Spring flowers

It is spring and the country side is a blaze of colour, but one aspect about living in the Eastern Cape is that no matter what month it is you will always find flowers.

A trip to the van Staden's Wild Flower Reserve this weekend provided a delightful feast for the senses.

King protea opening up

The Pincushion protea (Leucospermum cuneiforme) is putting on a magnificent display.

Strelitzia regina also known as the crane flower or bird of paradise.

The quick and the dead

Dead trees standing starkly in a field of lush green grass.

This was one of those unhappy moments in the life of a photographer when I realised that I had accidentally moved the settings dial and over exposed the photo. The result was not what I expected, but after playing around with the contrast and luminescence settings I ended up quite liking the result.  I do so love the digital era.

Skywatch Friday - Fifty Shades of Blue

Travelling between the towns of Aberdeen and Klipplaat I stopped to photograph a row of sisal plants, when another photo opportunity presented itself, in the form of a troop of vervet monkeys that had been feeding on the pods. This guy kind of blended in with the sky.....well ever so slightly.

Many more super pictures from around the world can be viewed at the Skywatch page.

An interlude in the rain

Today brought some very welcome rain to the Eastern Cape and while many of the animals at Addo did not appreciate the cold that accompanied it, this Cape Longclaw took full advantage of the situation by having a bath in a puddle, in the road.

In a forest of legs

It never ceases to amaze me how caring and protective elephants are of the new born calves.

It seems like being in the herd could be a dangerous place for these little guys, but somehow those big feet miss them and the little ones are able to move inside the herd quite safely.

Adventures with Koos - Camdeboo National Park

What would have been a trip to a local dietitian for most normal families ended up being a 600 km round trip, for me and Suzie. You see the dietitian she chose for us to see is based in Somerset East, about 180 kms from our front door and from there we decided to head for Graaf Reinet, a further 124 km away as we had heard that snow had fallen in the area. Needless to say any traces of snow had long since vanished by the time we got there, but that was no hardship as the country side is nothing short of spectacular.

And then we very foolishly decided to spend the night in a safari tent at the Camdeboo National Park. At any other time of the year it would have been great, but the next day we learnt the temperature had dropped -4 degrees centigrade. It was no wonder when we went to bed we were swathed in winter pajamas, scarves and beanies and a pile of blankets and duvets. Only our eyes and noses visible as we snuggled in our beds and great clouds of vapour filled the tent when we breathed out.

One generally associates Graaf Reinet with the Valley of Desolation, but the next day our sight seeing took us up the Koedoeskloof 4x4 trail  where were greeted by these spectacular views of the plains of the Camdeboo.

If you want to experience this view the only way up this mountain is in a 4x4 and it is well worth the trip.

The road has, I believe been upgraded, but I would still recommend low range 4x4 going up.

So, going to the dietitian does not have to be a boring or routine visit.

Skywatch Friday - To "capture" a vervet.

When I took this picture I never really has Skywatch in mind, because I was trying to photograph a vervet monkey, minus most of his tail. As luck would have it I had taken off my big lens and was somewhat limited in my zooming capabilities, but I liked the final result.

On the road to Huntly Glen near Bedford

For many wonderful pictures from around the world visit the Skywatch Friday site.

Turning season

I made the comment the other day that we are having a particularly mild Winter and immediately had one of those, "oh dear" moments when I reaslised it was still Autumn. Well maybe, we will and maybe we won't have a cold winter. We just have to wait and see, but I expect it will be rather a cold one, for this part of the world anyway.

For now I will just enjoy the scenes as the seasons turn..........

Poplar trees starting to shed their leaves outside Bedford

Skywatch Friday - Milky Way

We just don't get skies like this in the city and it is always a joy to get out into the country where the sky is wide and clear.

This shot of the Milky Way taken at the Mountain Zebra National Park in the early hours of the morning.

More sky pictures from around the world can be seen at the Skywatch site.

Misty morning

Chose a very misty and rainy morning to cross the Zuurberg Pass. We did not see much of the view, but the atmosphere was great.

Flower power - Zantedeschia

Zantedeschia, or the arum lily as it is known in South Africa is neither a lily nor an arum. If you use them as cut flowers just remember that beneath the outer veneer of beauty they are poisonous, because of the presence of calcium oxalate.

My one field guide says that it does have medicinal uses. The leaves are warmed as a poultice for sores and boils and warmed leaves are placed on the forehead for headaches. Not being into traditional medicines, I have never tried it and don't recommend that anyone does.

Ticks on the hoof

With the onset of summer and after the good rains the ticks at Addo started to flourish and it did not take long for the game to be invested with these parasites. But one animal's misery is another's opportunity. 

This warthog stood around contentedly for ages, while the Cape Glossy Starlings picked away at the ticks that covered his body. They provided a feast for these enterprising birds.

