safari TV Diary - 2010.09.23

It is a wild dog day! in the morning Tara follows two wild dogs and in the afternoon Patrick spends some time with the all pack…21 of them in total! The adults go for a hunt while the youngsters wait for them. And of course the Safari TV
crew is around to bring you some great footage.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.09.20

Patrick and Alex spent some time around Buffelshoek Dam to get some footage of a hammerkop catching a frog. Later on, they followed a herd of elephants. The matriarch was not very happy at first, even mock charging Patrick at one stage.
But a few minutes later they were all more relaxed and enjoying their mud bath at Buffelshoek Dam.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.09.19

Patrick used his tracking skills to find three lioness and a male lion y Gowrie Dam. One the lioness appeared to be in estrus as she was flirting with the male. It was a great sighting for the morning drive where Sebastien managed to get some nice close ups of the battled scarred lion.

safari TV Diary - 2010.09.18

If you want to see two leopards mating and another leopard chasing a baby duiker then you should watch this fantastic diary! In the morning Marc and Sebastien spent two hours and half off roaring in Djuma Game Reserve to film and broadcast live Yambilu Jordaan and Ntima engaging in mating ritual. A few minutes after leaving them, we watched our young resident male leopard, Mixo, stalking and running after a baby duiker just right next to the car. The afternoon drive for Patrick and Alex was as exciting with finding a lioness resting by Twin Dam while some buffalos were drinking. At first she did not seem interested in them but later she made an attempt…with no success though. Three really awesome sightings in one day!

Safari TV Diary - 2010.09.17

It was a very special day here in Djuma Game Reserve - South Africa. In the morning Patrick and Alex spent some time with some quite active hippos in Buffelshoek Dam. As they came back to camp after their drive they noticed an impala kill up a tree 50 metres away from our parking lot! In the afternoon Marc and Sebastien enjoyed a very special sighting with a dozel of zebras, rolling in the dust and playing with each others. They felt very relaxed around Ganda.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.09.14

In the morning Marc spends some time with a dazel of zebras and a very pregnant female steenbok. Patrick is back from his leave and what a treat he gets in the afternoon with Mvula, a magnificent male leopard. What a sighting as the sun sets by Buffelshoek Dam!

Safari TV Diary - 2010.09.10

In a very mystical morning Jared spends some time with some lions (Nkuhuma Pride). In the afternoon Marc enjoys an awesome sighting with some elephants and he closes off the day with Karula, our resident female leopard.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.09.09

In the morning Marc spends some time with a rhino cow and her calf. In the afternoon, Jared finds a pregnant hyaena having a snooze as well as a small herd of buffalos. At night he observed a leopard drinking by Gowrie Dam before making its way into the darkness.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.09.08

Join Jared and Marc as they spend some time with one of our resident young male leopard (Induna) and with a huge herd of buffalos by Gowrie Dam.

safari TV Diary - 2010.09.07

Marc is back from leave and Induna, our resident young male leopard greets him with a kill. Leaving Induna fast to sleep he rejoins Karula (Induna's mother) who also has a kill. To our surprise a hyaena is also there and Karula watches her eating the remains of the carcass. At night Marc goes back to see what Induna is up to and he finds him in a tree trying to reposition his kill for the night.

safari TV Diary - 2010.09.06

Jared goes back to the buffalo kill to find only hooves and vulture feathers. Late afternoon he spends some time with a bull elephant and a huge herd of buffalos by buffelshoek

Safari TV Diary - 2010.09.05

Watch this amazing diary about two different prides (The Styx Pride and The Nkuhuma Pride) as they fight and feed over a buffalo kill. Watch out for teeth, claws and roars! A diary not to be missed!

Safari TV Diary - 2010.09.04

Two very interesting game drives. In the morning Jared follows up on the lions by the buffalo kill and later on he finds Karula who seemed to have spotted White Claw's son. In the afternoon Tara spends some time with Induna, one of our resident young males leopard. He just made a kill a few hours before and he tries to hide it from other predators before night falls. But unfortunately he's lacking the strength to bring it up a tree and a hyaena steals it right in from of him…Great footage!

safari TV Diary - 2010.09.03

Two lions have been successful in their hunt over night. We find them in the morning feeding on a very fresh buffalo kill. Tara and Jared spend some time with them before finding Induna, our resident young male leopard by Treehouse Dam as a hyaena walks past a few metres from him.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.09.02

Tara gets to spend some time with a three of the Big 5 : a rhino bull marking his territory after a mud bath, two different lion coalitions and Induna, our resident young male leopard.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.09.01

Tara follows up on the three young male cheetah and spends some time with them. In the afternoon, Jared observes some buffalos having a mud bath at Chela Pan.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.31

What a great day it was here in Djuma Game Reserve, South Africa. A morning spent with Induna, one of our resident young male leopard as Jared finds him near a new kill. In the afternoon Tara was very lucky to spend some time with three young male cheetah.

safari TV Diary - 2010.08.30

Safari TV team follows up on Karula, our resident female leopard. She is still up a marula tree with one of her kills while a few hyaenas are still waiting patiently for a piece of meat to fall off. As Tara spends some time with her, two white rhinos come along. Karula gets very close to them on her way to her second kill…

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.29

Jared is glad to spend some time with Karula, our resident female leopard as he has not seen her for two month now. She goes up a Marula tree where, to our surprise, we realize she has two kills. In the afternoon Tara bumps into one of the rarest sighting here in Djuma Game Reserve….a female ostrich!

