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.
2025-02-09: Sunrise Giraffe
2025-02-02: Elephant Connections
I’ve often said that if there was only one animal I could watch on safari, it would be elephants. They are always doing something: feeding, drinking, fanning themselves with their ears, and most importantly, interacting with one another.
It’s the interaction that I wanted to highlight with my selection of photos today.
2025-01-19: Hippos
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.
2024-12-29: Giraffe Silhouette
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.
2024-12-16: Leopards
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.
2024-12-01: Rhinos
Thinking back over my last couple of trips to Southern Africa, the rhino sightings have been a bit more limited than during previous trips. A lot of the places on the tours I have taken recently aren’t known for having rhino in the area, and sightings are very rare, so it was my pre-tour safari stops that offered rhino sightings.
Rhinos can be challenging to spot in thick bush and seem to be able to disappear rather easily; which can frustrate guides that want to provide their guests viewing opportunities of the Big 5. We had followed tracks on and off over several game drives, looking for two rhino travelling together. While the tracks would surface and disappear, we couldn’t find the animals leaving the tracks, much to the dismay of our guide. We did come across this lone individual and had a brief sighting before it turned on its heel and disappeared into the trees.
Then, on the way back from a leopard sighting on a neighbouring property, we were on the paved road and were flagged down by a passing car to warn us that there were a couple of rhino on the road ahead. Finally, we had located the pair that were causing such consternation for our guide.
The only other rhino sighting this past trip was a quick view of an individual crossing through the riverbed at Klaserie Sands. Our guide spotted the animal in the distance, and even though it was getting dark and the view was brief, we followed as much as we could as other people in our vehicle had never seen a rhino before.
2024-11-10: Predators
I chose to highlight some of the predators that I saw on my last safari. Of course, there is more to predators than just animals; there are reptiles and birds that also fall under this category, but today I am sticking with the four-legged variety.
Predators are what a lot of people aim to see while on safari, but a game drive is so much more than seeing a glimpse of a lion or leopard. It always bears repeating, that the best game drives are the ones that you go on without a strong agenda, and allow the beauty of Mother Nature to unfold before you, and experience all that is on offer.
2024-11-03: Road Blocks
You never know what you might cross paths with when out on a safari game drive. Between the guides, trackers and all the guests, there are eyes scanning in every possible direction, off into the far distance. But sometimes, the wildlife makes it easy by hanging out on the road or crossing right in front of the vehicle, making them very easy to spot and view.
All of these images are animals spotted on the roadways; these are the types of traffic jams that I never mind being a part of.
2024-10-20: Elephants
I was drawn to elephants when I sat down to work through some photos today, but when I came online to create my post, I realized I did the same thing only a month ago (which you can find here). As I rebuild my habits for photo editing and posting, checking what I have done recently is probably a smart thing to add early in the process.
Throughout the years of this blog I’ve said time and again how much I love spending time with elephants; and if I could only pick one animal to see one safari, it would be elephants, as they are almost always active and on the move doing something: feeding, drinking or interacting with one another, which makes them very interesting to spend time with.
2024-10-13: Wild Dogs
If you search my blog, you will find many posts dedicated to wild dogs. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have so many sightings of these amazing animals, and of course, I certainly hope I will get to see more of them in the future (especially wild dogs puppies, as that would be a new one for me).
This past adventure had our guides finding a couple wild dogs, who then lead us to the rest of the pack. Watching their greetings is always so special.
