Photos of Eric's Africa trip 2006
Feb 5th, 2007, 08:31 AM
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Loved the photos taken from the balloon and also those of the migration. And the cheetah on the hood of the vehicle!
On the subject of Namibia, why would you skip Etosha if you returned? Is it because you had better game sightings elsewhere? Thanks. (Namibia is on my list for the future.)
cw
On the subject of Namibia, why would you skip Etosha if you returned? Is it because you had better game sightings elsewhere? Thanks. (Namibia is on my list for the future.)
cw
Feb 5th, 2007, 09:10 AM
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Let me preface my Etosha comments by saying that that destination had been on my "to see" list for many years and I couldn't wait to go there. For those who are unfamiliar with how game viewing works in Etosha I will attempt to describe it. If one is staying in a private reserve such as Ongava game viewing is done there in the afternoons and night drive. Unfortunately off-roading is forbidden so any sightings must been done from the roads which are not nearly as numerous as lets say Mombo and the foliage much higher so a lion or other animal could be 10' away and be invisible even if you knew it was there. One night drive we heard lions at a direction just behind us and the ranger says we can't get there and went in the opposite direction. If we weren't lucky enough to bump into the white rhinos we would have seen literally nothing outside the lodge's waterhole. Interestinly the waterhole had lots of activity with kudu, oryx, impala, giraffe, black rhinos and a leopard at night(we didn't see the leopard and that's another story aagh!)
The guide at Ongava Lodge was probably the worst I have ever had in Africa. He would stop the vehicle turn around and say "this is a wildebeest, thank you" and wait to see if we wanted to take a picture. His English was barely passable which was odd because the rest of the lodge was filled with Italian speaking tourists who had guides whose first language was English. The morning drives were held in Etosha which is a national park. Just getting to the park is a bit of an ordeal...sort of like getting to fishing grounds for those deep sea fisherman in the crowd. Passing through park gates, signing in with the throng of self drive tourists. The process is to drive to waterholes and wait as loads of animals come to the waterhole and interact with one another. While not a zoo, it is a bit odd to sit on benches along with 25-100 other people or on a vehicle waiting for animals to show up. You travel on a tarmac at 30-50mph to get from waterhole to waterhole with dust flying all around and having to shut your window every time another car passes you so you do not end up covered in dust. The photo of the dark chanting goshawk was taken on the road and at least 10 vehicles zoomed past me as I tried to take the picture. We drove over an hour without seeing a single animal at 35mph to reach Etosha pan at the far reaches of the park hoping to see lions which occasionally are found there. No lions, a few ostriches about 200meters away, 2 jackals and a few impalas...on our way back (another 1hr of no animals at 35mph) another vehicle flagged us down to ask whether we had seen any lions and when we replied no they made a U-turn and went in the other direction. The closest we got to a quality sighting was mating lions but they were so far away (300meters) that it was only through binoculars that we could see any interaction. Again it was off-road so there was no way to get there. To be perfectly honest the first waterhole where there were about 100 people because it is part of a tourist accomodation was the best because there were hundreds of various animals that would come to drink and interact...so if you had never seen a kudu, zebra, impala, oryx it was fine. I suspect this is more the norm but I am sure that others have seen lions, rhino and the like at the waterholes but its just not the way I like to find and view my sightings. I have never done a self drive but this is the one place I might do it as it is very manageable and one can stay as long as one wants at any waterhole...we were ushered from one to another despite our protestations.
I actually liked Ongava Lodge as far as the physical property, food and most of the other staff. We just got a bad ranger who laughed when he mentioned that we missed the large male leopard at the waterhole 15 min after we left dinner....why is this a big deal, #1 he knew we were interested in seeing a leopard and the room is 2 minutes from the dining room and #2 our room overlooked the water hole so had they come down to our room all we would have had to do is look out the back. It wasn't as though it was 1am when we would have been asleep. It was just the icing on the cake of a miserable experience. I felt very strongly that Wilderness-Safaris in this case had dropped the ball...they didn't know we were veteran safari goers and should have had a ranger with better communicative skills with us. We also had another couple put into our vehicle with our 5 (total of 7) while other groups went out as 2 or 3 (not private vehicles...we asked). The couple who was with us chose not to go out on the property the second day and instead went on a walk...we should have as well as they encountered a lion on their walk. We also had our vehicle break down twice and our replacement vehicles had horrible suspension and a broken radio so that the black rhino daytime sighting by the other groups was missed by us. All in all not a great experience.
