Sublime Svalbard Part 2
Our Svalbard adventure continued as the Polaris I headed up the coast of the Spitsbergen Archipelago, dropping anchor along the way in particularly beautiful and interesting places so that we could head to shore in the zodiacs to explore.
We hiked through incredible scenery and made the most of opportunities to photograph the unique birdlife.
(Photograph of me photographing birds on shore care of Gerry van der Walt from Wild Eye, our fantastic guide!)
As we headed further north we admired walrus hanging out on the ice flows that became ever more common.
As we cruised along the coast and through the ice flows we scanned the shores and ice for signs of polar bears.
We visited the research center of Kenvikken and hiked up to the top of the mountain through deep pristine snow to an incredible 360 degree view. It felt like we were at the top of the world with the tiny ship bobbing in the bay below giving scale to this vast place. It was made even more special by laughing with friends at the top at our (mostly) failed attempts to get a leaping group photo….too weighed down with gear and tired from the climb to do a decent job!
After particularly cold days out on the water or hiking we would come back to the ship and have chocolate krakens (a delicious hot chocolate and spiced rum drink we came up with!) and in the evenings we would have dark and stormies and whiskey with glacial ice and all share lots of laughter and fun with our new friends.
During the days we had great opportunities to practice birds in flight photography with the ever-present Northern Fulmars accompanying our ship. Gerry was always close at hand to give excellent photography advice and encouragement!
As we got close to the pack ice we marveled at the incredibly soft and beautiful light at the top of the world.
One morning it started snowing and we stood on the ship’s deck looking with wonder at astoundingly beautiful, complex and delicate snow flakes falling all around us, more lovely than I could ever have imagined.
We were treated to almost impossibly beautiful scenes as we travelled. Often seeing marine mammals such as walrus hauled up on the ice flows, adding even more magic to the scenes.
As we reached the pack ice and we cruised our way through the massive icebergs, the ship pushing them out of the way with a very unique crunching sound!
Another wonderful part of the trip was getting to know our fellow travellers, hearing about their amazing experiences and having a ridiculous amount of fun. Truly I could not have chosen a more wonderful group of people to share this adventure with.
We watched hundreds of harp seals, bearded seals and ringed seals observing us from the ice. The harp seals were often flighty and would slip off the ice and porpoise through the water looking back at us on the ship.
The bearded seals were a lot more chilled.....their incredible mustaches were something to admire, often with frozen droplets of water in the little curls at the ends!
Another special moment to savour was being the northern-most people in the world for a time.....
One afternoon we used the zodiacs to glide up close to comic and charismatic Harbour seals who lounged and bounced about on rocks watching these crazy wildlife paparazzi with their big lenses taking photos of them!
Next we used the zodiacs to whizz across a glassy flat ocean in zodiacs to watch and photograph the adorable and very photogenic puffins in the water around the cliffs where they burrow.
We learnt about the animals of the arctic and more about the history of the place from Rupert our guide. Rupert is also a fantastic story teller and shared with us all many an interesting tale!
Gerry taught us all heaps about photography, composition and post processing in Lightroom in sessions during the days....
We visited Texas Bar, a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere, with an interesting name! Here we hiked up the glacial moraines to the foot of the glacier. On the way we were delighted to see a stunning arctic fox in her winter whites come out from behind a rock near us and skip slowly out over the hills.
We were lucky enough to have a fellow traveller with us who is intrigued with the polar explorers and the history of the poles. He is also an excellent story teller and shared tales of the adventures of the polar explorers....Incredible stories of folly, futile heroism, bravery and endurance interspersed by marvels of human achievement. In the same environment it was easy for us to imagine these brave but often ill-prepared men battling to stay alive in this harsh land.
These historic tales were made so real to us when later we landed at Virgohanna, the incredibly rough bolder strewn site of the launch of Andree’s ill-fated balloon adventure. We wandered among the rubble of the explorers' dreams in this eerie place with bones strewn about amid the wreckage of the camps from polar bears opening the graves and raiding the coffins.
It was quiet remarkable to be immersed in a landscape so epic and immense that even the snow-capped mountains seem small and insignificant because of the scale of the scene. The seascape was so enormous that when we saw a big storm front scud across the sea, it seemed tiny in comparison.
During the trip I felt privileged to watch some real masters of photography at work and learn from them as they generously shared their knowledge and expertise.
On the last afternoon before we returned to Longyearbyen we hiked up a beautiful mountain and surveyed the distant snowcapped peaks over the water, the tundra dotted with reindeer, an arctic fox trotting calming across the hillside down to meet some of our group below on the tundra, still in her darker summer coat turning to white as autumn advanced.
We were able to walk with reindeer so chilled about our presence that they would almost walk over you if you were lying down to photograph them and they decided to walk in your direction!
On the final day, after docking in Longyearbyen, we went on a hike for a few wonderful hours through the rocks and tundra watching majestic adult reindeer and adorable babies.
Then we were lucky enough to see an Arctic fox trot across the mountain sides above us foraging for food....
Then the most amazing experience to end…..the magic of an arctic fox, wild and wary but unafraid, coming so close that all we could do was put our cameras down, grin delightedly at one another and marvel at the close encounter with this delicate looking beautiful creature tough enough to endure the harshest of winters.
These are but a taste of the incredible experiences we had in Svalbard. This is a land of almost unimaginable scale and splendor, a place of exploration, bravery and struggle, timeless in its grandeur and beauty and one of the last great wildernesses of the world. A place of fun, friendship, and adventure and a place none of us will ever forget.
A huge thank you to Gerry from Wild Eye and Rupert from Blue Planet Expeditions for being the most wonderful hosts and guides you could ask for and for giving us all such an amazing experience. To my fellow travellers - thank you for making this expedition even more wonderful than I could have imagined and I hope to travel with you again in the future!
Footnote re bear
Seeing the bear in Magdalena Fjord was an incredible thing to see and yet also heart breaking. The bear was in very poor condition after a summer spent on the land. This magnificent and highly specialised bear has adapted to hunting seals on the pack ice and when on land can only scavenge for carrion, birds and bird's eggs, they may also eat some grass, kelp, or berries. This means that bears that are stranded on the land eat very little until they can return to the ice. With the climate changing the ice is receding further and further and the time the polar bears are stranded on land becomes longer and longer. This is very hard on the bears and means that many do not survive to return to the ice. This is particularly difficult for the females and cubs. The female almost always dens on land (to keep her cubs safe from males who generally stay on the sea ice) and the cubs are born between late November and early January. The female would normally rely on being able to emerge from her den and hunt on the sea ice near the land for a time before being restricted to land for the summer. It is incredibly hard for the female now that often there is no sea ice near the land when she emerges with the cubs, leaving her to produce milk to feed the cubs for a longer and longer summer with no for herself food. There is a trend now towards females having fewer cubs and far fewer cubs are surviving to maturity. Sadly the struggle faced by the bears and all the other animals of the Arctic is very real and quite obvious. Climate change is warming their Arctic habitat faster than any other place on Earth, with devastating consequences and this trend is projected to continue. If going to the Arctic cannot convince you of this and the need to act now, nothing can. I do hope with all my heart that we can do what is needed to preserve this incredible wilderness and its wonderful and unique wildlife.
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Sublime Svalbard
(Part 1)
This is a land so wild and beautiful it will challenge your image of the world and may change you forever. So raw and real that it makes the “real world” that most of us live in seem fake and artificial.
What a privilege to be able to explore this overwhelmingly beautiful wilderness with just 11 other traveller, 2 guides and 5 crew on our expedition ship the Polaris I. We boarded the ship in Longyearbyen, the world’s most northern city….it has a rather frontier and quirky feel to it, added to by the signs asking you to leave your guns outside the supermarket, not to park your dogs here and do not leave the city without a gun…..!
