u2019re also crucial to the ecosystem in the Namib Desert. They travel up to 50km a night to scavenge and redistribute nutrients throughout the plains. Kolmanskop\u2019s abandoned buildings bring ideal shelter and denning spots for them.<\/p>\n
Finding tracks and droppings there lit the spark on what became Wim\u2019s decade-long mission to capture one wandering the ghostly streets.<\/p>\n
It took him years.<\/p>\n
And meticulous planning. He mapped out the possible routes a hyena would take through the town to find ideal placements for countless camera traps. Endured failed attempts, thrashed equipment and adverse conditions that ruined the shot.<\/p>\n
He did this for a decade, upon every return to Kolmanskop.<\/p>\n
In June earlier this year, the moment finally came.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy camera triggered three times that night. Once with me testing the scene. The second time, nothing happened, and the third time, there was a hyena in the picture,\u201d Wim shares.<\/a><\/p>\n A lone brown hyena walked exactly where he had hoped it would, in front of a crumbling Kolmanskop house, with mist rolling in from the Atlantic. The camera clicked. And that was it, the picture Wim had fixated over for a decade.<\/p>\n This month, he travelled to London where he accepted his flowers for it. Wildlife Photographer of the Year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s exactly the way I envisaged the picture to be,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s exactly what I was looking for from day one. It\u2019s why I went through all the effort, all those seasons to try and do it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s this week\u2019s lesson in not giving up. It pays off when you find the strength to try and try again.<\/p>\n \u201cThis award is an absolute dream come true. It\u2019s the Oscars of the Wildlife Photographers world and to stand on top for this small window in time is truly an honour,\u201d says Wim.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Sources: Linked above Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We\u2019re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we\u2019ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.<\/p>\n \t\t
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