If I were to go back again I would go to the Skeleton Coast, Damaraland and certainly Sossusvlei and avoid Etosha at all costs. Just my $.02 (actually a little more
)
Regards,
Eric
The guide at Ongava Lodge was probably the worst I have ever had in Africa. He would stop the vehicle turn around and say "this is a wildebeest, thank you" and wait to see if we wanted to take a picture. His English was barely passable which was odd because the rest of the lodge was filled with Italian speaking tourists who had guides whose first language was English. The morning drives were held in Etosha which is a national park. Just getting to the park is a bit of an ordeal...sort of like getting to fishing grounds for those deep sea fisherman in the crowd. Passing through park gates, signing in with the throng of self drive tourists. The process is to drive to waterholes and wait as loads of animals come to the waterhole and interact with one another. While not a zoo, it is a bit odd to sit on benches along with 25-100 other people or on a vehicle waiting for animals to show up. You travel on a tarmac at 30-50mph to get from waterhole to waterhole with dust flying all around and having to shut your window every time another car passes you so you do not end up covered in dust. The photo of the dark chanting goshawk was taken on the road and at least 10 vehicles zoomed past me as I tried to take the picture. We drove over an hour without seeing a single animal at 35mph to reach Etosha pan at the far reaches of the park hoping to see lions which occasionally are found there. No lions, a few ostriches about 200meters away, 2 jackals and a few impalas...on our way back (another 1hr of no animals at 35mph) another vehicle flagged us down to ask whether we had seen any lions and when we replied no they made a U-turn and went in the other direction. The closest we got to a quality sighting was mating lions but they were so far away (300meters) that it was only through binoculars that we could see any interaction. Again it was off-road so there was no way to get there. To be perfectly honest the first waterhole where there were about 100 people because it is part of a tourist accomodation was the best because there were hundreds of various animals that would come to drink and interact...so if you had never seen a kudu, zebra, impala, oryx it was fine. I suspect this is more the norm but I am sure that others have seen lions, rhino and the like at the waterholes but its just not the way I like to find and view my sightings. I have never done a self drive but this is the one place I might do it as it is very manageable and one can stay as long as one wants at any waterhole...we were ushered from one to another despite our protestations.
I actually liked Ongava Lodge as far as the physical property, food and most of the other staff. We just got a bad ranger who laughed when he mentioned that we missed the large male leopard at the waterhole 15 min after we left dinner....why is this a big deal, #1 he knew we were interested in seeing a leopard and the room is 2 minutes from the dining room and #2 our room overlooked the water hole so had they come down to our room all we would have had to do is look out the back. It wasn't as though it was 1am when we would have been asleep. It was just the icing on the cake of a miserable experience. I felt very strongly that Wilderness-Safaris in this case had dropped the ball...they didn't know we were veteran safari goers and should have had a ranger with better communicative skills with us. We also had another couple put into our vehicle with our 5 (total of 7) while other groups went out as 2 or 3 (not private vehicles...we asked). The couple who was with us chose not to go out on the property the second day and instead went on a walk...we should have as well as they encountered a lion on their walk. We also had our vehicle break down twice and our replacement vehicles had horrible suspension and a broken radio so that the black rhino daytime sighting by the other groups was missed by us. All in all not a great experience.
