February 2020

Hi Everyone This is it. The conclusion. I am sitting on a plane going to Doha and then onto JFK. It’s 8:30 PM or 12:30 in NYC. How would I describe this trip? The trip was awesome. Imagine spending ten days in my favorite place in the world with my wife? Seeing her experience the beauty that keeps on bringing me back to Africa. Watching her see the migration and get the feeling that you could almost touch the wildlife. Her spending three nights with me in a Bush Camp. So what if it was a luxurious Bush Camp. It was to her liking For me, the highlights were seeing a pride of lions in a tree, the group of four cheetahs and the rhinos. Those were just the highlights but the real highlight was having the beauty of Africa embrace my soul once again. I am at such piece of mind when that happens. Onto the next adventure. In the middle of June I am going on a photography trip back to the African Bush. Uganda and Rwanda are calling me and the giant gorillas. I need to see them while I still can. Hopefully my friend and mentor, Andy, will be joining me. I love to travel with him. He always pushes my limits and we have experienced places I used to dream about. I am so glad I got to take pictures of the Chimps of Mahale in November. This has set me up for the gorillas and I know what to expect and will be prepared. I am also planning on going to see a friend and fellow photographer who lives in Maine in May. We are planning a week of taking pictures of birds and the coastline. Hopefully my pictures will be published within the next month and everyone will receive links to them. Love Larry

Hi Everyone We finally left the Bush at nine for a long drive back to the way we came. Wolf took us over a rocky dirt road and some wood bridges that seemed like they were about to collapse. We then reached what he called the highway or a long dirt road back out of the Serengeti. After traveling what seemed like forever, we spotted the migration again. Thousands upon thousands of wildebeest and zebras all making their way in one direction. We stopped to take the scene in. I could never describe what the scene looked like. My pictures will not do it justice either. The shear numbers crossing the Serengeti plain needs to be seen and experienced. We finally reached the gates and stopped to have our box lunches. Olivia wanted to give the bathroom attendant her uneaten food, but Arnold assured her he would get it into the right hands. After lunch we then hit the highway again. Suddenly Wolf took a left turn through some grazing land and we arrived at a museum in the middle of nowhere. This was the area that the Leaky’s found human remains and specifically the skeleton of Lucy that made them famous. We walked through the museum and were given a great lecture by one of the local archeologists. We still had another two hour drive to our Lodge on the rim of the Crater. It was so beautiful driving past local. Asia villages and herders. That I hardly minded being in a Jeep for most of the day. At about six we pulled into our Lodge. The Lodge sits on top of the caldera. There are only eight craters like this in the world, but this is the only one that has wildlife living inside it. I could not image what sort of wildlife we would find in the crater of a volcano. Looking out from the Lodge, the size of the Crater was enormous and you could see the other side. After a quick check in, dinner was served at seven thirty. During diner, staff members would sing songs in Swahili and do local dancing. We are meeting at six for breakfast and then it’s down to the Crater for wildlife. Wake up time is 5:30 and breakfast is at 6. Then it is onto the crater at 6:30. Wolf was on a mission. He needed and wanted to find the rhinos. We drove into some very wet and muddy sections of a road and almost got stuck. Wolf turned around and then put the metal to the petal. By the way, this is one of his favorite sayings. I then saw them. Two black rhinos forging in the tall grass. The time of day was not the best and the sun was bright, but I did not care. I finally had seen my rhinos. I kept on clicking and watching the beauty of this magnificent endangered animal. How could someone kill this creature? I am so glad I have experienced their grandeur where they belong. At about noon we left the crater for a long drive back to Arusha and our last night in Tanzania. Of course, we had our box lunches and drove through the Masai countryside. The closer we got to Arusha, the less numerous the Masai and their way of life and the more numerous scenes of a third world country. We pulled into our Lodge at about six for one last night sleep and our fair well dinner at seven thirty. Every night I back up my pictures to two external hard drives. In this way, I have two backups in case something goes wrong. This is the first trip that I have not started to edit any of them. Hopefully, the few Olivia and myself pick as the final product, will depict the beauty of what we witnessed. Love Larry

