November 25, 2012
Atlanta, GA
0430

Arrived in Atlanta about 0930 this morning, exhausted and sort of punch drunk.  Because of the delay getting out of J'burg, we missed our connection to Atlanta and because it's Thanksgiving weekend, Delta couldn't get us on any other flight to get us closer to Redmond.  So I used some Marriott points I had and booked us for a night in the downtown Ritz Carlton to just try to make the best of it.  I did ask Delta to consider upgrading Aislin and Gina to first class on the next day's flight to SLC (I'd already been upgraded) but they basically had a long story about how they didn't have status and didn't have the right ticket code, blah blah.  It was an opportunity for Delta to take some step to redeem itself and it wouldn't have really cost them a dime, but they didn't take it. I get that the airline business is a really tough one and that they're often unfairly criticized, but I also think that there is something wrong with its culture.  They really weren't that sympathetic.  When I first became aware of the scheduling problem, I actually called them from the bush to see how we'd sort it out.  It took a half hour on the phone (and probably cost about $100...) and they were almost hostile.  Not sympathetic on the phone and not very sympathetic in Atlanta.  A little effort would have gone a long way.

But it is what it is.  We went to our hotel thinking that maybe we'd try and enjoy the day and hit the aquarium here but honestly we barely made it through lunch and the girls were just comatose.  They were asleep by about 1300.  I made it to about 1600 I think.  Woke up at about 0145 and tossed and turned for a couple more hours.  Had dreams.  Dreamed about this blue bicycle that I was riding.  Remember being excessively concerned concerned that the handlebars weren't taped. I remember riding by a stock pond and out of the corner seeing a large whale breach.  I knew that wasn't reasonable so I stopped to look back and saw many whales breaching.  I kept riding.  I remember riding down a very steep, narrow wet road, doing switchbacks with trees overhanging the road - somehow I think a memory from somewhere in my life - and coming out to see a man being chased by an elephant in my direction.  I jumped down into a ditch but they did too.  The elephant passed me with scarcely a glance, which was good because I would have been completely helpless to defend myself.

Now we're all awake.  Gina - who honestly can sleep 20 hours, no problem - is noisily packing.  Aislin's on her iPad, just playing around.  I'm taking a moment because we have about another hour before the cab takes us to the airport to begin the fun again.

I'm mostly very sad to leave Africa.  This trip had more travails than others but there's still something about being in the bush and watching and observing animals.  Of course, you can do that anywhere, but anywhere doesn't have the wide array of amazing creatures that I've encountered in Africa.  I look at the rangers we've known and worked with and see their interest and passion for what they do.  There's a lot of dissatisfaction for them too, I"m sure.   Ryan was telling us that the average ranger stays at a lodge for 8 months and then moves on to another lodge.  When asked the reason, it's about moving to a 'better' lodge (meaning, more high end, better game viewing, better tips), or they don't get along with the people they work with.  It's really isolated out there for them and they work 6 days a week with a small number of people.  They maintain a certain presentation for the guests but who knows what goes on behind the scenes.  Lots of room for dysfunction I'm sure.

I think this trip was more challenging for Aislin.  She's changing a lot as she works through her teenage years and I'll be curious to see what her feelings about this trip will be once she's had time to process a bit.  I don't know if she'll be anxious to go back.  She definitely got homesick toward the end of the trip.  Gina I think was just in love with the place.  She would just sit there and smile.  She was born with the happy gene and just seems to have the ability to enjoy wherever she is and I think has a deep passion for nature.  I remember she would look at some gnarly bull elephant and mutter, "How pretty" under her breath. Yes, a magnificent being but I think only a few observers would go to 'pretty'.  I'm so lucky to have her for a partner. I also think it's very hard to travel with a photographer.  I made them get up early and sit in places when no conscientious father/spouse would do that.  They have also had to endure my frustration and depression when the brief period of beautiful light would pass and I had nothing to shoot.  It's the worst thing for a photographer and I wasn't always graceful.

One more day of travel hell ahead of us.  We have a fairly tight connection in SLC so any missteps getting out of Atlanta will make the day interesting.  Then home to the cats, school, work.  I can't really wrap my mind around that yet.  I know for me, I'll head to the office tomorrow and that whirlwind will start up.  I'm trying to not to think about that for as long as possible.

Little baboon

Impala lamb

If you are thinking about going to Africa, go.  Just go.

