Only in South Africa » Traveling in SA

Photographing the Namaqualand

Pascal Parent — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:08:55 +0000

Going to the Namaqualand I did what every photographer does packed my bag with everything, in the end I could have left it all behind and just took my 16-35mm as I took 90% 0f my photographs with it.

I found the the close focusing distance and shortness of the lens was handy, additionally small flowers are well defined. It’s not a macro by far but it works. I had a 100mm macro along and used it far less then I expected, just the length of the lens was a problem, seriously try to get under a 200mm bush with a camera that is 200mm, does not work well, take it from me. My wife however found it hilarious…

So how does one capture this splendour? I opted to try something very different, I call it the “ant view”, how would an ant see the flower? From under obviously, not all my shots are like that but very few are from the “human” view as well, in fact I tried my hardest not to do the “human” thing, it’s so snapshot don’t you think? I also found a low aperture (f/2.8-4) advantageous, since flowers are in scattered bushes it give an illusion of depth, who said that photographers can’t be magicians? For some reason, I also found that shooting at 1/3 to a stop lower gave a far better contrast and definition to the final product, it may have to do with the blue sky.

I also shot a few panoramic composites, all prepared for HDR, only one worked as an HDR, the drama in the sky tell it all.

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Traveling the Namaqualand

Pascal Parent — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:33:00 +0000

Firstly, the Namaqualand is a quasi desert, and even in this time of blooming and flowers, it is a barren forbidding place, dry and sandy. Here you will not find carpets of flowers, they do exist but few and far apart and mostly it’s an illusion. You will need to get out on foot and to your knees and elbows, lie down in the dirt to see them and appreciate them, you will need to see it as an ant sees the world. Therein lies the beauty, therein lies the miracle of nature. And suddenly the barren forbidding place becomes a place of infinite possibilities, a visual marvel, I’ll write more about that in my next post.

Some recommendations, if you want to do the Flowers of the Namaqualand, get yourself a 4×4. The roads, even the regional ones are in a really bad state, some are heavily corrugated, potholed sand roads, were as the so called tarred roads are damaged by time and lack of maintenance. The only good quality road we found was the N7, the national road. In the Namakwa District of the Northern Cape Province the rest of the roads leaves a lot to be desired.

As for camping, we used the Springbok Caravan Park and the Vrebe Caravan Park in Kamieskroon both supplied electricity and a clean environment. In my opinion the Vrebe Caravan Park is the better of the two and at just 70 km from Springbok and on the border of the Namakwa National Park it is the better choice. There is also a park adjoining Springbok, the Goegap Nature Reserve, you can go there with a car but as with the Namakwa National Park, there are many 4×4 trails and few are sand roads for sedans or the likes.

To find the flowers you will need to be a little adventurous and go deeper into the country side then you may expect. The tourist information centres at Clanwilliam (the best in my opinion) and Springbok will help you to find your way to them.

You can find good information here but I advice you to go to Clanwilliam’s Tourist Information Centre on your way to Springbok from Cape Town.

Finally, the preferred time to go to the Namaqualand is at the end of August beginning of September but all in all it depends on when the rain comes.

To see some of my photos of the Namaqualand go here.

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Off to the mother city

Pascal Parent — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 04:40:39 +0000

I have not traveled, outside of my work, in a while now. Even less travel involving, well truth be told, no accommodation booking. We did not book because we will follow the flowers, we hope. Merely, we are off to the fabled flowers of the Namaqualand with a short stop in Cape Town. We decided to take our flight through Lanseria International Airport as opposed to the monstrous and complicated O.R.Tambo International Airport.

It’s a quiet start to what will turn out to be an adventure. 2 cameras, 2 photographers, 1 camper, 14 days and nowhere to go, everywhere to go. Just the way it should be.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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Great photogenic places in South Africa – Part 2

Pascal Parent — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:36:36 +0000

Most probably, the most recognizable place in South Africa is Table Mountain in Cape Town. It is an amazing place to photograph, also a very hard one to get right and to be honest I still have to get there. But I will. I have the place to shoot from, the Milnerton beach.

Thanks to my good friend and photography enthusiast Kevin Naicker, I have a photo to show you. This was taken at 19H45, yes that is late, from Otto Du Plessis Drive (Beach Blvd) in Blouberg.