Hi Everyone After finishing Day 5, I decided to break up the Serengeti into two parts since I have so much more to tell. Breakfast was served at seven and at eight we all boarded our jeeps for our first game drive. Box lunches were provided. What would the Bush show us? We drove for about one hour and saw some jeeps parked on the side of the road looking at a large tree with lots of branches. When we arrived, I was awestruck. Sitting on the branches of this large tree was a pride of lions. There appeared to be females, young males and some cubs. I aimed my telephoto lens and kept on clicking. The longer we stayed, the more jeeps arrived until the scene looked like a small parking lot. These lions were so beautiful observing their world in this way. Eventually, I was able to pick out the mother by seeing her behavior overlooking and protecting the others. I was able to capture six lions in some of my pictures all sitting on the branches. What a scene. A memory I will never forget. We then drove towards a hippo pool. When we arrived at the hippo pool, we were not disappointed. Lots of hippos of all sizes staying cool in the pool and enjoying the afternoon sun on the banks. It was now time to have our box lunch. Arnold, the other driver, asked us to give him our uneaten food so that he could donate the food later to needy people. It becomes hard to image that you are in a third world country when you do a trip like this. After lunch, we drove to a scientific research center to have the jeeps filled. About ten minutes outside the filling up station it happened. Wolf has unbelievable eyesight and spotted some cheetahs in the tall grass. Cheetahs do not climb trees. I could barely make them put even with my telephoto lens and started to think that the cheetah had evaded me again. Was I wrong. Wolf did a u turn and put the pedal to the metal. He figured out where the cheetahs were going and guessed right. We had a ring side seat for the show. Four cheetahs in the tall grass walking next to our Jeep. They were so beautiful and majestic. They look like spotted leopards, but are longer, not as fat and more majestic. They then crossed the road and all four stood in the tall grass. Imagine capturing four cheetahs in one picture. Wolf challenged me to find one. He has never seen four together and has guided many Natgeo photographers over the years. I now had one more left on my bucket list, the lonesome rhino, but that’s for another day. We drove back to Camp and I knew that the Bush had rewarded me today. Both experiences were jaw dropping. The pride of lions in a tree and the elusive and solitary cheetah. We arrived in time for a quick shower and then dinner. My mind was racing with what the Bush had in store for me tomorrow. I was told to wake up at four AM to leave for the hot air balloon ride. We needed to be in the air by six thirty and the launching pad was around ninety minutes away. Four of us were going. The Jeep took off at four thirty in the dark. I immediately fell asleep but was constantly woken up from the bouncing over the road. We arrived at the launching pad to watch the staff inflate the balloon by constantly shooting hot air heated up by the burner. I had previously done hot air ballooning in Turkey. There was another couple from another Camp joining us so the six of us all climbed into the basket. Some of the staff came with us to help balance the basket and help with the balloon when we land. We then took off. Flying over the Serengeti this way gives you a different perspective a and viewpoint. Imagine looking down at the wildlife? after about an hour, we started our descent. Our landing was soft and we all got out and climbed into a Jeep. We were taken to a champagne breakfast cooked and served by the staff. A long table and chairs were set up and we toasted our landing. After breakfast, we were driven to a visitor center where we met Wolf and the other people. It was then a long game drive. The grass was so tall and the wind moved it in a beautiful waving motion as we drove by. Wolf then spotted a female lion sitting on a large boulder. A scene right out of Lion King. As we watched, more and more jeeps arrived. It was then time to leave and Wolf tried his best to find us another spectacular scene. We drove and drove but to no avail. Wolf finally turned the Jeep towards Camp and a hot lunch. We arrived back in Camp at around three o’clock tired and hungry. Lunch was set up outside. Last night one of the workers got bitten by a baboon on his hand. He needs a series of five shots costing around $125 US. Our group decided to chip in and pay for the treatments to help him and his family through their financial crisis. We were all told to meet at six in the BOMA. What is a BOMA? BOMA stands for British Officers Mess Area. A BOMA is a circular area enclosed by a crude wood fence with a large fire pit in the middle. The staff had set up a temporary bar with small tables and chairs around the fire. Wolf and Arnold gave some interesting talks on the history of Tanzania while we soaked up the beauty around us. At seven dinner was served and then we were escorted back to our tent for our last night listening to the

