Liz_Frazier

After working for a week, our photo album is open for viewing. Please understand that we started with way over 1,000 pictures and 300 isn't many when you have the luck to be with the migration for so very long and that was the purpose of the trip. I know it is bigger than any others posted and for that I apologize, but look at what you want and comment on any you would like to right there in the album. Thank you for your patience. Liz

divewop

Hey Liz-
You forgot to include the link!

Liz_Frazier

Oh I can't believe I did that!
Here it is:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLan...5_279369214203

divewop

Oh my gosh...what fabulous pictures! A truly amazing photo album. Great captions as well. It all reflects how special the trip must have been. Thank you so much for sharing it.

Those photos of the baby wildebeests in the tree are something else! Wow...I can't believe you got to see something like that.

Roccco

Thanks for the wonderful photo album.

Some of my favorites...

The clipspringer antelope atop the rock.

The vultures and jackals together.

The zebras half submerged in the river.

Liz_Frazier

Thank you divewop for you generosity. I told Max that after all my hints at incredible things you all will probably expect to see lions chasing cheetahs and killing leopards. It was the incredible beauty of Tanzania that stole our hearts. It has become so like Botswana with so many more things, i.e., the Crater, the Heronry outside Lake Manyara, the beautiful farms at Karatu, Kusini, Ndutu, Kirawira, I could go on and on about the endless plains of the Serengeti. You can hot air balloon on the Serengeti and they have The Great Migration that is the number one attraction of things to see. Also the beauty of the Ngorongoro Highlands, the Elephants of Tarangire and the vistas whereever you go. I've been there before and I just never saw it like this before. The lodges/camps have so improved and when they raise the Park fees and have less groups in busses I think it will become the "new" country. And I haven't even seen the southern circuit and never will, but you all can go. And you should! Just My Honest Opinion. Liz

Liz_Frazier

Oh Rocco-
I missed your post that came in as I was writing my response to divewop. Thank you for looking at it and thanks for sharing your thoughts. It just means so much to me. Liz

divewop

Liz,
Alot of your photos brought back so many memories of our trip there. We visited all the same parks. It's a great country.

I have yet to get to the southern part of Tanzania. I hope to one day. At least to Selous and maybe Ruaha.

If you don't mind me asking, why have you decided not to return? To venture to other places maybe?

JazzDrew

Liz,

Just got back from a short holiday in NYC and have spent the past 1/2 hour enjoying your wonderful pictures! Thanks for all of them. The images of Kirawira make our upcoming safari seem real. I really enjoyed the pictures of the zebras in the water. And all the photos of the lodges, especially Kirawara (we'll be there in June/July). I am so happy that you had a wonderful time in Tanzania

Liz_Frazier

Divewop- The reason we're quitting is we are just getting too old. The trips are a real ordeal for us anymore. I've been to Africa nine times now and Max five. He never would have gone but he met me and I came with some baggage. A love for Africa. He knew that was a condition and he has gone along willingly and I finally had to admit that we are just really getting too old for these trips. The airlines are cramming more seats in coach and although we got to go first class for the first time, what better time to go out on a high note? A perfect trip (more or less, you'll see in the trip report), and we discovered the perfect country really was one of the earlier ones in our trips, Tanzania. What better way to end it?
We're probably the age of your grandparents, or maybe your great grandparents. It's time we let go. After I get the trip report finished, I'll probably not be posting much. We like to cruise and will leave in a month for a 12 day Alaskan cruise. In two weeks after we get back we leave for a car trip up through Idaho, Montana and on to Canada. We've decided to do what we can while we can and then we'll have no regrets. Just incredible memories.
Its time to do things closer to home and maybe even grow up and start acting our age. Liz

birder57

Liz & Max: It was with great great joy and pleasure that I viewed your photos of Tanzania. I went on that trip in '03, and as I looked at your photos, I felt a lump in my throat. Thank you so much. I loved Tza., most of all, I loved the Crater. It was just so great to "visit" it again. Your photos are stunning. Your post explaining why you are not returning was so poignant. I wish you both much happiness. I must say, neither of you look as old as you seem to suggest. Susan

Bo2642

Dear Liz--I've just spent well over an hour totally immersed in your photo album, and the joy you've taken in this last trip to Africa comes through loud and clear. I really appreciate the care you took to include the birds along with the animals, and also shots of the terrain, the sunrises and sunsets, and the camps. And I appreciate your labeling. I feel I am starting to get a handle on what to look for on my own upcoming trip in June/July to Kenya and Tanzania. Africa is untouched territory for me. I do want to wish you and Max happy travels as you explore areas closer to home. I understand what you mean about tailoring travel choices to coincide with one's time in life. I, too, want no regrets. For the past eight years now, while I'm still on my feet and not taking care of anybody, I've made a concerted effort to see places and do things I'd only dreamed of before. I've treasured up wonderful memories and am looking forward to more. In the next few years, though, I'm certain that I will skew my travel patterns to concentrate places closer to home and easier to get to. And that, too, is something to look forward to. My very best to you both.

atravelynn

Your photos show it was a great trip.

