Back From The Wild

Eight days ago we were far in the north of Zambia in the miombo woodlands and farmlands meeting with farmers and the Conservation Farming Unit.  Over the last eight days we made our way south, back through the Kazungula ferry at the heart of the new KAZA Transfrontier Conservation Area and south to Johannesburg.  With the trip done, this week we have been conducting the final interviews with climate scientists and water specialists here and now we start the editing process. 

In the midst of this, we have been selecting the images for the exhibition for the official launch of the project on the 2nd of December at the Corner Cafe in Durban and I am delighted to invite any readers of this blog who may be at the conference to come and enjoy a sustainable dinner, see the images of southern Africa's climate and watch a private screening of the film. 

As part of this Open Society Fellowship, there will be a series of four short films screened on South Africa's ETV, the South African Mail and Guardian, and broadcast in the USA on Linktv.org both on television and online  through their website.  Global Post will also be hosting the films on their website, and links to these projects will be forthcoming as the films are finished over the next week. 

Herewith is a small selection of pictures from the last days of the trip as a photographic journal.  I would like to give a special "thank you!" to our dynamic team who helped make this project a success, as well as all the great people who helped us along our way.  I am indebted to them for their great assistance in what was a very difficult but rewarding fact-finding trip.
Jeffrey Barbee
Johannesburg

A forest tree near Victoria Falls.  The Miombo Biome covered most of southern Africa, shielding the land from the sun, but with increased population, the forest has given way to fields and the region's need for fuel.

The rising full moon at Elephant Sands in Botswana

Elephant Sands, Botswana. "Where Elephants Rule"

The last sunset of the trip, in Botswana, before heading into Johannesburg.

A moon halo, also called a "moon dog" in the miombo woodlands of Zambia.

A young female Kudu tries to understand her reflection in my camera lens.

Conservation Agriculture, the fifth stage of conservation farming, near Lusaka, Zambia.

Elephants at daybreak at Elephant Sands, Botswana.  These young bulls pushed through the trees next to my bed, waking me up and getting me on my way south.

It's best not to ride the hippos at Maramba River Lodge in Zambia, the night before crossing into Botswana.