A sampling of amazing images from an OAT traveler’s African safari adventure
By Larry Jordan, 3-time traveler & Vacation Ambassador, Inverness, Florida
My wife Betsy and I love to travel. When we began exploring the world with OAT in 2008, we chose Jordan and Egypt for our first adventure because we’d always wanted to visit these countries. The following year, we traveled to Peru and Ecuador because Betsy had a desire to see the Galápagos Islands, and I wanted to view Machu Picchu. We were incredibly pleased with the places we saw—and we thought that no other trip could match the splendor of what we’d seen. We soon learned we were wrong …
We have friends (and fellow OAT travelers) who have traveled to Africa many times before. They all highly recommended that Betsy and I head to Tanzania next. We took their advice and signed up for the OAT’s Safari Serengeti: Tanzania Lodge & Tented Safari adventure as soon as we returned from Peru and Ecuador.
I began my practice of—and passion for—high-tech photography in the last couple of years. Nature is one of my favorite subjects, so I was especially excited because I thought a trip to Tanzania would give me ample opportunities to photograph some of the world’s most stunning animal life and landscapes.
Although the more than 4,000 photographs I took provide great reminders of Africa’s beauty, they cannot convey the feeling of family that formed among our group while on the journey. The combined experiences we shared with fellow travelers gave us a feeling of closeness with them, as well as with our Trip Leader and local guides. And we spent so much time watching the animals around us that we even started to feel close to them!
I hope the small selection of photographs below conveys some of what made this adventure so special to us:
“On the second day of our stay at the Sinya Wildlife Preserve, we came across these two young, male giraffes that appeared to be playing a game. They held their rumps together, and each used his front feet and neck to try and get his partner to fall away. They also appeared to be showing off for us because they rotated together as we slowly drove past them, and kept facing us as we passed.”
“We would sometimes see a dik-dik in the distance, but they would quickly disappear into the grass. This one came up to look us over as we were having lunch. We were surprised at its size; the animal is tiny and looks fragile, yet it manages to survive among its strong and powerful predators.”
“The women and young children welcomed us to their Maasai village. They were gracious and friendly hosts. We learned that the men in the village tend the animals, while the women cook, clean, and build the houses. Our visit to this Maasai village included dancing, talking with the women (as our guide translated), and helping to build a thatched roof and mud wall.”
“Grand Circle Foundation supports the Njia Panda Primary School. The children and teachers welcomed us to their classrooms as if we were part of their family. The students shown here are looking at photos of themselves in the camera, held by Frank Halligan, an 8-time traveler from Arlington, Virginia.”
“This hyena and rhino were moving around a body of water in opposite directions. Their paths crossed, and they stopped to stare at each other. We thought we were going to see some vicious action, but they eventually passed and continued in opposite directions. If one had been in the other’s food chain, the results might have been much more exciting.”
“Most of the animals we saw ignored us and continued on their way. However, we spooked a herd of gazelles when we came around a large group of bushes. We were lucky enough to have the camera set for action shots, and captured this gazelle—and several others—in mid-flight.”
“This beautiful lioness was resting on a rock when we arrived, and then stood to survey the plains around her. As we sat in our safari vehicle, we became part of her surroundings. The lions—and all of the other animals—treated our vehicles like they were part of the landscape. They even sauntered around our cars on the road with their cubs.”
“We were heading out on our daybreak game drive (just outside the OAT camp), when we saw some elephants walking towards the dirt road. One of the older bulls was curious, and came directly towards our vehicle. Our guide whispered that we should keep silent and very still. I took this photo when the bull stopped just feet from our vehicle to stare at us through the windows. He looked at us for what seemed like an eternity, and then simply turned and left.”
“Beautiful sunrises like this are very normal on the Serengeti, and we saw many of them. The acacia trees frame this sunrise at our OAT camp.”
Experience the breathtaking beauty of the Serengeti’s wildlife and people for yourself on our Safari Serengeti: Tanzania Lodge & Tented Safari adventure.