If I were to go back again I would go to the Skeleton Coast, Damaraland and certainly Sossusvlei and avoid Etosha at all costs. Just my $.02 (actually a little more
)Regards,
Eric
Feb 5th, 2007, 10:17 AM
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I thank you for your reply ...I tried what I thought was the right sequence of symbols but not correct...although not totally inappropriate for my profession. But I have become much smarter in the last 5 minutes ;-)
Regards,
Eric
Regards,
Eric
Feb 5th, 2007, 10:40 AM
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Eric,
Thanks so much for your clear explanation. Though Namibia isn't next on my list, it does help to have a clearer picture of Etosha in order to have realistic expections. Thanks for the candid account of your experiences. I can certainly feel your frustration at the camp and your guide. It was unfortunate.
cw
Thanks so much for your clear explanation. Though Namibia isn't next on my list, it does help to have a clearer picture of Etosha in order to have realistic expections. Thanks for the candid account of your experiences. I can certainly feel your frustration at the camp and your guide. It was unfortunate.
cw
Feb 5th, 2007, 11:49 AM
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Hello Eric,i have to completely disagree with you with regards Etosha.I know it is not the best place to feel a wilderness experience,but i spend 3 of my best days there and if you get there the first in the morning you can have some wonderful private sightseeings in one of the waterholes.
Please,take a look at some of the pictures i took in my 3 day self drive visit.The first 10 are at Ongava(the next 40 are in Etosha)Ongava was not bad, but i agree with you is not the place to visit Etosha,that is much better on your on.
I like wildlife photography and i think Etosha can be one of the better places for wildlife photography,i would recommended if that is the main interest.
Namibia it fantastic,landscape is amazing but 3 or 4 days at Etosha with the Namib,Kaokoland and Skeleton coast can be the best vacation of your life,it was for me.
Paco.
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/g...asp?mem=197302
Please,take a look at some of the pictures i took in my 3 day self drive visit.The first 10 are at Ongava(the next 40 are in Etosha)Ongava was not bad, but i agree with you is not the place to visit Etosha,that is much better on your on.
I like wildlife photography and i think Etosha can be one of the better places for wildlife photography,i would recommended if that is the main interest.
Namibia it fantastic,landscape is amazing but 3 or 4 days at Etosha with the Namib,Kaokoland and Skeleton coast can be the best vacation of your life,it was for me.
Paco.
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/g...asp?mem=197302
Feb 5th, 2007, 12:15 PM
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Lovely photos and I am glad your experience at Etosha was better than mine. Thousands of people go there an it is considered one of the world's great wildlife spots...just not for me.
I will suggest that you doing it as a self drive may be key in your success. You were able to be patient, go where and when you wanted while we felt very rushed. I have sat for 4 hours in one spot watching animal interaction so being constantly on the move is not for me.
Regards,
Eric
I will suggest that you doing it as a self drive may be key in your success. You were able to be patient, go where and when you wanted while we felt very rushed. I have sat for 4 hours in one spot watching animal interaction so being constantly on the move is not for me.
Regards,
Eric
Feb 5th, 2007, 12:53 PM
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Eric,
Your account makes me so glad once again that I have a good agent who understands my preferences. In the early days, I asked about Namibia, with Etosha as well as the landscape in mind. Not for you, she replied, quite emphatically. You're probably right about self-drive being the key to Paco's success, and I know he's not alone in loving that destination, but having to dodge hordes of other people doesn't sit well with me.
John
Your account makes me so glad once again that I have a good agent who understands my preferences. In the early days, I asked about Namibia, with Etosha as well as the landscape in mind. Not for you, she replied, quite emphatically. You're probably right about self-drive being the key to Paco's success, and I know he's not alone in loving that destination, but having to dodge hordes of other people doesn't sit well with me.
John
Feb 5th, 2007, 01:22 PM
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Eric- "I love the 300mm lens but to be honest I missed the 100-400 lens that
my son commandeered."
Yes, the zoom flexibility! I took both prime lens and 100-400 in 2002 (and used the prime most of the time). The trip after that, I took only the 100-400, and was sorry I did so, despite the fact that it's a very good lens. Last trip, Yvonne used the 100-400 while I used the 300/2.8 and had the same advantage over me that your son had over you. But almost everything about photography is a compromise, and I'm willing to forego the flexibility in favour of the higher quality image of the good prime lens. Besides,<i> as a team</i>, we missed very little. While she used the rapid fire 1D Mark 2 with zoom for the action, I got plenty of vital practice swapping between 1.4x and 2x and no teleconverters. We both have good sturdy monopods.
