Tanzania -- In February of 2010 I was part of a group organized and led by Footloose Forays and managed by Thomson Safaris spending two exciting weeks in Tanzania. Our safari, with its perfect itinerary, captured several national parks: Arusha NP (2 days), Tarangire NP (2 days), Serengeti NP (7 days), and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (3 days). While there we viewed remarkable and vibrant wildlife, observed the great migration, witnessed the birthing of zebra and wildebeest, and much more. The pictures which follow tell the story of my holiday.

This photo collage shows highlights from my trip. From left to right: (1) The Pride of Lions, (2) Grey-Crowned Crane, (3) Waterbuck, (4) Ostrich, (5) Black & White Colobus Monkey (mama & baby), (6) Hippopotamus, (7) Thompson's Gazelle, (8) Elephant.

Cape Buffalo -- After a late night arrival in Arusha from Amsterdam, our group of 18 gathered in Land Cruisers to be transported for a 2 night stay at Momella Lodge. Although this lodge was not a trip highlight, it's locale placed us next to Arusha NP. On our first full day we had one of two guided walks (the other was 7 days later), and while we walked we had armed national park guards to watch over us. On this walk we viewed many giraffes, cape buffalo, numerous birds, and of course the Tanzanian grassland landscape dominated by the Acacia tree.

White-Fronted Bee-Eater -- Although large mammals was my first impression of what safari would be like, it was the numerous, often colorful and sometimes exotic, birds which were remarkable. There are but a handful of mammal species, but the scores of birds were striking.

Black & White Colobus Monkey, mama & baby -- It wasn't until I viewed this picture at home did I realize that I captured a mother Colobus Monkey with her infant. Mature adults have distinctive black & white hair and grey-black faces. Infants, on the other hand, have white hair and pink faces.

Maasai -- While driving on our 3rd day from Arusha NP to Tarangire NP, one of our Land Rovers got a flat tire. Not so lucky for the vehicle, but it happened nearby a Maasai village so it was lucky for us. The Maasai were happy too as they let us snap their pictures, of course for a small fee - the bargaining was fierce.

Kirk's Dik-Dik -- My conception of size was upended when I viewed this miniature antelope. Mature dik-diks are about 16" tall. This guy made its home near our lodging at Tarangire Safari Lodge where we stayed 2 nights.

Baboon -- Troops of baboons were prevalent everywhere. This mature male was part of a troop of about 50 that roamed through our compound at Tarangire Safari Lodge. They were beating the heat with the shade from trees just as we too sought relief from the noontime sun.

Elephant -- From any point of view, elephants are marvelous creatures. They are intelligent, social, and protective of the family clan. They are also the largest land animal. The herd is a matriarchal clan society with the oldest female the lead matron so as to pass on knowledge to others in her clan. Males of up to about 5 years in age may be seen in her clan, but beyond that they tend to become a nuisance and are forced out to bachelor herds.

Elephant

Red and Yellow Barbet

Helmeted Guineafowl -- Sometimes you top the charts with brilliance, other times you just have to rely on a brilliant costume.

Yellow-necked Spurfowl

Sunset

Eurasian Roller

Saddle-Billed Stork -- Certainly the most elegant stork I observed. The other storks I viewed, white and especially marabou, made me loose faith in the fairy tale that storks bring babies into the world - that tale might work for the saddle-billed but not the others. And when you learn of their eating habits, oh my!

Our Transportation -- Pop-top Land Rovers, what a great idea!

Waterbuck

Brown Snake Eagle -- It helps to have keen eyes, but years of experience in sighting also helps. I found it amazing that our stupendous Tanzanian guides could pick out and identify all sorts of wildlife, often at long distances and often while driving Land Rovers.

Black-Headed Heron

Sacred Ibis -- Jimmy Durante would have been jealous.

James, the Tailor - On our 5th day we traveled to Serengeti NP. Along the way we stopped in the hamlet of Karatu to replace the flat tire from a few days earlier. While there I asked permission to take this tailor's picture. Very gracious, he (James) obliged.

Black Kite

Leopard Turtle -- While zipping along in our Land Rovers towards Serengeti NP, one of our guides viewed this leopard turtle roaming nearby. What amazing spotting!

