After the Final Sundowner

We said goodbye to the final couple of guests this evening, leaving us as lone visitors at the lodge for our final night.  In the morning L had ridden up to the other lodge, Ant's Hill and met up with two guests who had split their visit between the two locations, while I took a final game drive.  Then, after lunch we headed out on our last ride together, with a plan to finish up at the old landing strip.

I'd asked if I could stay out as sunset came and went, waiting for the stars to appear and, hopefully, capture a shot of the Milky Way.  Berger, one of our guides would stay with me.

Most of the guides hold a qualification in their chosen work.  It seems very comprehensive in the breadth of knowledge they learn, but I was surprised when Berger was able to real off a series of facts about the night sky.  He was also able to name many of the stars that were appearing within the Southern Cross and Orion.  I hadn't heard before that as night develops a new star can be seen every eight seconds!  Also that the first celestial bodies you see are not stars but planets, including Venus.  It is credit to the guides that they are voracious acquirers of knowledge and take their learning well beyond the curriculum of the course, such is their appetite for facts.

In return Berger was fascinated as I used the Live Time function on the camera so he could see the stars appear on the rear view screen as I took each shot.

Technical: A five shot pano, using the 7-14mm Olympus lens.  Stitched in Lightroom, rather than Photoshop, as it handled the process better (surprisingly).  I could do with more time to re-process, but I'm now way behind on posting Blips so, before I fall asleep tonight (we're back home on 20th), I've quickly grabbed it and posted.