AFRICA 2010PHOTO TOUR

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Photo Challenge!! Think you’re lucky?!?

Try & see if you can spot me & all of the BIG FIVE!!

We offer a unique once-in-a-lifetime experience

that will challenge and excite you!

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TheBIG 5

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Day OneOn arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, and having cleared the customs and immigration formalities, the guide will meet us and convey us to the hotel. By the time we reach the hotel there is time for a quick meal before turning in for a good nights sleep in preparation for an early start on day two.

Day TWOAfter an early breakfast and lodge check out, we will depart for the Serengeti. The route takes us through a “mixed” small holding area before reaching the town of Arusha. This town has a population that has rapidly grown over the past 30 years and is colourful and busy.

Having passed through Arusha the road heads west towards Lake Victoria passing through some coffee farms and then the more marginal rainfall areas of the Masai Steppe. It is possible that Masai Herdsman will be seen herding their cattle sheep and goats dressed in their traditional and colourful clothing.

The further we get from Arusha the more rural the country side becomes. The road gradually drops down into the Great Rift Valley and passes through a few roadside settlements before bypassing Lake Manyara. This lake which will be seen in the distance, enjoys a beautiful resident Flamingo population.

The road winds steeply out of the Rift Valley and into an area of farming. We will then pass into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, climbing up to an altitude of over 7000ft above sea level. The road passes round the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater allowing a quick stop and viewing into the crater providing an insight of what can be expected on the return visit.

Thousands of animals, birds, reptiles and insects live in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Crater, which is a photographers’ paradise. Each day is filled with interest and delight.

The countryside and vegetation changes rapidly as we drive up the outside of the crater. As we decend the far side of the crater it changes again. The Ngorongoro Crater is unique in many ways and is a deep, volcanic crater, the largest unflooded and unbroken caldera in the world.

About 20kms across, 600 metres deep and 300 sq kms in area, the Ngorongoro Crater is a breathtaking natural wonder. The rich pasture supports over 25,000 animals, predominantly grazing animals, including some of Tanzania’s last Black Rhinos. Big tuskers roam the floor and there is also a resident population of Lions and Cheetah. Animals are free to leave or enter the Crater. Fortunately, most remain because of the plentiful water and food available on the Crater floor throughout the year.

After leaving the Ngorongoro Conservancy we enter the Serengeto Conservancy and ultimately the Serengeti National Park. This day is about convering a “chunk” of Africa but there will be ample opportunities to spend the time taking breath-taking images of the National Park. A variety of animals and birds will be seen and the guide will do all he can to provide the best photo experiences as time permits.

Finally, we arrive at the luxury tented lodge where we will be based for one night.

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After breakfast we will checkout of our lodge, and move onto our next accommodation for two nights. These days will be spent exploring the central and southern parts of the park. The programme for the days will be set by the guide to maximise the potential of seeing particular animals and to make your adventure as enjoyable and as photographically profitable as possible. This flexibility in necessary and depends where for example, the Wildebeest herds are, sighting of lions etc as well as local knowledge of the Serengeti generally. The Guides may decide that it is necessary to travel a long way in order to see something unusual or of particular interest and plan the days accordingly.

The guides know these parks very well, they will be doing all they can to help us see as much of the parks as possible and will endevour to give us the best photographic opportunites.

Day Three & Four

Day five & SIXToday we will checkout of the hotel and depart for our third lodge in the northern part of the Serenteti. The day will again be at the descretion of the guide and will culminate in arrival at our lodge where we will stay for two nights. All movements in the park can be considered as wildlife viewing and photographing opportunities as there are a wealth of animal life to be seen. This lodge is what could be described as a high quality tentage camp consiting of a number of tents each with their own bathrooms and a central reception and eating facility.

A typical sixth day, dependant on the guide, might be an early start from the hotel before sunrise. First stop could be a pool on one of the rivers which is usually occupied by a very large pod of Hippo. This would be followed by a game drive arriving back at the lodge for a late breakfast.

After breakfast there could be a short break allowing for some photographic instruction prior to an early lunch. Todays’ plans may evolve at the discretion of the guide as new sightings and information comes available. After our meal we will depart for the very northern sector of the park close to the border with Kenya on an afternoon game drive. Then returning to the lodge in time for dinner.

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Arusha national park

The closest national park to Arusha town, northern

Tanzania’s safari capital, Arusha National Park is a

multi-faceted jewel, often overlooked by safarigoers,

despite offering the opportunity to explore a

beguiling diversity of habitats within a few hours.

The entrance gate leads into shadowy montane

forest inhabited by inquisitive blue monkeys and

colourful turacos and trogons – the only place on the

northern safari circuit where the acrobatic black-and-

white colobus monkey is easily seen. In the midst of

the forest stands the spectacular Ngurdoto Crater,

whose steep, rocky cliffs enclose a wide marshy floor

dotted with herds of buffalo and warthog. Further

north, rolling grassy hills enclose the tranquil beauty

of the Momela Lakes, each one a different hue of

green or blue. Their shallows sometimes tinged pink

with thousands of flamingos, the lakes support a rich

selection of resident and migrant waterfowl, and

shaggy waterbucks display their large lyre-shaped

horns on the watery fringes. Giraffes glide across

the grassy hills, between grazing zebra herds, while

pairs of wide-eyed dik-dik dart into scrubby bush

like overgrown hares on spindly legs.