November 22, 2012
Arathusa Safari Lodge
1330

Well a lot's happened in the last few days.  I'm a bit thrown off balance right now.  We did leave Kruger yesterday and traveled over very bad roads to Arathusa in the Sabi Sands.  And, Arathusa does have internet.  So I received word from Delta that our flight from J'burg to Atlanta is 3 hours delayed.  Which means that we miss our connection in Atlanta to SLC and then home.  So I spent a very expensive 30 minutes on the phone with Marsha at Delta and come to find out that, even though we arrive in Atlanta about 0900 Saturday morning, Delta has no means to get us home from there.  So, either we spend an extra night in J'burg or overnight in Atlanta.  I chose Atlanta because if there are further issues it's always better to be closer to home.  More options.  Anyway, it's thrown my equilibrium off a bit.  It's the hell of traveling.  We built a day in to try and rest and recover but now that's gone.

Anyway... it's a overcast and very humid day here.  I'm sitting in a bar, drinking coffee overlooking a water hole that has about 10 hippos in it.  And the woodlands kingfishers are singing so I suppose it could be a lot worse.

The last few days in Kruger are kind of a blur.  We saw a leopard at a kill and spent a lot of time waiting for it to come into the open.  Unfortunately, it never did, being as elusive as some leopards are.

Leopard snarls at vultures near her kill

We also spent a lot of time in the company of a severely injured zebra.  This stallion obviously survived a lion attack though for the life of us we couldn't see how it could have survived.  When we first saw it, we noticed a huge gash on the right hindquarters and so we began to observe it more closely.  And then we saw a huge wound, which had bled profusely on the left shoulder and the left front leg appeared to be broken.  The zebra also had wounds on its belly, its groin, its throat.  It could hardly walk and was just standing there in 95 F heat, bleeding.  Obviously lions were all over it it and how it ever got away and motored enough to put distance between it and lions was beyond us.  We watched for considerable time in the morning, then came back at noon and its condition seemed to have weakened.  We assumed that predators would eventually catch up with this brave boy.  We came back that afternoon but it was gone.  We were completely mystified.  We search for a couple of hours and could find no trace of him. How he moved any distance at all was beyond us and yet there was also no sign that he'd died - no predators, no vultures.  A mystery.  Still, one very tough, brave horse.

Did a night drive at Arathusa last night and they have a hyena den so Gina was able to observe hyena cubs, which was way high on her list.

Hyena cub

The ranger Ryan had also reported that they had seen wild dogs the day before so we asked them to keep an eye out for them.  So this morning, sure enough, we found a pack of wild dogs and witnessed a kill of an impala lamb.  Really hard to watch.  Same drive though we witnessed the birth of a wildebeest.  It's the cycle of nature, right?

Newborn wildebeest

Am cutting it short now.  One drive tonight, a drive in the morning and then we have to hit the road hard.  Have to return the 600mm lens in J'burg at about 1700 tomorrow.  Home, we hope, on Sunday.

November 17, 2012

1400

Letaba Rest Camp

Mid-day break.  Checked into Letaba this afternoon after three days at Lower Sabie and two days at Olifants.  It’s been hard to find the time to write anything.

It’s hot now.  It was about 72 deg F when we went out the gate this morning at 0430.  It’s now about 106 F.  We’re all in the room with the A/C running.  Gina’s reading and Aislin is noting which gifts go to which friends back home.

Yesterday evening we took a long and hot drive that was mostly not productive.  We did however find one hyena – a young hyena who’d been terribly injured by a snare.  I’ve seen the impact of snares before.  In 2008, I’d spent time at Mashatu in Botswana and we encountered both wild dogs and elephants with snares.  The wild dog especially suffered terrible injuries by a snare around the neck, which cut deep into the muscle and tissue.  In that case, the researchers were able to dart the dog, remove the snare and treat the dog with antibiotics and topical antiseptics.  I didn’t expect to see a snared animal in the heart of the park and it makes my heart hurt.  Snares are like land mines of human conflicts – they’re cheap to make and they’re indiscriminate.  They are nooses made of cheap wire, anchored to a tree usually, and set about head high for a small antelope.  The animal gets it’s head or a foot or a trunk caught in the snare and pulls and thrashes to break free while the wire cuts deep.  Often the animals will be unable to break free and will die but if the animal is able to break the wire it will suffer terribly from its injuries.  I’m not sure what the intent was.  At Mashatu, snares I think are usually set out to capture animals for ‘bush meat’ by desperately poor economic refugees from Zimbabwe.  Here, I just don’t know.  Don’t know if it’s for food or if this is the work of poachers hoping to snare a rhino or something.  It’s so hard to fathom.  It’s very hard to see and it had an impact on Aislin for sure.  This morning I reported the sighting to the rangers at Olifants and provided photos and a location.  They will pass it up the chain of command, to the veterinarians at Skukuza, and may attempt to locate and dart the hyena to remove the snare and treat the animal.  Animals like hyenas are amazingly resilient and can survive horrific injuries but I’m not optimistic.  They have to find one hyena and it’s hard for me to see them expending the resources required to do that.  An injured rhino, sure, but I don’t know about a hyena.  I just hope for the best for the little guy.

