My King of Beasts - Leopard, Mashatu, Botswana

11/11 Remembering those who died

Butterfly camouflage - Umkomaas Valley. South Africa

Cross elephant - Mashatu, Botswana

Female leopard - Mashatu, Botswana

A female leopard strides off during the late afternoon light to look for her missing third cub. She found it, but it had an injured back leg.

Wildebeest -Mashatu, Botswana

A little necking - Mashatu, Botswana

Panorama, Umlomaas River, South Africa

Umkomaas River

The Umkomaas River, Kwazulu-Natal in the late evening

The Old and the New - Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower

Portsmouth was blitzed during World War 11 and not much was left of the historical city except in this area of 'Old Portsmouth.' However, The Spinnaker Tower built for the new millenium, now provides a stark contrast in architecture in amongst the remains of the old buildings.

Inner Harbour, Portsmouth, UK

Oh...that evening light!

Sunset over Portsmouth Harbour, UK

Those late summer evenings in the UK seem to go on forever.

HMS Warrior - Portsmouth Harbour

Now for something completely different

A recent trip to the UK yielded England in all its finest glory

Bird's Eye View - Masai mara

Two Crested Cranes get a bird's eye view of a hot air balloon as it floats over the Masai Mara in Kenya.

Durban - winter

It was a beautiful day at the beach today. Clear skies,warm, perfect for the beach. But as the sun went down it got even better. The wind dropped and the Hobie class yachts surfed onto the beach at the end of their race.

Winter, Drakensberg area - Kwazulu Natal

Winter's morning = Drakensberg Mountains

Not taken this year, but after a week like the one just gone by, I can imagine that the frost must be lying thick on the ground, if not snow.

Leopard steels kill - Okavango delta

This daring leopard in the Okavango Delta nervously glances behind him as he steels a few bites of a lion kill (young buffalo). When the lion's away the leopard will play with his grub!!!

Garden Castle, Drakensberg Mountains - Kwazulu Natal

Leopard in repose - Okavango Delta

Small pix

Not quite sure why the blog is posting such small pix suddenly....mmmmmmmmmmm

Durban - South Africa

Winter's evening on Durban beach. Not the best of sunsets as far as Africa goes - but had to take it anyway!

Wildebeest watering hole - Mkuze Game reserve, South Africa

My what big ears you have - Steenbok

Such a poser - Male Leopard, Okavango delta, Sandibe

We tracked this male leopard in the Okavango for a couple of hours watching him spook a herd of Impala, drink from a pan until finally he climbed up on a termite hill and posed for his photograph.

Stop...who goes there?

Yay! This image has just been published in Go travel magazine.

4. “The tragedy is that rhino horn is made of keratin, the same stuff that makes up human hair and nails. It has no medicinal value, you might as well eat your fingernails.” – Mark Jones, Executive Director, Humane Society International/UK, It is devastating to see rhinos killed for a cure that doesn’t work

Male leopard - Phinda, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa

Kenya - Maasai women - just waiting.

Taking candid pictures of people is a lot harder than you think - taking photographs of the Maasai is even harder because they don't like to have their photo taken at all. So, I must admit that I sneaked this image as I was passing by in a bus.

Animals with their heads in the clouds.

Weenen Game Reserve in Kwazulu Natal, is one of our family's favourite local game reserves. It's small-ish, but features a number of different landscapes. The top road, overlooking the Drakensberg Mountains, is pure savannah dotted with glorious acacias and it is here that we have often sat waiting for the 'light.' You know - that fantastic half an hour or so of warm golden sunlight that photographers crave. On this particular morning the giraffes meandered along the veld with their heads literally above the clouds.

Ready for the great migration - Masai Mara

A few years ago now, I was lucky enough to accompany a school group to Kenya. We didn't get to see the river crossing but we did see the zebra and wildebeest massing together getting ready for the migration.

