Botswana Trip

mervifwdc

Hi,

Just back from a Botswana trip, and had a blast. I've not processed all the shots yet, but I've decided to drip feed them as there are a lot.

So, This is how we travelled. 2 Toyota 4x4's, with camper backs. Serious cool trucks, giving us a lot of flexibility on where we went, and where we stayed.




Quick look at the Lions (well, you have to really). I also have shots of them mating, so I'll do a specific thread on that when I process them.




And a sample of something much smaller, a Hornbill.


c&c welcome, and re-edits also welcome.

Merv.

Dimy

That's some excellent shots merv! The 3rd and 5th picture are the best for me, I'm not sure if I would have done that lion shot in B&W though.
It must have been an awesome experience, not many people can say they've been there. I've only seen lions in zoo's and those are the lazy kind, in the wild these animals must be really impressive.

mervifwdc

Thanks!
They are pretty lazy in the wild too, until it's hunting time. They have so much confidence that they usually do not move as you drive up closer (we were about 30 feet from these pair). You can see why they are pretty much top of the pile.

Botswana is a super country, and are very tourist friendly. Pretty basic in some ways, but overall a great place to visit. I would certainly go again.

I've got a thing for b&w, and sometimes I'm a little keen with it. :-)

Merv.

ianmc38

3 and 5 are superb. Looks like an amzazing trip...

Tarakiwa

Would love to see the lion in full colour ...............

Nice work though

mervifwdc

Thanks for the comments! Hint taken, I'll do a Lion in colour for tomorrow.

For now:

Morlar

I think they are excellent pictures - and I really like the black and white lion there - it definitely works imo.

Valentia

Magic shots. I really enjoyed looking at them. The 5D looks like the biz. What lens were you using...I see a 800mm on the EXIF. Were you using a converter?

Keep 'em coming

mervifwdc

most of the long stuff is the 400/f4 DO, with either the 1.4 or 2.0 (or both sometimes!) converters on, with the 1dMII.

the 5d got left on the 70-200 as a wide angle setup :-) Also used as the walkabout :-) Yeah, I know it's a bit sad, but what the heck.

There are a few shots of the 5d with the 400, but not many if I recall.

and the super wide stuff is a 17-40. It even viginettes with the 5d when you have a regular filter and a polariser filter, so the top 2 are cropped down a bit.

Merv.

Roen

Whereabouts were you based Merv? I spent a <long story cut short> there a few years ago. I was there at around June/July and didn't get to see much wildlife, this is one from near Maun, from the Who's Who thread above.


Great shots, I didn't get to see anything big but I did see some very beautiful African Starlings during my month or so.

mervifwdc

I flew into Joburg with my wife and another couple from Cork. We had booked the 2 4x4 trucks for 3 weeks hire, and drove from joburg - Martins Drift (border crossing) - Maun - Kassani - vic falls - nata - central kalahari - Martins Drift - Joburg. We only stayed in any one place 2 or 3 nights max, and spent long hours on the roads in the national parks. Chobe park was the best, I've a few nelly pictures from there yet to post.

We stayed in Audi camp just outside Maun for 1 night, and I would have loved to do one of those fly in tours to the Delta but time did not allow.

How long were you there? Brilliant country!
Merv.

Roen

That pic was taken in Audi...I think, it had a kick ass bar and great brekkie anyway
I was there for about a month, give or take, we lost two cylinders in the beetle and were down to about 20Mph for about 150 miles so we had to kind of stop in Maun for a bit longer than I wanted. It took three weeks to get into Botswana because customs wanted to charge us a heap for bringing the car into the country from Zambia and I got malaria twice in Livingstone.
I made Maun to Jo'Burg in one day in a landrover believe it or not! I had to be back in SA to learn to fly.
I wasn't mad about Botswana as I'm a mountainy man so the country didn't hold too much fascination for me. I spent most my time there under that bloody car and I couldn't afford the ridiculous prices they were charging for wildlife flights.

I'm eager to see any shots you have though, the ones you posted are letting me see what I missed back then.