A friend of mine posted about a live video feed of a African watering hole on the Internet a day or two ago. I’ve been mesmerized since (yes, I’m a geek).
Africam has set up the first live video feed, with audio, filming a watering hole in South Africa. The video stream is active 24/7 and its video and audio quality is excellent. The video feed is coming from Nkorho Pan, which is a natural water hole in the prestigious Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, in South Africa. Nkorho pan is named after Nkorho bush Lodge which gets it name from the Shangaan derivative for the call of the yellow-billed hornbill, a common and unusual looking bird from this area.
The camera is apparently operated by someone pretty much around the clock as it pans and zooms around following the wildlife around the watering hole. The audio really makes you feel like you’re almost there. The cricket noise at night is ear piercing and the bird noises and a pack of hyenas laughing is really cool.
At the time of writing this post, I’m watching about 10 zebras, a dozen giraffes and maybe 20 antilopes having breakfast together in the grasslands surrounding the watering hole.
It may not be edited as nicely as Animal Planet documentaries, but it’s LIVE. Everything you see on your screen is happening right at the same time half way across the world. It’s truly amazing. I’m not someone easily impressed by technology, but this thing is just great.
-TPP
