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Blackbucks, once found in abundance across the Indian sub-continent are now highly endangered as their habitat of dry grasslands have perished. A small handful of these habitats are now protected where these antelopes are the flagship species.   It was a delight to photograph this large herd at Velavadar in Gujarat a few years ago.    

Elanus caeruleus Hovering     Taken on 26 June, 2024 at 4:44 pm in Manyeleti Game Reserve, Ndzhaka Camp, using an EOS 1D X camera with a Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II super-telephoto lens   ISO 1250, f/3.5, 1/8000 sec., handheld Manual shooting mode in a safari vehicle in afternoon light   **********************************************************************************************************************************************************   ~ As the attention had been on late afternoon sun-rays against clouds the hovering of this Black-winged Kite was nearly overlooked.   The intensity of its downward gaze was matched by the exquisitely subtle wing motion which maintained its position overhead.  

Thanks for this trip report @AfricIan - I look forward to following along and learning more about Brazil safaris.

Great start! Love the prowling jaguar, nursing capybara and the action shot! Never get enough of the jags. We stayed at that hotel as well when we visited Iguazu at the very beginning of 2019. It was very nice and a much better experience than the one on the Argentina side that is supposedly comparable but we didn't think so.

After Halali, it was time to move from Etosha to our last location, which was one new to me, and highly anticipated by all of us. Before that, we have to cross the eastern part of Etosha National Par, where cheetah and leopards are often see. Not by us this time around.   The first part of the drive was almost empty of wildlife, with wide expanses of dry savanna bordering to the vast expanse of Etosha Pan.         The area around Namutoni was greener than the rest of Etosha. No elephants or rhinos but a mice selection of grazers and a few birds.           And the last sighting was this lovely Damara Dikdik, found on aptly named Dikdik Drive.         After exiting at Von Lindequist gate, we were on tarred road again, and our b&b were very thankful for the smooth ride towards our next stop.  

Next camp in Etosha was my favorite one, Halali. On two previous visits Zvezda and I always had great sightings here, not to mention the excellent waterhole inside the camp. Here we have booked cottages; the breakfast was included and the dinners we ate at the restaurant. The food was surprisingly good for an NWR operation.           There were birds and smaller mammals visiting us each day, and enough birds to make a midday birding worthwhile.                 The Moringa waterhole has its own share of visitors, much bigger in stature.           There are several waterholes around Halali, both natural as manmade. Cruising between them gave us many excellent photo ops.                  Landscape photography was not at its best, but one cannot miss the iconic tree of Etosha!         Cats? Yes we have seen them ... in their preferred mood. And ellies and even a small traffic jam.          

A great teaser Ian - lovely photos! We also visited Iguacu Falls when we did the Pantanal (way too long back in 2013), a truly magnificent place. No Hotel do Cataratas for us, so it was admittedly a "once in a lifetime" (and never again) experience for us because of the crowds. I do remember those feisty Coati! Looking forward to the Pantanal part!

Mwamba camp now looks a bit too fancy for my liking. Though the wildlife-viewing and scenic quality of the area probably justifies a 'who cares?' response to that sentiment     The old Mwamba and old Zibalianja camps remain my favourites. I doubt I would have been attracted to the more luxurious but short-lived new Zib which Great Plains opened in 2008... even without the fire and gas bottle explosion which blew the kitchen to pieces early one morning in September that year.    The Selinda newsletter at the time said flaming shrapnel landed near tent 4, and the blast was heard 7 km away at Selinda camp. Heroic staff contained the fire and nobody was seriously hurt. I always thought Zib was a most exciting camp!

@AfricIanMany thanks for starting your trip report of Brazil. Your teaser shots are outstanding! Your report comes at a great time for me as I started to plan a trip to the Pantanal for August 2026. So far I am experiencing sticker shock! I’m trying my best to find value for money while still have some standards and many days of sightseeing.  Hopefully you will provide more information and talk about where you got value for money on your Pantanal trip.   

@AfricIan thanks for sharing your Iguazu and Pantanal adventure. Your photos remind me of our visit in 2010 and I see the Das Cataratas Hotel is still a pink and white confection, such a lovely place to stay. Looking forward to your Pantanal trip when you have time.

~ @AfricIan:   Well, these latest images have certainly hooked my attention.   The portraits with the falls in the background — very nice.   Rainbows to enhance the already remarkable setting.   Such clear weather, resulting in classic landscapes.   Butterflies, birds, food! You've provided enough to intensify interest.   That immense river catfish is impressive.   In the third image above there are birds circling below or perched.   Do you have any idea what species they were?    Thank you for all of these.   As a teenager I lived in Buenos Aires but never went up to Misiones Province to see Iguaçu.            Tom K.

