Category Archives: Travel

Which Elephants Make the Cut for the Blog?

Kenya and Tanzania both provided us with multiple opportunities to observe elephants. Sure, I have seen elephants before including one encounter in the wild in South Africa. None of these encounters in any way prepared me for the time with elephants we had on this trip. There were so many of them, I was constantly taken aback by the experience. They would be traveling in groups and often several groups would be together. There were so many of them.

Each time we would come upon some, I would be momentarily amazed that there were elephants so close. Then I would realize that there were more around than I had first thought. They would be so close, so uninterested in us and so impressive. There would be all ages with senior females, younger elephants and some tiny calves. It was just incredible.

Seeing so many of them in lots of different places means it becomes harder to narrow down to a few for one post. The early experiences made a big impression on me but the later ones were still outstanding. In Amboseli, we ended up with the sun setting over Kilimanjaro as loads of elephants were grazing in the foreground. At one point, we were standing up in the truck and everywhere I looked there were elephants feeding. I took the phone out of my pocket and panned around to show just how many there were. Truly amazing.

Another time we were crossing a river and there were loads of them in the water and along the banks. They gradually made their way towards us and, at one point, an adult and a calf climbed the road away from the river and the view of them heading off was amazing. Another time, we found some up on the top of the river bank. They split up with some foraging along the shore and others fording the river to try their luck on the other side.

Another memorable moment was a lone male slowly heading by the road we were on. We stopped to watch him for a while, and he turned and started heading towards us. Having seen videos of elephants pushing vehicles out of their way, I was wondering whether we were going to have to make haste out of his way but apparently we were not his concern and we were able to stay and watch him for a while.

All of these moments were amazing but were not the sum of our encounters. We had so many times with the elephants that I can’t count them. I wish I could truly convey just how amazing they were. Forget the closer moments. Just watching a family of elephants in the water making their way through the foliage in the distance as they fed was fantastic. I just love elephants – but then I doubt that is a controversial position.

Kelowna Lakefront

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We spent our Thanksgiving weekend in Kelowna BC. It was not a long stay there, but it was a nice chance to visit somewhere new. The trip involves a five-hour drive, so we didn’t arrive until mod afternoon. The weather was lovely on the drive across so, when we arrived, we decided to take advantage of the sun to have a walk along the lake.

There are many homes and hotels along the water, and they have created parks and waterways around these developments. It might have been sunny, but it definitely wasn’t warm, so we were wrapped up well to counter the cool air coming off the lake. Plenty of people were out walking their dogs or riding their bikes so the whole place felt pretty alive considering this was a Thursday afternoon at the end of November. These are some of the shots I got while we explored.

Conference Center Cables

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The roof of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh has a terrace area which is only got to see on the last day I was there. The structure has cable bracing built in to it. Some of this is conspicuous when you are on the roof, but it also came down into some tie off points alongside the main conference levels although outside the halls. The convergence of the cables seemed rather interesting and, while I only had the phone with me, I figured I would try and get some images that emphasized the multiple strands and their alignment. Stuff like this is fascinating to me – like the end of a suspension bridge. Very cool.

I Love Hippos and I Wasn’t Disappointed

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When going on a safari, there are animals that will be the ones many people will want to see most. Lions, elephants, maybe rhinos will be top of the list. I am not saying I didn’t want to see those because I clearly did but I have a fascination with hippos and seeing them was very high on the list of things I wanted. Thankfully, we had plentiful opportunities to see them in various locations.

I knew that they were one of the more dangerous creatures, but we never got in any situation where they were a direct worry to us. They tend to come out at night and feed before retreating to the water in the morning to stay cool and away from any predators. Therefore, many of our sightings were when they were in rivers. However, this wasn’t always the case. We would see them wandering on land, heading through marshy ground and even asleep on the land. I should note that one hippo we saw asleep on the land was showing signs of attack with wounds across its body so this may have been out of character.

We came upon one river that had loads of hippos in it. We watched then for a while and then, as some of the other trucks pulled out, our guide moved us up into the dead end where they had come from. This brought us in to sight of another big group of hippos way closer in. It was amazing to see so many of them together.

What was the shot I wanted? It had to be the mouth. Hippos yawn and show off their large mouth and the huge teeth. I so wanted to get that shot. One hippo was in the water looking straight at me and I was just willing it to yawn but it didn’t oblige. However, I did get some more distant shots when the full yawn was happening so that was really great. They are such excellent creatures and, considering that they are vegetarians, ones that need to be treated with great caution. What a treat.

