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At the Foot of Mount Kenya

Cape Town and beyond in spring…

Somehow the words ‘Cape’ and ‘good weather’ don’t seem to mix – this might be true in the mind, but hardly the reality of what I experienced this year whilst guiding a number of trips across the length and breadth of the Cape. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves – my guests and I […]

Frontpage Article, Kenya Stories

At the Foot of Mount Kenya

Frontpage Article, South Africa Blogs

Cape Town and beyond in spring…

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Frontpage Article, Kenya Stories

At the Foot of Mount Kenya

I just wanted to share a few shots from a very recent trip to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya – a perfect end to 2013. With huge views over the plains to Mount Kenya and straddling the Equator, its location is superb. I was not quite sure what to expect when I went, but was blown away by the people, landscape and the game. All the plains were packed with a great variety, most notably the endangered Grevy’s Zebra, ‘Jackson’s’ Hartebeest, Grant’s Gazelle and the exquisite Reticulated Giraffe. The marsh was always full of elephants, we saw lions daily and were also treated to a sighting of a pack of African Wild Dog that recently denned there. The birding was very good as we saw three species of harriers, African Cuckoo-hawk, Hunter’s Sunbird, loads of Tree Pipits in the woodland and a Jackson’s Widowbird lek (male display arena) – loads of classic East African birds. I did some lovely bush walks viewing elephants, buffalo and rhino on foot. I also visited the Northern White Rhino boma (where basically the last 3 of this subspecies that remain on the planet now live – very sad in fact). At every turn there was something new and I took great pleasure in seeing the herds of indigenous cattle that are used to graze the lush red grass grasslands in parts of the reserve. All in all a wonderful experience – can’t wait to be back again later this year. (Alastair).

The ‘joker’ of eagles in the savanna skies.

Rhinos and oxpeckers – Ol Pejeta.

This is one of Africa’s most attractive dragonflies – photographed along the Ewaso Nyiro River.

A male Speke’s Weaver attending his nests within the colony.

One of many lion we saw hunting the open plains at Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

Eerie late afternoon in southern Laikipia.

One has to be up early to catch a glimpse of this incredible mountain.

Frontpage Article, South Africa Blogs

Cape Town and beyond in spring…

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves – my guests and I got down low to capture the beautiful detail in the immense diversity of wildflowers. We zoomed out far to get shots of endemic antelope, cavorting whales and the majestic grassland birds like the Blue Crane and the bustards. We froze to snap the elusive elephant shrew going about his business. We sat patiently to be rewarded with some action at a seabird colony and even more patiently to freeze the perfect frame at a waterhole in the Kalahari.

Although photography has not been the driving force behind the trips over the past 3 months, it all our eyes to a myriad of details and allowed us to sit back and marvel at the richness of life right here at the Southern Tip of Africa (even when we do have a few rainy or snowy days!).