Great photogenic places of South Africa – Part 1

Great photogenic places of South Africa – Part 1

Pascal Parent — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 07:46:00 +0000

Following my interview with Michelle Ashburner of South Africans You Should Meet, I got the idea of a series of posts on “South African Places You Should Go” having been around South Africa and found places that should be visited by all South Africans and tourist alike. Places of wonder, light and inspiration that should not be missed. So for the next few weeks I will be sharing these with you. I will start with the “Great photogenic places of South Africa”, ideas and comments are welcomed.

The one place that strikes me, the most in beauty and splendour is the Blyde Canyon in the Mpumalanga province. There is a wonder about standing on the edge of a canyon and felling the updraft from the plains below, walking along a chasm in the ground. Here you will see the 3 Roundavels, the Blydepoort Dam and beyond to the Kruger National Park. It just takes your breath away living you feel exhilarated and insignificant all at the same time.

The sight is unmistakable and beautiful. This is one place not to be missed whilst on you way to the Kruger National Park from Johannesburg.

Great photogenic places in South Africa – Part 2

Pilanesberg Game Reserve, 4days in 2 weeks

Pascal Parent — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:56:12 +0000

I was fortunate enough to enjoy the unforgettable Pilanesberg Game Reserve for 4 days over a 2 weeks period. The first was a long weekend and the second 1 lonely Sunday with some friends form Belgium and France.

Something you should know about the park is that it has deteriorated over the past few years, I was forced to ask a friend for her 4×4 to travel through it with guests, not so much for it’s 4 wheel drive as for it’s ground clearance. The North-West province, the owners and curators of the park, are building beautiful and impressive entrances to the park but not maintaining it’s roads. As far as the rest of the park is concerned it look as beautiful as ever.

Something odd happened between my 2 visits, a week apart, it comes to show how un-expectable and temperamental nature is. I have always said that entering a nature reserve is a bit like going to a casino you know what you enter with, hopefully an open mind, but you don’t know what you will get out. The first weekend we were there we saw an abundance of elephants and very few rhinoceroses, the second we saw an abundance of rhinoceroses but no elephants. This is a typical example of nature’s will at work, it will give you what it will. I can always guarantee that going to any reserves makes for interesting trips.

Pilanesberg Game Reserve also has a charm about it, being in a 1300 million year old volcano helps, this is best enjoyed in one of the many picnic sites. Take something to eat with you and have a small barbeque at lunch in one of these, I guarantee you you will enjoy it. The many dams should also be visited, most have bird hides, they often have unexpected sights such as fish, birds, bucks and maybe a predator. Another positive aspect of the Pilanesberg Game Reserve is it’s distance to Johannesburg, at about 200km, it is an acceptable distance for a day visit.

Photographically speaking, it’s a gem, because of it’s abundance of wildlife and distance to Johannesburg. You will need a long lens and I recommend a polarising filter when near dams, the glare can be quiet bad. I usually only take my 100-400mm lens along with my point and shoot for such a trip, anything else is a waist of space.

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The Gateway Show

Pascal Parent — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 10:39:24 +0000

I go to various shows around the year, I had not been to the Gateway Show in about 3 years, I found it rather uninteresting, this year I made an exception and decided to go.

In brief, the Gateway show to me is all about living the outdoors and some adventure, this year’s theme was hotels, hotels, hotels, hotels and let me not forget hotels.

Even though the usual suspects were there, I was rather disappointed, why is GO/WEG Magazine not doing a show of their own, it might just turn out to be better.

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No post this week

Pascal Parent — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:01:00 +0000

I know the title is an oxymoron, after all this is a post right?

So I went down to Cape Town last week and decided to stay with a good friend, good company always bring out your best. I planed to go and shoot some penguins, real ones this time, at Boulders beach (Google Map, Google Image Search) on Saturday morning. Only to end up rained out.

Let me say that it’s been 2 year’s I have tried to go back to Boulders Beach without much success. So, in light of my absolute failure to get any penguin photographs I opted not to have a post this week.

However, should you be interested in penguins you can adopt one (or many) from SANCCOB whom are, in my opinion, doing a wonderful job of saving these rather peculiar birds and others, my wife and I did.

