Christmas  – a time for the family, friends and sharing. It is also a time to look back at what was a wonderful photographic year and planning for an even better one in 2015.

I wish you a wonderful Christmas surrounded by your family and friends. If you do not celebrate Christmas, I wish you a time of merriment, sharing and peace.

2014 is almost over and it is a good time to look back.

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
― Epicurus

I have selected a few images from the past year which I think reflect what has been a fantastic photographic year.

January 2014 – Cederburg in western Cape, Kagga Kama

Kagga Kamma on an overcast January afternoon looking south west out over the Cederburg mountains.

Having fun with landscapes at Kagga Kamma.

January 2014 – Walkerson’s, east of Dullstroom, Mpumalanga South Africa.

Cape Wagtail feeding a Common Cuckoo chick

February 2014 – Marievale Bird Sanctuary, near Nigel in Gauteng, South Africa

Relaxed but always alert – African Crake

April 2014 – Chobe National park, northern Botswana border with Namibia.

Unusual sighting of a Western Banded Snake-Eagle along the Chobe River in Botswana.

Fish Eagle almost caught a large bream in the Chobe river in Northern Botswana.

Breath -taking shafts of morning light beaming through the clouds at around 6h15 on the Chobe river in April.

Seeing double – Juvenile African Jacanas.

This fight was for real – two female Hippos going for it

Sunset at Jackalberry point on the Chobe river

May 2014-Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

Lioness looking down the valley in Ngorogoro Crater.

Looking west in Ngorogoro Crater out over the Ngoitokitok spring.

A herd of impala caught this Lioness’s attention early one morning in the Serengeti.

Two young Lions, nomads, disturbed by a passing herd of Elephants in the Serengeti.

Young male Lion lying in the grass on top of a mound in the Serengeti grass plains

Red and Yellow Barbet at Lake Manyara, Tanzania

June 2014 – Tembe Elephant Park northern KwaZulu Natal.

Crested Guineafowl at Tembe Elephant park at last light.

Arch way through the indigenous forest in Ndumo Game Reserve.

Fish traps in the Kosi Bay estuary early in the morning

July 2014 – Giant’s Castle, KwaZulu Natal South Africa

Adult and Juvenile Bearded Vulture gliding passed the Vulture’s hide at Giant’s Castle

Adult Bearded Vulture gliding passed the Vulture’s hide at Giant’s Castle

August 2014 – Chobe river, north Botswana border with Namibia.

Young Sable drinking at Elephant Valley from the Chobe river.

If your brother is too heavy – a snorkel will come in useful.

Dead-tree display – A pair of Lilac-breasted Rollers flank an opportunist along the Chobe river.

Full display by a Lilac -breasted Roller.

September 2014 – Mashatu Game Reserve, south-eastern Botswana.

Young female Leopard peering through a fork in a giant Mashatu tree.

One cub needed a litle extra loving from Mum.

After playing around, the cubs calmed down and settled to suckle.

On top of Mmamagwa Hill looking west at sunset passed Rhodes Baobab.

October 2014 – Eagles Rock, Mpumalanga South Africa.

A Lanner Falcon giving a male Black Eagle a bit of a “rev” probably because the former’s nest was close by.

Male Black Eagle standing guard near the pair’s nest in Eagle’s Rock Estate.

October 2014 -load shedding, South Africa.

Rosy-cheeked Lovebird came to visit outside my office window.

“Cackling Widow” or Green Wood-Hoopoe posed momentarily outside my office window.

Crested Barbet- a regular visitor to the branch outside my office window.

December 2014 – southern tip of Mozambique,Ponte Malongane

On the beach at Ponte Malongane in southern Mozambique,looking north towards Maputo .

Lone yacht sailing the high seas. Image take directly into the bright morning sun-unadjusted.

Looking down towards Ponte malongane. Warm, almost no wind with soft pastel sunset shades of pinks, blues and peaches – sublime!

“I love Christmas, not just because of the presents but because of all the decorations and lights and the warmth of the season.”

