Serengeti Dusk

Serengeti Plain at Dusk Night on Africa's Serengeti Plain is total darkness. This photo was taken from the doorway of our hut on our way to dinner at the lodge two blocks away. A few lights from the lodge can be seen on the horizon just below the setting sun. No outdoor lighting exists along …

Hops

Maasai Jump Dance The Maasai tribe met us outside their compound. The drums were loud, the women were dancing and chanting with an occasional high-pitched scream, and the men were hopping around like kangaroos. From a standing position the men would launch themselves high in the air and dramatically land flat footed like they were …

Endless Plain

Serengeti Plain The Serengeti Plain in Northern Tanzania covers 12,000 square miles, about the size of the state of Maryland. Travel photos and movies showing African landscape typically depict a savannah, which is a mosaic of woodland and grassland, scattered with the iconic flat-topped Acacia (umbrella tree). About one-third of the Serengeti is grassland like …

Nebraska Tourism

My first field trip of 2019 was to the Henry Doorly Zoo, the most popular tourist attraction in Nebraska.  School was out so we took our granddaughter and braved the winter weather. The highlight of this trip was seeing the African animals in parkas, mittens and snow boots.  No.  Wait, that was the elephants and …

Repurposed Tires

The Maasai are a semi-nomadic tribe that move their livestock within ever-shrinking grazing rights of Northern Tanzania and Kenya. Descendants of a fierce warrior nation, today's Maasai are peaceful and friendly except when it comes to their cattle. They are easily recognized by their brightly-colored one-piece garments known as kanga, red being a favored color, but blue is also …

Directional Sign

I love signs.  I especially like signs that have double meanings in their text or in their surroundings. This sign, painted on the side of a building, was directing people to the front door of the reception office.  Nothing special about it.  But, with the man walking in front of the sign, the sign came …

Pole Pole

The majestic loneliness of Mount Kilamanjaro casts its spell on you the moment you first see it.  Standing over 19,700' tall, it is the tallest single peak (not in a mountain range) on the planet.  It's a bashful mountain, hiding its true beauty behind cloud cover and hazy skies most of the time.  While spending …

Wildebeest

  The umbilical cord still visible on the calf indicated this was probably the calf's first feeding.  We saw several scenes like this inside the Ngorongoro Crater. A funny-looking animal, the wildebeest has a long face like a moose, mane like a horse, horns like a cow, ears like a donkey, beard like no other, and a hump. …

African Weaver

There are several varieties of beautiful birds in Tanzania, but the African Weaver was the easiest to photograph.  I found this guy in a tree next to the road as we descended into the Ngorongoro Crater. With the top of the safari truck popped up, I was almost at eye level with it. Technically, this is …

Stork

Wow, and I thought pelicans were homely; this is definitely a face only a mother could love. Seriously, is this the thing that delivers babies?! Thought for the Day:  His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.                               …

Hippo Pool

Somewhere in the northeast part of Serengeti National Park is this hippo pool, where hundreds of hippos can be seen up and down the river.  It was perfectly safe to observe them from this vantage point, the bank was too steep for them to ascend or descend. Behind me is a wide flat area where …

Welcome Party

After 30 hours of travel, I arrived at Kilamanjaro airport around 10 PM local time.  It was 84 degrees.  I loaded my bags onto a cart and headed out the door for the bus. Before I knew what was happening, a crowd of screaming well-wishers surrounded our group of 37 and began singing, hugging, stuffing …