Tag: Safari

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2017-08-08: Phinda Game Reserve

After my time in Botswana, we finished out our trip at three different camps in South Africa.  All were places we had visited previously and liked so much we wanted to return to experience them again.

Travelling from the Okavango Delta to the Durban area in South Africa is pretty much a full day event.  We didn’t have time for a morning game drive, so we had an early breakfast and took a leisurely 1 1/2 hour drive to the airstrip that was being used by Machaba while the local strip was flooded.  From camp we flew to Maun, onwards to Johannesburg and then finally into Durban, arriving around 9pm.  Rather than take another flight, we had a driving transfer from Durban to Phinda, around a 2 1/2 hour drive, that left our hotel around 10 the next morning.

Arriving at Vlei lodge, we were greeted like family with welcoming hugs from Kathryn, the camp manager (whom we had also met during our previous stay).  We also had a chance to reconnect with the wonderful chef Happiness, who even asked us for our favourite items from the previous stay, so she could make sure they were on the menu during our visit.

Unlike the lodges we visited later that were adjacent to Kruger, Phinda is a fully fenced reserve, and as such have taken the difficult decision to de-horn the rhino population in an effort to curb poaching.  With horns or without, rhino are such impressive creatures to come across.  It is just so sad that it has come to this in order to keep them safe.  Like the properties in both Namibia and Botswana, Phinda had received an abundance of rain during the rainy season, after several years of rather severe drought.  The abundance of food and water meant that general game were much more scattered, and often the game drives were quite for periods when we didn’t see any animals around.  We did have one epic morning drive though filled with fun elephant encounters as well as several groups of rhino.

Phinda is definitely a good place to go if you are interested in seeing cheetah.  We saw 6 different cheetah during our stay, including a mom with 3 cubs.

Here are a few of my images from my recent visit to Phinda.  If you are interested, you can find some from my previous visit here and here.

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A nightjar spotted by our guide Dumi on the way back to camp one evening.  This was the first time I had a chance to photograph one of these birds.  As with anything, a bit more practice required!
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We spotted this herd of zebra, along with a large number of wildebeest on an afternoon game drive.  It was a very blustery day, and the herd seemed quite on edge.
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This group of five de-horned white rhino just wasn’t interested in cooperating and facing the same way for a photograph.
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We spent time with a breeding herd at the water hole on a morning game drive.  
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Close encounters of the elephant variety!  This guy was on route to the water hole, and wasn’t about to let our driving on the road slow down his pace.
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We found these cheetah cubs and their mother later on the windy afternoon.  They too were on edge and on high alert.
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Our first afternoon game drive, we came across three lionesses wandering down the road.
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Being investigated by one of the elephants at the watering hole.
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A yellow-throated long claw found on a foggy morning game drive.
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Drink in hand and a full moon rising.  This was a lovely break on what was otherwise a rather quiet game drive, where we saw only a few small groups of general game like impala and zebra.

 

Please visit:
www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

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2017-08-04: WPC Textures

The photo challenge prompt of the week is textures.  There are a lot of directions that this can be taken; I decided on a combination of animals in their environment and animal portraits.

I hope you enjoy my take on texture.

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Agama Lizard, Kenya, September 2016.  I like the contrast of the colourful, scaly agama lizard against the drab brown tree trunk and the spiky thorn branches.
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A lioness walks through the desert in Namibia, April, 2017.  Desert environments can seem one dimensional from a distance, but they are full of an amazing variety of textures.  Sharp rocky outcrops, weathered wood, shifting sand, sparse vegetation and of course, the landscape occasionally dotted with animals and birds.
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Dense fog, dry grass, the pitted sides of a termite mound.  Oh, and a cheetah too 🙂  South Africa, May 2017
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Soft fur, spiky whiskers and a whole lot of slippery slime.  A leopard cub plays in a very swampy area of the bush.  South Africa, May 2017.
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The wrinkly skin of the elephant is mimicked in the tree branch shadows falling above the eye and on the ear.  Kenya, September 2016.