As we boarded the Polaris I the excitement of all on board was palpable! Everyone in our small group quickly got to know each other, despite our introductions being interrupted by our first polar bear sighting! None of us could contain ourselves and we all piled outside onto the deck to admire the female and juvenile bears quietly resting in the golden light of evening.
(Not sure you’d be wanting to leave the safety of this holiday cabin any time soon if you were inside!)
This was followed by the most incredible polar sunset (well the sun never really set at all but there sure was a light show as it dipped towards the horizon around 11pm!).
As we continued on our expedition, wonderful moments beyond measure or description followed......
When we woke in Magdalena Fjord to a misty snowy morning which cloaked the mountains and laid an air of magic and mystique over the glorious fjord......
As some of us soaked up the atmosphere and admired the delicately beautiful star-like snowflakes falling around us our 3rd polar bear was sighted! The bear was making his way along the shoreline right by our boat and we all watched in awe and wonder as the huge white bear ambled over the jumbled rocks by the ship and eventually disappeared over the ridge in front of us (see footnote re bear at the end of part 2).
Using the zodiacs we landed on a spit of sand to visit a large ugly of Walrus basking in the sun (yes, the collective noun for a group of walrus really is an ‘ugly’!!). These cantankerous creatures would intermittently rear up and ‘peck’ at one another with their tusks and some rolled down the beach into the water when they needed to cool off (or scratch!).
Later some walruses swam along with us while we were in the zodiacs, close enough to touch, curious, brave and so agile and confident in the water.
Even the crew were excited when we saw a blue whale and her calf gliding through the water, even the calf was far bigger than our ship! Usually once they dive you do not see them again for 20 minutes, if at all, but these whales fluked and dove many times, perhaps the mother was teaching her baby to dive? An absolutely magnificent sight, especially against the glorious background of pristine snow covered mountains in the distance. Something that I never thought I would be lucky enough to see but that will remain in my memory forever.
We were able to experience the incredible sights and sounds of huge glaciers calving with the booming thunder and enormous splashes!
The serenity and beauty of the magical Arctic land and seascape was astounding.
More about this incredible adventure in part 2!
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Isalo National Park in Madagascar is known as the "Colorado of Madagascar" due to its sandstone massif which has been eroded by wind and rain to form bizarre ridges (known as “runiformes”) and impressive gorges and canyons.
This shows a stitched panorama of 15 images of the main massif, gives you an idea of the size of this enormous rock formation....we were still many kms away.
As we neared the massif and the local village we started to see the Zebu cattle grazing under the watchful gazes of their caretakers. These cattle are very important to the Malagasy: an embodiment of their owner's wealth which is a tradition originating on the African mainland. Cattle rustling has been a rite of passage for young men in the plains areas of Madagascar. This tradition continues but is becoming increasingly dangerous as the traditional weapons (spear etc) have been replaced by guns. The Zebu are used as draught oxen, as dairy cattle and as beef cattle, as well as for byproducts such as hides and dung for fuel and manure. Traditionally when a man dies all of his Zebu are killed and their skulls used to decorate his tomb. This is a tradition that the government is working hard to change as it is a factor in the extreme poverty in the South of Madagascar.
A typical Zebu.
After a pretty bumpy trip along the dirt road which took about 1.5hrs we arrived at the end of the road near a village. The kids from the village were playing in the river when we got there. As we set off with our guide Mana on our hike into the Canyon we had a long line of sweet Malagasy children trailing along after us chattering and laughing. Our guard of honour came as far into the park as they were allowed and delighted in showing us chameleons and interesting insects. The kids were adorable and actually waited for us to come back again before accompanying us back to the village. Not that many people were going to this area at the time when we went so our presence was obviously quite a novelty for the kids!
Beautiful Dragonfly pointed out to us by our little guides!
A chameleon the children proudly found and showed us.
Once we got inside the canyon the vegetation changed completely and we were suddenly in a lush and damp forest. The canyon walls are a beautiful reddish, orange, pink, yellow sandstone and loomed over everything. There was a stream running through large boulders inside the canyon and the place was full of life: fish, frogs, birds, chameleons, insects, ferns and many other plants.
It was stunningly beautiful. We walked, climbed and scrambled down to the end of the canyon marvelling at all around us then slowly headed back.
A Paradise Flycatcher (Rufous) in the forest inside the canyon.
Wow what an amazing day....we headed back to our accommodation and had a lovely meal with Mana and Tojo. The adventure wasn't over yet though as I decided to go out onto the rock formations near us and photograph the milky way. The stars were absolutely incredible and it was a moonless night, making the sky pitch dark and the stars light up the heavens like nothing I have ever seen before. Incredible!
The Milky Way over the Isalo rock formations.
Sadly the next morning we had to leave this amazing area to head onto the next part of our adventure.
The scenery was stunning along the way....
We also met these delightful children in one of the villages when we stopped for Mana and Tojo to get fresh paw paw snacks! The kids saw our cameras and everyone wanted to be photographed! We started with just a couple and before we knew it all the kids were there!
Every day and every drive, walk, meal, encounter was an interesting and delightful experience in this incredible country with its wonderful people...... Next instalment: The Anja Community Reserve and the road to Ranomafana.
I spent many happy hours researching the trip by reading every book I could find on Madagascar! I particularly enjoyed those written by imminent scientists and conservationists like Alison Jolly and Patricia Wright. These really gave me an idea of what a complex country Madagascar is with a tumultuous, unique and interesting history, culture and people. It also made me realise how challenging the conservation and political landscape is there.
My time to visit this unique place had finally come after years of waiting and wishing and months of planning, homework and organisation. It was very difficult to narrow down the huge list of places we wanted to see to those which were realistically possibly within our time frame.....oh to have more time and more money, soooo many amazing places to visit! In the end we narrowed our list to eight national parks and the associated logistical travel......The organisation was made vastly easier and more enjoyable due to the capable and enthusiastic help of Danica Wilson from Encompass Africa. Although warned about the unreliability of the logistics in Madagascar and having built extra time into our itinerary for issues like plane delays and cancellations, no one really expected a full blown strike from Air Madagascar just before we left with all aircraft grounded for over a month! This necessitated the change of a large part of our itinerary to avoid the 5 internal flights we had booked to get to all the places we needed to go! Thank goodness for Danica who was an angel and reorganised everything just days before we left....although it was a rather more stressful lead up than I had hoped for but nonetheless everything was done in time and off we set for our grand Madagascan Adventure!
After an epic 32hr journey we arrived in Antananarivo, our mood somewhat dulled by exhaustion but nevertheless excited to begin the adventure! Revived by a good night's sleep, some excellent french pastries (one of the good legacies of the french influence over the country!) and Madagascan hot chocolate we were ready to depart for our flight down to Toliara in the deep south of the country where we would be met by our guide and set off to explore the Big Red Island!
Antananarivo
The rice paddy fields of Antananarivo
Flying almost the length of the island on the 3 hour charter flight necessitated by the Air Madagascar strikes was incredible! We saw so much more of the island from the air because our tiny 3 seater Cessna flew at a much lower altitude than a commercial plane. We passed over the high altitude plateau, high mountains, the hilly spine of the country which from the air looks like the land has been crumpled by a giant fist! Sweeping plains intersected by wide braided sand rivers flowing into the sea. The majority of the land is just grassland after the terrible deforestation and deep red gashes of erosion stand out like wounds in the hill sides. Close to Toliara we started to see the dry deciduous forests forming patterns of shades of grey, green and brown below us. Then we flew over the large and elaborate tombs near the town and touched down on a deserted runway.
