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That was definitely the biggest slot machine Karine and I spotted there. Smart investment, most people want a snap in front of it….
waitress and clients.
it seems more and more people go to Vegas and don’t even play. Shopping is all the rage for some….
Shopping is obviously not an issue for this woman…
yes, 10 minutes of flying around offer that much diversity! Most all year long anyway. The rainy season tends to fill up the lake and makes it look more normal.
some of Flying Medical Service special airstrips…an obvious one to spot on the picture…
but this one…on the edge of the top green area,
time to call the gardener for this one.
trying to fix a burst tyre in the bush….
flooded airstrip but totally manageable for Flying Medical Service pilots.
and here is a proof.
an airstrip lies beneath these low clouds.
great I need to fly across this.
Tanzania, land of contrast and diversity. Always keep an eye open
blue and yellow salts on lake Natron. The same day! To be precise these 2 pictures are shot by a friend, Valerie Kosheleff, keen amateur too, but we cooperated as a team for these and decided to share the copyright. I was flying, sharing my experience out there, yanking or turning the plane, telling her what I wanted her to shoot. And she was telling me in turn what to do according to what her wishes. Good eye I’d say.
below another flight, another day…
3 pictures of lake Balangida near Mt Hanang. These cones are salt mounds made and harvested by local people.
below are some pictures of another small area near Hanang, Mgori.
those dark spots are flamingo nest by hundreds.
getting closer. The nest are now empty and the chicks are walking around under the adult supervision.
those orange spots are rare puddles of water in a normally dry and scorched area.
lake Natron.
northern part of Natron, mud flow coming from the Kenyan river.
view from the north, the volcano Lengai on the horizon. Exceptional visibility that day, like 100 miles.
Cape elands (in a secret location, just in case hunters follow the blog)
a long and wide airstrip in the Sonjo Valley.
the Sonjo Valley, between Natron and Loliondo
not great art I know but what a privilege to have time to sketch in that most beautiful bush…
I admit I have my cartoony moments. Well I’m Belgian after all…
this Barabaig lady was so proud of her 5000 shilling banknote, she insisted to pose like that. That is 3$
Circumcised Masai girl in full regalia to show off that proud status.
I hate those ugly woolen hats, especially when the weather is hot….always ruining the picture in the end.
to attend our bush clinics, some people will walk from afar. I’m always in awe in front of scenes like these, people and vast expanses of savannah or mountains…
Flying Medical Service operates about 30 airstrips, hardly any would fit western standards, and that’s why I love it.
true, we can argue about the definition of airstrip sometimes. Yes we use this whatever as an airstrip.
an elder Masai lady explaining her case.
Sonjo family.
nurse at work with vaccinations and weighting.
a doctor at his practice…
Masai woman in full regalia.
sharing the airstrip is a common thing, sometimes annoying. I’ve been lucky over the years, except a wildebeest and a gazelle, without damage for the airplanes, I haven’t hit anything.
old and newer pictures but all shot on various film cameras.
woman caught in a dust devil.
pinhole picture. I like to experiment once in a while…
donkey scratching its back, and destroying our airstrips…volcano Lengai.
That pond dries up in the dry season. I wonder how the women cope with the laundry. More water to fetch far away from some waterhole?
another pond that dries up every year. The herders enjoy the recently dried up bottom while green grass is still available.
my favorite place out there in Northern Tanzania… in the legendary Rift Valley
this is not only a beautiful place to preserve but is also the flamingoes only breeding place in Africa…so any plans to open again some salt extraction factory should be ditched. Again.
right this one is not an aerial but I had just crossed that thick steely cloud prior to landing.
an ox, a hoe…the old way.
clothes washing
a man-made dam, common scenery.
various muddy waters mingle in this pond.
beautiful green grass, people and cattle will be equally happy. Those rains will keep conversations alive for a while.
lake Natron is a unique salt lake located in the Rift Valley, northern Tanzania.
usually this salt lake south of Ngorongoro crater is not a competitor of lake Natron but once in a while it seems it is. Both are located in the Rift Valley but obviously their contents don’t quite match.
when totally dry, some people try to cross by foot or on wheels. “Go fast” was the advice to minimize sinking risks… thanks but not with my motorbike nor car anyway.
fisherman camp.
the camera is a Russian Zorki from the 50’s, a copy of the Leica II from the 30’s. I know I will be cursed from the Leica fan club…but while I don’t mind to bring my Leica M6 under the harsh African conditions, I’d be reluctant to bring a vintage Leica II here…
that's the beast a Zorki II, a Russian copy of the Leica II launched in the 30's. I'd love to get a real Leica II but I'd feel concerned to have such a venerable camera suffer under the African conditions.
one eyed-lioness.
how easy is it to fish in those turbulent waters?
notice the carcass in the background. The Mara river is littered with unfortunate wildebeests …
the crocodiles and these vultures don’t complain of course.
a beautiful nightjar (un engoulevent en français). Interesting and unusual eyes. Theses birds like to stay low on the ground instead of on high branches. maybe they want to be confused with toads? The feathers could easily create that illusion.
sense of humor seems to be the same worldwide…Masai moon.
waiting for the public transport. In the back I love when some lousy companies dare to use the word “royal”….
How good is such a business, selling corn on the side of the road? Or peanuts?
on Sundays, the shops are mostly closed. Street vendors don’t miss the opportunity to squat the pavements.
One of the man streets.
pupils and sugar cane.
junk and Mt Meru.
one of Flying Medical Service 206’s at an airstrip named Mpopong’i. Skies get interesting in a rain season in Africa…
the downpours get intense though usually short. Within a week or so the sceneries will have changed drastically.
the roads from uncomfortable can often become just impassable.
usually dry rocky beds most of the year…
we had some visitors at night…elephant tracks.
a colleague came to rescue me after a brake failure, we just swapped airplanes so I could continue safely on the medical tour and the other short airstrips. Notice the brown spot, an anteater hole that I had had just filled up.
volcano Lengai far away.
wet airstrip…and dry some months later. Same location.
time for the water level to stabilize.
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