Showcasing the beauty of Mother Nature
I love being outside in the early morning, and watching the sky progress through a multitude of colours as the sun climbs higher and higher. Waking up for early morning game drives while on safari is never a chore for me since I naturally love the time of day. Here are a few images from various early morning drives on my last trip.
Continuing on with the bird theme from a couple of weeks ago, I decided to focus on herons this week. When I used to live near Vancouver, I loved taking my dog for a walk along a river and would usually spot a great blue heron or two along the route. My current walking area doesn’t feature herons, but it does sometimes have animals like deer and moose (as well fox and coyotes tracks left overnight for the puppies to enjoy), so, I definitely can’t complain about a lack of things to see. At some point, I am hoping I will have both my dogs comfortable and calm enough while walking to take my camera out with me, but that is still a work in progress. But back to the herons.
The variety of herons that I have seen in Southern Africa is impressive, boasting a wide range of sizes and colourings. The striated, purple and squacco herons are on the smaller side, the grey heron is the size that comes to mind when I hear the word heron, and then there is the goliath, which is truly impressive in its stature. The one thing I never really understood was the naming of the purple heron, as the bird is more grey and rust coloured than what I would call purple. But, bird naming conventions (or renaming, as that seems to happen fairly frequently) isn’t something I can claim to understand.
On to the photos.
I remember how peaceful it was to sit on the deck of our cabin in the early afternoon and watch this beautiful herd of elephants. They came down to a dam (just out of the picture to the left) to drink, and once they had their fill, begin heading into the (mostly) dry riverbed to feed on the abundant vegetation.
Part of the herd had already moved deeper into the riverbed; there were perhaps 15 – 20 in the group in total.
Just because the game drive is over doesn’t mean the wildlife viewing is over. There is often an abundance of birdlife and animals to be seen just relaxing around camp.
Watching a sunrise with giraffes is never a bad way to start a day. I’ve shared some images from this sighting before, but it was so beautiful, another one won’t hurt.
I decided to focus on birds this week, and looked for images where I had a pair of the same species together. I was surprised how many I found, and surprised by how many bird images I still have to go through from my last few trips.
While the wattled cranes are a fairly rare sighting and the pygmy geese were a first for me, the rest of the birds featured are fairly wide spread and easy to spot. I’d be pretty shocked for anyone to go on a southern African safari and not see a lilac breasted roller and at least one type of hornbill.
I had originally planned to post some elephant photos today, but I came across one hippo photo that made me change my direction.
Hippos can be interesting to watch and listen to while out on a game drive, but they generally aren’t an animal that a guide specifically seeks out to show guests – at least not on any game drive I’ve been on. Hippos have their typical ponds and pools that they spend time in, so it is usually quite easy to add a drive past the area during a game drive, or stop nearby (at a safe distance, of course) to have morning coffee or sundowners in the evening.
It is very interesting to have the opportunity to see hippos out on land, especially in the daytime when you can really appreciate their size and bulk. Our camp in the Okavango Delta had a resident hippo in the camp that they called Oscar. Oscar wandered around in between the cabins grazing, even during the day. We were lucky to have him hanging around our cabin one afternoon, although the only photos I managed of that sighting were of his butt as he walked away, or when he was mostly obscured by bushes.
Here is my selection of images for the week.
I wish I could provide the type of tree this is, but unfortunately all I know is that I thought it was stunning, and worth taking the time to take pictures of.
This view was off of the pool deck at Simbavati Hilltop Lodge. I spent some time between lunch and our afternoon game drive playing around with long exposure photos using my infrared filter. Each time I capture images like this and edit them, I remember again how much I enjoy them, and how much more there is to learn about the process.
After a few dreary and grey days, I was in the mood for colour again, and these giraffes images certainly fit the bill. The shape of the giraffe is so easily recognizable that they are a great subject for a silhouetted shot, if you are fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time, with both subject matter and weather cooperating.
I was treated to a beautiful sunrise sky this morning when I was out walking my dogs; in one direction, warm yellow, orange and peach tones, and in the other, cool blues and purples. It was such a lovely start to the day. While I didn’t have my camera to take any pictures, I did have a few lovely sunrise shots just waiting to be edited from my last trip.
I managed to keep to my schedule for editing some photos over the weekend, but got sidetracked by an expansive to do list and neglected to get them posted. A day late isn’t so bad; and honestly, I am more concerned about keeping the routine of working on my images than occasionally missing my self-imposed schedule for sharing them.
Leopards caught my eye these week, and honestly, how can a leopard not catch your eye? They are such gorgeous creatures and it’s truly a special feeling to be in the presence of an animal that could very easily make the choice not to be seen at all.
On my past safari trip we had two different leopard sightings, one of a solitary leopard and the other of a mother leopard with an older cub. I’ve shared a few images of these particular cats before, and many others over the years which can be found with the search function.