safari TV Diary - 2010.08.28

Tara goes back to the hyaena den in the morning to find the female a little bit more relaxed. In the afternoon Patrick spends some time with a herd of buffalos and some white rhinos. One of them takes a mud bath to cool off in the heat of the day.

safari TV Diary - 2010.08.27

Induna, our resident young male leopard is the star of this diary! Tara finds him in a big Marula tree with an impala kill, which doesn't belong to him but to Jambilu Jordaan, another resident adult male leopard. Tara spends some time with him and she then follows him as he goes to drink at a waterhole where he also catches a frog. As night falls he goes back to the tree with the remains from the carcass.

safari TV Diary - 2010.08.26

Join Tara and a herd of elephants in a wonderful misty dawn. What a magical moment she had in a such a mystic golden light. Later on she spends some time with a female hyaena around her den situated not very far from Safari TV camp.
Music by Kevin MacLeod.

safari TV Diary - 2010.08.24

Join Patrick on drive as he spends some time with 3 of the Big 5 (buffalos, rhinos and elephants).

safari TV Diary - 2010.08.22

In the morning Marc located two members of the Styx pride having a morning nap. In the afternoon Patrick found a hippo out of the water by Tree House dam and he ended up the day with a herd of elephants. They were not really comfortable with us around due to the presence of a young baby.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.19-21

This diary summarizes the highlights of the past three days when Tara had a very close encounter with a bull elephant. She also came across some buffalos and a rhino.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.21

Herman and Tara show you all the pre-checks they need to do on the 3D rig and on the Land Rover before each drive.

safari TV Diary - 2010.08.18

Some beautiful shots of a giraffe and her calf with the first rays of the day. In the afternoon, Jared finds Induna, one of our resident young male leopard, quite on a mission. As the sun goes down, he bumps into some buffalos and a magnificent Kudu bull with some very impressive horns.

safari TV Diary - 2010.08.17

It was a big-mammals-day for Patrick and Tara as they spend some time with a huge herd of buffalos and some elephants. Just before it got dark, Tara was lucky to get a short glimpse at Induna, one of our resident young male leopard. It has been a while since we saw him so the all Safari TV crew was very happy!

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.16

In the morning Marc spends some time with an elephant bull and some rhinos. In the afternoon Jared is very lucky to find Yambilu Jordaan, a male leopard, around Buffelshoek Dam.What a majestic predator!

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.15

Also Available on www.dailymotion.com/wildearthtv to watch in full screen and high quality!

What a day! In one game drive, Marc was lucky enough to come across some lionesses, some rhinos, some hippos out of the water and a herd of elephants. At night, on the way back to the camp, he found a beautiful male lion on the road and he spent some time with him.

safari TV Diary - 2010.08.14

Also Available on www.dailymotion.com/wildearthtv to watch in full screen and high quality!

In the morning Tara finds the two lionesses from the Styx pride. They are quite interested in the buffalos near Twin House dam and one of them starts stalking them. In the afternoon Patrick spends some time with a young bull elephant doing a bit of a show off.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.13

Also Available on www.dailymotion.com/wildearthtv to watch in full screen and high quality!

The Land Rover is working and the 3D rig is ready for some amazing shots! Marc heads out in the afternoon and finds Mixo, our resident young male leopard in a stalking mode. He is after a duiker….Later on Marc finds two lionesses from the Styx pride having a bit of a nap and a foot fight.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.12

Also Available on www.dailymotion.com/wildearthtv to watch in full screen and high quality!

Watch this special "behind the scene" as the Safari TV crew is trying desperately to fix Jigga (our Land Rover) at night.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.11

Also available on : www.dailymotion.com/wildearthtv if you want to watch it in full screen and high quality!

In the morning Jared is happy to find the baby rhino we haven't seen for a few weeks. Later on, he spends some time with a herd of elephants busy foraging. In the afternoon Marc observes a Lilac Breasted Roller feeding on the remains of a chameleon. WE closed the day with one the most stunning sunset ever!

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.10

Watch this amazing footage of a female Nyala getting 15 metres away from two lionesses sleeping, unaware of them. Until one of them rolls over…In the afternoon, Patrick finds a malr rhino drinking at a dam and watches the sunset in company of a herd of elephants.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.09

Updated video! Much better!

You can also watch all my videos on full screen in good quality on : www.dailymotion.com/wildearthtv

Safari TV Diary - 2010.08.09

Nature is not always about pretty sunsets and flowers. Sometimes Nature also reminds us about the law of the survival of the fittest. Safari TV went live with a pride of lions bringing down a buffalo cow and her calf. The drama unfolds as four of the cats subdue the cow while the fifth fed on the dying calf.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.24

In the morning Tara is surprised to see some vultures are still in the drama area so she decides to investigate. She finds Mixo, our young resident male leopard and she gets a few good shots of him. In the afternoon Patrick spends some time with a herd of elephants by Gowrie Dam, busy drinking and getting a mud bath.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.23

Join the Safari TV Team as they follow up on Mixo and Induna saga. Finding some hyaenas pre-dawn, Tara decides to follow them for a while but they quickly disappear in the vegetation. She spends some time with a crash of three rhinos before getting a radio call about one of the Majingilane lion being on the road. She gets a short glimpse at him, but what an incredible one! In the afternoon Patrick finds a lot of vultures and decides to investigate the area. After a bit of off roading he spots one of the Majingilane lion who has obviously just been feeding on another lion, probably one of the Styx pride! In this episode,The Safari Team explains you the situation between the Majingilane coalition and the Styx pride and why a lion can kill and feed on another lion.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.22

