East Africa: A Photo Journey

Took this picture when we were traveling from Nairobi to Lake Manyara. It was a long drive and I decided to click on anything that was interesting.

This Native was waking towards his village after hearing his cows.

A dust devil that we spotted on way from Nairobi to Manyara. It was pretty huge. The dust devils were very commonly seen allover Tanzania and Kenya.

Way to go OBAMA!!!

African Yellow White Eye

 This is a "African Yellow White Eye" bird. I spotted this while we were having lunch in the restaurant @ a resort in Lake Manyara. The little fellow was treating himself to the leftovers.

             Lake Manyara Panorama

 African Hippos

The African Hippos were really scary to look at. They are very aggressive and territorial. We saw a fight break out between two bulls which scared away all the birds. This was taken in a water hole in Manyara. The whole waterhole was buzzing with activity with all sorts of birds and animals.

 View from the Resort towards the Ngorongoro Crater

 Ngorongoro Crater : A large, unbroken, unflooded volcanic caldera. The Crater, which formed when a giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself some two to three million years ago, is 610 m (2,000 ft) deep and its floor covers 260 km² (100 sq mi).^[5] Estimates of the height of the original volcano range from fifteen to nineteen thousand feet (4500 to 5800 metres) high.^[8][9] A population of approximately 25,000 large animals, largely ungulates along with reputedly the highest density of mammalian predators in Africa, lives in the crater. Large animals in the crater include the black rhinoceros, the local population of which declined from about 108 in 1964-66 to between 11-14 in 1995, and the hippopotamus, which is very uncommon in the area. There also are many other ungulates: the wildebeest (7,000 estimated in 1994), the zebra (4,000), the eland, and Grant's and Thompson's gazelles (3,000).

Our Resort at Ngorongoro

^{Superb Starling}

Superb Starling sitting in a tree top. This is a very colorful bird found only in Africa This species is 18 to 19 cm (7–7.5 inches) long. Adults have black heads and iridescent blue-to-green back, upper breast, wings, and tail. The belly is red-orange, separated from the blue breast by a white bar. The undertail coverts and the wing linings are white. Juveniles have duller plumage with no more than a suggestion of the white breast band. Their irises are brown, later grayish white, eventually the adult's cream-color.

 ^{Inside the Crater}

^{African Buffaloes in Ngorongoro.}

The African buffalo is one of the most successful grazers in Africa. It lives in swamps, floodplains as well as mopane grasslands and forests of the major mountains of Africa. Known as one of the "big five" or "Black Death" in Africa, the African buffalo is widely regarded as a very dangerous animal, as it gores and kills over 200 people every year. Buffalo are sometimes reported to kill more people in Africa than any other animal.

African Wild Elephants

  
^{Took this snap while we were driving to Amboseli National park. Amboseli National park has a high concentration of elephants. This heard was returning back after a drink at a nearby waterhole. Our driver spotted them inside the thicket and then we went inside for a closer look. As soon as we went near the heard, the adults started to keep the young ones far from us.}

 Pride of Lions!

Finally got to see Lions close......real close. As we were driving inside amboseli national park to get to our resort, we saw this beautiful lioness on the road basking in the evening sun. The lighting was perfect.

As soon as she saw us she gave us a good growl.  She slowly got up and started to walk into the bushes. Our driver followed her....and to our surprise....we saw the whole pride just relaxing after a zebra meal.And I managed to get some decent shots of them close up.

A lone elephant in front of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Spotted a lone elephant in front of Mt.Kilimanjaro in Amboseli National Park. The available light was very low and I had to notch up the ISO on the camera to get some kind of a shot-hence the noise. Was a great scene to look at.

Resort in Amboseli National Park

This was the best resort we stayed in. The resort is placed bang in the middle of the reserve and all around us were baboons, wilder beasts, wild buffaloes, herds of elephants, hyenas and some lions. Was just a surreal experience.

This elephant herd was right in front of the resort eating thorns for breakfast. Our driver moved the vehicle to about 5 foot away from the elephants, and they still didn't care.They were busy with their breakfast.

 This shot was taken early in the morning at around 6.00am in front of our log cabin in Aberdare Range.Two "red billed ox peckers" sitting on top of a "common duiker", catching the ticks.

