Poland fell to the German Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) on October 6th, 1939. The invasion had started just over a month before on September 1st, 1939 and commenced the beginning of World War Two. The Soviet Union who had a pact with Nazi Germany also invaded Poland on September 17th, 1939 (this was part of a secret protocol…
Tag: Retrospective Travels
A Grim Reminder of the Past: Dachau Concentration Camp
Following Hitler’s rise to power in Germany, Dachau became the first of the Nazi concentration camps in Germany in March 1933 (it was designed to hold up to 5,000 prisoners). Initially they were intended for political prisoners but as the world spiraled into war they became a place to imprison “undesirables” and were linked to slave…
Kruger National Park: Big Bull Encounters
The African Elephant is the largest land animal. A bull male Elephant can stand up to 4 metres (13 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 6,350 kg (14,000 lbs). A big bull is an impressive beast! African Elephants roam far and wide to find enough food to keep them going. To sustain their sheer size an…
Kruger National Park: Wild Eyes Look Upon You
There is always something special about looking straight into the eyes of a wild creature. Who is looking at whom?
Kruger National Park: Painted Dogs
When I visited South Africa one of my bucket list things to do was camp in the famed Kruger National Park. This park is one of the largest in Africa, bordering both Zimbabwe and Mozambique and teems with a rich diversity of wildlife. Something I hoped to see was Lions but amazingly even though I could hear their roars…
Okavango Delta – Botswana
The Okavango Delta in north-west Botswana is a stunning and very large inland delta of permanent marshlands and seasonally flooded plains formed from the flow of the River Okavango. The delta is rare in that it does not flow into the ocean and is made up of lakes, canals, swamp and islands. Wild camping on one…
The Elephants of Chobe: Mud Bath
What better way to finish a strenuous river crossing than an enjoyable mud bath? These Elephants were having a blast in this mud pit on the river’s edge in Chobe National Park! I loved watching their enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment in all that mud (I was on a boat in the river they had just…
The Elephants of Chobe: River Crossing
The dilemma: One large herd of Elephants who want to be on the other side of a wide river in Chobe National Park where there are relaxing mud baths and plenty of fresh grasslands to explore and feed amongst. How will they get over there? Elephants don’t mess about and the solution was simple. Just get…
The Elephants of Chobe: One Herd vs. Two Lions
Any day in Chobe National Park is like watching a wildlife documentary come to life, but on this day it was simply incredible… Here was a Lion and Lioness resting and drinking from a river. They were relaxed and enjoying the sunny day. Then a smallish herd of Elephants appeared. For what ever reason they wanted…
The Elephants of Chobe: Friends
This was an interesting moment in Botswana’s Chobe National Park. This Elephant seemed to be an outcast from a nearby herd. She was trumpeting at my group out on a boat in the river and wasn’t very happy. The other Elephants just seemed to be ignoring her. Suddenly a second larger Elephant came running across bellowing at us! She then made contact…
The Elephants of Chobe: Young and Playful
Whilst travelling around Botswana’s Chobe National Park I came across this little fella. It pays to always show caution when the mother is about, but luckily this one was happy to leave us be while the young elephant just peacefully checked us out. This little guy on the other hand was very rambunctious! Rolling in the mud…
Deano's Travels 