Safari! - part 2: Serengeti National Park

In this second post on our visit to Tanzania last year, I'll show some shots from the Serengeti National Park.

To reach the park we set off early from the Ngorongoro crater, and drove for about 8 hours on pretty poor roads. On the way, we made a couple of stops, one of which was to pay fees on entry to the park. While we were waiting for our driver to sort out the paperwork, word got round that a couple of elephants were nearby, on a small hill next to the car park. We grabbed our cameras and binoculars and legged it up the hill, and here is what we found!

This is taken from a range of only about 50 feet. Amazing to get so close - especially when not in a vehicle.

Another stop was made at Olduvai Gorge (a.k.a. the Cradle of Mankind), an archeological site  at which many early humanoid remains have been discovered. Here is a picture of the gorge, including the monolith which shows some of the layers in which the remains were found (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olduvai_Gorge).



Once we entered the park, the wildlife sightings increased.One of our first sightings was this group of osteriches.

This next shot is one of my favourites - a Hyena proudly carrying away it's lunch to a quiet spot where it can eat it in peace!

After the long drive, we arrived at out lodge just after sunset and had an early night! The following day, we went in search of leopards. To do this, we drove around the plains inspecting any small patch of trees we could find. Eventually, we found what we were looking for!

While in the Serengeti, I decided that the animals I like to photograph most are giraffes! (squirrels are a close second). This next shot is one of my favourite shots since I've being doing wildlife photography. It's printed very big on my living room wall!

This next chap came very, very close indeed! Taken at about 180mm on FX:

We were very lucky, as the Wildebeest migration was taking place a little early, owing to lack of rainfall. Although we were not really there at the "right time", we still witnessed vast numbers of Wildebeest (sweeping majestically) on the move. These migrations are so big that it's very difficult to photograph them. The lines of animals literally stretch from horizon to horizon - in the background of this next shot, you can at least see part of one line.



Next time, I'll show some shots from the third location we visited - Tarangire National Park.