Is there a better way to start a day than following a leopard to its kill up a tree? The Safari TV team brings you some great footage of the two resident male leopards, Mixo and Induna as they fight over an impala kill. Later in the morning, we join some lions (the Styx Pride) and we spend some time with them. In the afternoon, we follow up on the Styx and on Mixo and Induna, still up their tree with some hyaenas on the ground looking for scraps.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.21

Another incredible day here in Djuma Game Reserve. What are the chances to see a pack of wild dogs and some rhinos in the same shot? Well, Patrick and Marc were very lucky in the morning…The afternoon drive was shorten due to the rain but WE still spent some time with the Gowrie gang and some guineafowls sand-bathing.

safari TV Diary - 2010.07.20

In the morning Tara spends some time with the Jowrie Gang busy sunbathing after a very cold night. In the afternoon Marc observes the feeding behavior of a giraffe family. A bit later on he finds two buffalos by a dam, one of them getting a mud bath to get rid of all the flies around him.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.19

The Safari TV team follows up on Karula and her kill. We watch her climbing up and down the tree with agility and power. Marc spends some time with her in the morning while she feeds on the remaining of the carcass. In the afternoon Patrick comes across the elephant bull with a broken left tusk. As night falls he makes his way to Karula to see what she's up to.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.18

What an exciting day! In the morning we spent some time with three elephant bulls. We felt so accepted, one of them even came to feed right next to our vehicle! We then had the pleasure to spend some time with Karula (Mixo and Induna's mum) on a fresh kill.She was a bit aggressive towards one vehicle but much more relaxed in the afternoon when Marc went back to the sighting.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.17

Another interesting day here at Djuma Game Reserve with Jared and Marc. We seem to be quite lucky at the moment with elephants and we also bring you some funny footage of zebras, as well as a grey heron catching a frog.

Best Of 100 Safari TV Diaries

The Safari Team has gathered for you the best sequences from the first 100 Diaries.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.16

Join Jared as he comes across a clan of four hyaenas in the morning. They walk right next to the car, checking us out with a very curious eye! In the afternoon Tara finds a buffalo bull at Twin Dam, busy wallowing to get a new mud coat on. And don't miss another spectacular sunset over the Drakensberg mountains...

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.15

Another spectacular sunrise over Djuma Game Reserve brings warmth and comfort to some wildlife after a very cold night. In the afternoon Tara explains us how to recognize a buffalo dung and how to differentiate it to a rhino dung.

Wild Earth / Terre Sauvage

Voici une promo de la societe pour laquelle je travaille en ce moment....This is a promo for the company I am working for at the moment!

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.14

Wednesday is the day of the week when our meat gets delivered here in the bush and we thought you would be interested to see what it looks like. In the afternoon, Marc spends some time with a bull elephant, the one with the left broken tusk.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.13

Marc had an awesome sighting in the morning with a huge herd of buffalos quenching their thirst by Buffelshoek dam. In the afternoon Jared came across a rhino bull marking his territory and then spent some time with Mixo, our resident young male leopard.

safari TV Diary - 2010.07.12

What a breathtaking moment when Mixo, our resident young male leopard got a few inches away from Marc during the morning game drive! Watch in this diary how he hissed at us and how he looked at Tara with some very inquisitive eyes! In the afternoon Jared was lucky enough to spend some time with a pair of hippos mating in Buffelshoek dam. The idea of having a baby hippo in 9 month is really exciting!

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.11 -

Watch where WE leave, where WE eat and where WE work as Marc takes you around Safari TV camp. This is a special edition, just for you…because it is in our nature.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.10

In the morning, Marc tracks some lions and finds some white rhinos instead. Later in the day, Tara comes across the same crash of rhinos she saw a while ago and she spends some time with them. She then drives to Jowrie Dam where a herd of elephants is busy drinking in what we call the golden hour of the day.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.09

In the morning, Jared drives to the East of the reserve and finds a herd of elephants busy browsing on some Marula trees. The hippos at Buffelshoek dam are very inquisitive but easy to follow up on thanks to the bubbles they create on the surface of the water. In the afternoon Patrick is very very lucky to come across a Ground Hornbill, a very rare and endangered bird species.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.08

It was for sure a rhino day today! Tara finds a crash of 4 lazy rhinos in the morning and Marc comes across a young female using a marula tree as a rubbing post. At the end of the day, Mother Nature brings us one of the most stunning sunset here in Djuma Game Reserve.

safari TV Diary - 2010.07.07

Another wonderful day here at Djuma Game reserve. After a bit of tracking in the morning, Jared finds a male leopard hiding in the bush. In the afternoon,Patrick is lucky to be at the right dam and at the right moment when a huge herd of elephants comes to re-hydrate. Herman brings us some awesome footage of baby elephants playing around. One of them is less than one month old!

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.06

The Mancingelana coalition is still on the buffalo kill while the number of vultures keep increasing in the surrounding trees. Even a hyaena is now near by but it seems like the four brothers don't want to let the carcass go. Marc Weiner is back from two weeks leave and he takes us on an awesome safari with some elephants drinking by Jowrie dam. One of the young bull plays in the mud. Towards the end of the day we have the pleasure to come across Induna, one of our young resident male leopard.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.05

The Safari TV team follows up on the lions by the buffalo kill. The vultures are still waiting patiently in the trees, waiting for their turn. We also found Mixo, our young resident leopard male, waking up in the early hours of the morning.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.04

One buffalo did not make it through the night….The Mancingelana lions succeeded in their hunt! And the Safari TV team brings you the proof with this awesome footage of the brothers feasting on the carcass.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.03

