Magical Mana Pools – Day 2 – time to meet Boswell!

Once again the day started early with our guide Cloud working hard to find us something interesting to photograph…

First up we came across some bull elephants doing their best work on a fallen tree…

It was a pretty uneventful morning.  We stopped for this majestic male kudu…

And for this zebra…

And who doesn’t love a warthog?  Even the Africans call them “pumba”…

This young elephant was pretty pleased with his branch…

After lunch we spent some time photographing red-billed quelea.  These small short-tailed weavers seemingly fly as one, it’s like watching waves on the ocean as they move across the ground looking for food.

Although it was a quiet day, it was about to become one of the most memorable!  We found the infamous Boswell, easily recognized by his stubby tail and beautiful tusks.

Elephants eat about 16-18 hours a day but they can also average about 25 km per day.  We were on foot with Boswell and followed him for about 30 minutes as he searched for the perfect tree and the perfect branch.

And then the magic happened.  I can’t even begin to describe how amazing it is to see such a large animal stand so gracefully on his back legs and balance there for a few minutes while he gets his intended branch.

Special thanks to Bryan, one of our guides, for shooting video of this moment while we were all busy taking photos!

It was another perfect day and we returned to camp, tired and happy and wondering what else this magical place had in store for us…