For everyone visiting Africa there is a deep desire to capture in memory the experience of witnessing all cast members that make up the “Big Five”.  It’s not an easy feat and for some it never happens.

My time in Africa was fast coming to an end. After 2 months and seven safaris across four countries I had seen and photographed hundreds of animals. Impala and springbok by the herd, wildebeest by the chaotic stampede, meerkats  by the family, and birds by the undulating flock.

Of Africa’s Big Five I had seen four. In the two months of traveling Southern Africa the Cape Buffalo, elephant, lion, and rhinoceros had all made themselves available to me on more than one occasion. Sometimes standing there right in the middle of the road.

It was the leopard that remained elusive. Continue reading The Elusive One →

The Okavango Delta is one of those storied international locales that brings to mind instantly a series of marshes and waterways teeming with wildlife synonymous with Africa. It is a protected area in the heart of Botswana and at its center is the Moremi National Park; home to countless creatures who have been fortunate enough to happen upon this sanctuary.

My story is about one of these creatures. A lion whose ear for music tapped instinctively into the rhythm of the land upon which he was king.

The roads into Moremi are little more than dusty tracks; a far cry from the tarsealed center-striped highways of Kruger. Then, even those disappear and you find yourself without a pre-conceived direction; lost in the intoxicating vastness of the African bush. It becomes easy to feel like you are in uncharted territory; like it must have felt 100 years ago. Continue reading Blues Meets Lion King →