On our latest trip to the Kruger I was lucky enough to have some close encounters with the resident birdlife. Below you can see a white-browed robin-chat, a Cape glossy starling and a crested barbet.
On my latest trip I had the privilege to see an African rock python lazing below a bridge.
African rock pythons are Africa’s largest species; on average, their length ranges from 3 to 3.5m.
The Kruger’s Wilderness Trails include a daily morning hike and a shorter evening walk or sundowner. After a tiring morning, our group opted for sundowners the first evening. Our guides drove us to a tranquil viewpoint, from which we could enjoy the sunset over one of the few rivers which have survived the drought.
In September we visited the Nyalaland Wilderness Trail, an isolated tented camp near Punda Maria Rest Camp in the Kruger National Park. The camp was in a beautiful and serene setting, overlooking a lovely river. A must-do for any reasonably fit nature lovers… who don’t mind a couple of days without electricity or running water!
Cape Town’s Muizenberg beach is famous for its very colourful beach huts – so, of course, my sister and I went for a walk there during sunset one evening.
Here are some more images from my trip to Cape Town: these are from World of Birds, a bird sanctuary in Hout Bay.
While I was in Cape Town, my sister and I visited the penguin colony at Boulders’ Beach. The very harsh midday light lent itself well to black and white photography.
While I was in Cape Town I stayed with my wonderful big sister. Every day we took her gorgeous puppy Star for a walk in the park or on the beach.
On New Years’ Eve, I flew down to Cape Town. Luckily I managed to get a window seat, so I spent part of the flight taking photos of the scenery out the window.
And when the clouds cleared, fields and roads on the earth below made for gorgeous abstracts.
Over the Christmas holidays, my family (my parents, 2 guinea pigs, and 3 beagles) and I stayed for a few nights at Saamrus Guest Farm in Magaliesburg.
The countryside around Saamrus is full of wonderful little critters. These vibrant locusts were everywhere, leaping from blade to blade:
At first sight, this locust might look far more prosaic than the above; but up close, it appeared to be carved from speckled marble. I photographed him inside our cottage, against a cream wall, with both my on-camera and off-camera flash.
This is the last of my images from our trip to Saamrus Guest Farm. If you’ve kept up with my posts from the trip, thank you – if not, you can see them here:
Through the Viewfinder 