Tanzania or bust
This trip did not start out well. It was My wife and 3 kids headed off for a safari to Tanzania. I took my camera bag with all of my lenses and did not realize that I left my D300 on the counter when I was cleaning it the night before we left. Soooo, I had to buy a D80 in Tanzania when i got there(it was the minimum I would shoot with.) I got a real deal from a merchant until I realized many miles later that it had MAJOR issues with iso. It would frequently shoot on iso3200 and there was no changing it. Then it would randomly change iso's on me through out the trip. Later It turns out some chip had blown(or something technical). It works fine now though.
We arrived in Arusha ( Kilimanjaro) safely. My kids were responsible for a school supply drive at their schools to give to a school in Tanzania. Our first stop was at a local school to donate the supplies.
This is my son Jared with a group of kids. BTW some of the shots were taken with my backup little digital.
My daughter Samara and son Evan with some more kids
These kids were great and mugged for the camera the entire time.
We then proceeded to Lake Manyara National Park. On the way to our lodge, we noticed some Masai playing soccer. My boys are soccer freaks. We were also traveling with a friends who also have a couple of soccer kids. So we arranged a little soccer match with boys joining the Masai teams.
Jared chasing down the ball
Their shoes were made of cut up motorcycle tires strapped to their feet.
Evan in his Amsterdam T-shirt defending an attack.
High 5's after a goal
We did have spectators, but since the boys were split between the two teams , there was no home town favorite.
Some did not care for the game though
Matt on the move
The game ended in a 3-3 tie, and everyone was happy.
Later that night we had some local entertainment come by,
The next day Lake Manyara had an interesting mix of wildlife.
There was the not so local wildlife
and the local kind
The next day wer were off to the Ngorongoro crater. A fantastic volcanic crater which contains an entire world of animal life.
Some of the locals were not impressed
This one took down a Thompson's gazelle a few seconds later, missed it on pics though.
Others were happy to see us.
I think?
On the way to Ndutu we came across a typical Masai village
Ndutu was a magical place. One could not leave the rooms at night because of all of the predators walking through the place.
There was a local Cerval cat(I think) some one should correct me if it's not one, hanging out in the rafters.
We went out early the next morning to look for the wild lifew and it was not long before we spotted some.
We moved on to Tarangire National Park
This was an old lame lion in his final days. He was not able to move and was going to be dinner to some other animals in the next few days:(:
I never thought that Elephants could have such nice faces or beautiful eyes!
The craziest thing we saw the entire trip was a couple of lions acting like cats. The had come across a mouse and were toying with it. One of them eventually got tired of playing and gave it a crunch, the game was over.
This guy thought we should not leave the park and took several charges at us to try to convince us to stay. But sadly we had reservations.
On the way to Serengeti National Park we ran into some friends.
And our favorite person by far!!!
After stopping for a snack outside the park
We entered Serengeti
We made some new friends in the Serengeti, some shyer than others.
This guy was hiding near a pick nick bench waiting for us to have lunch ad be lunch. Luckily the guide did a once over before we stopped.
This give you an idea as to how many wilder-beasts we saw, there were many thousands
Lions in trees?
Leaving was hard but we all learned so much about how precious wild life is and how magnificent The Masai are.
Hope it was not too long but there was so much to cover and so much good stuff I left out.:D
CC ia partially welcome since I was deprived of my equipment.:rofl
We arrived in Arusha ( Kilimanjaro) safely. My kids were responsible for a school supply drive at their schools to give to a school in Tanzania. Our first stop was at a local school to donate the supplies.
This is my son Jared with a group of kids. BTW some of the shots were taken with my backup little digital.
My daughter Samara and son Evan with some more kids
These kids were great and mugged for the camera the entire time.
We then proceeded to Lake Manyara National Park. On the way to our lodge, we noticed some Masai playing soccer. My boys are soccer freaks. We were also traveling with a friends who also have a couple of soccer kids. So we arranged a little soccer match with boys joining the Masai teams.
