how to plan an african safari

dear friends,

oh my goodness. thank you for liking my shawl. thank you for the kindest most heartwarming words. thank you for being among the nicest people on the planet. thank you a million times, thank you.

taking a departure from knitting here to share another passion besides wool. this passion includes three other huge loves in my life, photography, the outdoors and travel... most especially

A F R I C A

 is this a passion for you?  do you dream of visiting the African continent? one of the questions chuck and i are asked each time we return from safari is 'how do you plan? which company? where to go? (there are over fifty countries in Africa) when is the best time?  our experience with one company stands out. so much so that our last two trips to Southern Africa were through them. and as soon as the time is (hopefully) right...

 we'll choose again

what i love about most about Africa... (here are a few pics, some are poorly scanned film prints, from a few years ago)...i LOVE the land and the people, the BABIES. i love the big five and the small five and everything in between, and the birds, oh the birds. i love falling asleep to the sound of lion's calling and i love to hear the people singing. i love a g & t or amarula for sundowner's, chuck loves his tusker's (beer). i love the adventure, the endless sky,  i love most the feeling of being fully alive, and when i step on the African soil, the feeling of coming home...

 SIGH

this is an advertisement by Rhino Africa in the current issue of Travel Africa magazine. it's brilliant! can you see the small plots of African dirt, suspended with ropes and wooden stakes and hot air balloons? lion (sheepishly peering over the edge, poor thing!) and elephants and giraffes!! all floating above New York City! the caption at the bottom reads: it's easier if you come to Africa...

i wrote about Rhino Africa after our trip to Namibia last year (here), we were so pleased with their outstanding service, truly, so friendly so helpful and a wealth of information, they were. and did i say patient? there are many MANY things to consider when planning a safari, questions and communications between you and your agent. our every need and concern was addressed before, and so important, during our trip too. and now look! if you have a moment (and interest) they have used my words and photos describing our fantastic adventure! eeps!!

my trip/Namibia through Lori's lens

thank you Rhino Africa Safaris




so to summarize, how to plan an African Safari:
1. watch the video below to begin dreaming
 2. contact Rhino Africa
clicking on the link above will take you there.
:)

 

getaway

we made a quick escape last week, first spending the day east from here in the carrizo plain, and then heading west, back to moonstone beach for a few days in cambria, on california's central coast...

no time for camping this trip, but even a day in the carrizo is a treat. this is a place where quiet pervades and time stands still...

we watched this wild burro, they look so sweet and mild mannered. knowing better i'm choosing to opt out of an upcoming trip next week, which includes riding on one into the wild for a few days...they make me nervous!

our eyes played tricks on us, first this mirage, and then!...

something we've been looking for here for years!! can you see what it is?

it's the san joaquin kit fox!!  a pair!!

we are a looong way off. i am shooting with a 300mm telephoto lens, and the foxes are still a looong way off. no sooner had we turned off the truck and sloooowly stepped out, one of the foxes leapt in three quick jumps and down his den he went.

the other stayed and sat, watching us...

which led to this

crawling, slowly...

so slooowly...

quietly edging

closer...

(i am holding my breath. and thinking that's got to hurt his elbows.)

but i know him, and he is not thinking about that...

he is thrilled...

to fiiiinallllyyyyy get to see the san joaquin kit fox, to be this...

close!!

 beautiful! fantastic!

:)  yes you are!

thank you little fox, what an honor to meet you!

the san joaquin kit fox is one of the smallest of the north american foxes, adult males weigh about five pounds and are approximately 20 inches long. their numbers have steadily declined as their habitat shrinks. they are listed as endangered on the federal list and as threatened on the state list.

we hiked to an abandoned farm house. and dreamed about what it must have been like for the early pioneers who settled here.

we searched around the ancient cottonwoods, finding nests, owl pellets and one large feather!

we're at the coast now, hiking through scrub

to get here

 harmony headlands state park

 we found a snake

and of course chuck had to touch it. a good hike.


i've shared many times before, but a trip up the coast has to include a visit to the piedras blancas rookery. located on highway 1 seven miles north of san simeon on the california central coast. this rookery is home to about 17,000 animals...

can you guess what it is?

it's The Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga angustirostris! 

hee hee! 

they are so funny and fascinating to watch. they make various (LOUD) noises, 

but even asleep they command attention, they are HUGE!

chuck is actually very far from them in this photo, but to give an idea of their size : Females grow to 9-12 feet and weigh between 900-1800 pounds.  Males grow to 14-16 feet long and weigh in at 3000-5000 pounds, or more.

hee hee :)

it is the birthing breeding season. in this photo there are four newborn pups, i lost count trying to keep track of all the 'weaners'

safely perched above, we had a perfect spot to view

 nursing babies

majestic ocean

 a happy mummy

and baby  :)

we stayed until the sun began to set

goodbye ellie seal

and then began the long hike back

time for a welcome hot shower at the inn and then a romantic dinner in town...

next day, on the way home, we happened upon

the morrow bay winter bird festival

we'd planned a quiet visit to morrow bay's estuary

but that would have to happen another time  :)

thank you for coming along! it is always a pleasure to share, i hope it hasn't been too much! i'll be back soon with photos we took up north of my newest knit, this post is looong enough. have a wonderful week ahead!