For Ron's - @stray_shooter - theme of Flamingo Friday, which I can rarely participate in. But, we visited Lake Makiti on our last day in the Serengeti. Conditions were perfect for reflections and there were hundreds (at least) of these beautiful birds, so I'm excited not only for the photos but for the chance to use them on Fridays over the coming months!
Thank you to all who helped put my elephant shot on the top of TT this week. It was my first posting from the safari so it meant a lot to see it in the top spot.
We are in our last location before flying home on Monday, hiking Kilimanjaro tomorrow -- but the lower levels only. Hoping we are up to the challenge after sitting in a jeep for the past few weeks! We did a bush walk today with the Hadzabe, but that will be described in a later post.
Have a fantastic hike - wow, Kilimanjaro! Wonderful stuff. My teenager is cheering you on after his Everest experience last year and says you'll love it!
I would want to turn this into a flamingo coffee table just for completely kitsch fun! I love this, so much fun. And, as always, beautifully taken.
@pamknowler At the moment, it's 10:20 p.m. and our room has a slight breeze but is uncomfortably warm. During the day it's been hot. Early morning is lovely, evening as well. Most of the rooms we've had were so well ventilated or air conditioned or tents with netting that we've been surprisingly fine. This lodge has been an exception.
Well that is truly astonishing.....to catch them like that in perfect top line is something else! Big fave for showing this. Lovely soft tones & reflections too.
What a wonderful shot - it's like seeing these through your eyes! These birds are so strange - so captivating! Thank you for a fabulous glimpse of them!
Love the 4 legged flamingo! Fav! One of the stand-out memories of my life was walking up Kilimanjaro.. even if I include running down the scree at speed then throwing up! Mind you one of my toe nails has never recovered from the total experience, even after 47 years! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, but without the toe-nail thing!
(Do you think you'll need a stopover in some moderate clime to work your way back into the oncoming Polar Express?) What a spectacular trip that must have been...as we could clearly see! And for Pam @pamknowler and me, "Was it a dry heat?"
@pamknowler@Weezilou it’s hot but tolerable. Very dry at this time of year. I hate heat and don’t do well but was surprisingly comfortable. Of course you can’t care what you look like in tent camps!!! Cool clothing and a wide brim hat are essential and sunscreen. But it is SO worth it.
@Weezilou@taffy ooh dry heat and animals or cold and animals (cruise up inside passage from Vancouver to Alaska) what a choice! Who is coming with me? Lol!
@pamknowler@Weezilou I've done both and can say that there is no comparison re the animal photography. Maybe a photography tour would work on a smaller boat, but the regular cruise ships, animals are not that common -- even sea animals. Especially compared to this. And it's not a dry heat everywhere. On the Serengeti it was, but in Tarangire, more humid, but with the breezes, tolerable. Wear loose clothing, light weight, and you'd be okay, but it is definitely hot! It comes down to the tradeoff of just how worth it turned out to be for photographer. Krueger in South Africa is cooler in our summer (their winter) and quite comfortable. So look at going during summer months and check temperatures in Tanzania as well. Comparing the two Tanzania was just incredible and I can't imagine a better experience. And in our summer, you have the migration north over the river with all the calves.
@yrhenwr Oh dear -- what an experience you must have had!! Ours was gentle and mild, checking out waterfalls was the steepest part it turned out. But a nice day up there. Also was sharing what you wrote about the friend and the hippo. What a horrible thing to happen!
@taffy I forgot to mention the most amazing thing... arriving at the summit before dawn with a full moon... well worth a problem toe-nail! Oh yes .. and the Swiss mountain climbers falling all about me while I marched on steadfastly! I had already been living at high altitude for a couple of years so I was more acclimatised than they were and had nothing to sustain me other than some Kendal Mint Cake. Also no specialist kit and wearing Dunlop Green Flash trainers! (Oh that might explain the toe-nail!)
@taffy Yes you are probably right! Went out to Africa with a new wife and no money, had an amazing experience and learned one or two things about myself. Doubt if I did any good despite my serious intentions. 4 years later returned home with same wife and more money (not sure which of those was the more surprising!) ... the cracks soon began to show and to widen.... Life, eh?
Another stunner! Can't wait to catch up with you and your adventures over a very long cup of tea at Toni's! I also have a proposition for you, though it would involve being high in the air!
I would want to turn this into a flamingo coffee table just for completely kitsch fun! I love this, so much fun. And, as always, beautifully taken.
You are in photography heaven!