tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61172318600957382302024-03-13T01:12:01.836+00:00Life as we live itAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-49220810760604333562013-01-04T14:48:00.000+00:002013-01-04T14:48:04.792+00:00Happy New Year!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Happy New Year everyone! </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s been some time since our last blog post and it has not
been because of the lack of important events in our lives. On the contrary, so
much has been happening that we hardly have enough time to write about it! In
the past 2 years we have gone through the trauma of losing loved ones, achieved
several personal goals and we welcomed a new member of the family.</span></div>
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<a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7746389924_5e7e3d7c88_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="© Riyazi Muzammil" border="0" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7746389924_5e7e3d7c88_z.jpg" title="Richelle Arya Muzammil" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Richelle Arya born on 9</span><sup style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> November 2011</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Parenthood has been more exhilarating and more challenging
than we ever dreamed was possible. Every day we learn something new about her
as well as ourselves and it’s amazing how fast she is growing up. And she is a
great model for me to practice photography on.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7759766692_ff079f9c05_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="© Riyazi Muzammil" border="0" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7759766692_ff079f9c05_b.jpg" title="Olympics 2012" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Olympics 2012</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/7917239720_3145bdbbbe_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="© Riyazi Muzammil" border="0" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/7917239720_3145bdbbbe_c.jpg" title="Laundry Day" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Laundry Day</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8174/7953279818_8060a593ce_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="© Riyazi Muzammil" border="0" height="306" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8174/7953279818_8060a593ce_c.jpg" title="Going out" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Going out<br /></i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/8028645470_a7c69f10f9_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="© Riyazi Muzammil" border="0" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/8028645470_a7c69f10f9_c.jpg" title="Want an apple?" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Want an apple?</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hopefully will be doing more posts in the future, so stay tuned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All the very best for 2013! </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.5073346 -0.1276831000000129351.1912111 -0.77313010000001292 51.8234581 0.51776389999998707tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-61982207431851490362011-08-25T09:03:00.003+01:002012-09-06T15:11:45.331+01:00City of Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">After much thought over our choice of holiday destinations which included Galapogos, Amazon and South Africa, we decided to venture to the City of Lights, mainly due to the zillion ‘Oh you must go to Paris’ responses we got.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rest assured that Paris is still an European city and one of the main tourist destinations in the world, though you might not think so after reading the rest of the blog.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">The train ride from London to Paris was lovely. The arrival at<span lang="en"> Gare du Nord,</span><span lang="en-gb"> considered to be the</span><span lang="en"> busiest railway station in Europe,</span><span lang="en-gb"> was a SHOCK! The unbearable smell of urine was overwhelming, the bird poo, the cigarette butts, the dirty stained glass, the little food outlets which offered seats covered in bird poo, the lack of information and the lack of proper sign posts, was not what I expected to see in Paris.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="en-gb" style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">Though old, dirty and smelling of pee, the Metro in Paris is still better than the Underground in London. The Metro runs on time and is regular and costs less than half the price for what seemed like a much better service. However, all signage was in French and there was no clear indication on how to use or buy tickets.There are a few sign boards in English placed at random intervals which I am sure an Englishman planted on the sly and the French would remove if they ever discovered them! Also God help you if you are obese or even slightly chubby because you will not get through some of the Metro gates, which seemed to have been designed for stick insects. Any kind of luggage, dogs, goats or cattle will most definitely have to be left out as not all stations provide luggage exits!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">The very picky DH (Dear Husband) booked a lovely hotel in what seemed like a nice part of town. With kids dropping their ice creams in wonder at the sight of me clinging to what must have seemed a crossbreed of a Frenchman in his hat, I wandered the streets looking for a café that had an impressive menu. Cafes were aplenty; food was not. All cafes seem to serve the same 5 main courses. Very little choice, very bland food and yes, they speak only French in France. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Maybe it was our choice of location (about 500m from the Eiffel Tower) but we could not find anything nice to eat - burghers, steak, pasta and salmon were the main dishes, mostly served in what seemed to a bed of lettuce the farmer had thrown directly onto the plates from his truck. In what seemed to be this "very French "area, we found "very French" food and "very French" abrupt service. This did not stop us from relaxing in these cafes enjoying the bland food and for once we sat and had a leisurely meal. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="en-gb" style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">Well known fact is that it is one of the seven wonders. The unknown fact is that the eighth wonder lies right below the Eiffel. The endless, chaotic, disorganised, jumbled together queues of people waiting to get in with absolutely no shelter from the rain or sun and no facilities for the disabled, the pregnant or children. It seemed to be a normal thing to queue for up to 3 hours. No staff or information at any accessible level or approachable distance. The worse thing is those who book via the web go past the ones queuing for hours and it seemed like there was no allocation or indications to how many of these booking were accommodated for each slot. So if you queued up for 2 hours and a group of 50 people come with online bookings then you just got to wait an extra 2 hours until they are done. There is no time limit for people to be in the actual tower so some spend the day there while a good 500 people wait from morning till noon to get on it. After 3 hours of queuing in the hot sun and looking like four pieces of toast, a British family was turned away with two wailing girls because one lift just closed with no prior indication. There was no attempt to get them on another queue or give them a token to come at a later time/date which would have been the case in London.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://vimeo.com/26957728">Eiffel Tower at night!</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user6932025">Riyazi Muzammil</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">The absence of systems to deal with the crowds it attracts and lifts being closed for maintenance during a busy weekend was not what I expected when I decided to see one of the seven wonders of the world. DH went twice because he was able to get up in the morning and I joined for another attempt that same night. After 3 hours of queuing and further standing around we were able to go only to the second floor as the top floor was closed. I only saw what damage we humans had done to planet earth, the so called breathtaking view comprised of buildings on every inch of land I could see! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="en-gb" style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">The area surrounding the Eiffel Tower was not very well maintained. There were open patches with no grass or pavement and very soon our shoes were covered in dust. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="en-gb">This, out of the few places we went to, seemed to be the cleanest and most organised. It would have taken days to venture into all the areas so we decide to stick to what we thought might interest us. We walked what must have been a couple of miles inside the museum. </span><span lang="en">We managed to find Mona Lisa aunty hidden in one of the corners. I think the day we visited was when Mona aunties entire family had come to see her and they were all posing next to her for shots. After struggling and pushing and insisting that DH takes a shot of her I managed to take a quick glimpse of aunties face and crept out of what seemed like a ocean of bums in my face. I must say it looks very different to the copies we had seen.</span><span lang="en-gb"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TnMN8bYbu5I/TlXqU91aZAI/AAAAAAAABeo/RWhOaO6n7SY/s640/_MG_9596_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TnMN8bYbu5I/TlXqU91aZAI/AAAAAAAABeo/RWhOaO6n7SY/s640/_MG_9596_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="en" style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">This was the main place of interest for me. Again very interesting except for the mile long queue to get in. After convincing DH with a million ‘it will be worth it’ statements (I said long and loud enough for those around us also joining in telling him the same), we finally got in. It was a beautiful place - the stained glass was the nicest I had seen, surprisingly they allowed photographs and here are some of the shots.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="en-gb">Boat ride</span> </span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="en-gb" style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">A total waste of money! Nothing much to see. French blah blah on the little we did see. No eye pleasing sights at all.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="en-gb">Ok so another very long walk through </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Champs-Élysées</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> which had all the branded shops in Paris – alas due to the public holiday all were closed (I am sure DH was very happy about that!!). After insisting that DH can stand right in the middle of the main road, next to a traffic light, along with his very big tripod and me guarding him while cars went whizzing past on both sides, DH spent what seemed like a good hour taking his shots. Yes it seemed in Paris anything was possible unlike in London where you cant park, stand, look or even take the camera out at half the locations.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DnrpVmHIjZQ/TlXlsglUkvI/AAAAAAAABbI/XOtj_lrZwS8/s640/_MG_0333_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DnrpVmHIjZQ/TlXlsglUkvI/AAAAAAAABbI/XOtj_lrZwS8/s640/_MG_0333_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="en">A</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">fter shooting the Arc in all the possible angles and me still not understanding the fascination with it we ventured under the Arc to the now welcoming smell of pee. We then had dinner in what seemed to be a pizza café where sharing of food was not permitted. Basically you order a plate a head and each plate was a tray with a family size pizza on it. 'Eat if you can or leave but pay' seemed to be their policy. Leaving anything on the plate in our case for a definite ‘no, no’ so I ate a thin slice and DH ate two whole family size pizzas but nothing to worry cos I am pretty sure we walked off everything we had ever eaten in our entire lives while in Paris.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Sacré-Cœur Basilica</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="en-gb" style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">I think, during the three days we spent in Paris, we walked more than we had ever walked during an entire year in London. Exhausted and dreaming of biriyani and wattalapam but having only a long, tasteless hard loaf of bread to eat all the time, DH suggested we go to the church on the hill! Hmm another building!! Well anyway walk up the hill we did. Quite a nice view and the Sri Lankan system was at work here. There was no queuing - we all just barge in and somehow creep into the church. Photos were not allowed. But the most interesting thing was the guy who was doing his bit with a football just outside the church. Totally awesome and some really great moves including climbing up a lamp post and balancing the ball on one foot! </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="en-gb" style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">Yes this is a bit of a moany blog but this was our first hand experience whilst there. I am surprised that not many people talk about or any review mentioned this side of Paris. I am sure outside Paris, the little villages with the cobbled paths and cafes do offer the kind of experience France is also about. If we had time maybe we would have gotten used to the total "laid back, do what you please, walk wherever you want, shoot whatever you need, pee smelling, not too tasty food" life Paris offered – I wouldn’t know because I, for one, will not venture to Paris again even on a free deal!</span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-11259632336736068702010-12-27T02:02:00.006+00:002012-09-06T15:13:01.172+01:00Once upon a time...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: white;">The 26th of December is a memorable day for both of us..... </i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If ever there was a true story that was stranger than fiction, we think you will find this is it. From the bride’s dress to the groom’s shoes, from the facial to the flowers ... it seemed like everything that could go wrong WOULD go wrong … but as all of you who attended our wedding would know … we made it ... and yes, we loved every minute of it!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Decision…</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After contemplating over it for many many months and going through what seemed like a million arguments, we decided to celebrate our love in front of family and friends. We both agreed we wanted a small but very special wedding where we could just have fun with our loved ones. Little did we know that planning the dream wedding … especially planning one in Sri Lanka, while you are in the UK is much easier said than done.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Dress…</span></span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TRfquuVG4rI/AAAAAAAAHCs/R8_f3_S285g/s1600/_MG_0262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TRfquuVG4rI/AAAAAAAAHCs/R8_f3_S285g/s400/_MG_0262.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TRfq-JLMeII/AAAAAAAAHCw/X5kPhcyQII0/s1600/_MG_0259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TRfq-JLMeII/AAAAAAAAHCw/X5kPhcyQII0/s400/_MG_0259.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TRfrozsirzI/AAAAAAAAHC8/Mx-e6w2PDz0/s1600/jewellry-%2528knot%2529-new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TRfrozsirzI/AAAAAAAAHC8/Mx-e6w2PDz0/s320/jewellry-%2528knot%2529-new.jpg" width="284" /></span></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TRfrqwKXnDI/AAAAAAAAHDE/yWDrtqzWftU/s1600/service-new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TRfrqwKXnDI/AAAAAAAAHDE/yWDrtqzWftU/s400/service-new.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TRfrpmPybXI/AAAAAAAAHDA/sLmHOi6Op4k/s1600/savanthi-new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TRfrpmPybXI/AAAAAAAAHDA/sLmHOi6Op4k/s200/savanthi-new.jpg" width="131" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">So in June 2007, the extremely fussy Bride to be (hereon known as B2B) checked out over 975 dresses in shops and online in the UK. After countless nights, she short-listed four and sent them to the bridal dresser for her approval. </span><span lang="EN-GB">The dresser picked one dress – and the B2B realised she could not remember where she found it! B2B posts a message on a wedding blog asking for help to locate the dress and spends the next couple of weeks looking for the dress. She finally gets a response but the suggested shop did not have her size!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So in October 2007, the search began for the ‘perfect’ tailor to make the 'perfect' dress a reality. Of course B2B found someone a thousand miles away! Detailed descriptions including the very important fact that the dress should be in pure white -sugar white to be exact- were sent to the tailor. Another 4 weeks down the line, B2B takes a day off work -on the day the dress was due to arrive - and found to her surprise that the dress was in Ivory and not White. The groom made the huge mistake of wondering out loud if it was a ‘big deal’ if the bride wore ivory instead of white… resulting in argument number million and one.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thankfully, the tailor agreed to make another dress – and 2 weeks before the couple flew back to Sri Lanka; the perfect white wedding dress was in B2B’s hands.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The invitation…</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The quest for a ‘simple’ invitation was not so simple. B2B began her quest in January 2007. At various times from Jan to Oct 2007, B2B decides to make the cards by hand, order from department stores, order from catalogues and finally 2 months before the wedding, decided to design her own card and get it printed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pimples!!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Ivory Dress</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her cousin, little knowing what she was getting her self into, happily agreed to be the one in charge of the invitation. B2B and groom spent more sleepless nights pouring over paper samples; ribbon samples; deciding whether the ribbon should go through slots or slits, etc. A good 50 samples were scrutinised. Even though it was made clear, once again, that the invitation had to be WHITE, at one point, we received a multi coloured "sample" with a purple cover, cream card and red ribbons but thankfully , the card you received did get done just the way B2B wanted.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The wedding dresser…</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An initial down payment was made to Ramani Fernando – but B2B dropped her like a hot pan of oil when she realised that Ramani wanted to do everything her way and not the way the B2B wanted! Savanthi helped locate Lou Ching – who really is the sweetest man on earth!! He is one of those people who manage to give you what you want without acting like it is a major hassle. Superb HIGHLY recommended!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The groom had his heart set on getting Cissa to be his Best man - but since Cissa was running around the world on a ship, it was going to be difficult to co-ordinate for suit fittings, rehearsals, etc. However, when plans were being made to overcome these difficulties, the news came that Cissa's ship might be delayed and the he might miss the wedding altogether. Thankfully, the Groom's brother got time off from work for the wedding so Fayaz stepped in to Cissa's shoes. The sad part is that after all that hassle Cissa's ship came in 2 days before the wedding and it actually would have been possible for him to be the Best Man!!! But the sailor just being there made all the difference.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">B2B and the bridesmaid bridesmaid went to Anoma's as recommend by many for the facials, 2 days before the wedding. What they found was that the service was unprofessional to say the least. The next day, both the B2B and the bridesmaids got a face full of pimples and bumps on their faces which had been a result of the facial. 25th December being a holiday, the beauticians were closed and nothing could be done, except to drink an allergy pill which, coupled with red bulls and Jack Daniels, had a major effect on the B2B's energy levels throughout the night.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The jewellery…</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">This was to be bought from the UK, but surprise surprise B2B could not find anything she liked. Result – two weeks before the wedding day – B2B, groom, best man and the bridesmaid marched</span><span lang="EN-GB"> in to several Jewellers, spending an entire day terrorising sales reps and designers into showing us what was in their showcases, cupboards, storage and every other possible hiding place. B2B, of course did not like any of the designs -what a surprise.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On top of this it was a rainy day and B2B, who insisted she wanted to get wet in the rain, started tying knots on the string which was on the umbrella handle – and then… eureka - decided she wanted her jewellery to be in a knotted design just like the umbrella knot. The other 3 exhausted souls happily agree that it is indeed the best design in the world – and B2B explained to the weary designer at Raja Jewellers exactly what she wanted. She demanded that the jewellery be designed and made before the wedding and the Jewellers agreed to complete everything 3 days before the wedding.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, 3 days before the wedding (mind you this is just before the xmas holiday), we go to collect the<span lang="EN-GB"> jewellery</span> and Lo and Behold, the design was not done according to the drawing that was agreed with B2B. This infuriated the B2B, who further terrorized the jewellers in to reworking the design within a day to perfection.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Socks & Shoes…</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, even the shoes were an issue – but this time it was the groom who could not find a single pair of shoes he liked in the whole of London and Colombo. On the big day, his beloved brother gives his new pair of shoes to the groom. When walking out of the hotel on the day of the wedding, B2B caught the best man sneaking out to get socks for the groom who had forgotten his!! Thank goodness for the Rs.10/- pair under the Bo tree in Pettah !</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">We found out very late in life that god - somewhere down the line - whispered to all </span><span lang="EN-GB">priests that a blessing should be done ONLY TO THOSE WHO ARE CATHOLIC!! </span><span lang="EN-GB">In the whole of Sri Lanka there was not one priest who was willing to ‘bless’ (not marry) just bless this already registered couple - because the groom was a Muslim. We finally managed to find a pastor who was willing to conduct a blessing service for us. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In retrospect, we wish the church service, which was done mainly to keep B2B’s mom happy was not done at all. At one point the Bride was nudging the groom in the middle of the service saying that we should leave! The priest managed to pronounce the groom’s name incorrectly numerous times, mix up the order of hymns and crack several old, dry and boring internet jokes about marriage. Thankfully, God did intervene to save us by making sure that the priest skipped one of the hymns and made the already short 30 minute service a 20 minute one!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB">We were very keen not to keep our guests waiting like at many other weddings – the idea was to rush out of church, stop at the beach for 15 minutes take a few photos and rush out. Well, what a surprise that the President decided he wants to go out for a leak and the one and only main road in SL is closed. In the 1920 vintage car with a maximum speed of 15 km per hour, it took us an hour to get from the church to the Hilton (this should have been a 10 minute drive maximum). </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fayaz forgot to take his drink, lost the lines but managed to mumble a few words and complete the toast. Luckily for him, people “thought” he was a cute guy and he managed to get away with it.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chandimal was highly recommended to us - a definite NO NO - he is just all talk! We were promised a DJ, lights and songs of our choice. But you find on your wedding day that the actual band plays only a maximum of 5 songs! None of the songs we chose were played. For the first dance, - we had to sway painfully to an old song we had never heard before in our entire lives. This is after we gave him a choice of THREE songs for our first dance which he promised to play.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Thankfully, B2B was happy and stayed that way as long as the surprise pappara band kept playing. </span>The band, which was a surprise gift for the groom arranged by Savanthi, turned out to be a more appropriate gift for the bride. It must have been the first time in history, where a pappara band was offered Rs. 20,000 an hour to play till the bride stopped dancing but they refused because the trumpet blower could not blow any more!!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two red bulls and a sip of JD kept the bride on her toes till 6.00 a.m. the following morning.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again, for the first time in history, the couple ragged the remaining guests, by prolonging the party until 6.00 am - insisting everyone stayed to follow them to RnB since Hilton had to prepare the hall for a morning wedding!!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The photographer – Rohan Herath</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best in the world – lovely guy –easy going – superb ideas and true to his word – very very good – nothing went wrong and he tried to de-stress B2B and some how managed to get some good shots – highly recommended fully worth it.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Savanthi De Silva – Wedding Organiser Extraordinaire</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are looking for someone to make every whim of the Bride to come true, try her out. She is the one and only reason our wedding was possible and we are eternally grateful to her.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>And the drama continued</b> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the bride insisted that she wanted photos in her bridal dress in the middle of Sinharaja rain forest and as always her wishes were granted. Note the unique flower bouquet </span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-53023250482585844222010-10-10T21:57:00.001+01:002012-09-06T15:13:41.610+01:00Amboseli National Park, Kenya<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are several great national parks in Kenya but we didn’t want to spend too much time on the road going from park to park. However, we decided that we HAD to go to Amboseli just to get some shots of Elephants against a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kilimanjaro">Mount Kilimanjaro</a> background. But being the “lucky” couple that we are, we found the mountain engulfed in thick dark clouds from the time we got there. For the whole 2 days that we were doing safaris, the clouds opened up only for 15 mts!!! Yes, just 15 mts! Fortunately, we were around some elephants when that happened and were able to get a few shots. Not the composition I wanted but at least it was better than nothing. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We saw lots of elephants and at one point were surrounded by a large herd.