Chobe Afternoon
After a break I have resumed posting with this afternoon view of some elephants peacefully grazing on the banks of the Chobe River.
This image was captured on the Chobe River, near the town of Kasane, northern Botswana, Southern Africa.
View this and similar images on my Flickr site — Duncan’s Flickr Page
©2015 Duncan Blackburn
The end of the day….
The Masai Mara is situated to the east of Lake Victoria in the so-called East African Rift of the Great Rift Valley.
There are many geological, climatic and other environmental consequences of being situated on this geographic fault line. From a photographic point of view the many ridges and sharp escarpments in the area provide opportunities for silhouette images and images with clear and uniform backgrounds. This image, showing the silhouetted outlines of giraffes against the setting sun, is a typical example.
This image was captured in the Masai Mara conservancy, south west Kenya, East Africa.
View this and similar images on my Flickr site — Duncan’s Flickr Page
©2015 Duncan Blackburn
Mara Sunset
This image was captured in the Masai Mara conservancy, south west Kenya, East Africa.
View this and similar images on my Flickr site — Duncan’s Flickr Page
©2015 Duncan Blackburn
Timbavati
Timbavati Game Reserve
The Timbavati Game Reserve is located to the north of the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve on the western edge of Kruger National Park, South Africa.
The Reserve was established in 1956 by like-minded game farmers with the creation of the Timbavati Association. The association has 50 members and covers 53,392 hectares (533.92 km2). Timbavati is part of Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) and the fences separating Timbavati from the other member reserves in the APNR and from the Kruger National Park have been removed. Wildlife, including lion, elephant, cheetah and other species roam freely between the these reserves.
The Timbavati is home to:
Going Home
Sunset
The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment when the trailing edge of the Sun’s disk disappears below the horizon. The ray path of light from the setting sun is highly distorted near the horizon because of atmospheric refraction, making the sunset appear to occur when the sun’s disk is already about one diameter below the horizon. Sunset is distinct from dusk, which is the time at which the sky becomes completely dark, which occurs when the sun is approximately eighteen degrees below the horizon. The period between sunset and dusk is called twilight.
Sunset creates unique atmospheric conditions such as the often intense orange and red colours of the sun and the surrounding sky.
[Ref: Wkipedia]
Sunset on the Chobe River, downstream of the town of Kasane northern Botswana, Southern Africa,
Still Waters!
Chobe River
A typical early morning scene on the Chobe River looking east to west upstream of the town of Kasane.
This is my absolute favourite wildlife destination. The photographic productivity of this magical place is unmatched!
Food for the soul!
Angry Skies!
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, or a thundershower, is a type of storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth’s atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the thunderstorm is the cumulonimbus. Thunderstorms are usually accompanied by strong winds, heavy rain and sometimes hail, or no precipitation at all.
Thunderstorms result from the rapid upward movement of warm, moist air. They can occur inside warm, moist air masses and at fronts. As the warm, moist air moves upward, it cools, condenses, and forms cumulonimbus clouds that can reach heights of over 20 km. As the rising air reaches its dew point, water droplets and ice form and begin falling the long distance through the clouds towards the Earth’s surface. As the droplets fall, they collide with other droplets and become larger. The falling droplets create a downdraft of cold air and moisture that spreads out at the Earth’s surface, causing the strong winds commonly associated with thunderstorms, and occasionally fog.
This image was captured on a stormy afternoon on the Chobe River, near Kasane, northern Botswana, Southern Africa.
Crocodile River
Crocodile River
The Crocodile River, also referred to as Crocodile River (East), is a large river traversing Mpumalanga Province of south Africa. It originates north of Dullstroom, in the Steenkampsberg Mountains. Downstream of Kwena Dam, the Crocodile River winds through the Schoemanskloof and down the Montrose Falls. It then flows eastwards past Nelspruit and joins the Komati at Komatipoort. This latter part of its course forms the southern boundary of the Kruger National Park.
Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 20 000 sq km (7580 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa’s first national park in 1926.
To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique.
[Ref: Wikipedia]
This image was captured from the south bank of the Crocodile River, approximately 10 km west of the Crocodile Bridge entrance gate to the Kruger National Park
Give Peace a Chance
A typical late afternoon scene on the Chobe River, Botswana
Morticians Union Meeting
The Great Migration between Kenya and Tanzania literally involves millions of animals. Giant herds of wildebeest , zebra and Thomson’s Gazelle traverse the vast plains of this part of East Africa following the rains and sprouting of new grass.
An inevitable feature of this annual journey is the death of thousands of animals, which either fall prey to the large predators, succumb to adverse weather conditions or simply prove too weak to complete the trek.
The fact that, relatively speaking, one can find very little physical evidence of these deaths, is solely due to the work of the scavengers. In the main this group is made up of various species of vulture, Marabou Storks and hyena.
Perhaps the most efficient of these scavengers are the vultures, being able to strip a carcass down to clean bone in an extraordinarily short time. Should one witness such an event, it is no exaggeration to say that the carcass literally disappears before one’s eyes! This incredible efficiency to “clean up” has earned the vulture the local nickname of “mortician”.
This image, captured in the Masai Mara conservancy in Kenya, East Africa, shows a number of “morticians” meeting in the shade of a tree. The President of the Morticians Union can be clearly seen in his elevated position right at the top, with his trusted lieutenants overseeing the assembled members.
Duncan's Nature Photography 