Botswana (large)

marlof

It took me forever, but I finally finished post processing my images from my trip to Zimbabwe and Botswana in October 2005.

We started off with a trip to the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. It was the dry season, so we didn't need the raincoats you wear in the wet season, to protect your from the spray.



Later on, we went to Botswana, where we visited Chobe, Savuti, the Moremi Strip and the Okavango Delta. In Chobe they have never culled the elephant population there, so this is paradise for elephant lovers. The population has grown so much, that they're exporting them to other countries now.



Being on the water in dark Africa means you're bound to be met by the smile of a hippo. Since they're the most dangerous animal in the African waters, the smile seemed less friendly when I was near in too small a boat.



We stayed in campsites, and travelled from location to location during the day. Things could get bloody hot, not just for us tourists, but also for the natives:



Finally meeting up with the wild dogs was one of the highlights in this trip. We've been looking for them on previous trips without success, so this was quite a cool sight. In all the excitement (trying to look with my own eyes as much as I could) I f'd up the focus, but hey....



We also saw some pussycats:





Before we left, we relaxed on a refreshing trip on the Okavango Delta. The water creates paradise on earth.



which we also saw from the air, in a tiny Cessna that didn't respond well to the hot air. In between supressing my nausea, I managed to take some shots.



More in the gallery Zimbabwe and Botswana 2005.

Marlof

PS: okay, okay, one of the birds we saw:



It's the African Jacana, also known as the Jesus Bird. More birds in the gallery above.

Osprey Whisperer

Some terrific shots Marlof. Looks like an amazing place to shoot wildlife. I enjoyed the show..thanks.

Richard

Nice series. I love the hippo (he says from the safety of his living room). Must have been a fabulous trip.

Regards,

Stan

Hi Marlof

Congratulations on the set, some stunning shots, I love the wild dogs and completely understand why you didn't manage to spend more time behind the camera whilst watching them. I would love to see them in thew wild.

Cheers
Stan

thebigsky

Must have been a great trip, I like your Hippo shot.

Skippy

marlof wrote:

It took me forever, but I finally finished post processing my images from my trip to Zimbabwe and Botswana in October 2005.

More in the gallery Zimbabwe and Botswana 2005.

Marlof

PS: okay, okay, one of the birds we saw:
It's the African Jacana, also known as the Jesus Bird. More birds in the gallery above.

Wow........you must have had a ball, even if the heat did knock you around a bit......Marlof I love the look on the Hippo's face that is just priceless.
Boy what a wonderful holiday that must have been ......thanks for sharing.
Skippy (Australia)

Harryb

#3 and #5

jwear

that's not your everday birdie shots very good stuff what a great trip and same with the photos

Dick on Aruba

Very nice series of some beautiful places. I think you had a great time.

Thanks for sharing.

Dick.

...enne...geen foto's van gevogelte uit eigen land?

raptorcaptor

Nice series! Thanks for sharing!

marlof

Thanks all. This has been our fifth trip to the African wildlife, and my first with a DSLR. At the moment, with allergies going wild, I can't smell a thing in my own place, but still, when I see these images I can smell the African savannah when it cools down from the day long heat. I can feel the dust grinding between my teeth. I can hear the hyenas sniffing around my tent. And when I close my eyes, I can again see the friendly people we've met on our travels. To me, that's what photography is all about.

Bird Man: Botswana is great. If you ever go to Chobe and Moremi, you think you've died and gone to heaven. It's a birders paradise.

Richard: He looks friendly, doesn't he, that hippo. Still I was looking down in the water to see if I saw dark shapes underneath our boat. To the bemusement of our guide.

Stan: yah, the wild dogs were a dream come true. When I'm on safari I try to watch with my naked eyes (no binoculars or tele) as much as possible. It gives a sense of being there that you can't get when focussing on the details.

thebigsky: this indeed was a great trip. Post processing these made me relive it, which was nice in itself.

Skippy: being from The Netherlands, I'm not really accustomed to any form of heat. Although the global warming has given us summers that are hotter and hotter, they can't hold a candle to what we went through there. It was all worth it though.

Harry: thanks. I'm not a birder, and I'd really love to see one of you guys going there and shooting these birds, doing them real justice.

jwear: my everyday birdie shot would be a dove flying in a cityscape. So yeah, this is really different.

Dick: I normally don't do birds. I enjoy the images you guys create, but personally I don't have the patience to go bird hunting.

raptorcaptor: thanks; if you want to go raptor capturing, Botswana is the place to be. Where else would you find a Tawny Eagle next to a Bateleur in a marsh?

And for all, I'll conclude with a little wink.

gus

Great series mate...i think we stood at almost the same place. What a noise !!

Cinda

These are wonderful and I looked through every one of your smugmug shots. A trip of a lifetime for sure! And the best part? No fences or concrete around the wildlife.

marlof

gus: Yeah, that was the same ridge. You went further along the ridge, and I stayed more in the bush. About the sound: they don't call it Mosi-oa-Tunya for nothing. When I went for another shot, it was a constant fight to get my front lens clear from waterdrops to take this shot (you can still see some, in the bottom of the tree on the right):



Cinda: yeah, the lack of fences is the best part. As a visitor, you most certainly get the feeling that you're on their turf. At one moment, a French lady in our vehicle shot a flash in the eyes of a lioness. The look she gave consequently made me realize that we humans aren't always on top of the food chain... To help me remember that, I made a more graphical version of her into my avatar here.

bfjr

Excellent!!
You bet I wanna go (somebody buy me a ticket )

You've shared your trip quite nicely here, enjoyed the words and images

gus

marlof wrote:

gus: Yeah, that was the same ridge. You went further along the ridge, and I stayed more in the bush. About the sound: they don't call it Mosi-oa-Tunya for nothing. When I went for another shot, it was a constant fight to get my front lens clear from waterdrops to take this shot (you can still see some, in the bottom of the tree on the right):

Do the 15 guys with raincoats for sale still chase you in there from that building near the car park ? Yeh ..its wet all right.

Dante

Great shots. I like #3 (hippo) the most!

-Dante

marlof

ben: birder's paradise, i tell ya.

gus: I was there in dry season. You don't need a raincoat then, since the falls are much smaller, and there's a lot less spray.

dante: thanks!

Hauer

Hi Marlof,

Stunning photo series! I resided many years on the African Continent and your photo's really bring back a lot of good memories.....

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers - Herman

marlof

Thanks, Herman. I'm glad to have helped jump kick those good memories!