The World Through Our Lens
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.
Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, Canada, is well known for its fjords. Western Brook Pond is one such fjord that was carved by glaciers and is now shouldered by forests and cliffs. Because it is landlocked, the long, narrow body of water is referred to as a pond or fjord lake. Read more
Bob and I covered a lot of ground on our second day in Costa Rica. We began birding before sunrise and by early afternoon, we decided to check out Ecocentro Danaus on the outskirts of La Fortuna. The small private reserve was rich in wildlife. Read more
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
As Bob and I made our way towards Glenariff Forest Park in Northern Ireland, the previous day’s damp weather persisted with dark clouds shrouding the rugged cliffs along the Causeway Coastal Route. We were off to see Glenariff, the Queen of the Glens. Read more
Setting off mid-morning from Skukuza Rest Camp in Kruger National Park on a self-guided safari had Bob and me filled with anticipation. Our destination for the afternoon was Sunset Dam near Lower Sabie Rest Camp, a mere 36 kilometres southeast of Skukuza. The generous waterhole at Sunset Dam rewarded us with prime wildlife viewing that included this family of Hippopotamuses. Read more
Bob and I were obliged to remain inside our car at Sunset Dam as is the case almost everywhere you go in Kruger National Park. Allowance is made for parking along one section of the shore, and it was from there that we had fantastic views of this African Jacana. 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
Bob and I arrived at Hilltop Camp in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park exhausted after an extremely long day that saw us traveling from Kruger National Park and across Swaziland to get there. Over dinner, we had views of the Park from the expansive restaurant patio that overlooked muted silhouettes of undulating mountaintops while an armed guard sat unobtrusively in the shadows and watched for wildlife like Vervet Monkeys that might cross the thin electric wire just below the terrace. 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
