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Mauritius

Sailing boat at sunset off Grand Baie, Mauritius

Mauritius is beautiful. The centre of the island boasts mountains of curious and intriguing shape. The coast is covered in tropical gardens. The bougainvillea, of pinks, reds and purples, are quite magnificent.

Surrounding the coast are calm waters, enclosed by a reef. At Grand Baie (in the north of the island) the water is beautifully blue. In the morning, the lagoons inside the reef are green, truly the colour of emeralds. In the afternoon they change to hundreds of shades of blue.

My photography doesn’t extend to capturing such radiance.

Mauritius. 11 June 2001.

Diamond ring

In a total eclipse of the sun, we sometimes see what’s known as the Diamond Ring effect.

It is seen at both ends of totality: just before the moon completely hides the sun, and just as the sun begins to emerge from behind the moon. This photo was taken just as totality ended. Sunlight was beginning to return.

The edge of the moon isn’t smooth: it has mountains and valleys. So as the sun slips away from the moon, a shaft of light can break through between the mountains of the moon, creating the diamond ring.

The little sparkle of light near 9 o’clock is a prominence. To the naked eye it looked bright red. Prominences are huge eruptions of gas from the surface of the sun. That tiny speck is big enough to engulf the earth.

The Diamond Ring lasts only a few seconds. In moments, the sun began to return. It was another hour and half before the sun had completely cleared the moon. By then it was nearly 4.30pm, so the heat of the day didn’t return. That night was the coldest of my whole holiday. There was ice on the tents next morning. I haven’t been able to find out if this was a coincidence, or was an effect of the eclipse.

Chisamba, Zambia. 21 June 2001.

Herb Koenig, Eclipse-watcher

Herb Koenig, eclipse-watcher from San Diego. The eclipse of 2001 was his 18th total solar eclipse.

I met Herb on a farm outside Chisamba in Zambia where a couple of hundred people had met to view the total eclipse of the sun of 21 June 2001.

Outside Chisamba, Zambia. 21 June 2001.

Black-backed jackal

This cute little creature is a black-backed jackal at Etosha National Park in the north of Namibia. They are found throughout Namibia, and outside the national parks farmers find them less than cute, because these jackal take young animals of several kinds. They also eat carrion, insects and birds.

When I first saw this jackal, it was walking near the side of the road, several hundred metres away from me. It stood still while I drove up (slowly!) beside it. When I stopped the car, it looked at me quizzically, then resumed walking. When I followed in the car, it stopped, and looked, then continued its walk. I followed; it stopped and looked. This pattern continued for maybe a kilometre along the road.

One of the joys of visiting Etosha is that I could stop in the middle of the road, photograph, drive, stop, photograph and drive without any other human in sight.

On the road from Okaukuejo to Okondeka, Etosha National Park, Namibia. 28 June 2001.

Zebra at Etosha National Park

There are thousands of zebra in Etosha National Park. After several days of seeing zebra every day, I became fascinated by the unique patterns of their stripes, and the ways that family groups interacted.

I think this is my favourite zebra photo. With their very wide eyesight, I just know he was looking at me.

Near Okerfontein waterhole, Etosha National Park, Namibia. 30 June 2001.

Tree

OK, so I have this thing about taking photos of dead trees. We all have our little peculiarities!

Etosha National Park, Namibia. 30 June 2001.

Lion at Okonjima

Lion at Okonjima, Namibia

Okonjima, Namibia. 4 July 2001.

Cheetah at Okonjima

Isn’t it cute. But it’s a cheetah, the fastest animal on earth. I saw this one at Okonjima, Namibia.

Okonjima is a luxury lodge several hours north of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It is the home of Africat, a foundation that takes care of deserted and injured cats: leopards, cheetah, lions and caracal (lynx).

Okonjima, Namibia. 4 July 2001.

Chrysler Building

The Chrysler Building (my favourite of the New York skyscrapers).

Chrysler Building from 42nd Street, New York, NY, USA. 19 October 2003.