Month: September 2014

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This close.

closeness_to_vehicle

Move out of my way.

How close do you get to the wildlife on Safari?
Close, really close. In fact sometimes they can get so close, you can smell them. And that can be a memory etched in your brain forever. In a good way of course, especially when you are away.  You just have to be in the right place at the right time.

When on my Safari to Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park this year, I was lucky to encounter a lion with her baby, 20+ lion family snacking on a wildebeest [taken with my iphone], lots of elephant families in both Serengeti and Tarangire, female impalas harems, rhino crossing close by and more.  When we were driving out of the private area after my Serengeti Walking Safari, I even saw a cheetah with a baby cub walking right by our vehicle. Side note here – do not pack your camera as I missed this shot. Or maybe it was nice just enjoying the moment without taking pictures. Safari problems.  

My client Carlos M has had a cheetah jump on a Safari land cruiser close by when in Masai Mara. How close is that!

In Northern Serengeti, we were enjoying some coffee when a herd of wildebeest decided to gallop right past our vehicle. Coffee time with a view – very enjoyable.

Migration in the background

Hello wildebeest. Coffee?

Life worth Exploring! ™ Make memories on your Journey To Africa Safari.

Get in touch //
Email – Safari@JourneyToAfrica.com
Call – 1.877.558.6288 / 713.592.6228 [outside US]
Form – Request Information

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Ebola and Safari in Tanzania and Kenya

Namiri_Camp_Ebola_Story

Enjoy waking up on Safari from Namiri Plains in Central Serengeti, Tanzania

Ebola has been in the news a lot lately. It is a terrible disease that has plagued West Africa. The good news for those heading to, in, or planning to head to Tanzania and Kenya on a Safari – we are 3,300 miles away.  The distance of Orlando, FL and Juno, Alaska.

The virus has not been detected in Kenya or Tanzania. The airport officials are on a look out with anyone coming in that look like they have a symptom. Thermometers and thermal scanners have been brought in for detection in some airport. They would be immediately quarantined. No one has been quarantined yet in Tanzania and Kenya. Kenya and other countries with airlines are so cautious that they have stopped flights.

Talking about flights, it is not transmitted via air.  You would need to handshake a person with Ebola to contact this terrible disease.

Should a sick individual even have a ticket to travel from West Africa, they will not be able to travel as they will be too sick. And may not even be able to get on board.

So, don’t change your Safari plans. If you are planning a Safari to Tanzania and Kenya, don’t let Ebola stop you.  There are some great Safari deals right now for both Tanzania and Kenya to take advantage.

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Life worth Exploring! ™
Make memories on your Journey To Africa Safari.

Get in touch //
Email – Safari@JourneyToAfrica.com
Toll Free – 877.558.6288
Outside US –  713.592.6228
Form – Request Information

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Oxpecker on the look-out – Wildlife Wednesday

Black Rhinoceros

I got your back my friend!

Rhinos and oxpeckers are fast friends. They work together – a symbiotic relationship.

How? The Rhino needs the oxpecker to scratch it’s itch. The oxpecker feeds on the insects and ticks that are crawling on the rhino. The rhino is an oxpecker’s meal ‘tick’et. The oxpeckers have been seen to even crawl into the ears. The rhino does its best to keep the creepy crawlies away by rolling in the mud and forming a thick layer but there is always a missing spot. And that’s when the oxpecker comes to the rescue and helps. Though the oxpecker may be helping, it does also pick on scabs and may not get the smaller ticks on the skin.

And the oxpecker is his look-out buddy. When it senses danger, it will alert the rhino. Don’t be fooled by the size of the rhino. They can run.

Now if only they can run fast enough from all the poachers and the hungry end consumer. They have been around for 50 million years. We can not let them be gone in our lifetime. Be part of conservation. See them in their full glory in the wild and roaming free from the threatening man.

Life worth Exploring! ™ Make memories on your Journey To Africa Safari.

Get in touch //
Email – Safari@JourneyToAfrica.com
Call – 1.877.558.6288 / 713.592.6228 [outside US]
Form – Request Information

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Photo of the week – Butterfly

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Butterfly

Butterflies are so beautiful. But oh so hard to capture with my 24-105 mm L Canon lens on my Tanzania Safari. They come in so many different colors, sizes, textures, shapes, etc.  And they have some lovely names like white pansy and emperor. So fun to watch these pretty little flying creatures.

On my Walking Safari in Private Serengeti, I had the chance to capture a few a shots as I had the advantage of going slow.  My guide Richard and ranger Deo all got into it with me and helped me track down butterflies. This is one of my best captures. Look at that beauty. Anyone know the name of this butterfly species?

Wildlife photographer Russell MacLaughlin recently had one of this photos on Africa Geographic Twitter feed and I commented on how I had difficultly capturing these beauties and he replied, ‘not easy at all”.  The quest to capture these beauty continues.

Life worth Exploring! ™ Make memories on your Journey To Africa Safari.

Get in touch //
Email – Safari@JourneyToAfrica.com
Call – 1.877.558.6288 / 713.592.6228 [outside US]
Form – Request Information