Dramatic Drone Sunset...

Anyone in and around Harare on the 7th of August was treated to an unusual, and spectacular sunset. It was unusual because at this time of year we don't often get many dramatically cloudy skies and generally speaking dramatic clouds make or break a good sunset! The sunset seemed to go on forever, changing in hue and intensity until it finally left us, dazzled and enamoured, well into the evening.

By pure luck and chance I happened to be showing some visiting friends around our spectacular Domboshawa National Monument, illustrating nicely how photography can often be about being in the right place at the right time. I was taking advantage of the trip to "Dombos" to get some aerial images for a long term project using my trusty drone and thankfully I had some battery power left to capture this amazing sunset!

However for me the real highlight of the trip was seeing and photographing the sculptured surface of Domboshawa itself. The granite has been carved by aeons of flowing water into what can only be described as a martian landscape. Now this is what I love about aerial photography, I have been to Domboshawa many many times and have never been able to fully appreciate its quirky geological surface as I have never seen it from above, and this new angle tells a powerful story of time, geology and weathering.

So let me not rabbit on for too long and allow you feast your eyes on the magic that is Domboshawa from above...

Hwange's Pink Elephants...

Their thirst was obvious by the way their gait changed into a frantic run as the herd neared Nyamandhlovu pan in #Hwange national park. This is not unusual in the dry month of September as thousands of animals rely on the life giving water pumped into pans throughout the park.

Chris was lucky enough to participate in the Wildlife and Environment Zimbabwe annual game count in Hwange National Park this September. Every year since 1972 hundreds of volunteers converge on the park and are assigned to watch a specific water hole for 24 hours and count everything they see. Its hot, you are confined to your car, its tiring, but the rewards are worth the effort, both for the experiences gleaned by the counters as well as the wealth of information that is recorded for the Parks' authorities.

The Hwange game count is the longest continual game census in Southern Africa and because of this, trends in animal numbers can be extrapolated and studied. As with most large scale surveys its not 100% accurate but generally very consistent, however it gets quite tricky to definitely say how many elephants there are in the park. Some estimates put the population between 30-35 000 while the figures from the 2014 game count results suggest around 23 000.

The count wouldn't be possible without the massive efforts of WEZ Matabeleland who organises the count as well as Friends of Hwange Trust.

Shot at Nyamadhlovu Pan, Hwange National Park, Nikon D610 with Nikkor 70-200 F2.8 ISO 640 1/160 @ F4.5

Zimbabwe's Verdant Tea Eastate

Zimbabwe is blessed with a wide range of stunning landscapes, from the majestic World Wonder of Victoria Falls to the stone wall brilliance of Great Zimbabwe to the game rich floodplains of Mana Pools. However an oft overlooked but no less stunning part of our beautiful country is its Eastern Highlands. Forming a rugged boundary with neighboring Mozambique the eastern Highlands are comprised of 3 main mountain ranges; Nyanga in the North, Bvumba in the middle and Chimanimani in the South. All 3 mountain ranges are part of the East African Rift system that runs down the continent from East Africa.

Nestled under the Nyanga plateau, which peaks to form Zimbabwe's highest point Mt Nyangani, is Eastern Highlands Plantations Limited, (also commonly referred to as Aberfoyle Tea Estates). Spread over the lower slopes of the Nyanga plateau are vividly verdant fields of tea.

A view in any direction from one of the many high points on the estate reveal rolling, lush and methodically trimmed fields, a testament to mans' innovative and persistent tenacity. Carved out of the wilderness in the 1950's there is no doubt that a lot of indigenous flora would have been mowed down to make way for the plantations, and as a lover of all things natural and indigenous this will always be in the back of my mind. However, the inherent man made beauty has the effect of subduing those negative thoughts.

The estate also ceeded a large portion of its land on the lower slopes of the Inyangani plateau to nature and subsequently to National Parks. The Gleneagles Reserve is a haven of indigenous forest best explored on foot and with a sense of awe. At 2000 hectares the reserve is the largest and best preserved block of Afro-Montain forest in the country.

Babbling streams hemmed in by tall Forest Newtonians create a backdrop that wouldn't go amiss in a Lord of the Rings movie also create a habitat for a plethora of rare birds and so are a mecca for avid birders from all over the world.

The area also offers a variety of adrenaline inducing activities such as gravity defying zip lines through the forest canopy and white water rafting down the Pungwe River, these can be organised through Far and Wide Zimbabwe with Aberfoyle Lodge providing the perfect base to explore the area's many exciting offerings.