On Photo Safari: The Serengeti and Lake Natron

When I booked my initial trip to Tanzania and lined up my 9 day safari through Tarangire, Lake Natron, the Serengeti and Ngornogoro Crater I justified splurging a bit, the length of the trip, and the cost, by telling myself it was the trip of a decade. The mental math was clear – I’d have an incredible 9 days of safari, but would return having sated my need for a follow up for the foreseeable future. As it turns out, I could not have been more wrong.  As I write this post, I’m already dreaming of returning for a follow-up trip. Every new photo I edit from the trip leaves me dreaming of the incredible days I spent in nature, among some of the world’s most beautiful, powerful and deadly animals.

In my previous post covering the Serengeti I shared with you all of my big-cat photos. Normally, I’d incorporate those into one single photo post. But, the sheer number of cat sightings I had made that impossible. Far too often, the rest of the Serengeti’s animals and natural beauty gets overshadowed by the alpha predators. So, I’ve decided to do this follow up post which excludes all big cat shots and only focuses on the rest of the experience. All images were shot on a Canon 6D and most used a $200 lens (full details here).

The Great Migration

The Joys of Youth

Lake Natron: Sunrise Before Ol Doinyo Lengai

The Open Plains

Lake Natron: Ol Doinyo Lengai

The Great Migration

Lake Natron: Sunrise

Thirst

Solitude

The Gentle Giant

The Bull

Zebra on the Move

Endless Plains

Tender Touch

Wildebeest

The Elephant’s Wisdom

Bat Eared Foxes

Mwanza Flat-Headed Rock Agama

Curiosly Browsing

The Plains of the Serengeti

Afternoon Light

Sunset

Lake Natron: Ngare Sero Falls

Dwarf Mongoose

Lake Natron: The Maasai

Lazy Lunch

Sunscreen

The Great Migration

The Maasai People

Big Steps

Lake Natron: Beautiful Moments

The Happy Hippo

Lake Natron: Maasai Mule Herder

Vultures

Lazy Wild Dogs

Mr. Giraffe

Flamingos Showing Off

Elephant Family

Lake Natron: The Maasai

Zebra

Wildebeest Migrating

Lake Natron: Ol Doinyo Lengai

Lake Natron: Storks in Flight

Dwarf Mongeese

Catching a Ride

Lake Natron: Storks at Sunrise

The Great Migration

Lake Natron: Sunrise

Looking Backwards

Thanks for going on Safari with me!  Don’t miss my other blog posts from 9 incredible days spent exploring Tanzania’s spectacular national parks and countryside.

Have questions about how I captured or edited these photos? You can see aperture, lens, speed and ISO if you click into the image over on flickr. Want to know more? Feel free to ask in a comment below.

Don’t forget: To learn more about my advice for picking a good Safari company read the post here. To learn about the $200, 70-300mm lens I shot most of these photos on see the post here. All shots were captured on a Canon 6D. To see my full albums, including black and white edits and other big cat photos from my visit jump over to flickr.

Want to purchase a print of one of these shots? Let me know or browse existing prints in my store.

If you are considering a safari, I’d highly suggest considering Tanzania and the Serengeti/Ngorongoro Crater park in particular. I’d also suggest the team at Fed Tours and Safaris who I partnered with for this trip.  They’re a Tanzanian owned and operated company run by two brothers and they provided me with an absolutely spectacular safari experience. As part of our collaboration, I received a discounted rate in exchange for sharing my unfiltered/fully independent experience with them. If you are considering Tanzania,  I do encourage you to research Fed Safaris and mention you’ve read about them here on VirtualWayfarer. They’ll make sure to take extra good care of you.