One of our recent travellers had our media team nodding their heads in stunned approval à la Robert De Niro with her impressive photos of Africa’s wildlife. Lauren Coape-Arnold, from New York City, works in Corporate Social Responsibility but it seems her talents may also lie elsewhere. Her photos are some of the best we’ve ever seen from one of our travellers.
Lauren recently visited South Africa with her husband Joe McGeehin. This was her third trip to Africa after her honeymoon with Joe in 2014 and a work trip to South Africa, Rwanda and Uganda in 2015 so she had an idea of what to expect. Nevertheless, she was still mesmerised by what she saw. Lauren and Joe visited Cape Town, Sabi Sabi and Londolozi in the Sabi Sand for a safari experience.
‘We had an absolutely incredible day in Cape Town that started early with a hike up Lion’s Head, followed by a full day of wine tasting in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, visiting our favourite wine farms like Jordan, Thelema and Warwick. We enjoyed an amazingly fresh farm-to-table lunch at Babylonstoren, followed by drinks and a special ride up to the top of the property at Delaire-Graff for stunning views of the Hottentots, and ending with dinner at Terroir.”
Even after two visits, I’m still finding more and more to love about South Africa! No matter how many times I go on safari, I’m still surprised that each drive teaches me something new and evokes so many feelings – excitement, serenity, curiosity, thrill, awe, fascination, energy, appreciation, passion and more.’
‘One of our best sightings was watching an eight-month-old leopard cub wake up from a nap and spot a small terrapin heading towards a waterhole. The cub was just beginning to enter independence, so he was learning to hunt on his own and caught the small prey. He carried it away from the water to rest under a bush, but after a few licks he gave up (apparently terrapins are smelly!) and the turtle scurried back to the water. It an amusing sighting of a cub emerging into adulthood.’
‘One of our favorite Sabi Sabi leopards had a cub since our last visit, so our top goal for this safari was to find the cub now that she was old enough for viewing. Luckily, our ranger delivered with an unforgettable sighting of the cub learning to crawl up and down a tree.’
‘There is so much to explore in Africa and so many different experiences to be had, you can’t go wrong (especially if you follow Rhino Africa’s advice). Game viewing is particularly enjoyable – and easy – when giant herds of elephants come to you. Here is a giant herd drinking from the waterhole right in front of Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge!”
My favourite photo is probably the Mashaba female’s cub up a tree at Londolozi. My photographic goal for this trip was to capture a leopard up a tree, and my ranger worked so hard to find me this scene and it was just such a gorgeous sighting to photograph. Plus, I got to work with Londolozi’s Photographic Studio to edit this picture, which taught me about post-processing in Lightroom.’
‘It was so easy and great to work with Renee, my consultant at Rhino Africa. This was my second time working with her, so there was a sense of familiarity; she knew what types of experiences I like and I completely trusted her guidance. She always provided a very personal touch to her recommendations and advice, and she even came to meet me and Joe at breakfast one day. Working with Rhino Africa I trust that I am getting the best advice from the most knowledgeable African travel experts!
If you too would like to experience an African safari and see these amazing animals for yourself, contact us now for a free no-obligations quote. Maybe you too could come back with such stories and photos.