Tanzania pictures
 

Hello folks
Many of you were very helpful with our planning for Tanzania last year, and finally, a year later, I have posted some images to a public site. Less is more so I only put up about 10%! Take a look if you are so inclined. http://njw.smugmug.com/

There are no captions yet, so in terms of where we were: L Manyara, Grumetti, Tarangire, Ndutu and NC. As for the highlights, i would say the tree climbing lions on our very first day at Lake Manyara pretty much left us slack-jawed right out of the gate. Also, a Greater Kudu calf nursing in Tarangire-where MANY told us we must have been mistaken. (The beauty of digital would end those arguments quickly.) A pride of Lions with 5 cubs at Grumetti - as well as a 3 legged male. (There is an image of a stretching male and if you look very closely the back right leg is missing from the knee down from being caught in a trap outside the park) Cheetahs were a highlight and we saw 8 in all!! Very lucky I guess. Lastly, an absolutely riveting experience watching 20 vultures at a kill and the "social" order that goes along with that. the only thing more remarkable than seeing this was hearing this!

At any rate, thanks to all. We are heading to Phinda and Rattray's in September and hopefully Leopards and Wild Dogs will make an appearance!

cheers
Nancie

I saw the proof of the nursing Greater Kudu calf. Clever cover shot for your photos--one of the 8 cheetah. The lion cubs propped up next to mom's belly were adorable and so was the mother and baby monkey hug.

You took some interesting angles of various animals to offer some wonderful perspectives.

Good luck on your SA trip.

Beautiful, beautiful pictures. Loved the one with the 2 giraffes. Loved the tree climing lions. Hope I get as lucky.

Really nice pictures Nancie. I like the Lions impersonating Leopards in trees, all the cubs, and lots of lovely Giraffe shots...

Your pictures are absolutely stunning. Thank you. We are going out in July and we need to buy a camera for our trip. Do we need to buy a very expensive camera to get anything like your shots? We would be grateful for any advice on this
Thanks

Betty
I bought a Canon xti for the trip and a 70-300 lens with image stabilization. The lens was great-a little tough in low light but I am pleased with the set up. This was really my first time using it or photographing wildlife.
I found I used the zoom 90% of the time.

Just make sure whatever you get, you buy it early enough so you can learn all the controls before you go. and have fun!

Nancie

Thanks nancie. I'll have a look at that one

Wonderful photos, Nancie. Thanks for sharing them. I haven't gotten through them all individually, but will definitely re-visit your page because they are beautiful

WOW!!! Fantastic Nancie,
You have a great eye for composition. I loved them all.

Kudoes to you!

Beautiful shots, Nancie.
Thanks for posting.

Love the lion cubs! And the lions lying around the river bank in the damp sand. Is that the Grumeti River or someplace else?

Leely
The lions in the sand were around Ndutu. We were following the migration and those lions were well fed!
The pride with the cubs was Grumetti though.

Thanks for all the comments. I love hearing which ones are favorites!

Nancie

Wonderful photos Nancie, especially the tree climbing lions. What time of year were you in Lake Manyara, and where did you stay?

Dana
We were at Lake Manyara towards the end of January last year and we stayed at Lake Manyara
Tree Lodge, which was absolutely fabulous! We stayed at many great places, but our tree house at LMTL was really something special. I hope to go back.

Nancie

Nanci - We really enjoyed your pics. Lovely composition. My husband bought a Cannon 3D with some long lenses attachements. Looking forward to our trip in Sept. Too bad it will be in the dry season. I really like to see all the green grass in your pics.

SD

SD
Well, we were actually there during the hot, dry season (end of jan)! But it rained almost every afternoon and evening. The rains were so bad that camps closed. we were stranded for 2 days in the Serengeti as the roads and bridges were washed out and we could not get to any airstrips. According to the locals, this was as good as a disaster for them. even the migration was confused and was moving early. When we flew into the region you could see these tiny rivers from the planes. 12 days later on the way out, the same rivers looked like swamps. so-yes there was green-but there wasn't supposed to be that much green!! ;-)
nancie

Thanks for sharing your photos! I loved the baby baboon, hippo nostrils, nursing kudu and giraffe silhouette!

Your photos are great! Thanks for posting them. Really, they are exceptional.

Patty
Those hippo nostrils are a favorite of mine and they were hard to get! I was on a bridge and the water was so brown you couldn't see them until they broke the surface. Never knew where they would pop up-and then they'd disappear quickly-usually just as I got refocused. :-)

Thanks for the comments everyone!

nancie

Yes the hippo nostrils! I was sure that's what they were and was going to comment on your artistic ability in portraying them. However, I recently severely misunderstood another photograph and wrote something stupid about it, so I was nervous about making a huge gaffe again.

That artistic eye is evident in all your shots. I bet you have talent in other arts.