Capturing the Moment

  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.

How to Scuba Dive South Africa from the cold waters of Cape Town to tropical reefs at Sodwana Bay    Everyone knows about the wonderful land animals and parks of Africa. But for many travelers around the world the knowledge underwater life of South Africa is limited to a short clip of 'air jaws' or great white sharks leaping out of the water. Now I understand why this might scare some scuba divers off from thinking about planning a dive trip to South Africa but those in the know have found amazing diversity among South Africa's dive sites that are a true hidden treasure. For those of you still reading you may just have what it takes to take the plunge and find out about these hidden gems for yourself.      Planning a dive trip to South Africa could be done in several visits or in one larger trip if you have a bit of time. Luckily right now the South African Rand is the cheapest I've seen in 30 years, hovering around 13.5SAR to 1 USD. In other words it ...

Hungry European Bee Eater Grey Headed Kingfisher Bird Photography in Kruger National Park  The bird life in Africa is amazing. It is enough to turn anyone into a budding birder. Beautiful bee eaters, colorful rollers, king fishers, sun birds, and all kinds of birds-of-prey abound in places like Kruger National Park. Armed with a new Canon 100-400mm L series lens I was ready to capture all the action.   There are two methods for getting bird photography in Kruger. You can drive around, cover some distance, and keep an eye out for colorful streaks across the road, or the silhouettes of larger birds up in the trees, but you need to really hone in your bird scanning if you are going to do this on the move. Another method is to find birding hotspots and stay in one place. Several blinds have been setup around the park overlooking ponds. Africa is the kind of place that you can sit and watch one big tree and see dozens of different bird species. Rare sighting of a...

Finding Africa's Big 5    If you are looking for Africa's "Big 5" then Kruger National Park should be your destination. For those not in the know the Big Five is a term left over from colonial hunting days in Africa for the five animals that if a hunter shot but didn't kill, the animal could charge and kill the hunter. This elite group of potentially deadly animals include elephants, rhino, leopard, lion, and cape buffalo. Now the term is thrown around more by enthusiastic wildlife watchers in safari vehicles trying to shoot a photo of the Big 5.  African Elephant   Even though these animal sightings are heavily sought after, to the point of camps having recent sightings boards up with moveable magnets for each animals, it can still be quite a challenge to see them all. If you are in a place like Kruger National Park in South Africa and get quite lucky then it is possible to see them all in a day, but the longer you stay in the park the better your ...