The rivers cutting through the hills of Madagascar
At Toliara we met our guide Mana and, to our surprise (we hadn't expected a driver too!), also our driver Tojo, two of the most lovely people one could hope to meet and who made our journey so amazing. After loading our gear into the four wheel drive (most of mine was camera gear!) and a quick spot of lunch we set off for the drive to Isalo National Park. I don't think one ever forgets the first few hours travelling through a new and unique country, everything is different and interesting and exciting! I took so many photos out of the car windows as we drove through villages filled with children playing by the sides of the road, prehistoric looking long legged chickens with their chicks and village dogs. We passed big herds of Zebu cattle tended by the local Barra people, evidence of slash and burn, charcoal sellers, markets, zebu carts, the local Taxi Brousse (these overloaded, smoke belching vans take the place of buses in most areas Madagascar) and old trucks and cars also making their way along the sealed by often potholed national route 7 (the main "highway" of the country that runs from Antananarivo to the deep south).
Typical scene of the road passing through a large village
Large Zebu herds being transported by road on foot to market, they may take many weeks or months to get to their destination.....
Whizzing past the grassland and hills of the Southern Madagascan countryside
Zebu resting calmly in front of a fire started to burn off grass in order to induce it to grow green shots for the cattle. A practice very damaging to the environment.
On the way to Isalo we stopped off at Zombitse National Park and I could barely contain my excitement on out first expedition into a Madagascan National Park! The Zombitse forest is a dry deciduous forest and because we were there in winter time it was very dry and there was not a lot of leaf cover, just thick scrubby and quite bare bush but beautiful nonetheless! We walked along the winding pathways with Mana scanning the bush while our park guide trotted off to scout for animals. It wasn't long before we saw our first lemur, a most gorgeous and very surprised looking Zombitse Sportive Lemur. He looks so surprised because being a nocturnal lemur they are almost blind during the day time when they rest in tree hollows and branches. When they hear a noise they just stare towards the noise with huge wide eyes trying to figure out what it is but not really able to see you which makes them look rather shocked and horrified. So exciting to see our first lemur, I can hardly describe the feeling of amazement!
Hubbard's Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur hubbardorum) or the Zombitse Sportive Lemur
On our walk through this forest we also saw an Oustalet Chameleon, the biggest of Madagascar's Chameleons which can grow to an amazing 70cm long! I could hardly believe my eyes seeing this huge Chameleon, I didn't realise they got so big!
Oustalet Chameleon or Giant Chameleon
We also saw other lemurs (Verreaux's sifaka, more Zombiste sportive lemurs and Red-fronted brown lemurs) as well as many birds (Crested drongo, Green sunbird, Lesser vasa parrot, Greater vasa parrot, Cuckoo roller, Pied crow, Madagascar buzzard, Madagascar bush lark, Madagascar kestrel, and Broad billed roller)....not a bad start!
Hubbard's Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur hubbardorum) or the Zombitse Sportive Lemur
Madagascar Kestrel
Verreaux's sifaka
Once I could be dragged away (no mean feat!) we drove the rest of the way to our lovely accommodation near the edge of the Isalo National Park. There we enjoyed a lovely dinner with Mana and Tojo and a well earned rest before the next stage of the adventure....visiting Isalo NP the next day.....stay tuned for the next instalment!
]]>Te Rushegura family was made up of 16 individuals. However, they had split into two groups that morning after a fight with another family and everyone had scattered. The black back (or second in command) had taken half the family to another area and we had found the silverback and the remainder of the family. There was talk that probably the family was likely to split permanently soon with the black back becoming a silverback and retaining part of the family and creating a new group. The silverback had a few wounds from that morning’s fight but everyone seemed calm and were feeding happily. There was a female with an infant of just a few days old and the tenderness with which she cradled the baby in her arms was so sweet. This family was feeding and so moving through the forest, seemingly very slowly but it was quite a struggle to keep up! For such huge animals they move through this incredibly thick forest with such swiftness and ease, it really is very impressive.
The Silverback feeding. You can see some old wounds on his shoulder and face.
A close up portrait of the gorgeous silverback.
Delicately munching some delicious leaves!
One of the sub-adults gazing into the trees.
What seemed likely very shortly afterwards our time was up (and we had strayed to within close vicinity of the border with the DRC and our guides were a bit nervous!) and we headed back to our bags. Only then did we realize how exhausted we were! We all had lunch, sharing food and water with the porters, guides and trackers and rested before slowly heading back down the mountain. Much quicker going down but very hard on the knees, back and ankles! All in all it took about 7.5hrs and we were done for but very very happy!!
I cannot describe the wonder of seeing the amazing Mountain Gorillas in their own wild habitat and being able to spend some time with these gentle and beautiful giants. Although costly we felt it was worth every penny and more, especially because a lot of the money goes into conservation. This really seems to be paying off with a doubling in population in the last 10-20 years. The local community also benefits significantly from the people coming to see the gorillas. They locals we talked to really appreciated the benefits brought by the gorillas and recognise their importance and the need to protect them. This was very heartening for the future.
The gorilla tracking certainly involves some strenuous hiking but for us this was part of the fun and adventure and we loved this part of the experience too. The forest is very beautiful and you really see what the Gorilla's environment is like and see them as they truly are. I wont downplay the level of physical effort involved, the mountains are very steep and the forest very thick, the terrain sometimes very trecherous, it can be hot, humid, wet, muddy but it is still wonderful and leaves you with a real sense of achievement at the end! Visiting the Mountain Gorillas is something that no one I have talked to who has done it regrets; despite it being expensive, time consuming and challenging to get there and can be hard going physically, in fact for most it is truly one of the most wonderful and memorable moments of their life, us included.
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I suggest you take plenty of water (at least 3L each) as it is humid and hot and you will loose a lot of water sweating! Finally you can hire local porters to help you carry your gear. I know many people might not think they want or need this but here are two good reasons why you should carefully consider doing this. 1) The people from the local villages take turns at being porters and this is an important way for them to make money and directly benefit from the tourism, and 2) although you might be fine carrying all your gear for a few hours, I guarantee that if your trek lasts 8-10 hrs and you are carrying all the water you need etc you will be finding it very hard towards the end if not earlier! It is nice if you can take some extra food and water that you can share with your porter as they often have little or none themselves. The cost of a porter is small considering what you spend to do the gorilla trekking (about $15 USD for up to 10hrs hard trekking seems like a very good deal) but the money means a lot to the people. We actually felt that the porters on our longer trek deserved a lot more than this and paid them considerably more. The porters can also be a huge help to you over uneven and treacherous terrain if you need it and best of all you are helping the locals who earn important money for themselves this way.
It is a good good idea if you have ankle or knee injuries/problems to strap them!!
Also if you are unwell at all you should NOT go as the Gorillas can catch diseases from us which can be devastating for them and their family so please do not put them at risk.
Photography tips and gear to take
Think carefully about what gear you really need
If you are doing long and potentially difficult hikes, such as those to see gorillas, really think about what you need and take the minimum necessary. Once you are with the gorillas they may either be more or less stationary in one spot resting or they may be moving through the forest feeding, travelling or fighting. If they are moving you will be amazed by how quickly they cover this most difficult of terrain and it is very hard work to keep up! Be aware of this when you are planning what camera gear to take on the trek – only take what you can easily manage while climbing through thick difficult vegetation and up step and challenging terrain (eg a tripod and multiple large lenses/cameras may be very difficult to manage). Once you have reached the gorillas you need to leave your bags behind and take only your camera gear as you cannot have any bags with you when you are with the gorillas. Therefore, anything you take must be able to be carried by hand for an hour even if moving through difficult forest terrain. Remember you may need both hands to climb the steep slopes so a harness or something that means you can carry your camera gear without using your hands will be helpful (I use both the Safari Trekking Harness and the Black Rapid). Also the risk of your gear getting damaged or wet is moderate so you don’t want to take unnecessary risks with gear you don’t need.
