Photo of the Week: West African Forest Elephants
My recent move to Lightroom 5 has opened up opportunities to improve on previous photos shot with outdated technology. This trio of shots was taken in Burkina Faso whilst mapping National Parks for the MAPA Project. We stumbled upon this group of elephants at a watering hole and I had to work quick to get these shots. It was my first encounter with elephants and the second photo clearly shows that this elephant wasn’t happy about my close proximity. I moved back into the bush as the group slowly left the watering hole and disappeared into the forest.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The Temple, Borodudur – Java, Indo
Last year we realised we were clocking up a fair number of UNESCO World Heritage sites, as they are usually worth checking out and in some countries were the highlight of our visit. It’s surprising how quickly they add up too. So here is a round-up of the sites we have visited over the years. We will continue to add to this list, starting with Australia’s wonders. But in the meantime check out whc.unesco.org for the complete list and interactive world map to see how many you have been to! We would be interested to hear your thoughts and where you have been that impressed you most. Let us know in the Poll and in the comments. (more…)
Photo of the Week: Bush Camping, Mali – West Africa 2011
Southern Mali Bush Camp
One of the most memorable photos from my time in West Africa was this camp spot in the far southwest of Mali.
We were hundreds of kilometres off the bitumen trying to map routes through the Bafing National Park. We followed tracks to the Bafing Chimpanzee Santuary which turned out to be completely shut down, it had been closed many years previously but we were in the area so had to check it out. We followed some feint tracks south from there which petered out from village to village. Each one we passed through we were greater warmly by the people. After 150km we were pretty deep and we knew our fuel supplies would be pushed to the limit (with 2 leaking tanks and running the 6cyl petrol). To top it off the clunk from the driveline got worse (turned out to be a front prop UJ) so we decided that night to turn tail and head back to refuel. We had mapped what little we could.
That night we heard some rustling around camp which turned out to be a stray cow. We could however hear in the distance a lot of chanting, singing and wailing. Maybe witch doctors are alive and well near the Guinean border after all.
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To read more about the MAPA Project and our adventures there, take a look here:
West Africa, MAPA Project 2011
Photo of The Week: Pelicans in Flight, Senegal 2011
Mapping the National Parks in Senegal for MAPA was great fun. As the parks were all wetland we got to leave the confines of the Land Cruiser and head out on a boat or Pirogue for the day.
This Photo was taken at Oiseaux de Djoudj National Park in the north of Senegal on the Mauritania border. It is one of the most important wetland reserves as its the 1st freshwater source for migrating European birds. After crossing the Mediterranean and Sahara approximately three million migratory birds are supported here.
Alongside Nazinga in Burkina Faso this was one of the more memorable parks in terms of wildlife.
Lisa
Griff
Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд 