From a personal standpoint, I loved the big game – but the small things (often part of the overlooked food chain) have intrigued me equally. So here‘s a few special shots that get a little bit closer.
We enjoyed a great stay at Kings camp Dec 2nd through the 5th (2008), and during our game drives with Morné and Patrick, we shot a total of 4000+ photographs. And yes, we had conquered the Big 5 within two drives (thank you Morné). Here are a few shots of some smaller things, that pleased me greatly
Albert (Pat‘s tracker for our 3 drives) has to have the sharpest eyes in the universe. Honestly, Albert has Superman vision in my humble opinion, as none of the rest of us would have ever spotted this. I think that this is an African Scops Owl (Patrick, please feel free to correct if I’m wrong). This was a rainy, cold drive (game a little bit less visible), but Albert has the eagle eye.
Morné‘s game walk with us the 2nd day. An unexpected and delightful surprise, after we had checked the area for Cape Buffalo – the 5 bachelors were only 800 meters from the camp that day.
Thorny bush.
A dung beetle on our walk with Morné – and yes, I was bad and held the group up on several occasions to take pictures.
Patrick picked up a tortoise on our 3rd game drive (again, the rainy drive), and we learned a lot. Here‘s Patrick counting the ridges (years), and this old fellow is 23 years old (approx).
A Golden Orb Spider – again from our rainy drive.
On our last drive, hunting elephant off the beaten track – Albert spotted some fresh elephant spoor (dung that was 20 or less minutes old), and Patrick stopped to give us an education. This is a Dung Beetle, which you can easily handle (they don’t have any stingers or pincers). An incredibly strong insect. Most of us got to handle the little guy.
We saw a lot of these little caterpillars, and one of the highlights of this safari was the frequent stops we made to enjoy the small facets of the environment.
Pretty caterpillars from our “Sun Downer” that Albert and Pat went and collected for us to enjoy.
The Small Wonders
By Kings Camp Team on December 18, 2008
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Thanks christian for sharing the small things. Fascinating. The nature around King’s Camp is so awe inspiring. And Patrick and Morné are amazing in their connection to nature. I had to wake up early this morning to do a radio interview for my book and just logged on to the blog. What a wonderful way to start my day.
Thank you for sharing you experience at Kings Camp with us. It is nice to hear about the guest experience once in a while. The eco system is interesting and inspiring. Every creature has a role and a place on this planet.
So often we miss rare treats because of focusing on the "big picture". These are little treasures. I do hope that you let us all know when when you book is published, Batman and that is will be available through Amazon.
And, yes, Albert has the eyes of an eagle!
Thanks for posting… It’s good to see that our hard work has payed off to show that the small wonders is such a vital part of the whole eco-system…
Without them, Nature as we know it will not exist!
The small wonders are all part of the big picture and an intricate part of the whole web essential for maintaining balance. They are also truly amazing and should not be overlooked
Heather BEswick