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WILDLIFE BLOG
Photo Safari Skills: African Skimmers
African Skimmers are charismatic tern-like birds which live along the permanent rivers of sub-Saharan Africa. They are most noted for their unusual feeding technique which involves flying just above the river's surface with the lower part of the bill dragging in the water. The bill is highly sensitive and, when it detects a nearby fish, the bill is snapped shut and the fish lifted out of the water. Skimmers' preferred feeding time is in the early [...]
Photo Safari Report: Wilson & Lehman | South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi & Kafue NPs | Aug & Sep 2021
It is a strange fact that over the last 2 safari seasons, I have run just two photo tours, but both of them have been long trips, with international guests, covering multiple areas of Zambia. My latest trip, with guests from North America, was my longest ever, spanning a full 26 nights in 7 different camps. The world is truly a strange place when some people are not able to travel freely as they wish and [...]
Wildlife: just arrived home….
I have just returned from a 4-week safari in the South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi and Kafue National Parks. With 2 guests, we visited 7 camps across 26 nights and enjoyed spectacular sightings on a daily basis. I feel so fortunate to have been able to run this trip at this time and my thanks are due to Tom and Kent who overcame the obstacles to come on safari with me. A full report is coming in [...]
Wildlife: A couple of trips to the Nsefu Sector
If you read back over my catalog of trip reports you will find that the Nsefu Sector features frequently! It is an area of the South Luangwa National Park that lies on the eastern bank of the Luangwa River, unlike the majority of the park which is on the western side. Along the full length of the Nsefu Sector, the river is bounded by National Park on both sides, making for one of Zambia's most prolific, [...]
Wildlife: African Broadbill
Just as the whistled alarm call of a puku antelope is impossible for a safari guide to ignore, there are some bird calls which are distinctive and immediately identifiable. Recently, I was watching for birds in an area of thick riverine forest when I heard the unmistakable call of an African Broadbill. This is a small insect-eating bird which lives throughout the forested areas of Southern Africa and is not particularly rare. But finding them is [...]
Photo Safari Report: Michael & Sue | Mutinondo, Kasanka, Bangweulu & S Luangwa | Jun & Jul 2021
I still can't quite believe that this trip happened! After so many months of uncertainty, changes of plans and rebooking of flights, I only allowed myself to believe it would go ahead when my guests, Michael & Sue, actually touched down in Lusaka! Sadly, my third guests, Debbie, was not able to travel from Australia to join the trip and we missed her presence on many occasions during the 2 weeks we were together. However we [...]
Tour Info: New Tours in August & Sept 2021
It's been a turbulent few months. While some nations have delivered impressive, world-record-beating vaccine programmes, others have experienced awful renewed waves of the COVID epidemic. My thoughts are regularly with the people of India and the horrifying individual struggles that many families are enduring there. The whole world underestimated the impact of this pandemic, including some of the best-informed policy and health experts. We all hoped that 2021 would be the year of recovery; so far, [...]
Guest Report: Michael Thornton | Bespoke Luangwa | 22 Jun – 1 Jul 2019
I am thrilled to share a report that Michael Thornton has written about his time in the Luangwa with me in June 2019. There is also a selection of his images which brilliantly illustrate the story and the experience! It's clear from his words that he's a committed and knowledgable naturalist and he was a pleasure to take on safari. Fingers crossed that our plans for September 2021 in Kafue National Park are able to go [...]
Go and buy Travel Africa Magazine!
Getting images published in a magazine or a book is always a goal of photographers. It's a thrill to see them in print, and there's the associated accolade of someone else having deemed your image(s) good enough to be committed to print. In the modern days where nearly everything is online, anyone can 'publish' anything. This has certainly made marketing to a global audience dramatically easier, but it has also reduced the lifespan of images as [...]
Photo Safari Report: Connor Olson | Flatdogs Camp | 28 Mar – 2 Apr 2021
The Emerald Season in South Luangwa is a very special time of year; few people know about it as it falls outside the "recommended" travelling times for the area. But most permanent residents -- and anyone who has sampled this 'rains' period -- will tell you that it is a rich, vital and highly rewarding season. I have been running trips in the early part of the season for many years, including Alessandro's trip in 2015, [...]
Life in the Bush: South Luangwa 14 – 28 February 2021
It's been a while since I wrote an update from the South Luangwa on this blog. As always, this message comes with my sincere hope that you are all well and navigating these difficult times. The return to normality seems to be taking a lot longer than anyone foresaw and has been littered with unsettling bumps and unexpected delays, rather like a rarely-travelled African road. Throughout this pandemic, Nature has been a constant which has nourished [...]
Life in the Bush: Walk Mutinondo to Mfuwe – September 2020
In August last year, I took part in an adventure where a group of 9 walkers set off from Mutinondo -- on the western side of the Luangwa Escarpment -- and walked to Mfuwe in the heart of the Luangwa Valley. We weren't totally sure how long the journey would take, but we hoped 7 days, expected 8 days and planned for 10! This was a particularly attractive prospect for me as I know the base [...]
EDWARD SELFE
I organise & run photographic safaris in the finest wildlife areas on Earth.