Young hyena terrible wounded by wire snare

Young hyena terribly injured by wire snare

 Our family has had lots of sex on this trip.  At Lower Sabie, we watched lions mating.  Two nights ago, Aislin and I went for a drive while Gina wasn’t feeling well and she had the privilege of watching baboon sex.  Yesterday, we watched giraffe mating behavior.  We stuck it out as long as we could in the heat but finally had to leave them alone before the wedding was consummated….

While driving around yesterday morning, Aislin was remarking about the casual and promiscuous nature of baboon sex and used the expression, “Sloppy seconds”.  I caught my breath for a moment, contemplating the implications of a 14 year old using a term like that.  After a few minutes, I asked her if she knew what that meant.  She gave me a PG version which involved the idea of taking something discarded by someone else.  To my relief, it was clear that she didn’t understand the literal meaning of the term.  I suggested that that was an expression she probably wouldn’t want to use with her grandmother and asked her where she’d heard it.  She told me, “Boys” at school.  I’m trying now to figure out what sort of gun I need to buy….

I want to talk about race somewhere along the line.  It’s a topic that comes up for me repeatedly when I’m in South Africa.  We have seen some bad behavior here for sure and it’s caught Aislin’s attention.  It’s given us a chance to talk about some of the ugliness of our experience in the US.  It’s a reminder too that we’re guests in this country.  It’s a very beautiful country and I see optimism in its young people, but I fear that there’s more pain to come in the future of South Africa.

November 14, 2012

1215

Been a while since I could write and a few travails along the road.  Had a nice final evening ride on Saturday with Albie.  Watched 4 lionesses lounging in the grass and then on the way back ran into the wild dogs.  Enjoyment of this was tempered by texts received from Gina that the girls’ flight out of Redmond was delayed due to an early snowfall and, apparently, Delta Global’s lack of preparation for the predictable event known as “winter”.  I was fairly convinced that they’d missed the connection in Salt Lake but they somehow ran to the gate and got on and throughout the night I got updates until they were on the plane to J’burg. 

Next morning, Albie reckoned that the dogs would be on the road very near to where we saw them Saturday night and he was right.  We found them right away in the barely dawn light in a light rain and followed them along for some time as they moved down the road.  We reckoned that there were about 11 pups and 8 adults – a pretty large pack.  We followed them as they headed east on the road and they chased a kudu cow for its life and then chased a warthog down its burrow.  The pups investigated a monitor lizard very cautiously.  All the pups seemed to be in good spirits and it seemed certain that a hunt would ensue.  They encountered some wildebeest rams who stood their ground and the dogs eventually left them alone after trying to fluster them.  Then, unbelievably, the dogs stumbled on a group of 4 lions who’d made a wildebeest kill right next to the road over night.  The dogs got very agitated and began running about and leaping into the air, while barking in the direction of the lions.  The lions tensed up but made no overt move – just went about their business of sleeping and eating and ignored the dogs.  Eventually the dogs all moved south in a hurry – off to continue their hunt – and we had to let them go.

Wild dogs expressing displeasure at nearby lions

Came to the end of the road with my time with Albie and he transported me to the airport in Hoedspruit.  Flight to J’burg was delayed but I made it there plenty early enough to meet the girls.  And Gina and Aislin arrived safely but with no luggage – the very tight connection at Salt Lake meant arriving in Africa with no luggage but it didn’t matter.  We were all so happy that they had made it we didn’t care if the luggage arrived or not. 

A night’s sleep and into the rental car – a KIA SUV – for the drive to the Kruger.  Because we were starting the trip on the south end of the park, we took a route that was unfamiliar to me and we also planned to stop at a department store in Nelspruit to get some clothes just in case.  But the drive through Nelspruit was difficult and poorly signed.  The KIA’s nav system was not helpful – not very intuitive and no manual in the vehicle.  After several stops for direction we did get through Hazy View and through the Kruger Gate into the park and eventually to Lower Sabie.  Aislin and Gina were both very tired so I prepped to go for a brief drive by myself when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an acacia thorn sticking out of one of the tires.  I pulled it and heard a slight hiss of air.  Sigh.  Changed to the spare, inquired about getting it repaired at the fuel station but the repair guy was gone for the day so I called it for the evening.

