Wie of wat is die Groot Vyf? Kom ons wees meer spesifiek en sê die Groot Vyf van die diereryk, anders dink mense dalk ons praat van lande, natuurwonders of toerisme-attraksies. So, wie of wat is die Groot Vyf van die diereryk? Dis nie die vyf grootste diere of die mooiste vyf nie, maar die vyf wilde diere wat die gevaarlikste was om te voet te jag in Afrika. Ek sê was want vandag is dit niks om 'n dier vanaf die agterkant…
Following yesterday's post on the Johannesburg Zoo, I decided to post a couple of random animal photos I took on our visit. I have said so before and I will say so again (and again and again and again) that I much rather prefer to visit a game reserve and look for the animals in their natural environment. The problem is that not everybody in society gets the opportunity to visit game reserves and thus zoos will always be the…
The Addo Elephant National Park is one of Port Elizabeth's biggest attractions. There is very few game viewing experiences that get close to having a big herd of elephants passing within arm's length of your car. But for those who wants a more personal elephant experience, a visit to Addo Elephants Back Safaris in the Zuurberg Mountains is a must. Although the main activity there is riding the elephants, my favorite experience was walking with them. It gives you the…
Elephants are amazing animals and its not often one gets to see an elephant's skull. The other day I had the pleasure to see one up close at an exhibit. An elephant can weigh up to 5 or 6 tons which means that it's skull is of considerable size. The interesting thing about the skull is that its not solid bone, but consist of tubes like the inside of a plane's wing. The skull didn't have it's tusks in, but…
A couple of pachyderms having a meal together at the Addo Elephants National Park just outside Port Elizabeth. I just loved the fact that the second elephant actually looks like the first one's reflection.
The Big Five was the phrase given by big-game hunters to the five most difficult or dangerous animals in Africa to hunt on foot. These days the Big 5 is high on the list of must-see attractions on a tourist's list of things to do or see when visiting South Africa. I present to you, The Big 5. African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)Lion (Panthera leo)Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer)White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) (above) or Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) Leopard (Panthera pardus)
It is not often that one gets the opportunity to get right down on the ground close to an elephant to get photos of him eating and going about his daily routine. This was one of the things I really enjoyed at Addo Elephant Back Safaris last weekend. Elephants are fascinating eaters. They eat up to 200kg of vegetation per day. Because they are herbivores (vegetarians), and thus only eat plants. Imagine if the were carnivores. What would it look…
Just a couple of close-up shots of elephants taken last weekend at Addo Elephant Back Safaris. Elephant skin taken with the macro setting of my camera. *skin cream needed* The bottom of an elephant's foot. It is amazing to watch them walk. They put their feet down flat and not heal and toe like us. The feet has a kind of a cushion in it which absorbs the impact when they walk which means they are very delicate walkers. *heal…
The little things always catches my eye just as much as the big things do. Actually, sometimes I search so hard for the little things that I miss the big ones. While we were watching the elephants drink, I was crouching down in the vegetation next to the waterhole to get a nice angle for my photo when this litte guy popped into sight.
This past weekend we went on a trip to Addo Elephant Back Safaris in the Zuurberg Mountains. I took some great photos of elephants, spiders, mountains and all kind of things. Today I want to show a bit of what we did there and over the next couple of days I'll show off some of my other photos.On the day of our arrival we took it easy and only went on a guided walk through the reserve. The next morning…