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the elephants actually looked like a mammoth!!!</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKupRZTcQCI/AAAAAAAABRg/EfLgrFx3Bow/s800/_MG_8954-1_+1_-0_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="500" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKupRZTcQCI/AAAAAAAABRg/EfLgrFx3Bow/s640/_MG_8954-1_+1_-0_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even though the mammoth looked like the oldest of the herd, the matriarch was this one. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKupLoj6PNI/AAAAAAAABRc/TS9PAlHMPaU/s800/_MG_8950-2_+1_+2_-1_-0_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="418" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKupLoj6PNI/AAAAAAAABRc/TS9PAlHMPaU/s640/_MG_8950-2_+1_+2_-1_-0_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKul_e7qUVI/AAAAAAAABN0/ayN06gaR31I/s800/_MG_8981_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKul_e7qUVI/AAAAAAAABN0/ayN06gaR31I/s640/_MG_8981_2.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a while she was not happy that we were near her wards and she did a mock charge at us!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We saw several species of birds</span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Marabou Stork </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKulIzfkimI/AAAAAAAABMo/oNGoiIUI7rI/s800/_MG_8629_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKulIzfkimI/AAAAAAAABMo/oNGoiIUI7rI/s640/_MG_8629_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><i style="background-color: white;">Grey Crowned Cranes</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKulVYBONAI/AAAAAAAABM0/9QgO08zhX1c/s800/_MG_8737_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKulVYBONAI/AAAAAAAABM0/9QgO08zhX1c/s640/_MG_8737_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><i style="background-color: white;">Long tailed Fiscal Shrike</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKukdMmdytI/AAAAAAAABLs/wQ1nFP0EL9M/s800/_MG_8771_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKukdMmdytI/AAAAAAAABLs/wQ1nFP0EL9M/s640/_MG_8771_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><i style="background-color: white;">Little Bee-Eater</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKukyL58WwI/AAAAAAAABMM/OZZN4VwjjQI/s800/_MG_8808_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKukyL58WwI/AAAAAAAABMM/OZZN4VwjjQI/s640/_MG_8808_2.jpg" width="426" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><i style="background-color: white;">A mean looking Superb Starling</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKupuidVHvI/AAAAAAAABSI/x8Ml3L6ppfY/s800/_MG_9105_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKupuidVHvI/AAAAAAAABSI/x8Ml3L6ppfY/s640/_MG_9105_2.jpg" width="426" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">A cheetah who was tracking a herd of gazelle for her evening meal. We were hoping to see a kill but the cheetah didn’t seem very hungry cos she did a very lazy attempt to catch her prey! Needless to say the gazelle got away but we were treated to a superb exhibition of speed. I tried to do a panning shot of the hunt and this was the best I got</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKusD1fboII/AAAAAAAABUM/oJWXZLILI64/s800/_MG_9414_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKusD1fboII/AAAAAAAABUM/oJWXZLILI64/s640/_MG_9414_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">We were able to see some nice sunsets as well. A great end to a fantastic safari experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKulkLXfJPI/AAAAAAAABNE/9oa200tDvSo/s800/_MG_8840-1_1-0_2+1_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TKulkLXfJPI/AAAAAAAABNE/9oa200tDvSo/s640/_MG_8840-1_1-0_2+1_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">A slide show of all the shots</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&hl=en_GB&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Frim.kenya%2Falbumid%2F5524689381994928561%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_GB" height="533" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="800"></embed></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-60495078365691202052010-09-21T14:45:00.014+01:002011-05-24T12:23:12.857+01:00Petting Rhinos and Cheetahs<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Our next destination, after our 4 days at Masai Mara (</span></span><a href="http://rimmich.blogspot.com/2010/06/masai-mara-day-1-2-nyumbu-camp.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">2 days at Nyumbu Camp</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> and </span></span><a href="http://rimmich.blogspot.com/2010/08/masai-mara-day-1-2-serena-lodge.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">2 days at Serena Lodge</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">), was Amboseli.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It would have been too tiring to drive there directly so we decided to do a stay-over in </span></span><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Nairobi</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">On our way out of Masai Mara, we came across this Southern Ground Hornbill who seemed very willing to pose for us. I swear she batted her eyelids at me as well but when she saw Michelle, she backed off!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK5rrea7jI/AAAAAAAABIY/htFgNfzoHwo/s640/_MG_8343_1.jpg" width="640" /></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/5PACONkdQJMP20vIi8PyUw?feat=embedwebsite" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK5tu2ei3I/AAAAAAAABIY/i3HpOMg7dFQ/s640/_MG_8340_1.jpg" width="640" /></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/AT43UVsMAkF7k9QGJHqUBw?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Since it was a black bird being shot against a very bright background with very harsh lighting (mid day sun), it was difficult to get the full dynamic range in camera. So, for the first image I created 3 images from a single raw file to create an HDR image. The 2nd image is a single shot and you can see the colour and impact is much less than the first one - though there was quite a bit of dodge/burn to bring out the details in that one. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">I always try to keep my HDRs as real to the scene as possible only using to show the dynamic range that is impossible to capture in camera with a single frame. However, I decided to experiment and do one of those extreme HDRs which has become an art form in itself.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/SbDXB8oL0QD3P3OS6QswgQ?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK6CDt4QiI/AAAAAAAABIY/LNVh8F-ZqwU/s640/Untitled_HDR2-1.jpg" width="426" /></span></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Once we got in to </span></span><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Nairobi</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">, we explored some of its other attractions.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">We were able to pet</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">this Rhino – what an experience. Its incredible to see such power and magnificence up close and be able to touch it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK6KYlKXgI/AAAAAAAABIY/9v1KdsZZNq0/s640/_MG_8444_1.jp" width="640" /></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/sXbcZzR4-twGDG3v6gsY_Q?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/nLbtb0BzzF591_L9DZymsw?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK6OwQF20I/AAAAAAAABIY/s9b1efp6NPI/s640/_MG_8483_1.jpg" width="426" /></span></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">During our safaris at </span></span><a href="http://rimmich.blogspot.com/2010/06/lake-nakuru-kenya_10.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Lake Nakuru</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> and Masai Mara, disappointingly, we didn’t see any leopards in the wild (we were not </span></span><a href="http://rimmich.blogspot.com/2009/10/hunting-leopards.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">that lucky in Sri Lanka</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> as well). So, one of the first enclosures we went to was to see this beautiful animal. However, he was not in a good mood and was not too pleased to see us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK6Tv5bkhI/AAAAAAAABIY/ov71_ZrROC8/s640/_MG_8457_1.jpg" width="640" /></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/yIXDdVswRiN-XSx6orZzfQ?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK6Yi1AqnI/AAAAAAAABIY/HOmnHwRCdWA/s640/_MG_8462_1.jpg" width="640" /></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/6Oh3EQxO_HnY1ifIKqdUeQ?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK6qBkkerI/AAAAAAAABIg/xYKxKmr18hI/s640/_MG_8455_1.jpg" width="640" /></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/lxse289HDe8uBWuLZDh3lQ?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">These were shot through a cage so it was a bit difficult getting a proper shot without the chain fence showing. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The monkeys were not afraid of humans and this guy was bold enough to take some apples from our hand.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/yGpceVwjA7-MOkAdHeB3aA?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK6y9ArHSI/AAAAAAAABIw/sCNMm6bSLE8/s640/_MG_8527_1.jpg" width="426" /></span></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Next, we headed out to do fulfil one of the main reasons that </span></span><st1:state w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Michelle</span></span></st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> wanted to go to </span></span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Kenya</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> – to pet a Cheetah!!! Cheetahs are our favourite of the big cats. They do not display the ferocity and anger of the other wild cats and in fact are attacked by a variety of predators including wild dogs and jackals. It’s a good thing that Cheetahs are the fastest land animal (able to hit 60mph in under 3 secs – faster than some super cars!) because their prey is constantly stolen by lions, leopards, hyenas, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK6v61xbvI/AAAAAAAABIs/ScbyHvD-C3c/s640/_MG_8561_1.jpg" width="640" /></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/JLKne-9tRVoAkBpKgH9qCw?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK67dDM5LI/AAAAAAAABI4/aaJ6oj2nVrY/s640/_MG_8567%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/0WyMTY4TbILwlbXggJ8o5Q?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK7FgVnI8I/AAAAAAAABJA/2F6uZlUkCQ8/s640/_MG_8546%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></span><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TJK7FgVnI8I/AAAAAAAABJA/2F6uZlUkCQ8/s1600/_MG_8546%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Another great experience and a lifelong dream fulfilled :D</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&hl=en_GB&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Frim.kenya%2Falbumid%2F5517676614878545505%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_GB" height="533" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="800"></embed></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1438732271"></span><span id="goog_1438732272"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1438732292"></span><span id="goog_1438732293"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1438732325"></span><span id="goog_1438732326"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1438732357"></span><span id="goog_1438732358"></span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-9178660960805932122010-08-30T22:11:00.010+01:002011-05-24T12:23:58.578+01:00Masai Mara - Day 3 & 4 - Serena Lodge<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After two unforgettable nights at </span></span><a href="http://rimmich.blogspot.com/2010/06/masai-mara-day-1-2-nyumbu-camp.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Nuyumbu Camp</span></span></b></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, we headed to the other side of the Mara. Here we were going to stay at the </span></span><a href="http://www.serenahotels.com/serenamara/default-en.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mara Serena Lodge</span></span></b></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Located within the park, the Lodge offered great views of the plains and contained plenty of bird life, which almost made us not want to go on the game drives. We were greeted at </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">the entrance to the lodge by this large colourful Red Headed Rock Agama</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpt09BEPDI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/is_iBiM32yg/s1600/_M" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THwYEFCaSmI/AAAAAAAABGE/QClMh6seAIc/s1600/_MG_7486_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THwYEFCaSmI/AAAAAAAABGE/QClMh6seAIc/s640/_MG_7486_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We had heard that the ‘Mara never disappoints’ and it didn’t! But we had to forgo many photo opportunities because they were “off track” and we were not allowed to stray away from the official roads. One of those missed opportunities was the only sighting of a leopard during the whole trip. We heard that a leopard and her cub were resting in a tree but since there were no pathways to it, we could not get close enough for a proper view. We parked ourselves as close to it as possible and waited very patiently for a couple of hours. However, all we could see was the tail and this is the best shot we got.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpryvKRfDI/AAAAAAAAA9M/BU-5BKYjCeo/s1600/_MG_7398_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpryvKRfDI/AAAAAAAAA9M/BU-5BKYjCeo/s640/_MG_7398_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ironically, the next day we heard that as soon after we left the spot the mother and cub had come down for a stroll and waited for awhile, right next to the vehicle that was parked there!</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Of course, my husband didn’t hesitate to curse and swear at everything that moved from thereon. According to him, seeing the Lion and the Cheetah as well as a very close encounter with wild hippos and giraffes was NOTHING if you didn’t have a leopard dance in front of your lens while in Africa. Even though I tried to explain to him that we can see the </span></span><a href="http://rimmich.blogspot.com/2009/10/hunting-leopards.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">leopard all we want in Sri Lanka</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, where we go on holiday at least once a year, and that we can’t see the lion or cheetah there. But it didn’t help...... until we heard that a pride of lions had attacked and killed a very big hippo while it was making its way back to the water. Yes, we were not mistaken.... it wasn’t a zebra or a buffalo it was indeed a hippo and yes it was supposed to be a very rare sight.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A very large and very dead hippo was surrounded by a pride of hungry lions. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpubqgJfpI/AAAAAAAAA-8/1IZE3xkPTb8/s1600/_MG_7581_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpubqgJfpI/AAAAAAAAA-8/1IZE3xkPTb8/s640/_MG_7581_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpufRohMJI/AAAAAAAAA_A/HCQYR-T1fPk/s1600/_MG_7583_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpufRohMJI/AAAAAAAAA_A/HCQYR-T1fPk/s640/_MG_7583_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpxJ0LeKdI/AAAAAAAABB8/suCS1PDU3Yk/s1600/_MG_7842_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpxJ0LeKdI/AAAAAAAABB8/suCS1PDU3Yk/s640/_MG_7842_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is a video of them having their meal.... </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nvEVkmaQ6DI?fs=1&hl=en_GB&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&hd=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nvEVkmaQ6DI?fs=1&hl=en_GB&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">To my surprise, the man who refuses to use any public toilet no matter what the emergency, the very man who can’t stand any sort of odour – stood very, very still with only a camera to his nose and with flies buzzing about his face – for over two hours in a place where the smell of dead flesh was unbearable! Everyone was driving by quickly when the smell hit them but we sat there for a couple of hours waiting for some good opportunities for shots. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpu9PCWujI/AAAAAAAAA_g/uRAzJXjkJ8M/s1600/_MG_7604%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpu9PCWujI/AAAAAAAAA_g/uRAzJXjkJ8M/s640/_MG_7604%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpuMenznBI/AAAAAAAAA-s/HUyoBSnl7r4/s1600/_MG_7569_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpuMenznBI/AAAAAAAAA-s/HUyoBSnl7r4/s640/_MG_7569_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpvJ1YGk6I/AAAAAAAAA_w/vSR0f7v3mls/s1600/_MG_7614_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpvJ1YGk6I/AAAAAAAAA_w/vSR0f7v3mls/s640/_MG_7614_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpvi-ATUWI/AAAAAAAABAI/pg4v1JgGsqc/s1600/_MG_7634_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="472" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpvi-ATUWI/AAAAAAAABAI/pg4v1JgGsqc/s640/_MG_7634_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After eating their fill, they relaxed and guarded the carcass from the jackals and vultures nearby.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THp1D3rpYMI/AAAAAAAABEg/MPo6B1o3Dp8/s1600/_MG_8229_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THp1D3rpYMI/AAAAAAAABEg/MPo6B1o3Dp8/s640/_MG_8229_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The male in the pride, after a very good meal, was feeling pretty "good" enough to try and impress one of the females. </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpsO114ffI/AAAAAAAAA9o/VP-JYoBtNFk/s1600/_MG_7445_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpsfnAVniI/AAAAAAAAA90/w-IIKrlKNww/s1600/_MG_7451_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpsfnAVniI/AAAAAAAAA90/w-IIKrlKNww/s640/_MG_7451_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpv6Wd6WkI/AAAAAAAABAg/hEb7lXReriI/s1600/_MG_7652_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpv6Wd6WkI/AAAAAAAABAg/hEb7lXReriI/s640/_MG_7652_2.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpv_3S85lI/AAAAAAAABAo/CgC7E54SbBk/s1600/_MG_7691_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpv_3S85lI/AAAAAAAABAo/CgC7E54SbBk/s640/_MG_7691_2.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">M</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">y favourite animal is the Cheetah and we got some great chances to see them here. We had a great opportunity to track one who was on the hunt and she seemed to be tracking some gazelle herself. However, she attracted quite a few vehicles and was constantly disturbed by all the noises made by the people who were more interested in talking, quite loudly at that, about their Aunty’s birthday party and the leftover cake rather than look at this great wildlife event. There was a time when we felt the Cheetah was about to launch herself in to the attack and right at that time, a man from one of the other vehicles exclaimed, quite loudly, how he would have liked to have some of the cake! The noise startled the Cheetah and she started walking away, giving up the hunt. It’s terrible when people who can’t appreciate nature and it’s beauty (and are more concerned about cake) are given the opportunity to see such rare sights and yet don’t make use of them.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpriNU6nxI/AAAAAAAAA80/C2VfgP_xhfc/s1600/_MG_7421_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpriNU6nxI/AAAAAAAAA80/C2VfgP_xhfc/s640/_MG_7421_2.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpwg1yG0NI/AAAAAAAABBU/_TlSpt1sbgE/s1600/_MG_7994_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpwg1yG0NI/AAAAAAAABBU/_TlSpt1sbgE/s640/_MG_7994_2.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpzzE02cYI/AAAAAAAABDI/qKHW9mVKUD4/s1600/_MG_8022_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpzzE02cYI/AAAAAAAABDI/qKHW9mVKUD4/s640/_MG_8022_1.jpg" width="426" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We really enjoyed our stay at Serena Lodge - the ambience and decor was fantastic. </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpwPk9qWbI/AAAAAAAABA8/P7HVa624Z_c/s1600/_MG_7727_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpwPk9qWbI/AAAAAAAABA8/P7HVa624Z_c/s640/_MG_7727_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THp0THpUF8I/AAAAAAAABDs/rX74MEBFwK0/s1600/_MG_8103_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THp0THpUF8I/AAAAAAAABDs/rX74MEBFwK0/s640/_MG_8103_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We were also treated to a traditional Masai dance </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpwW29rEAI/AAAAAAAABBI/1Ko5KfO3R6U/s1600/_MG_7772_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpwW29rEAI/AAAAAAAABBI/1Ko5KfO3R6U/s640/_MG_7772_1.jpg" width="426" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Grey Crowned Crane</span></span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THp0qHI5wwI/AAAAAAAABEI/ZtXluxHwyWU/s1600/_MG_8188_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THp0qHI5wwI/AAAAAAAABEI/ZtXluxHwyWU/s640/_MG_8188_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Saddle Billed Stork</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpxfWcru7I/AAAAAAAABCU/Nw5DJaj71as/s1600/_MG_7889_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpxfWcru7I/AAAAAAAABCU/Nw5DJaj71as/s640/_MG_7889_1.jpg" width="426" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">These cute Rock Hyraxes were every where around the Lodge</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpx2irXX9I/AAAAAAAABCs/ZLKQMM3tvNo/s1600/_MG_7955_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/THpx2irXX9I/AAAAAAAABCs/ZLKQMM3tvNo/s640/_MG_7955_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A slideshow of all the shots can be seen here</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&hl=en_GB&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Frim.kenya%2Falbumid%2F5510835260090772449%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_GB" height="533" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="800"></embed></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-67534916359101865442010-07-15T14:31:00.008+01:002011-05-24T12:24:19.376+01:00Having the cake and eating it.....<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Another year has passed by and as I grow older, my birthdays just become better :D <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">You may already know how my wife makes <a href="http://rimmich.blogspot.com/2009/09/birthday.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><i>my birthday</i></span></b></a> truly special – with lots of yummy food, delicious cake and loads of prezzies – this year was no exception!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">It all started out with a lot of “secret” shopping on Friday, which <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mich</st1:place></st1:state> did all by herself. On Saturday, she had to work and then we went to Pioshy/Lionel’s place for a dinner (Pioshy’s bday was on the 6th) getting back at about 11pm. Since there was a lot to do, she started prepping stuff that night itself and went to sleep at 4am! I was banned from entering the kitchen so could not help out in anyway as she wanted it to be a surprise. Sunday, she woke up at 7.00am and went straight in to the kitchen to start all the cooking for the special bday dinner – to which she had invited Pioshy/Lionel as well as Lasa/Imal.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">A lot of effort and time went into preparing a fantastic <st1:place w:st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> + Sri Lankan menu. Being a hot summer day we started off with a <st1:place w:st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> style cantaloupe drink (bits of cantaloupe mixed with sweetened milk and topped off with pomegranate slush, almond flakes and pomegranate seeds). The starter was a ‘Coconut shredded shrimp’ with yoghurt and coriander sauce which was absolutely delicious.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5U10mt8eI/AAAAAAAAG7c/42XWeQUbcfY/s1600/_MG_2203%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5U10mt8eI/AAAAAAAAG7c/42XWeQUbcfY/s640/_MG_2203%20copy_1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px;">The main course was special <st1:place w:st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> spicy rice cooked in coconut milk with a chicken and prawn rum curry, honey roasted lamb coated in almonds served with pan roasted cherry tomatoes along with an avocado and tomato salad. She even whipped up a quick devilled potato dish to accommodate the newlywed Janisha (Shehan’s wife) who is a vegetarian.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5Vo5nzagI/AAAAAAAAG8Q/bSRuibNIwsE/s1600/_MG_2287%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5Vo5nzagI/AAAAAAAAG8Q/bSRuibNIwsE/s640/_MG_2287%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Honey roasted lamb</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5UxvI2ZqI/AAAAAAAAG7Y/yB9s7m4iPmg/s1600/_MG_2198%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5UxvI2ZqI/AAAAAAAAG7Y/yB9s7m4iPmg/s640/_MG_2198%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Janisha tucking in<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5V9T_hFuI/AAAAAAAAG8o/1B9cpghu8Fo/s1600/_MG_2315%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5V9T_hFuI/AAAAAAAAG8o/1B9cpghu8Fo/s640/_MG_2315%20copy_1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px;">Everything was fantastic and we stuffed ourselves silly – especially me as I could hardly move after eating so much. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">But the highlight of the night was a brilliant, absolutely delicious <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A8me_br%C3%BBl%C3%A9e" target="_blank"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Crème brûlée</span></i></b></a>. These deserts are hard to get right but <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mich</st1:place></st1:state> turned them out perfectly. We all enjoyed every bit of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5WxqzV2ZI/AAAAAAAAG9k/mSyEngjaZ24/s1600/_MG_2345%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5WxqzV2ZI/AAAAAAAAG9k/mSyEngjaZ24/s640/_MG_2345%20copy_1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px;">It was also the World Cup final day so Lionel and I were glued to the screen most of the time while we watched a relatively boring match, which <st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region> won during the last few minutes of extra time – we wanted <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Netherlands</st1:place></st1:country-region> to win!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Lionel glued to the TV while a disinterested Pioshy looks away<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5VZN1jNfI/AAAAAAAAG8A/mX2E3QQRuq4/s1600/_MG_2262%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5VZN1jNfI/AAAAAAAAG8A/mX2E3QQRuq4/s640/_MG_2262%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px;">Once it was confirmed that no one could move after stuffing themselves, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Mich</st1:state></st1:place> produces the Birthday Cake. Now, I must say that <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mich</st1:place></st1:state> is an expert at making cakes and she has a natural touch. But I was surprised by the sheer beauty of the cake she produced this time! It’s called “Death by Chocolate” (maybe there is a hint for me there :D) and it was the best cake I have ever tasted. To me, it was a work of art which I didn’t want to destroy by cutting but once I had tasted it, I wanted to eat the whole thing then and there. She used goose berries dipped in chocolate sauce to decorate it and had cantaloupe and blueberries for the base.