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Tanzania 2014 Serengeti Mara Day 1A

Tanzania is in eastern Africa, just below Uganda and Kenya, and on the Indian Ocean. At the end of our eleven day/ten-night Zambia safari, we flew from Livingston to Johannesburg for an overnight stay. The next day we flew to Arusha, Tanzania via Nairobi. Arriving at Arusha Coffee Lodge at around 8 pm, we spent two nights (one full day) relaxing there before our next adventure. On the morning of 28 August 2014, our guide and driver, Nelson, picked us up at ACL in his 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser for the trip to Ngorongoro Crater. After three nights and two full days in the Crater while staying at Lemala Ngorongoro Camp, we flew by Coastal bush plane out of Manyara Airstrip to Kogatende Airstrip for four nights at Sayari Mara Camp in the remote NW corner of the Serengeti near the Mara River and the Kenyan border. Albert Alfred Lucas was our guide and driver. All arrangements for our requested Tanzanian safari from our arrival at ACL through our return to Arusha and departure from ACL on 5 September 2014 were made by Africa Travel Resource.

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6:43 am and sunrise on our first full day at Sayari Mara Camp. Most of the photos in this album are of wildebeest crossing the Mara River. The crossings are the main attraction in this area. But we also came here to experience the wide variety of game out on the Serengeti. There are numerous and specific places where animals usually cross the river. Albert, our guide and driver, knows them all in detail as well as the nature and habits of the animals better than most if not all guides in the Serengeti. So we have the best chance of seeing this exciting event from the best vantage point and of encountering many other wild animals in their natural habitat.
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6:43 am and sunrise on our first full day at Sayari Mara Camp. Most of the photos in this album are of wildebeest crossing the Mara River. The crossings are the main attraction in this area. But we also came here to experience the wide variety of game out on the Serengeti. There are numerous and specific places where animals usually cross the river. Albert, our guide and driver, knows them all in detail as well as the nature and habits of the animals better than most if not all guides in the Serengeti. So we have the best chance of seeing this exciting event from the best vantage point and of encountering many other wild animals in their natural habitat.

  • 6:43 am and sunrise on our first full day at Sayari Mara Camp. Most of the photos in this album are of wildebeest crossing the Mara River. The crossings are the main attraction in this area. But we also came here to experience the wide variety of game out on the Serengeti. There are numerous and specific places where animals usually cross the river. Albert, our guide and driver, knows them all in detail as well as the nature and habits of the animals better than most if not all guides in the Serengeti. So we have the best chance of seeing this exciting event from the best vantage point and of encountering many other wild animals in their natural habitat.
  • 26 minutes later we are far from camp out on the Serengeti plains waiting for word of a crossing at one of the six or seven usual locations. The vulture in an acacia tree is also waiting for this since the crocodiles kill more wildebeest than they can eat at the time. This leaves plenty of carcasses for the vultures and storks to feed on.
  • A nearby Red-necked Spurfowl scratching out breakfast.
  • I can not identify this flower. If you know what it is, please comment below or send me an e-mail.
  • Another mystery flower; probably related to the previous one. If you know what it is, please comment below or send me an e-mail.
  • A dazzle (herd) of Plains Zebras. When spooked by a lion, the principal predator of zebras, the herd stays more or less together, making it more difficult for the color blind lion to pick out its prey in the jumble of black and white stripes.
  • Our first Mara River crossing! After it was over, as I recall, Albert estimated that about 5,000 wildebeest had made it from our south side of the river to the north side. I did not see any crocodiles this time. Had there been any, they most likely would have come from the downstream side of the herd, to our left. The river is flowing from right to left in this picture. Thus the herd bows downstream in mid-river, since that is where the current is the fastest and the water the deepest. But some wildebeest simply drown while crossing. It is doubtful that any drowned this time since the water was relatively shallow and there was mostly walking and little swimming.
  • The wildebeest tend to pile up at the edge of the river and then, with some pressure coming from behind, leap into the water, regardless of its depth. The zebra take a more leisurely approach to crossing, doing so after a welcome drink and upstream of the wildebeest tumult and the crocs that prey on them from the downstream side (to our left).
  • It's every wildebeest for him/her self. In all the crossings that we witnessed, I saw only one animal that was injured in the chaos.
  • Extra points for this dive as it was off the platform, but points deducted for having only front legs in the straight position. The tail gives it a certain flair. Looks like a youngster, so maybe it will do better next time.
  • Frantic action to get to the other side. Lots of gaa-nooing and baying going on.
  • Waa-hoo!! Another high flyer! The zebras are not impressed.
  • Lots of splash on entry - not bad for a wildebeest off the 1 meter board.
  • He also leaps tall buildings in a single bound. The crowd watching all this actually gave this guy a round of applause when he landed!
  • The high-flyer hits the water.
  • See the next photo for the landing.
  • Landing left of center and totally submerged. Move along - incoming!
  • Half-a-second later, "incoming" from the prior shot goes under, only to be followed by another 500-pound bombshell.
  • One second later, a youngster in a good but not perfect straight position off the 3 meter board. Nice!
  • Good splash from the straight diver. High points!
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