The southern Free State province is an area of amazing beauty. The Karoo is vast, and the horizon is endless. The call of the Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus) echoes across the plains while the diminutive Clapper lark (Mirafra fasciolata) gives his distinctive display to all who wish to see. Home to countless birds and mammals this region must be explored at a relaxed pace.
The Sounds of Silence...the Karoo is a place with limited WiFi and very few homo sapiens, my type of heaven.
This was taken in the southern Free State 25kms west of Phillipolis.
This is what a giraffe does when he has an itchy belly !!!
I'm the first to admit that I no David Attenbourough, but I think that this dazzle of Zebra heading to a waterhole shows us how life goes on even in the harshest of conditions. This was taken when I took a client up to Namibia and we spent far too short a time in the fascinating Etosha National Park.
Crossing the Sneeuberg Mountains
At Samara Game reserve you drive up an impressive passto cross the Sneeuberg Mountains, once on top you get stunning views of the Greater Karoo.
Elephants playing in the Luvuvhu River, a joy to watch!
Tree climbing lionesses
On a recent tour, I had the amazing experience of watching two lionesses climbing trees. This is the first time I have ever witnessed such a thing, as usually lions do not climb so high.One associates this behaviour more with leopards.I think the reason for them doing this, was to try and avoid the midges which were such a nuisance. I have read that there is a pride somewhere in Kenya which are quite adept in tree climbing and use the trees as shelter and safety but I had never witnessed this before. They climbed to a height of about 5 metres and once they found a comfortable spot proceeded to relax and hopefully not bothered by the insects.
Amorous Giant Bullfrogs
Sometimes one tends to neglect the smaller happenings in the veld and we focus on the larger and exciting things. It’s not an everyday occurrence in witnessing the reproduction techniques of the Giant Bullfrog (Pyxicephalus adspersus) so when I saw this happening this past weekend I grabbed the camera and filmed!
The male Giant Bullfrog lives up to his name reaching a length of between 110-220mm and weighing an impressive 1,4kg! The female as seen in the movie clip is considerably smaller.
The African bullfrog is carnivorous and a voracious eater, eating insects, small rodents, reptiles, small birds and other amphibians. It is also a cannibalistic species — the male Giant bullfrog is known for occasionally eating the tadpoles he guards, so his parenting skills needs to be discussed.
Bullfrogs also bite when they are provoked. It is one of three frog species that have sharp teeth and bite when they are provoked or handled by humans
Breeding starts after heavy rain (initiated by 65 mm of rain over the previous day or two). They breed in shallow, temporary water bodies, such as pools, pans and ditches. Eggs are laid in the shallow edge of the pond, but fertilization takes place above water level.
The Giant bullfrog males call out during the rainy season. The call lasts about a second and can be described as a deep low-pitched whoop. Males have two breeding strategies, depending on their age. Young males congregate in a small area, perhaps only 1 or 2 square meters of shallow water. The larger males occupy the centre of these breeding arenas or leks and attempt to chase off other males. Often they fight, causing injury and even killing one another. The dominant male attempts to prevent other males from breeding. A female approaches the group of males by swimming along at the surface until she is within a few meters of the group. Then the female dives to avoid the smaller males and surfaces in the defended area of a larger male in the middle of the group. This helps to
Matenga Cultural Village in Swaziland
These energetic dancers from Matenga Cultural Village in Swaziland really get's the pulse racing. Their dancing is so good and the drums really add to the atmosphere.
Today, the 24th January marks the 116th anniversary of the battle of Spionkop. This battle fought between brave Boer and British soldiers was one of many in which General Sir Redvers Bullers attempt to relieve the besieged town of Ladysmith. The battle was fierce and brutal and the casualties where high, especially for the British.
On the battlefield there were men who were destined to effect the worlds history, these were Winston Churchill,Mahatma Gandhi and General Louis Botha (first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa).
To this day there is a section of the Anfield Football stadium in Liverpool known as the Kop, in memory of the Lancashire men who lost their lives during the battle.
I would recommend that if you wish to visit the famous battlefield then stay at the exquisite Three Tree Hill lodge (www.threetreehill.co.za). Here with magnificent views of Spionkop you will learn in detail the events of the battle and to walk in the footsteps of those brave men.
Two young elephants getting to know one another, Chobe river Botswana. Apologies for background chatter.....
Flying over the Okavango Delta, Botswana.
Semonkong Gorge
The gorge at Semonkong, the views are breathtaking and I would recommend the walk to the bottom for those who are brave enough.
Some video's of my recent trip to Lesotho. Apologies for the first one(cant seem to get it right way round!), still it's a great country regardless.
The highest single dropping falls in Africa, plummeting 186m into a spectacular gorge. This is how Semonkong-the place of Smoke- got it's name.
An intimate moment of the tigress with one of her cubs. Unfortunately I could not get a good visual due to the vegetation but at least you get a good idea. In any situation where you have a female and her cubs you must not disturb or pressure the animals so that you can get the "perfect" photo.
The white tigress calling for her cubs.
