Walking With Lions
Lions Ready to Pounce
Walking with lions was a great experience. I was high after it was over. The lions are accustomed to being with humans. Their trainer keeps them focused on a chunk of meat on the end of a long pointed stick while they are waiting to be touched. The speed at which the lions can grab that tidbit of food is astonishing. These are truly wondrous creatures. What also struck me was how much affection these two lions had for each other. They were not fully grown. The male massed 150 kg and is expected to reach 260 kg. Later that day I drove back to Capetown, and began my long trip back to the USA the next afternoon.
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- Lions Ready to Pounce
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- Lion Love
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- Lion in a Tree
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- Cat Walk
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- Lion Petting Zoo
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- King of the Beasts Standing
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- Getting a Lion Out of a Tree
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- Lions Messing Around
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Bridges, Birds and Signs
Rocks at Storms River
It’s getting close to the end of the photos from my South Africa trip. This group of photos was shot near the middle of the trip and includes a variety of subjects. The exotic birds were photographed at Birds of Eden, a bird sanctuary that is a cage so big the birds don’t realize they are in a cage. It covers several acres and the net is about 100 feet overhead. A funny sign graced the men’s room at Monkeyland nearby. Bloukrans bridge is the largest in South Africa and known for its bungee jumping. The foot bridges by the sea are at the mouth of the Storms River. A bridge through the forest was captured at Monkeyland. The black and white landscape and oyster sign are from Knysna. If anyone knows the correct names for the birds, please leave me a comment and I will change the captions.
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- Rocks at Storms River
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- Knysna Evening
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- Scarlet Ibis
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- Knysna Turaco
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- Blue Crane
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- Love Birds
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- Red and Purple Parrot
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- Monkeyland Suspension Bridge
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- Men’s Room Sign
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- Bloukrans Bridge
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- Storms River Bridge
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- Oyster Bar Sign
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On Safari
Giraffe on the Move
On the game reserve where I was staying we went out for three hour game drives in a four wheel drive truck which had seats mounted in the bed. There was a cover overhead to block the sun but the truck was open on the sides. In theory, anything could have jumped in though the animals stay back because they see the truck as a monolithic large creature that is too big to attack.
The Rhino’s horn has been cut to prevent poachers from killing it for its horn. It is believed consumption of Rhino horns will result in their extinction soon.
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- Rhino and Offspring
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- Lion Resting
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- Black Impala
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- Rhino and Egret
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- School Carpool Run
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- Giraffe Tongue
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- Antelope Grazing
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- Giraffe on the Move
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Monkey Business
Elvis
Monkeyland is a primate sanctuary near Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. The animals are sourced from zoos and unwanted pets. None are captured for the park and the primates roam free. The species have been chosen to get along with each other. They are fed at multiple feeding stations to avoid territoriality and conflict. A fence keeps predators out of the roughly 25 acre park. It’s a great life.
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- Vervet Monkey
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- Lemur at the Table
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- Black Monkey
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- Elvis
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- Gibbon Swinging
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- Lemur
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- Golden Monkey
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- Monkey Looking Down
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- Ring Tailed Lemur
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- Monkey in the Trees
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Lions Mating
Lions Mating 5
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- Lions Mating 1
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- Lions Mating 2
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- Lions Mating 3
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- Lions Mating 4
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- Lions Mating 5
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- Lions Mating 6
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- Lions Mating 7
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- Lions Mating 8
These photos were captured at about 6:30 AM local time in the golden light of morning at a game reserve near Mossel Bay, South Africa. Range was about 10 meters and there were no barriers between me and the lions. After seeing Lions up close in their natural environment I have come to believe they are the most beautiful of all wild animals.
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Kalk Bay Harbor
Cape Fur Seal
Kalk Bay Harbor is a pretty spot that captures a lot of what makes Cape Town special. The hills come down to the water to meet a concrete jetty populated with locals who are fishing. There are lots of restaurants including the Brass Bell where the seafood is excellent.
