POTN Safari around South/West Africa - we are baaack :-)

TONIGHT

On the nat geographic channel at 10pm

THE TEN DEADLIEST ANIMALS OF AFRICA

Hippo

condyk wrote in post #2918746
Hippo

I heard the hippos and the crocodiles work together.... the hippos knock you out of the boat and the crocodiles eat you!

There was one of those mildy sensationalist wildlife programmes on here a couple of weeks back about Hippos ... man those guys can be dangerous and nutty. Very photogenic tho' ... in a way!

Hippos scare the bajeezes out of me. Theres a reason they kill more ppl in africa each year then any other animal. Cranky bastards they are

I ordered a book a few weeks ago (had to really search to find someone who had it but finally found it at a place in SA) and it came yesterday. I think this is going to be a really great resource for us. It's called "African Adventurer's Guide to Botswana". It has all kinds of information for routes that are away from the main roads with GPS coordinates for navigating. It is written by a guy who lives in Gaborone so there's a lot of good insider information. I'm having fun going through it!

BeccaNH wrote in post #2927176
It's called "African Adventurer's Guide to Botswana". It has all kinds of information for routes that are away from the main roads with GPS coordinates for navigating. It is written by a guy who lives in Gaborone so there's a lot of good insider information. I'm having fun going through it!

Nice ... I think a GPS would be invaluable for us if someone can be bothered learning all about it. There is a site in South Africa that allows downloads of routes and many, many points of interest even down to a 'places to stay' level. I would feel more confident going off the beaten track if we had one and someone who could use it. My GPS only gives UK or European routes, or tells you where you are anywhere else. In Africa we would need to know where we are but also how to get somewhere else. One of the Garmin units would do it but dunno which one exactly, which is best value/performance, or how to use it. Of course, in Africa, an offroad route that was valid 6 months ago can also be useless today Maybe too much off the track is just not worth it in a country that is so sparsely populated anyway. Not like we'll be short of animals and birds and such to spot

Oh dear ... the power of imagination has led me astray again

I kept seeing in my mind this amazing shot of a Botswanan smiling face rendered in exquisite clarity and resolution, such that you can almost read the subjects' mind because their eyes are so alive-alivo!

Well we have sharp shots and we have eye-poppin' real shots like the above ... and the only camera that will give the latter consistently is the 5D

So I had to do it. The plot was spun. The maths calculated. The 17-70mm is up for sale ... a great lens that someone will love! The 30mm 1.4 is sold ... a great lens that Richardthesane will love (his second!!) The 30D is P/X'd for a 350D and cash. Another 24-105mm IS L is bought (and on a 5D is about as great a widey-longy walkaround as I will ever want to have). Stage one complete and not out of pocket at all.

All I need now is a 5D at a price that cannot be refused ... meanwhile the SH 350D to keep my hand in. If the 17-70mm doesn't sell then with the 350D it makes for a tiny and high IQ travel kit, more like a P&S. I shall wait for the 5D. So, my Africa list will then go:

5D, 24-105mm IS L, 70-300mm IS, 400mm L and maybe take the 350D as a backup

Ya baby... if i wasn't such a sports shooter the 5 d would be the BOMB... but it's not fast enough for me..

http://www.landcruiser​club.co.za/cms/index.p​hp

is another nice place for info there is a thread I started in the trip section...

Dave. You are really going to be spoiled when you see the colors the 5D produces. Welcome to Full Frame. I love my 20D, but the first time I saw the shots with the 5D I was amazed.

(muttering to self)... just not fair... just not fair... how come Dave get's a fullframe when I have to buy a crop?...

slowly changing my mind..

sari

oh, almost forgot.. COMGRATS!!!

Ok one thing about long vacations like this is I often can't remember details about when I went where and what I did unless I write it down.

So I thought I would try to write more down from this trip hopefully on a daily basis. Now that I will bring my laptop I can do that more easily.

So I have created a blog here: http://tommykjensen.bl​ogspot.com/ (very simpl with no content yet).

Ok so this means I need to write something on a daily basis and post it on the blog when we come to an area where we can get on the internet. But I want the posting to be done as fast as possible since I don't know what cost will be for internet access. If there is callphone connectivity I can use my cellphone to get online and if I do that I definately want to post as fast as possible so all editing etc most be prepared in advance.

So what do I do about that? After a simple google search and a little testing I found a little java application that can be used to write blog entries offline and post them when there is internet access. Cool. The application is called Qumana and can be found here: http://www.qumana.com/ The only thing I don't like is that although the local copies of the posts initially are stamped with the datetime of writing it gets reset to the posting time once posted. I would have preferred if it was posted with the time it was actually written. Oh well you can't have it all.

eenorton wrote in post #2945782
That, sir, is a might fine accomplishment!

Ain't the half of it ... looks like a Bigma could be my choice as just sold the 70-300mm IS and 400mm L Not sorry to see the former go as while a very nice, sharp lens the build sucked badly. Has fall apart half way through the trip written all over it. Typical Canon consumer zoom build Sorry to see the 400mm go as that was stunning and I may live to regret selling it.

Az2Africa wrote in post #2954600
... the first time I saw the shots with the 5D I was amazed.

Yup

saravrose wrote in post #2963977
(muttering to self)... just not fair... just not fair... how come Dave get's a fullframe when I have to buy a crop?...

Don't worry ... I will let you sniff it, or perhaps even hold it if you promise to wear gloves

tommykjensen wrote in post #2964846
Ok one thing about long vacations like this is I often can't remember details about when I went where and what I did unless I write it down.

eenorton wrote in post #2966004
I'm like you... a lot of details get lost if I don't make a record of it pretty quickly.

Nice idea indeed ... I'm not really a big one for 'memories' as such myself and I hardly even look at my shots after I've PP'd them I like the process of travelling and shooting moment by moment but that is as far as I seem to go Maybe I'm just too lazy to bother. I might change my mind tho' once I'm there and have lots of spare time so will go prepared