Grant's Gazelle

Elephant ~ junior & sister -- This young bull is believed to be about 5 years old, he is doing his best to mate with his (likely younger) sister. Of course this activity is a nuisance to the matriarchal clan. His days are thus numbered wherein he will be forced to leave the clan to join a bachelor herd. Fortunately, females are not sexually reproductive until about age 10, so his antics end up being only unwelcome practice.

Black-Backed Jackal

Moru #3 Camp -- At the end of our 5th day we arrived in Serengeti NP for a bit of camping. But certainly not common camping, this was camping in high style. The 10'x10' tents were furnished with a wall-to-wall mat, twin beds, end tables, and luggage racks. In the front were sitting chairs, table, wash basin, and umbrella. The rear of the tents opened to a private shower and toilet. Our staff were the absolute best, and the food prepared was outstanding, I particularly enjoyed the variety of fresh fruit at breakfast.

The camp was setup exclusively for us, and was at the base of a kopje, that is a small hill rising from the African veld. In the mornings before breakfast our staff would clear the kopje of any animals which might be lurking so we could enjoy the sunrise and the views of the Serengeti plain from above. Certainly my favorite place while on safari, we camped here a total of 5 nights.

Two-Banded Courser

Giraffe -- Prevalent nearly everywhere, we viewed giraffes both far and close, and often personal. Like the giraffes, many other animals (both carnivore and herbivore) were tolerant of Land Rover vehicles and thus they often passed within feet of us. Several times we viewed lions at this same personal distance - but no one obliged to reach out and touch someone.

Supurb Starling

Group Photo -- Our mornings at Moru #3 camp began before breakfast with a stroll up our private kopje where we took in the zen of sunrise. Of course our guides cleared the kopje of any animals which might be lurking. On this morning, I shot a fun group photo.

Standing from left: Peter, Patsy, Joe, Tom C, Tom O, Abu (lead guide), Betsy, Andy, Leonard (guide), Michael (leader and hula-hoop king), Mary-Lynne, Dan, Jo-Go, Shirley (mamma Jo-Go). Kneeling: Marcy, Mustapha (guide), Katherine, Carol, Brenda, Deo (guide), Phil, Herb (photographer).

Elephant -- Hummmmmm ... more than just a statement!

We were watching this herd of elephants from a distance when they decided it was time to move on. So the clan matron chose her favorite trail, a path we happened to be on. In response, our guide moved the Land Rover forward to allow the clan to pass. The matron was leading, and as she approached the vehicle behind ours she placed her trunk on its hood (presumably to make sure we were friendly), made a lightening her load statement, and continued on. A wonderful close encounter of the elephant kind! I never asked those in the other Land Rover if anyone also lightened their load.

Klipspringer -- This small, agile antelope lives along the rocky areas of kopjes and cliffs, and stands a tiny 20-22" in height. I found its granite coloration great camouflage.

Hippopotamus -- This guy's yawning not because he's tired, rather it's a display of dominance. But I liked watching the tail-twirl-and-bat dung-showers on social inferiors - now that's not just a statement, it's ultimate dominance!

Cheetah -- We watched this cheetah stalk and chase a small antelope. The stalking time was many minutes while the chase was but a few short seconds. On this occasion the cheetah was unsuccessful, lucky for the antelope.

Grey-Crowned Crane - Stunning in coloration and elegant in stature, the crowned crane is now my absolute favorite bird. We saw this breeding pair near a wetland in Serengeti NP, but we also saw many a few days later while in the Ngorongoro Crater.

Zebra with Wildebeest

White Stork

Marabou Stork

Dinner with the Vultures & Storks -- There's even civility at the dinner table, or more to the point a dominant hierarchy. After the lions and hyenas get their fill, what remains is sorted out by the vultures and storks. And of course the vultures have their own hierarchy with the Griffon top bird. At this dinner table is one Griffon (its head deep feeding at near center with white tipped feathers), four White-Backed (one with wings spread, two watching, one facing away), one Hooded (smaller vulture at left front). Waiting in the background is a Marabou Stork, it feeds after the vultures. Outside the frame of view were other vultures already fed and bellies bloated from dinner. Nature's efficient recycling!

Lion -- On our 8th day we left our private Moru #3 camp for a two day diversion at Ndutu Safari Lodge also in Serengeti NP. Here we had fine lodging and more formal meals. It was also the place of our second of two walks, again with an armed national park guide.

We viewed these lions, a pride of about 12, several times over our two days at Ndutu. It is likely the pride enjoyed this sandy beach near a river watercourse to Lake Ndutu to relax during the hours of the daylight so as to be ready to hunt at night.

