Brown-hooded Kingfisher @SANParksKNP @SANParks #KrugerNationalPark #SouthAfrica

Hi Friends, 

Sometimes in life, you wonder that you shall have the higher zoom camera to capture the beautiful birds which are far on the branches or are flying high in the skies. A similar experience happened to me when I saw this beautiful Kingfisher bird which was sitting far high on the branches of a tree inside the Kruger National Park. 

Kruger National Park is filled with so many different kinds of birds and you need a good telephoto lens so that you can reach them from far far away. It's always good practice to rent the equipment if you can't own the same. 

Brown-hooded Kingfisher is almost the size of Cape Sterling which I shared photos earlier in my posts and weighs just 60 grams. You will be able to find them near any water source especially rivers inside the Kruger National Park. 

In the end, Kingfisher is one of the beautiful birds with a loud and harsh voice. You will find them in pairs maximum else it also roams alone. People also say that it showcases the most dramatic courtship displays in the mating season. All the photos are taken using Nikon D7000 and Sigma 70-300mm Telephoto lens inside the Kruger National Park in South Africa. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts and subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel too where contests will be held in the month of July 2020. Namaste!

Impala @SANParksKNP @SANParks #KrugerNationalPark #SouthAfrica

Hi Friends,

Impala is found all over South Africa in all the game drives and all the national parks and they look really lovely in their beautiful and agile body. 

This photograph is my favorite as one of the Impala takes the center stage while others check out my next movement to start running from the spot. This led to a great photographic capture as the sand creates the stage like a podium and the grass in the background created the others in far watching the performances. 

The beautiful Impala can run at its maximum speed of 80km while 60km is general. One fun fact is that they are also called as McDonald's of the Bush as they are readily available for the carnivorous animals to hunt them easily. 

Because they have dark brown lines on either side of their bottoms and one in the middle of the tail, making it look like an M logo just like on McDonald's stores all around the world. If you ever make it to South Africa, do check them out at the Kruger National Park and enjoy this beautiful animal and if you are lucky enough, you will see them getting hunted by the Leopards and Lions. All the photos are taken using the Nikon D7000 and Sigma 70-300mm telephoto lens. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts and subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel too where contests will be held in the month of July 2020. Namaste!

Bats at #Satara Rest Camp @SANParksKNP @SANParks #KrugerNationalPark #SouthAfrica

Hi Friends,

As we were passing through the Satara Rest Camp and entered the small market inside the camp for some Ice cream and to go to washrooms etc, I checked out a tree outside the market. I was totally afraid to even watch these bats and click photos. 

There were flying all over the market and I really wanted to run away from that spot. But as this was something I have never felt in my life, I took out the camera and clicked some photos before leaving this place for our continued journey inside the Kruger National Park. 

Bats are an integral part of the Jungle ecosystem as a single bat can eat up to 2000 insects a night which will otherwise keep you from sleeping. They eat all kinds of agricultural and household pests even mosquitoes. 

They are part of many camps and are found in large numbers in Kruger National Parks and comes in 65 species only in South Africa out of 1200 species worldwide. SAN Parks have now tried to isolate their chalets and houses free of bats entering the houses by closing all kinds of holes in the roofs and chimney openings. This has helped the tourists to sleep perfectly well inside the rest camps but the jungle is a jungle and you can't restrict them so be prepared to stay with them as you are in their house. 

All the photos are taken using Nikon D7000 using the Sigma 70-300mm lens. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Wild Dog in @SANParksKNP @SANParks #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends,

Wild Dog is one of the most dangerous of wildlife animals as they attack with their whole family of hunters and keep you chasing till you start gasping for breath and will start eating you alive. 

Though they are themselves endangered animals from Africa's mammal species because of the killing by Human beings as sometimes they enter human areas and tries to take the small pet animals like cows, lamb, goat, etc.

Though they are not found so easily in Kruger National Park, I was lucky enough to see them in huge numbers as I was at the gate of the park 2 hours before it's opening time and my car was number 1 for the day to enter the National Park. I felt really great just like people who do the Amazing race feel when they reach the Pitstop to Phil. 

