AFRICA PHOTO SAFARI LIVE DIARY
DAY 12, 13 and 14: Group 1 home
Howdy all!
Sorry for the gap in the updates, but time and energy run away with you when you are on a safari, especially when running a group.
Yesterday afternoon was a sad moment as I had to say goodbye to group 1. They have been absolutely first class and I enjoyed every minute with them so thanks to Paul, Wendy, Trevor, Chris, Robin, Ken, Russ and Mandy! You were all fantastic!!
Also huge thanks to the amazing Daniel, Joseph, Simon and Olivia and the whole gang at Kicheche Mara camp. These trips would be nothing without you and you were amazing!!! You made us so at home and everything ran like clockwork.
The gang!
So… images!
The two days preceding the last one had been a little slower as mentioned. The Acacia pride was led off to parts unknown by the boys that showed up and the other cats proved just as elusive, with brief sightings. This is an inevitable part of a (true) safari, but we had had great encounters prior so this tempered frustrations as well as trying some of the supporting cast for the big cat trip..
We did though have a small stoke of luck when a new leopard to the area ran out in front of us at 06:00 just as we were leaving camp!
A quick pre morning light glimpse of the new chap. The light is from Daniel’s headlamps.
Quick, super high iso shots (HI 2 mode on the D3)
The light was so dark I had to push even the D3 to it’s absolute limits to capture anything.
However we had a storming last drive yesterday! The Acacia pride was back and right outside the camp, 5 minutes away we found them! We had some good fun with them playing and Joesph thought they could sense the leopard too. They then moved up into a large open area just as the clouds broke and the sun appeared once horizon. All 13 cats from the pride proceeded along to the other side and we worked quickly and efficiently to make the most of it. This is where my experience and relationship with the guides Daniel and Joseph really pays off as they know how I like to work and think..
We were ecstatic when the pride made their way into a (short grass!!!) clearing just as the sun came up.
Tricky, tricky exposures to make but balancing what you know will be in the raw file is the key
Daniel getting in on the action.
So I am sitting here now in the camp for group 2 (Bush camp, group 1 was in Mara camp) and Daniel and I are taking the afternoon off unless we get word of something truly amazing happening nearby. We greet Tony, Cheryl and Gordon at the airstrip tomorrow morning and need to be fresh and ready too!
I hope you enjoyed, please write a few words on Facebook if you did as it makes all the difference to moral here and I love hearing back from you.
Until the next entry!
Richard.