Grey-Headed Kingfisher at Lake Manyara on the African Photo Safari
Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania is a small but scenic park we plan to visit in February as part of my African Photo Safari. It is ideally suited for a few hour’s exploring and wildlife watching at the start of a safari and/or a morning at the end, as it lies on route to and from Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. The park is about 200 square miles with a the alkaline lake covering about 140 square miles of it. The Manyara is an excellent place for bird watching and bird photography with flocks of Pink Flamingoes standing around the shallow lake and several hundred other species of birds including African Gray Hornbill, Grey-Headed Kingfisher, and Vitelline Masked Weaver.
The rivers and riverbeds provide scenic vistas for wildlife watching including elephant, giraffe, cape buffalo and wildebeest. Warthog seem to thrive here, growing notably fat with large tusks. Additionally this is a natural playground for baboons and several species of monkeys.
Masai Warriors Spring into the Air at Masai Mara
The Masai Mara National Reserve is another must on any serious African Photography Safari. This reserve, also spelled Maasai Mara, is named for the Maasai people and the Mara River that divides the area. The reserve is located in Southwestern Kenya and covers about 950 square miles. It is effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Much of the reserve is open grassland with areas containing clumps of the distinctive acacia tree.
The Masai Mara National Reserve is famous for its diverse population of wildlife including the annual migration of zebra and wildebeest from the Serengeti. This migration is so immense that it is called the Great Migration. Over 1,300,000 wildebeest, 400,000 gazelle and 200,000 zebra make this annual migration.
Apart from the seasonal migration, wildlife viewing and photography is excellent year round. Wildlife including cape buffalo, elephant, hartebeest, zebra, giraffe and big cats are in abundance. In fact all of Africa’s “Five Big” – the rhino, elephant, cape buffalo, leopard, and lion can be photographed on the reserve. Please note that the Black Rhino is severely threatened, with a population of only 37 recorded in 2000 on the Masai Mara. The rivers are home to large numbers of hippos and crocodiles. Bird photographers will be thrilled by 452 species of birds including 53 raptors.
The Ngorongoro Crater in Serengeti National Park is a World Heritage Site and is a must on any photography safari to southeastern Africa.
The Crater is the world’s largest volcanic crater that has not become a lake or had its wall eroded away. The floor of the Crater covers about 100 square miles and is about 4,000 feet above sea level. The rim is nearly 7,000′ above sea level.
Wildlife abound in this closed environment with a population of close to 30,000 animals such as zebra, gazelle, and wildebeest. There are a few species of wildlife such as giraffes, topis, oribis, impalas, and crocodiles that do not reside there. Amazingly, all of Africa’s “Big Five” (rhinoceros, lion, leopard, elephant, and cape buffalo) call the Crater home.
Ngorongoro Crater Lion Attacks Zebra
On my last visit to Ngorongoro Crater I was able to photograph four of the “Big Five” wildlife with the exception being a leopard. I was able to photograph 12 different leopards on my last safari, just not in the Crater. One of the highlights of the Africa photo safari took place in the Crater where I photographed a sequence of a large male lion attacking a zebra. Visit my Africa Photo Safari gallery to view the photos.
The Serengeti was first discovered by white men in 1913 when Stewart Edward White, an American hunter recorded in his journal: “We walked for miles over burnt out country… Then I saw the green trees of the river, walked two miles more and found myself in paradise.” The Maasai call it Siringitu – “the place where the land moves on forever.” At about 20,000 square miles they are right..
Within the Serengeti is the Serengeti National Park itself, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maswa Game Reserve, the Loliondo, Grumeti and Ikorongo Controlled Areas and the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Over 90,000 tourists visit the Park each year.
Nearly one million Wildebeest and 200,000 zebras migrate annually across the Serengeti through a variety of parks, reserves and protected areas.
