Ben Wilhelmi

Aerial photography, Tanzania

Tanzania is such a big country gifted with many beautiful landscapes. Not only that, those landscapes vary tremendously come the rain seasons.

 

Salt lakes are perfect examples of ever changing colors and patterns. Here is a detail of lake Eyasi.

I guess pelicans visiting Tanzania.

 

The Ruaha river after the rain season.

 

The famous wildebeest migration near the Mara river, here on the Serengeti side.

 

Lake Natron, another salt lake.

 

The Rufiji river in the Selous reserve.

 

Lake Natron again.

 

A typical homestead like millions in the country.

 

Tarangire national park. Quite famous for its elephants.

 

Lake balangida, a lesser known salt lake. Those white dots are salt extraction activities. I would guess operated by local people only.

Aerial photography, Tanzania

 

Salt pans, lake Balangida, southern tip of the Rift valley.

 

Monik airtrip, lake Natron. That mountain is the active volcano Lengai.

 

 

Sunrise on the Indian ocean.

 

Luwegu river, southern Selous.

 

Drying Katasunga river, Katavi NP.

 

A dust devil on the burnt Katasunga plain.

 

A reef in the Indian ocean is  by fishermen and their nets.

 

In the Selous reserve, some floods from 40 years ago haven’t totally disappeared. The dead white trees are numerous to tell the tale.

 

Tanzania, aerial photography

 

Footprints on a salt lake bed, lake Balangida. Of humans, cows and goats I presume.

 

Hippos are having a hard time in the Katavi. They squeeze in the last remnants of muddy pools.

 

Last week a massive bush fire started on Katasunga plain, Katavi park. 80% of that vast plain was black at the time of the picture. The rangers were clueless or lying about the origin of the fire.

 

Mahale, lake Tanganyika, life on the beach. I guess the fishermen have laid out that massive net for fixing the damages.

 

A detail of the Indian ocean near mafia island. It looks like a channel at the shallow bottom.

 

A bit of the shoreline in Pemba island, my favorite island to overfly so far.

 

Siwandu, Selous reserve.

 

Near Mufindi, patchwork of fields.

 

Near Kipili bay, southern part of lake Tanganyika.

Lake Balangida, aerials

 

Another salt lake in the country.

Mount Hanang in the distance.

 

 

 

People make those salt mounds. I wonder how much profitable that business is worth. I don’t see that activity on the other salt lakes.

 

 

 

 

Aerial pictures, Tanzania

 

Bahi swamps, west of Dodoma.

 

Stonetown, Zanzibar.

 

Some wildebeests (des gnous pour mes amis francophones) one early morning in the Serengeti. A vertical shot and long shadows on the menu.

 

Stunning details of the salt lake Natron.

 

 

Lake Balangida which might be the most southern salt lake in the Rift valley near Singida.

 

These mounds are made of salt collected by people on the same lake.

 

The Ruaha river on a sunrise take off.

Aerials, lake Balangida, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mount Hanang in the distance.

 

 

lake Balangida, aerials, Tanzania

lake Balangida is a salt lake near Mt Hanang, south west of Arusha.

just like lakes Manyara, Eyasi or  Natron, the lake lies in the Rift Valley, its western side is blocked by a cliff, the bottom is flat and looks “landable”.

 

but more unique is the salt harvested on such a scale. Each white mound is a pile of salt. I wonder how or why the selected salt is white only…

 

quite unusual, the colors and shapes reminded me of lake Natron. I’ve flown over that lake a few times and never seen such a palette of colors.

 

Mt Hanang.

 

lake Balangida, aerial photography, Tanzania

 

another little salt lake in the Rift Valley. Usually bland. So it was a big surprise a few weeks ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

people collecting salt.

 

 

 

aerial photography, shapes and colors, Tanzania

 

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.