Collected Moments of Survival

Burchell's Zebra posing with their friend the Red Billed Oxpecker. Size 50cm x 45cm   An ant bit me on my bum! A tiny little black ant that had no business being in my bed. However, when you are camping in the “wilds” of Africa, ants are probably the lesser of the challenges you have to deal with. Among others there are marauding Vervet monkeys who, it may be added, can open many devices such as zips to tents and clips on “ammo” boxes. And the list goes on. My first foray of my African Adventure started in the Kruger National Park. A mild introduction to the “wild” bit. However, the list of visitors to our humble abode makes up quite a long list.   These are all chancers of another ilk. They have learned to navigate past the ignorance of the homo sapiens and rely completely on our naive natures. Smash and grab takes on another meaning in the Kruger Park where one is want to lose any number of food items. During my stay of 33 days I learnt to open and close doors with more dili...

The magnificence of a Male Lion with his mane in full flow In the wake of the what has to be termed a Paradigm Shift for lions in the wild and on Lion Day I am reminded of the many experiences I have had with lions on the plains of Africa. Getting close to lions ranks right up there with being some of the most exciting experiences that any one person can hope to see today. It is the one factor that I think has galvanised the world into action post Cecil the Lion. However, it is one thing seeing a single lion strutting his stuff out there in the African bush and an entirely different experience when one is privy to the might of the pride. In areas where lions are pressurised by other pack animals such as hyenas, the pride becomes paramount to survival and as such even male lions that can be solitary will form their own prides which we call coalitions. Happening on a coalition of male lions in the bush is a heart stopping event. The sheer power that a male lion demons...

The question of course is how it should end?  Waking early today is really easy. The anticipation of even more bush action makes rising an absolute pleasure. However, the rain is back again. A gentle mist has settled over the Sabi Sands Reserve. Our smiling faces belie the obvious challenges of travelling on an open vehicle with rather sensitive camera gear. Using blankets and ponchos, we wrap everything up tightly and head out. This time we head out West of the Lodge and we are looking for a pride of Lionesses that have brand new cubs. A sudden shout from Geoffrey our tracker brings the vehicle to a stop. He points off to the right into a sea of long grass. We scour the bush desperately screwing up our eyes and only after he literally takes out his ruler and pointer can we see what it is that has him so excited. The tiniest tip of a Leopard’s ears. It is the mating couple. They are far from where they were last night. It is astounding that he managed to see this tin...

The divine brunch prepared by the Sorceress in the kitchens of Tree Camp at Londolozi goes down a treat. Then it’s off to our heavenly “chateau” – you can’t call the digs at Londolozi “rooms” – it is tantamount to an insult to the glorious luxury in which we are ensconced between the game drives.  After a quick spit and polish and a short 40 winks it is time to head off again. The rain has lifted slightly and although there is still cloud cover the quality of the light is encouraging. Decision made we head back to the Lion sighting of the morning. More likely than not, the Lions will have found the unfortunate Wildebeest as the Vultures had been gathering when we left the sighting earlier. From a distance we can already see the circling Vultures. As we near the sighting the presence of the birds of doom is overwhelming. They adorn every tree and bush while there is an ominous gathering taking place on the ground. The Wildebeest is no more and one of the coalition Lio...

The fine water droplets gently caress my skin. I am ensconced in a waterproof envelope and my gear is buried in layers of waterproofing. I pull my hat down over my hair as we set off with dawn breaking on the horizon. Barely 100 meters outside the camp we stop at the waterhole. On a dead tree in the centre of the small dam are two Pied Kingfishers desperately feeding a screeching juvenile. In the background a Giant Kingfisher is also searching for its breakfast and off to one side a little Malachite Kingfisher flits to and fro. In the water we can see a small Crocodile patrolling his territory while a Hippo keeps surfacing with a short spray and snort before disappearing again. Sadly, the light is really so bad the best trade off is to simply sit back and enjoy the spectacle. Our next encounter is with a young male Hippo heading determinedly towards a very small mud pool. He approaches the pool and with a hefty slump he falls into the mud. It would seem that he has been ousted ...

It is raining. The rhythmic thud of the windscreen wipers across the dripping glass, are a sharp reminder that I am heading into yet another, soggy weekend. The tyres cut into the water on the tar sending a rooster spray into the air. Once we hit Nelspruit and leave the escarpment behind us, the rain will magically dissipate, and there will only be hot dry Lowveld air. Ha ha, of course, as Nelspruit emerges from the gloom of mist and rain it is confirmation that I am in for another WET safari. By now I am well prepared with wet gear protection so I refuse to feel discouraged. Photography with no light is by now no longer such a big challenge. I have had many opportunities in 2011 to adjust to this. However, I am in Africa, aren’t I? The excitement of spending a weekend at Londolozi in the Sabi Sands Reserve however is not dampened by any amount of rain. I am on my way to Star in My Own Safari – a competition run by the Safari Interactive Magazine in conjunction with L...