Although the Masai Mara is all about cats, the real reason we were there was to see two million or so white bearded wildebeest. I kept on losing count when I got to three hundred and fifty, which was when I opened the first Tuskers for the day. So sometimes it was easier to take…
My Travels: The Fast Cats of the Mara
We had just witnessed our first crossing: a few thousand wildebeest pouring over steep dusty riverbanks, splashing through the water and climbing to the north bank of the Talek. We followed them north after the last had crossed. “There’s a cheetah!” said Onesmus, pointing ahead to another herd of wildebeest. Marius turned to Ines and…
My Travels: Husbands and Wives in the Mara
One afternoon we were driving along the Mara River and heard a lion roar. I lifted my head and looked in the general direction and spotted a lioness about two hundered meters away, in the grassland just off the riverine bush. We followed her along the river, lost her and had to backtrack. She had…
My Travels: Brothers and Sisters in the Mara
Cats are my favourite animals. Their behaviour is similar across the spectrum, from domestic cats to lions. Well, similar except in mating. The first lioness we saw in Naboisho was well hidden on a rocky slope covered with bush. She groomed herself and then moved on, out of sight. The buffalo grazing below the slope…
My Travels: A Photo Shoot at the Foot of Sirente
Sirente is a long mountain that rises from the village of Rovere on the Altipiano of Abruzzo and at its peak reaches up to 2200 meters above sea level. The plateau of the Altipiano sits at between 1350 and 1450 meters above sea level. Rovere sits on the western and southern slopes of a small…
My Travels: Summer in the Appenines
Yesterday I arrived in Roca di Mezzo, on the Altipiano of Abruzzo, a large plateau home to five quaint mountain villages set at 1350 metres above sea level. Rocca di Mezzo lies between the capital city of the region, L’Aquila, which was recently devastated by an earthquake and Avezzano, a medieval university city to the…
My Travels: Masterful Menu Mind Games at Campo Imperatore
Summer this year in the Appenines of Abruzzo arrived with hot days and cool nights. We had a new visitor to the Altipiano, a plateau at about 1400 meters above sea level and adjoining part of the National Park of the Sirente-Velino range. A must see for any visitor is Campo Imperatore, another plateau at…
My Travels: Setting up a Tripod in Rome
My evening in Rome started out on Piazza Bologna at a Kosher Sushi Bar called Duruma. It was hot and sticky and a very refreshing Mojito or two prepared me for an evening of photography in Travestere. We drove by car to Piazza Trilussa and got stuck in Roman traffic at 8:30 in the evening!…
On Trail: Playing in the Bush
The second time I was in the Timbavati I was very lucky. The Timbavati River was flowing clear in parts, and submerged in other sections. It was April, with warm days and cool nights. Unlike my first trail which was with fellow school friends, this was a mixed group with adults. I was in my…
On Trail: Chinese,Japanese, Oh! Taiwanese
In the old days under the Apartheid government South Africa had few state friends. Indeed, the only three were Paraguay, Israel and Taiwan. There was a program to teach their diplomats English by inclusion, so they lived in Johannesburg for 3 months and attended adult English classes at WITS. Somehow someone (and I think it…
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