March 9th, 2010

South Africa - Day Two

On day two of our stay at Singita Game Reserves, we arose early and met Marlon, our guide and Themba, our tracker.  Once everyone was organized, we set out at 5:30 for our thrilling drive.  In preparation for these drives, it was suggested that we read 'Field Guide to the Mammals of Southern Africa': Struik Publishers and we were very happy that we did.  It's very helpful to have some knowledge of what you might encounter out in the wilds.  People are always interested in what camera I shoot with and on this journey, I wielded a Canon EOS 5D body, equipped with a powerful 300mm lens.  Despite a sore arm and shoulder from the weight of the camera, I am happy that I had such a great tool as, I think, my photos turned out exceptionally well.  I must also say that the lodge was a most comfortable and attractive place to stay. Caroline Burke is the manager of Singita and she runs the lodge very, very well with every detail attended to.  It is impeccably clean, well illuminated, beautifully furnished and very nicely appointed.

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1 The stairway to my lodge - there are no fences in the park and late at night every guest needs an escort to get to the individual lodges, which are modern construction, built into the sides of the steep slopes down to the river.

2 The L-shaped pool is set in a wooden deck next to the large dining room.

3 A better view of the pool

4 It looks like Kevin styled his Polo sock drawer in his lodge at Lebombo.

5 The writing of the logo of our lodges at Singita

6 The entrance to Singita is natural, and the walls and buildings are partially constructed from the local sandstone.

7 A mud and sandstone wall along the entryway to the Lebombo Lodge.

8 The benches are polished concrete and very chic.

9 Marlon du Toit was always full of life - very strong and well prepared for the drives.

10 The other guide on duty, while we were guests, was Ben Delporte. He looked a lot like Ralph Fiennes, the English actor. Ben was very knowledgeable about the wildlife of the park.

11 Kevin and I were waiting in the land rover for thirty minutes - come on, hurry it up!

12 Off we go on the morning of day two. It is 5:30AM and all is pretty quiet on the preserve, except for lots of birds flying and roosting in the trees.

13 Marlon gave us a lesson in how to load the rifle - just in case.

14 The landscape is varied - this portion is the savannah, or grassy plains area.

15 Two zebras looking at us

16 Hundreds of thousands of impala roam the park. They are also the food for the prides of lions, the leopards, and the occasional cheetah

17 There were two very large euphorbias in the park - the Lebombo and the candelabra.

18 This morning, the impala decided to walk the road, single file, for miles.

19 A water buck looking at us from the middle of the road

20 One of a 'journey' of giraffe we saw grazing in the bush - The giraffe feed on leadwood trees (combretum imberbe) and on the knob thorn acacia trees. They have long tongues that pluck leaves from the branches of very thorny trees.

21 Thembe and Marlon standing in elephant footprints in the dried mud of a small river. They carried guides to birds, mammals, insects, trees, etc. with them to back up their sightings and their findings.

22 Marlon demonstrated the size of elephant feet by showing us that his two feet together were still smaller than one footprint.

23 Alongside this stream were scores of red-billed buffalo weaver nests built onto the branches of of trees - these nests have a very interesting story.

24 A closeup of the weavers nest - It is woven by the male for the female. If she likes it, she will take up residence. If she does not, she tears it to shreds, shrieking as she does. He has to rebuild if he wants her. Sound familiar?

25 We were observed and we observed a small herd of water buck.

26 The light changed from bright to dark in a matter of minutes - it was beautiful!

27 We saw many different eagles - This was an African Fish Eagle. We learned that all eagles have feathered legs, while hawks do not.

28 We saw a pod of hippos in the river - some even decided to emerge and lumber up onto the banks. They are a primitive and giant species, and very dangerous to unsuspecting humans.

29 This gorgeous fellow has just spent the entire hot day, semi-submerged, in the cool water with the rest of the pod. Hippos are not part of the 'big five,' which is comprised of rhino, elephant, lion, leopard, and cape buffalo.

30 Some of the hippos looking at us with just their not very good eyes. They come out at night to feed on the savannah, the green grasses of the plains.

31 More hippos

32 Here we are with our 'dueling cameras.' Marlon had a 100-400mm lens on a Canon body and I had my 28-300mm lens, which was twice as heavy. I must admit, my arm and shoulder are still recovering from carrying that camera for four days. The pictures are so worth it, however.

33 The little box Thembe Mabunda is carrying contained liquor for the guests.

34 The well-stocked liquor box

35 We were treated to a surprise cocktail hour. A feast of cheese, chicken liver pate, nuts, and wines. Plus, a full bar was set up on the table that folded out over the front radiator of the vehicle.

36 The evening skies were magical and often wild, like this one on the second night out.

37 Susan, Marlon, Thembe, and I enjoying the setting sun - I am using my flip cam to record the cocktail hour.

38 The delicious hors d'oeuvres

39 Getting pointers from Marlon about taking photos

40 Another crazy sky

41 The dining room is open on two sides and is furnished with contemporary chairs and tables.

42 This is a view into the dining room at Singita.

43 Tables were set for each group of campers - Because we all came and went at different times there was never the feeling of being crowded.

44 Our table was set for us when we returned to the lodge at night - about nine PM.

45 These place mats are woven by a community of blind artisans and sold in gift shops in South Africa - they are really well-made.

Posted on March 9th, 2010 in Photo Gallery | Permalink |

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