Merry Christmas!

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike 

I have just returned from five days at Ponte Malongane, a village in the most southern tip of Mozambique, just across the border from Kosi Bay in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Long standing family friends, Dave and Mon Condy, have a syndicated beach house there which is built on top of a ridge of sand dunes just north of Ponte Malongane. The height provides a spectacular view of the beach and sea. We spent a few happy days with old Zimbabwean friends, Simon Ford and Chris Franklin, both of whom I had not seen for over 25 years.

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”

– G. Randolf

The border crossing gives you an “authentic African experience” – sometimes shambolic, sometimes easy and always with little or no information as to where to go and what steps you need to take and forms you need to fill in. Patience and a relaxed attitude are needed. To add to the “authentic African experience” once you have managed to negotiate your way through the border, the road to Ponte Malongane is a sand track, in fact, many sand tracks all going to the same place. The sand is very thick, so a 4×4 is needed, which is probably why there are so many sand tracks. The next image shows the sand tracks which traverse the 15, or so, kilometres over the dunes to Ponte Malongane.

Once at Ponte Malongane, the beaches are magnificent. There are still relatively few people with homes there but that is changing fast. The next image was taken on the beach below Dave and Mon’s place, while the tide was out, looking north towards Maputo.

“At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun.”

— Sandy Gingras

Early in the morning is the best time on the beach because the wind is light. Later in the day the wind whips up the sea spray which starts to coat your lens and camera. It is also a time when very few people are on the beach. It is peaceful with beautiful soft light in watercolour tones. To get onto the beach you need to walk down a few stairs.

A number of the beach houses have stairs down from the top of the dunes to the beach, which makes access considerably easier.

Once on the beach there is much to photograph.

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.”

 -Anonymous

When the tide is out, shallow pools of water form. Here ripples, the remains of waves which broke on their way up the beach, create interesting patterns when the light interacts with the moving water.

An infinite variety of patterns are formed by the moving water in these shallow tidal pools.

The next image was taken on the beach looking south towards the ridge at Ponte Malongane. The well-known Dive Centre is just below that ridge. Ponte Malongane is known for Pinnacle Point which is considered one of the top 10 dive spots in the world, or so the divers say.

Up and down the beach there are many Ghost Crabs all operating just at the water line. They keep a healthy 20 metres distance and you will struggle to get closer. I managed to get a shot of this chap only because I saw him go down a hole and waited for him to re-emerge. Beautiful colours and “eyes out on stalks”. These predators are known to catch and feed on turtle hatchlings as the crawl the gauntlet from their hatching nest to the sea. At this time of the year, the Leatherback and Loggerhead Sea Turtles are coming ashore to lay their eggs. They lumber up the shore any time from 20h00 to 04h00 to lay their eggs in batches of 120 at a time. Unfortunately, we did not see any – mother nature reveals herself at her pace!.

We were lucky enough to go out with Angie and Mitch who run the Dolphin Encounters Research Centre to observe and swim with Dolphins. We only briefly saw a small pod and they did not hang around. They swim effortlessly at about eight kilometres per hour, so it is almost impossible to keep up with them while your are in the water.

We did not see the whales, although  they had been seen off the beach in the days before, so I decided to take a shot of a solitary yacht out at sea well beyond the breakers. It was early morning and I was shooting directly into the easterly rising sun. Instead of trying to correct my exposure value (EV), I let the camera automatically try to correct back to 18% gray. It created a moody and more interesting effect.

“The sea! the sea! the open sea!, The blue, the fresh, the ever free!”

 -Bryan W. Procter

To get back to the beach house there are walkways through the indigenous forest. While walking through the forest I could hear many birds but saw almost none.

Back at the beach house the view was impressive, as you can see from the front door.

From the deck in front of the beach house, we watched an intrepid kite surfer having an absolute “gas” flying in and off shore in front of us. There was a steady northerly wind which was ideal for him.

In the indigenous forest we found this beautiful small emerald-green Tree Frog. It was sitting under an overhanging leaf, presumably for protection.

