April 29, 2014

 Lazing on a sunny afternoon....

this is how to do it!

April 12, 2013

Another visit to the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park

Zebras have to be the most 'photogenic' animals!

The Impalas are all ears and very alert, while the Rhino sleeps on ;)

 The male Impala also very alert...

...and this is the reason!

We were intent on spending the morning bird-watching, and what do we see??

 Such a magnificent animal. Basking in the morning sun.

 There were reports of the female and cubs deeper in the bush but unfortunately we did not see them

April 9, 2014

A few shots taken in my garden.

These tiny insects hover around and even when perched the wings are not still.

This macro was taken with the help of a Raynox 150 conversion lens.

Every year there is a field of wild daisies beyond the front fence on the bank.

A variety of butterflies flit from flower to flower.

 This guy was resting on the fence wire. I love the light of the afternoon sun shining through its wings.

April 5, 2014

Every visit to the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park holds many photo opportunities.

People often complain that they 'spent a day in the Park and saw nothing'

We go as often as we can and have always come back smiling.

We always stop on a low-water bridge to sit and listen to the sounds of nature.

One of the sounds came from this beautiful Giant Kingfisher.

A new one for my birding list!

A dainty Hibiscus-like flower

At the water hole. The very blue sky reflecting on the water.

Note the blue markings on this bug.

 It has been a while since I posted a photo taken this spot!

The scenery is changing and soon it will be Winter here.
Strangely, a photo posted last year on 13 April showed the tree still covered in leaves.

April 1, 2014

Ideal for April 1st  :)

Five Helmeted Guinea-fowl were scratching a Rhino midden for insects.

I stopped the car at a distance and zoomed in to take a photo.

These two lifted their heads to see what was going on.

I cropped the photo to the extreme to bring you

this photo of a rare two-headed bird.

March 29, 2014

A variety of mushrooms grow in the Rhino dung middens.

 An Orb Spider has it's web spun between two trees ....

 .... and so does this Bark Spider

 Spotted in the grass below the spiders was this beautiful little butterfly. 

I do hope it managed to avoid the webs.

From a distance a rather dull looking Grasshopper, but a close-up shot reveals interesting patterns.

Turned out to be quite a beautiful creature, right down to the hair on it's chinny-chin-chin!

March 23, 2014

 Leonotus leonurus (aka Wild Dagga or Lion's Tail)

Wild dagga is widely used in traditional medicine to treat fevers, headaches, coughs, dysentery and many other conditions. Also so used as a remedy for snake bite and as a charm to keep snakes away ;)

Grasshoppers

March 21, 2014

During a visit to the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park, we were greeted by this colourful sight

The Butterflies were so fresh and brightly coloured

When you want to mingle with Butterflies you have to blend in...

March 13, 2014

In and around my garden

A tiny bee harvesting pollen from a tiny flower

 A type of ant that I have not seen before. Note the spots on the abdomen

What a web! It was as fine as a mosquito net.

 These stamens seem desperate to have the pollen harvested before the flower wilts completely

 Another beautiful web! This was a fairly large web for such a tiny spider

March 9, 2014

It is amazing what you find if you take the time to park your car and study the surrounds.

We always stop at a low water bridge in the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park to photograph the Dragon Flies.

This day offered quite a variety! These photos were taken from where I was sitting in the car.

The green Damsel Fly seemed to be laying eggs in the water

Never seen this type of bug before

 A Water Monitor keeps an eye on us

Such lovely colours

March 5, 2014

While trying to get the lawn back to life I noticed a rainbow 

 I zoomed in closer and took various shots at different angles - this is my favourite