This log cabin is built inside the jungle, around a water hole. The elephants come within inches of us to drink the water. The only thing separating us and them is a few inches of glass. They give us wake up calls if a lion or a leopard is sighted.

 Log Cabin overlooking the water hole.

Took this picture when we were on our way to Lake Nakuru. This Water Buck came out of nowhere right in front of our jeep.Waterbuck are found in scrub and savanna areas near water where they eat grass. Despite its name, the waterbuck does not spend much time in the water, but will take refuge there to escape predators.

"White front Bee Eater", sitting in front of a sign board. I shot this right from my room. They have a distinctive white forehead, a square tail and a bright red patch on their throat. They nest in small colonies, digging holes in cliffs or earthen banks but can usually be seen in low trees waiting for passing insects from which they hunt either by making quick hawking flights or gliding down before hovering briefly to catch insects.

ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/8000 sec
Aperture: 2.8

Spotted the White Rhino in Lake Nakuru. Lake Nakuru National Park (188 km²), created in 1961 around Lake Nakuru, an alkaline lake, near Nakuru Town. It is best known for its thousands, sometimes millions of flamingos nesting along the shores. The surface of the shallow lake is often hardly recognizable due to the continually shifting mass of pink.

View from our Room

Little Egeret in front of thousands of Flamingos.  

ISO: 500

Exposure: 1/8000 sec
Aperture: 2.8 

Took this picture in the evening when the sun was about to set. they are "RothsChild's Giraffe" a type of giraffe found in Lake Nakuru. Had to crank up the ISO, but my D200 did a good job of taking out the noise.

Exposure: 1/2500 sec

Aperture: 2.8
Focal Length: 200mm

Aa Black Backed Jackal running away from us with dinner in its mouth. They always tail lions to score an easy meal here and there, and the lions don't seem to mind as well.Black-backed jackals are omnivores, which feed on invertebrates such as beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, termites, millipedes, spiders and scorpions. They will also feed on mammals such as rodents, hares and young antelopes up to the size of topi calves. They will also feed on carrion, lizards, snakes.

 ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/400 sec
Aperture: 2.8
Focal Length: 200mm

 Shot this Vulture in mid flight @ Masai Mara National Reserve. Always wanted to get a good shot of a bird in flight, finally something close to decent.

Wings Spread!

Elephant Heard 

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Wildebeest in Masai Mara
ISO: 320
Exposure: 1/2500 sec
Aperture: 2.8
Focal Length: 130mm

ISO: 800
Exposure: 1/40 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Focal Length: 200mm

 Spotted this Banded Mongoose in front of our restaurant. The whole family was there feeding on some berries right under feet.Got this shot from my back up D60 with 18-200.

King of Masai Mara

 Spotted this big fellow right in front of our jeep. He crossed the road just few feet away from us.Very Majestic indeed.

  

ISO: 500
Exposure: 1/3200 sec
Aperture: 2.8
Focal Length: 200mm

ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/5000 sec
Aperture: 2.8
Focal Length: 200mm

We hunted for the Cheetah and the Leopard all day long, finally we got lucky. We spotted a female cheetah with her cub at around 5pm in Masai Mara.
They are the so friendly and cute. The mother came close to the jeep, almost 2 feet away, and then crossed the road, while the cub followed her.

ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/1000 sec
Aperture: 2.8
Focal Length: 200m

ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/640 sec
Aperture: 2.8
Focal Length: 200mm

I had a lot of time to plan my shot properly. They were very relaxed and un-perturbed. Took this shot when they crossed the road behind our jeep.

 Real magnificent creatures!

 Got this lovely sunset shot on the way back to the Resort after spotting the Cheetahs. That's rain in the silhouette.

ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/125 sec
Aperture: 5.0
Focal Length: 62mm

ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/160 sec
Aperture: 6.3
Focal Length: 24mm

We saw a huge Rock Python crossing the road on the last day of the Safari in Masai Mara.Got my backup body, D60 with the 18-200 to get this shot.

By the end of the trip I had traveled 1750 km on road, seen things and scenery's that even today feel so unreal and vivid. It is a photographers paradise and a wildlife enthusiasts haven. 

 Africa is truly a special special place which u must experience at least once in your lifetime.

Here is the link to our Travel Map in East Africa