The cats are back! Join the Safari TV team as they watch Mixo waking up in the early hours of the morning. We also came across the Mancingelana coalition stalking a herd of buffalos. The highlight of our afternoon was an african rock python, crossing the road in front of us.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.02

A very wet day in Djuma Game Reserve. But it did not stop the Safari TV team from going out on game drives to bring you some great footage of baboons chasing some warthog piglets. What a funny scene!
We also came across a red crested korhan which is quite of a good sighting for birds lovers.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.07.01

Join the Safari TV team as they are busy setting up and testing the 3D rig. In the afternoon Tara goes on game drive and tracks some rhinos. And just before dark we find a leopard (Induna) using the grass as a shelter against the wind.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.30

Watch this special "behind the scene" of the Safari TV team and their struggle with a steering less jigga. A day full of surprises from early morning until the end of the day. But fortunately the team knew how to handle every situation in a calm manner and it all ended up well.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.29

The Safari TV team brought together for you this great diary. Let us show you some great footage of hippos fighting and let us explain you the medicinal uses of the Knob Thorn tree. Because it is in our nature.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.28

Even though the weather was quite an handicap the WE team managed to get some interesting sightings of rhinos and elephants. The highlight of the day being a bushbaby winking at us.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.27

A Sunday spent with lots of birds : grey herons, hamerkop, pied kingfisher to name a few. We also saw some more bee eaters for those who missed them on saturday. In the afternoon we spent some time with a herd of elephants. Some of the mums being quite protective of their young.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.26

An interesting saturday with some elephants feeding on some Round Leaf Tick bushes early in the morning. A young elephant, trying to imitate his mum, was quite funny. Later on we came across the same young giraffe as yesterday, still in a playful mood. As the sun was setting, we spotted some baboons busy feeding and getting ready for the night.

2010.006.26- 3D soon!!!!

Just a quick note to say that today all the 3D equipment has arrived....I have never seen so much equipment in my life!! Cameras, monitors, cables, manuals etc all over the place!! Alex, our IT is doing a good job at connecting everything and trying to make it work...but he's far from done i think!
We are supposed to be ready to film and broadcast LIVE on 01st of july....We will be ready but the next few days are going to be quite hectic!! It's gonna be a 3D week-end!! ;) interesting!!

Some pics below from today from my collegue Afke.

Cheerio for now!

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.25

Some very interesting sightings today, with Mixo having breakfast on a guinea fowl kill as the sun rises. Later in the morning we came across a young giraffe, willing to play with some impalas. Two young baboons also played in the warm winter sun nearby. In the afternoon, Jared found a snake track and explained to us how to "read" it.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.24

A very rich day in Djuma Game Reserve with some impalas warming up as the sun came up.We also came across Mixo who was in a very sleepy mood, a hyaena and some elephants playing around. Our afternoon was highlighted by some buffalos and some dwarf mongoose watching the last rays of a stunning sundowner.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.23

We had a surprising visit early morning with some baboons right above our camp. We then found some hyaenas on what was left over from the buffalo kill. Mixo was brave enough to stick around but he still couldn't get any access to the carcass. We ended up the day with the Mancingelana Coalition having a well deserved rest in the shade.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.22

Another big cat day in Djuma Game Reserve with the Mancingelana coalition still feeding on a buffalo kill. Later on with also came across Mixo who was attracted by the smell from the buffalo carcass.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.21

Another incredible day at Djuma wiht Gijima males on buffalo kill, with Mancigelana males chasing them off later. We also found elephants as well as two brother leopards, Mixo and Induna.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.20

Some more special sightings - a limping Styx male and Mixo trying to get his own goose.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.19

Incredible footage of two rhinos fighting, also a warthog, baboons, tawny eagle.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.18

A day full of cats! Starting of with Induna with an egyptian goose for breakfast, Mixo joining him later, we also found the Styx pride, with the emaciated lioness among them, looking a bit better. As it was getting later in the day, we found Mixo again and watched his beautiful profile on top of a fallen marula tree trunk.

Safari TV Diary - 2010.06.17

A very exciting day with a baby rhino, elephants, and Karula and the boys in the dark.

3D!!

2010.06.26 - Sabi Sand Game Reserve - 16h30

Just a quick note to say that today all the 3D equipment has arrived....I have never seen so much equipment in my life!! Cameras, monitors, cables, manuals etc all over the place!! Alex, our IT is doing a good job at connecting everything and trying to make it work...but he's far from done i think!
We are supposed to be ready to film and broadcast LIVE on 01st of july....We will be ready but the next few days are going to be quite hectic!! It's gonna be a 3D week-end!! ;) interesting!!

Some pics below from today from my collegue Afke.

Cheerio for now!

What a way to start a day!!

20.06.10 - 06h30 AM - Sabi Sand Game Reserve

It's sunday...Am sure you're all sleeping or coming back from a hectic night out!
Well on my side I am working :) and I finally updated the blog!! You can see below some text from the 17th of june...I wrote everyday on my laptop but I did not have time to upload it on my blog. This morning I am taking the time!! Why? Because on my way to the office (we have 20 mn drive every morning through the reserve in an open land rover) we saw a leopard!!!!! And guess what he, actually she (her name is Kerula) was right by our office!!! 20 metres from the parking lot!!! What a way to start a sunday!! :)

If you want to see the stuff I am editing at the moment, follow these links:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBja45Vt1Dc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ApXl0D-I2k

My job, basically is to edit 6hours of safari to make a 3 mn Safari TV diary everyday...I have already made two (17th june and 18th june that you can see on you tube if you follow these links). If the links don't work, just go on you tube and type "safari TV diary 17th june" and the same for 18th june!
I'll be uploading my 3 mn safari tv diaries every day so if you want, you can become a fan and watch my diaries every day :)

You can also go on www.wildearth.tv and watch our morning and afternoon game drives ON LIVE!!!! Yes, on live!!!! And this is what then I edit to make a 3mn diary! On the website, click on safari chanel under Live Channels and then click PLAY....Every day between 6h00 and 09h00 AM and 15h00-18h00.

