Tag: beauty

White tiger at the zoo

I love the Pretstap zoo walk in the National Zoological Garden in Pretoria that is organized every months by the Friends of the Zoo. It starts early, before the normal opening times. On Saturday we were able to watch the sun rise in a splendid orange sky. The early light makes photography so much more interesting than the flat, harsh light of the mid day. Also, the predators are usually quite active during this time. This white tiger had just finished drinking and was now starting at his neighbor in the next enclosure. What a magnificent animal!

Elephant in a hurry

A beautiful elephant in a hurry on its way to the waterhole. Such an impressive sight! My mother used to call me an elephant when I stamped up the stairs in our home, but in reality elephants really don’t make a lot of noise…

Waterfall

The Waterfall trail at Storms River Mouth Rest Camp ends at a beautiful waterfall where the water drops over a cliff into a rock pool that connects to the sea. The water is clean and cool – and offers a great opportunity for a swim after the demanding hike!

King protea

The king protea has the largest flower of the protea family, and is the national flower of South Africa. It grows on a woody shrub that grows between 1 and 2 meters high. The plant is adapted to the wildfires that often rage through its habitat by a thick stem that remains underground. After a fire, the shrub resproutes from that stem.
Photo taken in Van Staden’s Wild Flower Reserve.

White-bellied sunbird

The white-bellied sunbird is one of the beautifully colored sunbirds of southern Africa. I took this photo in Pilanesberg National Park, but they are common around our house as well. Actually, once a female white-bellied sunbird flew through a window into our livingroom. She sensed immediately that something was wrong and perched on one of the windowsills in front of a closed window. She didn’t protest when I scooped her up in my hand and let her outside. A white-bellied sunbird is 10 cm long and weighs between 6 and 10 grams. Such a special experience to hold this tiny bundle of feathers in my hands!