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD7wPGj3NAI/AAAAAAAAG-s/NXcr9WRT3s4/s1600/_MG_2182%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="462" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD7wPGj3NAI/AAAAAAAAG-s/NXcr9WRT3s4/s640/_MG_2182%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD7wPaR4fCI/AAAAAAAAG-w/qiBvpbQgS-g/s1600/_MG_2376%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="622" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD7wPaR4fCI/AAAAAAAAG-w/qiBvpbQgS-g/s640/_MG_2376%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px;">No Birthday Party will be complete without prezzies. Lasa presented me with a newspaper covered box which I was surprised about. It also felt very heavy and I was wondering what it was. Unable to contain my curiosity I opened the box to find a box of nappies. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5VASiPDUI/AAAAAAAAG7o/1FtuRQ0aHtU/s1600/_MG_2218%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5VASiPDUI/AAAAAAAAG7o/1FtuRQ0aHtU/s640/_MG_2218%20copy_1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px;">But that wasn’t the joke – I was told to open the Nappy box and inside which there was a can of tinned tomatoes and a can of chickpeas! Very funny Lasa! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Hold on… wait a minute…. I moved some of the packing aside and I saw a box with a Canon logo on it – OMG! It was a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 lens – something that I had wanted to get for a long time. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5VGP2SxBI/AAAAAAAAG7s/-fBydCDUtLs/s1600/_MG_2225%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5VGP2SxBI/AAAAAAAAG7s/-fBydCDUtLs/s640/_MG_2225%20copy_1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">When I picked up the box though, I realised there can’t be a lens inside because it was very light. I was right – it contained a couple of adult sweets!!!! Lasa had got me again! But, at least I was sure that I was going to be sucking on boobies that night! :D<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">However, it got me thinking – why would Lasa have a brand new 85mm f1/.8 box with him and not the lens? It seemed obvious that a devious plan was afoot to surprise me with the lens later on! So I casually remarked that it was a shame the lens was not in the box cos it would be perfect for taking shots during the party. It worked cos 5 mts later I got a present from <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mich</st1:place></st1:state> – which contained the Lens!! WOWWY WOWWY WOW!!! I was over the moon. Mich had wanted to get a photography related gift for me so she did the research, roped in a flickr friend and used some very clever method to find out what lenses I really wanted and then got Lasa to buy the lens for her (which was why he had the box). It was a total surprise and I was gobsmacked! Never expected to get a lens – wow!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">After that, the lens was used through out the night and never left the camera. It looks like a great lens and is sharp and fast – fantastic!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Some shots with the new lens <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5VgapTfcI/AAAAAAAAG8I/1ZXnwmzw7kw/s1600/_MG_2269%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5VgapTfcI/AAAAAAAAG8I/1ZXnwmzw7kw/s640/_MG_2269%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5V49IepbI/AAAAAAAAG8k/iPmxpGncR9c/s1600/_MG_2313%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5V49IepbI/AAAAAAAAG8k/iPmxpGncR9c/s640/_MG_2313%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5VkyqneDI/AAAAAAAAG8M/Ruteox_SDyE/s1600/_MG_2278%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5VkyqneDI/AAAAAAAAG8M/Ruteox_SDyE/s640/_MG_2278%20copy_1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">The lens is fantastic for portraits and what better subject than the very cute and adorable <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21096178@N03/4231706531/"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Navitha</span></i></b></a> (Lasa & Imal's son)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5WchpFWFI/AAAAAAAAG9M/ZrA2u-mvWI0/s1600/_MG_2330%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5WchpFWFI/AAAAAAAAG9M/ZrA2u-mvWI0/s640/_MG_2330%20copy_1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5WMQyTmiI/AAAAAAAAG88/GbdFyYxHkLc/s1600/_MG_2325%20copy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5WMQyTmiI/AAAAAAAAG88/GbdFyYxHkLc/s640/_MG_2325%20copy_2.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px;">Got a couple of other presents as well, which I will take shots of later. I am also waiting on another present - a framed copy of a shot from <a href="http://rimmich.blogspot.com/2010/05/kenya-lake-naivasha_2700.html"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Kenya</span></i></b></a> - unfortunately <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mich</st1:place></st1:state> got the dimensions of the frame wrong so need to get the right size first! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Had an absolutely great time and thanks to <st1:place w:st="on">Ness</st1:place>, Pioshy, Lasa, Imal and Janisha for being part of the celebration. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">But most of all thank you to my wonderful, amazing, beautiful and loving wife who makes me thank God for every day I spend with her. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5XI6gmlgI/AAAAAAAAG-A/XT-ljdkWuiw/s1600/_MG_2373%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/TD5XI6gmlgI/AAAAAAAAG-A/XT-ljdkWuiw/s640/_MG_2373%20copy_1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">A few more shots in the slideshow<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Friyazim%2Falbumid%2F5493921529180745489%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="533" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="800"></embed><o:p></o:p></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-57119679239707019302010-06-30T13:26:00.009+01:002011-05-24T12:24:54.115+01:00Masai Mara - Day 1 & 2 - Nyumbu Camp<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Masai Mara is what people say it is – a miracle! They say the Mara never disappoints and even during the off-peak season, it didn't disappoint us. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mara</span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> is a large game reserve in south-western </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Kenya</span></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and is the northern continuation of the </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serengeti_National_Park" target="_blank" title="blocked::http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serengeti_National_Park"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>Serengeti National Park</b></span></span></span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> in </span></span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tanzania</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. It is named after the<b> </b></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai" target="_blank" title="blocked::http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai"><span lang="EN"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>Masai</b></span></span></span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b> </b></span>people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who we could see grazing their cattle in the outskirts of the park. It is famous for its exceptional population of Big Cats and the annual migration of zebra, Thomson's gazelle and wildebeest from the Serengeti.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>The road to Mara</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG8ek05chI/AAAAAAAAAoU/LZ6TmRf6CeM/s1600/_MG_6453_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG8ek05chI/AAAAAAAAAoU/LZ6TmRf6CeM/s640/_MG_6453_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We were lucky to have gone with one of the best Safari companies in </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Kenya</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> - <a href="http://www.asyoulikeitsafaris.com/"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">As You Like It Safaris</span></b></a> which is run by the charming Vivien Prince. We were not sure about staying in tented accommodation as April was supposed to be the rainy season so opted for Lodges for most of the trip. However, Vivien advised us to stay at Nyumbu Camp for the first two nights at Mara to get the real "African Experience". And we are sure glad we took her advice because that turned out to be the best place we stayed at during the whole trip! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Nyumbu Camp</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Even though all the lodges we stayed at were swanky & modern places, for us, Nyumbu Camp was the best. There were no facilities like swimming pool, wifi, etc and in fact, there was only one place to get all our electronic equipment charged and in our case that was a lot (they do have laundry service though!). However, it gave us the real camping experience minus the hassle of cooking, cleaning, etc. Nyumbu (which means Wildebeest in Swahili) Camp is located on open ground just outside the official boundaries of the Masai Mara reserve but since there are no barriers, wild animals roam about through the camp during the night. Masai warriors keep guard over the tents with their spears and are available to make sure we are safe during our walk to the restaurant and back. The staff are friendly and know how to give the guests a truly unique experience of the wild.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The camp has several large and spacious safari tents with an en suite toilet and shower. Yes - a proper toilet, shower cubicle with hot water and wash basin are included WITHIN the tent! There is ample room for clothes and equipment and there are 2 beds - 1 double and 1 single - easily able to accommodate 3 adults comfortably. The tents are very secure and there is a good distance between each of them to ensure privacy. A long winding road leads to the restaurant and bar. The best thing about the tent is that it has 2 layers - the outside layer, when fully zipped up, covers the tent and offers complete privacy. You can open up the outer layer and leave the second layer made of netting, with the breeze sweeping through the netting. In the morning, when you wake up you just lie in bed staring at the sky, a sunrise and a tree full of birds just outside the tent – it is an experience worth dying for.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Click on any image for larger size. Click back button to return</i></span></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The tent from outside</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG9rLqWfiI/AAAAAAAAApY/iebg35TAFZc/s1600/_MG_6568%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG9rLqWfiI/AAAAAAAAApY/iebg35TAFZc/s640/_MG_6568%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The tent inside - with all our mess</i></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCqB54qtjKI/AAAAAAAAAy0/e2_IQhqb27E/s1600/_MG_7292%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCqB54qtjKI/AAAAAAAAAy0/e2_IQhqb27E/s640/_MG_7292%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>African sunrise</i></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG9k9NyIPI/AAAAAAAAApU/sMuvZphk2hQ/s1600/_MG_6567%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG9k9NyIPI/AAAAAAAAApU/sMuvZphk2hQ/s640/_MG_6567%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Right next to the restaurant area, there was a big tree which was full of Masked Weaver bird nests. Several of the nests had young birds inside and many of the adult Weaver birds were busy feeding them. We spent quite a bit of time viewing these birds fluttering about and it was at this time that we heard the chirps of a very young bird coming from the ground - one of them had fallen out of the nest! With the help of the staff we were able to restore it back to its nest. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The young bird which had fallen out of the nest - ugly looking yet soooo cute!</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG7n4yzQvI/AAAAAAAAAnw/wypMrMmSij0/s1600/_MG_6459%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG7n4yzQvI/AAAAAAAAAnw/wypMrMmSij0/s640/_MG_6459%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Masked Weaver Bird</i> (not sure which kind - though, it does look very much like the </span><a href="http://www.kenyabirds.org.uk/weaver-nm.htm" target="_blank" title="blocked::http://www.kenyabirds.org.uk/weaver-nm.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>Northern Masked Weaver</b></span></i></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, they are supposed to be found only in the </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lake</span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><st1:placename w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Baringo</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> area though) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG91QCqqrI/AAAAAAAAApk/gRmK1ClzlJE/s1600/_MG_6589%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG91QCqqrI/AAAAAAAAApk/gRmK1ClzlJE/s640/_MG_6589%20copy_1.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The most striking feature of the Masai Mara is how the reserve stretches out for miles and miles with just grass. We were worried that we would get lost in that stark wilderness but Camara (our driver/guide) knew the area very well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG8KURM3OI/AAAAAAAAAoE/Q8SnbHaVAC4/s1600/_MG_6452_1%20b%26w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG8KURM3OI/AAAAAAAAAoE/Q8SnbHaVAC4/s640/_MG_6452_1%20b%26w.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCuDP7eTI/AAAAAAAAAtg/bOjGplwgRWw/s1600/_MG_7003%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCuDP7eTI/AAAAAAAAAtg/bOjGplwgRWw/s640/_MG_7003%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCvR1kquEqI/AAAAAAAAA3s/dpSYG0kW0XU/s1600/_MG_6494_0_-1_%2B1%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCvR1kquEqI/AAAAAAAAA3s/dpSYG0kW0XU/s640/_MG_6494_0_-1_%2B1%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And now for the real Mara experience </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Wildebeest</i></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG8txuG1UI/AAAAAAAAAok/kq1trpbh9H4/s1600/_MG_6470%20copy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG8txuG1UI/AAAAAAAAAok/kq1trpbh9H4/s640/_MG_6470%20copy_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Surveying prey</i></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG-X3bo5YI/AAAAAAAAAp8/fde8LFj5h9U/s1600/_MG_6676%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG-X3bo5YI/AAAAAAAAAp8/fde8LFj5h9U/s640/_MG_6676%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Peek-a-boo..... I see you!</i></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG-NiIGPqI/AAAAAAAAAp4/BONnJffMlJI/s1600/_MG_6653%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG-NiIGPqI/AAAAAAAAAp4/BONnJffMlJI/s640/_MG_6653%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Lone Impala</i></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHE9pcCN-I/AAAAAAAAAvc/00ymJRpMMKs/s1600/_MG_7114%20copy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHE9pcCN-I/AAAAAAAAAvc/00ymJRpMMKs/s640/_MG_7114%20copy_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>We had some good views of Giraffes</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCiIE5XVRKI/AAAAAAAAAyM/cCR920q-mw4/s1600/_MG_6887%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCiIE5XVRKI/AAAAAAAAAyM/cCR920q-mw4/s640/_MG_6887%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCiIFTDEGWI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/IrXCbeopbNg/s1600/_MG_6896%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCiIFTDEGWI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/IrXCbeopbNg/s640/_MG_6896%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" width="577" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCiIEpPHlZI/AAAAAAAAAyE/hI2LK--qCgg/s1600/_MG_6946%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCiIEpPHlZI/AAAAAAAAAyE/hI2LK--qCgg/s640/_MG_6946%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHAP1_aP1I/AAAAAAAAArg/9TTpehaD1AU/s1600/_MG_6857%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHAP1_aP1I/AAAAAAAAArg/9TTpehaD1AU/s640/_MG_6857%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There w</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">ere quite a lot of birds as well</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Saddle-Back Storks building a nest </i></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG9OqLG09I/AAAAAAAAApA/IVmdVww-6mA/s1600/_MG_6536%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG9OqLG09I/AAAAAAAAApA/IVmdVww-6mA/s640/_MG_6536%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG9S8C93II/AAAAAAAAApE/VWF7nl_i6RM/s1600/_MG_6537%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG9S8C93II/AAAAAAAAApE/VWF7nl_i6RM/s640/_MG_6537%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" width="427" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Not sure which species</i></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG_TAnQD8I/AAAAAAAAAqo/gnrM8jLfTgM/s1600/_MG_6736%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG_TAnQD8I/AAAAAAAAAqo/gnrM8jLfTgM/s640/_MG_6736%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>This Water Thick-Knee walked very close to the vehicle</i></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG_pwgpfFI/AAAAAAAAArA/3OMNQfekZZA/s1600/_MG_6771-2%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="401" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG_pwgpfFI/AAAAAAAAArA/3OMNQfekZZA/s640/_MG_6771-2%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Common Ostrich - female</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG_4zU-lzI/AAAAAAAAArM/0Z2_MPUk1QQ/s1600/_MG_6786%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG_4zU-lzI/AAAAAAAAArM/0Z2_MPUk1QQ/s640/_MG_6786%20copy_1.jpg" width="620" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>The Common Ostrich - male</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCiIE3YzvRI/AAAAAAAAAyI/60VRO_EiRSk/s1600/_MG_6812%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCiIE3YzvRI/AAAAAAAAAyI/60VRO_EiRSk/s640/_MG_6812%20copy_1%20b%26w.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>A very sleepy Verreaux's Eagle Owl</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG-7uhBDpI/AAAAAAAAAqY/hbrukHn7bNY/s1600/_MG_6717%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCG-7uhBDpI/AAAAAAAAAqY/hbrukHn7bNY/s640/_MG_6717%20copy_1.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Spur-winged Plover</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCprNchMI/AAAAAAAAAtc/NcvnE7i5GZE/s1600/_MG_7000%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCprNchMI/AAAAAAAAAtc/NcvnE7i5GZE/s640/_MG_7000%20copy_1.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Black Kite</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHBdJC6GBI/AAAAAAAAAsc/5toqyjeu7Vk/s1600/_MG_6936%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHBdJC6GBI/AAAAAAAAAsc/5toqyjeu7Vk/s640/_MG_6936%20copy_1.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">One of the more interesting birds that we came across was the Kori Bustard, a large terrestrial bird which stands more than 3 feet tall. They are one of the heaviest flying birds in the world and the male can weigh up to 12Kgs! They are omnivorous with a diet of insects, lizards and seeds and they nest on the ground. They have a very interesting mating display which involves inflating throat sacs or elevating their elaborate feathered crests. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCvPw84WaTI/AAAAAAAAA2I/AHJhyMZG1Aw/s1600/_MG_6604%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCvPw84WaTI/AAAAAAAAA2I/AHJhyMZG1Aw/s640/_MG_6604%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCvQH2Bp3RI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/J94P8rartQE/s1600/_MG_6625%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCvQH2Bp3RI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/J94P8rartQE/s640/_MG_6625%20copy_1.jpg" width="530" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">We drove around a lot trying to find a Leopard or Cheetah with no luck. All of a sudden Camara turned into a road leading to a tree under which there was a herd of Elephants. You can imagine our surprise when we saw on the other side three cheetahs relaxing in the grass.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHDBO04lUI/AAAAAAAAAtw/v9CJBZwtMz0/s1600/_MG_7011%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHDBO04lUI/AAAAAAAAAtw/v9CJBZwtMz0/s640/_MG_7011%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHDl-H4juI/AAAAAAAAAuM/sq_qCGHP0Q4/s1600/_MG_7064%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHDl-H4juI/AAAAAAAAAuM/sq_qCGHP0Q4/s640/_MG_7064%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The elephant herd kept moving towards the cheetahs while grazing and at one point, one of the bigger elephants decided that the cheetahs were a threat to the little baby elephant in the group. So she made a dash and chased the cheetahs off. It was quite funny to see the cheetahs running away from the elephant. She nearly caught up with one!</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHDxl-fQII/AAAAAAAAAuU/Y5MgPAb2w6Y/s1600/_MG_7070%20copy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="401" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHDxl-fQII/AAAAAAAAAuU/Y5MgPAb2w6Y/s640/_MG_7070%20copy_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The baby elephant they were protecting</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCYwhjmqI/AAAAAAAAAtM/mSiI49Ie9Ok/s1600/_MG_6970%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCYwhjmqI/AAAAAAAAAtM/mSiI49Ie9Ok/s640/_MG_6970%20copy_1.jpg" width="531" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCR6bSsVI/AAAAAAAAAtI/iSGq1K6c0wY/s1600/_MG_6967%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="449" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCR6bSsVI/AAAAAAAAAtI/iSGq1K6c0wY/s640/_MG_6967%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCvRe-B6FOI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/liJl4d0rXmU/s1600/_MG_6990%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCvRe-B6FOI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/liJl4d0rXmU/s640/_MG_6990%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More elephants</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCkcvDxvI/AAAAAAAAAtY/bcxRvduqBDk/s1600/_MG_6972%20copy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="467" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCkcvDxvI/AAAAAAAAAtY/bcxRvduqBDk/s640/_MG_6972%20copy_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHFgjNR9EI/AAAAAAAAAvw/K_d7Vs5IErY/s1600/_MG_7143%20copy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHFgjNR9EI/AAAAAAAAAvw/K_d7Vs5IErY/s640/_MG_7143%20copy_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCvRYC5HPSI/AAAAAAAAA3U/vowhw7vuTYM/s1600/_MG_6979%20copy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCvRYC5HPSI/AAAAAAAAA3U/vowhw7vuTYM/s640/_MG_6979%20copy_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHFgjNR9EI/AAAAAAAAAvw/K_d7Vs5IErY/s1600/_MG_7143%20copy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On the second day, we did a full day Safari where we got a packed lunch and did a whole day in the park. This was our picnic site on top of a hill over looking the plains.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCAw1RjsI/AAAAAAAAAs8/BzezDzHycVI/s1600/_MG_6955%20copy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCAw1RjsI/AAAAAAAAAs8/BzezDzHycVI/s640/_MG_6955%20copy_2.jpg" width="433" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHBy2w9BDI/AAAAAAAAAsw/2ortc7s-ftk/s1600/_MG_6951%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHBy2w9BDI/AAAAAAAAAsw/2ortc7s-ftk/s640/_MG_6951%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCI6dqyzI/AAAAAAAAAtE/sq9AU5URJQM/s1600/_MG_6956%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHCI6dqyzI/AAAAAAAAAtE/sq9AU5URJQM/s640/_MG_6956%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Second day was a bit disappointing as we didn’t see much during the day as it was extremely hot. However, on our way back to camp we came across a lion family consisting of a mother and 2 cubs. They seemed to have just woken up from a long nap.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHGEdtYdDI/AAAAAAAAAwA/1ekaVWJ6Diw/s1600/_MG_7181%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="444" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHGEdtYdDI/AAAAAAAAAwA/1ekaVWJ6Diw/s640/_MG_7181%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHF6HV48bI/AAAAAAAAAv8/oZoTeAU-QAI/s1600/_MG_7177%20copy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="472" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHF6HV48bI/AAAAAAAAAv8/oZoTeAU-QAI/s640/_MG_7177%20copy_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHGhkTntrI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/fDyMUlPVPtE/s1600/_MG_7192%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="552" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHGhkTntrI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/fDyMUlPVPtE/s640/_MG_7192%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finally we saw this Jackal just before we headed off to the Camp</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHHwj8rVnI/AAAAAAAAAxI/wcVwBDhThlk/s1600/_MG_7232%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TCHHwj8rVnI/AAAAAAAAAxI/wcVwBDhThlk/s640/_MG_7232%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A slideshow of the shots – a few more additional ones in here</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&hl=en_GB&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Frim.kenya%2Falbumid%2F5485872037734863409%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_GB" height="533" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="800"></embed></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-18980586419602236892010-06-10T06:45:00.012+01:002011-05-24T12:25:13.091+01:00Lake Nakuru, Kenya<div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From Lake Naivasha we headed for a 2 day trip to Lake Nakuru. </span></span></div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div align="justify"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Accommodation was at Nakuru Lodge which was very good. The rooms were large with a good view of the plains and there were long winding walks to the restaurant which was quiet nice at night.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div align="justify"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Of all the parks we had been to, we liked Nakuru the best – yes even more than the Mara. This might have been because it was small and it was very, very green! Lake Nakuru National Park is a bird sanctuary. The park is situated outside Nakuru Township in Kenya, which is part of the Great Rift Valley with its alkaline and fresh water lakes, within easy reach of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The park comprises of a large lake which is surrounded by a beautiful landscape of sedge, marsh, vast grasslands, rocky cliffs, outcrops, stretches of yellow-barked acacia woodlands, plus a large forest of Euphorbia trees (unique on such a large scale to Kenya). </span> </span></div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div align="justify"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The main reason to go to Nakuru was to see the flamingos. Ideally we would have liked to get some sunset shots of them but were not allowed to be in the park at that time. </span></span></div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There is the constant ‘clickin’ of the birds beaks as they feed – which, strangely, is a comforting sound.</span><br />
