We are thrilled to announce two new winners of our ongoing photo competition. Tracey Gluck and Miriam Long have both received their $500 Amex gift certificates for their April photo submissions. Find out where they captured these special shots, in their own words …
Tracey Gluck – Gorilla Hand
The photo was taken in May, 2012 while we were tracking the Sabinyo family of Gorillas in Rwanda’s Parc National des Volcans. It took us about an hour and a half to find the group. They are considered a very special family group as one of the males splintered off a larger group and created his own unit. They were all in a nice little clearing when we found them, so we spent an hour sitting with them. This was a teenage male sitting just in front of me, having a leisurely scratch. A highlight of our tracking experience was leaving with some of the trackers to go and find the rest of the group. My friend and I offered to go with them, and leave the others behind. So we got a private tour bashing through the thick foliage, up the steep volcanic slopes. It was really exciting.
We spent 2 days tracking gorillas in Rwanda as part of our safari itinerary with African Portfolio. This was our second trip to Rwanda and we hope to go back next year to track gorillas again, it’s become a passion. We also visited Zambia on the same trip which was fantastic. We got to see the Victoria Falls and a real highlight was swimming in Devil’s Pool.
Hot Air Balloon – Miriam Long
We were in Kenya staying at Little Governers Camp for 4 nights after working on a water project in Uganda. It was just my husband and I, and we only had a few days to treat ourselves. We took the balloon safari in the early morning, it was still dark on the Mara Plains. A couple of balloons were just about to take off next to ours, and we took this photo.It’s hard to get a photo of your own balloon! The balloon flight was fantastic, we saw the sun come up over the horizon and hundreds of wildebeest and zebra on the Mara plains. We were lucky with our timing, the Great Migration was in full swing,. This was taken at the end of July in 2008. It really is one of nature’s best shows — just incredible.
We also recently spent Christmas in South Africa, this time with our children which was very different to Kenya. South Africa certainly offered more to do besides a safari, which suited us for a family vacation. But there is really nothing to compare with a safari in East Africa. The sheer number of animals is just awe inspiring.
June is Still Open for Your Submissions!
June is currently open for your photo submissions, we are looking forward to sharing your memories with you! Find out a little more about our Photo Competition here. Don’t forget to send your submissions in jpeg format to: [email protected]. This is going to turn into an amazing 2014 calendar!