The African Wild Dog is one of Africa’s rarest large predators. Although they may look a little thin and sometimes mangy, I have a great deal of respect for these much maligned animals. I hoped to see them in March when I was on safari on the Serengeti Plains (Tanzania), ...
I catch the daily morning flight on KLM from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The airport terminal disappears from view within a few minutes of leaving the gate as we taxi through the mist and line up for take off. There is not much to see through the window but ...
We were on safari to witness the wildebeest migration in the green season, when they tend to disperse on the Plains, and we did. Wildebeest were everywhere – around us, behind us, and spread out far into the distance. Sometimes we could see lighter-colored bands of animals, which were herds ...
A contrast to the scenario from my previous post was to happen a few days later when we found two hungry sub-adult cheetah attempting to hunt in an area further west of the Serengeti Plains, where the migratory herds are unlikely to arrive until June. They were young siblings about ...
Throughout the morning we had driven across the Plains through herds of wildebeest and zebra. Day and week old wildebeest calves were everywhere. Prey was so abundant and widespread that it was hard to imagine any predator going hungry. We came across a mother cheetah and her four large cubs ...
Watching hippos bask in a pool of water, wheeze-honking every now and then and snorting when they come up for air, would make you think their lives are peaceful. However hippos depend on water to keep their bodies cool, and have a harem breeding system, so the males compete intensely ...
We left Mombo Camp with a plan to find roaring lions we had heard from the camp at dawn, with Callum, our Mombo Camp guide. However soon after leaving camp we encountered a couple of breeding herd of elephants. They were moving quite quickly, eager to get somewhere. There was ...
As we finished lunch we could see a massive hazy cloud approaching. It didn't look very dark or dense, but a gust of wind arrived as I was walking to my tent. In Africa a gust of wind often precedes a storm. I hadn't even arrived at my tent before ...
In December we went on a short family safari in the Serengeti. So many things happened, but these images stand out most in my mind. One day we had a puncture (flat), and Laurence (16) and Alana (13) fixed it, loosening the bolts, jacking up the Land-Rover, heaving the spare ...
Congratulations Dave! The Wall Street Journal have just published an excellent article about Dave's guiding skills and the amazing safari experience possible in Zimbabwe. According to writer Tim Downey, who was on safari in Zimbabwe with Dave in June : "During eight days in the bush we've spotted lion, leopard, ...
The GR 10 Trans Pyrenean Way trail involved interminable steep descents and climbs through dense chestnut and holm oak forests. We had seen nobody since we left the highway and border town of Perthus. The summer heat was so intense that I think even the crickets were quiet. Occasionally there ...
Living in the midst of a mountain range, there is a magnetism that draws you towards the mountains and the outdoors. The most famous hiking trail in Spain must be the Camino de Santiago (St James' Way). Although this trail passes through our doorstep (a section called the Aragonese Route), ...
