Capturing the Moment

What looks like a mighty roar, is actually just a relaxing yawn, from this sleepy young male lion. But look at those teeth!   The Okavango Delta has always seemed like a far off, almost mythical place. I grew up seeing books and photos of it. Lions among palm trees, elephants wading through deep water. There were stories of having to sit up on top of the seat of the safari vehicle because you drove through water so deep it came over the floorboards. Having to take small bush planes to access the interior of the floodwaters. It has always seemed a place where the feeling of wild Africa permeates every moment. This is what I wanted to share with Greg and Sue on our epic 'Best of Africa' trip around the continent. We have experienced the Great Migration in the Serengeti, trekking with gorillas in the Virunga Mountains, and tracking leopards in Sabi Sand, but I wanted to finish with the feeling and experience that only the Okavango Delta can provide.

A male leopard seems to say ,"No, this is mine." as it takes a moment to break from his impala kill to stare right into the lens.   There is something so special about Sandibe Okavango Delta Safari Lodge. It is built to immerse you into the deep wilds of one of Africa's most stunning safari locations. The screens keep the bugs out, but allow all the nighttime sounds of the bush to filter in. In fact, last night I woke up around 2am to the sound of something big splashing in my private plunge pool on my outside deck. After listening for a bit, I couldn't fight the urge to try and see what it was, so I flipped on the outside lights. It was a huge elephant! Luckily, it was not in my pool, it wouldn't have fit anyway, but it was just below the deck, splashing around in the floodwaters and reeds. I watched it for a while before slipping back into bed and drifting back off to sleep. This is the kind of experience that I want to give to guests that I bring here. This is ...

  On each game drive here in the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, the wildlife seemed to show up almost on cue. Famous for its leopard sightings, it did not disappoint. We ended up seeing seven different leopards, including a tiny three month old cub. We came across lions lazing in giant boulders in the middle of the river, white rhinos grazing peacefully with their young, and gorgeous birds at every turn...even above our dining table! Greg found a leopard tortoise cruising past our rooms at Kirkman's Camp, which we all thought was just the best. And then an actually leopard decided to cruise through our camp as well, making us stop in our tracks on our way back from dinner. It was a good reminder that we are in the middle of the wild.

Life moment. The tiniest of baby leopard cubs makes an appearance. We found the mom, crossing the Sand river, calling to her cub. We followed, and sure enough, this tiny leopard cub came out of its hiding place to see mom.   We woke up in Kirkman's Camp, a historic luxury safari lodge in the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve in South Africa. Originally built in the 1920's, it is located high on a bluff, overlooking the Sand River. I ventured out to my veranda, listened to the birds, peered down at the river, and felt the excitement grow as I got dressed for the morning game drive. Who knows what we might see down there. After meeting our guide, Willy, for a morning cappuccino, Greg, Sue, and I loaded up our safari vehicle. There was a special seat on the front of the hood for our tracker, Richard. Like our other safari vehicles, this was the class green, extended Land Cruiser. However, this one not only had no doors, but it also had no roof. We really felt like we were in the elem...

  Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa is renowned for having one of the best safari experiences in the world. It is situated in the southwest corner of Kruger National Park, and share a 50 kilometer unfenced border. The reserve it especially famous for leopard sightings, due to the leopards being habituated to safari vehicles, making more intimate sightings possible. I was hoping that our time here would provide some good leopard sightings, but we also needed to find a predator that we hadn't seen yet, the wild dog.

  Wow. A stunning view of an early morning leopard. We only spotted her initially because a group of lions we were watching stood up and stared at a far off tree. Our guide Enoch noticed this behavior, looked down the hill and saw this leopard moving down. We sped off to try and find her in the tall grass. This photo was the only moment she paused in her stealthy advance through the grass and looked right at us. After witnessing a river crossing and a crocodile kill yesterday, we felt like anything we encounter today would be icing on the cake. The Serengeti is a massive national park here in Tanzania, and somehow, no matter how long you are here, or how many times you visit, you will always be surprised by what this place has to offer. It is the true definition of wild, and a world class safari destination. We set out early from our mobile tent camp, Under Canvas, into the beautiful sunrise over herds of migrating wildebeest.

  Its hard to pic a photo of the day, but this might be it. We put in our time after finding this leopard resting high in the branches of this fig tree. It moved once to an open branch, which was great. But climbing down the tree to grab a drink in a nearby creek was better than I could hope for. Patience pays off again. Our day in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve began with one of those sunrises you don't forget. It reflected off the infinity pool and over a lone acacia tree in the savanna beyond. After a big camp breakfast, and plenty of Kenyan coffee, we climbed into our open sided Land Cruiser with our expert guide, David, and set out for a full day safari.

  One of my favorite leopard photos to date! What an incredible day! We left our very comfortable confines of the Masai Mara, took two bush plane rides across the country side. Crossed an international border from Kenya to Tanzania, and made it to our rough-and-tumble camping site in the Serengeti. I'm not sure what kind of camping everyone expected, but once the group saw the ultimate luxury, in the bush, kind of mobile tent camping at andBeyond's Under Canvas Serengeti Camp, we knew we were in for a camping experience like none other. This is how the royal family does it when they come to Africa, so we figured we would give it a try as well. There are no fences around the camp, and we have to be escorted to and from our rooms after dark. Our butler wakes us up in the morning with coffee, and fills our bucket showers with hot water when we come back from safari. The rooms are opulent to the extreme, even though it just looks like a big tent on the outside. Animal noises abound...

  Shot of the day. Finding the cheetah was hard work today, but Jackson prevailed. We got an up close look at two cheetah. This one gave us a brief look at its incredibly sharp teeth during this yawn. Luckily I snapped the photo right as it happened and captured the moment.    It was a tough wake up for everyone this morning here in the Masai Mara. And by 'tough' I mean our butler woke us up with coffee and biscuits at the requested time. We may be camping in tents, but here at Kichwa Tembo Luxury Tented Camp, it feels like glamping to the extreme. After the early morning pick-me-up, the group met Jackson at the vehicle, ready for a big morning game drive. Our plan was to cover a lot of distance, maybe searching for cheetah, and seeing if we got lucky with any lions on they way. I would say lucky was an understatement. Sunrise view from our camp.    Our first big find was three young male lions, sleeping and basking in the early morning sunshine. Shortly after, ...