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Greater kudu.
A lilac-breasted roller.
Red-billed oxpeckers on a hippo, wound cleaners.
Egyptian geese with gosling. A 1st sighting for me! This year! After so many years in Africa.
A black-backed jackal.
A hippo pool in Katavi park. The dry season is at its full, water is scarce and they stick together is smelly mud waiting for the next rains.
A few shots in South Sudan last year:
An Eastern European pilot chose to land directly in the middle of other aircraft and helicopters instead of using the runway.
A Russian mechanic work on the tail of a Mil 26
One of the numerous wrecks littering the country, A Fokker 27.
The Caravan I used to fly in that charming country. Here in Pibor to bring supplies to the Indian Un battalion.
A Russian Mil 26 I overtook.
In my last days the government was beefing up its troops. Here with brand new gunships, the infamous Mil 24 (used in one Rambo movie)
More peaceful, here is Tanzania:
A Pilatus PC 12 above and below our Caravan with great guests near the Msembe airstrip, Ruaha park.
Our Caravan over the Great Ruaha river.
Between Nairobi and Juba (South Sudan) to be a bit more specific.
OK, not really a street picture but I like this one for the 2 messages of hope it brings.
Some diversity in fashion is always guaranteed.
Notice the vintage Mercedes E in the background. Late seventies model?
A flight in the southern part of the Selous reserve along the Luhego river. I had never flown to that airstrip, Luhanyando, so I was quite pleased to discover that river.
Here at the junction with the Lukula river.
Mangrove at Mafia island.
2 different details of salt lake Balangida.
Waterbucks in the Luhego river, southern Selous.
Rufiji river, northern Selous.
A little flight between the Mafia Island mangrove and Dar es Salaam.
I used a film camera this week, that got me fishing some old pictures B.D. (that is before Digital)
Scarface…
A lion got a rare roan antelope. I think that was one of my 2 sightings of that beautiful animal, Katavi park
2 young lions with a plain agenda but they had eyes bigger than their skills and got chased away by the buffaloes.
One plane was shot down over this village, the white tail is still visible after the rest of the wreck has burnt or has been looted.
Rare activity on the Nile river. That was a bit puzzling since there are hardly no roads. Only dirt tracks anyway and unusable in the rainy season. Maybe the civil war explains why the boat traffic is next to zero.
Those blue tarpaulins are to be seen everywhere, even outside refugee camps. UN materials that has been wandering away usually.
A military type of bridge (?) on a main track.
Swamp and suspicious plants.
A red-cheeked cordon-bleu (Un cordonbleu à joues rouges)
Egyptian goose with goslings (une oie égyptiennes avce des oisons.)
A red-billed oxpecker for once not busy on some hippo’s back cleaning the wounds (un piqueboeuf à bec rouge)
A green-winged pytilia under the morning sun (un beaumarquet melba)
A female African paradise-flycatcher. I’m still waiting to catch the male which has a longer tail, by 20cm (un tchitrec d’Afrique)
The spectacular African skimmers fishing, a unique feat I bet. Fascinating to watch as a pilot( des bec-en-ciseaux d’Afrique)
Yellow-collared lovebirds (des inséparables masqués)
Fluffy neck for this African harrier-hawk (un gymnogène d’Afrique)
then in was time for a mud bath.
I enjoyed that cooperative racket-tailed roller.
Then a dust bath followed.
This one had a scratchy bottom. That rock was most welcome.
Notice my little house.
That is I finally when I got spotted. I had been careful with the wind but at some point I needed to change my position because I wanted some parts of the camp in the picture. They trumpeted a few times while I was looking for the nearest shelter. I stayed still, 30m away said my lens scale. I guess like Van Damme said, I could have crushed a nut.
Then they left while giving me the picture I wanted with the restaurant in the background.
I crossed again the river back to camp. Did I even touch the ground while moving back? Not sure, I was so elated.
I was blissfully staying in our camp for a few days walking around in and out of camp, looking for birds, details and whatever surprise that may come.
Well for a surprise I got a nice one: 16 elephants going towards camp. I had wanted to see what the Ruaha river had to offer behind that bend. The bend will be there next week so I went back to meet the elephants, up to a point of course.
But to position myself for better pictures, I had to cross the river…and cut myself from camp. I know it is not the smartest thing to do but I just couldn’t resist. We’re in the dry season so this not a challenge at all. In March…
Throw a few pebbles in the river so the stealthy crocodiles would move away. In this location that is. Our crocodiles are small. Disclaimer: “Don’t take my advice for other places and other crocodiles”. Enough Darwin Awards…
I was moving a bit military style from tree to tree or rocks while the elephants had reached the river and were about to spend a good amount of time in there.
Getting closer and closer was such a thrill, such a privileged moment. No car, no house to run too. A few times, I thought I had been spotted but no…not till the end when they left the area.
Another time when I thought this is it but no.
About 40m away safe behind rocks. Notice how the baby has rolled up his trunk. For those who might have wondered, baby elies don’t suck milk with their trunk.
Little bonus, these racket-tailed rollers played in the same frame!
to be continued….
That new big lens in March... looking for details we normally don’t see well because of their height.
Above, our magnificent Grand’Place.
One of the very airplanes that left Brussels airport in the wake of the 22nd March bombing. And it’s a cargo plane…
Gabrielle Petit, a Belgian heroine.
2 shots at la place Poelart.
I stay quite often in my 2nd residence in our camp located along the Ruaha river, Ruaha national park. So I jump on jeeps for various safaris or I simply walk around and a bit away from camp or I relax in the few lounges we’ve got there.
Last week I went for a walk, I wanted to pass the bend in the river downstream. But as I reached it, I saw elephants near the camp so I went back but for better pictures I crossed the river. On the 1st attempt of a self timer picture, I didn’t go quick enough to position. I don’t like selfies you see. Mom, don’t worry, I had thrown a few stones in the river to spot any crocodiles (and I wear a hat!)
I’ll post a complete story soon but fast-track 90 minutes later and here is one of my last pictures, the 14 elephants between me and the river and the camp. I know, they had spotted me eventually and if they decided to charge, I was in the wrong spot…but what a great experience.
Otherwise I take some pictures of the colleagues. Animals along and on the airstrips are a regular occurrence. Many accidents have happened in situations like this. Myself I have scored a wildebeest and an impala. No damage to the aircraft which was double bonus considering the boss I had by then. The wildebeest survived.
A giraffe on my path to land…
More giraffes and an impala forcing our pilot to go around. The picture is distorted because of the midday heat. I’m shooting from one km away. I love my new massive lens.
My 1st workhorse in Africa, a Cessna 206. A flying Land Rover.
Nice managers always try to give us nice room for our night stops. Here in our camp in the Selous.
All our camps seem to have a great view from the restaurants or rooms.
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