Photography often means "Patience"

It was mid afternoon when we arrived at the edge of a deep river bed. We decided to pitch our camp right at the edge on top of the embankment. It did not take long to have our "mosy-tents" erected and before preparing our evening meal,  we built a perfunctory blind, so we might be protected from view of anything appearing up-river. A bush gave us natural protection from the sight line of any appearing animals from the down river direction. The long lens (80 to 400 mm ) on the tri-pod, the second camera with the 18-200mm
"walk about lens" at the ready, I settled down for what might be an unrewarded wait. It took no time, however, when, out of the corner of my eye I noted a movement coming from the down-river direction.

I swing my camera around and quickly find the focus on a family of Elephants, who have come for a drink in a low lying area of this almost dry river bed. The Matriarch, the female lead elephant, first slowly approaches the water, and without first drinking, she turns to the rest of her family as if to say: " come on, the water is clean and the coast is clear"... As if by magic, the rest of the family appears. They take a drink, then mill around as if they had come for a little social "coffee-clatch"... all of a sudden, in an almost panic they dash away, around the bend from whence they had arrived.

I turn to Ant, my guide, to express my regret about their sudden disappearance, when I note that he silently is pointing up-river. This is the direction from which we are protected by our hastily erected blind.
Up there, also near a low lying and still water carrying spot of the river bed, a small herd of Cape Buffalo has appeared. They drink silently... 20, 30, 50 of them. Each making way for the later arrivals and returning in the direction from where they came. It is a little like in a Subway Station... people coming and going in every direction.

Slowly, but too fast for my liking, daylight is fading and photography becomes more and more difficult.
I want "just one more shot".. I turn up the ISO to 3200 and get a few more images, which might be a little grainy. But better a little grainy image than none at all.  ... so says
Bertstravels...