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So, you have planned this trip for a year and looked forward to it for the past six months.  You will also have studied all the mouth-watering images that have come out of Africa.  You probably have in mind the sorts of images you want and even possibly set yourself goals.  Well, were expectations achieved?  Often, I find, there is a little disappointment.  Why is this?  Well, of course, in reality, during a two week trip of hopping from one location to another it is unrealistic to think you can achieve the sort of images taken by some photographers who have been lucky enough either to spend protracted periods in Africa or made repeated trips.  And of course, local conditions, which are beyond your control, can determine your results.  For example, previous visits to Alaska have been hampered  either by very cloudy conditions or higher than expected rainfall.  With regards to Tanzania, the region was suffering from a drought which meant that  many of the birds/mammals had moved on in search of water.  To be honest, I feel that photographically I achieved the best I could from the opportunities that presented themselves.  One tour leader I chatted with said that it was a big mistake to think that there was an animal to be photographed round every corner, whilst another leader told me you have to work hard for your images in Tanzania.  Please read on and visit my Tanzanian gallery and see what you think.

The Team (photo courtesy of Dickie Duckett)

Lake Manyara Hotel

OK, let me start at the beginning with the planning which commenced a year before our trip started.  On a recommendation from Terry Wall and Wendy Conway, we employed the services of Msafiri Tanzania Adventure who basically organised the itinerary, booked the accommodation and stayed with us for the two weeks.  This was an excellent choice, thanks to Terry and Wendy, and thanks to Msafiri, I certainly recommend his services, particularly his patience in dealing with six neurotic photographers - well five anyway, not sure if Louis is neurotic yet.  That left us to organise our flights (KLM via Amsterdam), visas, inoculations and malaria tablets.  Equipment wise, a tripod is definitely not required but a large, strong beanbag is essential.  Regarding lenses, I found I needed my Canon 500mm with both converters, the 100-400mm zoom and a shorter zoom, say the Canon 17- 40mm F4.  I have been fully converted to digital for several years and the clear advantage of this over analogue was evident throughout the trip.  My EOS 1Mk 2 performed superbly as usual, however, in contrast I found the autofocus on my back-up EOS 20D far too slow and inaccurate. I did take my Canon 70-200mm, but the connection between this lens and my two cameras just did not work.  On returning home, I found that it is working, and the only conclusion I can reach is that somehow the heat in Tanzania adversely affected the connections.  On the subject of equipment, it is essential to be extremely careful and vigilant as the cameras and lenses are  constantly being bounced about in the vehicles.  All of us incurred an accident of some sort, some more serious than others ! - but that is a complete story in itself.

The trip commenced on the 3rd January with three groups departing the UK for a flight connection via Amsterdam for Kilimanjaro airport.  Unfortunately, the Scottish contingent failed to make the connection.  Early arrival at the airport in Aberdeen was met with cancellation of our flight due to technical problems with the plane.  This resulted in a ten hour delay at Aberdeen, however, at 3pm in the afternoon we made a flight to Amsterdam and whilst the others enjoyed a night in a hotel in Arusha we were on an overnight flight to Nairobi which connected with a flight to Kilimanjaro airport the following morning.  However, we were soon on our way to Manyara National Park where we stayed at the superb Lake Manyara Hotel.  During our first photographic shoot we descended the steep, rain forest escarpment towards the plains of surrounding Lake Manyara.  The rain forest was full of various animals and birds, however, due to the contrasty light and poor backdrops we asked our drivers to continue to the plains where we felt the opportunities for good images were better.  I mentioned above, the drought that this area had incurred,which meant that the lake was virtually dry with most of the wildlife too distant to photograph.  The best photographic opportunities proved to be in the surrounding open plains, scrubland and forest which held good numbers of Zebra, Buffalo, Wildebeest, Elephant, Giraffe, Baboon, Velvet and Blue Monkeys, Impala, Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Shrikes.  Surprisingly, no birds of prey were seen and none of the large predators.

Typical shooting mode from safari vehicle.

Problems can arise - vehicle being towed out of mud.

We left Manyara feeling slightly frustrated, particularly those of us who had been to East Africa before, and headed for the Seregenti National Park with great anticipation - and we were not to be disappointed.  Our accommodation was the excellent  Seronera Wildlife Lodge which proved to be  the centre of wildlife activity and also offered good photo opportunities itself with the Banded Mongoose, Rock Hyrax and various Lizards.  Close to the lodge we soon had a number of close encounters with Lion, Cheetah and Leopard over the next couple of days.  In addition, we photographed, for example, Elephant, Zebra, Giraffe, Impala, Gazelle, Spotted hyena, Jackal, Hartebeest, Topi and a variety of birds including the elusive Pygmy Falcon, Waders, Ducks, Eagles, Vultures, Shrikes, Ibis, Spur Fowl, Herons, Storks, Shrikes and Sand Grouse.   The safari drivers keep in touch by radio or mobile phone so we quickly learnt about where any of the 'big cats' were or of any kills.  On our second day in the Seregenti, we headed north to the Kenyan border with the Masai Mara in the hope of finding migrating wildlife.  Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful and consequently lost a day of precious photography around the productive lodge.

Our next location was the superb Ngorongoro Crater, reputed to be one of the best locations in east Africa to see and photograph wildlife.  Accommodation at the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge proved to be again excellent with quite breath-taking views across the crater.  Each morning we descended the steep rain forest flanks of the crater to spend a day in this remarkable place.  Here we obtained some of our best images of the trip which included  Lion, Cheetah, Black Rhinoceros, Wildebeest, Zebra, Bat-eared Fox, Jackal, Hyena, Hippos, Egrets, Bustards, Herons and Ibis.  We stopped for lunch at two different picnic places and these proved excellent for the photography of Velvet Monkey families and Black Kite.  Reluctantly, we left the crater for a night at Gibbs Farm, which was extremely pleasant but very limited for photography. 

Our final destination was Tarangire for three nights.  Although this location was suffering badly from the drought which meant that wildlife were lower than usual we did persevere and obtained some good images of Giraffe, Impala, Elephant, Lions, Baboons, Vultures, Eagles, Spur Fowl, Kingfishers, Rollers, Waders, and  Herons.  The final test of a place is whether you intend to return and I would certainly like to go back,  and soon!