Ben Wilhelmi

Scenes in the bush, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mount Meru near Arusha

 

 

 

Scenes in the bush, northern Tanzania

 

Mount Meru, near Arusha, one of the top five in Africa at 4500m.

 

 

 

Bit of fashion in the middle of nowhere.

 

In the rain seasons kids show their happiness.

 

 

Bicycle repair shop…I hope the repairs are of better quality than the painting.

 

 

A beggar in the bush is a bit unusual I’d say…

 

Aerial photography, Tanzania

 

Detail of the mangrove, Pemba island.

 

 

Overtaking a competitor over the vast African landscapes.

 

On one frame, let’s admire the volcano Lengai, Mt Kilimanjaro on the horizon, Mt Kitumbeine and Mt Meru. Not everyday that we can enjoy a 100 mile visibility.

 

Dar es Salaam center.

 

Ngwazi airtsrip,

 

A highway crosses some swamp near Ngwazi.

 

Rufiji river and a swamp, Selous reserve.

 

Indian Ocean.

Scene in the bush, Tanzania

 

Mount Meru near Arusha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

aerial pictures, Tanzania

 

 

 

 

 

 

aerial photography in Tanzania

 

the good ol’ Kilimanjaro… in Tanzania. Case closed even if some Kenyan crooks or other short sighted nationalists claim it is in Kenya..

 

 

Mount Meru summit.

 

lake Victoria.

 

 

volcano Lengai.

 

a Masai homestead.

 

Tanzania, aerial photography

 

I’ve been flying 15 years in Tanzania, such a view of Kilimanjaro and Meru never ceases to amaze me. OK to be fair, this kind of clear visibility is exceptional.

 

Lake Natron, another wonder. Colors and shapes never stop changing, offering an incredible palette.

 

 

Tanzania, people in the bush

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tanzania, aerial pictures

 

The 3 mountains near Arusha: Kilimanjaro, Meru and Monduli.

 

 

 

 

Northern shoreline of lake Natron, a bit of extinct volcano Shombole.

camping around Mt Meru, Tanzania

 

Mt Meru, the 15.000 foot mountain next door to Arusha…it was an extinct volcano till a Belgian scientist declared last month that the whole area was at risk by an awakening of the volcano. Without notice. The last eruption was ten times bigger than Mt Saint Helens in 1980, 1500 times bigger than the Hiroshima bomb…ah well.

 

 

in the meantime let’s enjoy life and have a little camping weekend around this beautiful mountain. My good old Land Rover felt itchy, and me too so here we are on the northern side looking for  a lunch spot a little bit off road.

 

quite a vista while lunching, right?

 

this was the lovely dirt track to follow soon.

 

a bee eater on an aptly named candelabra tree was eyeing my left overs. If I were to be a bird, this one would rank high on my list: they are swift and extremely agile, performing aerobatics maneuvers while catching bees. I observe them regularly from my front porch.

 

here is such a tee in its typical glory. It’s a real poor choice for wood fire …

 

about the road sign the marketing is be revised for that otherwise decent camp site. I did stop for a quick survey just in case. I cut my visit short when I realised there was a group of 8 Belgian tourists. I don’t mind to meet my countrymen but I hate to repeat my story to people who feel we have a link because of the nationality. I even lie to my passengers claiming to be French to cut short the enthusiasm…

 

 

 

and this was my spot for the night. Roof tent opened like a book, quite away from any village and various nuisance.

bicycle trip around Mt Meru, Tanzania

 

we were used as guinea pigs by a friend who had hopes in mountain biking treks. For a weekend like this, a truck would carry all the camping supplies and we’d meet at the end of each day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

resting with a view.

slide film pictures, Tanzania

 

Mount Meru under the glow, slide film…

and it is a recent picture that is, like the ones below. It’s like taking a ball pen, or even a feather and an ink pot, and write. There is something to it that a computer or a digital camera doesn’t provide.

so a good old Leica M6, some Fujichrome and pronto (well so to speak since I had to wait a few months to get the results)

 

Near Arusha, Mount Meru.

 

 

This one was shot on a Kodachrome film 2 years ago, the last year of production from Kodak, which buried itself in bankruptcy if you ask me. They were sitting on gold and it looks like they trashed all away…

bicycle trip around Mt Meru, Tanzania

 

don’t know what to do for your next holidays? Grab a bike and go…

 

 

 

Ok we had a Land Rover 101 to carry food and camping gear and the cook for the weekend…

 

Africa does that to the traveller sometimes, the track just disappears…

 

funny how a scenery like that helps everybody to wake up early…

Tanzania, aerial photography

 

Once in a while in flight, I open my window and get a picture. Tanzania is an incredible beautiful country.