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- Cape Fur Seal
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- Couple on the Seawall
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- Blue Dress and Seawall
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- The Band
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- Kids Fishing
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- Man With a Catch
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Storms River and the Bungee Jumpers
Tsitsikamma View
About halfway across the Southern tip of the African continent lies Tsitsikamma Park. Storms River is a major landmark in the area. It is crossed by a suspension foot bridge. This is the only national park that I have ever entered where the gatekeepers made me sign a liability release as if I was engaging into some very hazardous activity. Perhaps waking across a swinging bridge with a bunch of retired Germans is dangerous. Also in the park is the Bloukrans Bridge which is the largest bridge in South Africa and the highest commercial bungee jump in the world. Despite it’s reasonable price, I passed on the jump. Besides, they don’t let anyone take cameras or mobile phones out to the platform. They are happy to sell you a CD shot by their photographer. The panoramic photo of the gorge is made up of six 36MP shots with a net 100MP in the stitched image.
The pano is 1600 pixels wide. Click on it to see it large.
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- Near Storms River
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- Storms River Bridge
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- Storms River
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- Storms River Gorge
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- Three Hyrax
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- Bungee Jumper 2
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- Bungee Jumper
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- Looking South
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- Tsitsikamma Pano
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- Tsitsikamma View
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Hermanus Seaside
Hermanus Sunset
5 Photos in This Gallery
Hermanus is a lovely seaside community where many well off South Africans and foreigners have second homes. The rocky coast reminded me of Maine in the USA.
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- Rocky Coast
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- Hermanus Harbor
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- Hermanus Sunset
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- Sharing Lunch
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- Hermanus Shore
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Wine Country Portraits
Middelvlei Winery Associate
8 Photos in This Gallery
The South African wine country is only about an hour’s drive beyond Cape Town’s borders. These photo’s are from tastings at four wineries. At Murati the port tasting was accompanied with chocolate. Casper was our knowledgeable guide for the day. We had a wonderful lunch together at Delheim after which Casper drove us back to Cape Town in his off road modified pickup truck. All of these were taken with a Nikon D800 and 28mm f/1.8 G.
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- Wine Country Wildflowers
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- Middelvlei Winery Associate
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- Murati Cobwebs
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- Murati Port Tasting
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- The Path to Bliss
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- Casper at Delheim
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- Backsberg Winery
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- Hess Winery Associate
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Shark Bait
Submarine
8 Photos in This Gallery
These photos are from a shark diving trip which launched from the Gansbaai area. Shark Diving Unlimited ran the trip professionally. On the boat there is a steel cage so the sharks can be viewed at water level or slightly below by divers. The water was cold and the sea was rough, so I did not last very long in the cage. These are Great White sharks which are nearly extinct.
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- Gansbaai Shore
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- Gansbaai Light Beams
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- Over the Rail
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- Great White Bites
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- Going For Chum
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- Submarine
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- Seagull
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- Table Mountain
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At the Boulders
Coastal View
10 Photos in This Gallery
Near Cape Town, South Africa is Simon’s Town where you will find Boulders Beach. In addition to swimming off the beach, there is a protected habitat for penguins. This is not a zoo. The birds are free to swim away in the sea.
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- Pinguin in The Grass
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- Cape Fur Seal
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- Wet Pinguin
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- On the Rocks
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- Hyrax
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- Messy Pinguin
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- The Boulders
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- Navy Habor
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- Iron Shore
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- Coastal View
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Table Mountain
Climbing Crew
8 Photos in This Gallery
Table mountain towers 1000 meters over central Cape Town. It has a flat top suitable for informal hiking that is more like a stroll. Some scale its rocky walls. I hope they know what they are doing.
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- Climbing the Wall
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- Plate Glass Painter
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- Table Mountain 2
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- Table Mountain 1
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- Anything for a Shot
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- Above Cape Town
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- Climbing Crew
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- Bay View
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Cape of Good Hope
Baboon and Toyota
5 Photos in This Gallery
What is the difference between a baboon and a wind surfer? Wind surfers are less likely to try and break into your car. This is where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. Funny, but I could not find a line in the water. I photographed the baboons from too close for safety. They were running around wild in the street.
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- Good Hope Beach
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- Wind Surfers
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- Baboon Seated
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- Baboon and Toyota
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- The Point?
Ron From Texas 
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