Tanzanian safari: Tent camp on the Serengeti, crocodiles, and soaring over volcanoes

Tanzanian safari: Tent camp on the Serengeti, crocodiles, and soaring over volcanoes

January 14, 2014 We made several more game drives while visiting the western corridor of Serengeti National Park (June 2007), seeing many, many elephants — and I took so many photos of them that my family got elephant-fatigue when viewing them later. I’ll only show you a few, and not ...
Tanzanian safari: Serengeti National Park and sunrise hot-air balloon ride

Tanzanian safari: Serengeti National Park and sunrise hot-air balloon ride

January 13, 2014 We left the Maasai village (June 2007 trip to Tanzania) and got back on the dirt road heading to Serengeti National Park. The drive in our open-roofed cars was long, dusty, and jolting. Open grasslands gave way to a savanna with flat-topped acacias and occasional spring-fed watering ...
Tanzanian safari: A visit to a Maasai village

Tanzanian safari: A visit to a Maasai village

January 13, 2014 The next day, on the way to Olduvai Gorge, where we enjoyed a short natural-history talk (and I inexplicably took no photos), we stopped to visit a Maasai village. The chief greeted us warmly by the road. An incessant wind prompted us to shield our eyes from ...
Tanzanian safari: Ngorongoro Crater

Tanzanian safari: Ngorongoro Crater

January 12, 2014 After our visit to Mto wa Mbu (June 2007 trip to Tanzania), we returned to the lodge for lunch and then hopped back in the vehicles for the drive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The road climbed, the air cooled, and when we stopped at an overlook to ...
Tanzanian safari: Mto Wa Mbu village

Tanzanian safari: Mto Wa Mbu village

January 12, 2014 After the nature walk at the hotel, we drove down to the village of Mto wa Mbu, at the foot of the Rift Valley, for a guided tour (June 2007). Our guide told us that out of 120 tribal groups in Tanzania, 110 are represented by people ...
Tanzanian safari: Maasai school and Lake Manyara National Park

Tanzanian safari: Maasai school and Lake Manyara National Park

January 12, 2014 On our fourth day in Tanzania (June 2007) we visited a local school on the way to Lake Manyara. An English-language world map was painted on the school building. The only city noted on it is New York, which is of course how New Yorkers see the ...
Tanzanian safari: Elephants, lions, and baobabs in Tarangire National Park

Tanzanian safari: Elephants, lions, and baobabs in Tarangire National Park

January 10, 2014 On our second full day in Tanzania (June 2007), we drove to Tarangire National Park, a 1,000-square-mile preserve located 75 miles away from Arusha. On the drive there, my face was pressed to the window, and I grew increasingly excited to see zebras and gazelles grazing in ...
Tanzanian safari: Arrival in Arusha and village market

Tanzanian safari: Arrival in Arusha and village market

January 10, 2014 During this gardening downtime, I am really enjoying reliving some of my exotic travels here at Digging. Whether you are an armchair traveler, or making notes for a future trip of your own, or just seeing how my experience compares with yours, I hope you’re enjoying these ...
Tanzanian plants

Tanzanian plants

July 15, 2007 Beautiful Sunbird on flowering aloe. Tarangire National Park, Tanzania Carol commented recently that my African animal photos were nice and people photos would be fine too, but what she really wanted to see were photos of flowers from my trip to Tanzania. So here ya go, Carol—a ...
Tanzanian people

Tanzanian people

July 13, 2007 Masai mother and child The friendliness of the people we met in Tanzania transcended language barriers and cultural differences. Admittedly, we were sheltered from meeting people on the street, due to the fact that we were part of a large tour group, and most of our interactions ...
Tanzanian wildlife

Tanzanian wildlife

July 13, 2007 My favorite African animal Just now, at midnight, I walked down my dark driveway to drop a bag into the garbage can. The tree shadows and my imagination made it seem a little creepy out there. It reminded me that while visiting the national parks of Tanzania, ...