Unexpecting Spectators

In a trip full of special moments, this particular image struck as especially beautiful…not necessarily for its composition or exposure, but rather for the story behind it. The giraffe were moved in the back of an open-topped lorry with their heads visibly sticking above the shipping crate. As we drove through towns and villages, we passed many people who had never seen live giraffe before. The changes in their dispositions and facial expressions as they realized what they were seeing were truly charming and one of the more memorable aspects of the journey. On one dusty road in Gulu town, a young girl, having seen the truck full of giraffe slowly navigating the city streets, quickly ran inside her house to grab a small plastic giraffe toy. She came back out to the road and waved it at the giraffe as they drove along to their new home in Kidepo Valley National Park. My heart soared to see the joy in her face.

Children and drivers
Line the roads and dusty tracks
​As giraffe go past