The World Through Our Lens
Photography of birds, animals, landscape and places we have traveled to around the world.
Our arrival at Valley View Lodge in Sabie came at the end of a prolonged drive from the airport in Johannesburg. Of course, there were many stops made along the way for photo ops, including one in Long Tom Pass where the highway climbs into the mountains between Lydenburg and Sabie.
Ready to explore the Po River Delta, the biggest wetlands in Europe, Bob and I were off the sheets early on our first full day in the region. The enchanted landscape covers an area of 140,000 hectares, so under a crystal clear sky, we set off in the direction of Parco Regionale Veneto del Delta del Po. Read more
From the patio door, on our second morning at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, I saw dense fog hemming in the mountains and feared, at best, an overcast if not a rainy day. A glance at the clock revealed it to be only 5:30 a.m. Two hours later, the fog was lifting, and the sun bathed the hillsides in golden showers of light. Read more
It was one day as Bob and I sat in the car alongside a gravel road in Kruger National Park that we saw this prime example of an African Bush Elephant. We had pulled to the side of the road to sit for a spell and eat our lunch when this behemoth stepped from the cover of thick vegetation onto the road right in front of us. Talk about lunchtime entertainment! Read more
After reading Ken Follett’s novel, Pillars of the Earth, which loosely parallels the construction of Salisbury Cathedral, New Sarum, and having completed Edward Rutherford’s book about Sarum, it was a consensus between Bob, me and our son that we should visit Old Sarum, the location of the original Salisbury Cathedral in England.
I couldn’t help myself but every time that Bob and I saw warthogs in South Africa, I thought of Pumbaa, the warthog in the Disney film The Lion King. And when Bob and I were conducting our self-guided safaris within Kruger National Park, we saw our fair share of these unusual looking animals. Read more
Waking at Skukuza Rest Camp the first morning after our arrival, and having just coped with a bout of stomach and intestinal distress, I was in no shape for any physical activity requiring stamina. So Bob and I set out on a self-guided safari that spanned the course of several hours. Among the wildlife seen within Kruger National Park that day was this astounding Southern Ground Hornbill. Read more
As Bob and I toured the small town of Ajijic, Mexico, also known for its heavy contingent of resident Canadians, we soon discovered why it is referred to as a Town of Murals. Read more
Our long-anticipated arrival at Kruger National Park was like a dream come true. This journey, for me, had its roots tied to historical accounts of explorers Dr. David Livingstone and Sir Henry Stanley and their exploits on the Dark Continent. Add to that a detailed look at Kenya in one of my high school science projects, and a life-long passion to travel to the deep, dark “jungles” of Africa was born. Travel to the sub-Saharan region of the continent personified my imaginings of an exhilarating trip complete with risk, daring, incomparable wildlife adventures and unique landscape. We had to conquer our fears and fan the flames of our adventurous spirit. As we entered through the Phabeni Gate, our excitement was palpable even though I was withstanding a bout of stomach and intestinal infection that had arisen that afternoon. Read more