 A view looking south at Ponte Malongane at dusk, bathed in soft evening pinks and blues, with a gentle breeze – sublime.

“The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

-Jacques Cousteau

In the evenings, we sat out on the deck on the opposite side of the beach house to the sea looking west out over the canopy of the indigenous forest at Lake Sugi and the illuminated evening sky. Discussions were lively and many stories shared, over a glass of wine, among long-standing friends (over fifty years in most cases) watching the day give way to the evening – “what a wonderful life”.

Africa has such a wealth of natural heritage with inspiring landscapes and an expansive collection of wildlife, which in most instances counteracts the human folly.

“As you grow up

make sure you have…

more dreams than memories

more opportunities than chances

more hard work than luck and

more friends than acquaintances.

May you have the very best life.”

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun

Mike

This post is a follow on from the Black and White challenge given to me by friend and photo buddy, Duncan Blackburn. It is interesting every now and then to stop and take the colour out of an image and just look at the shapes, textures and tones.

“The Earth is Art, The Photographer is only a Witness ”
― Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Earth from Above

Little “big foot” – this newly arrived Chobe Elephant calf hesitantly peers through Mum’s columns!!

Late afternoon stroll through the shallows along the Chobe river – Giraffe style

Mother and daughter watching some Springbok in the shimmering distance at Fischer’s Pan in Etosha.

Group of four watching a fight break out while waiting for water at the waterhole at Andoni Plain in Etosha.

Handsome young Kudu bull spooked by the wind while trying to drink at Mushara waterhole in Etosha.

The raw power of a Martial Eagle was needed to lift this Guineafowl out of a thorn bush.

Thirsty stripes in Etosha.

“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is thereby a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.”
― Ansel Adams

A few tonnes whirls around to take on the disturbance behind him at a waterhole.

This female Jackal Buzzard flew swiftly and silently up over the rocks at the edge of the cliff at Giant’s Castle in the Drakensberg.

Two female Hippos have it out with intent near Puku Flats along the Chobe river.

Winter decorations in Marievale.

Black-headed Heron turns around with snake-eyes and snake-neck at Marievale, near Nigel south of Johannesburg.

“A photograph shouldn’t be just a picture, it should be a philosophy.”
― Amit Kalantri

Desperate dive into the Mara river in the afternoon darkened by all the dust

Driven by hunger, fueled by terror these Wildebeest plunge into the fast flowing Mara river desperate to avoid the massive jaws of the Nile Crocodiles waiting for them.

Thunder clouds, Iselbergs and Desert Dates provide the backdrop for this bull Elephant who is leisurely foraging along the border with the Serengti.

Whatever moves must be caught – tolerant Lioness with her playful cub next to the road below the Oloololo Escarpment, in the Masai Mara.

The serenity of the late afternoon next to Klein Namutoni waterhole was broken by this fierce fight between these two Helmeted Guineafowl.

Small family group waits patiently in the gathering dust for their turn to drink down at the water’s edge at Elephant Valley along the Chobe river.

Band of brothers on the run from some Namibian fishermen chasing them on the far bank of the Chobe river.

Fish Eagle with large barbel on its way back to its nest along the Chobe river.

No one will mess with this mother and her young son.

Fetlock fight – two Zebras twisting and turning trying to bite each others legs.

Fencing and wrestling – these two Gemsbok sparring rather than trying to kill each other in Etosha.

Tree Squirrel sitting on his favourite stump eating a Bushwillow seedpod in Mashatu.

“There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.”

– Ernest Haas

Late afternoon, after a good day’s sleep, this young Leopard was relaxed but very alert and getting ready to start his nocturnal wanderings in Mashatu.

Young Leopard peers out from a fork in a giant Mashatu tree. It was the Impala behind us which caught his attention.

Dawn silhouette of a young Kudu bull in Mashatu.

Spotted at night!!!

Wall of Elephants with the youngsters tucked safely in the middle of the herd in Mashatu.

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun

Mike