Hi Everyone After an amazing night sleep, we left this decadent palace at nine thirty and drove to a huge shopping complex that specialized in Tanzanite. Tanzanite is a stone that is only mined in Tanzania and is much rarer than diamonds. Olivia walked around and bought some local crafts for the grandchildren. I did not partake. I do not come to Africa for the shopping and my photos are my memories. Furthermore, I bought Olivia some beautiful Masai jewelry in November. After about ninety minutes, it was back onto the road. We drove over lush green hills and past some local Masai villages. All the villages here were made of wood and a fence encircled the village with small huts inside. Local Masai Men and boys were tending to their herds of sheeps and goats. They were all dressed in the traditional Masai way and each one carried a long spear. We were driving towards the Serengeti. Masai are not allowed to live in the Serengeti. After passing lots of Masai villages and herders, the road opened up into a long flat plain. Then we started to see it. The migration of wildebeest and zebra. In February, over one million wildebeest and Zebra migrate together over the Serengeti. We were told that they drop over twenty four hundred offsprings per day for over three weeks. What does nature do to make the wildebeest and zebras go on this journey and only at this time of year? How big is the Serengeti? We were told it is larger than than the state of Connecticut. After a wildebeest drops a doe, it takes the doe about seven minutes to stand up and run with its mother. I had witnessed something like this in the Galapagos. I saw Grey Albatross matting on one specific island. They migrate there between May and November to mate and lay their eggs. How unique nature is. It is like these animals have a clock and nature tells them where to go and when. Wolf eventually turned off the road and drove up to a cliff overlooking some Masai tending to their herds of sheep and goats. Two Masai women appeared and let us take pictures of them. Then some more arrived with their children. What a unique experience. Imagine in the twenty first century seeing these people tend to their animals or valuables. I would have loved to talk to them. I had so many questions to ask them. What are their lives like? Do they know of the outside world? What is important to them and what are their values? I could go on and on. We finally reached the entrance to the Serengeti. In November, I was in the northern part near the border with Kenya. We stopped to have our box lunch at the entrance while Wolf did some paperwork. We then drove and drove past the migrating herds of wildebeest and Zebras. We got closer to a bunch of boulders and then we saw them. A group of young lions walking and sleeping on the boulders. We pulled over and took our time watching this spectacle. Wolf then pointed out the rock formation that was used in the Lion King. Just what I expected to see. Our road was dirt and bumpy. Wolf finally pointed out some Mountains in the distance and said “That’s where our Camp is”. As we were getting closer to the mountains, the light was becoming darker and then Wolf let out a yell. Standing in the road was an animal I had never seen before. Wolf said it was a Caracal Cat. He has only seen them twice in his long career. They are nocturnal and come out at dusk to hunt. They have beautiful long ears and are small. The driver of the other Jeep, Arnold, last saw one five years ago. I immediately stood up and started to click away. The Caracal eventually wandered back into the tall grass and we were on our way. We eventually reached the Camp at around six PM. The name of the Camp is “Ole Sarai Luxury Camp”. The Camp is located near a river where hippos spend the day and come out at night to forage. Of course, we were told that we had to be escorted in the morning and at night. Olivia and myself were then taken to our home for the next three nights. Our tent was awesome. A huge bed with a separate shower and bathroom. Hot water and electricity is provided twenty four hours. Time now for a hot shower and to get ready for dinner. The boss of the Camp is a Masai man who always wears traditional Masai clothing and told us that he has reached level four of leadership of his tribe with two more levels to go. He is the youngest person to reach that level and hopes to be the head one day. He also told us that he has one wife and claimed that he will not marry again and have multiple wives. Our escort arrived at seven and we were led to the lounge tent for some drinks and then to the dinner tent. The menu had choices of beef, chicken, fish and vegetarian. The soup was unbelievable. After finishing dinner and spending some time at the lounge, we were escorted back to our tent. The hot air of the day turned into refreshing cool night air. No fans needed and we both covered ourselves up in our huge bed. Then the Bush symphony started. Hippos grunting, hyenas making their noises and Bush babies walking on top of our tent. The Bush I love and my amazing and beautiful wife was there to share it with me. Love Larry

Hi Everyone Once we left Tarangire, we were back in Masai country. There are approximately three hundred thousand of them, but this number is not accurate due to the way and where they live. We passed through lots of small Masai villages. The villages depicted daily life. People were selling lots of local food. No supermarkets here. Everything is brought fresh from the farms daily. We finally arrived at Lake Manyara. A box lunch was packed for us and we entered the park after having lunch. The game drive was so different than from what I was used to. We drove through dense jungles and saw lots of monkeys. The road then opened up into a flat area and we saw one elephant by himself. Wolf parked a short distance away, and the elephant started to give himself a dirt shower. He then walked over to a pool of water and sprayed himself over and over. A real show being given by this one solitary elephant. This elephant was only doing