Size: 552 sq km (212 sq miles).

Location: Northern Tanzania,

northeast of Arusha town.

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Although elephants are uncommon in Arusha

National Park, and lions travel altogether, leopards

and spotted hyenas may be seen slinking around

in the early morning and late afternoon. It is also at

dusk and dawn that the veil of cloud on the eastern

horizon is most likely to clear, revealing the majestic

snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro, only 50 km away.

But it is Kilimanjaro’s unassuming cousin, Mount

Meru - the fifth highest in Africa at 4,566 metres

(14,990 feet) – that dominates the park’s horizon. Its

peaks and eastern footslopes protected within the

national park, Meru offers unparalleled views of its

famous neighbour, while also forming a rewarding

hiking destination in its own right.

Passing first through wooded savannah where

buffalos and giraffes are frequently encountered,

the ascent of Meru leads into forests aflame with red-

hot pokers and dripping with Spanish moss, before

reaching high open heath spiked with giant lobelias.

Everlasting flowers cling to the alpine desert, as

delicately-hoofed klipspringers mark the hike’s

progress. Astride the craggy summit, Kilimanjaro

stands unveiled, blushing in the sunrise.

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Day sevenAfter a late breakfast we will check out of this lodge and relocate

to the Ngorongoro crater. The guide will take us through the

Serengeti, viewing the wildlife prior to anafternoon exit out of the

park. We will travel to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater and check

into the lodge for two nights. This lodge is set on the edge of the

crater and has the most spectacular view over the soda lake and

the whole crater.

Day EightAfter an early breakfast, we will descend into the crater with a

packed lunch. Nothing is certain but it is expected to have good

sightings of Flamingoes. A good telephoto lens will be most

valuable. The day is spent in the crater including a lunch stop. We

will return to the lodge in the afternoon. The floor is an interesting

place and has a number of different areas as well as soda and fresh

water supporting a range of animal and bird life.

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An extraordinary photo adventure

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Day NineAfter breakfast and having checked out of the

lodge we will head back to Arusha along the same

road that we travelled a few days previously. The

ascent down the side of the crater will be taken at

a slower pace enjoying the vegetation, bird and

animal life. Lunch will be included on the way back

to the lodge east of Arusha where the first night

was spent and we stay here for two more nights.

Day tenToday we head out to the Arusha National Park

with a packed lunch. This National Park is a very

different type of Park as it is at a higher altitude

than the Serengeti it has a higher rainfall. The trees

are magnificent and dense in places with very little

ground cover. There are areas where there are soda

lakes and also fresh water where one can expect to

see some animals and birds. There are rare Colobus

monkeys and also the Blue Sykes monkeys. You may

also see a variety of rare bird that are found here.

There’s a good vantage point and cloud permitting

the breathtaking Mt Kilimanjaro can be seen.

Day elevenAfter a leasurly breakfast and a quiet time allowing

one to Photograph the hotel surrounds and pack

up for final departure, we will check out of the

hotel and travel back to the Airport with the Guide

prior to departure.

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Serengeti National Park

Size: 14,763 sq km (5,700 sq miles).

Location: 335km (208 miles) from

Arusha, stretching north to Kenya and

bordering Lake Victoria to the west.

A million wildebeest... each one driven by the same

ancient rhythm, fulfilling its instinctive role in the

inescapable cycle of life: a frenzied three-week

bout of territorial conquests and mating; survival

of the fittest as 40km long columns plunge through

crocodile-infested waters on the annual exodus

north; replenishing the species in a brief population

explosion that produces more than 8,000 calves

daily before the 1,000 km pilgrimage begins again.

Tanzania’s oldest and most popular national park,

also a world heritage site and recently proclaimed a

7th world wide wonder, the Serengeti is famed for

its annual migration, when some six million hooves

pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra

and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelle join the wildebeest’s

trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration

is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most

scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of

buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and

thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni,

impala and Grant’s gazelle.

The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates

Tanzania’s greatest park. Golden-maned lion prides

feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary

leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera

River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the

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southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three

African jackal species occur here, alongside the

spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small

predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf

to the beautiful serval cat.

But there is more to Serengeti than large mammals.

Gaudy agama lizards and rock hyraxes scuffle around

the surfaces of the park’s isolated granite koppies.

A full 100 varieties of dung beetle have been

recorded, as have 500-plus bird species, ranging

from the outsized ostrich and bizarre secretary bird

of the open grassland, to the black eagles that soar

effortlessly above the Lobo Hills.

As enduring as the game-viewing is the liberating

sense of space that characterises the Serengeti

Plains, stretching across sunburnt savannah to a

shimmering golden horizon at the end of the earth.

Yet, after the rains, this golden expanse of grass is

transformed into an endless green carpet flecked

with wildflowers. And there are also wooded hills

and towering termite mounds, rivers lined with fig

trees and acacia woodland stained orange by dust.

Popular the Serengeti might be, but it remains so

vast that you may be the only human audience

when a pride of lions masterminds a siege, focussed

unswervingly on its next meal.

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This African Photo Safari is a unique

experience. It is one of the few places

in Africa where you could see the

“Big Five” . With some luck one could

see 30 to 40 different species of animals

and over 150 different types of birds.

The Serengeti Plains are memorable and

the Ngorongoro Crater just has to be seen!

The guides are highly skilled, helpful and

passionate about doing as much as possible

to give us the best opportunities available.

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