Dealing with damp conditions
In damp areas like the rainforest it is a good idea to have some small sachets of silicone (like those in medicine bottle) in your camera bag. This will help to protect your bag and gear from humidity and damp to avoid moisture getting into the gear and mould growing in expensive lenses.
If your gear does get wet, dry it as soon and as well as possible and don’t just through it back in a damp bag and leave it there as you would be asking for trouble (i.e. encouraging mould to grow in your lenses) doing that!
Tips for the conditions in the forest photographing gorillas
The light in the forest may be very limited so take the fastest lens possible for example a lens with a maximum aperture of 2.8 would be ideal.
It is unlikely that you will have time to change lenses so decide on one to use and make sure it is not too heavy (the gorillas may well be moving through the thick forest during the hour you spend with them so you have to be able to carry/handle the camera while trekking through thick and sometimes treacherous forest).
I suggest a moderate zoom eg 70-200 or 300mm with as large an aperture as possible. The gorillas tend to be reasonably close to you (in fact sometimes too close for a zoom lens at all!) so don't be tempted to take a really long heavy lens.
It is nice to also be able to take animal in their environment shots and so a wide-angle lens is also good to have. However, it is not really manageable to have two cameras or change lenses. It might be worth having a second good quality compact camera or a GoPro. Alternatively if you are travelling with someone else and have 2 DSLRs you could get your travellng companion to use the other camera and get the more expansive shots.
The chances are you will not be staying in the same spot but moving around and so taking a tripod is usually not very practical as you are unlikely to have time to set it up and use it.
This is me photographing the a silverback gorilla.....as you can see they are unconcerned and quite close (you need to stay 7m away for their safety from any germs you might carry) but they are often this close and you may need to move away to maintain the required distance!
I hope this post will be helpful to any of you who might go and visit and photograph the gorillas.....feel free to get in touch if you have any specific questions. My last piece of advice - if you are considering going - DO IT! You will not regret it, visiting the Mountain Gorillas is truly awesome.
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For our first day Gorilla tracking we had permits to see the Orozugo Gorilla Family that lives on the other side of the forest in Ruhija. The Orozugo Family consisted of 23 individuals. We got up early and left our lodge for the 2 hour drive around the forest to be at the Ruhija entrance at 6.30am as the tracking begins at 7am. It was an interesting drive (although the roads are not great!) and despite the early start we enjoyed it.
Once we arrived at the park office in Ruhija we got our permits, walking sticks and guide and were grouped with another 6 people for the trek. We were then driven a short distance away to the closest road point to where the gorillas has been located by their trackers. On the way our fellow group members told us about the trek they had done yesterday in which it had taken then 10hrs to find the gorillas…… eeek!!!..….we started to feel a bit nervous…..we were fit but did not feel we were up to a 10hr trek! The group that did the 10hr trek the day before was feeling rather sore and tired and were certainly hoping for a shorter trek this time!
We arrived at the set down point and couldn’t believe our luck as the family was feeding only about 200m from the road, down a steep slope into the dense forest. So we scrambled down the steep incline and there they were – our first gorillas! It is hard to describe the incredible feeling when you first glimpse these awe-inspiring animals. They are real gentle giants and so very like us and yet not that it gives you chills! Their eyes are deep brown, soulful and so very expressive. Spending time with them is magical and such a privilege.
One of the younger family members acknowledges us as he comes out from behind a tree.
A wistful look from one of the female gorillas.
The depth and soulfulness of the gaze of these incredible cousins of ours was so moving and unforgettable.
We were lucky enough to spend the whole hour with this family in the same spot. Most were resting and relaxing around the pathway in a relatively open part of the forest. The younger members of the family were playing and zooming up and down the pathway showing off. Some gorillas were feeding, some particularly cute babies were stripping bark off old logs, probably more for fun than anything! The small babies were being cuddled by their mothers. Some of the younger males were testing themselves against each other. Throughout it all the big old silverback oversaw it all by positioning himself prominently then just sitting back and watching us watching his family – as if saying “I am here, I am keeping an eye on you but if you behave you may stay with us” :-)
The silverback keeps watch on us and his family!
A moment of rest and contemplation for this female.
This baby was chewing on a stick.
This baby was trying his teeth on something larger and watching us at the same time.....seemed like he was showing off!
A peek-a-boo moment!
This sub-adult male and his friends were zooming up and down the pathway between the two halves of our group showing off! Incredibly muscular and strong, would be very intimidating if they directed their aggression towards us but they were incredibly gentle.
It was a truly magical hour and over all too quickly....So we left and travelled back to our lodge feeling amazed, elated and very privileged. As we had found them so quickly we returned earlier than normal giving us time to have a leisurely lunch followed by some excellent Ugandan tea and coffee by the fire on the verandah as it had started to rain. We relaxed, read about Uganda from some of the excellent books at the lodge and waited for the rain to stop. After that we explored the lodge grounds which were extensive and very beauitful with lots of flowering plants and heaps of birds, reptiles and insects attracted by the flowers. I spent a very happy couple of hours photographing the birds and other animals.
Double-collared Sunbird in the gardens.
Another denizen of the gardens, a colourful Agama.
An African Pygmy Kingfisher, also in the gardens!
A male Baglafecht Weaver on a banana leaf in the gardens.
A White-tailed Blue Flycatcher.
What a perfect day! Not only the magical gorillas but also seeing all these incredible birds and creatures in the gardens, what an unexpected joy! My birding skills were not equal to naming every bird but I sure enjoyed seeing and photographing them even if I didn't know what they all were!
A great ending to a wonderful day and we couldn't wait for the next day when we would visit another family of gorillas!
]]>Our "home" during our stay in Buhoma was the lovely Mahogany Springs Lodge. The “rooms” at Mahogany Springs were more like little houses, very sympathetically done with local materials so they blend in well to the natural surroundings. They are also comfortable and well equipped and they look out over the valley and up to the forest that begins on the slopes on the other side of the valley. From our balcony we could see the local village and school in the distance, some small houses and tea and banana plantations and everyday life going on – people working in the fields, herding cattle and goats and children coming home from school and going to play down in the river that traverses the valley floor and marks the border of the lodge grounds. The owners of this lodge have made this an amazing place; planting flowering trees, shrubs and plants to attract birds and wildlife, resulting in an incredible array of wild visitors, even the gorillas come down from the mountains at times and a call to the rangers is needed to return them home! Also throughout the lodge grounds fruit and vegetables are grown which you later see on your plate! Loved it! The food was simple but hearty and good and the local coffee and tea was excellent!
Our "room" at Mahogany Springs, more like a little house.
The pathway between the little houses with the view out over the farm land to the beginning of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park on the hillside.
The balcony and view from our little house.
Children walking back from the school in Buhoma village.
A stunning Blue-headed Sunbird on one of the flowering plants in the beautiful gardens at Mahogany Springs.
As soon as we arrived we talked to the lodge staff about the local area and what we could do before the main event (gorilla tracking!) planned for the day after. Some of the local villagers have enterprisingly organised with the local lodges to give local walking tours of the village and surrounding countryside and farming land. So we headed off with a lovely young man from the village and wandered the hills and valleys of the surrounding area for the next few hours, chatting and learning about every day life in the village while we went. We saw banana plantations and were offered banana wine and gin… it was delicious, if strong! Goats, cattle and sheep wandered about often with children looking over them. The animals looked happy and in good condition.
