On Safari in Africa
Our 18 Day Adventure
Kenya and Tanzania
August and September, 2012
Off to the Airport in Style... No Shuttle This Time
Emirates Air, getting ready for a 15 hour flight to Dubai
Then, after overnight stop, 5 more hours to Nairobi
Arrival in Nairobi, Kenya, after an overnight in Dubai
Our New Home, The InterContinental Hotel, Nairobi
Feeding Time at the Giraffe Farm in Nairobi
Our ten travel companions
Tom, Augustine (Group Leader), Pedro, Elsita, Mark, Frank, Mary, George, Barbara, Heather, Michael, Kathy
Ken was just missed on the right.
In the back yard at the first safari lodge, Lake Naivasha
Giraffe, left, Wife, right
Hippo visit at 3:00AM.
Three were noisily chomping the grass directly below our balcony.
Three more are farther back, visible only by reflections from their eyes.
Three hippos wandering back to the Lake, 3:00 AM.
Riding the wild hippo
48.7 nm South of the Equator
High altitude kept temperatures pleasant
Leaving Lake Naivasha
Stork, Lake Nakuru
It's About a Mile on the Left... You Can't Miss It
Our first sighting of lions
Cape Buffalos Meet to Beat the Heat
Patience, My Ass... I'm Going To Kill Something
Heather and Michael Take Careful Aim at a Zebra
See Those Guys in the Car ?? Moon 'em !
More Birds than Beasts
Hippo
Don't Argue with a Rhino Bigger Than Your Car
Yea, You! You Talkin' To Me ?
Elsa, wearing her Zebra disguise
My New House. Small, but Location, Location, Location !
On the road back to Nairobi
Climbing out of the Great Rift Valley
"Burudika na Coke Baridi" is Swahili for "enjoy Coke cold."
Roadside business on the way to Amboseli
Roadside market
Bus stop in front of the New Grand Regency Hotel
Driving on the Left Side
Amboseli National Park
Vendors are aggressive
Elephant giving bird a ride.
Amboseli Primary School
Introduction to the Village by the Chief
School is out for Summer Vacation
Short walk to the Village
Good-sized Lions were here last night
Maasai Village, walled with piles of sticks
Villagers approaching to meet us.
Learning a few native dance steps
George, getting high on the contents of that bottle.
Inside the Maasai Village
Houses made with a wooden frame and plastered with elephant dung
Starting a fire with only two pieces of wood
The Boy Scouts could learn a few tricks here
Crafts arranged for purchase
Sentrim Amboseli Lodge
Our fine tented cabin.
With a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro
At 19,341 feet, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa
Elsa scores the front seat
Heather, Michael, Kathy, Heron (Driver), Elsa, Pedro and, finally, Ken
Each asked for a dollar after this picture was taken
so I am obligated to put it on display.
At the Kenya side of the border crossing into Tanzania
Tanzania or Bust
Kilimanjaro is really in Tanzania, even though it is easily seen from Kenya
The road to Arusha, center of safari activity in Tanzania
Tom Cat, supervising a glass-blowing demonstration
The entire group of twelve intrepid travelers
Peter, Elsa, Mark, Frank, Mary, Kathy, Ken, George, Barbara, Michael, Heather,Tom
Driving away from a Maasai market where photographers were unwelcome
Young boys, after circumcision, in warrior initiation dress
The Baobab Tree
Mature trees are usually hollow, providing living space for animals and humans
Entrance to Tarangire National Pak, 7km
One elephant...
... just leads to another
Zebras, relaxing after a hard day at the office
Zebras
Zebras
And more Zebras
Vultures feasting on a carcass...
