Silence in the reeds
I sit in a mokoro, or African dug-out canoe, my eyes only a metre above the waterline. My feet are stretched out before me, with my camera gear between my knees, and I am resting on a cushion, with the expert poler standing behind me. I have no idea how...
A bark at sunset
We were in the Okavango Delta, on the edge of an island of woodland overlooking an open floodplain, sipping cocktails and enjoying the changing sky; the evolving russets, oranges and reds of the sunset. I was with a wonderful family from California - three generations, so there was quite a...
Desert lioness (2018)
February 2018 The rich ochre and black ridges and the flat, stony plains of the Skeleton Coast appear to have no life at all, but the Hoanib River wends its way through. The term “river” overflows with optimism, and not water. The Hoanib is actually a dry, sandy, meandering watercourse...
Bisate Lodge
Bisate Eco Lodge is tucked into the south-western slopes of a small extinct volcano offering stunning sunset views of two of the eight largest volcanoes in the Virungas (Karisimbi and Bisoke). The Virunga Mountains are a chain of mountains forming part of the Albertine Rift, and are the result of...
the Highlands
The Highlands is situated high on the slopes of Olmoti Volcano, and at 2,700m (8,850ft) is the highest camp in the Ngorongoro Highlands area. The extinct Olmoti rests between The Highlands and the massive caldera of Ngorongoro Crater. This is a remote area, far from any other lodges and camps,...
Mystery stripes
Ruyard Kipling wrote a wonderful book - Just So Stories explaining various mysteries including how the leopard got his spots, and how the rhino got his skin. However he never dared explain why zebras have stripes. Almost wherever you go on an African safari you will see zebras. They are...
To the top of Africa
We reached a ledge where we could rest and have a picnic ¾s of the way up the formidable 3,000 ft high (over 1,000m) Western Breach. The Breach is the steepest and hardest non-technical route up Mount Kilimanjaro. Even though it is hard to breathe (there is nearly half the...
Giraffe – one species or more?
An essential requirement for a species is that they can reproduce and have fertile offspring. Clearly if they cannot do so, they become extinct. Most hybrids such as a liger, which results when a lion and a tiger mate, are infertile. The same occurs when a horse is cross-bred with...
A day and a night at Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Crater is a marvel of geology. It is a fully intact 280km2 unbroken caldera situated in the heart of the Great Rift Valley. The rim of the caldera is around 1,800m (6,000 ft) above sea level. Standing on the forested and misty slopes of the eastern rim offers astounding...
Africa’s most iconic mammal
Mention Africa and lions, cheetahs, gazelles, elephants, rhinoceroses and leopards come to mind, but none of these animals are uniquely African, as they are also indigenous in Asia. For instance one of the three surviving species of elephant in the world, the Indian elephant, is Asian. So which mammal is...
The struggle for wildlife in Mana Pools
One of my favourite national parks, Mana Pools in Zimbabwe, is very seasonal. It is an outstanding place to experience wildlife in the dry season, when wildlife congregates near the Zambezi River. That is when visitors are drawn to this phenomenal place and the chance of poaching being unnoticed is...
The future of elephants is in our hands
Today is World Wildlife Day. Each year the United Nations chooses a different theme to highlight the threat to wildlife on our planet and raise awareness. This year the theme is "The future of elephants is in our hands". Sadly, this statement has never been more true. I was born and...
