Well we made it back to the States yesterday, and back to our house today, after two weeks in South Africa with Sunette's family. Unfortunately I haven't had internet access since last Thursday morning so I wasn't able to post for the last few days while we were down there and the two or three days we were traveling.
We had a phenomenal time while we were there. As you can see from the previous posts, we visited a few game reserves, hiked around Hogsback and then Sunette's sister got married the Saturday before we left. I'll post some pictures from the wedding below. Keep in mind, I wasn't the hired photographer so I was going after the shots that he wasn't there to take.
It was a lovely outdoor wedding; a beautiful bride and handsome groom, perfect setting, perfect weather and a hopping dinner and reception. Sunette and I took ballroom dancing lessons to prepare since the new husband and wife are phenomenal ballroom dancers. Needless to say the DJ didn't quite play the same kind of music that we had practiced to. So can you guess which person at the dinner decided to break the ice a bit by providing a firm demonstration of the Tootsie Roll. Yeah, being the only American there, I had to represent. Needless to say the party and the dance floor loosened up a bit after that.
All in all, it was a fantastic time. I pictured it being essentially a photo expedition and that's exactly what it was, from capturing nature and animals to weddings and receptions. I definitely learned a few tricks and I feel like I got some great images from the trip.
Can I say that we missed Elliot something fierce? Luckily we were able to video Skype with him while we were there, which made it much easier to be away for so long. Now we're back home as one big ol' happy family. I'm sure the routine is just around the corner, but we'll see if we can fend it off for a few more days at least.
We're winding up our last day here in Hogsback before heading to Jo'burg for Sunette's sister's wedding. We'll be in Jo'burg for the weekend, then we fly back stateside on Monday. We're supposed to arrive in Atlanta on Tuesday night.
We've had a great last few days, going on a nice long hike yesterday and having a lazy day today. I've taken a few decent shots in the past couple of days, but they'll have to wait 'til tomorrow or the next day to post. It's been a little chilly these last few days, about 50 degrees or so during the day. Tonight we're huddled up around a fire, reading, drinking coffee and eating Brandy Tart. Mmmmmmmm. Needless to say, I didn't lose any weight on this trip for sure.
As promised, here are some shots from Sunday in Addo Elephant Park. I'll continue to post shots I've taken over the last few days, but my internet access may be limited a bit. We'll see.
All of these shots are from when we stumbled on a herd of about 40 elephants at a watering hole late Sunday afternoon. We sat and watched them for almost 2 hours. That's a lot of elephants.
I'm going to break this photo set up into two posts since there are a bunch. Again, Sunette and I were in Addo Elephant Park on Saturday and Sunday to view the wildlife. It covers over 405,000 acres and is home to over 400 elephants, black rhino, lions, and a whole bunch of other stuff. You basically are driving through the bush hoping to come across a few animals. They do have watering holes which are always good places to catch a glimpse. Here are some shots from Saturday. I'll post Sunday's tomorrow.
Edit: My blogging software, MarsEdit, is driving me a little batty. It's screwing with my categories and not posting the pics correctly. Hmmmm….
Well we returned from our visit to Double Drift game reserve and Addo Elephant Park today. It was a wonderful few days. This post will just be about Double Drift and I’ll post some pics and what not from Addo tomorrow.
Double Drift is a game reserve covering over 57,000 acres located about an hour from Hogsback, SA, just south of Alice, SA. They have rhinos, a few elephants, zebra, giraffe and tons more. We’ve been there once before and had a nice experience, seeing rhino and a bunch of other things. This time we went down on Friday afternoon with Sunette’s parents and two other friends. It was a little slow on the sightings, but we did run across this big guy.
After we made one drive, then headed over to some little cottages inside the park overlooking the Great Fish River. The cottages were great and we had a fantastic braai (grill-out) that night under the stars.
The next morning Sunette and I got up before the dawn to make one more drive, then head to Addo. Of course, being in the bush you’re more than likely to run into a few neighbors. This guy was waiting for me under the suitcase as we were getting ready to leave.
We ushered him out of course and continued on with the drive. As the sun was coming up there were some gorgeous settings for a couple tree shots. I’m trying to get shots of all the different trees that we’ll do a collection of at the house maybe. Here’s a silhouette of a Kiepersol Tree and a Thorn Tree. Those things look mean, and they’re all over the place.
The drive through the reserve that morning was gorgeous. We didn’t see a bunch of animals unfortunately but the Aloes were blooming and made for some nice shots.
We did catch a couple zebra checking us out.
From Double Drift we headed to Addo. Tomorrow I’ll post shots and a description of Addo Elephant Park.