what comes naturally to him to try and stay cool. A great experience. We then drove to the start of Lake Manyara. We saw hippos on the other side of the lake, but the the road had been washed out. There were lots of wildebeest on our side of the Lake trying to stay cool in the mud. Of course, photography becomes more difficult in midday, but don’t forget, this is not a photography trip. We then left and drove into a small village and up a long dirt and bumpy road. Wolf kept on telling us that an amazing lodge was at the end of this ridiculous dirty road. I could not believe him. There were families living in small dirt snacks and some were tending to their farm land. We finally arrived at the gate. The lodge is called “Lake Manyara Kilimamoja Lodge”. What a place. It will be hard for me to describe this lodge. The lodge is overlooking a huge valley and there is a huge swimming pool. We had a room which was a suite. Two showers, one outdoors, and a huge tub. The main part of the lodge was decorated in decadent African style. Spears, tusks, Masai clothing and ornaments hung from the walls. Luckily, there were no stuffed animals. We had the whole afternoon to ourselves. The grounds were constantly kept up and we saw some workers trashing the grass. We decided to go for a dip. The cool water of the pool immediately dropped my body temperature. Dinner was served on a huge table with huge chairs. It looked like we were sitting in. Castle in Scotland. The food was extraordinary, but I knew this is not the Africa I love and always come back to. After dinner, we went back to our air conditioned suite with internet. Oh well, I needed to rough it for just one night. Love Larry

Hi Everyone I tossed and turned all night and got very little sleep. This always happens to me on the first night of my trips. Olivia went right to sleep and she woke up at five AM. I made us some coffee and we packed. Breakfast was served at six. The coffee was the star. Tanzanian coffee is special. It is very strong and tasty. Just the way I love coffee. Breakfast was good. We both sampled mango muffins and the breads were fresh and hot. We then all met in the lobby for our orientation. When I was in the Serengeti in November, we flew from Arusha to the northern part of the Serengeti. This time we are driving from Arusha to a national park named “Tarangire” and staying in a permanent lodge inside the Park. We first drove through Arusha and got a sampling of life on a Sunday morning. It was then onto a straight two lane road. The road meandered through the Masai Country. We drove by lots of Masai herding their cows, sheep and goats. We also passed by lots of small and single family settlements. Our guide, Wolfgrun, pointed out a single family settlement. A flat roof hut faced some round huts. He told us that the husband lives in the flat roof hut and each of his wives lives in the round huts. You can tell how many wives he has by the number of round huts. I would say that most single family settlements had between thee and four round huts. It appeared that the walls of the huts were made from mud and the roofs were some sort of vines or bamboo. The Masai clothing is very colorful with red being the primary color. Most of the men are tall and thin and carry a long stick. After driving for about three hours, we finally reached the Park entrance. Our guide stopped in the parking lot to obtain a pass and we all got out to stretch our legs. I wandered around and came across some beautiful small albino looking monkeys. After taking some great shots, we boarded our Jeep. Wolfgrun had taken the canvass roof off the Jeep and we are now able to stand up when we spot something. Just outside the entrance, Wolfgrun stopped to point out a pigmy falcon. This is the smallest falcon in the World and quite rare. From now on I will call our guide Wolf for short. We drove and periodically stopped to view some beautiful birds. Birds are very special when you visit the African Bush. They are different and very colorful. We finally came across some elephants and giraffes. I have missed seeing all these creatures in their natural environment. Once you see the animals living like they are meant to live, you cannot go to a zoo. At about two PM we finally arrived at our lodge. The lodge was a permanent hotel where rooms were attached to either side of the entrance way. I noticed a large amount of monkeys and hyrax playing around outside. Hyrax are a small animal that reminds me of a mole and behaves like a small dog or large cat. We immediately were told to go to e pool and that lunch would be served buffet style. The sun was beating down on me as I had a cold Kilimanjaro beer. It was then time to check in and be led to our rooms. Our room was nice and clean. Of course, no A/C, but a huge mosquito net hung outside and around our bed. I love to sleep under a mosquito net. The net sort of reminds me of being on safari many years ago and I feel as if I am snuggling into a cocoon. At four we all met for the ritual of coffee and afternoon tea with some assorted snacks. A beautiful tradition that I could easily get used to. At four thirty it was off for our a afternoon game drive. As soon as we departed the lodge, we observed a pride of lions napping under a large baobab tree. There are lots of baobabs in this Park. They all have leaves, which to me, makes them less striking. No males, just females and their