Category: Kruger National Park

New: South Africa photo gallery now online

A baby monkey

We’re delighted to announce that the first batch of photos from our recent South African safari are now available in our Taraji Blue photo gallery. These have been a real labour of love for us. We travelled to Kruger National Park on a self drive in Jan 2012 and spent at least 12 hours in the field every day for 10 days. We gradually grew familiar to the 4am alarm and relished the chance to spend as much time as possible with the animals.

Dusk and dawn are the most fruitful times for wildlife photography. The animals are energised, the air is cool and the light bathes the bush in a gentle amber glow. It’s during these times we had some of our best sightings: jackel, wild dogs, rhino and lions.

These is our first release of our South African safari photos – there is more to follow once we have completed work on them. But we could not wait to share some with you. We hope you like them!

 

Our favourite place to visit in Africa is…

An African sunrise in Kenya

Gosh, that’s a hard question!

Because…

Kenya is incredible, for the sheer volume and variety of animals. It’s also an incredibly friendly country and the tribespeople are so welcoming. We spent quite a bit of time with Maasai and Samburu tribes, and loved interacting with the adults and children and learning from them.

Kenya’s Maasai Mara is just mind blowing. It is the ‘typical’ African bush…large open spaces dotted with the occasional leafless trees. The views extend for miles and miles and take your breath away. The sunrises and sunsets are incredibly quick but some of the most beautiful in the world. There’s nothing quite like watching and hearing the bush wake up / go to sleep every day. It’s a privilege and a dream come true.

But in South Africa we travelled further and saw a wider variety of environment. We had more control over our experiences and could make our own decisions and create our own adventure on a self drive. We had to work hard for what we saw, and put into practice all our learnings and experiences from previous safaris. We had to fend for ourselves, cook every meal, shop and constantly pack and unpack to move from location to location. When you invest so much of your personal effort into a place, it simply has to take over your heart, otherwise it’s not worth it!

It’s a dilemma. Can I go back this year and then let you know?

Countries aside, Africa as a whole has this incredible smell – it’s exotic and herby and it fills your senses the second you step foot off the plane. It’s hard to describe, but once you have inhaled it, it’ll never leave you. It’s alluring and never fails to excite you. It clings to your clothes, hair and nostrils, and on your last few days in the bush you’ll never want to wash the smell off in the hope that it survives beyond the airport and trip home. It never does 🙁

Photos from our Kenyan adventure are available in the TarajiBlue Kenya photo gallery.

Our adrenaline fuelled, nerve wrenching experiences in Africa

Wildebeest panic

It’s experiences like these that keep the blood flowing and ensure that you empty your wallet with repeat visits to Africa…

a) We have seen two cheetah kills. The first was a grown cub of one of the cheetahs which featured on the BBC’s Big Cat Diary. We watched her catch and kill a deer right before our very eyes. The second, was a mother cheetah and two cubs catching and killing a baby foal. The mother used it as an opportunity to teach the cubs how to hunt. They kept letting the foal escape and then catching it again. It was gruesome, but a true reminder of the circle of life.

b) We’ve witnessed the Great Migration in Kenya. We arrived at a river just in time to see hundreds and hundreds of wildebeest plough across the water, being attacked and drowned by huge crocodiles that would lurk under the water and attack at random. I think I screamed several times and barely drew breath the whole time we watch the spectacle, but it was incredible. You could sense the fear in the herd. They’d edge to the riverside and as the pressure would build and build from the hundreds of animals arriving at the scene, the animal at the front would be forced to either leap into the water or leap backwards, either way it’d cause mass hysteria and the scene would be shrouded by a wall of dust as the herds kicked up sand in all directions and splashes exploded from the water as the crocodiles leapt in to attack.

After the herds left we watched the crocodiles recover the carcasses of the wildebeest from holes in the riverbank (they’d use the river as a refrigerator) and rip the bodies to pieces and eat them. They cannot tear flesh, so they would grab the carcass in their jaws and turn themselves round and round in the water to rip the dead wildebeest to pieces. 

c) A baby bat (a tiny wee thing) got into our hut in South Africa. We worked with the ranger to try and catch it to release it. It was so small and disorientated it could not fly and kept running around our floor like a distressed mouse. We spent an hour trying to safely catch it – but in the process accidentally killed the animal.  It was heartbreaking, so upsetting and went against all we stand for and care about. It was a shocking reminder of our power on the planet and our responsibility to use it correctly.

Photos from our Kenyan safari are available in our TarajiBlue photo gallery. 

Witnessing the suffering of animals is not for the faint hearted!

A Cheetah hunts in Kenya, Africa

On our various trips to Africa we’d witnessed a few occasions where animals have been suffering. It’s never easy, and always raises a tear to your eye. But is a useful reminder of the fragility of the earth we live in, and that even the seemingly most powerful of animals are vulnerable.

  • We have witnessed a safari vehicle get in-between an elephant mother and her calf – the mother reared up and trumpeted, signalling that she was about to charge the vehicle to get to her baby. The calf was crying – I have never heard a noise like it. It was heart breaking, and a firm reminder that they are the true bosses of the bush!
  • We have seen two cheetah kills. The first was a grown cub of  one of the cheetahs which featured on the BBC Big Cat Diary. We watched her catch and kill a deer right before our eyes. The second, was a mother cheetah and two cubs catching and killing a baby foal. The mother used it as an opportunity to teach the cubs how to hunt. They kept letting the foal escape and then catching it again. It was gruesome, but a true reminder of the circle of life. 
  • We saw an elephant in South Africa who only had half a trunk. We think he must have lost the other half to a crocodile attack. It’s helplessness was saddening and alarming. There was nothing we could do but watch and pray that it survived another day. We revisited the environment a few times after the first sighting to check up on it – but we never saw him again. I still think about that ellie to this day. I hope he’s alive, stronger and surviving.
  • We have also seen other wounded elephants – for example a maimed elephant was abandoned by her herd in Samburu National Park, Kenya and we found her wandering the bush alone, hopping along on her three good feet.
  • And of course, the orphan elephants in the DSWT centre in Nairobi –I witnessed the most profound and emotional suffering I have ever seen in an animal. What angers me most is that this suffering is ‘natural’. It’s not Mother Nature’s circle of life.  We / humans caused it. It’s our fault. We’re monsters!

Tender moments with African wildlife

I Have Seen Tomorrow

Continuing my reflection of our times in Africa, I wanted to share with you some of our more tender moments experienced with the wildlife and the environment. It’s moments like these that draw you back to Africa time and time again…

a) In Kenya, our guide provided us with breakfast in the bush in true ‘Out of Africa’ style. We emerged cautiously from the vehicle into the open bush. Whilst we were taking in our surroundings our guide set up a folding table, covered it with a Maasai blanket and produced, seemingly out of no-where, the most incredible breakfast feast.  We sat in deckchairs in the middle of the Kenyan grasslands eating wonderful food, sipping tea and watching a heard of about 20 elephants walk right by us. They paused to eat from the acacia trees as if to join us in our breakfast. It brought tears to my eyes.

b) In the heat of the midday sun, a lioness who had been feasting on a wildebeest carcass came to shelter in the shadow of our LandRover.  She was an arm’s length away from us and just gazed into our eyes. Her mouth and fur was blood stained, and she was so close that we could see ourselves reflected in her eyes and hear her gentle panting .

c) Africa as a whole has this incredible smell – it’s exotic and herby and it fills your senses the second you step foot off the plane. It’s hard to describe, but once you have inhaled it, it’ll never leave you. It’s alluring and never fails to excite you.

Photos from our Kenya safaris are available in our TarajiBlue Kenyan photo gallery.