NATURE AS A GARDEN

30 Dec '06 12:17 am

Hi Jack
Not sure if its just me, but after a few attempts I can only see 11 of your amazing pics. the others just show those annoying red crosses.

30 Dec '06 12:21 am

ok., tried again, for the fourth time....and there they all were. What a great experience for you and your family, Jack!

17 Feb '07 6:53 am

I just whizzed through your beautiful photographs. (I'll be back for a more leisurely read through the account of your trip.)

I especially enjoyed seeing more baobabs, something I haven't yet scene except in photos. There are some other baobabs featured in the book "Remarkable Trees of the World" by Thomas Pakenham published by W.W. Norton & Company. Though there are several featured in the book, the ones along the 'Avenue of the Baobabs' at Morondava were especially impressive. You might enjoy seeing these as well some day as they are in Madagascar, perhaps not too far from you?

Thanks for sharing, Mark

13 Jul '08 7:55 am

I spent a wonderful 5 days camping under the vast trees on the banks of the Limpopo River with my godmother, cousin and friends on their Game Farm which is now part of the Mapungubwe National Park. ( http://www.sanparks.org/parks/mapungubwe/ ) I saw plenty of game - elephants, kudu, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and crocodiles amongst the larger animals, as well as smaller antelope like bushbuck, duiker and impala as well as bushpig and a huge variety of birds. More about the birds later. Being a plant person though, it is the beauty of the flora - from spectacular trees to minute flowers only appreciated through the macro lens, all in the grand setting of the river, plains and rocky hills, that I really love.

Here are a few smatterings of the joys I experienced...

13 Jul '08 8:29 am

The river at this time of year is quiet and low - in fact I've seldom seen it flow so strongly in July, and at the moment it criss-crosses its sandy bed, making for a very photogenic setting...

13 Jul '08 7:02 pm

Some more river shots - and a happy half hour spent on my stomach photographing the teeniest flowers growing on a damp sandy slope IN rather than ON the river!

13 Jul '08 7:35 pm

Wonderful photos. I love the close-ups and the late light.

14 Jul '08 1:28 am

That's a little worrisome given the apparent size of the croc in the last picture.

Going back to the first of these three new sets, the Euphorbias really are so diverse aren't they? I especially like the Euphorbia detail picture because it shows the odd manner in which the flowers emerge from the cactus like body of the plant. It's like a 'leaf' just splits and out come the flowers along the edge.

The lighting in all of the second group gives those pictures a warm glow, especially the one labeled "Late Light".

I wonder if this area of the park is part of any of those great migrations we see on Nature and National Geographic programs. If so, it must be getting near feeding time again for the crocs.

Thanks for bringing us along Jack.

14 Jul '08 2:05 am

Here are a few more photos taken during my recent visit to Samaria, my godfamily's game farm on the Limpopo which is now part of Mapungubwe National Park.

Mark, the migrations happen much further north in Africa. 150 years ago the Springbok migration still happened further south. However I have seen herds of buffalo congregate in the Kruger, about 300 animals at the river at the same time: an awesome sight!

15 Jul '08 6:55 am

Dear Jack, thanks for posting these magical pictures of a magical place. Your eye for detail is wonderful.

NATURE AS A GARDEN

MISSING!

sheepish

Loved the Baobabs!

Back on the Limpopo

Some river views

A walk along the river

Egads! "In the river rather than on it" .. amid c

More views of that magical part of the world

Magical pictures