cubs. The grass is very tall, since the rainy season was ending. Tall grass makes it much more difficult to find and oversee the wildlife. Let’s talk a little of the Jeep. We are a party of eleven and have two Land Cruisers six in one Jeep and five in the other. We were with the group of six. One passenger sat next to the driver Nd the other five in the three rows of two seats each. The group gave me the first row all to myself. They saw the size of my camera with a 100-400 lens and wanted me to have as much room as possible. Also, I could go from left to right much easier and stand up looking out the roof without hindering another passenger. Back to the game drive. We saw some giraffes, elephants and birds. Luckily, Wolf was our driver. He is an awesome guide and promises me some great surprises. I have never seen lions sitting in a tree, rhinos and the elusive cheetah. We returned at seven for dinner at seven thirty. Time for a quick shower, dinner and then bed. Of course, we were escorted back to our rooms. I have decided to break this trip up into number of days and locations to change the format for this trip. Hope you enjoy the change. After a great safari breakfast, it was off for our morning game drive. Wolf tried so hard to locate the wildlife. We drove and drove. Nothing interesting came into sight, although the other passengers were awestruck when they saw any wildlife. I always try to capture the wildlife doing something and want to avoid what Andy calls “Wikipedia”

Hi Everyone We left our house at 5:30 AM for a 9:45 AM flight from JFK to Doha Qatar and then a connecting flight to Kilimanjaro. Our JFK flight left promptly on time. Travel time nonstop to Doha is twelve hours with an eight hour time difference. After constantly being fed and watching movie upon movie, we arrived in Doha at six AM their time. The airport is so clean and all the retail stores are very high end. Saw some people wearing face masks and then boarded the second leg for a take off time of eight. After being fed again and again, we finally arrived In Kilimanjaro at two PM. We all formed a long line and one of the airport staff pointed a gun at each of our heads to see if we had temperature. This flight had more than a few Orientals wearing face masks. I had gotten our visas online before we left hoping that we could enter the country smoothly. Was I wrong. The line to go through immigration was long and slow. Olivia loved the heat as sweat started to pour off. We finally got through immigration and picked up our waiting luggage. We packed light since you never take lots of clothes on safari. Your laundry is always done in the Camps and the vehicles are not large enough to carry large pieces of luggage. We met two other couples and our guides. A nice small group and our guide was so friendly and full of enthusiasm. It then took us about one hour to get to our hotel. We are only staying here one night and then it’s onto a National Park named “Tarangire”. On the way to the hotel we drove by some small villages and saw people shopping and doing what they normally do. Some of the women were dressed in beautiful colorful African style dresses. I wish I had my cameras out. Oh well it will have to wait Our hotel is named “The African Tulip” and the decor is very African. We then checked in at about six and took long hot showers. Dinner was served at seven. Olivia had the King Fish and I had the beef stew cooked with bananas. Both dishes were very tasty. We are both so tired from this exhausting trip here, but I know it will be well worth it. We leave at eight tomorrow for Tarangire and our first Camp. I need to now close my eyes and get some well earned sleep. Just as a side note, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea before we left. I have a mild case, but still need to attach a CPAP machine when I sleep. So besides packing a miniature camera and electronics store, I also need to travel with a CPAP machine from now on. Also bought a large lithium battery to plug into the CPAP when electricity is not available. Fortunately, the machine can be carried in a small carry on case with all the accessories and is not counted as one of your carry ons. The joys and challenges of getting older will not make me change the way I want to lead this last segment of my life. Before I say goodnight, I tried to publish this blog to everyone with no success. Most of you know that I will still be writing every day, but will publish one per day when I return home Love Larry

Hi Everyone Long time to be away. Its really not that long ago. My last blog was posted in mid December. Where are we going now? We are going back to the Serengeti in Tanzania, but its a little different this trip. Olivia is joining me. We are also going to visit some places in the Serengeti I did not visit in November. We will be spending all our time at Safari Camps We will be visiting Tarangire, Lake Manyara and Serengeti National Parks. We will also visit the Ngorongoro Crater. I hear the Masai say it is haunted. I will also take a hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti . Olivia would not join me for the hot air balloon ride. We leave tomorrow morning from JFK and fly to Doha and then onto Kilimanjaro. In February there is the wildebeest migration and calfing. Should be amazing. As always, I will touch base with everyone before I get disconnected from the world. Love Larry