Today Sunette and I decided to hop in the truck and see how close we could get to Hog 1 before we had to make the rest of the way by trek. We didn't think we were actually going to try to make the top today, just get an idea of where to start from. Well once we got there we decided to go on ahead and hike to the top. It was a pretty demanding hike, but was well worth it. Here's the view from the top.
Tomorrow we head to Double Drift game reserve to see if we can spy some animals. Then we head to Addo elephant park on Saturday and Sunday to do the same. Hopefully I'll be able to post some nice game pics in the next day or so.
Oh and for everyone back home…how's work?
A big draw for Hogsback is the number of hiking trails in the area. They’ll lead you through deep rainforests to tumbling waterfalls. They’ll lead you up sheer edges to look out from the neighboring peaks. For our first full day here at Sunette’s parents, we decided to hit a trail that takes you by the Madonna and Child Falls, SwallowTail Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and the Great Tree.
It’s not a very long hike, about 5km or roughly 3.5 miles. However, you really get to see some amazing forests and the waterfalls don’t disappoint.
Here are a few shots from the hike.
After we got back and ate a little we decided to hop in the 4×4 and cruise to as close to Hog 1 as we could get. We’re trying to find the best route from which to make our assault in the next few days. Here’s a shot as we were heading up the trail.
Tomorrow I think we’re gonna attempt the summit for some shots. On Friday we’re heading to a game reserve then Sunette and I will head to Addo (Ah-dew) Elephant park, another game reserve that has the big 8. Hopefully we’ll be able to see a few elephants. I’m getting the camera all geared up.
Well we finally made it to our final destination about 1:30pm this afternoon; Hogsback, SA, where Sunette's parents live and run a self-catering cottage business. We left the States on Sunday morning about lunch-time, flew to Philadelphia, then Paris, then Johannesburg, stayed a night with Sunette's sister, then on to East London and Hogsback.
You may be asking how in the world did this town earn the name Hogsback. Well, in the photo below you'll see the three "razorback" ridges that give the town its name. And yes, it's remote as it sounds.
It's a gorgeous locale that is a backpacker/hiker destination for the amazing countryside. Sunette and I have climbed Hog 1 (the peak on the right). We'll repeat that this trip and hit all the other trails and waterfalls.
Her parents have a beautiful 8 acres perched on the hillside with almost all of the property developed as a natural garden. Lots of flowers and nooks and crannies, it's very tranquil. It's heading into winter so there aren't a lot of flowers blooming, but I was able to squeeze off a few shots.
Oh and the tradition with Sunette's family? How 'bout coffee about 15 times a day…literally. I'll drink more Joe here than I do back home. It's hard to believe I know. 3 o'clock in the afternoon? Sounds like a good time for coffee.
So the next few days will be full of absorbing the out-of-doors, taking pics, drinking coffee, reading and so on. I do have internet access so I'll be able to keep you up to date. So…you ready for a trip to Hogsback?
This little guy turns 10 months old today. He’s getting big fast.
This was a quick trial with my new lens.
Sunday morning Sunette and I hop on a plane for South Africa. We're heading down to see her family for a couple weeks and to take part in her sister's wedding. It's Friday night…have I packed? Uh, no, I'm writing a post. We used to be able to take a direct flight from Atlanta to Jo'burg or Capetown. Not anymore. Apparently Delta and South African Airways don't like each other anymore. I swear air travel aggravates the stew out of me. Now we're faced with a 4 leg journey to the other side of the world. We go from Atlanta to Philadelphia to Paris to Johannesburg to East London, then drive a couple hours to where her parents live. It used to be straight, now it looks like this.
Umm, yeah there's something wrong with that flight path, like…oh say an extra 3,000 freakin miles. Sheesh.
Well, whether it takes us 48 hours of travel time or not, I'm stoked for a vacation. Hogsback is absolutely gorgeous and I'm looking at this as a photo expedition. Not to mention that I just got a new lens for portrait and macro work. Oh yeah baby. So we're headed off in the wild blue yonder. That prolly means I won't be able to post until Monday, but that's about my normal schedule anyway isn't it?
In my office I have a print of a fly (fly fishing fly, not a tsetse fly) above my computer monitor. In fact I have two of them side by side above my desk.
The neat thing is that whoever painted it had the name of Elliot, either first or last, but that’s what they signed in the bottom right corner. EDIT: Ummm, the photos are backwards so read right to left.
So every day, many times throughout the day, I’m reminded of the little buddy I’ve got at the house that I’ll one day teach how to tie on a dry fly or nymph to catch that big brown down at the bottom of that nice pool. Here’s looking forward to the day when we can go fishing together.
