I got up at five in the morning to get ready for the start of a 25-day overland trip across Southern Africa. This early rising was no mean feat considering I had only stumbled back into the hostel hours earlier from a night out with Mr Butterfly, a friend from high school who was working in Johannesburg for a few months, and his friend, Drama, who I inadvertently upset and left in a crying heap at the end of the night.
The night was not a complete write-off; we met a short bald man of Afghan-Swiss-Egyptian extraction who kept on buying us rounds of shots because he was tired of hanging out with his "coloured lesbian friends". It took me a while to get used to using the term "coloured" without feeling like I have become Pauline Hanson. But it's okay in South Africa; all the cool kids do it.
By six-thirty, my backpack and camera were on the truck. I never let my camera out of my sight since the airport incident. The Lowepro bag was glued to my hip.
The overland tour group was made of eight people for the leg from Johannesburg to Livingstone in Zambia. This made for very comfortable travel as the truck has a capacity for 24. After three hours together on the truck named "Kavango", our most frequently uttered phrase became "did you get any ice?". Can you possibly expect anything less when half of the group was made up of Australians thirsty for a cold can of Castel beer or Savannah cider?
That initial awkwardness and trepidation about spending 25 days on a truck with strangers was short-lived. Much of it thanks to beers that cost less than $1 a bottle and bladders that couldn't hold six bottles over the three hours between toilet stops. Nothing bonds people more than peeing together on the highway.
We arrived at the game lodge just outside of Kruger by three in the afternoon. No tents for us the first two nights! We were to stay in the luxury of cabins and sleep on real beds! It wasn't until five days later that I really began to appreciate doors that were not opened and closed by zips.
A night game drive in the Thornybush Private Game Reserve that borders Kruger was organised for us in the evening. It was there that my drama with the camera continued. In my very-mildly-professional eyes, I deemed the shots I took to be far too dark.
"Let's crank up the exposure! This is why you have an SLR! Manipulate the lighting!"
And here is an example of the result, as a result of not realising that I had my sunglasses on the entire time. The ostriches looked like they were walking through a nuclear test site.
The game reserve gave me my first taste in seeing all the nature that Africa has to offer. And it was delicious. On a short three hour game drive, I had already ticked off three of the big five games - white rhinos, elephants and buffalos. Surely, lions and leopards were to come the next day inside Kruger.
Top sights of the day
Road-blocked by a family of white rhinos.
A mere five metres away from a family of cheetahs.
The night was not a complete write-off; we met a short bald man of Afghan-Swiss-Egyptian extraction who kept on buying us rounds of shots because he was tired of hanging out with his "coloured lesbian friends". It took me a while to get used to using the term "coloured" without feeling like I have become Pauline Hanson. But it's okay in South Africa; all the cool kids do it.
By six-thirty, my backpack and camera were on the truck. I never let my camera out of my sight since the airport incident. The Lowepro bag was glued to my hip.
The overland tour group was made of eight people for the leg from Johannesburg to Livingstone in Zambia. This made for very comfortable travel as the truck has a capacity for 24. After three hours together on the truck named "Kavango", our most frequently uttered phrase became "did you get any ice?". Can you possibly expect anything less when half of the group was made up of Australians thirsty for a cold can of Castel beer or Savannah cider?
That initial awkwardness and trepidation about spending 25 days on a truck with strangers was short-lived. Much of it thanks to beers that cost less than $1 a bottle and bladders that couldn't hold six bottles over the three hours between toilet stops. Nothing bonds people more than peeing together on the highway.
We arrived at the game lodge just outside of Kruger by three in the afternoon. No tents for us the first two nights! We were to stay in the luxury of cabins and sleep on real beds! It wasn't until five days later that I really began to appreciate doors that were not opened and closed by zips.
A night game drive in the Thornybush Private Game Reserve that borders Kruger was organised for us in the evening. It was there that my drama with the camera continued. In my very-mildly-professional eyes, I deemed the shots I took to be far too dark.
"Let's crank up the exposure! This is why you have an SLR! Manipulate the lighting!"
And here is an example of the result, as a result of not realising that I had my sunglasses on the entire time. The ostriches looked like they were walking through a nuclear test site.
The game reserve gave me my first taste in seeing all the nature that Africa has to offer. And it was delicious. On a short three hour game drive, I had already ticked off three of the big five games - white rhinos, elephants and buffalos. Surely, lions and leopards were to come the next day inside Kruger.
Top sights of the day
Road-blocked by a family of white rhinos.
A mere five metres away from a family of cheetahs.
Post a Comment