Africa is Amazing
Its skies are amazing
And on the afternoon of May 1, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, is certainly a prime example.
Its animals are amazing
To get to my lodge, The Hide, we had to drive about one hour from Main Camp which is at the entrance to Hwange National Park. There’s plenty to see on the way. Hwange is known for their large herds of elephants and some came to greet me at the gate.
It was delightful to see them and especially the youngsters, including very tiny, baby elephants with their mothers and siblings. It wasn’t long before we had elephants on all sides and I managed to remember that this trip, I would take videos.
I still ended up with more photos than videos but, I am trying and I am in process of uploading them to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJFAl-QJfnzbcIsET31hhA
Or just search on YT for: Joy in HK
I am loving making videos and learning editing skills but, I need more context, which means narrative and, well, text. I have decided to not be such a stranger to this blog. I like the particular layout I am using here, but it doesn’t make adding new pages very smooth or easy. I’ll no longer link to a separate page. Whatever I have to say, I’ll say it on a Post. There may be better layouts but I worry what could happen if I switch. Not only might I not like it, but maybe I could lose some or all of what is already here. Not worth the risk.
But back to the real business.
A small herd of zebra walk past us as they graze the tall grass.
This one is a little bit closer than the rest. I can see the grass is high and interferes with getting full views of the animals and waving grass can make focusing difficult. But what the camera can’t pick up, my eyes can still make out.
As the sun sets, the zebras disappear into the distance.
A
gainst the darkening sky, a lilac-breasted roller poses. Some say, it’s the most beautiful bird in Africa. For sure, it’s lovely and colorful and lobves to sit on branches near roads. They are even more beautiful if you can spot them flying with wings wide.
The last sighting of the day. Almost too dark to see but luckily, there’s a white circle, just off center-left, that lets me know this is a waterbuck but you have to look closely.
And from the opposite horizon to the sunset, we are treated to anti-crepuscular rays.
It’s an auspicious start.
***
Yes, African wildlife is amazing. Of course, what makes the everyday life of these animals so special, is the path we, humans, have taken that distances ourselves from the rest of the natural world. I grew up in a city, surrounded by people, knowing only what people do and completely unconnected to the reality in which humans evolved and in which we lived for more than a hundred thousand years, as homo sapiens, our non-Sapiens ancestors much longer. For me, seeing the varieties, the abundance, and recognizing the species and sometimes even the individuals, is a true marvel. I hope that I have managed to bring you a small amount of what makes it so special, both here and on my YouTube channel.
BTW, My apologies for the long time between the last post and this one. I hope less time will pass between this and the next.
Although the name of this blog no longer fits what I am writing about now, I think I’ll not change it. What I started it for, the music live performance, is still on this blog and is part of the history. It is time, however, to add new photos to the random-header image mix.
I’d love to hear from you.
hksounds 
Leave a comment