... left by this sleeping lion
Feasting ourselves on a box lunch
Note the baby clinging to the belly of the first monkey
Baboons carry their young, too
Lake Burunge Tented Camp Reception Area
Dining Area
View to the Lake
Another fine tented cabin
Mosquito netting over the bed was quite common
"Watch Nature from the Comfort of Your Bath"
The brochure writer must think you have a long neck
Not one of the Big Five
Not even one of the Little Five
Two Hippos in search of Mud
Hippo Heaven
Flamingo Heaven
Tloma Mountain Lodge and Coffee Plantation
More mosquito nets
Some of these beans were imported to America
Mountains moved to make bricks
After mixing clay and water by foot, two bricks at a time are molded in the wooden form
After drying a few days, they are piled in stacks and baked by a fire built inside the stack
Wedding dress made from goat skin
Shown in traditional home
Intricate design made with small beads
A bountiful harvest in front of new, more modern home
Now the work begins
Entrance to Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Clouds dropping into the Ngorongoro Crater
The road leading down into the crater
The crater rim is now 2000 feet above us
Warthog in typical kneeling root-eating posture
Wildebeest
The plural is Wildebeesties
The wildebeest has been called a "spare parts" animal because it has the head of a buffalo,
the eyes of a grasshopper, the body of an antelope and the tale of a horse
One of many ostriches, mostly seen alone
"Hey, you zebras, get out of my yard"
Hyena, not laughing
Male lion waiting for his Wife to fix lunch
Back up on the crater rim
Oldupai Gorge in the Great Rift Valley is known as "The Cradle of Mankind"
One of the most important prehistoric sites in the world, it was
instrumental in furthering the understanding of early human evolution
This site was occupied by Homo habilis approximately 1.9 million years ago,
Homo erectus 1.2 million years ago and Homo sapiens 17,000 years ago.
Herding goats in the gorge
Bat Eared Fox
Home, Home on the Range
Just like the San Diego Zoo
Elsa wanted to meet "Elsa the Lioness"
an orphaned lion cub from the 1966 movie, "Born Free"
She got her wish. These are her own pictures
Heading for a shady spot for an afternoon nap
Just "lion" around...
Masek Tented Lodge, Ngorongoro
Welcome Home
A fancy bathroom for a tent
Moonrise
Turn left where the bank used to be...
... where they're going to build a gas station..
Elephant's Front Yard, Serengeti Plain
Elephants on Parade
Cheetah
Why did the Cheetah cross the road?
To get to his girlfriend on the other side
Can you spot the leopard in the tree?
Time for an afternoon nap
Leopards are the hardest of the "Big Five" to spot
and create quite a commotion when one appears
The drieway to the Mbalageti Lodge is 10 miles long
Baboons preparing for night in the tree-tops
The Serengeti Plain as seen from the dining room
Breakfast overlooking the Serengeti Plain
Baboon, about to join us for breakfast
He ran along the railing, jumped to the floor by our table
and lunged for the bread basket. Missing that, he grabbed all
of the small packages of sugar and made a quick departure
before Elsa could shake his hand and give him a big hug
Chandelier, made from green-glass bottles
Chef's Surprise
Cape Buffalo
Suspension foot-bridge
The river below is full of crocodiles
Giraffe
Crocodile, sunning his tongue
Sunrise, Serengeti
Twenty elephants marching to breakfast
Waiting at the Seronera Airport, with Sumawe, our driver,
for the one-hour flight to Arusha
Which way to Arusha ?
Nicely equipped Cessna Caravan
The Serengeti plain from the Serengeti plane.
Approach to Arusha International Airport
On the ground, Arusha, having defied Death one more time
Leaving Arusha, heading to the Kenya border
Trinket sellers at the border
Shopping cemter on the way to Nairobi
View of Nairobi from the top of the Intercontinental Hotel
After a walking tour of the government buildings of Nairobi
we had a delicious Farewell Dinner and were dropped off at the airport
at 9:00 PM for the very long journey home
All in all, a very good trip conducted by Overseas Adventure Travel
The Big Five
The list is based on the difficulty to hunt on foot
The goal for a photo-safari is too see each one, which we did
Cape Buffalo, Elephant, Lion
Leopard, Rhino
Part Two - Destination Dubai
Coming Real Soon Now