Jared chasing down the ball
Their shoes were made of cut up motorcycle tires strapped to their feet.
Evan in his Amsterdam T-shirt defending an attack.
High 5's after a goal
We did have spectators, but since the boys were split between the two teams , there was no home town favorite.
Some did not care for the game though
Matt on the move
The game ended in a 3-3 tie, and everyone was happy.
Later that night we had some local entertainment come by,
The next day Lake Manyara had an interesting mix of wildlife.
There was the not so local wildlife
and the local kind
The next day wer were off to the Ngorongoro crater. A fantastic volcanic crater which contains an entire world of animal life.
Some of the locals were not impressed
This one took down a Thompson's gazelle a few seconds later, missed it on pics though.
Others were happy to see us.
I think?
On the way to Ndutu we came across a typical Masai village
Ndutu was a magical place. One could not leave the rooms at night because of all of the predators walking through the place.
There was a local Cerval cat(I think) some one should correct me if it's not one, hanging out in the rafters.
We went out early the next morning to look for the wild lifew and it was not long before we spotted some.
We moved on to Tarangire National Park
This was an old lame lion in his final days. He was not able to move and was going to be dinner to some other animals in the next few days:(:
I never thought that Elephants could have such nice faces or beautiful eyes!
The craziest thing we saw the entire trip was a couple of lions acting like cats. The had come across a mouse and were toying with it. One of them eventually got tired of playing and gave it a crunch, the game was over.
This guy thought we should not leave the park and took several charges at us to try to convince us to stay. But sadly we had reservations.
On the way to Serengeti National Park we ran into some friends.
And our favorite person by far!!!
After stopping for a snack outside the park
We entered Serengeti
We made some new friends in the Serengeti, some shyer than others.
This guy was hiding near a pick nick bench waiting for us to have lunch ad be lunch. Luckily the guide did a once over before we stopped.
This give you an idea as to how many wilder-beasts we saw, there were many thousands
Lions in trees?
Leaving was hard but we all learned so much about how precious wild life is and how magnificent The Masai are.
Hope it was not too long but there was so much to cover and so much good stuff I left out.:D
CC ia partially welcome since I was deprived of my equipment.:rofl
0
Comments
Wow. That is just amazing. Fantastic journey. Not only did you see an incredible assortment of wildlife, but you got to meet and spend time with the kids at the school as well as other locals. The flocks of wildebeests and zebras were amazing. I love that shot of the elephants in the stream. And that lion and mouse -- just incredible. And that's awesome that you were able to bring your entire family. A trip of a lifetime to be sure.
So are you kicking yourself for forgetting your camera?
Regards,
-joel
Link to my Smugmug site
Cuong
www.morffed.com
Thanks for sharing...
Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
Ed
Comments and constructive critique always welcome!
Elaine Heasley Photography
Thanks,the soccer was surreal, the culture differences disappeared once the game started.:D
I am so envious. Africa is on my bucket list, but my wife won't go.
Fabulous journey, great shots, great story.
http://danielplumer.com/
Facebook Fan Page
Thanks, too bad your wife wont go, if safety was the issue, we never felt unsafe!!!
Dave
Alpha 99 & VG, 900x2 & VG; 50mm1.4, CZ135 1.8; CZ16-35 2.8, CZ24-70 2.8, G70-200 2.8, G70-400, Sony TC 1.4, F20, F58, F60.
Thanks , I appreciate the compliments.
My pleasure, thanks for lookin.:D
Absolutely great set of pictures - thanks for sharing.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Thank you soo much for taking the time to share these with us, and for including captions.
Your children are very lucky to have wonderful parents like you.
Being a DGRIN member puts a whole new slant on " want to see our slides from vacation?" That used to clear a room out. People would be blessed to be invited to your slideshow!
www.CottageInk.smugmug.com
NIKON D700
Thanks, at least with Grin, you can leave anytime without insulting the host.:D