This is the message posted on the National Geographic Discussion Forum: "Welcome back to Pete's Pond in Mashatu for season two of WildCam Africa! We hope to have the live feed from Mashatu back on line on Monday, August 21."

For those familiar with the WildCam and Pete's Pond, this is exciting news as once again there will be live feeds from this waterhole in Botswana's remote Tuli Block.

It's near the end of winter in Mashatu, traditionally the driest time of the year, so thirsty animals have little option but to head to Pete's Pond to drink. This means there's near-constant wildlife activity - from elephants to guinea fowls - coming to the water's edge. There are of course quiet times, so patience is required.

The variety of wildlife can provide fascinating viewing, as some dedicated fans found last year during the WildCam's first season, when they even named some of the regulars and became expert at taking screenshots of the wildlife (See www.scarlettini.nl/petespond.htm for a huge selection of screenshots).

You can read more about Pete's Pond from my main site, visit the WildCam page of National Geo to see what's needed to watch the live feeds, and read what's being said on the National Geo Forum.

There's also a Yahoo Group of enthusiastic "Ponders" who follow keenly what's going on and have compiled a comprehensive mammal and bird list of the visitors to the pond.

Photo Details: Samango monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) in caged enclosure, Ishona Langa Wildlife Sanctuary, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Camera: Canon EOS 350D; Lens: Canon 18-55mm zoom; Focal Length:50mm; Shutter speed: 1/200; Aperture: f5.6; ISO: 400

Additional Info: This young samango monkey will probably never be free, destined to spend the rest of its life behind bars.

Raised as a "pet", it's already too habituated to people and reliant on them to "unlearn" this behavior and survive in the wild. Although no substitute for freedom, it does at least have other monkeys as companions, lives in a large enclosure and is well cared-for.

But what to buy? The answer depends to some degree on the type of hiking you do - day hikes or longer treks - and whether you want to take just scenic shots or also pictures of the wildlife, including birds.

Weight and size are always factors when walking, so in most cases a compact digital camera that is comfortable to carry and easily accessible will be the answer.

If you want to take pictures of wildlife, then you'll need a more powerful lens, which means more weight and bulk.

Recommended features in a compact digital camera for hiking:

• 3x Optical zoom lens
• Optical viewfinder
• Image-stabilizer
• Macro mode

Photo Details: Close-up of young Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) partially submerged, Crocodile Centre, Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Camera: Canon EOS 350D; Lens: Canon 100-400 IS Zoom; Focal Length: 400mm; Shutter speed: 1/250; Aperture: f8; ISO: 400
Tags: Photos Reptiles Crocodile