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Serengeti, ten out of ten !


africawild

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@@africawild, my heart skipped a beat at the sight of that teeny baby Bat Eared Fox laying roadside all alone. Hilarious somebody cussing the Lion at the crossing, you can please some of the people some of the time....

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@@africawild

 

Your photos are unbelievably good and I am amazed at the variety of them.

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Thanks for the "tale of the crossing" Paco, 3 days would probably stretch my patience a bit too far!! We were so grateful to have seen one as we were so far "out-of-season" it wasn't something we'd even considered so when we were told the chances were still "reasonable", though not in the huge numbers of earlier, we thought we'd have to give it a go.

 

Looking forward to your next instalment

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So often I am late to the party...but allow me to say it is very rare to get a series of fantastic, rich photos that so perfectly encapsulate the timeless Serengeti and what it is. Bravo!

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Alexander33

I am mesmerized by your beautiful photographs. We go from a tiny baby bat-eared fox, to a mysterious leopard peering from the rocks, to a magnificent crossing, to lovely landscapes (the kopjes add so much), to backlit termites swarming in the evening. Things big and things small. Things sought after and things often overlooked. Things dramatic and things ordinary (yet extraordinary if you take the time to observe). Just lovely.

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Late but not too late to enjoy your trip report @@africawild , and to be mesmerized by the fantastic landscape (and others) photos.

For the landscape ones, I've had that faint feeling that I know them ... then I have discovered that you are another fan of Sony RX100 !! A marvelous piece of engineering indeed, and in the hands of photographer like you it really shines.

BTW, why some of your photos have exif data but majority not?

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Thank you Xelas.

 

The Sony RX III is indeed a very nice small compact tool , fun to use. I think the quality it delivers is fantastic for the size of the camera !!

 

About the exif data i don´t know , i will check my export configuration in Lightroom and see why !

 

Paco

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That little fox - oh my.

Nice "sea of wildebeest" shots, too!

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Wow @@africawild simply superb photos (but then that is to be expected from you)!

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I like your tip! And I think our second lions on the kopje picture is overall more appealing and likely a 10! But I can see why a closeup of the cats would also be something you'd want.

 

Your young lion cubs are fantastic. So is the baby bat eared fox. The scenery shots. 10 sums it up.

Edited by Atravelynn
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Thanks again all for the comments !!

 

Our seventh day was going to start with another spectacular crossing in one of the crossing points we had been the previous day.

 

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We decided to go to the river first thing in the morning since most of the action was happening there and the first thing , of course, was a timid sunrise over the Mara river !

 

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But soon the sky got cloudy again . When we arrived at the first crossing point ( number six i think ) we could see another huge herd concentrating in one side , and many more wildebeest arriving to join the already enormous herd. Only minutes later they started to cross , no waiting and only 1 other vehicle !

 

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The most exciting moment was when a zebra foal enter the water and started to cross.The current was too strong for him and soon he started to loose contact with his mother !!

 

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It was incredible to see how the mother , as soon as she perceived the foal was getting behind , she would stop and wait for him , she did it several times !!

 

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He was very brave !

 

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But at one point, when all the zebras had crossed and her mother was by the riverside waiting, he got completely lost and went back to a log that was in the middle of the river

 

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At this time we all started to think he was going to fail or a croc was going to appear from nowhere but there was a happy ending and we all cheered when we saw him coming out with his mother , it took him over 9 minutes to cross!!

 

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The crossing was going to last 24 minutes , it was quite big !!

 

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When it was over i asked our guide if it could be possible to drive to a high point and from there try to see how all the animals from the crossing sprayed around this side of the river , and that´s what we did. It was very nice to enjoy the huge herd once the chaos was over , the scene was so relax and peaceful !!

 

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After breakfast , Kivuyo said we could try to explore the rocky area in search for leopards and of course we agreed , but first thing we found was klipspringers. This part of the Serengeti is a real treat for this antelope , if you enjoyed them as much as i do you won´t be disappointed !

 

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We also saw Oribi antelope , several of them . For some reason i don´t enjoyed them so much but it was nice to see them because it was a first time for us !!

 

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And Kivuyo patience and ability paid off , he did found a leopard scanning with his binocs from far away . When we started to approach we could see the animal was getting very nervous and i thought she was going to fly . Kivuyo said he knew her , she had been very shy in 2 sightseeing they had the previous week . He stopped the car quite far away and said it was better not to get closer and this way try to make her feel more comfortable around the vehicle. I was a bit upset because we where really far for good photos but i understood his point , i think he was acting the right way !!

 

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Since we where not going to get closer i decided to give my 1,4 converter a chance , not great with the 200-400 , but it was ok in a big screen !!

 

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Soon we decided to leave her and a minute later we came across 2 klipspringers that where very alert , probably because of the leopard. We approach one of them and when we where right beside, he stood for a second and then both started to jump around like crazies. I was fun , here is one i caught in the air !!

 

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A bit further there was a mother impala with a small baby, maybe a day old

 

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And we also stopped to enjoy the hyrax family playing in the rocks.

 

 

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In the afternoon we drove the same rocky area and spent most of the time with a nice elephant family , a group of giraffes and we saw the mother rhino and calf again but from a long distance !