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</div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We found a pack of hyenas nearby, cooling off in the water. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/iAw4ECmUh5aUQo-0yRclKw?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="411" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2Hz10VGII/AAAAAAAAAYw/fBpfJh2gTek/s640/_MG_5420%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/cWNyhN02RvrNPPbw2u6rFw?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2H95yHygI/AAAAAAAAAY8/22KDte4O8ZU/s640/_MG_5424%20copy_1.jpg" width="467" /></a></span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It wasn’t easy trying to avoid the layer of bird poo touching our feet to get this shot - but it was worth it even though Mr spent the latter part of the night scrubbing the soles of his shoes.</span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>FACT</strong> - Flamingos' pink or reddish feather colour comes from its diet, which is high in alpha and beta-carotene. People eat beta-carotene when they eat carrots. The typical flamingo diet consists of diatoms, seeds, blue-green algae, crustaceans, and mollusks they filter out of the water.</span><br />
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</div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Marabou Stork - To the casual observer, this massive bird with a balding, scrubby head and a pendulous pink air sac, appears to be the ugliest creature in the world (next to man!). Its fondness for carrion and habit of squirting excrement onto its own legs will justify this opinion! This is a large bird standing 1.5 m tall and weighing 9 Kg and is one of the largest flying birds in the world. </span></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><em>Mr Personality</em></span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">‘Man should learn to fight from the rhino’ is what I thought after we saw two of them going at it for hours. No showing off, flexing of muscles, making a big noise or raising hell - they were just ‘peacefully’ fighting and it had been going on for so long they were both bleeding but it was still a carefully paced out fight.</span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Feg60O1D-947u3xnC9HNCw?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="502" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2QcEc3UII/AAAAAAAAAe4/uqpjCh26NH8/s640/_MG_5999%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/uF2XwK0Yh3Su4am5bIlUDA?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="427" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2Q3DlWRkI/AAAAAAAAAfM/9P1mP-qVjPI/s640/_MG_6040%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This female and her baby kept watching for a while.</span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of the Rhinos was sweating profusely and we named it “sweaty”. We bet that he will win but alas he lost and “dry” one won the battle.</span><br />
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<div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>FACT</strong> - Rhinos main predator is MAN. It has no natural predators. The rhino is prized for its horn. Not a true horn, it is made of thickly matted hair that grows from the skull without skeletal support. The major demand for horn is in Asia, where it is used in traditional medicine and ornamental carvings.</span></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Just when we thought we had seen it all (as we didn’t expect to see anything much in Nakuru except the flamingos), we saw the lions – our first glimpse of the African lion! The most exciting thing was the way one was hiding behind a tree spying on us. Seeing a lion on top of a tree was pretty unusual for us! You don’t realize just how well camouflage works until you see something like this.</span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/HKUomiJ7g7ak4_27W8J-DQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="427" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2JtXSl4pI/AAAAAAAAAac/tR1dv1Gp9Q0/s640/_MG_5568-2%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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</div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/8gXTrBEjRjf6vbdL6nzLxw?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="390" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2JmhE6gHI/AAAAAAAAAaU/1J9GL3PDuTE/s640/_MG_5565-2%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/K_GSFLxaHkMqN0UObL2EQQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="254" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2S0r6QN6I/AAAAAAAAAg4/2PxB2Gk1Plo/s640/_MG_6269%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On the second day, after a desperate and disappointing search for leopards, we were returning to the lodge when we came upon this pride just about 200m from the Lodge gates!!!! They were right by the side of the road and seemed relaxed even though there were quite a few vehicles about.</span> <br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/PdVgxZFeMnL9nSwfCD6LSw?feat=embedwebsite" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="427" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2TQNyriyI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/r9Jstv7kVyM/s640/_MG_6333%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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</div><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/LaP-rEqTnWc3wArFxFD9ag?feat=embedwebsite" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="390" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2TbM_TqcI/AAAAAAAAAhc/eJwMlUtEcbo/s640/_MG_6337%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<em>Rothschild Giraffe</em></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/7_ogaRidPw3ThQtGkFnhkQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2MKoZ1KjI/AAAAAAAAAcE/WhQW2_WB7D4/s640/_MG_5665%20copy_1.jpg" width="630" /></a></span><br />
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<em>Impala</em></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/nTQ8calQraH62X8YgmaYYA?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="451" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2Mtzf1WUI/AAAAAAAAAcg/j2yt_VduYtM/s640/_MG_5758%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<em>Hoopoe</em></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/SGkty1n16kwsaTCR1k_98g?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2NWnf3v6I/AAAAAAAAAc4/rRq2n0cqU-s/s640/_MG_5787%20copy_1.jpg" width="454" /></a></span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/V3woZ1ckng-_lHzYUBRPrw?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2NkPQ5i2I/AAAAAAAAAdE/ei9bcomq0Pk/s640/_MG_5789%20copy_1.jpg" width="438" /></a></span><br />
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</div><i>Blacksmith Plover</i><br />
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<em>Vervet Monkey</em></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/-jkA3YuYlMwHGkw_9G3qkQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="524" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2R461x3bI/AAAAAAAAAgA/Uztf0lKPhu0/s640/_MG_6141%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<div align="justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It is hard to describe the Secretary Bird and its strange walk using a picture but it is one of the strangest birds you can see especially during its take off and landing. It’s a terrestrial bird of prey and is instantly recognizable as having an eagle-like body on crane-like legs. Don’t let the picture mislead you - the bird’s height is around 1.3 m (4 ft) tall.</span></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<em>Lilac breasted Roller</em></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/1bxN03JryX5bpRiVjbPzNA?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="451" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2S5E9pe7I/AAAAAAAAAg8/53D3TMXWxkw/s640/_MG_6288%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<em>Helmeted Guniea Fowl</em></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Hh3rqDjnUGixa1uzcFfYOw?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="505" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2THIjEIEI/AAAAAAAAAhI/wyC9y7Tc-UM/s640/_MG_6305%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And then there is the Widow Bird. The first time I saw it, I thought it was a piece of a garbage bag floating in the wind. And then I saw the head, the red wings, the fluttering and the breath taking dance. It is truly a wonderful sight.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Rpy-gMHEg-JZkMUPpw5geg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2OlYE95SI/AAAAAAAAAdw/mQssSOPrrro/s640/_MG_5857%20copy_1.jpg" width="524" /></a></span></div><br />
<div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><div align="justify"><div align="justify"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/R7BL9rzvBXJiEx-D7yV-rA?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2PF-sHT-I/AAAAAAAAAeI/IdBNEm3QHTQ/s640/_MG_5884%20copy_1.jpg" width="456" /></a></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="justify"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><img height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2ORPZz5OI/AAAAAAAAAdg/yQ3gEcujg0g/s640/_MG_5844%20copy_1.jpg" width="470" /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">A video of the little guy flying about</span></div></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/BoNK1KwiB4MTEvj0_ThuqA?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="360" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TBB56aa2BUI/AAAAAAAAAmA/0lKGX9nVCA4/s640/mvi5892.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rim.kenya/LakeNakuru?feat=embedwebsite">Lake Nakuru</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="justify" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/9w2DveZIDAyopAicGBeHTg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="427" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2SJ5-chiI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/BqtEbvjYhIU/s640/_MG_6172%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><em>Purple glossy starling</em></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/LSULJ8C-cMg4f3i0FvHg4Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="449" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2SvMgGKqI/AAAAAAAAAgw/3HJa-oBkZaY/s640/_MG_6230%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div align="justify"><i><br />
</i></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="justify"><em>Bush Buck (female)</em></div><div align="justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/fTdG-x7xzdIbs03XQf6Xwg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="640" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2SpT-XIOI/AAAAAAAAAgs/T9JIYcyh974/s640/_MG_6200%20copy_1.jpg" width="611" /></a></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
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</div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>Favorite memory</strong> </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On the first day, after a tiring morning drive, I fell asleep with the windows open (though we were advised not to). Mr was in the loo, as usual. I was fast asleep dreaming of hugging a cheetah when I was woken by some noises. In my half sleepy state, I assumed that it was ‘Mr as usual, going through the bags in an attempt to find something that we didn’t even bring! But the noise kept on going and I was getting really annoyed. I got up to give Mr a nice scolding for waking me when I saw…. looking straight at me….. a huge baboon sitting on the dresser going through my hand bag! For a minute I wondered if Mr had finally turned into this handsome fella on our dresser…. then I realised that it was not to be! I screamed and Mr. came running out of the toilet in the middle of his.…!!! When he saw Mr running in like a mad man, the baboon ran away taking our malaria tablets with him!</span></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/2lUcQy1VDD0X1NRDRsXjxg?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="427" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2JNDVVMVI/AAAAAAAAAaA/-VH4WC_E1-w/s640/_MG_5543%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
<div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/dDc_HKLk_bpxrf6TcRc9Vw?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="432" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/TA2JgIJ9WfI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/O-M2TeSBhQc/s640/_MG_5553%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<div align="justify"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Slideshow of Lake Nakuru</span></strong><br />
<strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&hl=en_GB&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Frim.kenya%2Falbumid%2F5480184121280633473%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_GB" height="533" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="800"></embed></span></strong></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-37284187634900882282010-05-26T01:51:00.051+01:002011-05-24T12:25:50.937+01:00Kenya - Lake Naivasha<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">The Trip</span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Even though we are clearly blessed in many ways, my husband and I always feel we are equally cursed in other ways. There is not a single thing we have done together without having to overcome a catastrophic event or two. After all these years, we have now learnt to prepare for the inevitable and expect the worse.</span></span><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">So when we decided to go to Kenya, we did expect bad things to happen – to get sick, get malaria, purge every day, rain, lose camera, get kidnapped etc. Well none of those things happened – but something worse did – we got to fly KENYA AIRLINES!!!</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Why </span></span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Kenya</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">?</span></span></span></b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> </span></span></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Well other than for the fact that we met two wonderfully helpful people, Raabia and Abdul through FB– Kenya had always intrigued us. Contrary to what most people think – </span></span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Kenya</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> is NOT a dry barren land with no water and poor people running about. Even though </span></span><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Nairobi</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> is a bit chaotic the rest of the areas are full of greenery and wonderfully polite, well clothed, well educated people.</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">The planning</span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><u><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Health</span></span></span></u></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> - </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">We needed to get four jabs for seven different diseases + take malaria tablets – and yes they are VERY IMPORTANT</span></span><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Safety</span></span></u></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> - </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">The most important thing is not to attempt to do the whole backpacker thing on your own – the country is too big, the facilities are few and there are far too many scams going on to attempt this. It is best to go with a reputed travel agent and we cannot recommend ‘As you Like it Safaris Ltd’ enough. It also seems like a lot of crime takes place in the city. Driving is chaotic and dangerous.</span></span><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">A</span></span></u></i><i><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">ccommodation</span></span></u></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> - </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">The lodges are similar to our Habarana Lodge but most are maintained at a higher quality. They offer Wifi, laundry, extensive buffets, comfortable, clean, spacious rooms and pool (listed in order of importance).</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">We stayed mainly in lodges and the only tented accommodation was at Nyumbu camp – which for me, was the best experience. Details and pictures are to follow. When you say ‘tents’ in Kenya it does not mean little ones we put up and creep into – they are massive tents which are divided with cloth screens, have their own shower cubicle and toilet with hot water, double beds, clean linen and clothes storage. The wind sweeps through the tent at night and the birds wake you in the morning – it is an experience in itself.</span></span><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><u><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Attire</span></span></span></u></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> - </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Cotton, Cotton, Cotton – no, it is not hot its actually chilly in the morning and evening but cotton will keep you comfortable and a sweater or light jacket is a must for the early mornings or late evenings.</span></span><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">We don’t want to go on and on as there is far too much information here already so if you are thinking of going to </span></span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Kenya</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> – get in touch and we will share all our information with you. </span></span><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Now for more interesting things…</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Day 1</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> – was spent in </span></span><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Nairobi</span></span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> with wonderful Raabia and her family. We were too tired to take shots but had a good time going to the Masai Market and just chilling with her and her cats.</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Day 2 of 12 – </span></span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Lake</span></span></st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> </span></span><st1:placename w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Naivasha</span></span></st1:placename></span></st1:place></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">From </span></span><st1:city w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Nairobi</span></span></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> we were headed to </span></span><st1:placetype w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Lake</span></span></st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> </span></span><st1:placename w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Nakuru</span></span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> with a one day stop over at </span></span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Lake</span></span></span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> </span></span><st1:placename w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Naivasha</span></span></st1:placename></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">. Accommodation – Naivasha Country Club.</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">R</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">ating – Average.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">L</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">ovely garden, small rooms, good food but bad service. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">O</span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">n the way - The Rift Valley</span></span></span></i></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_j_1J_p3gI/AAAAAAAAACQ/ErC2SsZU1Iw/s1600/_MG_4931%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_j_1J_p3gI/AAAAAAAAACQ/ErC2SsZU1Iw/s640/_MG_4931%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">The main thing to do in Naivasha is the boat trip to see the Hippos. So with visions of hippos walking, eating, mating, feeding their young and doing ‘</span></span><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/32_fouett%C3%A9s_en_tournant"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Fouetté en tournant</span></span></span></span></a></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">’ we headed to the lake. After a 10 minute interesting but quite muddy walk, we arrived at the lake. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Pied Kingfisher </span></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_j__xlyfiI/AAAAAAAAACg/q9SjjYvkXsM/s1600/_MG_4945%20copy.jpg"></a></span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_j__xlyfiI/AAAAAAAAACg/q9SjjYvkXsM/s1600/_MG_4945%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_j__xlyfiI/AAAAAAAAACg/q9SjjYvkXsM/s640/_MG_4945%20copy.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">A butterfly - need identification</span></span></i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kBkKlmJHI/AAAAAAAAAEA/oEW4dSNDgVc/s1600/_MG_5133%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="390" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kBkKlmJHI/AAAAAAAAAEA/oEW4dSNDgVc/s640/_MG_5133%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></span></div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></span></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">The </span></span><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Lake</span></span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> is a beautiful place similar to our Muthurajawwela Marsh. It’s a fresh water lake where over 400 birds have been recorded. There is a certain quality to the quietness you feel when you are there and it seems to make one feel sublime. </span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Great Egret</span></span></i><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kAHIgvoQI/AAAAAAAAACk/d3eUq8uL1xU/s1600/_MG_4950%20copy.jpg"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kAHIgvoQI/AAAAAAAAACk/d3eUq8uL1xU/s1600/_MG_4950%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kAHIgvoQI/AAAAAAAAACk/d3eUq8uL1xU/s640/_MG_4950%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">White breasted Cormorant </span></span></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kASGy20aI/AAAAAAAAACs/akWt32d9YDU/s1600/_MG_4991%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kASGy20aI/AAAAAAAAACs/akWt32d9YDU/s640/_MG_4991%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Egyptian Goose</span></span></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kAXAgFUOI/AAAAAAAAAC0/92Acr4Ou2D0/s1600/_MG_4997%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kAXAgFUOI/AAAAAAAAAC0/92Acr4Ou2D0/s640/_MG_4997%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Once in, the boatman told us we can buy fish to see the eagles hunt! Even though we sensed a hitch, my imagination (as usual) got the better of me – I was expecting to see 5 foot eagles sweeping down all over - so we jumped at the idea of buying some fish on a lovely lake in </span></span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Kenya</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> –after all, how much can it cost? </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Buy fish we did!! There were dry old Tilapias and it cost us £5/- for THREE, yes three which were smaller than our palms. We could have bought a nice fresh kilo of fish in </span></span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">UK</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> for that money!</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">With the fish bought, we set out take the award wining shot of the eagle hunt. Alas! Alas! Even with three attempts we could not get the perfect shot! With new regard for wildlife photographers and their patience we set out to find more interesting things.</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">African Fish Eagle</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kBJntOGjI/AAAAAAAAADo/dWC07SXDOcE/s1600/_MG_5102%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kBJntOGjI/AAAAAAAAADo/dWC07SXDOcE/s640/_MG_5102%20copy_1.jpg" width="472" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kBNh5mRsI/AAAAAAAAADw/iM5sJNn8wrc/s1600/_MG_5108%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="404" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kBNh5mRsI/AAAAAAAAADw/iM5sJNn8wrc/s640/_MG_5108%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></span></i></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">The mistake</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Later, we realised it was wrong to feed the birds. It is true the boatman just throws the fish in the water and they are dry so they float which makes the eagles sweep down and get it. This is not the right thing to do as it might have some sort of interference with them not hunting naturally as they are fed this way. We are also not sure where the fish are from and what the fish contained!</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Hunting</span></span></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kBSaGJcAI/AAAAAAAAAD0/pRAuws0x3C4/s1600/_MG_5111%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="392" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kBSaGJcAI/AAAAAAAAAD0/pRAuws0x3C4/s640/_MG_5111%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">The bonus</span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">There were no hippos out of the water. Even though that was obvious as the sun was up I still kept looking around expecting one to come rolling down the grassy plains. The hippos were all immersed in the water and one might think this made it less exciting. To get the perfect shot – YES! But for the experience – NO!</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kAMuUGcPI/AAAAAAAAACo/lcvSL1vrWOI/s1600/_MG_4962%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kAMuUGcPI/AAAAAAAAACo/lcvSL1vrWOI/s640/_MG_4962%20copy_1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kAxS6ifsI/AAAAAAAAADI/FoQv40lpNH4/s1600/_MG_5057%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="384" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kAxS6ifsI/AAAAAAAAADI/FoQv40lpNH4/s640/_MG_5057%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">It was thrilling to see them in the wild. There were five families with up to 10 individuals in each one. What was really nice was the fact that Naivasha lake did not seem to be this remote far away place. There was plenty of human activity around it and in the middle of all this were the hippos. The feeling was a happy one – a few yards away there were kids bathing and here were groups of hippos - perhaps it is because we have only seen them in captivity with our hearts longing for their freedom. It was an experience worth the trip and the day!</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">This one was not too happy with us</span></span></i></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kAnaeNNJI/AAAAAAAAAC8/CVdJCrh4sfo/s1600/_MG_5034%20copy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ia3bM0AXKuA/S_kAnaeNNJI/AAAAAAAAAC8/CVdJCrh4sfo/s640/_MG_5034%20copy_1.jpg" width="634" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Here is a slideshow of all the pictures from </span></span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Lake</span></span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> </span></span><st1:placename w:st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Naivasha</span></span></st1:placename></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"> </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.co.uk&captions=1&hl=en_GB&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.co.uk%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Frim.kenya%2Falbumid%2F5474404767368950129%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_GB" height="533" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="800"></embed></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">More details and photos of the other parks we visited to be posted in the near future</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-4364848855898963942009-11-11T14:29:00.012+00:002009-11-11T14:35:41.677+00:00Learning to see creatively - book review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reddotphoto.com.sg/ecommerce/product_images/146_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><br />
