A new addition to the family – Tales of the Trailcam
No, I am not pregnant. Lol! Say hello to a new addition to the family: a Technaxx mini Trailcam!
My mom saw this cutie on special at Makro in Holland and asked me if she could get if for me. I have been itching to get another camera so Steven can have one when he goes on trail and I can keep one here at the house. So this little camera made its way to us this weekend with friends from Holland.
I had it on the fence next to my Maginon for one night to compare and first impressions are good. The night footage is less grainy than my Maginon, and it is supposed to have a shorter reaction time. I am still playing around with the settings a bit, but during the one night I had it up, I barely captured any sound… I wonder if that is a settings thing or if that it just does not record sound well. We shall see as I continue to set it up outside. I would be a bit disappointed if it did not record sound nicely. It is one of the charms of the camera’s I think. I shall report back on that one;-)
Last week I got my first short clip of a hippo grazing past the fence and this week I have some lovely footage of a hippo munching away. I love the dikkop following the hippo around. I am sure he is after the bugs that are disturbed by the hippo’s movement. We also had hyena around the house as always and a porcupine! I wonder if that is the culprit that has been feeding on my desert roses. Now that I have two camera’s, I am very keen to find out! I had my Maginon set up there as a ‘security camera’ for two nights but had severe FOMO not having a camera up on the fence. What if a leopard walks past and I miss it, you know???
I made another video of my Trailcam findings and posted it on Our Life in Kruger YouTube channel. If you have not subscribed yet, feel free to do so!
As I am writing this on Monday late afternoon, we are on the other end of the Easter Long Weekend. The lines of cars on the bridge and beyond were hectic the past few days. Luckily there were lots of Honorary Rangers helping out and getting the people through as quickly as possible. I hope everyone that spent time in the park had a lovely long weekend and that you made it home safely!
Have a lovely week everyone!
xxx, Linda
Haha… I know the feeling with Fomo. I can’t wait to see what your baby camera does!! I also can’t wait to post my trailcam stories for the day!!! ???
Congratulations on the new addition Linda! Actually we are the lucky ones because we shall get to see more footage from both you and Steven! I loved the hippo and the sounds of munching as it cut a swathe through that nice thick mixed vegetation – and the dikkop hovering and darting round its feet. Lovely footage. Enjoy getting to know your new trailcam and I hope you find some sound controls . . . .
Hi Sal!
Not much sound on my new camera, unfortunately… which is a total bummer!
Need to start saving for a good quality second camera!!
Most amazing hippo experience happened to me in Okavango on a business trip (could not afford to go privately). We heard this sound like a threshing machine outside but no engine and lots of liquid sounding noise. We went out on the deck with a spotlight and there in the reed grass in the shallow water about 15- 20 m away was the most enormous hippo I have ever seen. Proceeding at a fair walking pace the non-stop munch, munch, munch of each mouthful, combined with the splashing was the most amazing, and LOUD, mix of sounds when you realised what it was.
We used to watch a lot of hippo at Shingwedzi’s Kanniedood dam and sometimes you would not realise you had stopped between a couple of hippo and the water. A bit of loud snorking and we would slowly move out of their way – fortunately without incident though some people were not so lucky (they probably tried to get too close).
Wonderful footage of the new cam, Linda! We tried our Makro cam over the Easter weekend in our garden. 🙂 Can’t wait to see what we catch on our cam during our trip in Kruger. Nog 10 slapies. 😀
Loved your footage Linda and have subscribed to your YouTube channel so I don’t miss out on any.
The sound is so important, especially for us city folk. The sound of the Dove calling and the munching of the hippo makes it all the more real for me….I can lose myself for a while.
Hi Tessa!
Great! Thank you for your subscription! Yes, I agree. The sound is one of the best features! I think my new camera’s sound, unfortunately, is faulty! Might have to send it back to Holland sadly.
Saving up for a better quality one!
Hello Linda, I haven’t met you but I know Steven from his days at Lower Sabie. I was a freelance open safari vehicle guide. My name is Frans du Toit and I’m particularly interested in your latest posts on your blog from Malelane Gate seeing that I used to be stationed there as a trails ranger from 1989 till 1997. I have a question: There used to be two trails ranger houses at Malelane Gate. Looking at your video and photos it seems to me that you live in the furthest of the three houses? If that is the case, it brings back fond memories seeing that we were the first inhabitants of that house, establishing the garden from scratch, building a braai place ext. Enjoy your stay. The Park is a very special place to live in and to bring up kids in. Kind regards, Frans.
Hi Frans!
Thanks so much for your lovely message! Steven says he remembers you well!
We live in the middle of the three houses. And like you, we have to build up the garden from scratch. Which is, as I am sure you know very well, is not easy with the elephants around;-)
Come say howzit when you are in the area! Steven would love to see you and I would love to meet you!
Best of luck with your new “addition” and I hope you get many hours of lovely footage and exciting night time ‘visitors”
Loving your You Tube videos!
Regards
Brenda