Safari Channel is also on facebook..you can become a member by just clicking "like It". You will also be able to access to the videos on facebook and comment on them....don't be rude to me ;)

Finally there is a blog....http://blog.safari.tv/2010_06_01_archive.html This is the link...They actually introduce me on last text with a picture of me ! :)

Enjoy :)

I have to run! Lots to do! But what a pleasure!!

Cheerio! and good reading below! ;)

What a diary!!

19.06.2010 – 20h30 – Sabi Sand Game Reserve

Woke up bright and early this morning at 5h15 to be at the camp at 06h00…Did not see much on the way as it was still dark…and freezing!! I had a shirt, a long leaf shirt, a jersey, two jackets and a beanie!!

Once I got to our office, I started editing and, basically I didn’t stop until 16h00!! Jeez I love it!!! I finished off my Safari TV Diary from the 17th June and I made the 18th diary…which I must say is quite something!! If you have the time to go on You Tube (will post a link) try and remember to watch my diaries from the 17th! Especially if you want to see a leopard feeding on an Egyptian goose, some superb shots of lions and leopards and some very interesting elephant interactions!

As you can imagine I did not have time to go on the net so my blog is still not updated. I will try tomorrow first thing in the morning and I will also put a link so that you can go and watch these two diaries I have already made. Alex is supposed to upload them tonight.

I have so much to learn about Final Cut Pro and finding my way in there is not easy! Alex is of great help but he’s going on leave on the 28 June so I have to be ready and independent by then!! I better start taking some notes! Editing is not a problem but importing files, saving them correctly, exporting the project etc….this is serious shit!! But I’ll get there! Alex is a Russian IT so for him, computer language is not that hard! He reminds me of Jeff from XO Africa! Even tho, one of them drinks more beers than the other! ;)
After a long editing Saturday until 16h00, we came back to our place. Two rhinos on the way!
Took a walk around the property (private property as I have already explained I think) and saw some zebras and impalas by a waterhole nearby. As the sun was setting down I also heard a Brown Hyaena in the distance.

Final Cut Pro Manual time!! And then I will read a bit more of Roxanne’s book…it’s called “Le voyage d’Hector ou la recherche du Bonheur” (sorry if you don’t speak French!) and it’s about finding happiness!

As I was walking around the property this afternoon, I sat by myself in the middle of nowhere to watch the sundowner and I must say I had a bit of a nostalgic moment….don’t get me wrong, I am happy here and I love what I am doing but I thought about a few people with whom I would love to share all of this! My good friends are not around anymore and I must admit that I miss them a lot! But I guess you can’t have everything in life so I better get used to it! It’s just that this afternoon it would have been really cool to sit there with the few people I really love and enjoy that moment to the fullest! But you know what, I was by myself and I still enjoyed that sunset with those zebras and impalas in the golden hour! I enjoyed it for you (because if you read my blog you are a good friend – or you are really bored!) and for me!

One Love!

Editing is the most poerful stage of the production process because it’s when the separate parts become a meaningful whole!

18.06.10 – 21h00 - Sabi Sand Game Reserve

Not much time for myself today and due to internet problems I could not upload my text from last night….I will try again tomorrow.

Wake up call today was at 08h30 to be at the camp at 9 after a game drive through the reserve. On the way we saw a few warthogs and a few impalas.

A cup of coffee (no cigarette ) and here I am Mr Final Cut Pro!! Spent my day cutting 6h of footage (yesterday’s safaris) into 3mn diary. Not an easy job but lots of fun, especially when you get to the final product! >> Editing is the most powerful stage of the production process because it’s when the separate parts become a meaningful whole!!

My first diary is pretty much ready, it just needs a voice over and we will upload tomorrow morning (19.06.10)….The voice over is always done by one of Safari Channel presenters (either Marc, Herman or Patrick).

Once this one uploaded, I will have to edit today’s footage for the next diary. I guess after a few diaries I will be quicker…I have lots of ideas about these diaries but I need to be quicker at editing them so that I have time to edit extra stuff.
The diaries are uploaded on You Tube and I Tune. There is a link from Wild Earth website to get there but I will try to put these links on my blog as well so that you guys can see some of my 3mn diaries. Not sure when I will have time for that but I will make a plan about it once I’ll have catch up!

There is also a blog on Wild Earth website and it’s been edited today with an introduction about myself, who I am, where I come from, background etc…Just so that the audience knows about me.
I finished working around 18h30, braai time and we drove back to our place. We saw some impalas and 3 white rhinos on the way! Not bad! Amazing sky with a pretty milky way!

I am gonna stop writing now as I would like to go through Final Cut Pro manual to refresh my memory and to learn some shortcuts! The manual is over 500 pages so if I read a bit of it every night I should improve my Final Cut Pro skills quite quickly!! And that’s what I need!!

See you tomorrow if hopefully I have some time for internet….and if internet works!

Into the dream….Here we go….Here I am!!

17.06.10 – 20h30 – Sabi Sand Game Reserve

I am sorry for the silence on my blog but I didn’t feel like writing these past months.

