Note: Kathy and Marshall were fellow OAT Travelers on our OAT trip in 2013 to China and have kept in touch with travel experiences since then:
Part 1
In July, Marshall and I went to Kenya and Tanzania with Overseas Adventure Travel. We had a great group of people that we traveled with – seven in Kenya with seven more joining us in Tanzania. We began our adventure in the Masai Mara National Reserve in southwestern Kenya. George (picture 4) was our Maasai trip leader for the Kenya portion of the trip. We had come to Africa for the great migration and this is where we saw it. Thousands upon thousands of zebra and wildebeest moved together in their annual migration cycle. While pictures are great to preserve memories, there is nothing that can adequately capture the enormity of the herds we saw. We were lucky and saw cheetahs which we didn't get to see the first time we were in Africa. However the black rhino eluded us in Kenya.
We flew from Nairobi on a 12-seater prop plane and within minutes of leaving the airstrip, we saw our first lion. This would bode well for the remainder of the trip. These pictures really don't require a lot of explanation, but there are a number of birds that may not be familiar: Marabou stork (picture 8), white browed coucal (picture 14), Tawny eagle (picture 24), Lilac-breasted roller (picture 32), Black-headed heron (picture 39), Kori bustard (picture 45), Egyptian geese (picture 46), starling (picture 52), Griffon vulture (pictures 53 and 54) and Secretary bird (picture 58).
The male ostriches in picture 36 are fighting over who’s going to mate with a nearby female. Because seriously, what else have they got to fight about? And the grey boulders in the water in picture 43 are all hippos. And guess what kind of “tree” that is in picture 57. Yep, you’re right. It’s a cell tower. Which just goes to show that when you’re in the middle of Africa in the middle of no where….you’re really not.
Next up, we begin our travels in Tanzania.
Love,
Kathy (& Marshall)
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Africa Chapter 1 - Masai Mara Reserve (Kenya)
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Hi again, Part 2 –
On the way to Tarangire National Park one morning we stopped by an open air Maasai market (pictures 3 through 5). They sold everything there: tire tread sandals, bed frames, clothing, fabric, vegetables, goats (alive and not). It was very interesting and colorful. Upon our arrival at Tarangire we were greeted by these beautiful little yellow-collared love birds (picture 6). Those are northern white crowned shrike in picture 7. Mongoose always seem to travel in packs (picture 13). Picture 17 is a white-headed buffalo weaver and the saddle-billed stork in picture 18 is fishing (notice the fish in his bill). The monitor lizard in pictures 19 and 20 sure got us excited but the other animals at the river didn’t seem to much care. That’s a jackal in picture 24 and waterbuck in pictures 23 and 28. I’ve never seen a live chameleon and this one was beautiful (picture 29). That adorable little animal in picture 30 is a dwarf mongoose. He’s sitting on top of his home, a termite mound.
During our days by the Tarangire, we stayed at a lodge by Lake Burunge (pictures 33 through 36). That’s our trip leader Daniel in picture 35. Pictures 37 through 47 are of our visit to a Maasai village. There we got to participate in their daily chores. Picture 37 is the village chief and at 6’4” he certainly fit the role. The Maasai traditionally drink a mixture of cow’s blood and milk. Pictures 37 and 38 show how they get the blood part. Then the guys went off to tend the cows (picture 39) while the women stayed and beaded, thatched roofs (Shirley did a stellar job!), patched huts by hand with a mixture of cow dung, straw, dirt and water and basically did everything else to keep the village running. A grand time was had by all!
We moved on to visit the Oldupai Gorge where Mary and Louis Leakey discovered the fossilized bones of Homo habilis (our ancestors). Pictures 49 through 51 are of our room at the Farm House Valley Lodge and its lovely grounds. Picture 52 is a Maasai village and pictures 53 through 56 are taken at Oldupai Gorge. That pretty bird in picture 55 is a red and yellow barbet. Picture 56 shows the actual place where Homo habilis was found.
I love giraffes and on our way to the Serengeti, we came across this tower (group) of males (pictures 57 through 60). It’s unusual to see so many together.
Chapter 3 takes us to the Serengeti. What a wonderful place that turned out to be!
Take care,
Kathy (& Marshall)
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Chapter 2 - Tarangire National Park (Tanzania)
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From the Serengeti in Tanzania - August 2014
00:06:41
Added on 8/18/14
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Hi,
The link below opens a YouTube video of a lion pride in the Serengeti in Tanzania. I took this on our recent trip.
Marshall
We’re back -
Serengeti is actually a Maasai word that means “endless plains”. And as you can see from picture 3, that's exactly what it is. The dust that you see in the picture are vehicles going into the Serengeti. The best part of this trip was staying at a mobile tent camp that you can see in pictures 4 through 7. We weren't exactly roughing it though. We had flush toilets and hot showers throughout our stay there. One night elephants decided that they wanted to drink the water at the camp. So early, early in the morning they made their move. They knocked over the water tanks outside some of our tents and generally made quite a disturbance. The camp staff ultimately drove them off a ways by taking the jeeps out and harassing them (gunning the engines and honking the horns). Not being deterred, the next afternoon they came back! Once again the jeeps came out to try to dissuade them from coming any closer (pictures 8 and 9). This time the camp staff were successful and we were able to keep our water. I call pictures 10 and 55 “sunrise on the Serengeti”.
