The rains kept me camp bound all morning. Except I did venture to the dam for a paddle. It’s the best in the rain.
By midday it was clearing and I found the elephant herds to the east of the airstrip. I spent most of my time with Mama-notch. She’s another of those great elephants, of course different in character to the others. They all have different characters, which makes them all so special.
Mama-notch will feel nothing to share the same shade as me. She’ll walk past my vehicle almost scraping it without a worry in the world. AND she’s got a new calf only a couple of months old. Unlike One-tusk, she’s never touched my vehicle and never shown any interest towards it. Just treats it like it’s a rock. Although she hasn’t tried rubbing on it yet.
The herds were moving west and I was hopeful they’d end up swimming at Simbiri dam. They stayed in the woodland to the south of the airstrip.
Having not filmed anything today I was then hopeful they’d cross the airstrip against the beautiful sunset that I was sure would materialise.
I got all excited when a bull crossed but nobody followed. It was only just before dark that the herds starting crossing.
But in the meantime I was lucky when some giraffe arrived on the airstrip. When they saw me crawling along the airstrip to get closer and low on the ground, they stopped and stared for some time before giving up on this mad thing trying to ‘stalk’ them in open ground.
What a lovely way to end your day!!
Pure magic.
Beautifully done!!
Hey Kim!
That was absolutely gorgeous…what I’d give to have ONE night like that…you’re a lucky man…what a life! Magnificent!!
Pretty good! I liked how the giraffes were very attentive to your moves.
Only God could have given you that sunset and those animals at that time to enjoy!
Hi Kim,
Just watched “Cruel Camera”…a show about how many nature documentaries are in fact ‘manufactured’ or doctored to make it more exciting. They use tame (captive) animals and let on they are wild. So happy to see the ‘real thing’ here on your blog. You obviously have to wait for the animals to decide what they are going to do…something many filmmakers aren’t prepared to do. I think if most people were polled, they would all say the same thing…leave it natural please! After all, they are supposed to be depicting nature! Thank you Kim for not falling into that trap. Keep up the good work with your natural captures! We all appreciate the difficulties you face every day getting them.
Louise
It’s wonderful to watch the elephants blocking sunset and the giraffes touching the clouds.
As I watched your video, I kept wondering if those animals ever get to lie down and take a nap.
A fabulous video! I love the elephants and giraffes silhouetted against the sunset!
What an amazing sequence. That is really beautiful.
Beautiful stuff. Would make a stunning screensaver! Your site definately helps treat my homesickness - Thanks for making it availible to us for free.