The trail to Buhoma Village.
Trying the local banana wine and gin!
A little goat peers out at us as we pass by.
Mud Brick Kiln.
Drying Millet and Corn in the village on hessian mats.
Millet drying in the sunshine.
The local school.
A little boy plays in the village.
Drying coffee beans in front of the village houses.
The main street.
Cattle graze peacefully near the village with children watching over them and playing by the river.
The river.
The local cattle.
On our exploration of the local area we also met the Batwa people (also known as Pygmies) who used to live in the forest but now live on the village edges after being forcibly removed from the forests by the government once the forest was made a national parks This was a rather sad experience as it seems that these once self sufficient and proud people now live in squalid camps dressed in rags and perform for tourists to get a little money to sustain them. There were reportedly some benefits offered to the Batwa in return for them relocating, such as access to medical care, resources and education but these benefits were not readily apparent except for the fact that the younger generations appeared much taller and larger than the older Batwa. So it seems that there may have been at least some beneficial effects of the changes on nutrition, health and growth of the younger generation. All in all though it was sad to see these people reduced to their current state. It was also a good lesson in the problems that may occur when people must be relocated from areas that become national parks and are no longer allowed to continue their traditional lifestyle utilizing the natural resources that formed the basis of their existence. These situations are always more complex than they seem on first thought and deserve careful consideration and planning to try and get the best outcome for humans, wildlife and wild places.
One of the Batwa in his house.
In addition, we went to visit the local orphanage, having brought with us gifts for the children such as writing materials and balls to play with. The children were adorable and so friendly. They were very pleased with their gifts and intrigued by the Australian animal photos and information we had also brought for them. It is a very sad thing to see so many children orphaned and in need of help. The majority are AIDs orphans, this really brings home how much of a problem this terrible disease is.
There are signs of the ingenuity of the people here such as little huts with generators for charging mobile phones….. It was incredible to see so many people with smart phones in a place with no electricity! Also incredible to find that there was internet and wi-fi freely available in most places we visited in Uganda! There was a small but bustling souvenir industry going on with locals carving wood into gorillas, tribal symbols, people etc and selling as souvenirs to tourists. I hope that the wood being used was sustainably sourced, this was my only concern and I was unable to verify if this was the case. People were friendly but not insistent on you buying things as can be the uncomfortable case in some places.
Power was just coming to this village, they were putting up the power poles when we were there (by hand I might add with no machinery!). A sign of the prosperity bought by the gorilla tourism.
Overall it was a very interesting and enlightening experience to visit the local village and meet the local people. They are, in general, an incredibly positive and happy group of people, especially considering the immense suffering their people and country have endured and in many cases are still enduring. Things may seem superficially much improved but the truth is that underlying this the country has been ruled with an iron fist by the same party and leader as for the last 30 odd years, an example being the recent laws passed making being homosexual illegal and punishable by a life sentence and even years in prison for anyone who counsels or reaches out to gays and lesbians. See more about the tumultuous and sad history of Uganda here.
We were very happy to find that the locals really saw the benefit of the gorillas and the tourists coming to see them. Much credit needs to be given to the local tourism operators employ locals, give back to the local community and make sure the local people directly benefit from tourism to the area. Although this is a very important and sensible approach to sustainable tourism it sadly does not commonly happen. In a situation like that we saw in Bwindi where it seems to be working well the locals are invested in conserving the wildlife and habitat as they see the direct benefit to their community. Where this does not happen there is resentment of the tourism operators and human-animal conflict fuelled by the fact that the locals see only the losses caused by wildlife entering community areas (which becomes more and more common, and in fact vital to the animals’ survival) to raid crops and livestock.
Every place I visit teaches me so much, particularly about human-animal conflict, conservation and how very complex the situation is and consequently so difficult to implement successful solutions. It is very encouraging to see successful management that benefits wildlife and local people.
]]>Some other benefits of making wide-angle images of the animal in its home environment are that you don't have to have a very long telephoto lens to get great images and the wider angle allows you to use a slower shutter speed and therefore have a lower ISO (particularly helpful in low light conditions).
These are some of my favourite "animals in their environment" images.
An Oryx makes his way slowly across the Namib Desert in Namibia with the famous huge red sand dunes in the background. Incredible that these large antelope and so many other species can live in this harsh climate and environment.
A jackal crosses the vast expanse of the Namib Desert in search of his next meal. This image gives a sense of the incredible scale of this seemingly empty landscape that is, incredibly, teeming with life.
A large flock of ostrich graze in the Namib Desert during the "golden hour" before sunset.
A lion and lioness survey their Kalahari kingdom in the green season, Botswana.
A tigress appears out of nowhere in the post dawn mist in Tadoba National Park, India.
One thing writing this blog has made me realise is that I need to do this more often! I am going to try and make more of these wider angle shots in the future....stay tuned!
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The Journey to Buhoma.
Getting to Uganda from Australia involves a relatively long but easy journey. From Brisbane one either flies to Perth (approx 6hrs) and then on to Johannesburg (approx 9hrs) or one can fly from Brisbane to Sydney (approx 1hr) and then to Johannesburg (approx 14hrs). One must then take a flight to Entebbe, Uganda and usually a night stopover in Johannesburg is necessary due to the flight connection times (we generally stay at the City Lodge OR Tambo airport hotel which is right in the terminal you only have to walk for 5 min in the building to get there and although it is nothing special it is comfortable, clean, convenient and not too expensive). Then before continuing our journey we had a night stopover in the capital of Uganda, Kampala, again due to flight connection times. We just stayed in an airport hotel there in preparation for leaving early the next day.
Our first day in Uganda dawned and it was finally time for us to get onto the light aircraft flight that would take us to the Kihihi airstrip. This was the closest airstrip to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest - our ultimate destination. This one forest is the home of over half of the world’s population of the highly endangered Mountain Gorillas. The total world population numbers only approximately 900, this has actually increased over the last decade or so from half this number. These incredible animals came terrifyingly close to the brink of extinction, in fact they still teeter scarily close to the brink but at least there is some improvement in their situation. The majority of the rest of the Mountain Gorillas live in Rwanda, with just a few left in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In the DRC unfortunately their survival is tenuous at best due to the extreme political instabilities and resulting wars, poverty, hunger and desperation in this country. In fact some of the Gorilla families from Bwindi, which is right on the border with the DRC, have crossed the border and never been seen again, likely having fallen prey to the rebels who live in the forests over the border. Reportedly the rebels kill a lot of wildlife, partly as they rely on bushmeat to survive and partly because they do not want the government to garner any revenue from tourists coming to see the Gorillas and other wildlife (as happens in Uganda and Rwanda). There is, sadly, little chance of the latter any time in the near future due to the danger and political instability in the DRC.
The 1¼ hr flight over Uganda was quite an education. This small country is home to an incredible 40 million people and almost every inch of land is covered by farmland (mostly subsistence farming but with some plantations) and villages. The land is very fertile so a lot can be grown in a small area. This, and the huge number of people living here, does mean that every available piece of land is cultivated with tea, bananas and coffee to sell and crops to feed the farmers and their families. There are also quite a lot of goats and cattle (a kind of Longhorn / Brahman looking breed mostly). What really struck me with sadness and concern when passing over this landscape was that (apart from the small areas set aside for the national parks) there is quite literally nowhere for any wildlife to live and nothing for them to eat without raiding farms. This results in a veritable disaster in terms of human-animal conflict and the inevitable poor outcome for the animals. What is also of great concern is that there is no possibility of any kind of migration of animals. This means that each population is essentially an isolated island with the resulting loss of genetic diversity, population pressure and inability of the animals to adapt to changing conditions by moving.
On arrival at the airstrip we were greeted by a friendly local guide and driven the 1.5hrs through the countryside and villages to Buhoma village on the edge of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The roads were pretty bad, full of bumps and huge potholes but the drive is pleasant anyway because there is so much of interest to look at along the way including tea plantations, villages, locals walking along the roads, in the villages and working in the fields, homemade wooden bicycles, banana plantations, birds of all shapes and sizes, rivers, streams, coffee galore, goats galore, cattle galore and ducks and chickens (you got it – galore!), the border with the democratic Republic of Congo complete with nearby army barracks and patrols on the Ugandan side to guard against the rebels…..
When we arrived in Buhoma we diverted off the “main” road down a track that looked rather like we had taken a wrong turn but which happily delivered us to the beautiful lodge where we stayed – Mahogany Springs.
Some photos from our journey are included below.
Our light air craft for the flight to Kihihi
Flying over Lake Victoria - a fishing boat moving through the green waters.
Villages and farms from the air.
Workers harvesting tea in a plantation on the road to Buhoma.
Tea, coffee and bananas growing on a hillside subsistence farm on the road to Buhoma.
A little boy and his father smile from their mud brick house where they are drying coffee beans on the ground.
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1) Use support to stabilize your lens if you are able! I found it difficult to find a system that worked for me in the small vehicle with the gear I had available. Unfortunately in the interests of cutting down my luggage size and weight I decided to leave my gimbal and monopod at home, big mistake as I think this would have been the best solution to the problem of stabilization within the constraints of the vehicle (although you would definitely need a private vehicle in order to use a gimbal and monopod in it). Hand holding heavy long lenses in low light conditions is not conducive to easy photography or sharp images although might result in bigger muscles! The next point provides a potential solution to assist with this problem and help achieve sharper images even without excellent stabilisation. This is how I ended up dealing with my less than ideal situation. See this post for more thoughts about lens/camera support.
2) Consider using a faster shutter speed to aid in "freezing the action" and getting sharp images (for example, this will help if you are hand holding a big lens). You might have heard of the general rule of your shutter speed needing to be 1/your focal length (e.g. focal length of 500mm needs a shutter speed of at least 1/500th sec). I found that this is a helpful starting point but often not quite fast enough, especially if you are hand holding the lens and it is a big one! Unfortunately I found that many of my photos at longer focal lengths were not as sharp as I would have liked, mostly I think because I needed to hand hold the heavy lens due to the constraints of the vehicle. Once I realised this and with some good advice from some kind and more experienced fellow photographers I was able to improve my images by increasing my shutter speed (thanks in particular to Don from Don Davies Photography!).
3) A lens with a wide aperture is VERY useful. It really is incredible what a difference being able to really open up the aperture makes. For example, with the photographs below the first was taken on a aperture of 5.6 and the ISO needed to be 6400 whereas the second photo was taken at around the same time under the same lighting conditions but the aperture was 2.8 and the ISO only 400. The other obvious differences are the shutter speed and focal lengths and of course the interaction between the three elements (ISO, shutter speed and aperture) are vital to understand and also affect the ISO considerably. I will discuss those in the next point.
ISO 6500 519mm 1/800th F5.6
ISO 400 200mm 1/200th F2.8
4) The longer your lens’ focal distance the faster your shutter speed needs to be. This means that you either need to use a wider aperture or increase your ISO or both. Ideally one would decrease one’s aperture but once you reach the limits of what your lens can deliver you then have to start increasing your ISO.
For example the photo below was shot at F5.6 at 560mm, this meant that the ISO needed to be 1600 to achieve a shutter speed of 1/800th (the shutter speed needed to be at least 1/560th but because I was hand holding I knew it actually needed to be higher!).
The photo below was shot of the same scene at the same aperture but with a focal length of 160mm and as a result the shutter speed only needed to be 1/160th sec and consequently the ISO just 160.
This also really taught me that the rule above (shutter speed of 1/focal length) works best for shorter focal distances but becomes less accurate at longer focal distances, i.e. it was fine to have a shutter speed of 1/focal length at focal lengths of say up to 400mm but beyond that I found I really needed to increase the shutter speed to at least 1.5 x focal length.
Although this concept was not new to me the conditions under which one tends to be photographing tigers in India really hammered the point home and I think I now have a better understanding of how to deal with a similar situation in the future.
5) Even given all the special considerations discussed above that come with the longer lenses, it is still very much worth taking the longest lens you can get your hands on. There is plenty of wildlife in India but often the animals are not that close to you, especially as the constraints of being in a national park mean you have to stay on the roads, This means that you cannot move closer to an animal which you can see but is still far enough away that it is difficult to get a decent photograph of. Therefore, a long lens (at least 400mm, ideally even longer) will give you a huge advantage in terms of what images you are able to capture.
Unfortunately for most people a longer lens comes with a sacrifice in terms of aperture (i.e. most longer lenses that are affordable have a smaller maximum aperture than the shorter lenses for example a minimum of F4 on a 100-400mm lens at 200mm and a minimum of F2.8 at 200mm for a 70-200mm for a similar price). Fixed focal length lenses tend to be the sharpest and have wider maximum apertures but can be expensive, large and not as versatile as a zoom. It comes down to budget and personal preference.
If I do not have a lens available that is long enough to get close up pictures of the animal I am looking at my strategy is to try and create images which depict the animal in his or her environment. Actually these have often turned out to be my favourite images. Please see this blog post for more on this subject.
Bonus Tip!
It is possible to rent camera gear if you do not want to or are not able to buy the gear you need but really want for a specific purpose/trip. Companies such as Lens Pro 2 Go in the USA, A Lens for Hire in South Africa and Kayell in Australia (These links are just provided as an example of what is available so please do some research before deciding to proceed! Please note that I have only used Lens Pro 2 Go and not the others so I can only vouch for them but have provided other links based on my research. I have communicated with A Lens for Hire in SA and their customer service seems good although I did not end up renting the lens because I decided to buy it instead!)
I hope that you will find these tips helpful! I know they are a little technical, if you have any questions feel free to ask me questions and I will try to help if I can!
For extra reading to learn about shutter speed, ISO and aperture have a look at the excellent blog posts from Wild Eye - I have learnt so much from reading their blogs and listening to their videos/Q&As - I highly recommend them! You can even ask them specific questions using this page and they will answer them in their Q&A videos. Awesome team of photographers/photographic guides.
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Here are my top 5 general tips based on what I learnt about photography in India:
1) Get a private safari vehicle, if you can afford to do so and it is possible. The safari vehicles are small and you have a lot of photographic gear you will find it difficult to find space for it all and yourself if you are sharing a vehicle with more than one other person. Having your own vehicle allows you more room for your gear, to be able to more easily move around the vehicle to photograph at a sighting and also allows you to decide what you want to do (i.e. stay longer at a sighting, leave, wait at a waterhole, look at birds etc) rather than having this dictated by others in the vehicle who might not share your preferences or passion for the wildlife or photography.
