Wild4 African Photographic Safaris

Saturday, February 9, 2013

2013 TANZANIA PHOTO SAFARI

The first photo tour of the year has just ended, Tanzania was the location and we were treated to some fantastic photo opportunities.

The first stop was Tarangire National Park, a beautiful park full of giant Baobab Trees, and Elephants, lots of Elephants !!!

We were also very lucky to see some of the resident Lions and a female with her three small cubs was a bonus.

The highlight for me though was our sighting of a Kori Bustard with its chick - a first for me and a wonderful experience.

Then it was off to the Ngorongoro Crater which was once again a great spectacle, lots of Black Rhinos this time - 11 in total. A young male lion stalking an injured Zebra and some great Time lapse sequences were some of the highlights.

Next stop was the central Serengeti where the big herds were absent as is normal at this time of year. We were treated though to some great photos of a female leopard and her two small cubs.

The final stop was the Ndutu area where we hoped to see some baby wildebeest calves. On our first day the migration herds were to the west and not present in the Ndutu area, however on the second day we woke up to find that the herds had arrived overnight and what a spectacle is was.. lots of young wildebeest calves, some births, cheetahs, a leopard with a kill and some good Lion action kept us busy for the last 6 nights of the safari.

Seeing these animals in their great numbers really is one of the most amazing sights in nature and I am looking forward to next years safari already !!

here are some photos and a short video clip - enjoy.

Kindest regards to all

Stu

Short Tour Movie

Time Lapse Videos from the safari

Morning grass - Tarangire

Kori Bustard and Chick - Tarangire

Cape Buffalo herd - Tarangire

Fiscal Shrike - Tarangire

Elephants - Tarangire

Female Impala - Tarangire

Elephants - Tarangire

Elephant and calf - Tarangire

Hybrid Lovebirds - Tarangire

Lioness with cubs - Tarangire

Lions under Baobab Tree - Tarangire

White Bellied Go-Away Bird - Tarangire

Sopa Lodge - Tarangire

Sunrise Baobab - Tarangire

Baobab Tree - Tarangire

Zebra - Ngorongoro Crater

Coke's Hartebeest - Ngorongoro Crater

Cape Buffalo - Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

Zebra's Fighting - Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

Grant's Gazelle - Ngorongoro Crater

Black Rhino - Ngorongoro Crater

Dwarf Mongoose - Serengeti

Leopard in tree - Serengeti

Grey Capped Social Weaver

Chetah cub running - Serengeti

Lion pride - Serengeti

Leopard with cub - Serengeti

Leopard cub - Serengeti

Flamingos - Serengeti lake Magadi

Zebra at sunrise - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Zebras running - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Spotted Hyaena in water - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Cheetah with 4 cubs - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Baby Wildebeest - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Sunrise at Lake Ndutu - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Migration Herds - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Leopard with White Stork kill - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Migration herds crossing Lake Ndutu - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Zebra running - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Lioness in the Marsh - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Young Wildebeest - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Rupell's Vulture - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Lion cub with big tummy - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Pregnant Spotted Hyeana - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Cheetah in grass - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Cheetah with Thompson's Gazelle - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Bat Eared Fox - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Morning in Ndutu - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Spotted Hyaena with carcass - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Young Male Lion - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Lions resting under a tree - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Thompson's Gazelle running - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Grant's Gazelle grooming - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Wildebeest running - Ndutu (Ngorongoro Conservation area)

Monday, November 26, 2012

KENYA PHOTO SAFARI - November 2012

The Kenya photo safari has just ended and we had yet another amazing trip filled with some fantastic photo opportunities and experiences.
We had amazing weather, again quite unusual for November as we did expect some rain as it is the start of the short rains. However we were treated to full days of great light !!

Samburu Reserve surprised us with a beautiful green flush after some heavy rain, quite uncommon for this very dry part of Kenya, but the green provided some unusual back grounds, quite different to the trips in August. We had a great sighting of a female Leopard on the first afternoon and we did see the Lions too. Perhaps the Elephants were most interesting covered in their red mud which really made them stand out against the greenery :)

On to Lake Nakuru which has risen even more and new roads are under construction away from the edge of the Lake. We got some great time with a group of White Rhinos and the Pelicans are still there in good numbers. The group decided to try a day visit to Lake Bogoria, about 2 hrs away to see if we could have some joy with the flamingos and the decision to go was a good one. The Lake is very beautiful and we got really close to the edge and to groups of feeding flamingos.

Final destination - the Maasai Mara which provided a lot of action starting with a cheetah chasing down a baby Impala only to be chased off by a herd of Hartebeest !! the poor injured Impala was then snatched by some opportunistic Hyaenas who had watched all the commotion from a distance.

We had Lions drinking, with cubs, on kills and on termite mounds :)

A big female Leopard in a tree with a Reedbuck kill produced some great shots and the Elephants were in good numbers and in good areas for scenic shots and sunsets.

Many thanks to all the staff at the lodges we stayed at and to our guides, James, Julius and Silas !! we are looking forward to next years trip !!

Enjoy some photos and the tour video !!

Kindest regards to all

Stu