Enseleni Nature Reserve: a wonderful place for a stroll.

In July this year I went back to South Africa for a couple of weeks to catch-up with family primarily but also managed to see a few friends. There is never enough time to do everything!! While there I managed a few short days in various parks and reserves. I realised today that I have no idea why I have not shared some of the resulting images with you .........

A lovely small reserve I visited was the Enseleni Nature Reserve and it is only 293 hectares in size. This reserve is about 10 km north of Empangeni on the N2 - there is a nominal entrance fee and it is managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. There are two walking trails of 5 and 7 kilometres each that cover a number of different habitats and safe as there are no cats, elephant or rhino. However, there are crocodiles in the Nseleni River, so beware!!

I arrived soon after the gates opened and spent most of the morning there. It was great to get close to a few zebra ...... such beautiful animals.

However, the real attraction for me was the birds - some unusual birds can be found here e.g. Pels Fishing Owl and African Finfoot. I dipped on the owl but did get a reasonable view of the finfoot (and a very poor picture or two). Some of the photography was within the forest and was challenging. However, here are a few of the images I did manage - birds and otherwise.

If you are ever in the area and have some time, think about stopping here - there are some great picnic spots as well.

Isola de Ventotene Part II

Well, about the same time as coming back from Ventotene I managed to "loose" my internet connection at home ...... 3.5 months later, it is working again!!! I am not going to talk much about that other than to say it was on the frustrating side!

My trip to Ventotene this year lived up to the really high expectations and I always wonder why I go back so seldom during migration. I think I need to get my priorities right!! Before we had even got onto the island we had great views of Cory's shearwater playing in the wake behind the ferry.

Once on the island there were birds everywhere and waves of migrants would come in all the time and those that had rested would leave for the mainland (14km). The European bee-eaters seem to be particularly plentiful and hundreds went over each day. Rather than me explain what we saw, just enjoy some of the images from that trip....

We are planning next years trip already and I hope the weather was as good as this year.

Isola de Ventotene

Not far off the coast, and just south of Rome, is a small island called Ventotene. Although many people know of the island, it is usually the larger neighbour called Ponza that is visited - it is larger and there is more to do. The easiest way to get to Ventotene is to take a train or car to Formia and then a ferry that takes 30 - 60 minutes (in summer there are a good number of ferries each day).

Although a small island, Ventotene has a fair amount to offer: a great little harbour, boating, scuba diving (including a number of schools), a good restaurant, plenty of accommodation and a nice protected beach. A very nice place for a few days. However, the main attraction for me is that it has to be one of the best birding destinations in Italy during the spring migration period - April / early May is the peak. It is early landfall for many of the migratory birds coming back from Africa to summer in Europe. As the island is small, the density of birds can get awesome. Many of the birds are exhausted and hungry, which means that they are often not as skittish of humans as they are normally. One may not get the diversity of species as in other parts of the world, but the share numbers and proximity is special.

The other advantage of this is that photographing the birds is relatively easier and it is not uncommon to come back from a weekend with a good number of above average images of birds. The island itself also makes for good photography. Some examples from previous years ....

 

I have not been there for four years but I am going back in a few hours ..... watch this space!!

Burano: an island of colour.

A place I have always wanted to go back to is the island of Burano off Venice. It is famous for its lace work and colour .... although I am not into lace work yet (!?), the colour of the houses are mind blowing. If you ever visit Venice, make sure you put aside at least half a day to visit this island (and the glassware on the island of Murano on the way there).  It is simply a ferry ride away.

The first view one gets of the island is of the large tower that is leaning at a very "dangerous" angle. It is likely to fall over one day I suspect as I did not see much activity to arrest this leaning ...

When one arrives, the colour simply hits you....

..... and then it just gets better and better ........

 

Get there, it is seriously good for the soul! For maximum effect you really need a nice bright sunny day but these cannot always be ordered. But be warned, summer can be warm and very humid. 

South-west Tuscany ......

Yesterday and friend of mine and I decided to do a little wondering out of Rome as we will be stuck in a meeting for the rest of the week.

Orbetello

More of Capalbio

 

Not the greatest weather, but good to get out, have a good lunch (seafood) and just relax.

Back to Australia ...... with a little of Canberra.

It was very unexpected, but I have just managed to get back to Australia for the second time in 2 months!! This probably means I will not get back there for the rest of the year but who knows ....

The 6 days I spent in Brisbane and I do not think it has stopped raining since I left there at Christmas time!  I managed half a day sunshine!  When I was there is 2007, it was all about water conservation and drought mitigation. However, I think everyone prefers the water, even if in excess. It was interesting to see what happens now with heavy rains as they have built on all the wetlands and there is now nowhere for the water to get absorbed = serious runoff and flash floods at times. However, I good time was still had by all.

Canberra was less wet but my arrival seemed to coincide with new rains. However, there are a lot drier than further north and certainly needed the rain. It is beautiful to see the ACT looking do green after all the years of draught. In the six days there, I manage at least 2 days with sun!! A record on this trip.

National Houses of Parliament

Federal High Court

My memory totally eludes me .. let me know if you recognize it!!

National Library