Today was a good day! New surfboard day for @hil_ola. The latest of the Scallywag shapes.

And that’s the end.

Lion kings and the outsider. A drifter male lion, wanders into new territory and yells to the jungle, “I’m here!” The other lions came from miles away to see what the commotion was. The battered lone male hid and cowered from the brothers.

Africa is for the birds.

Day 9: The Lesson. When I woke up at 4:30 for the morning drive, little did I know that I would experience the most amazing, humbling, and real events of my photographic career. Awe happened upon a trio of cheetahs - a mother and her two cubs. The cats caught wind of some impala, and we witnessed the mother as she patiently stalked the antelope over the course of an hour. Little by little, crawling and sneaking through the tall grass and downed trees, the mother got close enough, and waited for the opportune time to pounce. With lightning speed, she darted. Too fast for the impala, lazily feeding on grass. It’s important for cubs to learn as much as they can from their mothers, to increase chance of survival. The lesson of this day was teaching the young cubs to draw the final curtains. The suffocation of prey. This is the way big cats take down food. Clamp on to the throat until no more breathes can be had. Not quick and easy, and dim until the lights go out. We all had to pause and reflect afterwards. Even a group of giraffes walked up and bowed, as if they were giving thanks to the impala for giving up its life. One life is taken for more to survive, in an ever going struggle of survival in the bush. #natgeo

The Delta: planes, submersible land cruisers and boats.

Day 7: The Mighy Zambezi and Victoria Falls. Even though the water was low, it still thundered, splitting two countries. A natural boarder between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Day 5: Take me to the River... Elephants know how play in water.

Day IV, part II: The Hottest Christmas Eve. (Yes I’m behind...) 43c, so hot, no critters or even a rhino was stirring. By mid morning, about 7am, found most everything bedded down in shade for the day, awaiting the Christmas Eve festivities.

Day Four: The Hunt. *caution, some Planet earth style photos follow, especially the last. African Wild Dogs are going through a bit of a rebranding. After years of hunting, trapping and poisoning from local villages, the dogs are now endangered. They are beginning to be named The African Painted Dog to get away from the scariness of something being “wild” and threatening to livestock. This creature lives and hunts in packs up to 20 ish, and will split into a new pack of numbers get too great. In order to control the numbers of the pack, only the alpha male and female mate. The pack it seems is always on the move. Not at a leisurely stroll, but at a good gait. This speed allows the pack to cover lots of ground over a day, and surprise many prey. In this case, an unlucky baby impala. When the pack does catch something, it’s a bit of carnage. Prey is torn to shreds, the dogs not waiting for it to die peacefully. Mouths gotta feed.