</a><a href="http://www.reddotphoto.com.sg/ecommerce/product_images/146_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><br />
</a><a href="http://www.reddotphoto.com.sg/ecommerce/product_images/146_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><br />
</a><a href="http://www.reddotphoto.com.sg/ecommerce/product_images/146_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.reddotphoto.com.sg/ecommerce/product_images/146_1.jpg" width="239" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px;">A friend recently told my wife that creativity is not something that could be learnt, it’s something that’s within you and that you are born with! (unfortunately, I was not around at that time). The ironic thing is that the statement was made about the book “Learning to See Creatively” by Bryan Peterson – the very book that has dispelled this misconception quite effectively. In his own words, the reason he first wrote the book was “<i><b>to dispel the myth that the art of image making was for the chosen few</b></i>”. After selling hundreds of thousand copies, the book being in existence for the past 20 years (original version was published in 1988) and going through so many reprints and revised editions, we can safely assume that he has been successful in doing this at least for those capable of grasping it.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Whilst I can admit that people are born with talent and creativity, to say that another person cannot “learn” to see creativity is very…. well…. silly! Do all those who are successful in art, fashion, design, etc inbuilt with talent only? Do they not go and “learn” their craft from schools, institutes and colleges? Even those who claim to have made it on their own talent are actually “self-taught” – they look at their idols and mentors, “learn” from their style and keep improving based on the feedback they get. This is true for any of the art forms out there. Yes there are people born creative – but the majority of the successful artists (be it art, photography, design, etc) have “learnt” to be creative. The fact is that in order to make a “creative” composition of a painting or photograph, you need to follow several rules (or you need to break the rules…. and to do that you need to know what the rules are…). These rules have been developed over centuries and even artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo have used these rules in their paintings – does that mean that “they” were not creative? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Well having got that out of the way, let’s get down to the review. For those who do not know who Bryan Peterson is (and if you are photographer you surely should know him) – he is a very successful photographer with a highly profitable image stock library, some of which have been sold for thousands of dollars on a repetitive basis. He has been photographing for over 30 years and has been teaching photography for over 20 years. He is also the author of several highly successful books including “Understanding Exposure”, which many consider to be the “bible” of photography (I have this book as well but it does not need a separate review – just a single sentence – “If you want to understand photography, just get Understanding Exposure”).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">“Learning to see creatively” has the very laid back and easy to understand style that <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bryan</st1:place></st1:city> used in “Understanding Exposure”. He quickly puts us at ease that we CAN learn to see creatively and then explains how to do this by changing the way we see things around us and expanding our vision. He then discusses the elements of design (line, shape, form, texture, pattern and colour) in detail and then goes on to give the rules like the Golden section, rule of thirds, etc and explains how all these elements come together to make a creative composition. Photography is all about light and a separate chapter has been dedicated to show how light affects composition. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">The book is an excellent read and I highly recommend it. Its easy to understand and you quickly grasp the essentials. Design and rules of composition can be highly technical (as shown in Michael Freeman’s book The Photographer’s Eye) but <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bryan</st1:place></st1:city> has kept it all simple so that any beginner or amateur photographer reading it is able to understand. He uses a lot of examples and his own images to illustrate the point. To me, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bryan</st1:place></st1:city> is like the cool high school teacher who makes things very interesting without trying too hard, so you end up learning without really knowing it. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-81696258856614580502009-11-09T13:51:00.007+00:002010-07-05T13:59:29.683+01:00Dancing Damsels<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/pB-DxNCLn1pYEFbofwaN9g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SvgVLv0zNII/AAAAAAAAAuQ/341mYSXLoCg/s400/StairsGroupPose_MG_0126.jpg" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Some of the pictures from this shoot were featured in the Sunday Observer Magazine on 1<sup>st</sup> November 2009 (online version <a href="http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2009/11/01/main_Magazine.asp">here</a> and <a href="http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2009/11/01/mag01.asp">here</a>).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">One of our dear friends, Chathu, is a dancer of extra ordinary talent and experience. She has been dancing professionally for more than 14 years and has performed in over 20 countries worldwide. She has her own dance troupe, Ethnic Dance Studio, who perform at corporate events and shows but this year she wanted to do her own show to showcase the troupe’s talents. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/AmKjkuJMx4E0TvCrq9PC5Q?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SvgVW-RiNSI/AAAAAAAAAuw/kSQfTudEz7g/s400/Chathu_MG_0155.jpg" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">As part of the promotional material for the event, she wanted a few shots to be taken of troupe and herself and as luck would have it, I was in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:place></st1:country-region> at that time to help out. I was quite nervous about doing a “professional” shoot – it would be the first time that I will be “directing” live models (other than for my wife) and I had to ensure that I had at least a few “winners” that they can use for their newspaper articles, promotional leaflets, souvenirs and website. So the pressure was on - I was not sure whether I was going to be able to do it but I was sure going to try. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/ceNU8vV2cg-k8-4U6l183w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SvgU8s0KsfI/AAAAAAAAAto/wN7eorbLRw8/s400/WhiteGroup_MG_0017.jpg" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/wTRjIVl3KPhI3GoUBj6j_g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SvgVFZbMmKI/AAAAAAAAAuE/MtAbaUsMIJw/s400/GroupStairs_MG_0086.jpg" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/wVupzWtolHhXXdMHVbSYfA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SvgVgDOKqII/AAAAAAAAAvI/6loNmbaI-nw/s400/AngelsGroup_MG_0215.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">The shoot was challenging for me on many fronts <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">1)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">There were 5 dancers for the group shots and I had to ensure that ALL their faces could be seen properly. This was a bit difficult with all the arms and heads twisting around the frame while they went in to their dance poses! More often then not, by the time I had positioned them and taken a shot, the models would have moved ever so slightly to a position where the face was in shadow or was covered by another hand. So I had to take several frames quite quickly and I had to keep moving around or moving them around to get the proper shot<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Vg3rna2qEkKc5J3LWJ6Xog?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SvgVJV-twuI/AAAAAAAAAuM/Z3S79oTjgKA/s400/StairsGroupSit_MG_0106.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">2)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">As you can see from the pictures, the poses were not the “run of the mill” ones you get in normal portraits. In order to show them in their element, they had to be in certain dance poses which required quite an effort on their part. It was quite difficult for them to stand still when they were half bent or had one leg in the air and I had to take my shots quickly before the moment was lost or one of the dancers moved. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/W4URMm5oyzxvNfbinXCv_w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SvgVeBjQlMI/AAAAAAAAAvA/8mn-1UfnOHw/s400/AngelsGroupSide_MG_0202.jpg" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">3)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Even though I had read up quite a bit on lighting, it’s altogether a different ball game when it comes to doing it for real!!! The shoot was done at the Hilton Hotel and balancing the lighting in some of the indoor shots was a pretty big challenge. Even trying to get the out door lighting, especially the ones against the sun, were quite difficult. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/N-I0zIpxASg83bqvuHKuDQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SvgVkA9_hbI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/cPyBzNC8hsI/s400/AngelChathu_MG_0244.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">As stated above lighting was a pretty big challenge and even though I was using a shoot through umbrella and a voice activated light stand (my wife Michelle) it was quite difficult to get some of the shots without hard shadows which I really hated doing. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">The final part of the shoot was this particular dancer in a peacock costume. After taking some shots to be used for the promotion, I used a nearby chair to give a bit of a different “fashion shoot” look to the image. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/_8MZqEIGQI10myMOafK2RQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SvgVyqjL87I/AAAAAAAAAv0/ALJ5X95efoc/s400/PeacockSit_MG_0349.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/LddkCoTvy0qtqdk-5XCUSQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SvgV0lEKfHI/AAAAAAAAAv4/KrmiKnTgHYQ/s400/PeacockFace_MG_0351.jpg" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/S5D6vuSbp9VCrXnmnxnTiA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SvgV2uhvJVI/AAAAAAAAAv8/LQIjpDQTryQ/s400/PeacockChair_MG_0358.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">With all the challenges, the whole shoot turned out to be quite fun. Highlight for my wife was when I lay down on the ground near the stairs to try and get a shot with a different view point – she found that quite hilarious. We had a few strange looks from the guests and one of the guests actually wanted to take a shot with the dancers :D We also came across another photographer (together with 3 – yes three – voice activated stands and full bridal retinue) doing a wedding shoot. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Had good fun doing it and it was a good learning experience. </span><br />
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<span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These and a few other pics of the shoot can be found <a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/michmen4/EthnicDanceStudio#">here</a></span> </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-83639989204750511132009-11-04T12:36:00.012+00:002010-07-05T14:04:37.088+01:00Yala Safari – everything other than the leopard<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif, 'Arial Unicode MS'; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">The <a href="http://rimmich.blogspot.com/2009/10/hunting-leopards.html">previous post</a> was all about our primary objective in going to Yala - to photograph leopards. In pursuing this objective, we saw a lot of other interesting sights and had a few "adventures" along the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">The first “adventure” was trying to do two things in one trip with two completely different people<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">1) to have a serious educational wildlife trip - with Jerome, our wildlife expert and guru<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">2) to have fun - with Damith, our dear friend and clown whom we always take on our trips<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Having these two conflicting personalities in the same vehicle was not pleasant at the best of times even though they got on better than we expected. Right in the middle was the calm, reflective personality of Rajive, providing a balance between the two.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">We made use of a Montero to make the trip as we did not want to hire open vehicles to go in to the park. The Montero was quite comfortable and there was an endless stream of banter and jokes from Jerome and Damith until we got to our destination. One eventful incident on the way was when we were overtaken by a TATA jeep which was going at breakneck speed around the curved roads (quite a considerable speed as we were going pretty fast as well). After overtaking us, the jeep stopped quite suddenly by the side of the road a hundred metres ahead of us. Without warning, out popped a skinny guy with long hair from the driver’s side and without looking to check for any vehicles, crossed the main Kataragama road quite casually. I had to brake quite hard to avoid hitting him but what was more shocking was that he jumped from my side of the road to the path of an oncoming bus which barely missed him. It was amazing that he didn’t get knocked down by either the bus or our vehicle. He quickly disappeared inside a house and even though we felt like giving the guy a good talking to, we continued our journey without any further incident.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Yala is a hot, dry, dusty and a tiring place during the drought season. We arrived in the afternoon and settled ourselves in a little place that Rajive had booked for us. The meals were fantastic here and we thoroughly enjoyed the food. Living quarters were not great but for that price and time frame it was the best we could do. The best times to see animals and birds are at dawn (the few hours after sunrise) and dusk (the few hours before sunset). However, getting away at the “crack of dawn” was inevitably delayed as we had to get the “baby” of our group (Damith) out of bed, in to the shower and to the vehicle as he was incapable of doing it by himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">The park, especially the main visitor center, is full of Gray Langurs. It is quite interesting to see how much they look like humans. This guy was trying to relax and tried out many positions similar to us.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/JByzbhwWUep_1xXEYJSzBw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZGU_GsjHI/AAAAAAAAApM/UElLfAEHsOA/s400/P_Monkey_MG_0041.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">One of the highlights of the trip was being able to see a bask (group) of crocodiles feasting on a buffalo carcass in the water. They were too far to capture while doing this but these were the participants of this spectacle<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/OW-xHdJ1wP2B37kbG9yOUQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZC712AArI/AAAAAAAAAmc/ugxKQ6Ggooo/s400/P_MG_0009.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Qy-nDhLcOevvEHirlnKGkg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZDE_ItY6I/AAAAAAAAAmk/IIVG19BW3WY/s400/P_MG_0014.jpg" /></a></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/yaO0OiWlMN8WQWwZx-eXjw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZDcQl7_uI/AAAAAAAAAm0/_olPdKbb38U/s400/P_MG_0041.jpg" /></a><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Pic by Rajive </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Bee-eaters and deer were quite common as well and we saw plenty of these<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/WBy76Cn_sHBTECyCeh8QQg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZAkRXsj-I/AAAAAAAAAkQ/uDvJctD9o_k/s400/P_BeeEater_MG_0170.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/JXJC2ZjBE-gbs8D6OmgUMQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZDyJucZFI/AAAAAAAAAnI/HGdU5D7o5jc/s400/P_MG_0069.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/DkKSBbEe9CnJ6-XLc6XihQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZAx5ZTcSI/AAAAAAAAAkk/96muJFmibkg/s400/P_Deer_MG_0255.jpg" /></a></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/KKTdmyGXMxaKef9P6jjBxQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZCS7ORrPI/AAAAAAAAAl0/PpkiNL3eZco/s400/P_desat_MG_0084.jpg" /></a><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/lZPHIrAKlwxKKEJs0uC9mQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZE6oXI3tI/AAAAAAAAAn8/kXpvzdASBe4/s400/P_MG_0177.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Elephants are of course a favourite of any safari trip in Yala and we had our fair share of adventures with them. We had a good sighting of a large bull elephant which is supposedly rare in Yala. We were making our way to another leopard stop, when we saw some vehicles parked on the road and a lot of rustling noise from our left. We stopped for a couple of minutes and out walked a massive elephant with very long tusks. He walked right in front of our vehicle as he crossed the road and made his way in to the thick jungle on the other side</span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/tSWa0cSmv7U8yvd5BipDVg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZDUiqjxJI/AAAAAAAAAms/28SIdLw_k40/s400/P_MG_0039.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">We also witnessed how protective elephants are of their young. We came upon a water hole where a group of elephants had come to drink. Among them was a very young one, maybe about 3 months or so who seemed to be wanting to get in to the water. The adults of the group were very protective especially when several other jeeps came to look at them. All the little one wanted to do was get in the water and play but the adults kept pushing him between their legs to keep him protected. It was quite a sight. Once they had finished drinking their fill, they left with plenty of protecting adults around the little guy, with one of the elephants turning to give a warning trumpet as if ordering us not to follow them.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/LxGkApvOocrs2YloUYEsBA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZF6A7VmII/AAAAAAAAAow/MStKDFAQ--o/s400/P_MG_0246.jpg" /></a></span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/xaWv439Z2GFYxvonXMaflw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZFx1V6QWI/AAAAAAAAAos/2bYvvRdCZjU/s400/P_MG_0245.jpg" /></a><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">We came across another family of elephants which were in the undergrowth. Our presence made the head female nervous and she made a warning charge towards us. We decided not to disturb them further and went on our way.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">The best elephant “adventure” of the trip was when Jerome decided to educate our young guide on the “Elephant Graveyard” myth. The myth is that all elephants of a group go to one particular place near a water hole to die because of sentimental reasons. This is not the case – as explained by Jerome, when an elephant becomes old, he finds it harder and harder to find food which he can chew on. So he makes his way to river banks where the plants are more succulent and easier to eat. At this point, since the elephant does not travel much due to its ill health, he dies around the same area. As time goes on, other elephants do the same thing and try to find areas where there is food which is easier to eat. They are eventually led to the same place and they too pass away in that area. So it is not a matter of these elephants finding a place to die – it’s a case of them finding food and dying due to old age. Of course, Damith couldn’t keep his mouth shut while Jerome was narrating this in all seriousness and he made a joke that Jerome should tell the story properly. This angered Jerome and led to an argument. Damith as usual had to listen to a lot of harsh words. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">We were also amazed by the vehicles that came to Yala - one of which was a huge, old TATA bus full of people. They complained about not seeing a single animal and this did not surprise us the animals would have run away from the park itself with all the noise the bus and the crowd in it were making. Jerome narrated the funny story of how one group which had come to Yala in a bus had stopped off in the middle of the park to plant wickets and play a game of cricket - this was right in the middle of area where wild elephants and leopards roam :D <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">The jeep all dusty and dirty, working its way across the rocks<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/eCfevcOAC4MU8JHWhW2FlQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZGXkLb90I/AAAAAAAAApQ/LhxLvBLCpnI/s400/P_Montero_MG_0043.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">The "kolla" Jerome - looking quite "elegant" <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/_icHh99WmslRjKeokm4PkQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZBDnqgijI/AAAAAAAAAk4/7ZnyrRLpnSg/s400/P_Jerome_MG_0193.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Rajive - the "normal" one of the group</span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/a-It_nkwdbsXnsPRb2EJxw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZEmQHVwSI/AAAAAAAAAn0/g2xdPhriT6E/s400/P_MG_0167.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
I got some very funny shots of Damith bathing in his underwear - unfortunately he found out about them and was rude enough to delete them from the camera. As revenge, I am not including any of his shots here :D</span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">This is a huge rock that we saw near the beach area <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/BFdRPUCVKN-LEU_GcrIL4w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZBhfKrdQI/AAAAAAAAAlg/AADS7wYdrM0/s400/P_Rock_MG_0183.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
A Ruddy Mongoose drinking at the waterhole </span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/LDVu2-6s8dL11tnIfqd_yw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZBW0-tI9I/AAAAAAAAAlU/wFGI4FVJSAU/s400/P_Mongoose_MG_0100.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Found a great spot for dragonflies near the lunch area - but unfortunately, even though I had the necessary patience to photograph them, I was constantly disturbed by the impatience of the others in the group who were keen to move on </span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/oDuTozStKGQsoQYqnlZGcQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZFkYKRk5I/AAAAAAAAAog/sn1IzSNZI7I/s400/P_MG_0222.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Pr2cFvv0pz49mpriOEF4VA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZCEYuUFgI/AAAAAAAAAlk/lZxTdnFNw8w/s400/P_2_MG_0190.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
A Serpent Eagle - I tracked this guy to another tree which gave me a clear shot but just as soon as I had set the camera and was about to press the shutter button he flew off </span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/7aYSSmJ90gGyobWwNwnkSw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZFBVAVMcI/AAAAAAAAAoE/r7vmbWAiaqE/s400/P_MG_0190.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Crocodile lunch? Not really - the heron is actually a bit further away from the croc. It looks like they are very close here because of the forced perspective</span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/_I9wp6MIhn-J5LMsuoDWMw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZEH6u54QI/AAAAAAAAAnU/gkAZGN_vh1k/s400/P_MG_0118.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
And finally, a very rare sighting of the endemic Sri Lankan River Hippopotamus :D</span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/OYIGqEXf1oFwPlPuYxu_vA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZFN_OQ6hI/AAAAAAAAAoM/qKOlbi_-d44/s400/P_MG_0207.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">All these shots and a few more can be found in this album</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.5pt;"></span></div><table style="width: 194px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="background: url(http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left; height: 194px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/michmen4/Yala?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="160" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZAgeicbeE/AAAAAAAAApQ/ieZqkUwfO4o/s160-c/Yala.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1px;" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/michmen4/Yala?feat=embedwebsite" style="color: #4d4d4d; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Yala</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: 16px;">Another funny story towards the end of the trip was when I our wildlife expert and tracker was unable to "track" the route back to his own house and we had to find it for him </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: silver; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">Overall a fun trip even though it had its moments!<br />