I have been busy working on and off as a field assistant for Africa Wildlife Films in March and April. They were making a documentary about Great White Sharks and Seals in Capetown. The documentary is called ‘Swimming Scared’ and National Geographic should release it in July/August this year. I gained a bit of experience on this project but not much as the bosses were a couple of assholes and it was actually a nightmare to work for them! I won’t go into details now….and anyway I rather remember the fun parts like going out to sea in False Bay at 5h30 in the morning and getting a feeding frenzy with thousands of dolphins, Bryde Whales, sharks, seals and Cape Ganets!! I did put a text and some pics on my blog about this a few month ago….See below actually.

Other fun stuff was that day when we pulled a balloon behind the boat to get some aerial shots of seals and seal island. We pumped up the balloon with Helium and attached a 360 degrees camera (like those security cameras) beneath it….Pretty cool!!
Anyway, being out there and helping out was fun and interesting, the only difficult part was to go along well with these two pricks!

After that I went on a 3 weeks Tour for Sunway Safaris from Capetown to Vic Falls. 5500 km in 3 weeks!! Amazing! I was employed as a Tour Guide/translator for 7 French people. We went through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia to end up in Vic Falls, camping most of the time. Namibia and Botswana are a paradise for pictures….I took a few pretty shots and I will put some of them on the blog ASAP.
When I came back from my tour, I had an email in my box from Wild Earth TV telling me that a position had came up for me….They broadcast on live content on an internet channel called Safari Channel. If you go on Wild Earth website, you will get the link for safari channel. What they do is that they go on safari early morning (a camera man and a game ranger who acts as a presenter) and they broadcast on live the safari (usually 3 hours long). The same in the afternoon. So if you go on Safari Channel you can see the safari on live twice a day, every day. They also broadcast to other small channels all over the world, in America, Australia and Asia for example. And soon they might be broadcasting for a French TV channel called “Free”…..which explains why they need me! In the mean time they want me to assist the editor on site (Alex) to edit some non live content. My job or shall I say my internship for now, is going to edit 6 hours of safaris (2 safari a day of 3 hours each) into 3 mn (yes, THREE MINUTES!!) every day for the website and also for some TV channels (not sure yet about their names).
But I will also be trained on camera work and directing.
After 3 month trial they will either keep me or send me back to Capetown….Either way, the amount of experience I will gain during these 3 month is going to be phenomenal!! The cherry on top is that they have invested in 3D gear…..They are going to be the first internet channel in the world to broadcast on live content in 3D!!! BBC (the news channel) is coming in July to interview them about it! Therefore from 1st of july I will be also trained on filming and editing in 3D!!! 
People, get a pair of 3D glasses and get ready in front of Safari Channel every day from 5h30 till 09h00 and from 15h00 till 18h00!! Or watch my three minutes safari Best Of the day every day….I’ll tell you where you can find them on the net as soon as I know!
I arrived in the Bushcamp today. We are situated in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve (next to Kruger National Park) and I had a glimpse at this afternoon safari…I was on the directing side, behind the computers. This post is called “Final Control”. Patrick was in charge this afternoon and the job is to let the game ranger knows if some people ask some questions via the chat room on the website or via email or even via facebook. Remember, it’s on live so if you send us a question during the safari you will get an answer within a few minutes! Pretty cool hey?! And this afternoon safari was quite something with a huge herd of buffalos, some elephants and some leopards right at the end! A female leopard with two of her cubs. Her cubs are now old enough to live by themselves so mummy kind of show them her teeth tonight to say…’go now my boys! Stop following me and go live your life!!” Not easy to leave mummy tho….but they don’t have a choice! She will even bite them one day if they don’t leave her alone from now on!

Another duty in the Final Control room is to make sure that we are not losing signal. Some parts of the reserve don’t have good internet coverage so it happens sometimes to not see what the camera man is filming. In that case, we switch to a camera which is hidden next a waterhole 24h/24 so that the audience doesn’t have a black screen in front of them…It usually lasts for a few seconds only and then we can switch back to what the camera man is filming.
Lots of fun in the Final Control room!! I loved it! It asks for quite a lot of concentration but it’s nice to look at a safari from this point of view!

Accommodation wise I am staying 20 mn away from our Bushcamp in a two bedrooms house with a couple (also working for Wild Earth). This is just until mid July and then I will have my own room at the camp. Where I am staying now is ok, it’s just not really practical as we have to drive 20 mn in the reserve to get to the camp in the morning and 20 mn to get back in the evening….but it’s still better than 20 mn of metro for sure ;)!! The house we are staying in is actually a private house….yes some people can afford to have a private house in the Sabi Sand!!! Wild Earth is renting it at the moment for 3 of us and then by mid July our rooms in the camp will be ready. I am looking forward to stay at the camp I must say….
The camp is quite small but big enough for the ten of us. We have two land rovers and quite a lot of equipment (cameras, tripods, computers, modems etc..) Everyone seems cool and passionate! The rangers seem to have a lot of knowledge about the bush which is good.

Tomorrow Alex will show me more about editing in 3mn 6 hours of safaris….Actually today as I am writing from “home” now and there is no internet here. Therefore I will publish this text only tomorrow morning when I have a minute….from my new office…in the middle of the bush!!

Some people say “you can’t live from your dreams”….well I tend to disagree!!