 

Please visit:

www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

 

WPC: Textures

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2017-07-23: Leroo La Tau in Botswana

For stop #3 on my recent trip to Africa, we left Namibia behind and moved on to Botswana, where we stayed at the beautiful Leroo La Tau camp, which is situated on the Boteti River.  Based on our particular travel dates, getting there was a little bit of a to-do.  We flew from Little Ongava to Windhoek, overnighted in Windhoek with a 4AM wake up call for a transfer back to the airport, then onto a flight to Johannesburg, a connecting flight into Maun and finally our small plane transfer to the camp.  We arrived at camp at around 3pm, and had a relaxing drink and snack on the deck and then a sundowner boat trip.

Each game drive started and ended with a boat trip, as the camp was located on the opposite bank of the river to the conservancy where we took our game drives.  It was great to have the differing perspectives of game and bird viewing from land and from the water.

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A group of bull elephants, arriving in from the Nxai Pan area, enjoying a refreshing play in the river.
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A group of wattled cranes strutting along, looking for breakfast.
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A watchful jackal spotted on one of our game drives.
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A pair of marabou storks roosting in the treetops at sunset.

As we spent 3 days at the camp, we had the opportunity to take a day trip to Nxai Pans.  It was a long day (with a 6:30am departure arriving back around 7pm), but definitely worthwhile and very enjoyable.  We had a picnic lunch in the Nxai Pans park, saw the amazing Baines Baobab trees and a few giant elephants along with loads of other game and interesting birds.

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A pair of old bulls enjoying a mud bath.  Many groups of elephants were making the trek from Nxai Pans down to the Boteti River by the camp.  They arrived appearing white from the salts in the mud in the Nxai region.
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Admittedly not the best photograph, as I shot it straight ahead while the vehicle was moving, but it gives a bit of perspective on the size of the Baines baobabs.  The trunks of each of the trees directly in front of the roadway were wider than the length of the land cruiser we were in.  They actually make the trunks of the California redwoods seem kind of small!
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One of the pans with a baobab in the distance.  The pans were rapidly drying out, and the animals were beginning to move towards the river.
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A group of little bee-eaters seen during our afternoon boat trip along the Boteti River.  There were about 6-8 of these birds all clustered in one area.
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An African Jacana Dad with his chick.  They often call these “Jesus Birds” because from a distance, they appear to walk on water.
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I spotted this Crimson-Breasted Shrike in some bushes during our drive around the Nxai Pans Park.  Try as he might, Calvin could not convince the bird to come out of his hiding spot, so this was the best I could do for an image.

Our guide Calvin, camp managers Nelson and Umani, and all the staff at Leroo La Tau went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable and enjoying our stay.  We were even treated to two performances by the Leroo La Tau choir, including a special song for my parents, who celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary during the stay.  It was truly a special place in a very beautiful area.

 

Please visit:

www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

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2017-07-20: WPC Unusual

The photo topic of the week is Unusual… which could be taken in just about any imaginable direction.  But I’m turning towards a stunning show mother nature put on while I was on safari.

While staying at Ngala in South Africa, we departed for our morning game drive under dark and drizzly skies, but with the promise of a clearing day ahead.  Our route took us through a very open area, giving us a great vantage to both the east and west.  To the east, the sun breaking through the clouds, the sky on fire with intense colour.  Above us, rainfall.  And to the west, the moon still visible and a double rainbow arcing across the sky.  It was the first time I recall seeing a sunrise rainbow, and definitely the first I’ve seen on safari.

What a morning 🙂

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Please visit:

www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

 

WPC: Unusual

 

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2017-07-17: Monochrome Monday

A bit of elephant love to start the week!

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Mama and baby on the Amboseli Plains.  Kenya, September 2016.
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A group of elephants moving through the Ol Kinyei Conservancy adjacent to the Mara Reserve.  Kenya, 2016.
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Desert-adapted elephants grazing on devil’s thorn, which bloomed in abundance after a wetter than average rainy season in Namibia.  April, 2017.

