At the end of the rainbow... (Sat, 08 Jan 2011)
... I want to find myself canoeing in the Okavango Delta. Well a pot of gold would do nicely but going back to the the Okavango Delta in Botswana is a must. There is probably no place on Earth with a more dense concentration of sensory bombardments. The huge inland delta where the Okavango River vaporizes into the Kalahari Desert is characterized by extreme seasons of alternating dry land and flooding. The wild beauty of the flora is surpassed by the abundance of wildlife. Here you find almost anything from the big five to nesting grounds for thousands of bird species. As an amateur photographer your head almost explodes from all the Kodak moments. And at the same time you sure feel alive sailing in a tiny Mokoro canoe in waters dominated by hippos. For more pictures see the Okavango delta gallery © Søren Berg
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Lions climb trees - no kidding! (Sat, 18 Dec 2010)
Every child knows, that you should climb a tree, if a lion is chasing you. Well, that will not do it in Savuti... The daylight disappears in a flaming fire in the western horizon. The birds of the dessert is tugging themselves in on the scorched branches of naked trees while the owls, leopards and the rest of the animal nightshift is getting ready for the hunt. Our Botswana-guide, Lee, and the massive Landcruiser are taking us by small, winding tracks back to our provisional tent camp in the middle of the Savuti national park in the northern Kalahari desert. Filled with impressions and adventure – and hungry for dinner. We are quite satisfied without seeing more wildlife today. But just a short way from the camp there is a huge shadow about four meters up in a tree. Barely visible in the dark but the enthusiasm rises greatly: We have spotted a leopard! The leopard is undoubtedly the most numerous of the big cats in Africa, but by far the hardest one to see. Against all common sense, we try to photograph it in the dark. Suddenly we realize, that this is not a leopard - it is a lion. A lion climbing trees! Every child knows, that you should climb a tree, if a lion is chasing you. Well, that will not do it in Savuti. The tough living conditions in Kalahari have forced the lions to change their behavior. It is in Savuti as well, that a pride of lions consisting of 26 individuals has been known to prey on elephants. And only a few hundred kilometers to the south in the central Kalahari have the lions adapted to live without water for extensive periods of time. They meet thirst only with the bodily fluids of the prey. No one knows exactly why the Lions of Savuti now climbs trees – opposite the leopard the lion’s claws are not suited for climbing. The phenomenon is rarely seen, but is also known from the area around Lake Manyara in Tanzania. In the case of the Savuti lions their new ability could be a result of irritation of the abundance of sand flies. Whatever the explanation this magnificent cat is lying on a branch over our heads. The lion seems uneasy and annoyed by all the attention, as darkness has converted everything to a deep shadow we leave it alone. At the bonfire the talk about the lion reaches a euphoric state. Our two guides have 15 years of wilderness experience and have never seen lions in trees before. We know we have been extraordinarily lucky. Earlier on the very same day, we saw a Rowan antelope – an endangered species – but that is only a minor issue now. The roar of lions in the distance when we fall asleep in the tents that night just completes a perfect day. TRACKS IN THE SAND Early next morning we see lion tracks in the sand. We follow the tracks in the Landcruiser. More tracks appear – the lion is not alone. We are tracking the lions for 3-4 kilometers before we are rewarded for the persistency. Four lions show up ahead – two big males and two young males. We ease our way forward, getting closer and closer with the memory cards in the cameras working harder and harder. The peace of the scenery is only disturbed by the clicks of the cameras and a silent whisper. Do not frighten the animals. Despite the good intentions, the Landcruiser suddenly sounds like a soccer stadium a second after a goal. 25 meters from us lay three female lions in a tree! Our guides have never seen it before, and now we witness this twice in less than 48 hours. On top of it, we are this time blessed with an inviting golden morning light from a perfect angle. For some time we are observing the pride of at least 8 individuals. Besides a few lazy looks the lions are unconcerned with our presence. Even though the sparkling enthusiasm makes us very noisy and careless. At some point I lean out of the car to focus on one of the big males walking in the tall grass 20-30 meters from the car. But brownish fur just under my elbows makes my heart skip a beat. The other big male is unnoticed walked up alongside the Landcruiser. Had the lions lifted the head, there would have been bodily contact. A little more cautious and high on adrenalin the morning safari continues. And we have not run out of luck yet. An hour and a half later the guide Lee sees at tale in a tree. We drive down into the dried out riverbed of the Savuti Channel, and above us in at tall tree lies a leopard, resting from the nightly hunt. It observes us as much as we watch it. It is a thrill for us but the leopard only spares us an indifferent yawn. (This story is from 2006 and was originally printed in the monthly magazine Samvirke.) © Søren Berg
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Dangerous scorpion under my tent (Sat, 11 Dec 2010)
It’s just before dawn in Etosha National park in Namibia. The first morning light is still weak but we are in a hurry to take down camp prior to the very last safari drive. We are at a big and crowded campsite inside the huge park. Portuguese Ana helps me rolling up my tent, and suddenly both of us sees this fast black shadow disappearing further underneath the tent. One more roll and the intruder are exposed - a Parabuthus Villosus also known as a “black hairy thick-tailed scorpion”. The big scorpion is clearly uncomfortable with the attention from us and tries to run. Our guide Wilma joins us and tries to make the scorpion walk up in the palm of her hand but it resists all attempts. Finally we just take a photo and let it run. In years of travel I’ve been shaking my shoes and inspected my sleeping bag and other stuff knowing that some day there would be a scorpion. Always expected it to be scary when it would happen. But it wasn’t. No really! Even though dangerous scorpions are the stuff of