Nat's Adventures

Safari's/Adventures

I have been fortunate enough to travel to Kenya, Tanzania, the Maldives, Bavaria, Spain, New Zealand, Northumberland in the UK, the Isle of May and Nepal, in which I have encountered a wide variety of incredible species. 
Many animal encounters from these travels are depicted in my series of drawings and prints over the years 'Animals in their environment'.

In the wilderness I felt a wide range of emotions, as well as feeling very privileged and also feeling at home.

On safari's, one's senses are heightened and awareness of colours, patterns, smells, and an array of calls from the wild are totally captivating. The desire to stay there forever is overwhelming on occasions.

Highlights of the above Adventures and experiences

These adventures and experiences not only offer great opportunities for invaluable photo reference for my drawings, but have also sculpted me into the person I am today. 
One example I would like to share is a trip to the Rhino lodge in the village of Bardia, Nepal. There, the children play together with huge smiles on their faces, laughing and having fun, oblivious to the luxuries we have. This simple enjoyment of life makes me realise how fortunate I am and that the simple things in life are so easily taken for granted - our friends, family, people we meet along the way, stories we share and memories we treasure. 
These children loved having their photo taken and seeing their picture on our cameras. It was so fascinating and fun for them and they couldn't understand how their picture had appeared on the screen of the camera. The children were so endearing and they kept saying 'photo photo!' wanting to see more photos of themselves on our cameras and never getting tired of this.

New Zealand, very beautiful - it was like home from home. Like an old England but with a photo opportunity with each corner you turned! The highlight in New Zealand had to be Kiakoura, South Island when we went Whale watching in Kiakoura, the company was called 'Whale Watch'. Not only were the guides so informative, it was also scary to think that it was not that long ago that whaling went on here. To have transformed whaling into protecting, preserving and giving us a magical experience, was really special. 
We saw the humpback twice and the second time, the whale breached coming fully out of the water - I actually don't think anyone breathed and there was not a dry eye on that boat!

The plains of the Mara in Kenya, Africa is special for me and I felt at home there. The wildlife and birdlife is just incredible, not forgetting the amazing landscapes and trees. My favourite tree is the Baobab tree.
We drove many miles in Tanzania and it was amazing to see the landscape change so much from Dar es Salaam, a tropical terrain, humid like a microwave to huge cobble stones scattered over the hills, looking as though they had come from Cornwall but on a lot larger scale. 
Visiting Selous National park, where we were very lucky to see 21 African Wild dogs, Ruaha (the second largest National park in Tanzania)  which we went out on the wonderful Great Ruaha river to which is where the name  derived from. We also had an amazing time at Mikumi National park and Rufiji as well. Rufiji river being the largest in Tanzania which lies entirely within Tanzania. It is always an awesome experience going out on the rivers as you get to see the array of birds closer, plus I love being on the water.
I loved being in the wilderness, the wildlife's environment and as I was in the wild there was always the possibility of seeing anything! No guarantee, but with so much going on, so much to see, it is all an adventure, an experience and most of all, a privilege. There were so many things we spotted, the guides were so impressed when we spotted the Scopes owl! 

There was so much history, culture and old architecture in the captivating Nepal, especially in the Dwarikas hotel, Kathmandu, such character, beauty and history. A lot of the hand carved wooden windows had been rescued, restored and used. 
Even walking round the Stupas with both locals and travellers joining in the 13 steps to enlightenment, the more you walked around, the more you did feel lighter, worries and thoughts lifted, it was an awesome feeling, now again catching someone's eye and smiling at one another, it was a great experience. I also loved the fact that both Buddhist and Hindu pray in the same temples. Another highlight was the prayer flags everywhere resembling each prayer blowing in the wind. The hand-painted symbols on the door frames to the temples and the buddha wisdom eyes on the stupas, reminded me of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, even though very different in shapes and form but fascinating and interesting and I felt very spiritual and free. 
Our guides were amazing in every way, so very informative and educational both with the array of birdlife and their culture, really inviting like friends and we parted as friends. 
I could write so much more about what we saw, the close encounters, the stories, each trip is so different, so many captures, each one memorable and gaining friends but to sum up, there is so much beauty in the world, good for the soul, makes me smile and smaller than we know, that is why we must help preserve it and do our bit, no matter how small it may seem.

To read a more in-depth encounter click here.

Here are a couple of mixed photos I took in Nepal, sadly only a smidge of what I took...

Hope you enjoy...

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