Shadow and reflection on the salted surface.
An extinct volcano on the Kenyan border; Shombole.
The Cessna 206, the workhorse I used by then.
Monik, one unchartered airstrip on the western shore.
The only breeding place in Africa for flamingoes. Let's hope that salt factory planning will never see the day, will never have a chance to ruin the whole lake as it has happened in lake Magadi, Kenya.
The main neighbor is that active volcano, Oloinyo Lengai.
OK OK I’m just a little bit biased over that stunning salt lake located in the Rift valley.
The salts offer all the rainbow palette but green. About shapes, well there is quite some diversity as well.
Just to add a little touch and leave nothing to the other lakes, natron is surrounded by an extinct volcano, Shombole on the Kenyan border, and an active volcano, Lengai to the south.
Another big touch is the presence of flamingoes. Not an exception in the various lakes of the Rift valley but Natron is the only breeding place for them in Africa!
A stunning salt lake in the Rift Valley, northern Tanzania.
some rains appeared in northern Tanzania over the last weeks. Speculations are now flying around. early rains or just a glitch of mother Nature?
those rain seasons are usually spectacular, intense and dramatic. It’s always wise to polish your cameras and have them ready, fresh batteries, empty cards (and know what your buffer capacity in RAW format!).
a delta on lake Natron filled up with muddy waters.
near the border with Kenya, lake Natron. Once in a while some heavy downpour up in Kenya will feed the river and a mudflow will color the lake on the northern part.
happy wildebeests. There are a few groups here and there in Tanzania which don’t take part in the famous migration across the Mara river.
happy farmers. Well supposedly as these guys are notorious complainers here too.
easy job for the herders. No need to walk up all the way to Sudan or even Somalia as it is the case in drought. See the map and appreciate the effort from the Masai herders who have done this some bad dry years!
lake Natron.
extinct volcano Shompole on lake Natron.
the main tree in the village, people love to gather there and chat.
A Caravan on take off.
Sunset on Mt Meru.
One of our Flying Medical Service airplanes facing lake Natron. The pinkish line on the horizon is the typical salt crust on that lake.
Another airstrip, Pininyi, on lake Natron. Shombole behind.
While on clinics we attract usually mothers and children and sick people. These Masai warriors are just passing by for me. The word has spread out that I give prints for my models.
contrast between a dry and a wet season. Volcano Lengai in the distance.
A good rain season changes the landscapes quite drastically. There is then a European touch. That is till you spot an elephant or a Masai.
That was a serious puncture,wasn’t it?
Unfortunately there are some picture thieves out there. I might have to readjust my web address across my pictures. Of course better have some pictures stolen than not sharing them...
Anyway let's not get depressed by scumbags, let's enjoy the beauty of Tanzanian landscapes in the rain season. This is lake Natron but for once I snapped around the lake, wawy from the colorful salt pans.
Remaining salts floating, usually covering 90% of the lake surface in the dry season has now mostly disappeared, swallowed by the water rise.
The delta near volcano Shombole on the Kenyan border.
Mud and salts mixing.
That brown hue is muddy water flowing from a Kenyan river.
Orange mud pushing blue salt water.
and more mud floating amidst red salts.
that lake hardly ever disappoints me. Flying Medical Service has a couple of airstrips located on the shoreline. So taking off from one to the next airstrip offers some stunning vistas. Always.
Just taking off from Pininiyi for instance and heading north for instance, that’s a full view of an extinct volcano, Shombole. Or Shompole in use in Kenya.
Temperatures are close to 40C these days so opening a window is really welcome. Just look down and enjoy the show. Here is a small delta hardly filled up nevertheless the rains were heavy lately. But the village has an efficient irrigation system still going 20 years after some Belgian engineers built it.
within 2 minutes at 120 mph, here is another set of colors. These salts seem to possess an artistic sense of their own.
and another minute...
the only color I have never seen in those salts is green.
sometimes I feel there is a 3D aspect in those colored patterns...
red tones are the most common ones all year long.
10 minutes on the clock, time to land already on the northern shore, Njurlan.
here is a selection of some interesting locations I fly to for our outreach clinics.
Tanzania is not exactly is a flat country… this is a part of a dead volcano, Shombole, on lake Natron.
Part of the Gol mountains.
the medical staff and the pilot always take lunch under the Cessna 206 wing. Especially around lake Natron where 40C seem a normal temperature…
The active volcano Lengai can be seen from many airstrips around. The doctor is here treating a patient. Sometimes we have a royal treatment, that is an available medical hut, usually not. Personally I prefer to be in the open but in case a patient needs some privacy…It’s so hard to keep nosy people at bay.
Below is my all time favorite; Engoveroni. It’s located on a ridge of Empakai Crater slope. I love it, the slope at 11%, the gullies and ridges, the usual bad winds, the high altitude and the non turbo engine make a go around impossible, it’s roughly paved but it’s beautiful and keep skills up to date.
this was last week. The day had started badly with a flat battery. We had to start the engine like in the old day: by hand. Yes on a Cessna 206… I was delayed by 2 hours but the bright side of that was to be here in Engoveroni till 17h30. The light was just getting beautiful, warm, golden…
Nice slope huh? Taking off is here a piece of cake, even when heavily loaded.