nightmares watching the behavior of this intruder just showed a scared creature and at no point does the scorpion try to sting. Like other encounters I’ve had with dangerous animals there is no aggression whatsoever. Mostly they just try to get out of my way - sometimes they are even curious. The Hollywood staging of scorpions as scheming and predatory aggressors is so far from real wildlife. But I’m sure glad it didn’t sting! Aggressive or not this scorpion is highly dangerous. A little research later on revealed some facts: Worldwide 25 species of scorpions are considered dangerous to humans - potentially lethal - if you don’t get medical attention fast. Of these 25 species Parabuthus Villosus is the biggest in size but not the most deadly. The mere fact that this was the first living scorpion I’ve encountered in nature is interesting too. Many months of travel in natural habitats for scorpions on several continents should have given plenty of opportunity. And I can’t count the number of rocks I’ve turned over to see a scorpion. But they are elusive creatures. © Søren Berg
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The return of the Vikings (Sun, 21 Jun 2009)
The fabulous and feared ships of the Vikings is again ravaging through Roskilde Fjord in Denmark. This weekend the magnificent sight of these ancient vessels was again to be seen in numbers on the fjord. The international renowned Viking ship museum - Vikingeskibsmuseet - celebrated its 40th year anniversary this weekend with open house and 5.000 guests. Several of reconstructed Viking ships were sailing guests up and down the fjord. On the picture is “Havhingsten” which is the largest reconstructed Viking Ship in the world - modelled of one of the archaeological finds in Roskilde Fjord. Build in Roskilde this ship has crossed the ocean to Glendalough near Dublin in Ireland and back. “Havhingsten” is 30 meters long and has a crew of 60. Now the museum is planning to reconstruct an even larger ship - about 36 meters. © Søren Berg
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Solar eclipse in Zambia (Sat, 13 Jun 2009)
Next month there will be a spectacular solar eclipse in Asia – covering cities like Shanghai in China. Would love to be there – experiencing one more solar eclipse. But not this time… June 21st 2001 I had the pleasure in Zambia in southern Africa. Placed directly in the center of the totality zone it was an extraordinary experience – a solar eclipse is at phenomenon you will never forget. We were located north of Lusaka on a farmer’s field. Just next to a village school and a tiny airstrip, where a DC3 was lifting wealthy tourists up for a closer look. We followed the Moon passing the Sun – slowly covering more and more of the light. Even when the Moon covered more than 95 percent of the Sun there was not really that much of a difference. Through the special glasses and filters you could see the change, but the light was still extremely bright, the afternoon heat still intense and everything was actually quite normal. Then the Moon suddenly switched off the Sun completely. The last beam of light disappeared and in seconds the temperature dropped several degrees. After about two minutes it was quite chilly and felt like the freshness just before daybreak. We could smell the humidity coming from the otherwise scorched earth. The birds silenced like at nightfall and even the insects stopped humming. All around us in the horizon – 360 degrees – we could see the frail light of daybreak. Plain weird. Above us the bright corona surrounded the black moon. For a brief moment, we saw the ring of pearls at one side of the Moon, where light slipped trough the uneven surface. A painful shot of light marked the end of the total eclipse. And in a minute it was day again. The heat kicked in, the sunglasses put back on, and nature woke up again. I photographed the eclipse with my old Canon Powershot Pro 90IS. Not really the optimum camera for this task, but I got a few pictures. During the partial eclipse I used silver foil as filter – very clumsy solution. I do hope the sky will stay clear for all those guys going to Shanghai and surroundings. © Søren Berg
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Dancing with fire (Sun, 07 Jun 2009)
A Thai acrobat juggling with fire on the beach on the island of Koh Chang in Thailand. Every evening after sunset a group of acrobats are touring all the major resorts along the coastline. Accompanied by loud, heavy-beat music they perform their eye-catching show again and again making a living on the tourist tipping them. © Søren Berg
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Burning UFO over Oregon (Mon, 01 Jun 2009)
Well, it is just a cloud lit-up by the setting sun. The perfect shape, the sharp edges and the burning thrust at the rear makes it look like something out of this world. I captured the “UFO” in Grants Pass, Oregon USA. The cloud was hovering over a small summit just outside of town. The shape shifted numerous times during a period of less than an hour. The picture to the right is taken only twenty minutes before the picture above. © Søren Berg
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Scared pigeon leaves print on my window (Sun, 24 May 2009)
I feed the birds in my garden and among the regulars at the feed board is a handful of ring pigeons. Every cat in the neighbourhood have spotted a possible easy lunch and even Charles Darwin would probably have found interest in watching the predatory stalking and ambushing only a few feet away. So far I guess that the complacent household cats have come up empty. But one day a pigeon got a real scare and flew head on into our garden door. My wife witnessed the scene, and amazingly the pigeon got away. But leaving this extraordinary mark on the glass. Dust in the feathers drawing the left wing and the body. Well, the pigeons still come back for more - bird seed that is. © Søren Berg
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The Movie Theatre in Cannes, France (Wed, 20 May 2009)
The magnificently painted facade on the movie theatre in the movie capitol of Europe - Cannes. Right now the annual film festival is in its final stage. Although the Mediterranean city is crowded with tourists, Cannes is definitely worth visiting. Lots of crooked pedestrian streets, a nice view from the church on the hilltop and a grotesque display of extravaganza in the designer shops - and especially in the harbour, where fantazillions of euros and dollars are spent on yachts. (Yeah, I want one too...) © Søren Berg
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