2) Make sure that you have rain protection for your photographic equipment, even if you are going in the dry season! We were in central India in March when it is never meant to rain but we got caught in 2 torrential downpours. I tell you this is not fun in an open vehicle with lots of precious camera gear! Thank goodness I was prepared! It was still a rather miserable two hours as I shed all my rain gear to provide extra layers of protection for my gear (you would not believe the rain - it was so heavy that my contact lenses floated out of my eyes when I slit them open for a moment!). See my blog specifically about gear protection for more details on this subject - http://lifesafariphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2015/5/tips-on-how-to-protect-your-precious-photographic-gear
3) Take steps to also protect your photographic gear from the dust. In the dry season there is A LOT of dust! Driving around in an open vehicle, often behind or near other vehicles, means that not only will you get a tan that will wash off in the shower (!) but also that your gear will get covered in dust if you are not careful. This is not good for your gear and will also leave you with lots of dust spots on your images to remove later. See my blog specifically about gear protection for more details on this subject - http://lifesafariphotography.zenfolio.com/blog/2015/5/tips-on-how-to-protect-your-precious-photographic-gear
4) Always be ready. This is something that applies to most wildlife photography but particularly in instances where your subject might appear and then disappear very quickly, as is often the case with tigers. So think about the settings you might need and have them already prepared for the conditions you think you will be facing. You can always adjust them later if needed. For example, the early morning this is one of the times when you are most likely to see tigers but also a time of day when there is little light. I like to shot in aperture priority and learnt to have my widest aperture lens on and ready at its widest aperture (2.8) when we set off in the mornings. I would also do a few tests to see what ISO I would need to get a decent shutter speed at that aperture under the lighting conditions as we drove along through the forest. You can use Auto ISO but be careful to correctly expose your images, especially if the ISO needs to be high to give you a reasonable shutter speed. A high ISO is well tolerated by most cameras but if you underexpose and have to increase the exposure in post production you will get a lot of digital noise. Using Auto ISO and Aperture Priority does mean that the only thing you have to choose is your aperture and this simplifies the process considerably. You are unlikely to miss a shot which is great but may find there is more digital “noise” in your images than you would like.
5) Bring lots of patience! This is something that is a useful lesson to learn any time that you are photographing wildlife! They are just that – wild – and do not appear on cue and sometimes not at all. To me not knowing what you might see or when is part of the excitement but some people do get very frustrated and sometimes even angry with their guide for not "finding" them a tiger or whatever they are looking for. This is not helpful and , in my opinion, very unfair. In India the wildlife is not as plentiful and easy to see as somewhere like the African savannah so it is easy to get frustrated and disheartened, especially if that has been your only previous experience of wildlife viewing. You may not see any tigers, you may see many or you may see some but also have days where you see none. For most people it must be said that seeing a tiger is their number one desire (and I will admit that this was the driving force behind my trip to India) but the important thing is to not let that blind you to all of the other wonderful things you can see and experience between tiger sightings!
My strategy for improving my "patience" is to 1) just enjoy being there (the smells, the sounds, the experience), 2) enjoy what I do see including the small things – insects, trees, the light on a spider web, all are interesting and can provide great photographic opportunities while you hope for a tiger to come along, and 3) get interested in birds as there are almost always birds to see anywhere you go!
We spent 7hrs waiting at a water hole one day while in India knowing that a tiger was nearby and gambling on the fact that she was likely to come to the waterhole to drink at some stage. Although it was a very long time, we amused ourselves in the meantime by talking to our guides and learning about India, their culture, themselves, wildlife and conservation and also enjoying what was around us. In the end we learnt a lot and it was very much worth the wait for the eventual experience of spending 2 hrs with this incredibly gorgeous tigress when she did venture to the water hole and getting images like this one.
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If you are taking a large and heavy lens on safari some kind of support for your camera/lens can be very helpful. Holding a heavy lens for long periods waiting for an animal or bird to move can be exhausting and you may start to droop after a while (resulting in images that were not framed as you wanted or that missed the subject entirely....I speak from personal experience!). Alternatively you may get so tired that you put the lens down for a rest and of course that is when the thing you were waiting for invariably happens (again something that has happened to me!)! In addition, in low light conditions getting the balance right between shutter speed and ISO in order to get sharp images may be very difficult and having a well supported and stable lens (better than you can do hand held) will help with this challenge.
It is always difficult to find a combination that works in the vehicle and every individual probably has difference preferences and things that work for them. I have tried every single one of the combinations below! I am leaning towards the monopod and gimbal combination as my favourite but each combination is a good solution for specific situations.
Options for Camera/Lens Support in a safari vehicle
- A monopod and gimbal - this gives you a a lot of flexibility and does not take up too much space although there are some potentially issues to think about and overcome. For example, you do need to work out how to transport it when you are moving in the vehicle, and work out how long it will take to get into position to start photographing once you stop. You also need to think about how safe your gear will be when using each system, especially when driving.
Options for managing this setup when you are in a moving vehicle include:
- Lay the whole set up across your lap (you will need to loosen the gimbal screw to allow it to move and find a position that works and is relatively comfortable for you too) - this method is relatively safe for your gear but takes a few seconds to get up and in position to start photographing and so can result in missed images if it is all over quickly (i.e. you stop to photograph a bird and it flies off before you can get the gear in position)!
- Hold the whole set up upright with your foot under the monopod foot as you drive along to minimise the shocks from the bumpy ride on your gear - warning! - this can result in a bruised foot and you need to keep a careful hold on the gear! May be worth having an emergency strap attached to you or the seat and the gear to prevent it all crashing to the bottom of the vehicle if you accidentally let go. This is probably the quickest option to be ready to take images when you stop. Very important to have a protective bag or lens cap on to prevent damage to your lens glad and dust as it will probably be facing forwards.
- Unmount the gear from the gimbal completely and put it safely away in the vehicle. Bear in mind that this takes a long time to set up again. It is safe for your gear but takes a few minutes to get up and in position to photograph and so can result in missed images!
- Beanbags* to rest your lens on can work well, if your vehicle has something to put them on that is in a convenient location. Bean bags can be taken empty and filled when you get to your destination. Most camps will allow you to use some rice or beans from the kitchen. You will usually need to put the bean bag and gear back into the vehicle on the seat or floor when the vehicle is moving.
- Tripod and gimbal - I find this is too bulky for a vehicle.
- Various clips* that work with a gimbal are available if your vehicle has something to clip them on that is in a convenient location e.g. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/349147-REG/Manfrotto_175F_1_175F_Justin_Spring_Clamp.html
You may need to disassemble and put the gear back into the vehicle on the seat or floor when the vehicle is moving. If you do not you will need to cover the gear with a bag and lens cap before moving to protect the gear.
- A puffin pad* or other similar lightweight support option that you can put over a vehicle bar, door or window if your vehicle has something that works and is in a convenient location e.g. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=puffin+pad&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=
You will usually need to put the puffin pad and gear back into the vehicle on the seat or floor when the vehicle is moving.
* These options can be great but rely on the vehicle you re in having something to rest the beanbag or puffin pad on or fasten the clip to that is in a position that works for you to photograph from (i.e. at eye height, good visibility and flexibility with movement to get the angle you want). This has been the main reason why I have found the usefulness of these systems to be limited for me.
A bit of trial and error is needed to decide what works best for you and in each situation.
Out of a vehicle
A tripod is really useful for landscape shots, sunsets/sunrise and if you want to try your hand at star trails, There is really no better place to try photographing star trails than in the bush as there is no light pollution! (be careful of nocturnal predators though and always ask your guide if it is OK to set up your gear outside at night as some animals may damage or steal gear or you!). If you want to try this though take a remote shutter release cable. A tripod is heavy though so it is worth considering carefully if you do want to take one. If you do decide to take a tripod try to get the lightest and smallest one possible that will support your heavy gear (there are some great carbon fibre travel tripods that will take a heavy DSLR and lens these days).
Above: This me me with my long lens set up by the pool in Botswana's Linyanti region photographing the Forest Kingfisher shown below.
I don't have many photographs of how I set up my gear or me photographing as I am almost always the one taking the photos! Will have to work on that next time and see if I can get someone to take some photos for me!
