The Amazing African Night Sky

Well, good afternoon. I don't really know where you are when reading this, or what the time is...but right now it is about 17h40 on a lazy Sunday afternoon in South Africa.


I am aiming to now post at least one blog post per week, if not more, but in a more "photo-of-the-day" style, with intermittent longer, more thoughtful posts. That way I can keep everyone updated on my photos as I process them from previous travels, and keep the site a little more active.


Those of you who've been to Africa before will know that there is just nothing like the night sky of Africa. In the USA I know they speak of Montana as "Big Sky Country", but in Africa it just seems that everywhere is "Big Sky Country". And if the daytime clouds and expanse don't convince you, the stars at night surely will. In general Africa has many places that are still quite devoid of serious "light pollution", which enables a much clearer view of the Milky Way and Southern Hemisphere "starscape".

The Milky Way as seen in the Kalahari desert, South Africa
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An Article About Addo

And so enters the month of September 2010...is it just me or has this year just gone faster than the previous one? Things are really steamrolling along this year. The much anticipated Soccer World Cup 2010 has come and gone, and I think our country has done itself proud. Unfortunately there are now a few things in the aftermath that could unsettle all the momentum our wonderful nation has built up.

But enough of that before I change this blog into a socio-political one..

We have just returned from an amazing (albeit short) road trip which took us to areas we had not visited in quite a while. As a big fan of South Africa's National Parks and a big fan of the self-drive safari (maybe it's because of budgetary constraints as well hehe, but I DO so love finding my own sightings and making the most of them photographically), I was happy to make my first real trip to the Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape province. I had only been there once in the past for a quick drive-through en route to elsewhere, and this time we managed to book a 2-night stay in one of the safari tents of the Main Rest Camp.

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Hartebeest Derby!!

Hello to all the SAFFAscapes readers. Are you liking the new look of my blog? I am also in the process of setting up my official website, which should be live within the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted on that!

Well, lucky me to be leaving on another road-trip tomorrow...my time does fly. We are doing a round-trip to the Central Drakensberg, the Wild Coast near the old Transkei and then on to the Addo Elephant National Park and the Mountain Zebra National Park. Basically, we will be travelling right around the mountain country of Lesotho in a sense.

Before I leave, here is a photo of a Red Hartebeest in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park...this is what our car will look like as we rocket out of the city towards the clear skies of the Drakensberg!

Keep well until I return with MANY more photos...


Morkel Erasmus

WORKING THE LIGHT

Hello again everyone...

I thought it was time for a new post since we're already a few days into August. My, how this year is just rocketing past!!

Sometimes we find ourselves in that "sweet spot" for photography. You know - the golden morning/evening light from the sun teetering on the brink of the horizon falling over your shoulder and straight onto whatever animal or bird happens to be caught in your viewfinder at that moment. Everything just comes together...like these giraffe I found the other day in the Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa:

More often than not, however, we find ourselves in a situation where it's just not possible to get into that "sweet spot". In many cases it's an insurmountable task to get ourselves in that position due to terrain constraints or the fact that you might not be allowed to go off-road in certain reserves (at least that's the case for most of the places I go on safari to), but at other times there's just not enough T-I-M-E to do so...these "truly" golden minutes only last for a few fleeting moments after all.