A Photographic Safari and apparently not my last after all...

[PCNW]

We left early on our afternoon drive and had lunch with Mike and Shedrick on an elevated deck over looking the river followed by a good bit of general game.

 

 

 

 

 

As it got dark MK suggested we try to find the lone male thinking that he would be up from his day long nap and soon start calling for his brother…. sure enough that’s what he was doing. Sitting in the dark in an open vehicle as a male lion that’s roaring walks past is something you won’t soon forget….thrilling….it’s what brings you back to Africa.

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back to the lodge we ran into a very relaxed herd of elephants. MK gently pulled up as they continued to feed around us in the dark. He shut the engine off then asked us to close our eyes, cup our hands behind our ears and just sit quietly and listen. OMGosh, one of my all time favorite experiences.

 

 

 

Up next the hyena pups.

[Peter Connan]

Those Ellies against the sunset are beautiful, and you got some great Giraffe shots as well!

[xelas]

And my "best of this post" vote goes to b&w ellie family!

[PCNW]

@@Peter Connan @@xelas

Peter its amazing what PS will merge even on 4-5 hand held shots...in a pinch without a wide angle lens.

 

And the B and W has been set aside to try some different edits....I like the composition of that group.

 

Thanks guys.

[AKR1]

 

A magnificent scene- you should blow this picture up and put it on a wall.

[Peter Connan]

That's a great merge!

 

I suspect the longer the focal length, the easier it is to merge, as the longer lenses suffer less from distortion?

[PCNW]

@akr1Thanks I’m looking at several options now for a spot.

 

 

 

 

 

On the morning drive of our final full day we drove by the hyena den and as usual no one was home but within 2 minutes a curious cub peeked out…

then another…then another and soon the whole family was out and about…

….eating elephant dung…..

….getting a bath…

…suckling….

…..fighting over the nipples…..

Holding court with his harem:

On our morning stop MK asked if I had ever been in a dung spitting contest and my answer to that was….”I’m not falling for it.” But he and Shedrick began selecting the best impala dung balls for their contest and proceeded to see who could spit it the farthest…yep, impala dung….

On our evening drive we were sitting by a pan with a hippo waiting for him to display his prowess and at the crucial moment my camera stopped working…so friggin’ frustrating to be pushing the shutter button and have… nothing…. happening…. A problem I had had sporadically but Nikon supposedly had the problem fixed. Not so apparently….

This was the same location and possibly the same hippo that a female ranger looking for tracts was picked up by a hippo and nearly taken into the water. Her tracker hit the hippo with a huge log and fortunately he dropped her right at the edge of the water but badly injuring her chest and shoulder.

On arrival I had mentioned several shots that I’d like to look for and one was a elephant/animal in a silhouette. As we sat watching a zebra that was having struggling trying to foal the silhouette developed….my husbands favorite image of the trip:

[Peter Connan]

Well, the elephant silhoutte is a great photo, but I think the baby Hyena getting a bath is better. And the bokdrolspoegkompetisie (Dung-spitting contest) is possibly even better!

[SidSafari]

Stunning work! So many wonderful frames and enjoyable, informative and enlightening text as well!

 

Best trip report i've read in a while!

[PCNW]

Thanks @@SidSafari thats quite a compliment.

 

@@Peter Connan I'm with you on that pic. Thank you.

Edited June 5, 2017 by PCNW

[Marks]

Wow! Where to start? You've got some grade-A images here, really professional stuff. Many dynamic closeups of elephant trunks, remarkable leopards, and of course excellent work on presenting all of them. I was really impressed by the composite rhino shot, using a deliberately blurred background from another version of the photo to transplant into the leopard photo, and many others. It must take courage to be willing to dive into editing like this - the results are stunning.

 

You also call attention to the beauty of the Sabi Sand, which is an excellent point.

 

Love the "getting a bath" hyena photo on this page.

[PCNW]

@@Marks Thank you! These reports take a boat load of work and I appreciate you taking the time to make such a detailed comment.

 

Patsy

[PCNW]

This report is hanging over my head so I’ll quickly post some of the images from my last morning drive in random order.

 

The final image posted here is the last photo of my trip before my camera stopped firing….a problem I had had the night before and one that Nikon had supposedly fixed.

 

I’m not sure who was more frustrated….me or my guide…after sitting with the leopard for an hour waiting for him to move then working hard to stay in front so he could set up the shot only to NOT hear my camera clicking when the opportunity is there…..aaagghhhh……

 

[Geoff]

8 hours ago, PCNW said:

 

The final image posted here is the last photo of my trip before my camera stopped firing….a problem I had had the night before and one that Nikon had supposedly fixed.

 

 

@ PCNW Wow, that's annoying. Did you take a backup camera with you?

[PCNW]

@geoff I had two bodies and 2 lenses but the leopard had moved into scrubby bush and we were about out of time anyway.  I'm just thankful it happened in the last minutes of my last drive on my last day and not on the first day.  Nikon looked at it again and sent me standard info on my buffer.....it's not a buffer problem...It occasionally happens after just a few single frames....aaggghhhhh

 

 

[Geoff]

@PCNW I would find that extremely frustrating. If it was mine and Nikon kept fobbing me off I'd sell it. It might cost a few dollars to replace/upgrade but at least you'd have peace of mind. 

[Peter Connan]

Magnificent images from that last drive! You truly had a surfeit of incredible sightings!

[Kitsafari]

love that B&W picture of the wildebeest especially, on an earlier page! as well as the hyena babies too! 

we loved our stay at Londolozi,and the food, and the leopards, and the dogs.... 

[PCNW]

@kitsafari  Thank you, the wildebeest is a favorite of mine too.  Having read all of the Londolozi's archived blog posts before my first trip and seeing so many documentaries about its history my heart is with Londolozi but I probably prefer Sabi Sabi.  

[Tom Kellie]

 

~ @PCNW

 

I've never seen a more effective sundowners image.

 

Absolutely lovely. It brings back vivid memories of my visits to Sabi Sands.

 

Your capture of light and liquid through glassware is a master class in how to do it.

 

Thank you!

 

Tom K.

[PCNW]

@Tom Kellie  Thank you Tom!  We reenacted the same images that took with my daughter under the same tree.   

 

 

[AandA]

Amazing photos!!!! Love love your eye for composition!!!

Would you recommend these lodges and combo for a safari ? Our second one.

were you somehow disappointed in game viewing at Phinda?

we thought of Londolozi, Malamala and Phinda for our next one.  

[PCNW]

@AandA  I answered your message before seeing this but yes the general game viewing at Phinda on this trip was disappointing.   A tough call between a Phinda/Sabi Sands/Tswalu or Londolozi/Mala Mala/Phinda......travel time would be reduced with the 2nd option since you would just have to game drive from Londolozi to Mala Mala.  And beware that flights from JNB to Phinda and to the Sabi Sands now require two legs as opposed to a direct flight each way.  Tswalu has their own plane and they offer private vehicles....so many great options......either itinerary will be a good one.

 

Patsy

[AandA]

Thank you so much for replying in detail Patsy!  We didn't know the Phinda flights now are more than 1 plane! Not smart of them I think , as others (like ourselves) may think twice>.  Too much travel reduces safari time!

[Atravelynn]

On 6/4/2017 at 9:45 AM, Peter Connan said:

Well, the elephant silhoutte is a great photo, but I think the baby Hyena getting a bath is better. And the bokdrolspoegkompetisie (Dung-spitting contest) is possibly even better!

Well said.  Though your husband has good taste.  Hopefully the guides did not with dung spiting.