Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Tanzania 15 - Serengeti National Park - Landscapes and More

21 - 25 December 2014

More unforgettable images of the Serengeti landscape.

I've fallen in love with the yellow-barked acacia tree (also known as "fever tree" by the European explorers who associated it with the tropical sicknesses that plagued them). In addition to its stately stature, the bark becomes stunningly beautiful as a response to elephant abuse.
The lower trunk of a yellow-barked acacia responds to elephant damage by becoming a mottled mixture of red, yellow, and brown

Growing clouds.
More threatening clouds.
The edge of a near-by rain storm.
December is in the "short rains" season in the Serengeti. There are spotty showers most days, but also plenty of sunshine.
And a rainbow to conclude the day.

Moving on to some of the more human-centric sights in the Serengeti:

On Christmas Day, four balloons were launched. We could see them from our room.
Who would expect a food truck in the middle of the plain? This is at a designated picnic site.
Lon hoped for popcorn, but had to settle for roasted nuts.
We spent the nights of 23 and 24 December at the Seronera Wildlife Lodge. (I have an aerial picture in the balloon post.) It is built on a kopje (rock outcrop), and this is the bar and lounge area. You can see how the boulders are incorporated into the space.
The pool was also built into the boulders. The rooms and food, however, were much more ordinary! (And an Internet connection was prohibitively expensive at $10/hr.)




No comments:

Post a Comment