A Winter Storm, Mountain Zebra National Park

Taken over a 2.5 hour period on the Rooiplaat plateau, Mountain Zebra National Park, July 2005.

2:50 pm - driving up to the plateau, and looking north, with the storm edge approaching from the west

3.40 pm - looking west from the plateau at the approaching rain

And then I sat in the rain for 40 minutes with zero visibility....... 

4.20 pm - glimmers of sunshine & blue sky in the west as the storm passes over, moving east

Black Wildebeest

4.40 pm - still raining overhead, but as the storms edge reveals the sun in the west, the rainbows appear in the east

4:45 pm - The storm retreating eastwards with rainbows, and blue skies showing in the south-west

4.55 pm - looking eastwards the skies become evermore spectacular as the afternoon turns into evening

4.55 pm - looking south

5.00 pm - looking north, with springbok in the foreground

5.05 pm - storm edges

5.18 pm - as the sun lowers to the western horizon, colour stains the eastern sky and retreating storm

5.27 pm - looking north over the Karoo with a spectacular "reverse" sunset

5.28 pm - and the sun sets in a clear sky

Mid-winter on the South Coast

Hiking in Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve

Mild, sunny days (mostly),  flowering aloes, sharks & whales, zebra & wildebeest, endless sandy (and empty) beaches, tropical coastal forests, rolling grassy hills & sugarcane fields.......

That's what you get on the Kwa-Zulu Natal South Coast in mid-winter.

Here are some "snapshots" from a visit I made this last June.

Small villages form an almost continuous band of development down the coast line, but when you look closely enough there are pockets of coastal forest/thicket everywhere.......

Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve

 Moving away from the beaches, into the rolling hills of Zululand you will find endless sugarcane fields, dotted with Zulu villages and small nature reserves.

These reserves not only preserve the local flora and bird life, but often have zebra, wildebeest and other antelope

Vernon Crookes NR

Nudibranch

Then there's the diving on Aliwal Shoal. This is a prime destination in winter for the Ragged-tooth sharks (aka Raggies)

Of course there's a lot of other stuff to see as well, both underwater & on the surface at this time of the year.......

Ragged-tooth Shark

Humpback Whales

From June through to November we have Humpback whales migrating north & then back south again close to our eastern shoreline.

On our first dive, on Aliwal Shoal, we had whale song for the whole dive. An amazing experience.

On all 3 of our diving days we had incredible whale sightings from our  boat as we returned to shore......

Then there's the Sardine Run.

Every winter, millions of sardines move north up the Eastern Cape and southern Kwa-Zulu Natal coasts in massive shoals.

As with anything in nature, the timing, size, extent and duration of the Sardine Run can vary significantly year to year.

This year, the sardine shoals came close to shore near Pennington and Scottburgh at the same time I was there.

This was the sight that greeted us when we walked onto the beach to launch for our second Aliwal dive.

Chaos, excitement, wonder.......

The next morning there were no sardines, and the beach returned to it's normal mid-winter, mid-week emptiness........

All holidays come to an end, and we had some beautifully warm sunny weather on the last day to see me back to cold, dry Johannesburg.

A last walk on the beach and a cocktail at sunset!!

Diving Sodwana - June 2017

Feather Star

In June we had even better weather conditions, although the water was a lot colder. This meant we got to some of the further reefs where the small "stuff" in and amongst the coral was endlessly fascinating.....

Squadrons of Pelican

Nyamithi Pan, Ndumo Game Reserve

An overcast morning in late February didn't make for the best lighting for photography, but the birds were so active that we had many opportunities for getting the best shots possible.

Visible in the general, context shot above, are Pink-backed Pelican, Yellow-billed Stork, Great White Egret and African Spoonbill.

I was particularly excited with the Pelicans. I've only seen them once before in Kruger, and at a great distance, and then I've seen flying overhead in Cape Town.

They were the most active, and closest birds feeding on this morning at the bird hide.

I'll be posting more from this incredible birding/wildlife safari to Kwa-Zulu Natal..........