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</span></div></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-3989271232746744062009-10-29T15:57:00.011+00:002010-07-05T14:05:39.818+01:00Hunting Leopards<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; white-space: pre;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Patience is a virtue....</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">..... especially for a wildlife photographer! </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The reason I got in to photography was because of my interest in wildlife.... and the reason I got into wildlife was because of my wife. Even though I always had an interest in wildlife and nature, I never actively pursued it until I met my wife, who is a wildlife fanatic. We used to go on nature excursions in Sri Lanka - to rain forests and national nature parks - when I realised that recording these trips and the wildlife we saw, would be a good thing. Unfortunately my attempts at photography at that stage was, to put it mildly, crap. So I started researching, learning, reading and collecting equipment to become a better photographer. It was around this time that (fortunately or unfortunately) I came over to the UK which has limited my ability to do wildlife photography. But whenever, we visit Sri Lanka, we try to cram in as much of it as we can in the short time period we are there. Our holiday in August was no exception. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had always wanted to go to </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yala_National_Park"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yala National Park</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, especially to see/photograph leopards in the wild but never got the chance to do so. Since it was the dry season in August and because there was a particularly severe drought this year, it was deemed to be ideal leopard viewing time as they would be visiting water holes quite regularly. So, together with our good friends Jerome (wildlife expert, tracker </span><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">extraordinaire</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and general funny man), Rajive (wildlife enthusiast, vehicle expert and philosopher) and Damith (....uhmmm.... just a funny guy), we made a trip out there. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My primary reason for the trip was to photograph leopards - seeing anything else was considered a very low secondary objective. We got some reports of several sightings the weekend before we were to go there so we were very encouraged, motivated and even quite sure that we were going to have some good sightings. Inspired by the </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/planetearth/"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Planet Earth</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> series and photographs by </span><a href="http://www.nation.lk/2008/12/07/eyefea8.htm"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rukshan Jayawardena</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, all I wanted to do was track or lie in wait at a water hole and then photograph a leopard at leisure. Very unfortunately, things don't always go according to plan.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yala, especially during the drought season, is a burning hot, dry and dusty land which takes a lot of your energy. We were allocated a young guide (part of the regulations) who, even though new at the game, seemed knowledgeable and competent enough and assured us that he will do his best to show us leopards. He was particularly impressed with the DSLR and the (relatively massive) 150-500mm lens and wanted to ensure that we get some good close up photos of the elusive animal. Unfortunately, in his endeavour to please us, he became over enthusiastic in his efforts... </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My idea of leopard spotting was to spend hours at a water hole and lie in wait for the animal. The guide had different ideas. Yala is quite a large park and there are about 5-6 spots that were supposed to be popular with the leopards. The problem was that these spots are quite far apart and required a lot of very tedious driving on hard, rocky and unpaved roads. In his efforts to show us the leopard, our guide made us run around these spots quite a lot. We would go to one spot, wait for 10-15mts and when nothing turned up, he would make us go to the next spot. And the cycle continued, for the next 3 days, during the first couple of hours in the morning and last few hours before sunset which are the times when leopards come out. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our first day was almost coming to a close with disappointment in the air because we had not spotted even one leopard when we suddenly came upon a procession of trucks parked in the middle of the road. There were some whispers that a leopard was crossing the road ahead. In my excitement, I actually got out of the vehicle - which is strictly forbidden and might even be fined - to see the animal but was only treated to a brief glimpse of it in the undergrowth. The shot below is just a random click I took while getting out of the vehicle - from the hip - didn't even put the eye to the viewfinder.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<table style="width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/rJTHGh4-yLa3e0IGqEynKQ?feat=embedwebsite"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZEaaXdTnI/AAAAAAAAAnk/9IOWgmVh5tE/s400/P_MG_0135.jpg" /></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></td></tr>
<tr><td style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From </span><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/michmen4/Yala?feat=embedwebsite"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yala</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next day we did more of the "running around" and I was becoming increasingly irritated. I tried to suggest that we lie in wait at a water hole but was quickly shot down as the guide felt that we might be missing an opportunity elsewhere. Even though we came upon a sighting that day, the leopard was so well hidden in the forest growth that we hardly could spot him let alone photograph him. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 3rd and final day dawned and we piled in to the vehicle in high spirits hoping that today was going to be the lucky day. Being the final day, I wanted to adopt my "patiently wait in one spot" strategy but the guide was a bit apprehensive that we still had not got a good sighting and wanted to maximise the time running from one spot to another even more faster than we did the last 2 days. I did not over ride him on this because I was not sure whether my strategy would have worked, especially we had only 1 day, as numerous other guides/visitors were also not having any luck with sightings near the water holes. But that didn't stop my mood from going bad to worse and the guide was becoming very anxious about this. Even though I knew it was not his fault nor blamed him for our bad luck, he took the lack of sightings as a personal failure which only increased his determination. After a disappointing morning session and a tiring lunch, we set off on the evening rounds. Even though we saw several other animals and birds, there were no leopards - disappointment being expressed by a lot of the visitors/guides who were out that day. Several vehicles had been parked at some water holes for hours and they had not seen anything either nor had we, with all our running around. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With just a couple more hours to the park closing time, things were becoming desperate and I was about to put my foot down and insist that we stay in one place, when our guide suggested one last attempt at a spot which was a bit difficult to get at so might not be crowded with vehicles. He sounded quite keen and his own disappointment at our failure so far made me relent and we followed his directions. I had already given up and didn't even have my camera on "stand by mode" to take a shot. We were making our way slowly across some rocks when our guide gave an exclamation and asked the vehicle be stopped immediately. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I craned and twisted my neck and looked ahead to get my first proper glimpse of leopard, who was sitting quite strong and proud and looking at us quite curiously. But my "un-readiness" was costing me dearly cos it took me a few seconds to get the camera up to my eye and the lens through the window to compose the shot. Unfortunately, just as I had lined up the perfect shot, Rajive (who as driving at that time) thinking that I had no clear view of the animal because of the delay in me taking the shot, moved the vehicle slightly forward. The guide was horrified at this cos he immediately ordered, quite strongly, not to move the vehicle. But too late! The vehicle movement threw off my perfect shot and also alerted the leopard, who turned his back on us and started walking away and all I got was this shot. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/aiuyGjAqGTeabWN5Z3DiXw?feat=embedwebsite"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZGO63OMSI/AAAAAAAAApE/Oc8Hh-PdVZc/s400/P_MG_0303.jpg" /></span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Exhilaration at the sighting and disappointment at the missed photo opportunity, filled me at the same time, in equally strong proportions. The guide was more optimistic - he had been so anxious that he would not be able to show us a leopard that the first thing he did was put his hands to the air and give praise to the Gods!!! After this, he ordered us to drive around the rocks very slowly, expecting the leopard to be on the rocks where (s)he disappeared to. (S)he wasn't there so we stopped the vehicle and waited a few minutes. The sharp eyed guide gave another shout - even though the leopard was not on the rock he had expected it to be on, it had gone over to another rock a bit further off and we were able to see it clearly. However, our positioning was not great as there were several trees right in front of the animal and there was no way I could avoid them in my shots.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/aoT5sQDb10H_-GjUaT9KEw?feat=embedwebsite"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZCrtutvhI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/Bo9nKaYEnQs/s400/P_MG_0002.jpg" /></span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/6XkD6oGEvvhKBz3veP5u8Q?feat=embedwebsite"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZCw7a-dOI/AAAAAAAAAmU/VPeSk2f27y8/s400/P_MG_0004.jpg" /></span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The best shot that I could get, and the only one with the leopard's eyes in them was this one - unfortunately it has a twig going right in front of its face which takes away a lot from the picture. And the twig is positioned in such a way that it is going to be difficult to clone it out.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/sF19-4R56Gae6dgQtlFUyA?feat=embedwebsite"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SuZC0wNU4QI/AAAAAAAAAmY/BAu26QY71qg/s400/P_MG_0005.jpg" /></span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The leopard slunk away soon after and even though we did try a couple of other spots we did not get to see another one. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After all the excitement died down, we realised we were quite lucky to have had that sighting, cos even though not great, we were one of the few that had a sighting at all that day. The guide was relieved and also happy with the big tip he got (which he would have got even if we didn't see a leopard). I would have preferred to have had used patience and a wait strategy but there are no guarantees when hunting leopards - you win some and you lose some.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even though I realise that having had that small sighting is much better than having had no sighting at all, it really pained me when the guide phoned us a couple of days later to tell us that he had had several sightings of leopards since then and that there was one which waited at a water hole for a full 2 hours, drinking and playing, whilst it got its photograph taken by a lot of people. Talk about being unlucky! Maybe the leopards were just hiding from me!!! </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PS. In recent times the knife has been twisted even harder when I see that </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27502715@N03/4012001722/"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amila</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/imranjabeer/4046265914/"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Imran</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> have had such great luck viewing and photographing these beautiful animals.</span> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-24647657542424328792009-10-13T15:21:00.005+01:002010-07-05T14:07:06.250+01:00Raving at the beach<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The original idea was to do a running update of our holiday to </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sri Lanka</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> with weekly updates to this blog as well as twitter feeds. Unfortunately, plans are always supposed to go wrong and this was no exception due to the inability to get a PAYG internet connection and our busier than expected schedule. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As soon as she heard we were coming down in July, the first thing that my wife’s cousin did was to beg (yes beg) us to take her to the Hikkaduwa Beach Fesitval. The festival was organised by Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and was a 4 day event with a Drum Festival on the 1</span><sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">st</span></sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> night, a Beach rave on the 2</span><sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">nd</span></sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and themed parties on the 3</span><sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">rd</span></sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and 4</span><sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> nights. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So a week after we landed, together with the cousin Natashaaaaaaaaaa, and our dear friend Damith, we made our way to the south of the </span><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Island</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> to the tourist beach paradise that is Hikkaduwa. Needless to say we had many adventures – the 1</span><sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">st</span></sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> of which was trying to find accommodation. Natasha, in her brilliantly organised way, had arranged for 2 rooms in 2 different hotels and that had to be changed for the 2 nights we were going to be there. Confused? So were we. After much discussion with hotel staff, numerous calls to Natasha’s “friends” and a few trips up and down between hotels, we were able to secure 2 rooms, next to each other, in the same hotel for both the nights (better?). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Natasha and Michelle</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/IERapzQxUy77hH4kc1splA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJLB1NCYHI/AAAAAAAAAeY/kmLUxpkuj2c/s400/P_MG_0077.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: small;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After settling down in our rooms and relaxing with a drink, we set out in the evening to take a walk on the beach before went on to the Drum Festival. It had been quite a while since </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mich</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and myself had walked on soft beach sand and we found it quite relaxing. Half way through the walk, we realised we were hungry and decided to take Natasha’s advise to sample some “Chicken Rotti” which was supposed to be a speciality down there with one particular shop doing a really tasty dish. According to Natasha, the way to find the shop was to look out for a board which said “Chicken Rotti” on the side – unfortunately, every shop we looked into had a board like this and after a bit of a walk we settled on a way side shop with a friendly enough shop owner. However, we fell in to the much dreaded “tourist” trap – we went in, ordered and had eaten without checking the price first – big mistake. We ended up paying a relatively big amount for something that really didn’t taste all that good and could have got for a fraction of the cost in </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Colombo</span></st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the meal we headed back to the beach to catch the sunset. I had wanted to photograph a proper sunset for a long time and I struggled a bit with setting up the tripod to the angle that I wanted. I also took my time to check the shots, use ND filters and even position a branch I found on the beach to a pleasing angle. All this preparation was a cause of great amusement and laughter for the others – including my wife – who were joking about the time that I took to take a simple sunset shot and that all the camera equipment I was carrying was actually a burden if I was going to take so long to take a shot. Well, all I can say is good photography takes time and now that the result is posted below, they can all eat their words!! Ha! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21096178@N03/3896576248/" title="Sunset on Hikkaduwa Beach by Riyazi, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunset on Hikkaduwa Beach" height="321" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2538/3896576248_1a7d2bc358.jpg" width="420" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Drum Festival, which started 1½ hours later than scheduled, had its ups and downs. We were quite excited about one particular group (can't remember their name) </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">who we had seen live before and considered them to be quite good. They were one of the first to play. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They are quite a young group and they quickly got the crowd on their feet with some excellent rhythmic beats. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bold;">This guy is the leader (I think) and is extremely talented </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/TvYeD5ApTh_zD1GNt3cd3w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJLb0pZHII/AAAAAAAAAes/blFmDvZH9xU/s400/P_MG_0175.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are a couple of videos of them performing – image quality is not great but the sound should give you an idea of what they are capable of</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uA7Of0t7rwk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uA7Of0t7rwk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ofNYOpq7t6c&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ofNYOpq7t6c&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After they finished, the night went in to a slow decline in terms of entertainment. After such a high octane performance, the last thing we expected was a traditional drum performance. These guys were accompanied by dancers wearing traditional masks depicting devils and though entertaining, was inherently slow and down beat.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/aPirGiWMA4G9y4qeT8HBBA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJLJbhEsOI/AAAAAAAAAec/7979ZZpg65Q/s400/P_MG_0132.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We were also treated to some "Brazillian Dancing" by some dancers brought in from the UK, which got the crowd going for obvious reasons. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/V_Dj3nA2A9FIYrb_npUGtQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJLgdgrSHI/AAAAAAAAAew/ZzoHTVBc3mg/s400/P_MG_0220.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;">(Picture by Damith de Silva)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Several other drum groups performed and some of them were good, but none of them could get us or the crowd as excited as the first group did. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bold;">One of the drummer really got in to the "swing".... </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/cEbdwYymjdFKqGDmDp_u8w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJLuO6nLpI/AAAAAAAAAe4/RLr-qTyLTcA/s400/P_MG_0308.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To make matters worse, the heavens opened up and we were treated to a nice shower at which point we realised that the organisers had not arranged for any shelter even though rain was forecasted for the day. I had to protect the camera so had to squeeze in to a tiny space near the stage to get out of the rain whilst the others held the chairs over their heads!!! As soon as the rain passed and we settled back in to our seats, we had a power outage – most probably because of all that water on the equipment – which made us realise that the organisers had not actually “organised” anything properly. They actually had a big sign to say the event was “child friendly” but we had to question why a “child friendly” event would not any kind of shelter so that at least the children don’t get soaked in the rain!!! The last straw was when we were treated to a fireworks show with the fireworks being shot over the crowd. Admittedly, the effect was great but this meant that the burnt out fireworks were going to fall on to the crowd. We had quite a few of the people scrambling and screaming as the fireworks fell on them and one of them actually fell on Michelle’s arm and left a burn mark visible to this day. If this event was held in the </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">UK</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, the organisers would have been sued for Health & Safety violations….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another funny incident involved the writer himself (yes, moi) – after the drink at the hotel, the long walk, dodgy food, running around a beach to avoid the rain, having ears and head constantly assaulted by the heavy and loud drum beats, I was suddenly feeling woozy and faintish. I had to take a break and we went back to the hotel to take a shower and then hit the beach again to hear some of the DJ music. We finally got some sleep at about 5am.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The next day we got up at about 9:30, had breakfast and then headed out to </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unawatuna</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><st1:placetype w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beach</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> – a surfers and sunbathers paradise. The sea is great for bathing here as it is quite shallow but there are quite a lot waves which meant that the surfers were out in force</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/37b66nnGS1VvqdPGGl6r5A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJJhQzr1zI/AAAAAAAAAdE/Z4PnVJCzaVE/s400/P_MG_0040.jpg" /></a></span></span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was great to be just sitting around, doing nothing but look at the sea, having good food and a nice cool drink (makes we want to cry as I think of it now….).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Dam the man</b></span></span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/alnPu-fBVSPxVNzO_VqzoQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJJTgTeCpI/AAAAAAAAAc0/pnsDU7-gZpI/s400/P_MG_0010.jpg" /></a></span> </span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bold;">Yours truly - all cool and dapper</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/YKAel_YCVLRRVlg356_UCw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJJs_uniHI/AAAAAAAAAdM/KeHNqZyfEJE/s400/P_MG_0075.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;">(Picture by Damith de Silva)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bold;">Michelle - finding it amusing being photographed</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/fZHbY_MbfLWAQlC5orhD1A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJJzgRg_WI/AAAAAAAAAdU/-HJAXmC9Fv0/s400/P_MG_0104.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Quite a lot happened during the time we were there – a few of the guys showed off their football dribbling skills, a newly wedded couple came on to the beach for some photographs (Damith took some nice shots of them but will avoid posting here so as not to infuriate the official photographer), Damith asked for and took a picture of a very “colourful” couple, a few cute dogs ran around doing funny things which got Michelle to run around with the camera.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Damith with football dribblers in the background</b></span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Sa9142nQOmMSv5v8YU7Hug?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJJwKNSorI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/3P95SGZa7zQ/s400/P_MG_0092.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bold;">A sweet couple - our only regret being not getting their email address so that we could have sent this pic </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/EQs1g_JBbr9NZSPSzvP99A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJJmJjndrI/AAAAAAAAAdI/G6h_gzkQ6iw/s400/P_MG_0063.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;">(Picture by Damith de Silva)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On our way back we decided to stop over at the Galle Fort – which was first built in the 17</span><sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Century and is still standing even after 400 years of existence and a devastating tsunami in 2004. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bold;">The Lighthouse at Galle Fort </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/-PUXWGZwG8bx4zwCr_xSqQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJJ3VyJKhI/AAAAAAAAAdc/DKVmSFNjCTM/s400/P_MG_0129.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The clouds were rolling in and it looked like it was going to pour but there were patches of sunlight through the clouds, when I took this shot.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Bjba4bN2-ZZUZ_ecnWgJgg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJJ8e1DBfI/AAAAAAAAAdg/nXh0n-4VVLQ/s400/P_MG_0135.jpg" /></a></span></span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But the cloud passed and the sea was starting to get rough, with some of the waves crashing on these rocks with quite a bit of force</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/uX_7q_BKqWtSj44u6n2yxQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJKGSwm_eI/AAAAAAAAAdo/btcF3E-zviU/s400/P_MG_0180.jpg" /></a></span> </span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And just before we left, I tried to do some off camera flash shooting of the 2 ladies. Again they were very amused about the time it took for me to balance the ambient and flash to get the shot but hey – results speak for themselves :D</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/qIeFVXwiJhaJXHfRoS7dhA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJKJmGqUjI/AAAAAAAAAds/i7cISxjlalw/s400/P_MG_0207.jpg" /></a></span> </span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That night we went for the Beach Rave at Hikkaduwa. It was a bit confusing for us cos it looked as if we had stepped right in to a nightclub at </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Brighton (</span></st1:city><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">UK)</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. The reason was because the DJs were all from </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">UK</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and they were playing typical trance/techno music – and the thing that confused us was that the Sri Lankan crowd normally doesn’t like such music. Most of the nightclubs play pop/dance music as that is what is popular with the crowds. This was apparent because after a couple hours the heavy crowd that was at the main stage started moving towards the rear towards the Dialog (one of the sponsors) stall, which was playing more popular dance music. By the time we left, at about 3am, there were more people near the Dialog stall than the main stage.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/xM4wwPx1tHJ0eC73TSVR5w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJL1hGeBAI/AAAAAAAAAfA/Z0E3zwYkbh8/s400/P_Crowd_MG_0057.jpg" /></a></span></span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;">(Picture by Damith de Silva)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Damith had a great time running with the camera photographing all the women – they thought he was the official event photographer (with the 40D and flash attached) and were quite keen on posing for him. He also found some very interesting characters in the crowd.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/YRBpkfYB1YqWSlanlI5QvA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJL8pICFFI/AAAAAAAAAfE/j39ZXwYajZ8/s400/P_MG_0118.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;">(Picture by Damith de Silva)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We also spent most of the night screaming out Natasha’s name (Natashhhaaaaaaaa) every time the music stopped – I think most of the crowd thought that we were shouting the DJ’s name and were looking out for "DJ Natasha". Or maybe they just thought we were weird.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We had to leave the next day as Natasha had to get back to </span><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Colombo</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> so we missed out on the theme nights. The journey back was quite interesting as well cos we had to locate one of Natasha’s friends who was unable to give any form of directions or landmarks as to where he was and then 5 people squeezed into a tiny car for a 3 hour journey!! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Overall a great time – thanks Natasha and Damith!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/r8rzhsFxCjzX0-x05Qmc8A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/StJLmZ5KuGI/AAAAAAAAAe0/il2dDbw3VyQ/s400/P_MG_0274.