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Marakele National Park

Pascal Parent — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:26:41 +0000

Situated in the heart of the Waterburg and about 2.5 hours from Johannesburg, Marakele National Park is probably one park I will carry on visiting. Not that it has a lot of wildlife, but rather that the wildlife comes to you when camping at Bontle Camp Site.

A word of warning though, as with Mapungubwe National Park, a high rise vehicle is advisable if you intend to visit the park’s northern side.

Bontle Camping Site is situated next to a small dam making it an ideal spot to setup camp and relax. There are no fences to talk about here, the pillars are there but the fence is long gone. A good thing really because you feel more connected. The ablution blocks are well maintained and clean, as with Mapungubwe National Park, the park’s shop has very little to offer, luckily it’s a short 15 minutes ride to Thabazimbi, a mining town where you can find anything you will need.

Left side of view from my tent at Bontle camping site in Marakele
Right side of view from my tent at Bontle camping site in Marakele

Once you have set up camp on the dam side, if you can find a spot, sit down relax and let the wildlife come to you, let it sink in, enjoy the sounds and smell and who knows the local rhinoceros and ostriches may just come and visit, not to mention the usual bucks and antelopes… It is also worthy to note that Marakele National Park has a vast bird life.

Click to enlarge photographs.

Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site

Pascal Parent — Sat, 29 May 2010 06:43:42 +0000

Mapungubwe National Park is not exactly a place you decide to go too on a hunch, unless you are my wife and I, situated on the northern tip of South Africa, bordering both Botswana and Zimbabwe, it is a solid 6 hour trip from Johannesburg. So was it all worth it? The short of it is a resounding yes, with a few caveats along the way.

Things to know about Mapungubwe National Park:

Use a high rise vehicle, an SUV, 4×4 or similar ideally.
Deflate your tyres to about 1.8 to 2 bars, will help on the badly maintained roads around the park. Inside are dust roads so deflated tyres are still a good idea.
There is no cellular signal, except at the gate if you are lucky.
There are no shops anywhere near Mapungubwe National Park, so stock up.
The closest petrol station is a cool 70km away, so refuel there first before entering the park.
The park is divided into 2 sections, west where the World Heritage Site is and east where the camping grounds are. The is a 45 minutes between the two.

Now let forget about the caveats and get back to the business of Mapungubwe National Park.

We went to Mapungubwe National Park without any preconceived ideas or expectations, what we faced was breath taking beauty rarely seen. Mapungubwe National Park has wildlife, we saw elephants and rhinoceros as well as foxes and the usual bucks and antelopes and it has a viarity of predators but no buffalos leaving it with only 4 of the Big Five. But we found out that one does not go to Mapungubwe National Park for the wildlife but rather for the incredible sceneries of contrasting colours and carved landscape, not forgetting a lesson in African history. The first day we got there, we booked a sunset drive with a ranger, Johannes in this case, we often do this to get the layout of the land, the local rangers know their parks better then we do. The drive was spectacular, yet we saw little wildlife, though I did add an animal to my collection of photographs, the bat-eared fox.

The next day was rather educational, we booked the visit to Mapungubwe Hill, the World Heritage Site inside the park, I am not going to tell you the history but needless to say it’s a little confusing to say the least, lots of theories and uncertainties. One thing is sure, it belongs with the Lost Cities of the world. I would highly recommend the visit. Cedric, our guide, was well informed and neutral enough in his narration, he gave us more then one theory and was not shy to add his own.

In short, if you have a high rise vehicle and a passion for Africa as well as not looking too much for wildlife, it scores a 4/5 across the board.

New Video Feature.

Pascal Parent — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:41:57 +0000

So what is? Well, thanks to a Canon EOS 7D, a Canon PowerShot SX20 IS and a Canon Legria FS306 I have a bunch of video to share from a recent trip. So here is the first one, it’s short and sweet. Taken in the magnificent Mapungubwe National Park on the border of Botswana and Zimbabwe, enjoy. Expect some more soon.

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Photo of the Day – Whale splash down

Pascal Parent — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:01:00 +0000

Today is a little different because today there are 2 photos, these are 2 separate whale landing after a breach.

A trivial fact is that whales always land on their back after a breach!

Spicies: Southern Right Whale