The end of time…

Our journey has now come to its logical end. We are home again in the U.S. and wishing we were back on the African continent. The sights and sounds, food and friends, places and adventures are all still fresh in our minds. We wish all of you who have ever seriously thought about Africa would go NOW! It has changed dramatically in my thirty three years of African experiences. More people, less freedom. More regulation, less wild spaces. More tourism, less thought.

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Freedom, African Fish Eagle

Africa is NOT an everyman experience, nor should it be. Today an atmosphere, not unlike the European capital tourism of the past five decades pervades all things African. Visit here, follow the crowds, enjoy seeing animals with a hundred or so of your closest new friends. Ughhh, it is NOT for me. I prefer the quiet intimacy of a camp set in wilderness or what may pass for wilderness these days. A small camp staff, reliable vehicles, comfortable accommodations, fresh food prepared on a braai or in bush oven. Fresh bread, wonderful game meat, a cold beer and a neat scotch around the evening fire. A feeling of shared experience in the recap of the days events, memories made, unique sightings of personal importance, and mostly the conversation as you sit under the Southern Cross and   the dark night sky lit by  a million million stars in solitude. The night music comes alive in the multiple voices emanating from all around you in the bush. Zebra, buffalo, lion, hippo, wild dogs, hyena, and even elephant lend their vocalizations to the distant chorus. Sleep comes easily amid the promise of a new day and the next great adventure.

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Last fire in the sky…

It is a very special experience, and I hope it always remains so. We would like to thank our hosts, Corne Kruger and family @ Omujeve Hunting Safaris (see http://omujevehuntingsafaris.com), and Paul Joubert and his family for their hospitality at the famed Erindi Private Game Reserve (see http://www.erindi.com).  What follows is a photographic collection of some very special animals, places, sights and people who represent Africa. More posts will be forthcoming as we wrap up all the loose ends into a less than tidy bundle for 2016…

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Chamoni & Corne Kruger Omujeve Hunting Safaris…
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Wynette Joubert, Rita, and Paul Jr. @ Erindi
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Paul Joubert and his son Paul Jr. with Rita

 

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Birds eye view…
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Handy trunk rest…
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Mud Bath
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Dust bath?
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Reticulated Rhino??
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Heavy dewlap on an old big boy…
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Unique Hartmann’s…
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“Claw Mountain” on Erindi… home to adventure
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Mrs. Spots
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Her Highness
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His Highness
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M’bogo, 46″+ of black attitude
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No man is an island…
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Motley Crew, between sets…
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A net full of goodness!
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God’s Caprivi

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