Mount Monduli and mount Meru further.

 

A common rainshower over the Serengeti.

 

Colored salts on lake Natron.

 

Long shadows, early morning.

 

The top of Mount Meru at about 15.000 feet.

 

volcan Lengai and lake Natron

 

lake Natron, the only breeding place for flamingoes in the whole Africa. And there are salt extraction projects to trash the place…

 

A Masai village, one early morning.

 

Those holes are boreholes. No idea why in this case they are so close to each other.

 

A bit of the Rift valley, lake Natron.

flying the bush in Tanzania

 

Small airplanes tend to be crippled after a puncture, they don’t have multiple wheels…so I needed a tow machine.

 

elephants crossing an airstrip. Sometimes it happens while on landing or take off but they are slow and big so hitting one with the plane is pretty unheard of. Whereas zebras, buffaloes, gazelles, giraffes…are most commonly responsible for accidents.

 

Masai men enjoying some shade. This picture shot with the incredible Rolleiflex camera.

 

A storm was just making the airstrip quite wet. I had just landed (too bad I couldn’t film myself) so I quickly jumped out of the airplane and got ready to shoot  the next ones.

 

A hot balloon in the Serengeti.

 

Arusha with a  poorly maintained runway and taxiway some years ago. In turn the turbine engines could swallow some dust.

 

A BN2 just crashed after its 2 engines stopped together (!). Nice job from the pilot who put the plane down nicely.

 

The Navajo I used to fly some years back., Mt Meru, Arusha.

 

Sad sighting, a wrecked rotting DC3 in Nairobi. That’s no way to treat such an old lady.

 

on take off while I was a passenger.

lake Natron, aerial photography

 

that was an exceptional day, a perfect visibility. Kilimanjaro on the left is more than 150 km away. Mt Gelai is close in the middle, and Mt Meru on the right, Mt Kitumbeine on the far right. I’ve got very few in that style. And of course, lake Natron in the foreground

 

a typical abstract and vertical view of the salts.

 

a psychedelic view of a Natron delta.

 

I’d say there is a spring underneath to explain that swirl of floating salts. I’ve spotted that phenomenon, on the same spot, only twice.

 

Oldoinyo Sambu cliff on the western shore.

 

volcano Shombole on the Kenyan border.

 

sometimes, it gets more sober.

 

various deltas.

random pictures in Tanzania and around

 

 

Me having a haircut in South Africa while on a long bicycle trip from Arusha to Cape Town.

 

Tanzania below:

An old weekend bike trip around mount Meru near Arusha.

some difficult passage.

 

My longest flying job in Tanzania, with Flying Medical Service.

Taking a short cut through a 600m high gorge. Watch rocking videos on my Vimeo account.

 

Amazing  encounters with chimpanzees in Mahale.

 

Walking safaris in Katavi.

 

Infrared picture in the Rift valley. Volcano Lengai.

 

Colleague landing in bad weather, Serengeti.

 

Aerial view of the mythical Kilimanjaro at about 20.000 feet high.

the bush around Arusha, photography

 

Drive just a few miles off Arusha, a half decent town, and there is the bush right away. Karine  and I spent last Sunday afternoon north of Arusha just cruising around in my Land Rover which was more than happy to see some action, since I’m always using my bicycle or motorcycle in town.

 

Lengijave area, women (and girls) still do the water or firewood runs. Men? Well, the few we saw typically didn’t seem to do much except chatting up under the shade of a tree or in front of a shop.

 

Mount Meru culminating at nearly 15.000ft.

 

Little boys are also at work albeit an easier one: lead the herds of cows or goats.

 

Kids were usually more than happy to pose for us. Last time, a teacher even thanked us for visiting their remote and forgotten village. Obviously no tourist ever wander out there. Marketing is the key…

 

 

 

Dust! Fine dust like flour. If the wind is coming from the wrong direction, you’d better be careful otherwise a dust cloud could engulf your jeep. Tracks tend to be badly run down, Arusha municipality doesn’t pay too much attention nor anything else out there…And the next rains are not expected till November.

 

Drivers don’t show any respect for pedestrians…

 

 

Last picture of the day, a beautiful glow on Mount Meru. It was gone within a minute.