2024-06-23: Alaska

I had some photos flagged to edit from my 2022 trip to Alaska, so I followed the path of least resistance and worked on those, rather than selecting images from my latest adventure. Back to Africa images next week 🙂

I’m still in awe of how beautiful a trip it was, and how I really lucked out with the most amazing weather you could ask for.

2024-06-16: Lions

This past trip was quite exceptional for the number of lion sightings that we had. And not just seeing lions doing what they do best, sleeping in the shade, but interesting interactions between the pride: playing, feeding, mating and a pride on the move towards the sounds of a nearby herd of buffalo.

A female greeting a young male lion as the pride got on the move after beating the heat of the day in the shade. Klaserie Sands Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.
A male lion on the move in the early morning in Chobe Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
Our amazing guide, Miss B, found this lioness and her cubs behind a washroom facility at a picnic site. There were groups of people enjoying their morning coffee break not far away from this spot. It was an amazing sighting, but also a great reminder to always pay attention in the bush, and only go on foot to areas that have been inspected by the guides and deemed safe. Chobe Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
This lion cub could be in need of a dentist after chewing and playing with a metal directional sign that was pulled from a road marker. Savute Game Reserve, Botswana.April, 2024.
A pair of lions in between bouts of mating. Savute Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
A young lion with a full belly at sunrise. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
A pair of lions each feeding on a warthog head. These two were both very keen on keeping the prize, and remained locked in place like this the entire time we were at the sighting. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
A group of lions on the move, followed by one of the other vehicles from our group. This was an amazing afternoon and evening in the bush, and its one where the photos don’t do justice to how wonderful the sightings were and how much fun it was. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
This is the same group of lions as the image above, gathering prior to crossing to the other side of the channel, in towards a large herd of buffalo. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.

2024-06-02: Chobe River Sunrise

On our last morning at Chobe Game Lodge, our group had the option to either have a short, early morning boat cruise, or sleep in (we didn’t have time for a full game drive because of our flight time to go to our next camp). I’m an early bird by nature, and try my best to never miss an activity when on safari, so the choice was easy for me. The people that slept in certainly missed out on a beautiful morning on the water.

2024-05-26: Southern Africa 2024

It’s been a while since I have posted any images; between preparing for a trip, the time spent away and then the return to normal life, the blog fell by the wayside for a bit. I’m slowly working on cataloging and rating images from my time away; and while I have a long way to go before that is complete, I don’t want to wait to share images until all that background work is done.

Today I decided to pick one image from each location I stayed at. It seemed like as good a starting place as any.

Leopard mother and son, sharing an affectionate moment. The cub is on the left, and at basically the same size as his mom, his days enjoying her company and her providing for him are numbered. Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.
This was a first for me; watching a hyena stash its impala kill in a small waterhole. Klaserie Sands, South Africa. April, 2024.
This trip was the trip of lions, with many sightings over the different areas I stayed in. This lioness was seen in Chobe National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.
The other standout for sheer volume of animals were zebra, seen in vast numbers in Savute. Our trip timed it just right to encounter some of the zebra migration. Savute, Botswana. April, 2024.
A once in a lifetime sighting in Moremi Game Reserve. An endangered Pel’s fishing owl. We were fortunate enough to see the mother and offspring that were nesting at the camp next door to where we were staying. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
Elephants racing for the water on a hot afternoon. The areas where I traveled were experiencing significant drought, and it will likely be very, very hard on many animals come September and October, before the start of the next rainy season. For now, there was still decent amounts of water and vegetation to be found, and the animals we saw were still in good condition. Makgadikgadi Pan National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.

2024-03-10: Eagle Owls

We traversed through Zambezi National Park on our way to Tsowa Safari Island, and during the drive, we stopped to watch a family of Verreaux’s eagle owls. The guides spotted them on route to pick us up, and knew it would be a thrill for a group of people on a birding trip.

The sighting was lovely, and I managed to get photos of each of the individuals, which I was happy about. With the owls high in the trees, and our vehicles on a single track with no space to the left or right, getting into a different position for photos really wasn’t an option. Everyone in the group managed to get a good view, and then we were off to the boat launch to get to the island lodge.

I shared images of these owls previously, you can find that post here if interested.