My favorites were the mother and baby wildebeest, several of the two lionesses together, the male lion looking through the brush, and the vulture/jackal interaction.

Did you see the Coloubus monkeys in Western Serengeti? The sign preceding those two photos would indicate that's where they were. Seeing a Colobus is such a treat.

I'm glad you included a few of you and your husband so faces go with names.

I hope you made use of the bathtub shortly after snapping your shot.

Liz_Frazier

Thank you for your very kind comments and good wishes. I am so pleased you enjoyed the photos.

Atravelynn- Yes the Colobus monkeys were at the Grumeti River in the Western Region. I believe those are the first I had seen.
Yes we did make use of the bath shortly thereafter. Thank you. Liz

Kavey

Dear Liz
So glad I had a chance to see these before leaving - I really love how your album gives such an impression of the whole trip. Thanks for sharing!

max10

Great photos. Did you go with a tour group? If so, which company? I want to take my sister there in June, do you think that is a good time to go to see the migration? Thank you.

lorib1

Liz -

Fabulous photos. Now I just have 6 more months until our trip....

What kind of camera did you use to take these photos? Also - how did you know the names of all of the wildlife/birds/etc.? Did you use a book (if so - please let me know which one). Thanks.

Liz_Frazier

Max- We did a private safari. You could contact Kibo Safaris, or Predators Safari Club. Those are about the top two from what we picked up from other travelers. Each place we went to I talked to other groups and got the scoop of what their opinions were of their outfitters and what they had picked up from others they ran into. Predators came out on the top and Kibo Safaris are really big over there and from what I saw the folks had no bad experiences with them.
In June the migration would normally be heading through the central Serengeti towards the Western Area. I think the camps are mostly booked for this year already, but you could ask. The weather is so different that I asked at the different camps what they thought the pattern would be for this year, and the strongest recommendation I got was the animals would move to the Western Region in April or May. If the rains come to Ndutu as it looked they would, they should be back there for the month of April and then move out on schedule. Its anybody's guess. Sorry, just returning I would be foolish to pretend I could predict anything about them. That is one thing I learned on this trip. You'd come hunting after me with a club if I dared. Liz

Liz_Frazier

lorib1- Thank you for your kind comments. I imagine you are just jumping out of your skin about now. We met a young lady at Ngonongoro FH from CO. who was just jumping, literally from excitement. I've never seen such an excited lady. She was so cute, but the poor thing was just so excited she couldn't sleep or sit still. I still owe her an email but I have just gotten caught up on my sleep.
I bought an Olympus C750 UZ in 2003 for our Kenya trip and that is what we take now. I wish I would have had a camcorder while we were there, but we got real good mileage out of the small camera and will look at our album more than if we had videos I suppose.
RSnyder who posts here has a similar camera and he was pleased with it and it has a 10X Optical zoom which was the highest at the time we bought it. We are very satisfied and the whole operation is doable for us, but we always use automatic. We don't know all the f-stop thingys. (I can hear Kavey groaning remembering her so helpful explanations) . But I just don't get it. Can't teach an old dog new tricks I guess.
For this trip we got the l.7 teleconverter and really liked that for making things a bit closer.
I'm not saying you'll get professional shots, but we just want snapshots of as good a quality as we could get for about $500 and that one is just fine.

As for the birds in the Crater, we asked our driver and I wrote them in the journal I was keeping. For the other things I bought Birds of East Africa on my first trip there 20 years ago, and Mammals of Africa. I found most things in those. They are the ones that most guides use from there. I don't carry them with us, we asked the driver, but I use them when I make up the album. Liz

divewop

Liz,
Good luck on your future travels. Sounds like you've got some pretty cool things lined up. Though I think it will be Africa's loss.

I hope to make it there at least nine times, if not more. It has really turned into an obsession. Aaargh!

By the way, from your pics, you and Max are probably the same age, if not younger than my parents. I'm not a spring chicken by any means.

And another thing...if I ever win the lottery, one thing I plan on doing is taking all the regular African fodorites to Africa with my winnings.
So don't stray too far from the board.