 

Please visit:
www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

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2017-07-16: Highlights of Little Ongava

 

The second stop on my recent trip to Southern Africa was at the beautiful Ongava Game Reserve adjacent to Etosha National Park.  Like at our first camp, here we also found a familiar face, as the camp manager we met on a previous trip to Namibia had moved over to this region, and was running the lodge during our stay.  We had a wonderful time catching up with Maggie; I am still amazed that we not only found familiar faces so far from home, but that people remembered us as well 🙂

Typically, we went into the national park to explore on our morning game drives, and the spent the afternoons on the private reserve. The Etosha region had also received higher than average rainfall, and was very lush and green during our stay. Right before we arrived, they had a day of heavy rain, and on our first game drive we ended up stuck in the mud on one of the roads on the Ongava Reserve.   After about 45 minutes, our awesome guide Willy managed to get the vehicle moving again.  We were all covered in splattered mud from head to toe, but laughing and smiling; its all part of the safari adventure.

We spent time with elephants and rhino, lions and wildebeest.  We saw zebra, oryx springbok and impala, and an abundance of birds.  The reserve had a lovely hide, but due to the rains in the region, water sources were abundant and the man-made dam near the lodge was not being frequently used during our stay (with the exception of the resident terrapins).  It was a beautiful region that I hope I have the opportunity to explore again in the future.

Here are a few images from my 3 nights in this beautiful area.

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A bull elephant on Ongava Game Reserve.  This big guy was attracting quite a crowd, as he is one of only four elephants on the reserve.  All the elephants ended up there after breaking in from neighbouring Etosha, and then deciding to stay.
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We saw many herds of zebra during our drives through Etosha.  
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This young wildebeest was part of a sizeable herd, but was unfortunately injured and hobbling around on a broken leg.  This one will definitely be the animal the lions size up as a potential meal, the next time the pride and the herd cross paths.
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We were fortunate to see both white and black rhino during our time in the Etosha area.  Such impressive creatures.
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One of the highlights driving through Etosha was coming across this group of brothers chilling out next to a waterhole.  They were very close to the road, giving lots of people a fantastic opportunity to see lions up close.  One of the brothers went into stalk mode, and crossed the road towards a group of springbok, but they had spotted him quickly so it was a no go for some springbok for breakfast.
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A rock hyrax seen near the dining area at Little Ongava.  This little one was calling out constantly and making quite a racket, but it took me a bit of time to spot it.  Apparently, this hyrax is always hanging around the camp.
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A pair of ostrich seen during a drive through Etosha National Park.
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A waterbuck on the Ongava Private Game Reserve.  Waterbuck are not a naturally occurring species in the area, but were introduced the the reserve around 10 years ago to see if they could cope with the terrain and climate.  The population there has been thriving.
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Our last morning in Ongava, we spent time on the reserve rather than in the park, as we had a fairly early flight to our next destination.  We were having a rather relaxed drive when another guest on the vehicle spotted a lion hidden in the grass in a thicket; we were able to drive closer and find the entire pride having a rest as the day heated up.

 

Please visit:
www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

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2017-07-13: WPC Collage

The photo challenge topic for the week is collage, and I was inspired to look through my recent photos to find collages created by mother nature.

I enjoy flying, especially when I have the opportunity to snap a few photos out the windows.  The perspective provides a great opportunity to understand the landscape in a completely different way.  The vast opens spaces become a collage of different shapes, textures, colours and tones when viewed from the air.

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On route to the Skeleton Coast from Hoanib Camp.  Undulating dunes, small trees, rocky hills and a small lake.  I’m sure the water is long gone by now!  Namibia, April 2017.
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The beauty of the Okavango Delta.  The landscape is filled with small lakes and rivers, game trails and islands.  Botswana, May, 2017.
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Flying over the Damaraland region on route from Hoanib to Ongava near Etosha.  The landscape was varied with rolling hills, rocky outcrops and dry riverbeds.  Namibia, April, 2017.

Please visit:
www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.

and

https://shopvida.com/collections/voices/jennifer-sawicky for textiles inspired by my photography.

 

WPC: Collage

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