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-49593726010525947532009-09-29T04:31:00.009+01:002010-07-05T14:07:56.680+01:00Birthday<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Well... it has been a long time coming... but better late than never.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Even though my birthday was on the 12</span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">th</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"> of July, I haven’t had time to do a write up on it all this time. No time because of our 5 week holiday to </span></span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Sri Lanka</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"> and then taking time settle down once we came back. Plenty more to write on with details on our holiday, wildlife safaris, photo shoots and book reviews – so watch this space. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">My wife usually goes overboard with my birthday celebrations and this year was no exception. When she asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I told her that all I wanted was a peaceful, relaxing day. Simple enough, right? But noooooo.... she can’t leave it just at that. I was sent out early in the morning on a ridiculous errand during which time she setup the surprise. I came back to find that she had made some fantastic stuff for lunch, baked a cake and got me some great gifts. I thought it might be difficult to top last year but she outdid herself again. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Lamb chops and salad..... yummmmmmm</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/OB_19hVdx0bo3eSbKOOGbA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SsF3HXzBjRI/AAAAAAAAAXE/WUDpQms_k54/s400/P_Food_MG_0043.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Sf9Na3doO3MP_v_tPx9nIA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SsF3SjYQFnI/AAAAAAAAAXU/qN8ZOqc5cvA/s400/P_FoodBlackplate_MG_0047.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Seafood Paella...... absolutely delicious</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/p1ZBaU6YcHDF6JIz7cpGNw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SsF2rvR1AGI/AAAAAAAAAWc/N_3d1lRs4nA/s400/P_Food_MG_0010.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/X54wY24NCM4Z4cVbkD9RXg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SsF29b4NNVI/AAAAAAAAAW0/ghqVYaNqC9k/s400/P_Food_MG_0031.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Stuffed my stomach silly....</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/EN4aKuj_kIR6I2GdPpRyAQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SsF23KnHNnI/AAAAAAAAAWs/0riN7zrPyrQ/s400/P_Food_MG_0023.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Dessert – The Ultimate Chocolate Cake... really that’s what its called that! Just divine!</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/RRKtRHX2pE7rM89gvbfMJA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SsF3WSwYi-I/AAAAAAAAAXY/UvJgGJIYyo0/s400/P_Cake_MG_0109.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">The birthday candle – Scooby Dooby Doooooooooo!</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Uj5JIvTcyQB_m3y5blsmsA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SsF3b3XMXmI/AAAAAAAAAXg/dzR69ABDvvs/s400/P_Scooby_MG_0017.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">This is a wonderful gift – a photo book of all my favourite pictures from my 365 project. Brilliant!</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/QwHnsMNK00Z1p1Efe4RDfQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SsF3lG7ab8I/AAAAAAAAAXw/rE5nRbxRhGo/s400/P_Photobook_MG_0025.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Some photography books.... remember those book reviews I mentioned? </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/jHNLGY-Lw5XCqF-FyJ06Bg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SsF3iaGFcPI/AAAAAAAAAXs/W_2SAq_iBkE/s400/P_Books_MG_0015.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">And finally, this is how much I liked the cake.... </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/21ZXTzI-KofTmtwzY2-S6A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SsF3ZH1LPyI/AAAAAAAAAXc/STNRa9Wfl38/s400/P_Starecake_MG_0155.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Needless to say, I had a fantastic time and great birthday. So, thank you, my love, for making my birthday special... you, of course, are the best. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">Can’t wait for next year....</span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-22217204003701066902009-07-15T11:27:00.010+01:002009-07-15T12:49:39.135+01:00Flying high!<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The </span></span><a href="http://www.bigginhillairfair.co.uk/"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Biggin Hill Airshow</span></span></b></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> is quite a popular event in the UK, for those interested in planes. It seems to be getting bigger and better every year and I had heard quite a lot about it on photography forums. So, when Lasa suggested that we go to see it this year, I jumped at the chance. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">We went for the Sunday show (28th June - they had it on the 27th as well) and the weather was looking promising. As can be seen in previous posts, our outings are normally delayed and we never leave at the time that we had initially planned. But this time, we were reasonably well off the mark on time (slight delay but negligible). However, after about driving 20 mts towards our destination, our absent minded, clumsy professor (me) gave out a exclamation of horror. After groping around my pockets I realised I had dropped my glasses somewhere while transferring equipment between the cars (I had my shades on at the time). So, to make sure that they were still in one piece, we had to turn around and go back. Fortunately, the glasses were found - tucked away quite safely in the car (/*sheepish grin*/) but our journey had been delayed by at least an hour - the "Delay Curse" had struck again. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">We got to the place by about 10AM and we could see that the crowds were already pouring in and queues were forming. On the way up, we saw a couple of boards which were advertising "park and see" slots to see the air show from the side of a hill. The cost was about a 3rd of the ticket price (which was £21) but we decided to go for the main show as we will be able to see better. The air show was to start at 11AM and we spent some time going around the ground attractions which included some classic cars and some of the planes parked nearby. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NQ3w4zLqscCqBSZTEPabng?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2uAH9G2pI/AAAAAAAAAUs/nO7EyL8oFfg/s400/P_Car_MG_0065.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FdwrfnwGih9hZEHaq-RoKQ?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2uAnAJh_I/AAAAAAAAAU0/wQIROXa-c9I/s400/P_CarEmblem_MG_0069.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ajS0UAEznV4zjM0f4He4wg?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2t9lqKIUI/AAAAAAAAAUc/0q9x8rOQlBc/s400/P_Cockpit_MG_0021.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Lm5RSYH0QOzCPeleZA1dKg?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2t-H6U5CI/AAAAAAAAAUg/0VKDuuf42Gk/s400/P_RedBull_MG_0037.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UF8o4BIUoEwNeu-6Zp2O2Q?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2t_cZBCcI/AAAAAAAAAUo/1LluWYQ7ZJU/s400/P_Gun_MG_0056.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">When the show was about to start, we grabbed some food (there are several stalls around) and then made our way to the viewing area. It was pretty crowded and lots of people had erected tents, boundaries and brought chairs and umbrellas (experienced and smart). The only thing we had brought was a sheet to put on the ground :) But we made our way deftly through the crowd and we were able to find a vacant spot in the front. I set up my tripod and ball head (which turned out to be quite useful in capturing the action shots) and loaded my Bigmos (150-500mm lens). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Unfortunately, most of my shots turned out to be crap for several reasons </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">1) I usually use a CP filter with the Bigmos and unfortunately for some reason the focus was being thrown off because of the filter. This resulted in a lot of shots going bad as I struggled with the settings to get the proper shot. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">2) Sun/light levels were constantly changing because of a lot of cloud cover especially during the early part of the day - getting exposure spot on while balancing a proper shutter speed was a challenge</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">3) When getting shots of planes you need to be quick with regards to shutter speeds - you need to get a fast enough shutter speeds to get the image sharp (a challenge with some of them at the speeds they were zipping by) but also slow enough to get a bit of motion blur on the propellers which would give the impression that the plane is flying (otherwise it looks as if it is a model suspended in air). It was also a challenge switching between the speeds of the older planes and the newer ones. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">4) Its a whole new learning experience when you are shooting planes at such close range and at such speeds as you need to be quite good at panning and focusing. This was the first time I had started to pan and using AI Servo so the learning curve was steep but it was quite a useful experience. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">I ended up taking about 600-700 shot altogether but only a very small percentage came out ok. But I think the keeper percentage will be much more the next time I photograph such an event as now I know how to handle it (reasonably). Just goes to show that however much you read, the best way of learning is to actually experience it. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Anyways, some reasonably ok shots -</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Apache</span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/sbIlrzs2YdONIIdoLr42Gg?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2rcEncVfI/AAAAAAAAATM/pzqBVZGBN7k/s400/P_Apache_MG_0097.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">World War II planes</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Junkers</span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vGLM6NYYOMPv-d9Sdutbdg?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2ti7uZ-hI/AAAAAAAAATU/E00_RB6tkBc/s400/P_German_MG_0187.jpg" /></span></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">SE5A</span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Hd6jVkH8QY_zRwXsr8Z2cw?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tja8y6dI/AAAAAAAAATY/1k919TWw2wk/s400/P_Boeing_MG_0217.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Fokker triplane</span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nLrqX50CfQINcM3CH68PIg?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tkRrGO9I/AAAAAAAAATc/3yB_6-Fdf5w/s400/P_German_MG_0238.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The famed Spitfire</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/L91-PFdfeCWShURvB17m4A?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tlqlE-QI/AAAAAAAAATk/T9-jL20fObQ/s400/P_Spitfire_MG_0331.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The jets were a real challenge</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Hunter </span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/E8Ybdx7PWeVONqyMke0AZA?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tpOBeu5I/AAAAAAAAAT8/Jz-TFQCb4Bc/s400/P_ColourPlane_MG_0476.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TbM0pGUdLQACwFeR8QaJZQ?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tpsmIhCI/AAAAAAAAAUA/ZUbTR2ksVtk/s400/P_Jet_MG_0542.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Loved some of the group formation stuff they did </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ca3EDFubBifr7mSU-Z2WtA?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tqW_PPFI/AAAAAAAAAUE/0vKV-1_SpUg/s400/P_Group_MG_0695.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The highlight of the show for me was when there was a special fly by of a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 flanked by the Red Arrows team, to the Virgin Airlines theme tune. Classic!</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-family:Arial;font-size:11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1rr77mdusoawOQWSsQqRLA?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tmDz8N7I/AAAAAAAAATo/1UeSZrGU_ig/s400/P_Virgin_MG_0367.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/VYLdVfZxGjcYYSi3XmWpPQ?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tmuirOEI/AAAAAAAAATs/4cZdFTuTl7Q/s400/P_Virgin_MG_0395.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The Red Arrows gave great display as well with some great formations and some very funny commentary as well - with bits of comments/talk directly from the pilots. </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Formation</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-family:Arial;font-size:11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GuOumt7TvmjsmRdJcDujhA?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tri3k4FI/AAAAAAAAAUM/pq89SBYrCtE/s400/P_RedArrows_MG_0803.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/J71Gc11aF09cOlPKHnqAHA?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tq41SYwI/AAAAAAAAAUI/hGvliAXDZRs/s400/P_RedArrows_MG_0777.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-weight: bold; font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Break</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-family:Arial;font-size:11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/59P-dFVoSdH3yhfZXbVawQ?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tsN705tI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/oteZ0WjNsrM/s400/P_Break_MG_0820.jpg" /></span></a></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">And some obligatory portraits of our group - I am in there as well (if you look carefully) :)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-family:Arial;font-size:11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/W4zrDrkeQG27hOUeDRE-wA?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2tnrv9AOI/AAAAAAAAATw/5RJmCdnv7YI/s400/P_Lasa_MG_0409.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bY3sjBgzOmDa5HwkiUuSyw?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2toWV4vII/AAAAAAAAAT0/GL8-IBo9dqQ/s400/P_Las%26Imal.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/QFBEMtnWQhNXq9wFoLgJDg?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sl2ts0NFBtI/AAAAAAAAAUU/CD10GxU1ZNc/s400/P_Mich_MG_0900.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Overall, a great day - much more fun and interesting than what I thought it was going to be. Highly recommended. Might even go again next year :D</span></span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-30935437094949572212009-07-10T14:07:00.012+01:002009-07-10T15:54:11.149+01:00Wildfowl and Wetlands<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" align="justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#cccccc;">That might sound a strange title to anyone not familiar with the </span></span></span><a href="http://www.wwt.org.uk/centre/119/visit/wetlandcentre/.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#cccccc;"><b>London WWT</b></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"> (Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust). In case you have never heard of it, the London WWT is a </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 23px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">42 hectare site l</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">ocated on the banks of the River Thames and is home to rare and beautiful wildlife with several hides and viewing observatories. We had been wanting to visit it for some time so when the sun came out (quite surprisingly) on a Sunday in late May, we decided to give it a go.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#cccccc;"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" align="justify"><br /></div></span></span></span></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" align="justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#cccccc;">It was quite an enjoyable day. The WWT is pretty well organised and well laid out with pathways and signposts. In addition to a number of birds and insects, there are several interesting "sculptures" made out of recycled materials which we found quite amusing.</span></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div></span></span></span></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">Fishing and biking</span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a title="Fish and bike by Riyazi Muz, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michrim/3592400894/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><img height="500" alt="Fish and bike" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2454/3592400894_c60acfa516.jpg" width="368" /></span></span></a></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">Steely bird watcher</span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a title="Steely Bird Watcher by Riyazi Muz, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michrim/3591596059/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><img height="500" alt="Steely Bird Watcher" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3301/3591596059_497fc25aac.jpg" width="333" /></span></span></a></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" align="justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="COLOR: rgb(204,204,204)"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">There were a couple of these herons in different parts of the wetlands. They were not moving at all and were so still that many of the visitors thought they were sculptures/statues. Normally they would be like this when hunting for fish but this was not the case here - they just stood stock still without moving for long periods of time - very eerie.</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#cccccc;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div></span></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a title="Heron by Riyazi Muz, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michrim/3592402518/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><img height="500" alt="Heron" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3625/3592402518_388b6c978e.jpg" width="333" /></span></span></a></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">Lots of flowers especially daisies. I tried to get some good bokeh and backgrounds - came out nicely I thought :)</span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">Standing out in a crowd</span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a title="Alone in a crowd by Riyazi Muz, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michrim/3592404238/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><img height="325" alt="Alone in a crowd" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3592404238_a997821c89.jpg" width="500" /></span></span></a></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">Daisy is all alone</span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a title="Daisy all alone by Riyazi Muz, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michrim/3591594003/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><img height="500" alt="Daisy all alone" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2462/3591594003_f05bff29da.jpg" width="346" /></span></span></a></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">Shining Light</span></b></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a title="Shining light by Riyazi, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21096178@N03/3592399632/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><img height="355" alt="Shining light" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3302/3592399632_794acab043.jpg" width="500" /></span></span></a></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">Saw several damselflies and dragonflies but had a lot of trouble trying to get them in focus. They were flutttering about too much. You need a lot of patience or skill (I lack both) to get a proper shot of these guys </span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a title="Damselfly by Riyazi Muz, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michrim/3591595421/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><img height="350" alt="Damselfly" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3339/3591595421_c3efcbe594.jpg" width="500" /></span></span></a></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">Strangely, not many butterflies though. I would have expected much more than the 2 or 3 that we saw.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a title="Common Blue Butterfly by Riyazi, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21096178@N03/3591592755/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><img height="329" alt="Common Blue Butterfly" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3591592755_647b107de6.jpg" width="500" /></span></span></a></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">Finally, this is a shot of some moss/plant growing the roof of a hide - do you see what I see? Hint: "Proposal?"</span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a title="Proposal? by Riyazi Muz, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michrim/3592401836/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><img height="187" alt="Proposal?" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3389/3592401836_bba53db98d.jpg" width="500" /></span></span></a></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;">For a quite and relaxing day out, especially for taking some nice shots and practicing your photography skills, the London WWT is an ideal place to go to. Highly recommended.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#cccccc;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-24581903361683406992009-07-07T11:01:00.011+01:002010-07-05T14:08:42.812+01:00Punting in Cambridge<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">So our adventures with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Lasa</span> and his wife <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Imal,</span> continue - we decided to go out on a bank holiday <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Monday</span> where the weather was holding up reasonably well. This time we travelled to Cambridge - the home town of the 2<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">nd</span> oldest university of the English speaking world... and yes... you guessed it - Oxford is the first. Apparently, Cambridge University was established in 1209 by an association of scholars who had left Oxford! 800 years old this year - that's ancient.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">We went to Cambridge to visit an old friend - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Gayan</span> who is working in Cambridge in some very prestigious sounding job. After the inevitable delay and not leaving at the planned time, we drove using the TomTom as a guide. However, halfway through our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Las</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Las</span> decided to try and take us on a more "scenic" route which brought about some confusion but <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">at least</span> we got to Cambridge in one piece. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Parking in Cambridge, especially on a bank holiday, was a nightmare so we travelled a bit out of town to one of the Park and Ride places - you park the car and get a bus ride in to town for one price. As we were leaving the car park, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Imal</span> made an observation about the bus service stopping at 8pm and that we would need to get on a bus back before then. Our Cambridge town expert, Gayan, over rode this saying that the bus services run up to 10pm everyday (please remember this - it will figure quite prominently later on).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">And so we went in to Cambridge - the town is looks exactly as you would expect it to look - lots of of old, ancient buildings including churches and libraries, with fantastic <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">architecture</span> and design; lots of students trying to sell you tours and rides; lots of tourists with cameras out pounding the streets; and lots and lots of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">bicycles</span>. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/aMM9dUTz-oLNPOYjYHCwlA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihDYszKB-I/AAAAAAAAAOY/ByfIolZilS4/s400/P_Cambuilding_MG_0003.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/sRgxUTG4Pp9y0cGJ6W6nNA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihDeaE6HHI/AAAAAAAAAOg/sSoSzPwbiIU/s400/P_CamBuilding_MG_0041.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/ZyHobrV6Q-Q5cA43dRGOMQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihDQ_ff4RI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/VKMrYl_nfTU/s400/P_BikesB%26W_MG_0288.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">We made our way from one end of town, through the market and to Cambridge's main tourist attraction, punting. It's a funny word but a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punt_(boat)"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">punt</span></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> is basically a flat bottom boat quite similar to the Gondolas in Venice. These punts are steered with a long pole, on the River Cam which runs right through the City Centre. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/58NNHYBOjJcsAevY0M0sNg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihD1OaRB4I/AAAAAAAAAPI/y1zU99b24H8/s400/P_PuntsColour_MG_0073.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/DIN-87Gt_nw7hxDGTvIXbA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihDwTyWZKI/AAAAAAAAAPA/iX9WKvh-Pgk/s400/P_Punts_River_MG_0075.jpg" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Operating a punt looks like quite an easy affair but I can assure it is NOT. However, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Gayan</span> was an expert, easily and efficiently gliding the punt along the river while we sat and soaked in the sun and the sights. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/CxPe5aZa5b7uBHV62GiVMg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihDkKm6VfI/AAAAAAAAAOw/OOSF8IFuvH4/s400/P_Gayan_MG_0092.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/_sFftBxRqbl64bhgBjPbug?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihDnfFkWcI/AAAAAAAAAO0/nEkKgY-ULBw/s400/P_Gayan_MG_0150.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">It was quite relaxing and there was plenty to see and we had great fun. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/gRh1gZNfPoJBC4RNB1qEyw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihDtvW6ByI/AAAAAAAAAO8/syoPInK4yqM/s400/P_Lasa_Portrait_MG_0144.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/83x6MK8_we18bjJVyT2R7A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihDrMM2haI/AAAAAAAAAO4/-1U0XSTw57Y/s400/P_Green_Castle_MG_0133.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/ZkMttOufG6C78TL8sMcs9g?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihD9lSZIRI/AAAAAAAAAPY/S5MgcU0Jm6U/s400/P_Venice_MG_0168.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Lasa</span> tried a bit of punting and after a bit of an effort, got the hang of it (sort of) but I was terrible at it - almost hitting <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Imal</span> with the pole and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">zig</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">zagging</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">rather</span> than going in a straight line. The beautiful day, coupled with the Bank holiday, had brought out a lot of punters and needless to say we <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">bumped</span> in to quite a few on our way. Once we nearly capsized - now THAT would have been fun. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">One of the more interesting characters we were saw was a bare bodied guy wearing a trilby. He was effortlessly gliding a punt along the river and we were quite curious as to who he was as he didn't fit the "tourist" profile. We went past him when he had stopped for a breather so I asked whether I can take picture and he kindly posed. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/-dg-2mIELMPXpJZDfOXY7w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihDVj9CiSI/AAAAAAAAAOU/IVlXiHNGO0I/s400/P_CambridgePunter_MG_0210.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">We had a very nice and heavy lunch of lamb, chicken and fries and washed it all down with cider. After another session at punting - this time the other side of the river - we decided to get back. This was a very cute wood sculpture that we saw in one of shop windows.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/W0QxAlhRMGB2Z1ZNBixrGA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SihD3YhwnsI/AAAAAAAAAPM/GT4Ejwr7PV4/s400/P_RedRidingHood_MG_0009.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre;"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Of course, we had disregarded time as we casually made our way towards the bus stops, but it had turned past 6pm. Some of you might have guessed what's coming next - panic ensued when we realised that the bus services had stopped for the day. We turned on our Cambridge resident expert and punter and demanded an explanation. After a bit of running around and inquiring with several bus drivers, it came to light that because of the bank holiday bus services were stopped early, a fact that our Cambridge expert had not considered!!! So, there we were, stranded in the middle of Cambridge - tired, worn out, with aching legs with no transport back to the car park. A quick look around told you that not many taxis were operational either. However, after a bit of discussion, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Gayan</span> came to the rescue - he took <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Lasa</span> to his <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">bicycle</span> which was parked nearby and then <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Lasa</span> cycled all way to the park and brought the car back. In all fairness, it was done quite quickly too and after the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">initial</span> downside to all this, we were finally able to get in to the car and lie back with a sigh of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">relief</span>. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Even with mishaps, it turned out to be a wonderful day and we had a great time - all thanks to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Gayan</span>, Cambridge tour guide and punter <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">extraordinaire</span>, to whom we are grateful. So, if you ever plan on going to Cambridge, let us know and we will get <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Gayan</span> to show you around - just remember to take a bus time table with you.....<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-88759875277149295112009-06-26T09:54:00.010+01:002009-06-26T10:12:29.493+01:00"Gone too soon" - Special MJ tribute post<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(192, 192, 192); white-space: pre-wrap; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Like A Comet</span></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap; "><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(192, 192, 192); font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky </span></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Gone Too Soon </span></i></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Like A Rainbow </span></i><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Fading In The Twinkling Of An </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Eye</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Gone Too Soon</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Gone too soon by Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As soon as I heard about it, I switched on the news and stared at it in shock. Once I was able to move again, I knew I had to do a tribute as my 365 pic. </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> I am not ashamed to admit it - I am a fan. Not so much in the last few years but when I was growing up, Jacko was a hero in our lives. I remember watching Moonwalker, I remember trying to emulate his dance moves, I remember singing along to his songs. I still sing along to his songs :) Rest in peace Jacko</div></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#C0C0C0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: -webkit-monospace; font-size: 48px; white-space: pre-wrap; "><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21096178@N03/3660996709/" title="Day 86 of 365 - Week 13 of 52 - "Gone too soon" by Riyazi, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2594/3660996709_878f0c9a9c.jpg" width="400" height="372" alt="Day 86 of 365 - Week 13 of 52 - "Gone too soon"" /></a></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-80896729734262530662009-06-24T12:08:00.006+01:002010-07-05T14:02:24.459+01:00Deer by sunlight<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;">It is becoming increasingly difficult to get a nice sunny day in London these days. So we were very happy when one such rare day came upon a Sunday in April. We had wanted to go to Richmond Park for some time so we packed a picnic lunch and picked up Kia (our friend Savanthi's daughter) and headed out there. We went by car but the increase in number of vechicles on the road because of the sunny day and the numerous roadworks on the way, made the journey long, hot and tiring. But once we got to the park, it was a perfect day to laze around in the sunshine and watch the deer who had come out in numbers. I got to play around with my flashes with a couple of the models around :)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;">Model #1 </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/r1_hzWS08eHUWCF8MMiyDg?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjDmOf518SBoAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sfkio-taICI/AAAAAAAAAGY/XSoPoM0W99I/s400/P_Kia_MG_0134.jpg" /></a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/64ABOqDUaLXtVvuMvblRyA?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjDmOf518SBoAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SfkiwXtRPCI/AAAAAAAAAGw/0zpURru5534/s400/P_Kia_SunIMG_0186.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;">Model #2</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/E4XDivjGuelGaXr01X8Ulw?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjDmOf518SBoAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sfki3lbuwoI/AAAAAAAAAHI/T6WEW6r5uWQ/s400/P_Mich_Sun_MG_0214.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/6qekmrem8hSBhHrUsnC8nQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjDmOf518SBoAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SfkjDnRfGgI/AAAAAAAAAHs/syUHWqHkMS0/s400/P_Mich_Sunglasses_MG_0241.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;">The deer we came to see</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/0d5wBC5Qio4Hzy91GLNauw?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjDmOf518SBoAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SfkimKDxq4I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/Y_2DNe9Sz1o/s400/P_Young_Stag_MG_0101.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/C5zpnPGzUsPz1ppUaZv_mA?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjDmOf518SBoAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SfkjASFZftI/AAAAAAAAAHg/qYCRpXFaCb8/s400/P_Kia_Deer_MG_0231.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: 16px; white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;">Lovely sunny day</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/j7xk_DOdUzAlv1DAX5JKzA?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjDmOf518SBoAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SfkjILNk9aI/AAAAAAAAAH0/_Y7BKsR-1zo/s400/P_Tree_MG_0248.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/ax6VCjS1YlVzqOGbshTZpg?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjDmOf518SBoAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SfkjNvOqkdI/AAAAAAAAAIE/HPWZc6VgztU/s400/P_Blue_Sky_MG_0261.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: 16px; white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;">Someone was flying a kite .... literally!</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/98vNbajvVDgg04b7C1epaw?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjDmOf518SBoAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SfkjR70K_-I/AAAAAAAAAIU/lc2PH9Vax5k/s400/P_Kite_MG_0276.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: 16px; white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;">Graceful gliding</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: silver;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/Zi978Bw6Yo5rxxxs749mag?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjDmOf518SBoAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/SfkjddCxo_I/AAAAAAAAAI0/ynWYGoUyC-0/s400/P_Lone_Swan_MG_0305.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></span></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-4442729401880844472009-06-17T15:39:00.007+01:002009-06-18T10:49:41.797+01:00Photo Walk - UK South East POTN group<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">It has been awhile since our last blog entry - not due to the lack of activities but due to an excess of them. We have both been quite busy the last couple of months - Mich is very busy with a new project at work and I am keeping myself busy with my </span></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21096178@N03/sets/72157616073311309/" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: none;">365 photo project</span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"> :) Hopefully, we should be able to get this back on track and keep updating regularly. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">There are several photography sites that I am a member of (very useful learning tools) and one of them is the </span></span><a href="http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: none;">POTN site</span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">. Some of the members from the South East (London and thereabouts) have a very lively, funny and interesting </span></span><a href="http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=678193&page=493" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: none;">thread there</span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">. They regularly organise group photo walks and we were able to join them on the 19th of April to gander around Hyde Park. It was good to meet them and put faces to usernames from the forum .... and we got a few shots in as well :) </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">Unfortunately, I don't follow that thread as much as I used to due to the above mentioned "busy-ness" but I do drop in from time to time for a laugh. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Speakers corner was very funny - lots of interesting characters and lots of debate going on.</span></span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192); font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192); font-family:'trebuchet ms';">One World .... and only he should be in it</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/fWVtT4obo7Z9e2WUtDsD-w?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sf243VZUGeI/AAAAAAAAAKs/nHZa65WyA5A/s400/P_One_World_MG_0008.jpg" /></a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(192, 192, 192); white-space: pre;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:48px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-size:16px;">Making a point </span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/m9Mxex1reEbuyyVzXe6tfQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sf2454SQlCI/AAAAAAAAAK0/d8CLtkrZWH8/s400/P_Socialism_B%26W_MG_0014.jpg" /></a><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">This guy looked very interesting with the feather in his hair.</span></span> Was dressed up like a gypsy and had a very intruiging smile.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; white-space: normal; font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/UsuiTKNvsIvdMBnAPu7GrQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sf25B-DPe4I/AAAAAAAAALQ/mySzWjDwqBc/s400/P_Character_MG_0029.jpg" /></a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Some of the nature stuff we saw</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192); font-weight: bold;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">The shot of the day</span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/VUqcmcoYqot5F72CxXN3PQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sf25VllTOUI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/RGm-rHZ36dc/s400/P_Mandarin_Duck_MG_0200.jpg" /></a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/XDQRj17ZPugYIHT-5sY6tw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sf25brqm8sI/AAAAAAAAAMs/7gg_BPoE9ec/s400/P_Tulip_MG_0211.jpg" /></a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/WQSon-Rhl47Gjc5y0i0HCQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sf25dWBb-vI/AAAAAAAAAM0/lp5IZBYSn4c/s400/P_Swan_MG_0228.jpg" /></a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">Deformity in all its glory<br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/HfQZtREFi41L9ivKAyYOlw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sf25fDL9jZI/AAAAAAAAAM8/QzheK0NwIY8/s400/P_Daffodil_MG_0265.jpg" /></a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">And a non nature one :)</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/BwyMUp6tYgWPoZIWDUcH6A?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oV-dMseP7V0/Sf25RDliYTI/AAAAAAAAAMA/WnwFeDNJF0Q/s400/P_Mich_MG_0157.jpg" /></a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-32862154280909295352009-04-08T00:20:00.013+01:002009-04-09T09:06:48.316+01:00Horsenden 'Mountain' hunting<div><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Another unpredictable sunny day and another ‘mountain’ to climb.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style=" "><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The ever dependable friend promised a </span></span></span></span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Mount Everest</span></span></span></span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> this time. With little hope and much despair – at his promise to bring the picnic lunch - we set off to climb Mount Everest in Wembley with our ‘Las Las’ guiding us.</span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div></span></span><p></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The man did bring some lunch as promised. It was good thing there were no rabbits around as they would have surely snatched it from us. The thought "will pizza hut deliver here?" did occur to the wife but "how do we tell them exactly where we are?" overruled it.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The best thing was that we saw the most gorgeous woodpecker but not close enough to identify or get a good shot, which resulted in our photographer's face looking very similar to the cow dung which we had to avoid on our way up through the grazing patch.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">This time it was a lovely walk among a thick growth of trees. Oh almost forgot, the mountain ? We just assumed that it must be hidden under the trees because we never saw one.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span></span></span></span></o:p></span></p></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdvjJ3nL2NI/AAAAAAAAFzk/mjutuyeiRS8/s1600-h/P_Rim_IMG_9303.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdvjJ3nL2NI/AAAAAAAAFzk/mjutuyeiRS8/s320/P_Rim_IMG_9303.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322097143355005138" /></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">The Pro at work </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdvjJla-6jI/AAAAAAAAFzc/q_IjYSOTvnw/s1600-h/P_Parrot_MG_0044.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 216px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdvjJla-6jI/AAAAAAAAFzc/q_IjYSOTvnw/s320/P_Parrot_MG_0044.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322097138471987762" /></span></span></span></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: bold; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">A parrot - no its not that obvious !</span></span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdvjJUzO3MI/AAAAAAAAFzU/nAIVaegC5UY/s1600-h/P_MichRim_MG_0135.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdvjJUzO3MI/AAAAAAAAFzU/nAIVaegC5UY/s320/P_MichRim_MG_0135.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322097134010293442" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); ">the hopefuls (for mount</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); ">ains) ...</span></span><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-weight: bold; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family:arial;font-size:48px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdvhIyO1jMI/AAAAAAAAFyk/7A1UKv3xm3M/s1600-h/Butterfly_MG_0166.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdvhIyO1jMI/AAAAAAAAFyk/7A1UKv3xm3M/s320/Butterfly_MG_0166.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322094925707578562" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-weight: bold; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size:48px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); ">m</span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); ">iss gorgeous (peacock - nachis io) </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: italic; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdvijFXzTTI/AAAAAAAAFzM/vJBAycTHUaI/s1600-h/P_MichLasImal_MG_0081.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdvijFXzTTI/AAAAAAAAFzM/vJBAycTHUaI/s320/P_MichLasImal_MG_0081.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322096477033680178" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 246px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:arial;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); ">Home made humus !!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204); ">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-weight: bold; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sdvii6HUH6I/AAAAAAAAFzE/f4Zsj1CkeSA/s1600-h/P_Mich_MG_0145.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sdvii6HUH6I/AAAAAAAAFzE/f4Zsj1CkeSA/s320/P_Mich_MG_0145.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322096474011738018" style="cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 320px; " /></span></a></span><br /></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sdviiie7UpI/AAAAAAAAFy8/wMfJtSUbqJk/s1600-h/P_LasImal_MG_0086.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sdviiie7UpI/AAAAAAAAFy8/wMfJtSUbqJk/s320/P_LasImal_MG_0086.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322096467668325010" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px; " /></span></span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdviimxMdVI/AAAAAAAAFy0/yOQLhMz2RoM/s1600-h/P_Group_MG_0129.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdviimxMdVI/AAAAAAAAFy0/yOQLhMz2RoM/s320/P_Group_MG_0129.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322096468818687314" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 244px; " /></span></span></span></a></span></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family:Georgia;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdviiUMFniI/AAAAAAAAFys/Vgjog0mVsww/s1600-h/Imal_MG_0169.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SdviiUMFniI/AAAAAAAAFys/Vgjog0mVsww/s320/Imal_MG_0169.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322096463831211554" style="cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></span></span></a><br /></span></span></p></span><p></p></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-53024445898762839502009-03-29T21:56:00.007+01:002009-03-29T22:24:03.660+01:00Making mountains out of molehills<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">You can categorise your friends - some cheer you up, some are easy to talk to, some are ‘just there’ and some are so annoying because they make mountains out of mole hills. </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Yes there is one and we have had many trials with him. He once recommended a movie very highly - a movie you would never tell anyone you ‘bought tickets’ to watch. We have learnt the hard way that the Las recommendation = disappointment!</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">But as we are in dreary old London where it is a race against time to catch the mild rays of the sun, we jumped at the idea of climbing, what he called a ‘</span></span><span class="il"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">MOUNTAIN</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">’, one early spring morning in March.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">With the experience of climbing Siripada - Adams Peak (the second highest </span></span><span class="il"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">mountain</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> in Sri Lanka at</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">7341 feet above the sea-level) and a few other high climbs, we braced ourselves with lightweight sweaters, climbing shoes, lots of energy food and plenty of liquid.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Off we went to tackle our friend's ‘</span></span><span class="il"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Mountain</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">’ with new found energy and a positive outlook towards London, the one place on earth which seems to offer everything (including mountains) within city limits. </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">In short, the "mountain" turned out to be the Northala Fields - a small man made bump in the grass, which we climbed right to the top in less than 5 minutes. The great </span></span><span class="il"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">mountain</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> our great friend wanted to show us remains a mystery … </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family:Georgia;font-size:16px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sc_j0sSCAMI/AAAAAAAAFxU/Puo-rB_IEUk/s1600-h/P_Daffodil_MG_0149.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sc_j0sSCAMI/AAAAAAAAFxU/Puo-rB_IEUk/s320/P_Daffodil_MG_0149.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318720179327336642" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family:Georgia;font-size:16px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sc_j04J_h-I/AAAAAAAAFxc/xTJWVh02cuA/s1600-h/P_Moth_MG_0041.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sc_j04J_h-I/AAAAAAAAFxc/xTJWVh02cuA/s320/P_Moth_MG_0041.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318720182514845666" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family:Georgia;font-size:16px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sc_j1E70A0I/AAAAAAAAFxk/mimkSfLmxCY/s1600-h/P_Las_n_Imal_MG_0186.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sc_j1E70A0I/AAAAAAAAFxk/mimkSfLmxCY/s320/P_Las_n_Imal_MG_0186.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318720185945031490" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 204px; " /></a><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family:Georgia;font-size:16px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sc_j1tVmS4I/AAAAAAAAFxs/20Nq-HEeuB0/s1600-h/P_Mich%26Rim_MG_0193.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sc_j1tVmS4I/AAAAAAAAFxs/20Nq-HEeuB0/s320/P_Mich%26Rim_MG_0193.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318720196790602626" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px; " /></a><br /><br /><br /></span><br /></span></p></span><p></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6117231860095738230.post-5397745255362943622009-03-12T19:28:00.009+00:002009-03-12T20:35:37.903+00:00London Zoo<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 3px; width: auto; font: normal normal normal 100%/normal Georgia, serif; text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">After a long hibernation, both of us decided to venture out on what was called a ‘relatively warm day with sunny intervals’ by our ever reliable Met department. Our destination - the London Zoo. It was a bold move as every single person we had met while in London said that it was just not the place to go to.</span></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Our desperation to see any form of wildlife, after a period of over 6 months with not even a worm in sight, gave us the confidence to face this challenge.</span></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">As animal lovers, who have seen the worst of the worst, we must say that the zoo was not as bad as it was said to be. Here is the evidence.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"></span></span></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">No it's not a brick wall - it's a fish tank with this sea anemone</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre; font-size:11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/4OMyTQJ0UNbW6iNqcTUFTQ?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SbfsZgvMYBI/AAAAAAAAFmo/JkH5cO36pNI/s400/P_Anemone_Wall_MG_0026.jpg" /></span></a></span></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">A green mamba attempting suicide?</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/LbV3LlEg9cPXu7JvpSsAxg?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SbfssbBkYBI/AAAAAAAAFno/jwbRLgUPjGw/s400/P_Green_Mamba_MG_0076%20copy.jpg" /></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Mr Gorgeous</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/2PnT-YBMe0Vs3IqGnrsQZA?feat=embedwebsite" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/Sbfs_23_EdI/AAAAAAAAFpA/6jV5WlnJ4pY/s400/P_Yellow_Dart_Frog_MG_0064%20copy.jpg" /></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Bali Starling - can you believe there are only 8 more in the wild</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/EfOeBO1Dlaxox5X_TNwf1w?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SbkUZ4XwN_I/AAAAAAAAFq4/WnQL_1AFFG0/s400/P_Bali_Starling_MG_0121%20copy.jpg" /></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The shot - A blue Morpho</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/xZJcTYow76YNNotN_ugziQ?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SbksysVsI-I/AAAAAAAAFts/gIrgxiQ-hKQ/s400/P_Blue_Butterfly_MG_0019.jpg" /></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The cuties - White-Eyes</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre;font-size:11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/photo/F70PFzpt7rnRdWXQIHRNbw?feat=embedwebsite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vacbwou_JHE/SbkUtylB65I/AAAAAAAAFsE/ot_T71CyAto/s400/P_3_white_eyes_MG_0243%20copy.jpg" /></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></p><p align="JUSTIFY" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The sunny intervals never came and we had to spend over 2 hours standing next to the gorilla enclosure looking very much like two wet crows waiting to grab some of their food. Unfortunately Mr forgot to take any of shots of ‘us’ - the humans ...</span></span></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span></span></span><br /></p></span></div></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11425257668031000479noreply@blogger.com2