 

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For the next day our plans where totally different and we where very excited because we where going to try to visit a new area of the Norther Serengeti, but that would be day 8th !!

 

 

Paco

 

 

 

 

The tip for today is a photographic one : " don´t be afraid to shoot " , take many pictures of the same scene or subject , just take advantage of the great digital era , is easy and cheap , and many times it makes the difference. Use your camera " continuous shooting mode " and you will see there are always differences between very similar shots.

For example in the third photo of this post , i was shooting with a very slow shutter speed panning with the animals. I was pleased with the exaggerating blur effect of the shots but in this particular photo there is one wildebeest not blurred ( you maybe cannot see it well but he stands out when you look at the picture in a big screen ) and it is by far the most attractive of all the shoots i took in that burst .

 

¡¡ I still remember the days i was shooting slides and i was counting my shoots left in every roll !!

 

 

 

Edited by africawild
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I like your tip! And I think our second lions on the kopje picture is overall more appealing and likely a 10! But I can see why a closeup of the cats would also be something you'd want.

 

Your young lion cubs are fantastic. So is the baby bat eared fox. The scenery shots. 10 sums it up.

Re-reading my comments, I see your scenery shots left me speechless or wordless. Couldn't compete the sentence.

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@@africawild - Hi Paco..... Amazing images from Namiri. Quick question - I have friends going there soon..... Do you have a guide recommendation? thanks.......

Let me chime in with something that has nothing to do with a guide. Did you know there is no offroad travel now (I was there March 1-4, 2016) in Namiri and only one road can be used through the concession?

 

I found just one road to be limiting. @@africawild, it seems you saw lots at Namiri. I read some of your comments about animals far from the road, yet you have many fine photos. Maybe this arrangement did not affect you, if the offroad ban had been instituted when you went.

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You show the migration beautifully from wide angle and up close. And not too long to wait.

 

What luck to see the baby rhino. Such a dangerous world for that little creature.

 

Those lion cubs on and off the kopjes are just precious. Did you give us their estimated age?

 

You can find the artistic magic in termites. No higher photo compliment than that!

 

Your report is just beautiful, Paco. Again.

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@@africawild - Hi Paco..... Amazing images from Namiri. Quick question - I have friends going there soon..... Do you have a guide recommendation? thanks.......

Let me chime in with something that has nothing to do with a guide. Did you know there is no offroad travel now (I was there March 1-4, 2016) in Namiri and only one road can be used through the concession?

 

I found just one road to be limiting. @@africawild, it seems you saw lots at Namiri. I read some of your comments about animals far from the road, yet you have many fine photos. Maybe this arrangement did not affect you, if the offroad ban had been instituted when you went.

 

 

Atravelyn , no offroad in the area but ... just one road ??? There are many roads , every kopje has a road around for example and also around water points , and both places are animal magnets !!

I am not aware Namiri is a concession ??? I think is just a camp inside the national park ???

 

Paco

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The zebra crossing and jaunting klipspringer shots are great! Very much enjoying the report Paco!

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@Paco

I really enjoyed your report and it made me aware that the Serengeti has a much great variety on antelopes as well as other wildlife.I am looking forward to revisiting the Serengeti.

Edited by optig
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@@africawild

This continues to be a superb report. Wonderful photos of the crossing (and I would be cheering for the baby Zebra!) but also so good to see the large peaceful herd at the other side.

I am also old enough to remember counting the shots on a roll of film and so appreciate the flexibility of digital!

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Just catching up with you Paco. Did Kenya reports first - now it's time for Tanzania!

 

Namiri section completed. Beautiful photographs and a few special ones too, I think. Looking forward to visiting the north with you later.

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@@africawild, holding my breath too for the baby Zebra. After all the excitement, lovely image of the herd from above.

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Wonderful photos of the crossing - I was rooting for the cute little zebra, glad it made it out ok! I am pleased to see guides who know how to read the animals and can give them space if needed, if only all guides were this responsible!

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Wonderful TR with some inspiring images.

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@@africawild @atravelynn Could the different perceptions be because of the rains? I am thinking, for example, if it is black cotton soil, then when wet it can be nearly impossible to drive on unless there are rocks or gravel to provide grip, and so through the rains, such tracks can completely disappear through disuse as the grass grows over them. Or is that not likely?

 

Really enjoying the Northern Serengeti part of this. Such great sightings of Klipspringers (I saw none in a week there, but we mostly stuck to the plains rather than the kopjes - I regret that a little) and of course the serval and the Oribi and the leopards and the crossings, and you saw rhinos too! The weather looks very so-so, but this is a very successful trip so far..More wonderful photos. Jumping Klipspringer! Bat-eared Fox baby!!!! Flying termites!!!!!!!! I like the tips too.

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@Paco

I really enjoyed your report and it made me aware that the Serengeti has a much great variety on antelopes as well as other wildlife.I am looking forward to revisiting the Serengeti.

 

Yes @@optig ,there is a good variety of antelopes in the Serengeti , i always enjoy them .

 

During our ten days we saw , that i remember Thomson´s and Grant´s gazelles, Wildebeest , Topi and Hartebeest , Waterbuck and Reedbuck , Dik Dik , Klipspringer and Steenbock , Impala and Eland .

 

Paco

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