Photo Details: Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) in silhouette against setting sun, Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Camera: Canon EOS 400D; Lens: Canon 100-400 IS Zoom; Focal Length: 400mm; Shutter speed: 1/500; Aperture: f10; ISO: 400; Exposure Compensation -1.

Photo Details: A baby impala antelope (Aepyceros melampus) watches inquisitively, Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Camera: Canon EOS 400D; Lens: Canon 100-400 IS Zoom; Focal Length: 220mm; Shutter speed: 1/500; Aperture: f5.6; ISO: 400;

Additional Info: I recently returned from a visit to the Kruger National Park, South Africa's flagship nature reserve. It's the first time I've visited the park in December, which is peak holiday season. It's also mid-summer, so the days are hot and steamy, while storms and thundershowers are frequent. In other words, not the best time to be travelling around in a vehicle looking for wildlife.

However, we were pleasantly surprised - by the lack of crowds, the hot but bearable weather, and the fact that much of the park was still fairly dry with winter colours dominating.

Not only did we encounter plenty of wildlife, but because many animals give birth to their young in early summer, we saw large numbers of cute impala fawns, plus baby elephants, wildebeest, zebra and giraffe.

Juvenile animals are naturally skittish and their mothers protective, so are not that easy to photograph. Fortunately we were able to get quite close to herds of impala mothers with their young, allowing us to get some pictures as in the example above.

Photo Details: Close up of a buffalo bull (Syncerus caffer), partially obscured by summer vegetation, Elephant Plains Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa.
Camera: Canon EOS 400D; Lens: Canon 100-400 IS Zoom; Focal Length: 400mm; Shutter speed: 1/320; Aperture: f5.6; ISO: 200.

Additional Info: This photograph was taken from the safety of a vehicle. I say that because buffalo are known to be extremely dangerous - and even more so when they're old and ill-tempered. The thought of being on foot and suddenly seeing that massive head, with the huge horns and gnarled "boss" only yards away in the dense green bush, is nightmare material. The lesson - when in Africa don't go wandering off in thick bush and if you're on a walking safari, choose your guide very carefully!