Feeding frenzy in False Bay Capetown

Mon dieu aidez nous a sauver cette nature...elle est si belle!! Ca vaut tout l or du monde!! Nous nous disons intelligent...que dalle!! nous somes abrutis par cette societe de m***e!!! out there is the real life!! Et si tu joues trop pres elle te rappele a l ordre comme ce matin quand une baleine a failli nous faire chavirer!One love, for MOTHER NATURE!!!Respectons la et elle nous respectera!! Vivons en harnonie SVP, entre nous et avec la nature...elle nous le rendra et nous serons ENFIN en symbiose !Que les gens arretent de se battrent ou de fantasmer pr des belles voitures ou des belles nanas, qu on arrete cette competition de qui est le plus fort car je gagne plus d argent que toi..ou j ai une plus grosse maison que la tienne..la verite n est pas la!! la verite c est le fait d apprecier tous les levers de soleils et tous les couchers de soleil et REGARDER autour de nous ce que la Nature veut bien nous montrer...Celui et Celle qui aura compris ca et qui passera ce message a sa descendance avec des exemples quotidiens aura tt compris a la VIE!!! Vis pour ce qui parle en toi car la Nature nous parle tous les jours....mais nous avons oublie comment l ecouter..

Blueberry pie and lemonade

Monday 22/02/2010

Location : Capetown

Well...my dad used to say "Life never goes as planned!".....and it's very true!

I would say even more: " Whatever you want to do in life....start by doing something else completely different!"

Anyway life didn't go as planned when i arrived in capetown last week after my course in Entabeni. 2010 was supposed to be a big year for me with a big page to turn...the page turns out to be much bigger than expected for some personal reasons.

Life is a book...true...but there are some pages that you don't feel like tearing out...and unfortunately by wanting to make a new page in your book you end up tearing out other pages involuntary! That s what happened to me...I have lost a beautiful page of my book by wanting to add more pages...
But this page I have lost will always remain in my heart as the most beautiful page of the book. An unforgettable one which was supposed to be there at the conclusion of the journey but it won't....Or let me put it correctly, it will...but in a different way.

But that page that has been torn out now will still give me inspiration and strength as it has always done before. Some people say that by tearing out that page, my journey will be even more beautiful…. I, personally, believe that I will take this page with me on my journey and all the good things which will happen will be thanks to this page that I will be carrying with me along my path... I will keep this page as a lucky charm because it has always brought colours into my life.

We all have a cross to carry...and believe me, I carried my cross last week and I am still carrying it around. Nothing is the same for me...everything looks and tastes different…a very blurry look and a very sour taste...But that's life isn't it? How can you appreciate life if it always tastes like blueberries? The lemon taste is there too, to make you appreciate the blueberry taste...It s a hard but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger…and it makes you appreciate things that you wouldn't have appreciated before.

I didn't need that bitter taste in my mouth and that blurry look in my eyes right now after this amazing month I spent in the bush where I actually and finally (and I am proud to say it) FOUND MYSELF and found my heart rhythm...But it has happened and I have no choice but to deal with it...swallow it and wait for the days when I will find again a blueberry taste in a pie!

I had that blueberry taste for many years but I didn't realise it because I was always looking for something to enhance that wonderful taste. And I end up with a sour one.
But the taste I had during these past years was actually perfectly delicious and I should have appreciated it more!
I guess this is how you learn...you learn how to appreciate what you have because nothing in life is immortal! Appreciate it today because tomorrow, it will be gone. I thought I learnt that lesson when my dad passed away….but obviously not!

I was a cactus in front of a frangipane flower and because I needed water to grow and get stronger, once I found the water I needed – the frangipane flower had dried out.
The frangipane flower was patient and strong but as the cactus dropped its thorns because it found its water the frangipane was now too exhausted and had no water to grow any more.
The cactus has got enough water now for both of them but the frangipane is too tired…it s too late and the cactus has got no other choice but to grow thorns again to defend itself and to let the frangipane find her own water again. And he knows that she will…because she’s Beautiful, because she has the best smell in the world and because everything she touches turns green…turns into colours like the rainbow in the sky after the rain.

I am not sure if all I say makes sense to you….But this is my blog and I can write whatever I want...

So, “sorry” if I wasted a few minutes of your time today and “You’re welcome” if you will take this message home tonight.

I know it’s got nothing to do with what I wrote but here are some pics of the camp I stayed at in Entabeni for a month.

The same as the blueberry taste is appreciated more once one has tasted the sourness of a lemon, beautiful dreams can’t exist without nightmares!

Inter…not!!

Monday 08/02/2010


Location : Entabeni Game Reserve/Waterberg

Time is flying! Eight days left before flying back to Capetown! Sadness…and happiness in the same time!

After lots of equipment issues I managed to shoot my topic in a few days. And I am now busy editing my 7 hours footage into 3mn film….!!Pretty hectic! But interesting! Final Cut Pro is the bomb!

We spend around 10/12 hours per day behind our Mac at the moment…quite a drastic change with last week when we were in the bush filming from 05h00 AM till 21h00 sometimes! It’s not as fun but our babies are taking form! And it’s such a good feeling…I just hope that I won’t give birth to a one leg baby….!Don’t think so but never know!

Internet is up and down every two minutes so it’s not easy to keep the blog updated. Also I don’t have many new pictures as I couldn’t take any still pictures last week. Too busy shooting with my video camera.

I met, once again, a very inspiring person under the name of Tim. He was my camera work lecturer. 52 years old with more than 30 years in the business as a camera man! He’s been around the world a few times, even to Antarctica and he’s been filming most of Kingsley Holsgate expeditions!! 52 years old and still going strong….! Why retiring when you love what you do for a living!! As he said, our job is our hobby so why stopping?! F**K that S**T!!
Good life style, good money, a family at home who supports you and who look forward each time to see your pictures and listen to your stories with shining eyes! Getting paid to travel and show the world what you see and being able to afford to take your family to any country in the world for a full month if you want to!! This is LIFE!
Seating next to Tin during those game drives has been a real pleasure and I will never be enough thankful for all the filming tricks that he showed me!
Keep going strong Tim, and thank you one more time for this fabulous time on your side and all the inspiration you added to my soul!