Cameleon Lizard

Rüppell's Griffon Vulture

Spotted Hyena -- Dinner of Wildebeest.

Zebra ~ mother & newborn -- Birthing of zebra (or for that matter many other animals too) occurs in early morning so as to give the new born a full day to adjust to life before nefarious night falls. So our group got up early on this day in hopes of watching wildebeest and zebra births, we observed one each.

We spotted this zebra birth at 10:33 AM, the new born zebra had been birthed, mother and child were both lying down, the placenta (or afterbirth) was clearly visible. At the time of this picture at 10:36, the new born was on its way to standing, although still wobbly. Three minutes later at 10:39 both mother and new born were standing as viewed in the next image where the new born appears steady, and the mother is bonding by cleaning her child of birthing odors.

Zebra ~ mother & newborn -- Our observations of this birth were a remarkably short six minutes, a time beginning very shortly after birth and ending with a standing and mostly stable infant zebra. Although we did not witness the actual birth, I am told the entire process from birth to standing is almost always less than 15 minutes. Of course it has to be, anything longer would be too risky in this wild and often hostile environment.

Grey-Breasted Spurfowl -- After an exciting morning watching wildebeest and zebra births, we said good-bye to Ndutu Safari Lodge and returned to my personal favorite, our private camp and kopje at Moru #3 for two more nights. We had now been on safari for 9 days.

Topi

The Pride of Lions -- During my visit I viewed countless lions, but this is definitely a delightful pride.

Ostrich

Impala

Lilac-Breasted Roller

Warthog -- Appropriately named, a face only a mother might love.

Black-Bellied Bustard

Ngorongoro Crater -- On our 11th day we said our final good-byes to the wonderful staff at my favorite camping place, Moru #3 with its private kopje in Serengeti NP. We moved on to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and its spectacular crater. Actually, it's not a crater at all, rather a large caldera formed when a giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself some 2-3 million years ago. The crater drops 2000 feet from its rim, and its floor measures 9 to 12 miles across.

The crater is also home to a wide variety of animals, a sampling includes wildebeest, zebra, gazelles and various other antelopes, elephants, rhinoceros, numerous predators such as lions and hyenas, and a host of birds.

We visited the crater twice, first in the afternoon after our drive from Serengeti NP and the second time starting at dawn the following day. What a difference the time of day makes. Our initial afternoon visit was just ho-hum, but like most wildlife viewing the morning was a huge exciting wow!

Thompson's Gazelle

Montagu's Harrier

Lesser Flamingos -- A medium sized flock of flamingos were feeding among the shallows of Lake Magadi on the Ngorongoro Crater floor.

Hamerkop

Wildebeest -- We were on our way to that all important pit stop when off in the distant we viewed yet another herd of wildebeest. Of course we stopped for a quick look see. Then for no apparent reason the herd began to stampede. As we watched, the stampede took an ever so slight curve. Several minutes later our guide asked if we wanted to stay and watch or move on to the now overdue pit stop. I voiced my opinion saying that the stampede would continue to curve and then pass in front of us, so we stayed and watched. And indeed it did, the stampede ran immediately in front of us, up close and personal. Very cool.

Bearded Woodpecker -- We had now been on safari for 12 days. The previous night (as with the next) we camped at Ngorongoro Thomson Nyumba along the outer perimeter of the Ngorongoro Crater. Here our accommodations were similar to the luxury camping at Moru #3 except we were now high in a candelabra forest.

Later this day when noontime rolled around, our guides serendipitously converged at the edge of a nearby lowland forest within the crater where we were greeted with a stupendous outdoor lunch. Nothing could have been better. The sun was shining, we were offered wine and beer, and the chefs were at barbecues preparing lunch. This was not your ordinary picnic, rather table service with comfy chairs, linen napkins, and china dinnerware. The food met the expectations of our natural setting. What more could you ask. Only the Vervet Monkeys were unhappy, our staff made sure they didn't steal any food!

Kori Bustard -- A fine display to show off for the ladies!

Rhinoceros -- Our last day we traveled to Gibb's Farm. It is both an organic farm and an opulent resort with spectacular gardens and luxurious cottages. It is a place to relax. Although quite enjoyable, I would have preferred another day of Tanzania's nature rather than a day of genteel life. Nonetheless, it was quite enjoyable.