Don't think of Wild Dogs as your pet dogs as they are very aggressive and only live for about 6 years inside the Kruger National Park before they die. 

Rangers of the park do tell that they can even chase the Big 5 animals like Lion and Leopard because they try to take away their hunt and keep chasing them and start biting them from all sides as they attack in big numbers and Lion do run away seeing them leaving their hunt for them to cherish. It means Unity is definitely Strength for this small looking but predator like nothing known ever. All photos are taken using Nikon D7000 using Sigma 70-300mm lens inside the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

National Animal of #SouthAfrica Springbok @RhinoandLionSA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends,

Springbok is the National Animal of South Africa and also the name of the Rugby team of South Africa also known as The Boks or Die Bokke in Afrikaans. 

Springbok is the cutest animal and every time I see them I want to bring one home as a pet. The way they walk, their small tails, their cute face, lovely eyes and the body colors all attract me to this animal. 

The best part is their agility, speed and they can also jump high in the air from the still-standing pose. I have never been able to capture them in the air so far but I am trying my best to be at the moment when some Lion or Leopard is chasing them. 

Here the animal is in its natural setting, eating dry and wet grass and the backdrop is matching with the color of its skin and that was the reason I chose to present these photos to you. 

The way nature plays with the colors of the animals is amazing and beautifully crafted with light brown, dark brown and white colors. No wonder they are worthy of the title to be the National Animal of a country. 

Their horns are showcased in many hotels and restaurants here as decoration and even nightshades or lamps are made from them. You will find Springbok in all Nature Reserves throughout the country and here I have captured them at Lion & Rhino Nature Reserve, Johannesburg, South Africa using the Nikon D7000 Camera. 

Sawubona!!!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Yawn Can Be Dangerous! @RhinoandLionSA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends, 

Yawn is an involuntarily opening one's mouth and inhale deeply due to boredom or tiredness as per the dictionary and here is this Lioness whose unbrushed teeth you can see in all its might. 

The power of these jaws can easily crack the bones of any bull or ox and even horses, humans are just tender meat. 

Nature has given her teeth which will make a hook kind of grip in a single go. There is no saving yourself if it attempts and is able to open her mouth and put some teeth into any animal's legs etc. 

If the lioness is feeling boredom, what about the humans locked inside their houses these days. 

So as Steve Jobs once said that Keep Looking Don't settle, we too need to keep ourselves focussed on the strengths we have and improve them further by giving it a focussed thought of improving. 

It is indeed easier said than done but I am also trying hard to accommodate with a clear mind and getting back to the class nursery when the timetable was introduced to us in schools. 

Once I have completed this admin work, I am able to focus and is ready for any goal, any habit, any project which I need to complete within the next few days. I am ready to attack with complete focus and fire in the belly.

All the photos are taken by Aashish Rai using the Nikon D7000 camera at Lion and Rhino Nature Reserve, Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Namaste!!!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

A Secret Admirer Wink @PilanesbergNP #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends, 

I know I am smart and got looks too and above all I am charming but then I never expected that it will have some effects on the animals at Pilanesburg National Park, Near Suncity, South Africa. Let's go further into the park and check if she is an admirer or it was just a flirt. 

The place is 200km away from Johannesburg and there are several gates to enter the park after getting a day visitor's pass. Generally the gates times are from 6 am to 6 pm but changes every season by thirty minutes or so. The ticket prices are affordable as adults pay R80 and kids R30 and if you are driving an SUV it will cost you R40 more. Bakubeng Gate is the most preferred gate but you can also enter using Kwa-Maritane Gate or Manyane Gate. 

The animal is shying away from the camera and in Pilanesberg National Park you will find a range of animals. From the Big 5 namely Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Wild Beast and Rhino the park has it all. I have been to this place for a day trip many times from Johannesburg, South Africa. Suncity, as you know, is famous for the resort where Miss World and other events happen from time to time. 

Pilanesberg National Park offers several lookout points, small and big dams, waterholes, picnic spots, and braai areas. There are several 3-5 star lodges and resorts covering the several gates of the park and there is an airport in case you want to take a 30 minutes flight from Johannesburg to the park. A lot of other animals will be showcased in more posts coming soon. 

Namaste!!!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!