The trip of a life time has begun - I am at the airport on the way up to Johannesburg for a few days. I meet up with the rest of the members of the team at the airport on Monday on route to Maun. We get transferred to Etsha 13 which is on the far north-western side of the Okavango Swamps where we stay the night and begin the epic 140km exploration by mekoro back to Maun on the 28th June.

There are a few trajectory nerves that involuntarily give me a cold shiver at the thought of what we may come across/ experience on the trip itself and the sheer magnitude of the plan. It is un-utterable excitement I think. I am completely up for it - but there are always things that are not completely in your hands. May they be big hands that pick me out the water.. and quickly!!!!

On another note - we went to go and have a look at the where we had our wedding. Cindy and Roelou Barry have transformed it into a magnificent, palatial venue. If there are any of you out there, I mean 'any' who have friends that are getting married - this place is awesome!

How is that incredible marble floor and those chandeliers!

5 Days to go before pole pole po.. - wobble wobble - pole pole po.. - splash - gasp, lunge back onto mekoro ... breathe.. balance - pole pole etc etc for hopefully not the duration of the trip!

For a more indepth look at the trip : http://www.safaristeve.net

The life of an artist is definitely not easy. I once had a guidance counselor at school that said if I continued with art I would end up in the gutters - mmm the nerve!! It is tough though - trying to seduce funds out of every conceivable source for the wonderful 'quiet' life that we do have. It is definitely not easy. Did any one say it was??

I have just sold my last BIRD original of the single Bee-eater! Hooray! I have 'lots of line on my reel' so I look forward to getting stuck in on my return from a hopefully exhilarating trip. A possible commission - meetings with galleries... and to continue with my little Barred Owlet which is going to be a beautiful drawing..

Little Bee-eater (Merops Pusilus)

We are back in lovely Hermanus - fat and happy after an over indulgent holiday. It is great to see all our special friends again.

Here is Steve and EB in Bots on a previous trip

Now - preparations for the Botswana adventure are fully underway. Steve Adams, Justin Rous and myself with a local Motswana (a person from Botswana) guide EB - are heading out onto the Okavango swamps in mekoros. We are planning on crossing the swamps just south of the orange marker along the straight line in the picture below through the swamps until Maun - sleeping on islands as we go, and hopefully supplementing our ratpacks with eating fresh fish!

Map of the Okavango Swamps

 ..and hopefully our mekoro's are not going to look like a rapala for some grumpy bull hippo!

There were huge storms in Johannesburg the night before we left - even a tree was blown down where we were staying. So the following morning with a bit of a push from my mother dearest and trying to think smart - I decide to call the airline 1Time to check for delays. YES - the ETD had changed, so our flight was NOW delayed to 6.15pm  and not 4pm. All good - a relaxed day in Sandton,  and seeing Dani my cousin.

I am one of those people that have to be on time and definitely like to double check things. Natalie phones again at around 1pm - yes, a lady at 1Time confirms departure for 6.15pm and check-in is at 17.45. Great!

We get to the airport for check-in, still early and find out our flight had left at its original time of departure which was 4pm, and there were no others until 10.30am the following day! You can imagine - irritated beyond belief, a large vein throbbing on (and in) my forehead - the missioning and paying an extra R400 for the Gautrain (which is exceptional) displeased me intensely - going back to Sandton and then back again the following morning with NO compensation besides a breakfast! You have to love that!

We are now in lovely, tropical East London! It is always wonderful to see Ali & Wayne, Monica and 'the girls'!

Oohh - did I mention there was a little rain.

People love a natural disaster!

Abbotsford Causeway.. or not!

A view from the Blue lagoon bar

The Nahoon River - a brown writhing mass of water

Debris and barges washed down to the river mouth

Some barges where they shouldn't be!

We are on our homeward journey tomorrow! We stay the night in Port Elizabeth tomorrow (Saturday), and Plettenberg Bay (Sunday) and then Hermanus!!!

The Hoopoe original has sold!! One more left.. the single Little Bee-eater!

African Hoopoe (Upupa africana)

The meeting with &Beyond went well - thank you Nicki. I went to see them regarding my bird prints going into their lodges. They loved the prints and are keen to test it out at Kirkmans with a small selection. It is great for them to get in there!

I also heard of another deal which may be fantastic.. but you will have to watch this space to see if it all comes together!!

I got sent this photograph by a friend we met up at Kirkman's. Thanks Adrian - it may give off the idea of us being in North Africa... but we really are in South Africa!

On game drive at Kirkman's Kamp - Duncan Gordon in the back row!!

Ohhh my.. back in the city. It really is such a strange thing after being in the bush for a while  - your senses get so tuned into listening for the alarm calls of chattering monkeys or the barking of kudu or bushbuck - every dog bark your heart practically jumps.

