After having spent the last trip not biking or hiking much it was a blessing to have some more activity! We had 10 great guests this time and all of them took the long days we gave them in great stride. As I write this I am back in California after having flown 20 hours from Cape Town. A few days of rest and its off to Yosemite! I’ve managed to figure out how to add movies to my postings so I will try to post the slideshows that I give my guests from now on. 

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My best slideshow yet! 

Riding at Bushmans Kloof after the rains. 

Liz taking a high fiber diet to a whole new level. 

We were told that she was about 70 years old. Notice one tusk missing. 

Biking on the reservation. 

Elephants eating the Acacia tree’s and not caring about the massive thorns. 

Cheetah just minutes after a kill. 

My favorite antelope the Greater Kudu. 

I just got off my first trip here in Africa and I was unsure if coming here was going to be as amazing as I had hoped it would be. I am happy to say that this country has again opened my eyes to some amazing beauty and culture. For the first time last week I lead a trip where we put away the bikes and instead focused on culture rather then exercise.  We took trips out to the townships where the blacks had to live during apartheid, had a guest speaker who was in the same cell block as Nelson Mandela join us at dinner, and met a man who has fought all his life for equality and still keeps a positive attitude for the future. The trip was 9 days long and took us from Cape Town all the way up into Botswana and finishing up in the Drakensburg Mountains. It was a fantastic trip with two great families who are now sold on Backroads.

Below are a few of my favorite shots of the trip.

Visiting a township where Travis shows some kids their shot in the camera.

A great view of Cape Point. The most south-westerly point of Africa.

 The sun setting at Bushmans Kloof after a long day.

Rock art by the San dating back thousands of years .

 A beautiful dinner under the stars at Sandibe.

 Managed to snag this shot just after she killed an antelope.

A rare glimps of our ranger Katembo sitting on top of a termite mound.

Heading out for some game viewing. I call shot-gun!

 Just as the sun was setting we came up on hundreds of wild buffalo kicking up the dirt.

 Rhino’s are vegetarians, but you cant help but be afraid when one is this close.

 Another Rhino just feet away from the land rover.

 Everyone in full concentration looking at the lions.

 Using a red light we see the mother lion getting ready to head out for a hunt.

 How do you tell the difference between a female zebra and a male zebra?

The male zebra are white and have black stripes and the females are black and have white stripes.

The national bird of Botswana: Lilac Crested Roller

One last group shot before saying goodbye.

A few days ago fellow leader and Canadian Travis Steffens and I flew up to Botswana for a couple days to scout out a new resort that we are going to be using for our upcoming trip. Three flights took us from Cape Town –> Johannesburg –> Maun –> To the middle of nowhere. It was so amazing to see such a vacant land below as we flew over the delta and into the wild.  At the dirt landing strip we were greeted by Katembo, our ranger and guide for our stay. After a 45 minute off road trek to our “lodge” we were greeted by the staff singing native songs as they handed us our welcome drink. Sandibe if you didn’t know (how could you?) is located just off the Okavango Delta, a river  that can be described as “the river that never finds the sea”.  

The next 3 days were jam packed with activity! 6:30am: wakeup call. 7:00am: breakfast. 7:30am: get in the land rover to look for game. Come back for lunch around noon. 3:00pm: high tea. 4:00pm: head back out to find more game. 8pm: dinner. Needless to say it was a busy trip! Below are some of my favorite shots. National Geographic eat your heart out. Of course I took a bunch more which I would love to show, but 3 days ago I got hit with the African Flu (or so I call it) and I still have yet to get over it. The good news is that it’s not malaria, but the sick and twisted side of me was hoping it was. What a great story to tell my guests!  :) More photos to come soon. 

Katembo showing us the skull of an Elephant who had passed away last year.

We saw this male leopard in the morning playing games with a female. I think it was hide and go seek.

He didn’t seem to be bothered too much by us gazing at him. He had tunnel vision that morning.

Our ranger is just to the left of him with a treat and can be heard whispering, “Siiit…ok now beg…beg. 

Smart leopard. He uses a termite mound to get a good view and find his lady friend.

Have you ever had a bird poop on you? Imagine if an Ostrich could fly.  

A rare shot of a Lilac breasted roller. A very shy bird indeed.

Just before dinner we ran into a mother and her 4 cubs tired from a day of doing nothing.

Just as the sun was about to set the mother and her cubs headed out to find some dinner. 20 minutes later she killed a warthog.

Took this shot at night with a red light pointed on a dead elephant carcass.  Turns out the elephant was shot because it was a danger to guests.

The last morning Katembo took us on a hike showing us how to track animals.

hi.

 Having a quick tea break. My drink of choice: Gin and Tonic.

Here are a few shots of a hike on top of Table Mountain down here in Cape Town. This area is a photographers dream!   Update: We also spent some time heading out to Fish Hook to see the Jack-Ass Penguins. See photos below.