NikonGear'23
Travelogues => Travel Diaries => Topic started by: elsa hoffmann on June 22, 2017, 13:54:09
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From my recent tour to the Karoo. Very dry - but enchanting in a different way.
Wikipedia:
The Karoo is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. There is no exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo, and therefore its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology, and climate — above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of million years ago which is now represented by many fossils.
The Karoo formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the early adventurers, explorers, hunters and travelers on the way to the Highveld unanimously denounced it as a frightening place of great heat, great frosts, great floods and great droughts. Today it is still a place of great heat and frosts, and an annual rainfall of between 50–250 mm, though on some of the mountains it can be 250–500 mm higher than on the plains. However, underground water is found throughout the Karoo, which can be tapped by boreholes, making permanent settlements and sheep farming possible.
The xerophytic vegetation consists of aloes, mesembryanthemums, crassulas, euphorbias, stapelias, and desert ephemerals, spaced 50 cm or more apart, and becoming very sparse going northwards into Bushmanland and, from there, into the Kalahari Desert. The driest region of the Karoo, however, is its southwestern corner, between the Great Escarpment and the Cederberg-Skurweberg mountain ranges, called the Tankwa Karoo, which receives only 75 mm of rain annually. The eastern and north-eastern Karoo are often covered by large patches of grassland. The typical Karoo vegetation used to support large game, sometimes in vast herds.
Today sheep thrive on the xerophytes, though each sheep requires about 4 hectares of grazing to sustain itself.
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Karoo 419 is my absolute favorite.
Oh how I would love to travel there...
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Thanks Jakov - having a Braai (the Americans call it a barbecue) is very much part of our culture. Braai, Beer and sunshine.
This location can only be reached with 4x4 vehicles. It was my first trip with my 4x4 truck.
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Elsa , very nice place, looks like a good location for astrophotography
I used to do a lot of 4x4, that is actually what pushed me into photography
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Armando - yes its very good for stars. PITCH black. On our way there we passed thru Sutherland - which is the best place - as it is very high above sea level.
Sutherland is home to the South African Astronomical Observatory. It is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. The facility's function is to conduct research in astronomy and astrophysics. The primary telescopes are located in Sutherland, which is 230 miles from Observatory, Cape Town, where the headquarters is located.
I managed to get stuck in the sand - and decided from now on I only use my 4x4 to drive on to pavements. Bugger the sand :)
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If you don't like sand do not get anywhere near mud, it gets nasty (literally) very quickly ;D
On my first 4x4 drive I got stuck for hours, luckily a bunch of young guys that were passing by stopped to help, they practically lifted the car, after that I joined a 4x4 club and learned a bunch of things
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Great images, Elsa! I especially like the three-eland (?) shot and the sunrise (sunset?) shot, but others are no inferior.
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Armando - until I do a course - pavements it will be.
Akira - those are 3 Hartebees antelope. Eland is MUCH bigger and prettier (Eland is the biggest entelope in the world). This shot was taken at sunset. Thank you for the comments :)
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Beautiful images, Elsa.
Especially the sunset (419).
I've been to the Karoo during springtime. A desert in bloom, very impressive/beautiful
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very, very cool, Elsa!
thanks for sharing thin info and photos.
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Elsa - simply beautiful captures !!!
Thanks for sharing
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What a great trip that must have been. Wonderful images. My fav is also 419! Makes me want to lean back and relax.
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Thank you kindly Chris, Brent, Doug and Peter!
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Elsa, you showed us a magnificent and interesting land and make me want to go there too. Great animal shots and relaxing sunset but what gets me the most is the opening image with the empty space
Thanks for sharing!
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On the hunt with the 24-500mm ;), Elsa, great job, a shame attachments load kind of slow on my machine.
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it looks quite hot over there, so I prefer to see it on my screen - like the whole series
my fav is the black horse with the white graffity on the hill
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
...................................................... my fav is the black horse with the white graffity on the hill
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Akira - those are 3 Hartebees antelope. Eland is MUCH bigger and prettier (Eland is the biggest entelope in the world). This shot was taken at sunset. Thank you for the comments :)
Elsa, thanks for the correction. I have no sense of size of the entelope family...or of the direction on the southern hemisphere. :o :o :o
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Hot series, Elsa - I'd never heard of the Karoo but your excellent images show me that my education is sadly lacking. I agree with Paco about the wonderful sense of space; the wildlife opportunities are a bonus. I hope you have more to show.
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golunvolo - The Karoo is about open spaces for sure. I swear they mostly farm rocks in those areas.
Fons - strange as the images are not big at all
Thomas - we have plenty of those here - we call them pajama donkeys
Akira - you should visit :)
David - there are enough places I have never heard of - so don't feel bad.
There is no education like traveling - I wish I could do more.
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Exceptional series Elsa. I like every single one of the photos. Particularly "170617 Karoo 419" - love that sunset shot. I can imagine how harsh was the sun there. However light in your photos are so balanced; kudos!
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Thank you for your kind comments Anirban!
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Wonderfull series and story.
Makes ones want to go south again, was in Johannesburg in 1982, with visits to the Krüger park.
Many things has changes since then.
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oh yes a lot has changed 35 years later - but Kruger has a life of it's own - and always worth visiting.
Thank you for your comment Bent.
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I like the zebra the best. Thanks!
Dave