I love the eyes half closed look, showing off the bright pink eyelids.
One of the parents looking in the direction of the juvenile.
The juvenile eagle owl.

2024-03-03: African Travel

I wasn’t sure what to call this post, as it is simply all the African images I had saved in my quick collection in Lightroom, some from back in 2019, and others more recent. This finishes off the last of the really old trip images I wanted to edit, but I still have a few from 2022 that I’d like to work through, as well as my cruise images from 2023.

A young man lion, doing what lions do best. Madokwe, November 2022.
A very healthy looking male lion on patrol in the Sabi Sands. May, 2019.
Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwe side. November, 2022.
A leopard looking awkward, rather than regal. Sabi Sands, May 2019.
A lone bull elephant. Madikwe, November 2022.
The milky way from my cabin deck. Sabi Sands, May 2019.

2024-02-25: Birds

I had a lot of bird images saved in my quick collection to edit, so I took the easy route, and worked on those today. Sometimes, the path of least resistant is the best way to go.

These images are both from my most recent travels and a trip to South Africa in 2019.

I’m sure safari guides never tire of guests calling this bird “banana head”. A yellow billed hornbill.
I believe this is a red-crested bustard, but without the crest lifted, it is a bit challenging to tell.
A fiery-necked nightjar spotted on the way back to camp.
A lilac breasted roller calling.
A majestic fish eagle.
A coqui francolin. I wish I could have caught him posing with something other than a large dung pile, but that’s where he wanted to be.
A grey go-away bird. This bird has simultaneously the most obnoxious and most hilarious call. If there is one hanging around my room, sometimes I’ll talk back to it. Whether that makes me obnoxious or hilarious is up for debate 🙂

2024-02-19: Zebras

Zebras felt like a good follow on to last weeks post showcasing some giraffe images. They are another lovely animal to spot in the bush, especially when they are chilled out and allow a photograph with some nice eye contact.

As I was editing these images, I noticed as I was zooming in and out many scars on the adults. Perhaps from a brush with a predator, conflict with another member of the herd, or scrapes and scratches from moving within thick bush quickly. Potentially, a combination of all three. Seeing images of a few different individuals highlights that all the stripe patterns are unique.

Both mama and the youngster having some dinner. Madikwe, November 2022.
A perfect zebra tail swish.
Watchful attention. Eyes and ears focus in the distance.
I love the eye contact from both these zebras, but this certainly wouldn’t be an image I would want to try and print, as I’d have to swap in a new sky due to the extreme number of small flying insects creating little black spots throughout the blue sky and clouds. At this size and resolution, it isn’t an issue worth the time to fix. And besides, that’s being out in the bush. Sometimes, it is extra buggy.

2024-02-11: Giraffes

The weekend got away from me, so just a quick few photos in the hopes that it helps me keep with the habit of completing a weekly post.

I selected some giraffe images to share today. They are such an interesting combination of goofy and elegant, and are usually quite chilled out when spotted on safari which allows for lots of photo opportunities.

The lack of hair tufts on the ossicones indicates a male giraffe. They lose the hair tufts as they spar with other males in the traditional necking competitions. The image above provides good contrast, and is either a female, or a young male that has not yet started necking.
These two were part of a much large mixed group of giraffe and zebra spotted at the side of the road while on game drive in Madikwe, South Africa.

2024-02-04: Sunrises and Sunsets

We’ve had some beautiful weather the last few days, and my road is finally clear of icy and easy to walk, so I’ve been getting the dogs out for nice morning walks. The morning twilight and sunrise have been beautiful, but since I didn’t have my camera with me to capture them, I went through some of the many images I have left to edit, and found a selection that shows some of the beautiful colours I have been enjoying.

Sunrise along the banks of the Zambezi River, just outside the town of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. November, 2022.
A misty early morning drive in Hwange, Zimbabwe. November, 2022.
The dawn of a beautiful day in Hwange, Zimbabwe. November, 2022.
A rather spooky looking sunset captured in the Sabi Sands. May, 2019.
Sunset along the Zambezi River, just before taking the boat back to Tsowa Safari Island. Zimbabwe, November 2022.
Zambezi Sunset from Livingstone, Zambia. November, 2022.
A peaceful bush sunset from the Sabi Sands. May, 2019.
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