Collected Moments of Survival

If you whisper Ngorongoro softly it conjures up mystical images of secret places hidden in the depths of the Rift Valley in a far off land. A place so remote, that one has to endure hardship and endless months of travel, to see. Almost as remote as Middle Earth. The reality however is completely different. Today if your bank balance can tolerate it then to see the Ngorongoro Crater is within your reach. And it is worth it! At the entrance to the Park there is the mandatory office and entrance where money changes hands so that you can enter. Luckily, if you have hired a guide like we did, this is not a problem and you can sit back and relax while waiting – and perhaps visit the public convenience that is certainly amongst the cleanest that I have seen in Africa north of the Limpopo. Then the steady climb up the side of the crater amidst the dust, and in the rain, I should imagine, it would be an exciting slippery drive. Finally, at the summit, amidst the many other vehicles, you can sto...

to stand up and be counted!  Today I am dedicating my post to the survival and defence of the Rhino of Africa. I had never thought that I would divert the purpose of my blog away from travel to Africa’s beautiful destinations to start ranting about certain subjects but the programme I watched last night on our TV service Carte Blanche has convinced me that I should at least say something. I watched in horror as we were faced with a visual nightmare that defies description. For those who don’t have the luxury of African DSTV, the footage showed a young rhino whose face was hacked off for the rhino horn and he woke up after the “operation” and was found wandering around a reserve in the Eastern Cape. As a wildlife photographer I have witnessed “kills” and photographed them but I have never felt the same amount of emotion as I felt when I saw that rhino with half his face gone. When one is faced with such a surreal spectacle a gamut of thoughts crowd the mind and I have to admit tha...

Looking back through my blogs fr om last year I see that 2010 started off with a cancelled trip and it seems as if dejavu is following me. 2011 was supposed to be the year that I fulfilled a dream to visit the Mountain Gorillas (it was in fact my Christmas present from my loving husband). But, not to be! Due to a lack of interest the trip was cancelled and I had to look at alternatives. While scouring the internet and looking at all sorts of options my beady eyes fixed on a trip to the Serengeti advertised on the C4 Images Safari website and it looked like a viable replacement for my big disappointment. In a matter of weeks I was packing my bags once again heading for another African adventure. I had, in the interim, moved up in the world and bought myself a Canon EOS1D Mk III (to replaced my 1 D MK ll N) and was looking forward to putting it to the test. However, in a reversal of fortune, I think the camera put me to the test. This is a serious piece of equipment! Not meant for the fa...

Delta Dawn, what’s that flower you have on? Could it be a faded rose from days gone by? This lyric has been playing itself off in my head ever since I started thinking about what to write about my visit to the Okavongo Delta. Perhaps it is my own fault for “anticipating” too much but I have long watched the many programmes aired on the “Animal Channels” and I had visions of huge prides of lions attacking buffalo herds and generally seeing a plethora of predators on the prowl. Therefore, expectations were high! The lyric reflects more of the reality where, it seems, the place has a reputation that outstrips the reality. Having said all that, I have to admit that despite the disappointment of not seeing the many predators I had anticipated, we had a good trip. I think that I have to thank, firstly, my photobuddy on the vehicle, Rob Lewis who, it must be said, is one of the best photobuddies I have had the privilege to share a vehicle with. He was not demanding i...

The anticipation is building, my bags are packed, stacked next to the door and as I pack them into the boot of the car I can feel the slight tension building – those hesitant little butterflies start flitting and my palms are slightly damp. I hit the road north, its a long journey from Rorke’s Drift to the Masai Mara and has several stops along the way. First stop Pretoria and one more sleep, then to the infamous O R Tambo where a shock awaits! Flight Cancelled is blazoned above the check in counter. However, as all worldly travellers must do, you simply stand in line and wait. Then the news, bumped onto another flight so a long wait ensues in the hallowed halls of O R Tambo. Many cups of cuppacino later and I am sitting on a Kenya Airways flight heading for Nairobi. At Nairobi the hot air hits as I alight from the plane. Of course, none of the modern conveniences are really working and so I have to carry/drag my increasingly heavy camera gear behind me. Through customs and ...