picture gallery images Ron & Viv Moon africa overland Tanzania Ngorongoro Crater Serengeti national park


Picture Gallery 8 - Nornthern TANZANIA - LAKE MANYARA; NGORONGORO CRATER & SERENGETI NATIONAL PARKS

GO TO MAIN PICTURE GALLERY LINKS PAGE TO ALL IMAGES CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE	TANZANIA - Northern Tanzinia - LAKE MANYARA National Park; NGORONGORO CRATER & SERENGETI National Parks LAKE MANYARA NP (pics from left to right) - Giraffe beside Lake Manyara; elephants on the grassy flats beside the lake with the escarpment as a backdrop; elephants were in good numbers around the lake; a family group of beautiful Crowned Cranes Lake Manyara (pics from left to right) - A dik dik, stands quietly for us to photograph (something they rarely do – they usually run!!); a group of impala amongst the forest; a cheeky young vervet monkey in a thorn tree – eating the thorns!! One of the three leopards we saw in the park – all up in trees; we couldn't get much closer – one, he was a fair way away, and two, there were quite a few vehicles parked along the road, so it was a bit difficult getting a good vantage point ge point. Lake Manyara (pics from left to right) - Enlarge the images of the giraffes and you'll see two lionesses stalking them. They must have been bored as they couldn't have a hope in bringing down a fully grown giraffe, but their efforts kept us entertained for 30 mins or so; one of the famous tree climbing lions in Lake Manyara – we were lucky enough to find a lioness stretched out across some branches relaxing, we especially love the frontal shot – she looks just like a very large stuffed toy!! ) Lake Manyara (pics from left to right) - Not far from the park entrance on the way back into town is the Village Shop, run by ?????? - just one of many to be found in the town of Mto wa Mbu. This one had a big, big range of good quality goods to choose from and good buys with some bargaining – Viv & Helen brought a few items!! A colourful array of Maasai material. NGORONGORO CRATER (pics from left to right) - Our camp on the rim of the Crater came with its own wildlife - we had meals with the Zebras – you could get very close!; Our vehicle beside a small lake with the rim of the crater in the background, covered with cloud; a good size buffalo; a bustard and her chick. Ngorongoro Crater (pics from left to right) - We saw a pair of cheetahs stalking some gazelles – we didn't get very close though; one of the ponds had quite a few flamingoes sharing the water with a large group of hippos; these hippos, alongside the lake, were ‘flat out' literally; a few Grants Gazelles. Ngorongoro Crater (pics from left to right) - We were lucky enough to see lions a couple of times, this group sleeping the afternoon away after feeding on a kill in the early morning – the male was really relaxed and chilled out!! Viv, Helen & Neil getting lunch together in the crater; lunch was shared with around 60 other ‘tour' vehicles – the crater floor was pretty crowded! Ngorongoro Crater (pics from left to right) - There were quite a few groups of Thomsons Gazelles, along with some big herds of wildebeest and zebra. SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK (pics from left to right) - The migration of wildebeest had begun and was north of our camp – during our drives we saw big, big groups of wildebeest, with accompanying zebras. Look closely at the first picture – what seem likes rocks are in fact wildebeest!! There were plenty of lions following the herds, this male and female were actually more interested in themselves than the wildebeest behind them. Serengeti National Park (pics from left to right) - The vast open plains of the Sergenti was a giraffe's vantage point; we saw plenty of small groups of giraffe; hartebeest were harder to see & prefer the cover of bush; at hippo pool we could get up close and personal. Serengeti National Park (pics from left to right) -While Ground Hornbills are considered rare, we've seen quite a few small groups; a pair of male lions (probably brothers) resting for the day – the thing they do well!! Again, we saw a leopard in a tree; but he was hard to get a good photograph of and was sleeping, as usual, in the late afternoon. A young lion cub watching us watch him! Serengeti National Park (pics from left to right) - Well, we thought we had been very, very lucky seeing the lioness in the tree at Lake Manyara NP, but in the Serengeti we saw two lionesses, each in a separate tree, late one afternoon – again both resting and not doing much else. If you look at the first pic you can see how high up the tree she has climbed – she is out on a branch on the left. We also came across a couple of lionesses resting across an old fallen down large tree in a river bed. They didn't stay there too long before disappearing off the tree and into the bush. Serengeti National Park (pics from left to right) - While we were based in the central Serengeti, we did a drive north to find the main bulk of the migrating wildebeest – it was fantastic country. The sunset view, with wilderbeest, from our camp in the Serengeti. .