Over the Rufii river. That was my lucky day, an elephant crossing is quite a rare occurrence across such a wide river.
The Indian ocean, rarely disappointing especially at low tide over reefs and mangroves.
The Nyerere bridge in Dar es Salaam.
The Mkapa bridge across the Rufiji river.
And a bit further here is the Rufiji delta at low tide reaching the Indian ocean.
A few pictures of the saltey lake Eyasi
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.
Lake Eyasi is a small salt lake south of Ngorongoro which has its moment of glory here and there.
Another salt lake in the long Rift Valley, not famous at all like Bogoria, Natron, Turkana and the likes but it has its moments of interests.
one of the many salt lakes in the famous Rift Valley. This one is located south of the Ngorongoro Crater.
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.
lake Eyasi, one of those numerous salt lakes located in the Rift Valley. Some pictures taken within a 10 minute window.
red is the usual tone in many of them but I’m privileged as I happen to fly over a few all year long and spot the various artful exhibitions.
lake Eyasi, another salt lake in the Rift valley, is located just of Ngorongoro Crater, an occasional serious competitor of lake Natron in term of bright colors and abstract patterns but really occasionally. The water input must be totally different.
here are some pictures taken the same day! What a diversity. This lake doesn’t show off as often as Natron, but when it does it is really worth as well.
Lake Eyasi is probably the last salt lake to the south of the Rift Valley.
westbound beyond that cliff lies the vast plain of the Serengeti.
lake Eyasi is another salt lake located in the Rift valley, just south of the Ngorongoro Crater. It’s not very famous and not as reliable as lake Natron in term of stunning colors and salt patterns but once in a while, this is what one can observe and enjoy.
Obviously I have to be careful in my photo files as Natron and Eyasi photos could be easily mixed when I focus on vertical shots…
no topic, just some random pictures over the last months. This country, for whom can keep an eye peeled, is a wonder to fly over.
A fisherman camp on lake Eyasi in the Rift valley.
A village a few miles off Arusha. Arusha is a town, reasonably modern and provided with most amenities (though there is room for big improvement) but the bush is not far away.
Long shadows one early morning.
A delta on lake Natron, elephant grass? It looked tramped, by buffalos and wildebeest or wind? I wish there were elephants out there.
Death Valley or Dakota’s Badlands lookalike, west of lake Natron.
Lake Natron at one of the few springs.
North west of Arusha, a bit of savannah and marsh…
…and that Masai dude must have been surprised by my fly-by.
A dry riverbed. Though beware those in the rain season: flash floods kill people every year in the area. Rushing waters would fill up such a riverbed at running horse speed. I just heard the story of a Land Rover washed out by such a flood, never to be recovered, probably buried by sand and mud. Before I knew better, on a bush bicycle trip I did once pitch my tiny tent in such a spot because the sandy bottom was comfier than the rocky surroundings. I got a piece of lashing by some bush veterans later…
a salt lake south of Ngorongoro crater. These pictures were shot on one round trip flight. Quite a diversity isn’t it?
A fisherman camp in the southern area.
lake Eyasi is a salt lake south of Ngorongoro crater. It’s not as striking as lake Natron but still surprising once in a while. That was in June and after 13 years of flying in Tanzania, I got a surprise that day by spotting fishermen and a series of temporary camps alongside a freshwater river feeding the lake. Never seen or heard of them before.
Obviously vegetables are welcome too with fish.
Pelicans must be serious competitors.
A cropping of the previous pictures. Fish are smoked under the sun on these oven.
For those who wonder: Nikon D300s, well any DSLR would do, and a new lens I was experimenting, a 85mm. A light and short lens with the D300s is a good combination for me. I have used smaller lenses so far. Since I get to fly with my left hand at the same time, a long lens is not my first choice to handle with the right hand only: it’s heavy and unstable as soon as it pokes a bit out of the window. So a short lens!
Eyasi is a salt lake south of Ngorongoro. Not usually colorful but once in a while…below are some examples shot the same day.
a tmporary fisherman settlement.
sun reflection in the rippling water.
Usually a blend and colorless salt lake. Not that day…
pelican colony.
That silver effect is due to the sun reflection in the wet surface.
From the south comes a river into the lake. Fishermen camps were scattered all along in June. The first time I ever noticed them in 13 years…
Alongside the western ridge runs a long cliff, bordering the great Serengeti plain. Here is some nice erosion work at the foot of the cliff.
lake Eyasi, south of Ngorngoro, a salt lake with very little life there, except flamingoes or pelicans, and not always either. But on the southern tip runs in a river. It must be fresh water full of fish considering the dozens of fishermen camps settled alongside that river. 13 years in the country, and I’ve never seen those camps, there or anywhere else.
Interesting that those blue tarpaulins are so common whether in refugee camps, in Masai villages or here…
OK this kind of detail is common along full rivers, dug out canoes, fish nets…but on a samll scale. Nothing like this first picture and repeated along the river.
Drying fish in the sun, or smoked as well, as I’ve spotted some smoke along some of these racks.
as promised, here are different pictures of lake Eyasi, same day but away from the minimal art I selected yesterday. I’m not even flying around and around, just watching below my wing and wait… Bliss, isn’t it?
Well I might bank the plane and turn like 30 degrees once in a while like for the pictures above that seem to reflect gold or silver. That is because playing with the sun on a wet surface can change the aspect drastically, a little sideway sun reflection will give those shiny effects.
Dosing the effect makes big differences: the picture below gets black and shiny, losing all tones because the sun is reflecting straight in the visor.
1000 pictures to process…that’s my harvest after 3 days of outreach flying clinics with Flying Medical Service. Here are for instance some aerials of lake Eyasi, south of Ngorongoro Crater. This salt lake is not as impressive as my favorite lake Natron but once in a while a burst of LSD effects seem to influence Eyasi. I choose the minimal art concept for this blog but make no mistake there were complex and colorful patterns too on the same 2 flights, watch tomorrow for more.
I suspect those repeated lines or patterns are made by successive spells of daily evaporation actions, resting at night and leaving a deeper mark…
Obviously the wind has a word to say in the process, pushing the salts here and there.
These whitish marks are only the sun reflection in the waves.
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