For beautiful landscapes, there is plenty of choices, here in Ngorongoro area. The Gol mountains far out.
Mount Makarot on the SW Ngorongoro rim.
Mount Masonik, on the high edge of lake Natron
One of my regular routes while flying for Flying Medical Service. Some villages are scattered around this stunning salt lake in the Rift. These various pictures were shot on a short 10 minute flight between airstrips.
Western cliff, between 2000 and 4500 ft above water level.
An extinct volcano, Shombole, on the border with Kenya.
Normally I don’t show parts of the aircraft in my aerials but to give an idea of the height when I overfly and shoot flamingoes.
Njurlan, northern shore, one tiny Masai village, one of the many we provide health care.
Northern Tanzania, here is lake Natron, one of the salt lakes wedged in the Rift valley. This mountain is Shombole seen from an unusual location, that is low level middle of the acid lake. it is also an extinct volcano that lies on the border with Kenya.
Some deltas...
Flamingoes would use this unique lake as their only breeding place in Africa.
Along the shoreline, these parallel lines are due to daily evaporation leaving clear marks.
Salts and cloud reflections.
no comment for a change…
normally lake Natron is classified as inhospitable, dry and unbearably hot. See for instance the scene in “Out of Africa” where she organises a supply trip to her husband’s posse.
But there are some springs or rivers here and there which briefly provide fresh water before hitting the lake where the high salt content spoils everything or close.
flamingoes are the exception, they thrive in hot salted and acidic waters, as the plancton they feed on.
some Masai villages can be found around too but close to the fresh water of course.
Red and various hues charaterize best lake Natron. About salt patterns any other colors are also available except green. Plain waters might be bright green but salts? I’m still hoping….
volcanoes Kerimasi (L) and Lengai (R) far to the south.
faraway view from the south looking north.
volcano Shombole to the far north. The rains these days improve greatly the visibility.
same volcano but much closer.
an incredible salt spiral near a clear cut of red salt. Oldonyo Sambu on the horizon.
Kerimasi and Lengai again.
and below a satellite view I got through the net. Obviously a Cessna 206 doesn’t fly that high, not even remotely. So even from space the red hue is clearly visible! Quite a feat isn’t it?
lower on the picture is a brownish spot, that’s lake Eyasi, still part of the Rift but not so colorful. Ngorongoro and Serengeti are basically under those clouds.
while operating a Cessna 206 for Flying Medical Service in the bush, like here in Monik on lake Natron, an unusual ‘highway’ type bush strip, I’ve got time to walk around, meet people and get a few snapshots.
Another common way to carry a cumbersome burden is to place the strap on top of the head.
McMinus visiting the Tanzanian bush, here on lake Natron with volcano Lengai far back.
I get to fly to some interesting places in northern Tanzania. I’m so lucky to enjoy these amazing sceneries. the schedules don’t always give the best time of the day for the best light but hey, I’m there and this is what I see and experience. Here one of Flying Medical Service Cessna 206’s in Olorbelin, lake Natron, at the foot of volcano Shombole.
Soccer, international game if one. Here in Monik, on the lake again with volcano Lengai in the background.
a bit further up, that is on top of the high cliff bordering the lake to the west. Oleparkashi, don’t look for those names on any map, I just like to name a few for your info. Lengai behind.
same place, looking towards the lake and Shombole below. Where the grass stops starts a 600 meter vertical drop.
Or towards mount Masonik, a landmark on the cliff.
Engoveroni airstrip and a shrouded Lengai. Pieces of clothes drying in the new after serious downpours.
McMinus and people in Pininyi, Natron and Lengai far away.
to continue the yesterday post. 11h34 for the picture below, I passed the red salted zone. Now the lake towards the north looks normal but is still heavily salted and acid, Ph close to 10!
notice the dust devil on the horizon, a small column of dust looking like a tiny tornado.
extinct volcano Shombole.
near vertical views.
looking back at Pininyi the airstrip we had just left which is here visible on the right side of the forest. The salts start here very close to the shoreline.
western cliffs with the peak Oldonyo Sambu, 4500 ft higher than the lake surface. 11h38, last shot for this selection.
I just can’t have enough of this wonderful lake. Always a new set of colors or patterns to offer. Mother Nature on LSD.
2 weeks ago, I had just taken off from Pininyi, western part. 1st shot at 11h32. This is Shombole on the Kenyan border, quite often to be seen in a mirror effect in this rainy season with clear visibility. I normally don’t put my horizon straight in the middle of my composures but here I like it.
vertical viewing.
looking back at Pininyi, blissfully located in a forest near a stream.
western cliffs, this shot at 11h35. Just a selection of some of the many pictures I shot within those 3 minutes. More soon. I realise I’m quite privileged…
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