Got to go….here are a few pictures that I took the week before last. Lions again I know but I love them!

Learning every day

Wednesday 27/01/2010

Learning more and more every day!

Location : Entabeni Game Reserve/Waterberg

Not much time left for myself…These last few days have been pretty hectic with lectures from 07h30 till 22h00 (with a few smoke breaks in between, brunch and diner). We had awesome lectures about cameras/sound equipment and since Sunday we’re on animal behaviour. I must say that the amount of knowledge I have acquired in a week is phenomenal…! I now know how to write a script and I have pretty good knowledge about cameras (movie cameras and still cameras) and shooting techniques. I feel a little bit more confident now, even though I still need a lot of practice of course!
But what’s for sure is that I found my path and wildlife film making is what I love doing the most! Another thing which is for sure is that it’s gonna be difficult! Competition is very high, broadcasters are more and more difficult and they allow lesser and lesser budget for documentaries. Difficult…but not impossible!
We went on a few game drives and we had lions on a kill twice in 3 days!! These lions are professional hunters…and they love wildebeest! They can’t stay more than 3 days without hunting! I am pretty sure that during our shooting period we will see a hunt. That would be amazing and I would love to film it! Pretty hard though!
Lots of roaring too…At the moment they are around the camp so sometimes we hear them when we are around the fire or when we’re in bed. Not a bad music to fall in sleep with…
Here a few of my best pictures taken these last few days.
ASAP I will take some pictures of the camp and I will download them on the blog.
I will start shooting my subject from Thursday this week for 6 days so I am not too sure if I will have time to update the blog this week. Maybe yes as my topic can be found around the camp so I might not need to be in the bush the all day. But I’ll still have to go and shoot some landscape, time lapses and certain species of animals.
Will update ASAP.

Thursday 21/01/2010

Lions singing happy birthday to me!!

Location : Entabeni Game Reserve/Waterberg

What a birthday day I had on Tuesday!!!

We went on an afternoon game drive and we found a pride of lions resting close to a water hole. Awesome sighting, but the light unfortunately was too bad for pictures as it was getting too dark! This pride consists of 1 male (the father of the one we saw on Monday), 2 females and 2 cubs of 1 year and half. This is Madala’s pride!! And his son is Makulu.

We were busy watching them waking up and all of a sudden Madala started roaring…..! Followed by his females….We had a roar concert 10 metres away from the car!!! We were actually so close that I could feel it vibrating along my spine! It was my first time to hear lions roaring so close to me and it was amazingly beautiful! What a sound! Once they were done (it lasted maybe 1 mn) I thank Mother Nature in my head for this incredible present. Not even 5 mn later they started roaring again…..Second round!! I actually had goose skin and then I thank Mother Nature once again! Not everyone gets lions roars as a birthday present!

On the way back to the camp we spotted a chameleon in a tree…..”Something” uncommon and not easy to spot. Birthday present number 2!
Back at the camp, Chief Piete (our cook) had made me a birthday cake...This touched me incredibly as he doesn’t even know me yet and he had no obligation to make it! Kindness….pure kindness! And when he gave me the cake he told me something I will never forget : “Happy birthday and may you have many more of them in Africa”….In Africa….Yes…in Africa…Present number 3!

Yesterday was St Sebastien and the day had a different flow!

First of all it was raining all morning and then I got stung by a bee right in the neck during my morning lecture. Fortunately I am not allergic to bees so all went well! A bit soar but nothing serious! Very interesting lecture in the morning…Nicole our lecturer at the moment has 22 years experience in wildlife film making and she’s simply amazingly passionate and knowledgeable! 5 hours lecture with her feels like 10 mn!! She’s incredible! She’s teaching us about scripting wildlife films for TV and she gives us some good tricks for our topic. Unfortunately she leaves tomorrow as we’re done now with scripts and it’s time to move on to camera and sound equipment. But we already learnt so much on her side. And the funny part is that she’s also from Hout Bay! She leaves down the road from me!

Anyway, we went for a 30 mn game drive yesterday afternoon and we got pondered by rain!! We were actually in the middle of one the most scary thunderstorm I have ever seen!! Lightnings cutting the sky in half and thunders so loud I felt turned a,part from the inside! I saved my camera on the way back but I got to the camp completely soaked!
So, lions singing happy birthday to me for my 28 and stung by a bee the next day! Not bad at all I would say!
Today was a full day in the classroom. Doing different kind of exercises like writing scripts, developing creativity, watching documentaries with a critic eye, etc..
Tonight we sat by the fire for a couple of hours and we heard again a lion roaring, probably Makulu. He was pretty close to the camp! Lovely….
I will try my best to post this tomorrow morning on my blog. Either before or after the morning game drive with some pictures.

List of birds seen on the 19/01/10
- Coqui Francolin
- White faced duck
- Reed Cormoran
- Brown Snake eagle
- Steppe buzzard
- European bee eater
- Speckled Mousebird
- African black duck
- Mountain wagtail

List of mammals seen on 19/01/10
- Rhinoceros
- Impalas
- Giraffe
- Klipspringer
- Blue Wildebeest
- Zebras
- Cape Eland
- Warthogs
- Waterbuck
- Lions (roaring – 1 male, 3 females and 2 cubs)
- Jackals

List of reptiles seen on 19/01/10
- Chameleon