I LOVE MY AFRICAM

So what is "Africam" anyways? And why do I love it so much? You may have seen the link in my sidebar and, now I'll tell you.

Basically, Africam is a website from South Africa for the viewing of live wildlife. They have two 24-hour cameras mounted beside two different watering holes which border Kruger National Park in the northeast of the country. One is at the Nkhoro Bush Lodge pan (water hole), the other at Elephant Plains Lodge water hole - which is 12.1K/7.5 miles from Nkhoro.

Why do I love it? Easy - great viewings of African wildlife, and great friends made on the Forum Chat!

These just happened to come into view yesterday. They use infrared cameras at night so we can see in the dark. This first photo is a leopard.
This is a pride of lions! Neither are a frequent sighting, and to have both leopard and lion on the same day was quite a thrill!

Here's some more information about Africam, if you're interested:

Africam originated in 1998. Regarding the choosing of Nkhoro Lodge as its first site, owner Campbell Scott said, "We needed to choose a place where no matter what time of year, people could see the Big 5. People want instant gratification." What are the "Big Five"? The Rhino, Leopard, Elephant, Lion and Water Buffalo. There have been a few rare occasions where we have seen, on cam, the Big 5 within a 24-hour period! We also have a term called the "Magnificent Seven", which adds the Cheetah and African Wild Dog to the Big 5.
I discovered Africam almost two years ago, a tip given by someone on my gardening forum at Dave's Garden. You never know when you're going to see an animal. During the (African) daytime is when you mostly see "critters" - Impalas, Wildebeests, Zebras, Baboons, Warthogs, Elephants and Giraffes. Rhinos show up occasionally, as do Hyaenas (affectionately known as Whoopers on the Forum), Jackals, and Mongooses. There's a wide and beautiful variety of bird life, too, with Egyptian Geese keeping watch over Nkhoro Pan most days!

Now, these are all wonderful, but the piece-de-resistance is a cat sighting! Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, or Serval! Not a common sight, but one sighting makes up for all the nights sitting in front of an empty, quiet camera! I've been fortunate to see all four at different times.

This is Jacques, a ranger at Nkhoro Lodge, here feeding a young wildebeest. His nickname is Zoomie because he is the primary camera operator.

On Africam, many viewers are come-and-go, and many are "lurkers" - those who watch the cams, and maybe even read the forums, but don't participate in chatting. I'm a Participator, and log on just about every day, or night I should say. South Africa is 6 hours ahead of my time zone, so if I watch it during my evenings, it's the wee hours of the morning over there!

I have many friends on the Africam Forum Chats. They hail from all over the world, just like in BlogLand!

I love all my online families - whether they're from BlogLand, Africam, or Dave's Garden. (Just don't invite me to a family reunion!) LOL!