Please leave me a comment to share your favourite system that works well for you!
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On a safari trip there may be a host of difficult conditions that can damage your gear from rain, to damp forest, to sand and dust, to rivers and water in the vehicles and bumpy rides! Here are some tips from what I have learnt in my time on safari:
- Have a UV filter on your expensive lenses to protect the lens glass, and use your lens hoods and lens caps!
- If you are spending a lot of time on safari game viewing be aware that a lot of your time will be spent bouncing around in vehicles and clambering in and out of said vehicles and maybe even boats! This can lead to bumps and scratches to your camera and lens. It can be a good idea to utilize protection if you have expensive gear you have invested in. To do this use a good padded camera bag that looks compact, doesn’t weigh too much bit fits heaps and will protect your gear during rough rides. In addition, you can get great neoprene covers that also protect against knocks etc and safeguard what can be a significant investment. See LensCoat as an example (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1111065-REG/lenscoat_lc1004002m4_lens_cover_for_canon.html) . They even come in camouflage, this can help these often large and flashy lenses (especially the white Canon L series lenses) to blend in a little better and, depending on what you like, you might find kind of cool! These will give protection to expensive gear from knocks and scratches and will help somewhat with weather and dust protection also.
- In addition to the regular a cleaning kit including a rocket blower (this is a really useful item as you can blast dust and sand off lens glasss before using a lens cleaning cloth. If you don’t you may just be rubbing the dust or sand into the lens and scratching the glass.
- Avoid changing lenses if at all possible especially in dusty, sandy or wet conditions. If you do have to change the lens, turn the camera off (as the static when it is on attracts dust to the sensor) and point camera down (as long as there is no wind) when changing.
- Keep your camera bag and dust bags clean or there is no point putting a clean camera/lens in them!
- Be aware than sometimes during deep river crossings water will enter the vehicle so keep your camera bag up off the vehicle floor when crossing deep water!
Specific situations requiring gear protection
Dust – if you go during the dry season and are concentrating on wildlife photography, chances are you’ll be spending most of your time driving around very dusty environments in an open vehicle. Aside from giving you a fake tan that washes off with your next shower this can play havoc with your gear. The dust is fine and gets everywhere – on your lenses, all over your camera, in every nook and cranny of your expensive gear, not to mention into your camera bag and onto your monopod tripod etc. When it gets onto the moving parts of your zoom lens or tripod/monopod the risk is that as you move the zoom of the lens or the legs of your tripod in and out the dust gets inside, never to leave!
Try to protect the camera from dust when at all possible when using the camera but especially while driving around.
Options for dust protection
- A bag that you can put your camera/lens combo into while you are not using it. These can be bought or made but need to be dust proof so have a plastic or similar lining that will keep dust out (lots of rain covers would suit this purpose perfectly and therefore would serve multiple purposes).
One ready made example is the LensCoat Rain Coat for DSLR and Telephoto Lens set ups:
eg http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1118211-REG/lenscoat_lcrc2sap_raincoat_2_pro.html
- You should also have something to cover the end of the lens. Again you can buy something, make something or, as a cheap alternative (wont last long but does the job), you can use a shower cap!
One ready-made example is the LensCoat Rain Coat rain cap for DSLR and Telephoto Lens set ups:
Rain Protection
I have learnt by personal experience never to assume it will not rain! Even in the dry season when it pretty much never rains…..it can! The lesson I have learnt – ALWAYS bring some kind of rain protection for your camera gear even if you don’t think it will rain!
Options for Rain Protection
- The ideal is a ready-made and serious covers such as those discussed above for dust protection eg the Lens Coat Rain Coat. This is best if you know that you will be photographing in wet conditions and this justifies the expense and weight of the purpose made covers.
- Again something can be purpose made if you or someone you know is handy with a sewing machine!
- At a pinch you can use a plastic bag. You make a hole in the end away from the handles and fasten the plastic hole your have made around the lens hood with a rubber band. The open part where the handles are then allows you access to the view finer, controls etc but can be tied off when you are not using the camera. This may not work as well as the purpose made rain covers but can be a life-saver. Make sure the bags are sturdy as there is no point if they easily get a hole in them and let the water in! I always keep a couple of large and sturdy plastic pages and rubber bands to seal the end of the bag in my camera bag (big enough to cover the camera and lens combos I am using and one for the bag). A shower cap will function well as a cover for your lens which you can easily take on and off. These are light and cheap options that are readily available and you can take along even if it is unlikely that you will need them.
Serious water and sand protection
It is ideal to take a couple of dry bags if you are planning on taking your gear in boats or very sandy places like the sand dunes in Namibia – these will protect your gear the best if the worst happens!
I hope this brief look at gear protection is helpful to you, it took me much time and trial and error to learn these tips!
]]>It is often sounds and smells as much as sights that transport you back into your memories.....The haunting call of the peacock, the warning call of jungle fowl, the barking of deer, the rustle of bamboo in the wind and the roar of a tiger so deep and strong that it vibrates within your chest......these are the sounds that conjure up the forests of central India in my imagination.
The heady perfume of wild gardenias, the smell of dry baked land, clouds of red dust and the distinctive scent of wild herbs...these are the smells that will forever trigger my memories of India's wild places.
Imagine for a moment these sounds and smells surrounding you as you weave your way through winding forest trails, between clumps of bamboo and tall Sal trees that rustle in the wind sending chestnut and gold coloured leaves wafting slowly to the ground as shafts of sunlight pierce the forest canopy.
A muntjac deer barks as you near his territory and skitters across the road before beginning to browse again once he had determined you were no threat.
Overhead Alexandrine, Rose-ringed and Plum-headed Parakeets chatter as they feast on the flowers of the flame of the forest tree, resplendent in bright red.
As you pass over a small stream the damp ground has attracted hundreds of butterflies including Blue Tigers, Crimson-Rose, Spot swordtail and the Orange Oakleaf. As you pause to admire the butterflies a jewel-like Green Bee-eater flits from tree to tree in the forest surrounding the stream and you hear the tock tock tock of the white-naped woodpecker searching for termites echoing through the trees. A family of Ruddy mongoose rustle in the carpet of fallen leaves searching for food, popping up their cute faces and bright eyes to observe you every now and then.
The antics of a troop of Langur Monkeys draw your attention as they shimmy up and down trees, jump from branch to branch, sometimes in play, sometimes chasing each other after loud disagreements! Some of the troop are sitting on the ground soaking up the sunshine filtering through the leaves. There are some very tiny babies clutched tight to their mothers but slowly their curiosity wins out and they pry themselves away from their mothers and edge closer for a better look at their strange human cousins.
Moving on and leaving them in peace the road leads you past a small lake where a stunning white throated kingfisher stares intently into the water looking for his next meal.
Next you emerge into a sunlit meadow filled with peacefully grazing sambar deer drinking at the sparkling stream in the clearing and wild boar fossicking in the soft earth around the edges of the stream. Then alarm calls sound and all the animals turn in one direction, standing tensely with tails in the air staring into the thick bamboo thickets on the edge of the clearing. As if by magic from the striped shade of the bamboo emerges the most magnificent of creatures slowly padding through her kingdom......the tigress regally paces past the alarmed animals and pauses to study you with her molten gold eyes. She then calmly crosses the road and disappears silently once again into the forest as if she was a dream but leaving the memory of her piercing golden eyes forever etched into your memory.
Although it is difficult to describe with words the ethereal and surreal nature of the wild forests of India and their almost mythical inhabitants I hope that my memories of just part of this one incredible day might begin to paint a picture for you of the magic of wild India.
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