Collected Moments of Survival

It’s time to talk about elephants and auctions. I have been banging on a bit about it in the last few weeks and I thought it was appropriate to join the dots.   My journey with Voortrekker began a year ago now. Splashed all over social media was the damning evidence that a gentle giant, an African spirit, was no more. At the time I was working on another exhibition that was entrenched in the desert sands of Africa. It was called Echoes in the Dunes.   Perhaps it was that connection that drove me to decide to do more, however, that is where the journey had its origins. Now, we are where I set the target. One year later, the anniversary of the death of Voortrekker and I’m looking for a whole bunch of people to open their hearts, minds and purses to help the Desert Elephants of Damaraland. In the meantime, the world has changed in a way that none of us ever imagined it could. We’re hunkered down, moaning and groaning. Each of us more concerned about our economic viability than we...

Voortrekker the pioneer elephant is no more. His footsteps now only an echo along the paths he once trod, his footprints have been devoured by the angry winds that whip their way along the Ugab River bed. Only his ghost still inhabits those sandy banks, the rumbles and the crack of breaking branches are now a whisper in the wind. His memory lives on only in the minds of those who loved him. Africa has given birth to many legends through the millennia, legends that are fireside stories that leave one wide-eyed and in awe of the deep knowledge entrenched in the valleys and plains and across the rolling hills.  The answers to our questions can only be answered when we learn to listen. Questions like, how did Voortrekker know the way back to the Ugab? Where does the courage come from for an elephant to venture back into a dangerous place, a place he knew to leave in order to survive? What is the driving force behind him going back to where he had just come from and how did he communica...

Kalahari Kreetures I Kalahari Kreetures II Kalahari Kreetures III It is 5.30am and the sun is edging its way onto the Eastern horizon of the Makgadigadi Pans. We do not have far to drive. Just a couple of kilometres from Jack’s Camp is a group of habituated Meerkats, the reason for the trip to Makgadigadi. Finding a Meerkat in the wilds of Africa, or more specifically, Southern Africa is not an easy task when time is limited and expectations are high. Certainly there are Meerkats spread all over the Western climes of Southern Africa but the crucial factor determining a trip dedicated to them is that they should at least sit still long enough to be photographed and not be hightailing it off in the opposite direction at the approach of a vehicle. Each time I explore for a new experience the dilemma of my impact on the intended target has to be considered. Habituation of wild animals is a hot topic with the decision of when exactly is habituation taming and when is it not. It is the dilem...

Baby's in Charge Charcoal on Paper Available as Limited Edition Prints Size A5 - A1 Awarded 3rd Prize in The Golden Turtle 2015 (Russia) Prints can be ordered from christine@christinelamberth.co.za This is a repost of a story previously published with the photographs I took as inspiration for my drawing. Hope you enjoy taking a little trip back down memory lane. It is our last day in the Etosha National Park today and we decide to only visit our favourite waterholes. After a quick visit to Blesbokfontein waterhole where we are lucky enough to get a black rhino out in the open we head off to Rietfontein, an active waterhole where we are guaranteed some action. By now I even have a favourite spot to park to get the best shots on offer and we wait. We are not disappointed as wave after wave of elephants pass us by. Finally, the big herd arrives. Today, instead of going around the back of the waterhole they pass close by as there is a group of rambunctious young males spl...

Title:  The Gaze Size: 70cm x 90cm Charcoal on Paper Framed in White Wood Frame Available from Fine Art Gallery, Swakopmund, Namibia THE YOUNG MAN OF THE ANCIENT RACE, WHO WAS CARRIED OFF BY A LION; WHEN ASLEEP IN THE FIELD While out hunting a young man ascended a hill as this was the best lookout post where he could wait. The sun was beating down and as the young man waited patiently he suddenly started feeling very sleepy. He decided that as it was so very hot he would first lie down and sleep before he started out on his hunt. While he was sleeping a lion came walking by heading to the nearby waterhole as he was very thirsty. The lion saw the man sleeping in the noonday sun and very carefully he picked up the man and carried him off. The man awoke startled. He then realised that he was now in the grips of a lion.   He decided that it would be best to not to react and to pretend to be dead as the lion appeared to think that he was dead. Should he move, the...

THE MARSH BABIES The Marsh Babies - a little glimpse of what Africa is all about. If you visit the Maasai Mara then you will more than likely hear the name Marsh Pride whispered with great reverence. A pride of lions whose tenacity and fierceness has earned them a place in the history books. Not too long ago two females, Siena and Charm whose story was told over and over again roamed the plains of the North. Charm was the matriarch of the pride and she was the fiercest of all. In her time that she was with us she led her pride with courage and determination. Our arrival in the Mara, coincided with the birth a few months before of 4 cubs who were Siena’s cubs. At the time I wasn’t really aware of the names of the lionesses as I tend to want to shy away from the practice we have of naming these wild animals who, I feel, deserve to live wild and free and naming them somehow, seems to reign in that freedom. As a result of this I don’t want to know the names of the prides or ...

Lion Cubs waiting for their mother to return from hunting.  When you've acquired a taste for dust, The scent of our first rain, You're hooked for life on Africa And you'll not be right again Till you can watch the setting moon And hear the jackals bark And know that they're around you, Waiting in the dark. When you long to see the elephants. Or hear the coucal's song, When the moonrise sets your blood on fire, You've been away too long Its time to cut the traces loose And let your heart go free Beyond that far horizon, Where your spirit yearns to be. Africa is waiting - come! Since you've touched the open sky And learned to love the rustling grass, The wild fish-eagles cry. You'll always hunger for the bush, For the lion's rasping roar, To camp at last beneath the stars And to be at peace once more. C. Emily Dibb Original art available. Marsh Babies Size  79cm x 156cm Beautifully framed in a white wood frame Can ...