Hippopotami of the St Lucia Wetlands

Hippo, St Lucia Wetlands

Fall in Toronto sends me foraging through the archives, a slow process of sifting through photographs made over the past five years and more, searching for images that are worth working on and, I hope, worth sharing with you.

So, for my September offering, here is a portfolio of black-and-white images of basking hippopotami, calm and at ease in the murky waters of the St Lucia Wetlands, a World Heritage site on the the north-east coast of South Africa.

Rob and I were down there on holiday, though as it happened I had a small and unforeseen bit of consulting work to do, which interfered somewhat with our plans. Ever enterprising, Rob booked us on an evening cruise by pontoon boat on the estuary, forcing me to stop work for a few hours and be properly present in this remarkable environment comprising no less than five distinct ecosystems. And what a memorable evening it was - I have never seen so many hippos, so close and so untroubled by our presence.

Which is a good thing, as hippos can be pretty mean and nasty when surprised or startled. Here in St Lucia, they are known to wander through the streets at night and browse in people’s gardens, and only recently, we were told, a game ranger had been attacked in his own back yard when he lit a cigarette in the dark and caught the eye of one of these creatures. Do not go out at night, we were warned, on foot, and keep a wary eye open if you are driving!

I have also found time to update my Ontario portfolio, Provincial Scenes, so do take a moment to check this out.

The Beach at Port Dalhousie

And, I have added a photograph to my portfolio of South African landscapes, Photographs from Home.

Sunset, Kruger National Park

As always, thanks for reading and for taking the time to look at my photographs. Do let me know what you think