  Amy Attenborough AFRICA! Africa was everything I could have asked for...and more. The ultimate wildlife photo-safari with the ultimate guide: Amy Attenborough. I had Amy as a guide when I was last in Africa and when I decided to show Africa to my daughter on this trip, Amy was the first name I thought of. She's more than a point-and-shoot guide; she constantly reminds us of our connection to the land and its wild inhabitants. It's that approach to our travels that brought me one step closer to "finding myself" as a photographer of some of the world's most incredible wildlife.  We started in Londolozi, one of the first ever eco-camps, founded in the 1920’s. It was amazing as always. Their famous leopards did not disappoint. The variety in Londolozi is amazing. We then left Londolozi to go to Tswalu in the Kalahari. The first flight was 13,000 feet in a non-pressurized plane without oxygen. Talk about a "breathless" flight! That was asking a lot out of this old body, and from Londolozi to Johannesburg, I wasn't having all that much fun just trying to breathe. The second flight was better, as it was a pressurized cabin and plenty of wonderful emergency oxygen. I arrived in Tswalu in pretty good condition, but I now know that my learning about new species is going to be limited to altitudes and conditions where I can breathe. The brain simply does not learn well without oxygen.  The elusive pangolin The desert was wonderful and I got to fulfill my ambition of seeing two "goal animals," pangolins--the most traded and increasingly endangered animal in the world--and meerkats.  We arrived just as the meerkats were coming out of their burrows. The burrows are cold, so the meerkats have to sun themselves to bring their body temperatures up. Thus we were able to photograph for quite a while. We also were able to shoot Cheetahs who were resting in the very hot sun. It was a full hour of the best shooting ever.
Our next destination was the Okavango Delta. Rain falls in Uganda and the water makes its way to the Botswana and the Delta. Usually, the Delta is very wet with hippo “highways” in the marsh. This year the rain was late and was just arriving when we left. I am hoping this is temporary, but everywhere I go, around the world, the evidence for climate change is present. We went from the bush to Cape Town and down to the Cape of Good Hope. I love Cape Town and we had a great guide. Our last night in Cape Town we had dinner with Amy’s Aunt, who is a gracious host. All in all a very successful trip. My daughter and I are eager to go back next year. I do love shooting in the bush. It is my favorite location for photography. I've posted many more great photos from that trip. Just go to this page and scroll to the bottom...enjoy! Comments are closed.
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