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Tag Archives: Safari
Stress
Whether you feel “I’ve-had-it-with-the-world-and-everything-in-it” hectic,
MALE LION BARING HIS FANGS – Schotia Safaris, South Africa
“get-out-of-my-face-I’m-having-a-bad-day” mad,
MALE LION SNARL – Schotia Safaris, South Africa
or “don’t-make-your-problems-mine” ratty,
LIONESS BARING HER FANGS – Schotia Safaris, South Africa
it pays to remember that stress arises inside.
In response
to a given stimulus,
Stress arises
inside
Allowed to rule,
it wreaks havoc
recognized, unresisted,
it recedes
Powerful,
potential teacher,
Stress offers options
on a silver platter
Succumb and suffer
or choose to transcend,
knowing that the choice
arises inside
©Naomi Estment
Quotes to consider:
“If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.” – George F. Burns
“Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries.” – Astrid Alauda
“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” – Hans Selye
“God will never give you anything you can’t handle, so don’t stress.” – Kelly Clarkson
“Give your stress wings and let it fly away.” – Terri Guillemets
“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” – Chinese Proverb
Related Articles
- Is Your Job Worth the Stress? (moneyning.com)
- Honeymoon Must-Haves: What to Wear on a Safari (onlineshoes.com)
“Mud, mud, glorious mud!”
This was certainly the case at Madikwe Game Reserve last week. In a show of sympathy for all those devastated by recent floods around the world, Johannesburg and surroundings have been drenched in downpours over the past while. Madikwe is a mere 3-odd hours’ drive from here, and seems to have shared in the rain too.
Luckily for us, we sneaked into a window of great weather and had the BEST time. Well, probably not better than the African Wild Dogs, who made a meal of the left-over puddles:
AFRICAN WILD DOG wallowing in mud – Madikwe Game Reserve, SA
AFRICAN WILD DOGS cavorting in the road – Madikwe Game Reserve, SA
It wasn’t all rosy, though, like one morning when a Landcruiser got stuck in the mud 😀 Our ranger saved the day, so we witnessed the good deed:
LANDCRUISER stuck in the mud – Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
BUSH RESCUE – Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
This was the reason for venturing off-road, which caused it all – understandable really!
TRACKS UNDERWATER – Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
Later, we struck it lucky, courtesy of more puddles, when two lionesses squatted to drink right beside our vehicle. Tell me it gets any better than this!
LIONESSES drinking – Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
There was more magic in store, thanks to the rain. The pan was a sea of yellow flowers:
RHINO & ELEPHANT in a sea of yellow flowers – Madikwe Game Reserve, SA
This is our head-ranger mate, Marc (of my previous post fame ;-)), getting down low with his Nikon. Don’t you just love it?
MARC LINDSAY-RAE in action – Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
As you can imagine, we had plenty to talk about at the gourmet dinner every evening:
MADIKWE SAFARI LODGE dining area – Madikwe Game Reserve, SA
I could carry on, but instead here are links to my Facebook albums, which tell a lot more: Handful of Highlights – MADIKWE, Jan 2011 Playing on the Pan – MADIKWE, Jan 2011
Related Articles
- A gift that keeps on giving… (naomiestment.wordpress.com)
- Lionesses caked in mud (dailymail.co.uk)
- Big 5 Travel that assists Local Communities (south-africa-travel.suite101.com)
- Celebrating Southern African Getaways (naomiestment.wordpress.com)
- Lion-el messy (thesun.co.uk)
Posted in Musings
Tagged Africa, African Wild Dog, Big Five, Facebook, Game Drive, Johannesburg, Lion, Lioness, Madikwe Game Reserve, Madikwe Safari Lodge, Nikon, Rhinoceros, Safari, South Africa, Wildlife photography
31 Comments
Judgement
Judgement can be unjust.
VULTURE COMING IN TO LAND – Moholoholo, Hoedspruit, South Africa
VULTURES FEEDING – Moholoholo, Hoedspruit, South Africa
It’s a steamy summer evening near the Kruger National Park. Anticipation spikes the sunset as we pull up to the ‘vulture restaurant’ at Moholoholo (“The Very Great One”) rehabilitation centre. A simple patch of sand to us, the spot is significant to the birds. Dozens of them. The moment the carcass thuds to earth, they swoop in from their circling. A bombardment of quietly beating feathers flares dust into the air, muffling soft tearing and crunching sounds. Not a single squawk is uttered.
Each species knows precisely what to do. Larger-beaked prey ‘openers’ jostle beside their cousins who pick the bones clean. The ten minute melee is marked by precision feeding, highlighted with huge hops and tugs of war, as well as the intermittent scampering of a warthog. He’s having dinner too, snatching morsels from the heaving heap.
As swiftly as it began, the meal is over; barely a scrap to mark the spot. A flurry of large bodies lifts off and flies away. No wonder Nature is not strewn with waste. Among the less endearing of her feathered set, vultures sometimes receive a bad rap. Perhaps not the prettiest, they each have a part to play. As we all do.