John
my son commandeered."
Yes, the zoom flexibility! I took both prime lens and 100-400 in 2002 (and used the prime most of the time). The trip after that, I took only the 100-400, and was sorry I did so, despite the fact that it's a very good lens. Last trip, Yvonne used the 100-400 while I used the 300/2.8 and had the same advantage over me that your son had over you. But almost everything about photography is a compromise, and I'm willing to forego the flexibility in favour of the higher quality image of the good prime lens. Besides,<i> as a team</i>, we missed very little. While she used the rapid fire 1D Mark 2 with zoom for the action, I got plenty of vital practice swapping between 1.4x and 2x and no teleconverters
. We both have good sturdy monopods.John
Feb 5th, 2007, 01:33 PM
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John, I agree with you totally regarding image quality. The however is my son is so much better than I am that his shots with the 100-400 are heads and shoulders better than mine. I always joke that we take the same image and it looks like we are in 2 different countries! So to be sure we captured everything but I certainly missed more with the 100-400 than I captured better with the 300. Now what did that prompt me to do...get a 500mm for my next trip and have even less flexibility 
Can't wait for leopard tonsil shots!
Actually what it does is just the opposite...it will allow me to be less intrusive and still get the shots.
Regards,
Eric
Can't wait for leopard tonsil shots! Actually what it does is just the opposite...it will allow me to be less intrusive and still get the shots.
Regards,
Eric
Feb 5th, 2007, 01:53 PM
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Eric and John,
i don't like hordes of people around me wen at a sightseeing and i can tell you that at Etosha we manage to scape of that.
We where staying at a lodge 10 minutes drive outside the east park gate.We where at the gate at ten to six every morning,no other vehicle.
First day we went to Groot Okevi water hole hoping to see leopard.We didn't, but we had the waterhole for ourselves for 2 hours.We had a giraffe come to drink,zebras,sprinbook,guinea fowls,sandgrooses,facoceros and finally a hiena.Only 2 hours later a car drove by,stay 5 minutes and left.
After 8 in the morning more cars start to drive but there is always places that are not crowded.
At midday,we decided to go to Aroe waterhole because they have seen lions over there.This waterhole is a bit far east.We arrived there and found no people but 11 lions where there.We spend about half and our taking pictures.Then we ate our sandwich there for about another 30 minutes and then one car arrived at the waterhole to look at the lions for 5 to 10 minutes and leave.1o minutes later 3 orix came to drink and we had for ourselves the interaction between lions and orix for about 15 minutes,no cars present.
In the afternoon we went to Klein Namutomi waterhole for the best ligth.Firts we did the Dick dick drive and got to see 11 dick dicks,only cross one car.Then at the waterhole there where 2 cars,one of them left after ten minutes.We move to the other side of the waterhole with no cars in there and spend about 30 minutes seen and photographing tens of giraffes passing in front of us and against the sunset,wonderful.
Chudop and Kalkhewel where another fantastic waterholes with not many people.
We got to see Giraffes,elephants,kudus,impalas,orix,sprinbooks,l ions,wildebeest,hienas,warthogs,elands,black rhinos,red hartebeest,jackals and lots of raptors in 3 days,and most important we had lots of these moments to ourselves.Maybe this is not the norm but is our experience.
I do find that the western part of the park was more crowded,but we only spend there our last day.The east part was fantastic for us and as i mentioned with not many people.I love to sit and listen to the birds,its wonderful to hear noise behind the bush and wait to see what will appear in a few seconds??.
Our experience was great,self drive had everything to do with it.
Paco.
i don't like hordes of people around me wen at a sightseeing and i can tell you that at Etosha we manage to scape of that.
We where staying at a lodge 10 minutes drive outside the east park gate.We where at the gate at ten to six every morning,no other vehicle.
First day we went to Groot Okevi water hole hoping to see leopard.We didn't, but we had the waterhole for ourselves for 2 hours.We had a giraffe come to drink,zebras,sprinbook,guinea fowls,sandgrooses,facoceros and finally a hiena.Only 2 hours later a car drove by,stay 5 minutes and left.