This is a martial eagle in picture 11. Leopards are notoriously shy animals. We were able to spot a number of them during our time in the Serengeti, but they were usually at a distance. Here is one having dinner up in his tree in picture 12. As you'll see, we saw quite a number of lions and numerous cheetahs during our time here. To give you an idea about the number of vehicles that converge on an animal sighting, picture 18 shows you what it's like. If you look very closely on the right hand side of the picture at the front of all of the jeeps, you'll see a lion. But it is fascinating that they don't care about the jeeps and walk right amongst them (picture 35).
I've always thought of hyenas as evil animals. But when you see them up close, especially by their den with their pups, they could almost be mistaken for a regular dog (pictures 21 and 22). Picture 23 is a black spitting cobra. Their venom is so dangerous that our driver had us close the windows of the jeep. Apparently these cobras can spit up to about 10 feet and they rear up before they do it. So it was very possible he could have hit one of us inside the jeep!
Pictures 26 through 29 are of a cheetah with his kill. We didn't see the killing, but we did see the aftermath. I was surprised he didn't abandon the impala when we came by to take a look.
Now this was special. Pictures 36 through 41 are of a lion pride that came to take an afternoon nap under a tree. I can't tell you how exciting this was to see 14 lions converge on the same spot. Marshall has uploaded a video to YouTube if you're interested in seeing this. Here is the link:
We spotted another leopard up in a tree. But this was a little more special because we could clearly see his (dead) prey hanging over a branch (picture 44). That's Jerry, our driver guide, in picture 49. Picture 54 is of the road that will take us out of the Serengeti. I was sad to leave.
Chapter 4 takes us to Ngorongoro Crater, our final destination.
Kathy (& Marshall)
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Chapter 3 - the Serengeti
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Fwd: Chapter 4 - Ngorongoro Crater
Fwd: Chapter 4 - Ngorongoro Crater
The Ngorongoro Crater is a pretty special place. It was formed about 3 million years ago when a volcano the size of Mt. Kilimanjaro exploded and then collapsed. The caldera is 2,000 feet deep and 12 miles wide; the crater floor covers 100 square miles. Due to a year round water source, most of the animals are permanent residents.
Picture 1 was taken at the rim, picture 2 was as we descended into the crater, and picture 3 was taken when we got to the floor. Picture 5 is an eland which is the largest species of antelope. Picture 8 is of crested cranes. Pictures 14 and 15 are of a hippo pool and a hippo rolling over. I've never seen a hippo roll over and they actually look pretty silly when they do it. Pictures 16 through 18 are of the elusive black rhino. I'm not sure who was more excited about that sighting, us or our trip leader and drivers.
We visited a village in the area where the predominant industry is brick making (pictures 22 and 23). We went to the village chief's house where they dressed us in their local attire. Sometimes I think they do this for their own enjoyment! Picture 26 is of our group. And picture 29 shows Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance. We were apparently lucky to see even this much of the mountain as it is normally shrouded in clouds.
And so ends our wonderful trip to Kenya and Tanzania. I love Africa and already want to go back!
Warmly,
Kathy (& Marshall)
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Chapter 4 - Ngorongoro Crater
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The Ngorongoro Crater is a pretty special place. It was formed about 3 million years ago when a volcano the size of Mt. Kilimanjaro exploded and then collapsed. The caldera is 2,000 feet deep and 12 miles wide; the crater floor covers 100 square miles. Due to a year round water source, most of the animals are permanent residents.
Picture 1 was taken at the rim, picture 2 was as we descended into the crater, and picture 3 was taken when we got to the floor. Picture 5 is an eland which is the largest species of antelope. Picture 8 is of crested cranes. Pictures 14 and 15 are of a hippo pool and a hippo rolling over. I've never seen a hippo roll over and they actually look pretty silly when they do it. Pictures 16 through 18 are of the elusive black rhino. I'm not sure who was more excited about that sighting, us or our trip leader and drivers.
We visited a village in the area where the predominant industry is brick making (pictures 22 and 23). We went to the village chief's house where they dressed us in their local attire. Sometimes I think they do this for their own enjoyment! Picture 26 is of our group. And picture 29 shows Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance. We were apparently lucky to see even this much of the mountain as it is normally shrouded in clouds.
And so ends our wonderful trip to Kenya and Tanzania. I love Africa and already want to go back!
Warmly,
Kathy (& Marshall)
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Chapter 4 - Ngorongoro Crater
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Fwd: Chapter 4 - Ngorongoro Crater
Fwd: Chapter 4 - Ngorongoro Crater
The Ngorongoro Crater is a pretty special place. It was formed about 3 million years ago when a volcano the size of Mt. Kilimanjaro exploded and then collapsed. The caldera is 2,000 feet deep and 12 miles wide; the crater floor covers 100 square miles. Due to a year round water source, most of the animals are permanent residents.
Picture 1 was taken at the rim, picture 2 was as we descended into the crater, and picture 3 was taken when we got to the floor. Picture 5 is an eland which is the largest species of antelope. Picture 8 is of crested cranes. Pictures 14 and 15 are of a hippo pool and a hippo rolling over. I've never seen a hippo roll over and they actually look pretty silly when they do it. Pictures 16 through 18 are of the elusive black rhino. I'm not sure who was more excited about that sighting, us or our trip leader and drivers.
We visited a village in the area where the predominant industry is brick making (pictures 22 and 23). We went to the village chief's house where they dressed us in their local attire. Sometimes I think they do this for their own enjoyment! Picture 26 is of our group. And picture 29 shows Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance. We were apparently lucky to see even this much of the mountain as it is normally shrouded in clouds.
And so ends our wonderful trip to Kenya and Tanzania. I love Africa and already want to go back!
Warmly,
Kathy (& Marshall)
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Chapter 4 - Ngorongoro Crater
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