Next morning we went for a short, uneventful drive, dropped the tire, inquired about the bag and had lunch and a nap.  Patched tire was retrieved and I changed it over again. We went for a game drive led by one of the park rangers that evening and had a couple of very nice leopard sightings. 

Slept in a bit this morning, hit the road by a little after 5am.  Had nice sightings this morning – an African fish eagle eating a fish in a tree and two very nice lion sightings.  A good morning drive.  Lunch at about 1000 and then we found that the bag had been delivered.  It was like Christmas morning and Aislin and Gina are like entirely new people.  It took 3 days but Delta delivered the bag to a pretty remote location for us and we are grateful.  Thank you Delta.

African fish eagle eating lunch

A pair of lions nestled into the spring grass

Now a brief break for naps and catching up on stuff.  Clouds have moved in and it’s cool and threatening rain.  I’m going to try and post this (Lower Sabie is one of the few places in the camp with some sort of internet access) and then we’ll do one more drive.  Tomorrow we move on to Olifants Camp and I think we’re going to start the morning early in a nearby hide, watching birds and animals come down to the water for early morning drinks.

All very good stuff today after a couple of trying days.

November 11, 2012
0546

Back in J'burg.  Had some slight delays getting out of Hoedspruit.  But the girls had more significant adventures.  They were way delayed getting out of Redmond.  They had an early winter snow and were apparently caught completely unaware.  Really not impressed with Delta Global Services, the operator of all of the airline operations out of Redmond.  The girls had to run in Salt Lake to make connection to Atlanta.  The girls made it but the checked luggage didn't.

But Aislin and Gina arrived safely last night.  No issues at passport control and now we're all up with jet lag very early, waiting for the restaurant to open.  Luggage will show up or not but we're all good.  They were careful to pack anything critical to the trip in carry on.

I want to be sure and thank Albie Venter for the week in Kruger.  Fantastic sightings, adventures with Little Bastards and I learned a lot about his approach to wildlife shooting.  Plus, he's a great guy.  Here's Albie's link.  If you need a guide to southern or east Africa, I'd highly recommend.

http://www.africa-unlocked.com

November 10, 2012

1410

At the table, overlooking the dry riverbed again.  This morning was overcast and cool again but by mid-day many of the clouds had burned away and it was starting to warm up.  Currently, the sun’s out and it’s breezy, warm and humid.  I’m surrounded on the deck by wet clothes, hung up in various positions – washed in a sink.  Want to look my best (or at least not smell) when I pick up the girls tomorrow.

Not a very productive morning in terms of photos but a lovely drive nonetheless.  Recall the expression – “A bad day fishing is better than a good day working”?  It’s like that.  Now it’s mid-day on the last full day and I’m already thinking about tomorrow and beyond.  One more drive this evening and a short one in the morning.  So much depends on the light and we have not had great light here.

Chacma baboon

Right now the girls are on the way to Grandpa’s and then on the way to the airport to begin their journey.  I’m so looking forward to seeing my girls.

November 9, 2012

1310

On the deck.  Day started out cold with rain, then brightened and then just a few moments of sunlight.  Now its clouding up again and it’s once again quite cool.  Last night was cold enough for two blankets.  Unusual for this time of year.

Good morning so far.  Rushed off to see lions at the buffalo kill, but never had much of a shot.  They do have little cubs – we could hear them – but we never got more than a glimpse of them through the brush.  Headed back to the leopard but finally it moved on.  Took a slow ride back, photographing yellow billed hornbill and black-bellied bustard.  When we hit the turnoff near out camp, we checked on our jackals.  Didn’t see much going on so photographed three ostrich nearby.  Then we noticed that there was a termite emergence happening right there and the adult jackals were going crazy.  A termite emergence is a phenomenon where thousands of flying termites emerge from underground colonies at about the same time.  It usually follows rains, when conditions are somehow right for the termites.  It’s a time of huge excitement for many of the animals.  Termites are good nutrition and they literally emerge in the tens of thousands.  It’s a time of gluttony for birds, frogs, many mammals and other insects.  The jackals were running around like crazy, zigzagging and leaping into the air.  They hardly knew which direction to turn.  We then found one of the pups, who also was chasing down the termites.  Good fun for them and good shooting for us, though I am a little worried about where the other pup was.

Black-backed jackal leaping for termites

Lunch in the company of a dwarf mongoose and I should be taking a nap but instead I spent time editing images and now a brief entry.  We are also rigging up the GoPro to take another stab at catching the Little Bastards.  They didn’t come yesterday, we think because of the heavy rain.  So we think they’ll be hungry and we’ll be ready for them.

Word is that Aislin got her braces off today.  I can’t wait to see her.