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| This was my favorite photo of the day. Impalas have exquisite markings on their faces and bodies. |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| This massive old elephant had the thickest trunk we’re ever seen! |
Power outage. WiFi outage. This is Africa.
This morning, when the power went out before we had a chance to even start today’s post, we decided to leave the house to make our usual drive. When we were done, if we felt like it, we’d head to Komatipoort to do our weekly grocery shopping.
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| The poor elephant must be exhausted from carrying around this massive trunk. |
Without much success on the drive, although we did spot a few distant lions at the river after a few hours, we decided to go ahead and drive to town to get the shopping out of the way.
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| The lions we spotted in Kruger yesterday were way too far for good photos. We did the best we could to capture these two. |
Not back at our holiday homes until 1:00 pm, I knew I needed the get the groceries put away especially the perishables in this 38C, (100F) temperatures. Luckily, the power was back on when we returned but the Wi-Fi was showing as “limited.” It slowed us down further.
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| There were three lions under this tree, but the other two were impossible to see behind vegetation. Not us! We’ve certainly seen a lot of lions lately but have yet to witness a pride walking on the road. Perhaps, someday soon. But, who’s complaining? |
In the interim, while awaiting the return of the signal, I went through many of the hundreds of photos we’d taken in the past several days. Good grief, that’s a full-time job in itself.
I often ask other amateur photographers what they do with all their photos. They usually shrug and say, “I hope someday someone would want to look at them.”
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| We believe this bird is a bateleur but are awaiting confirmation from friends Lynne and Mick, birding experts. |
But, as we all know, most guests visiting us do not have any interest in looking at our vacation/holiday photos. Everyone has their own to deal with. Fortunately, we have the joy of sharing our favorite photos here on our posts with our readers from all over the world on a day-by-day basis.
However, without this, I doubt we’d be so enthusiastic about taking photos. In our old lives, we rarely took photos and when we did they were fuzzy and off-center. Now, in this arena, we have a strong desire to post quality photos to share with our readers.
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| Awkward pose while drinking from the cool waters at the Sunset Dam, not far from Lower Sabie. |
Taking quality photos is our objective, but getting a good shot of wildlife is tedious and time-consuming, especially in national parks where we compete for prime vantage points with other equally determined photographers.
In Marloth Park during the less busy holiday periods, taking photos is a breeze when there’ seldom anyone obstructing our view. But, then again, we’re dealing with nature, an unpredictable force that can move in a flash or not at all for hours at a time.
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| Proud male giraffe with dark spots. |
Getting the right shot (photo, never gun) is entirely predicated on our patience and perseverance for precisely the correct moment. Now, we’re dealing with two forces of nature here, Tom and me, both of us, miles apart in our patience levels. Can you guess who’s what?
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| More impalas were hanging out with a single wildebeest. |
Yes, I’m the patient one, and Tom is always ready to move on. Oh, don’t get me wrong…he gets equally enthused over a good sighting, at times even more so than me. And, he’ll spend the better part of each day’s drive in Marloth and weekly drives into Kruger, maneuvering the car into suitable positions for the best photo advantage.
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| Since impalas and giraffes aren’t competing for food, they cohabitate pretty well. |
But, once the camera clicks a few time, he’s ready to move on while I could sit for hours waiting for the animal to make a move. Surprisingly, this doesn’t cause any issues between us.
We’ve accepted each other’s peculiarities so well. It never causes any disharmony between us. If either of us is adamant in our stance, the other will compromise. This feature of our relationship takes this 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) lifestyle work for us. Without it, we’d have stopped traveling long ago.
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| Could the impalas be hoping that some of the lush unreachable greenery in the treetops may drop to the ground for them to devour? It all depends on how sloppy an eater the giraffe may be. |
As a result, I accept the reality that sometimes, I need to be willing to move on and not “stake out” a sighting for the perfect scene. Once in a while, I get lucky as in today’s main photos, one of my favorites in this past month or more, a simple photo of the ever-popular and abundant impala.
We have many more new photos to share if we didn’t go out to seek more photos ops we could post for at least two months without taking a single shot.
But, our dedication, combined patience, and perseverance motivate us day after day to go out and look for more.
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| We seldom can take such close-up photos of impalas who are notoriously shy. We were able to do so as we exited a loop of the main tar road in Kruger. |
We don’t forget for a day, subject to immigration/visa extension, we could be leaving Marloth Park in 146 days. At the rate they’re flying by now, this will be sooner than we realize.
Be well. Be happy.
Photo from one year ago today, September 27, 2017:
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| Basilica Nuestra Senora de las Piedade is one of the most beautiful Catholic temples in Costa Rica, unique in its Renaissance style, was built between 1924 and 1928. For more photos, please click here. |