After 8 in the morning more cars start to drive but there is always places that are not crowded.
At midday,we decided to go to Aroe waterhole because they have seen lions over there.This waterhole is a bit far east.We arrived there and found no people but 11 lions where there.We spend about half and our taking pictures.Then we ate our sandwich there for about another 30 minutes and then one car arrived at the waterhole to look at the lions for 5 to 10 minutes and leave.1o minutes later 3 orix came to drink and we had for ourselves the interaction between lions and orix for about 15 minutes,no cars present.
In the afternoon we went to Klein Namutomi waterhole for the best ligth.Firts we did the Dick dick drive and got to see 11 dick dicks,only cross one car.Then at the waterhole there where 2 cars,one of them left after ten minutes.We move to the other side of the waterhole with no cars in there and spend about 30 minutes seen and photographing tens of giraffes passing in front of us and against the sunset,wonderful.
Chudop and Kalkhewel where another fantastic waterholes with not many people.
We got to see Giraffes,elephants,kudus,impalas,orix,sprinbooks,l ions,wildebeest,hienas,warthogs,elands,black rhinos,red hartebeest,jackals and lots of raptors in 3 days,and most important we had lots of these moments to ourselves.Maybe this is not the norm but is our experience.
I do find that the western part of the park was more crowded,but we only spend there our last day.The east part was fantastic for us and as i mentioned with not many people.I love to sit and listen to the birds,its wonderful to hear noise behind the bush and wait to see what will appear in a few seconds??.
Our experience was great,self drive had everything to do with it.
Paco.
Feb 5th, 2007, 02:00 PM
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Eric,
The prime I had in 2002 was the 400/2.8, and I used it most of the time with 2x. So, yes, some tonsil shots. But the longer focal length does enable you to be less intrusive and (I believe) get more candid images. The pros and very serious amateurs usually <i>start</i> at 500mm before they even think of teleconverters (again, for quality reasons). They usually also have second and third bodies handy, fitted with zooms. Ah, wouldn't it be nice....
John
The prime I had in 2002 was the 400/2.8, and I used it most of the time with 2x. So, yes, some tonsil shots. But the longer focal length does enable you to be less intrusive and (I believe) get more candid images. The pros and very serious amateurs usually <i>start</i> at 500mm before they even think of teleconverters (again, for quality reasons). They usually also have second and third bodies handy, fitted with zooms. Ah, wouldn't it be nice....
John
Feb 5th, 2007, 02:07 PM
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Paco,
Sounds pretty good, and I'm pleased for you. Self-drive certainly does seem the answer. I shudder, though, at even having to think about avoiding other vehicles, and it would be on my mind just about all the time at Etosha, I fear. I'm incorrigible when it comes to such things
John
Sounds pretty good, and I'm pleased for you. Self-drive certainly does seem the answer. I shudder, though, at even having to think about avoiding other vehicles, and it would be on my mind just about all the time at Etosha, I fear. I'm incorrigible when it comes to such things
John
Feb 5th, 2007, 04:14 PM
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I have added a series of photos of an elephant river tributary crossing. John you would appreciate that this sighting was witnessed by only the five of us, ranger and a few crocs and hippos
Regards,
Eric
Regards,
Eric
Feb 5th, 2007, 05:31 PM
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Lovely, Eric...absolutely fantastic. The sequence concentrating on the little bloke trying to scale the bank is wonderful. And yes, I do appreciate the lack of spectator density . It makes the viewing all the more valuable.
John
. It makes the viewing all the more valuable.John
Feb 5th, 2007, 05:44 PM
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Thank you Eric and PacoAhedo for your Etosha experiences. I'm keeping your views in mind for a very future Namibia trip.
Eric, back to the cheetah on the vehicle. Did you answer where that was? Could you also tell us when? I'm thinking near Little Governor's in the Mara.
Eric, back to the cheetah on the vehicle. Did you answer where that was? Could you also tell us when? I'm thinking near Little Governor's in the Mara.
