Watching the distinctive rocking gait of a giraffe as it moves placidly from acacia tree to acacia tree while feeding at the end of a long hot African afternoon, head and horns poking out comically from the uppermost branches as it forages deftly and delicately among the razor-sharp thorns with a fat, purple tongue, is something we've been lucky enough to enjoy often during our years as professional wildlife photojournalists.
You might think such familiarity had made us impervious to the wonder of seeing these unique and distinctive animals in all their crazy-patterned, long-necked, camel-faced, goggle-eyed glory by now, but no.
Each time we return to Africa we discover that the 'wow factor' in seeing these animals in the flesh on their home turf hasn't waned one little bit. Even now, despite all the photographic evidence in our files and the copious notes of our sightings, it's still difficult to credit that an animal like this truly lives and breathes beyond the pages of a children's picture book, a slick TV wildlife documentary or the confines of a public zoo.
We've been observing and photographing giraffes on regular visits to Africa spanning 18 years. In that time we've learned quite a bit about these intriguing animals, where they live, how they've adapted to their habitat and the ecological niche they occupy.
But as our fascination with this odd-looking, yet strangely beautiful mammal has developed we've found there are so many more interesting questions to answer.
Which is why we set about making this book, combining our own experiences with some of the latest expert findings; illustrated, and hopefully brought to life, by our favourite giraffe images from many magical African adventures.