Ian

Oryx in Namibia 2016


Wild dogs in Kruger SA 2017


Rescue chimp at Chimp Eden in SA 2017

sf7307

Now more than ever I hope we can get there next year (or the year after, if necessary to wait). Wonderful photos.

Heimdall

If you look at the Mar-Apr 2018 album with the Bo-Kaap photo in my post #10, near the end are some photos taken at the Castle of Good Hope. I moved into the album an earlier photo taken in January 2015 of the same guide when he wore dreadlocks. When we came back for the tour in April 2018 I didn't say a word, just held my phone so he could see the photo. When he saw the photo his jaw dropped, and he wanted to show it to everyone else in the group.

We became good friends that day, and he entertained us with the clicking sounds made in the Xhosa and Khoisan languages of the Cape. If you've never heard the clicks yourself, you would be amazed at hearing them in the middle of a sentence! I've tried to make the clicks myself, and find them impossible to emulate.

crellston

Great shots Heimdall. Looked like a fun wedding! Loved the ones around Chapmans Peak, Houts Bay Etc. Seems like a very long time since we did that drive. Re the Xosha tongue clicking, I saw a South African Stand Up, Trevor Noah incorporate that into his routine once - mesmerising!

Ian

We have only made four trips to Africa. Morocco. South Africa & Namibia. And then two trips to SA for Kruger with a few days in eSwatini. Each time I felt some immediate connection, one that I have never felt in any other country or continent. I’ll have to give Johnny Clegg the credit. And in these strange times, the peace we felt in a remote camp in Kruger is extremely enticing.


Kruger 2017 She is watching . . .


Proof that elephants need respect.


Betty's Bay SA 2016. Penguins can read!


Off the beaten path. Lost in the souks of Marrakesh.

sundowner

My first solo trip to Africa in 2003 was to South Africa with a guide who was recommended by a lady I met on the internet. My family thought I was crazy.

I was ​​​​​ told they had been seeing an aardvark (anteater) and a porcupine at one place I was going. I really wanted to see the porcupine (still do!) but look what I saw! I was totally new to photography and really had no idea what I was doing but I was super excited when this turned out.

crellston

So that’s what an aardvark looks like

Heimdall

Sundowner, you were very lucky to see one of those rare animals, and that is an excellent photo!

I can't recall anything like that in my experience, and have never seen wild dogs, either, an animal on my wish list. One story I have to tell was when I saw my first serval, a small spotted cat. Some of you reading this thread will say you've seen them lots of times, but it was an animal I longed to see, and hadn't before, until a long layover at Nairobi Airport. We had a 12 hour layover between a flight from Kigali and another flight home to London, and couldn't bear the thought of spending all that time in the transit lounge, as we had already done on the way to Rwanda.

The other three in the group had never been on safari, so we decided to hire a driver for the day and go to Nairobi National Park, a little gem just outside the city. My expectations weren't high, but it turned out to be a very good day. Looking in one direction you can easily see the skyscrapers of Nairobi, so it isn't exactly out in the bush, but NNP has a diverse population of animals. We saw buffalo, giraffe, rhino, and various species of antelope.

We stayed rather late, and were in danger of not getting to the gate before it closed for the day. As we were rushing back to the park entrance a small cat started crossing the road, then stopped. Our driver, who was more used to urban Nairobi, stopped the van and said, "Look at the leopard!". It seemed too small to be a leopard, and suddenly I realised there was my serval! It stopped in the middle of the road, looking as if to say: "What are you doing here? You should be gone by now!" By that time the light was fading and I couldn't get a good photo, but we made it out of the park before the gate closed.

My daughter, who is married to a South African, began the relationship with her husband on a year-long overland trip in a Land Rover, nicknamed "Charlie", from London to Cape Town. I said at the time if they can survive a year together in a Land Rover they are made for each other, and so it has proven to be. Most of the trip was in Africa, where they stopped at many game parks on the way. One of the highlights of the trip was their time spent in Namibia, where they teamed up with two professional photographers who had a permit to visit the Himba people in an authentic tribal village.

During the trip they updated their blog, with my daughter doing the writing and son-in-law taking most of the photos. The blog is very long, but divided in into segments by date, so you can skip over the parts you aren't interested in. They arrived in Egypt in November 2012, and the segments before that were in Europe. At the end of each segment are thumbnails of photos, so you can skip over the writing if you only want to look at the photos. I warn you, there are hundreds of photos!
https://charliesoverlandadventure.wordpress.com

Gardyloo

A few from around SA -

Sunrise, Plettenberg Bay



Along the Garden Route



Zulu village, central Drakensberg



Three Rondavels, Panorama Route



Paternoster



Spring in the Winelands



...and at West Coast National Park

Songdoc

Wow. These are all stunning photos.
I'm hopeful that my September safari will not be cancelled. In the meantime, I am up close with these rare Hawaiian wildcats that I am fostering...