City lights

The Port Elizabeth beach front at night. Conditions were perfect for night photography, a full moon, no wind and a spring low tide.

The little guy

A new born elephant calf at the Addo Elephant National Park, He seems so small and fragile amongst the bigger guys.

I must go down to the sea again

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is ............to be able to enjoy it from terra firma, because that way I do not have to endure getting sea sick or getting covered in spray.

Apologies to John Masefield, and I do enjoy the sea but when I go there it must be on my terms.

These pictures were taken on the wild side at Cape St Francis, on a day when the sea was not too rough and the sun was at the right position to bring out the different shades of blue and green.

 I stood on the shore, like the good land lubber I am, and just fired away as the waves came rolling in.

Exploding wave................it might not be rough but there was enough power in the waves for some spectacular effects.

 

I love the colours in the swirling foam and water.......

That's how I like the sea. Close enough to enjoy it but not close enough to get wet, with both feet on solid ground.

Addo Trip #3 - Getting back to the lions

This is the young male who waited at the water hole the day before, for the hartebeest to arrive. This morning he was enjoying basking in the early morning sun.

After looking for the lions for four years, it was nice to get up close and personal - well not too close and personal.

Addo Trip #2 - The big and the small

When I head out into the bush I enjoy all the animals, from the smallest to the largest, whether it is striped field mouse or an elephant. They all have their own beauty, strange behaviours and appeal and I can spend hours watching them.

This striped field mouse was hanging around us at Jack's picnic spot, hoping for a handout. Of course being near the bottom of the food chain he also makes a nice meal for a raptor. We had in fact observed one of his relatives being devoured with great gusto a few minutes earlier, but never told him.

We got to know these young bulls over the two days of driving around. They were like naughty young boys, who were the best of friends, yet were constantly sparring, to see who was the strongest. They were quite amusing to watch and I will post more pictures of their antics one of these days.

Here they were enjoying a mud bath to cool of from the heat of the day, at the same water hole where the lions were reigning supreme the day before.

Addo Trip - Time for the lions #1

I don’t enter many competitions and generally don’t win anything, but, last year I was delighted to win a weekend away for two at the Addo Elephant National Park.  All I had to do was post a picture of me that was taken at the Park, and the rest is history.

This weekend Suzi and I claimed our prize, which was a two night stay at the Matyholweni Camp. The camp is set on the side of a hill in a valley, where the only sounds to be heard were the songs of the birds and frogs and crickets around us. What a pleasant change from the sounds of the city.

This turned out to be one of our most memorable trips to the Park ever. It was almost as though a special show had been put on for us.

For the past four years we have been on the lookout for lions and were beginning to believe they were a myth, but on our last trip we did get to see two rather large males, which gave us hope. This time we had four sightings of six lions during our two day stay.

The highlight was coming across these three young lions. Well it did not seem like it at first.

After spending so much time looking for them I casually remarked to Sue, “Lions are such boring animals; all they do is lie around doing nothing.”
But Mother Nature must have heard me, for it was not a minute later that an unsuspecting hartebeest came strolling down the hill for a drink of water. When he was still a long way off the seemingly comatose large male suddenly came alive and all the sat up fully alert. The three seemed to have a quick confab.

The large male then he ran off into the bush to the left of the waterhole and the female ran off to the right. The third fellow just made himself comfortable and remained where he was. “Lazy bugger,” I thought.

It was only when the unsuspecting hartebeest arrived that I realised I was witnessing the lions hunting strategy first hand. By this stage the young male was crouching low ready to launch himself, at what he must have believed was his dinner.

The hartebeest quickly realised his blunder and only had one option open to him and that was to make good his escape through the field in front of him – not realising there were two more lions lying in wait, for that exact move.
When the lion launched himself, the hartebeest took off, as only a hartebeest with a lion in pursuit can take off. In a matter of seconds there was nothing to be seen as hey disappeared over the ridge and we were left wondering whether the poor creature had been caught or not.

A few minutes later we had the answer, as the three unsuccessful and disconsolate hunters returned to the waterhole quite breathless.

They were soon stretched outagain, as only cats can, as though nothing had ever happened. Anyone who arrived after the hunt could be excused for thinking that butter would not melt in this fellow’s mouth.

Skywatch Friday - Turbulent Sky

The sky over Kleinpoort in the Karoo, looking very ominous.

Visit Skywatch for many more great pictures from around the world.

Karoo - Got to love this place

The Grootwinterhoek Mountains near Klipfontein, with the Cockscomb Mountain shrouded in mist. This has become one of my favourite places on the planet. It is also one of the few areas of the Karoo that has not been earmarked for fracking. If you are interested in preserving the Karoo and have not already done so,  please sign the online petition in the side bar.

Click photo to enlarge