Quotes to consider:
“Judge a tree from its fruit, not from its leaves” – Euripides
“We judge others by their behavior. We judge ourselves by our intentions.” – Ian Percy
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” – Carl Gustav Jung
“The tendency to turn human judgments into divine commands makes religion one of the most dangerous forces in the world.” – Georgia Harkness
“. . . It’s one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it’s another to think that yours is the only path.” – Paulo Coelho
“Although I cannot lay an egg, I am a very good judge of omelettes” – George Bernard Shaw
Here are a few more pics taken by Dave:
VULTURES & MARABOU STORKS – Moholoholo, Hoedspruit, South Africa
WARTHOG WITH VULTURES – Moholoholo, Hoedspruit, South Africa
WHITEBACKED VULTURE – Moholoholo, Hoedpsruit, South Africa
WHITEBACKED VULTURE – Moholoholo, Hoedspruit, South Africa
Related Articles
- Enough Said – Hoedspruit, Limpopo, South Africa (travelpod.com)
Posted in Thought for the Day
Tagged Africa, Birds, Carl Gustav Jung, Euripides, George Bernard Shaw, Georgia Harkness, Hoedspruit, Ian Percy, Judgement, Kruger National Park, Marabou Storks, Moholoholo, Paulo Coelho, Photo-philosophy, Safari, Scavengers, South Africa, Travel and Tourism, Vultures, Wildlife
29 Comments
Khwai is calling, battling Hippo’s and all . . .
Selecting a calm, open spot along the winding Khwai river in the Okavango Delta, we loll beside our vehicles while Danie fires up the gas. He’s a master at the art of the skottel braai, tossing bacon and eggs like a ninja with a nunchaku. The aroma is enticing as the air is crisp, and we’re starving. It’s around 8:30 am, but we’ve been awake for ages, catching the best of the light ever since sunup.
Hippo’s blast lazily every so often, reminding me of Jeremy Mansfield’s brilliant impression. He had us in stitches one morning on Highveld Stereo, transporting us right here to one of our favourite places. The snorting intensifies, trapping our attention on two large beasts, intent on one-upmanship. Their teeth clack together for a good twenty minutes, against the lively orchestra of splashing water.
HIPPO CONTEST – Khwai River, Okavango Delta, Botswana
HIPPO CONTEST – Khwai River, Okavango Delta, Botswana
HIPPO CONTEST – Khwai River, Okavango Delta, Botswana
HIPPO CONTEST – Khwai River, Okavango Delta, Botswana
They’re still at it by the time we’ve wolfed down breakfast, so we mosey further along and drift into the day. Swinging past later on our afternoon drive, we find the pool more peaceful. That’s not to say there’s little to photograph. Game is abundant, but Dave is diverted by a branchful of Bateleurs. Climbing from the car, he creeps closer, avoiding heaps of dung while relishing the freedom of this stretch of land.
DAVE AT PLAY – Khwai River, Okavango Delta, Botswana
The raptors oblige, perching long enough for him to capture their beauty:
ADULT BATELEUR – Khwai River, Okavango Delta, Botswana
JUVENILE BATELEUR – Khwai River, Okavango Delta, Botswana
Related Articles
- Botswana: Safari Under Cover (audleytravel.com)
- Heart-warming pictures capture the tender moments between animals and their offspring (mirror.co.uk)
- The Caprivi Strip (audleytravel.com)
- Taking a punt on the polers of Botswana’s Okavango delta (guardian.co.uk)
- Picture Perfect [Snap Judgment] (jezebel.com)
Grace
Grace = Gift
KALAHARI SUNSET – Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana
We call it ‘Big Sky Country’, the Central Kalahari. Somehow the horizon seems more expansive. Parked alongside a pan in Passarge Valley, we contemplate the meeting point of Heaven and Earth. Mesmerized, we forget to sip our nicely chilled drinks and nibble on the cashew nuts. Regal Gemsbuck drift nearby, quietly crunching the rough grass. Further away, a Ground Squirrel family frolics above its burrows. We’re done filming them. That was exclusive to Golden Hour. Maybe they’ll humour us again in the morning.
Light lingers solely in the sky, gone from the sand. The first rumble of far-off roaring reaches our ears. Warm up for the hunt. Anticipation tingles through the evening air, tempered by a peculiar peace. ‘I have a theory,’ Dave murmurs. ‘It’s almost as if the animals enter a trance-like state, accepting that one of them will go down.’ He’s right, I muse. Predator and prey appear to share a primordial pact. Premeditated panic knows no place here. Only Grace.
Quotes to consider:
“I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief… For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” – Wendell Berry
“Grace is available for each of us every day – our spiritual daily bread – but we’ve got to remember to ask for it with a grateful heart and not worry about whether there will be enough for tomorrow.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach
“We cannot go faster than grace…If God will not go ahead with us, we must wait and go with God.” – Marcia Hollis
This is how the Gemsbuck looked a little earlier:
GEMSBUCK HERD – Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana
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Posted in Thought for the Day
Tagged Africa, Botswana, Buck, Central Kalahari, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Game Reserve, Gemsbuck, Golden Hour, Grace, Kalahari Desert, Marcia Hollis, Passarge Valley, Photo-philosophy, Safari, Sarah Ban Breathnach, sunset, Travel and Tourism, Wendell Berry, Wildlife
10 Comments