The bush really is an incredible opportunity for all of us here in South Africa - whether it is in the Kruger or at a private lodge; self-drive or driven - it is an amazing gift. Utilize and look after it!! I  really wish all people realised how lucky we are!

I have a meeting with &Beyond tomorrow - ever hopeful of getting my birds into their lodge shops! What I can tell you is that I did get my first order for 25 prints for an incredible lodge on the Zambezi called the Royal Chundu! There is a special for South African's - definitely on my list to go and experience.

At this moment we are in White River with a very old and good friend of Natalies - Tina Aponté and Eli. We leave for Johannesburg tomorrow. We chatted to a gallery this morning which was very positive in Casterbridge about my birds. Lets see what happens? There may be a chance that we go to Zambia for two nights on Wednesday? Who knows?

It has been a super trip so far - being back at Kirkman's Kamp was very special. Thank you Duncan, Catherine, Richard and Ndumiso and all the staff for making our trip so great. Richard, our ranger is training at present but will make a wonderful guide in the future. Great to see Steph and Marcus - what an adventure you have to look forward to!

We had some incredible sightings - a male leopard stalking some young waterbuck which at the last minute was thwarted by a breeding herd of elephant that picked up the scent of the predator and came crashing through the bush towards the leopard and us - a speedy departure for us all!

A male leopard looking intently at a group of waterbuck

It is amazing to me that you see a lot of White-fronted bee-eaters in the Kruger and then you don't see as many on Kirkmans which adjoins the park. This one that we found was basking in the glolden glow just before sunset! I missed an opportunity that a photographer dreams about - early one very cold (5°C) morning when the sun was just coming up and the mist heavy - that brilliant light we all know if you have been to the bushveld - there infront of our room on a branch were 10 Little Bee-eaters huddled together seeking warmth. The tiniest scrape of the door was enough to send them all zooting in every direction! Some profanities so early in the morning had to be the beginning of a great day!

White-fronted Bee-eater (Merops bullockoides)

On our second last drive - a bit panicked that we were not going to see the lttle cubs again, requested the ever patient Richard if we could please follow up on them. They were located by another vehicle on Kingston in a dry river bed - the two large males we had seen previously, 4 lionesses and the 3 cubs on a buffalo carcass. What more could we ask for? The males, being a coalition of two brothers - one being more dominant with the females and the other being more over the food would not let the lionesses get anywhere near the food that they had infact killed, but would let the cubs. There was some great interaction between the different relationships within this group of lions. This was the first time the cubs would have tried meat.

Two of the cubs overwhelmed by the smell of delicious buffalo

The bold little male cub in the glory of late afternoon sun

A lion cub getting a good clean

We were sitting at a water hole watching a hippo when we heard this wierd sound - could not quite make the scraping out so we went to investigate across the drainage line in an open area. There we found four rhino; a big male, a female and her old calf and then a sub-adult were running chasing each other - mock fighting, turning around and running in circles. All seemed very excited. They have a bounce, almost a trot to their step. It was something I have never witnessed before. It really is a huge armored tank of an animal that moves at incredible speeds. I wish more poachers got in their way!

Four over excited rhino together - mock fighting and chasing eachother.

The beginning of June has arrived - the month of my Botswana adventure. I can hardly believe it is at the end of this month. So much to prepare! Our drive this morning was quiet but awesome. Tracked a female leopard from the lodge this morning. No success.

My favorite Sycamore Fig in the area - est. 600-700 years old!

Ndumiso & Agnes making some delicious gluten free flapjacks

Yesterday was beautiful - we have moved from Duncan, the Lodge Manager's house into one of the suites - room 13 to be exact... one of the best rooms overlooking the rocky outcrop where the leopard was seen on the first day!

Here are some photographs that I took yesterday morning and evening drive. We were fortunate enough to see two big black maned lions on a small buffalo kill - the visual was not great hence no photographs were taken.

A young hare lying very still in the grass

Male Bateleur effortlessly gliding past

These incredible 'blue balls' below vary in intesity due to serotonin levels in the males I have heard. They pale as they lose their mating dominance  - very important to their status!

How 'blue' are these balls?

I went onto Kingston for the first time since Charlston was lost as a traversing area - really sad about it but Kingston really does have some wonderful open areas, drainage lines, and a track along the Sabi River. Stunning trees and an active hyena den that is well occupied with adults and varying ages of youngsters.

A little male hyena

As we returned last night from game drive there was a male and female leopard on the grass next to the swimming pool. The female then climbed the prominent marula tree outside the bar and lay down on the brnch while the male was below the camp in the bush being less relaxed. This was the same female that was 'sawwing' to attract a male a couple of days ago - see photo below. Many guests were standing on the verandah sipping on a glass of wine watching this unbelievable event.