West Midland Safari Park weekend - 29/30th Jan 2011

On Saturday I decided to drive over an hour to have a drive around the Safari Park. In the winter they are only open weekends. I was surprised how busy it was considering the rest of the park is closed. I pay to get in, start driving around, take a handful of shots and then notice that battery symbol flashing at me. As much as I love my D300, the only gripe I have about it is that it hardly gives you much warning before the battery packs in altogether. I managed to fire off about another dozen shots and then it died. I reached into the camera bag...... no spare batteries. I had charged 2 and forgot to pick them up. I was soooooo mad at myself. I was not even a quarter of the way around the safari park. So I drive around the rest taking record shots with my new phone. Good phone, but has a pretty crappy 5mp camera that can not deal with contrasty situations AT ALL. Then the battery dies in that too. So I eat my lunch and then head home. I made the decision to return the next day and take the eldest boy with me with his camera. It is nice to spend some quailty time with him and nice that he shares the same love of wildlife and photography that I do, lol!

Here are some of my favourite shots from the weekend.

Fvourite shot from day 1 (ok, almost my only shot from day 1, pmsl!)





It seemed to be mating time for these animals. Like other deer like species, the males lick the air to see if the female are in heat.



Is this my best side?





Wallaby



Wolf - took a chance and opened the window a crack to get this shot, shooting through glass was HARD





White tiger shot through mesh fence, turned out better than the tigers who weren't behind fences but had to be shot through glass :-(



White lions, all shot through the car window











Cheetah on day 2.



My favourite shot of day 2, we went around twice and the sun came out in the afternoon.



Is it obvious I love big cats?? I would have brought a cheetah home with me if it wouldn't have mauled me to death, lol! Might have helped get rid of the 2 bloody cats from next door and stopped them from crapping all over my garden, terrorising my rabbits and trying (and succeeding once) to kill my garden birds. Anyway, I digress!

I did manage to get 1 shot I liked off my camera phone, of the boy taken while we were having lunch. Was bloomin' awful of me, so cropped me out, but I like it of him.