Thanks @Tom Kellie, I hope to keep you following along.   Iguaçu  Our BA flight was on-time & after collecting our bags we made our way through to Terminal 2 to wait for our Latam flight down to Iguaçu. @Towlersonsafarimentioned “old git” priority and I have to say it’s a great system, basically once over 60 you go to the front of every queue including airport check-in, boarding etc, the only downside I found was when I was refused an extra legroom seat – clearly if you’re old and infirm enough for age priority you’re incapable of opening the emergency exits, you can’t win them all!  Arletta, our local guide, was waiting for us on arrival & it was a quick run from the airport to the Hotel das Cataratas, our very comfortable base for two nights. The hotel is inside the Iguaçu National Park so we weren’t restricted to the park opening & closing times and had time for a wander down to the falls before dinner and & another opportunity to view from the Brazil side on our last morning before our afternoon flight back to Sao Paulo . Our ‘middle day’ was spent over on the Argentine side.            Chestnut-eared Aracari   American Black Vulture   Sundowners on the terrace   Next morning we had guests for breakfast: South American Coati     Butterfly Orchid   Scaly-headed Parrot   Then out of the park, across the border into Argentina   It's quite a walk from the 'Visitor Centre' to the falls but you can do some of it aboard the Rainforest Ecological Train, we took the train to the 'end-of-the-line' and out to Garganta Del Diablo (Devils Throat) & then round the Circuito Inferior (Lower Trail). The train was built by Alan Keef Ltd. in Ross-on-Wye, UK.           Salto Dos Hermanos (Two Brothers Waterfall)   Bizarrely, this Southern Lapwing had decided that nesting between the platforms was a good plan!   Plush-crested Jay   No fishing in the National Park so the Catfish were an impressive size.   Back at the hotel, a surprise picnic on the lawn in front of the hotel looking down to the falls awaited us.   This was just a fraction of the spread laid on for the 3 of us!   This Southern Lapwing didn't seem to want to join in with the picnic though.   Next morning we took another walk along the Brazilian side of the falls           Toco Toucan   88'89 Butterfly       Next: Transpantaneira Highway & Pousada Rio Claro  

~ @AfricIan:   The great images above and the helpful maps are much appreciated.   The action shown in your photos is especially interesting.         Tom K.

*Or is it “jaGUar” now!!   Coming after a couple of great reports recently from @Towlersonsafari& @Miss Biscuit, I’m hoping this won’t be too much “after the Lord Mayor’s Show” but fingers crossed there will be sufficient differences and photographs to keep you tuned in.   There was scenery,   Unusual security posts,   Poses,   Cuties,   Dining,   Action,   And, although you know I’m not much of a birder, some feathered friends,   This trip was a Busanga Safaris “out of Africa” trip and as usual was impeccably organised (& escorted) by Lesley Pitt. The core trip was to the Pantanal but Vicky & I thought that if we were going to go to Brazil then we should really go and see the Iguaçu Falls so we added on a couple of days beforehand to visit there.   Our itinerary: 28th Aug, London to Sao Paulo overnight, British Airways 29th Aug, Sao Paulo to Iguaçu, LATAM 29th – 31st Aug, Hotel das Cataratas, Iguaçu (A) 31st  Aug, Iguaçu to Sao Paulo, LATAM, overnight Hampton by Hilton Guarulhos (B) 1st Sep, Sao Paulo to Cuiaba, LATAM, overnight Pousada Rio Claro (C) 2nd to 6th Sep, Pantanal Wetlands, Barco Aguape (D) 6th Sep, Pousada Puival (E) 7th to 10th Sep, Pantanal Wetlands, Hotel Baiazinha (F) 10th Sep, Cuiaba to Sao Paulo, LATAM, overnight Hampton by Hilton Guarulhos (B) 11th Sep, Sao Paulo to London overnight, British Airways   Maps     We were a very small (select?) group, Vicky & myself + Jackie & M - it was great to meet up with M again, who we last travelled with to Zakouma back in 2019. Jackie had also opted for the Iguaçu leg so we met her at LHR and joined M & Lesley in the bar of the Hampton on our return to Sao Paulo.    Coming next: Iguaçu  

Great to see so many wonderful pictures of Western Namibia. I never got to go there in my 8 visits to Namibia which  were mostly in the Khomas Hochland and a couple of visits to  Caprivi.