Well, hello there!
I am still sitting in my tent overlooking the banks of the Mara River in Kenya’s Maasai Mara and thought I would just give you all a quick update on my month-long trip to this part of the world!
It has been an absolute privilege spending some quality time in on the vast plains of East Africa, and I have thoroughly enjoyed taking images of the wildlife in a vastly different habitat to what I am used to, and as can be seen from my selection of images chosen to share with you all, I have focused heavily on showing animals in their environment and under those big skies that are so iconically African.
The one aspect that can make these scenes better is a brewing storm, and we have had our fair share of those here the past few weeks…great for photography, but not so great for photographer when the heavens open over his open game viewing vehicle!
I have one more week left in Kenya before heading back to South Africa and Tanda Tula, and the truth is that as much as I have enjoyed my time here, I am still excited about heading back to the Timbavati. It is very difficult to explain how – despite doing essentially the same thing – safaris in East Africa and South Africa are vastly different. The closest I can come to pin pointing what makes them different is the environment in which they are conducted. On the open plains of East Africa, one can spot animals literally miles away (I had this when chasing that herd of elephants with the rainbow – I spotted them on the distant horizon from about 5km away…I didn’t realise how far away they were until I kept coming over a small rise and they were still on the distant horizon!). This means that you can always see animals (or a cluster of vehicles watching a high profile sighting), but that you also spot them when they are far away and don’t get surprised by rounding the corner and finding them. The Greater Kruger Park is predominantly made up of mixed woodlands, with comparatively dense vegetation, and this does a good job of concealing many of the inhabitants. What it does mean however is that you never know what is around the next corner, and whenever I am on drive I have a constant sense of anticipation as to what might be hiding around the next corner…and if isn’t around that corner, it might still be around the next one!
For now though, I do hope that you enjoy seeing some images from a different landscape! I have one week left, and I am really hoping to see some cheetahs doing more than just sleeping; but that is me being greedy!
Will be back on a more regular basis upon my return, but until then, keep well!
Cheers
Chad
