Four Day Camping Safari to Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater

This was my first camping safari and I really enjoyed it. The biggest thrill was being with friends and Helen on their first safari. It is a fabulous experience and one that anyone with the means should undertake.

Wish I had time to caption more for each of these photos but our trek up to the top of Kilimanjaro begins in a few hours. We met out lead guide James last night and he will do us well, I am sure. Cheers.

 A huge baobab tree

 The scarp of the East Africa Rift with Lake Manyara at the base

 Successive lava flows exposed in the scarp of the rift

 The Serengeti - Endless Plains

 Acacia trees rock in the Serengeti

 Ditto

 Our camp in the Serengeti was in the Seronera area

 Helen and Ann are ready to go!

 A giraffe seen on the first morning - the first of many

 Vervet monkeys with their young

Close-up

 Formidable Cape buffalo - the most dangerous and unpredictable in Africa


The hippopotamus pool at Retima

Lively and awake

Idyllic Serengeti scene on the river with elephants bathing

More giraffes

We did see cheetahs!

They love to hang out near these kopjes (p. koe-pees), Dutch for "little heads." There are resistant knobs of the African basement that project up from the plain and provide habitat for many cats.

Like lions - we saw many lions

From the right - George, Helen, Joe, Don, and Ann - and Mr. lion, far left

Alll Helen wanted to see was lions up close and when they walked toward us, her dreams came true

Great morning light

Waking up

Symmetry 1

Symmetry 2

Olduvai Gorge (now called Oldupai) in East Africa. This is the place where fossils of Homo habilis, Australopithicus boisei, and Homo erectus were found by Louis and Mary Leakey. These are lake and riverine deposits between 2 million years to 17,000 years. The reddish butte in the foreground is an exposure of Bed III, and documents the drying climate that occurred here about 1.2 million years ago.

The paleo-fauna at Olduvai Gorge is impressive as well and nicely displayed in the Museum here

Last look at Olduvai Gorge

Entering Ngorongoro Crater with the candleabra (Euphorb) on the left

Male elephant

Crowned crane

Hyeena

Zebra on the move

Ngorongoro Crater is a paradise

The whole safari crew with our leader, from left - Joe, Wayne, Helen, Robert, George, Ann, and Don