Downtown Victoria Falls - The Elephant walk

Often people who have never been to Africa have the idea that wild animals roam the streets. "Of course not," will be the reply by irritated residents. Well, actually, sometimes they do. These elephants were crossing the main road in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Victoria Falls - Baines-style

This image was taken about 18 months ago, but despite the deliberate aging  they probably look much the same as when Thomas Baines first painted them in the 1860s

The Lion King

The king of beasts using a little bit of artistic license

Baby Elephant blowing his own trumpet - Okavango Delta

Despite their size, there is nothing cuter than a baby elephant.

Oh, what a wicked web we weave......

Spiders are not my most favourite things, but they do make the most amazingly symetrical webs that make you wonder about nature

Taking a walk on the wild side - Okavango delta

He is a beautiful chap.

Sheltering from the rain- Leopard, Okavango Delta

Taking shelter from the rain like any self respecting cat.

Leopard in black and white - Okavango delta Botswana

Cats hate being wet and I guess leopards feel the same way. Looking a little bedraggled, but none the less still magnificent is this female in the Okavango delta as she slinks away to find some shelter from the rain.

Tembe Elephant Park

Several bull elephants wander down to a watering hole in Tembe Elephant recently for a drink and a mud bath.

Royal Wedding - 29 April 2011

It has been a day for celebration - William and Kate's wedding. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and have barely moved off the couch all day. I have watched it live, replayed, the highlights, Sky and now BBC to make sure I haven't missed any angle. However I did miss being part of the atmosphere and did feel a bit misplaced being 6000 miles away in South Africa. And despite having lived here longer than I did in the UK, I can't deny that my roots still lie deeply in the English soil and am an un-apologetically, die-hard royalist.
It's sad that there were the dissenters - no surprise really, there will always be those that oppose a cause, a theme, a point of view - it is the ying and yang of life I guess. But, the majority loved it. Loved the pageantry, the pomp, the ceremony, the dress and the fairy tale. I can' t imagine what it must be like to be a (commoner) mother-of-the bride having to make small talk with the Queen! And, as for Kate, what a job she has taken on as wife of the future King. The glamour of it lives in fairytales only. I wish them well. I think they will guide the monachy into a new, stronger era. God Save the Queen.

Reflections of Nyala - Tembe Elephant park

Rough Play - African Painted dogs, Mkuze

African painted dogs are sociable animals and these guys were playing, not fighting.

Endangered African Painted dog- Mkuze

Last weekend (Easter) we were lucky enough to stay with friends at Mkuzi Game reserve (thanks Wildlife ACT - Bron and Den) and we were priviledged enough to be taken to see a pack of African wild dogs that are being kept in a boma where they are getting to know one another before being let out into the reserve. Observing their antics was fascinating as they greeted one another, played, mated and squabbled. They made amazing sounds - not like dogs at all - more like squeaks really. Their new name as 'painted' dogs also suits them well - much more elegant for these beautiful creatures.

Toothpaste waves - Haga Haga, South Africa

The waves at Haga Haga were enormous this time - it must be the colour and the foam that reminds me of toothpaste, and the whiteness I suppose. Good ad possibility!

Oh....that beach at Haga

Endless peaceful beaches - except when the Bishops and Halls arrive to play cricket!

Unspoilt Haga Haga #2



Panorama of the beautiful Wild Coast last weekend.



Wild Coast, South Africa. Haga Haga panorama.

Out of sync I know, but still editing images from our week at Haga Haga where such big skies, and this case a sunset, enhanced many a photograph.

Cosmos - Underberg, South Africa



On the way back from the Transkei we took the scenic route - half an hour longer, but it took us through Underberg. Cosmos was flowering everywhere and I managed to get the driver to stop long enough to take a pic. As I got out the car the sun went in...typical!



Transkei - the unspoilt beauty of Haga-Haga #3

The unspoilt coast of the Transkei throws up endless opportunities for photographs.

Haga Haga #2

A slow shutter speed adds sense of movement to the sea at Haga Haga.