Royal Exchange

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We were walking through the city checking out areas that we didn’t normally go to when we worked in Town during our visit last year. Our route brought us up to the Royal Exchange. It is a really cool looking old structure but one that has been adapted to modern uses. The inside is some pretty high end retail and we weren’t buying whatever they were selling. However, I did love the look of the place. It was also quite funny because I bumped into an old work colleague that I knew from Seattle (who has moved back to the UK). Not what you expect in a city the size of London!

Kemble Gate Guards

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The trip to the UK early this year included a quick trip to Kemble or Cotswolds Airport as it is also known. Near the tower, they have a couple of preserved airframes that harken back to the time that this was a Royal Air Force base (including it being home of the Red Arrows). One of the gate guards (okay, they aren’t near the gate, but you get the idea) is a Folland Gnat. I don’t know whether it is a genuine ex-Red Arrow or just painted to look like one, but it is cool either way. It is the tiniest of jets. I wonder what it was like ferrying one across the Atlantic as they did for a tour.

The other airframe is a Hawker Hunter. This is a classic aircraft and one that continues in use to this day. It is a trainer version with the side-by-side cockpit arrangement and in a grey paint job that I am not familiar with them having used in service. Either way, another great looking jet and something cool for any visitors to check out.

What is This Boat About?

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Nancy and I were having lunch at a great pub on Spice Island called The Still and West. I would certainly recommend it if you are in the area. We were watching the many different boats as they came in and out of the Harbour entrance. One boat was heading out which seemed curious. It was a low profile vessel, looked like it was designed to look suspicious and, when you look closer, it has a FLIR installation on the bridge. Since this is Portsmouth, it could well be a military vessel but that doesn’t preclude it being one for an overseas customer or just a company or individual with rather specialized interests. I wonder which it is.

A Chinese Plane in Nairobi

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Our flight from the Maasai Mara back to Nairobi took us in to Wilson Airport. This is not the main international airport but a smaller domestic airport that is closer to the center of the city. No terminals and jet bridges here. We disembarked from our Dash 8 on the ramp and walked to the building to get out of the airport. The ramp was packed with all sorts of aircraft. One caught my eye immediately as it looked unfamiliar to me.

The marking showed it belong to the Republic of Djibouti’s Air Force which only served to increase my level of interest. It wasn’t something I had seen before so I had to look up the type. It is a Harbin Y-12 which is a Chinese designed and manufactured aircraft. That was quite a turn up for me. Not sure how happy anyone would be about me getting photos on the ramp but no one seemed bothered at the time.

St Pancras Sculptures

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While walking through the station at St Pancras, I realized that there are more sculptures than I had thought. The one of Sir John Betjeman I knew of from previous visits, but the others were new to me. I rather like the stark nature of their textures and imagery. They have a rather aggressive feel to me which got my attention. It’s nice that public spaces make the effort to add art to the functional areas.

Leopards Are Harder to Find

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Our time in Kenya and Tanzania included plenty of lions but, when it came to the next big cat on the food chain, things were a lot less common. The leopards were there to be seen but they were not anywhere near as numerous. It doesn’t help that, unlike the lions that live in large prides, the leopards have a solitary existence. If you are in a territory, it is one leopard that you are looking for.

We did have some encounters, though. The first leopard we came across was at the beginning of the day as we headed out from the hotel. We hadn’t got very far when our guide spotted a leopard sitting on a termite mound. We stopped and got some shots of it and then tried to get closer but leopards are a lot more skittish than other cats and it didn’t take much to spook this one. It ran off up the hills.

Our next encounter was with one that had been busy feeding. On a couple of occasions, we had seen carcasses of animals up in trees where the leopard had pulled them. In this case, the leopard had then taken to another tree to rest after its meal. We were quite close beneath it, but it didn’t seem bothered about us and I don’t think it was likely to pounce down on us. Instead, it was sleeping and barely recognizing our presence.

The other encounters we had were probably with the same leopard but this time down in some bushes alongside a river. The first time the leopard was pretty well in the bushes and was lying down. It didn’t seem intent on doing much and we left it after a short while. Back in the same area on another day, it was on the move. We were able to be ahead of it and it walked towards us before cutting back into the bushes and being lost from sight again.

The leopards are such powerful creatures, and they look far more menacing than, say, the cheetahs. Their ability to haul a heavy animal up into a tree is impressive and, pound for pound, they are stronger than the lions. However, the lions will still take them out if given the chance. With overlapping territories, this is not something to be ruled out. I’m glad we got the time with them that we did.