We recently traveled to Tanzania with some of my family (11 of us total). It was an absolutely amazing trip and we’ll always remember it. We got to have quality time with family and see some incredible animals and scenery. Tanzania is just gorgeous and was much greener than expected and the people were the friendliest we had ever encountered. Since we went during their winter, the weather was very nice and actually cool at night.
Women carrying baskets on their heads in very colorful clothes.
We started our trip with over 20 hours of flying, where we met up with most of the family in Amsterdam about half way through. It was heartwarming seeing everyone. Some of us hadn’t seen each other in quite some time.
Our last morning we took a photo of all of us, our guides and some of the camp workers.
We stayed at several locations throughout our stay, but our favorite was our first camp, where we saw an Elephant and a Cape Buffalo and heard many other animals. These were permanent tent structures with nice little porches and ample room inside with a full working bathroom. That night everyone sat by a fire, had a few beers, talked and laughed.
The first two days we spent in Tarangire National park and Lake Manyara National Park. The animals were incredible and everywhere we turned there was something to see.
Upside down tree with elephant. Of course we’d be drawn to the unique trees.
Our first Elephant sighting was very exciting. Little did we know that we’d be seeing quite a few on our entire trip. They were my favorite.
Zebra cooling off. We also saw a lot of them on the trip.
Giraffe watching us watching him. These graceful and curious creatures were fun to watch.
Newborn Empala. We were lucky to come upon this just minutes after it was born.
We saw lots of monkeys our first few days.
A very large Baboon Troupe of around 100.
Leopard cub looking for its momma.
We moved on to the Ngorongoro Crater, which was one of my favorite days. The wildlife was so abundant down in the crater and we also saw our first lions.
Cape Bufallo
Some family in the other jeep. Roofs raise up for easy viewing.
Our first lion sighting was two young males lounging.
View from the top of the Crater of a large salt lake. It was actually cold and foggy up there at the top.
View down in the bottom of the crater. The crater had grass lands and jungle to explore.
A cute Jackel seemed to pose for the camera
One of the best hippo sightings was this big guy out of the water. But we saw 100’s of them in the water.
Warthog family. So ugly they’re cute.
We then moved on to the Serengeti. On the way we stopped by a Maasai village to see how they lived and buy some of their handmade trinkets. It was amazing how welcoming they were and to see how they lived.
Large family performing for us
Inside of a school for the youngsters.
Balloons over the Serengeti
Our next lion sighting on the way to our camp was these two females in a tree.
Not to far after those two females was a large pride laying on the rocks and then another in the grass.
Our first camp site on the Serengeti. This was more like Glamping with a full bathroom. But it was a bucket shower where someone stands outside your tent while you shower and they fill a tank till you’re done. It was quite interesting. These camps have a good working staff and a chef with some wonderful food.
While on the Serengeti, we saw quite a few of the same animals. But there was one in particular that we were all wanting to see. That was the illusive Rhino. We had been lucky enough to see all the Big Five, Elephant, Leopard (cub), Cape Buffalo and Lion, but the Rhino was the only one we hadn’t. It wasn’t easy, but with some help from other guides we finally saw him or her.
Rhino in distance
We may not have seen the very large migration that you see on tv, due to them being later than normal because of all the green grass. But we did see some of it. Off in the distance there they were. At first it looked like a bunch of shrubs, but upon closer inspection with binoculars you could see them. It was amazing. We were also lucky enough to have some cross right in front of us and run down the road. That went on for about a mile with us trailing behind.
Large Wildabeast Migration
African traffic jam with Wildabeast
Our last morning before flying out was packed with driving to the Tanzania and Kenya border where we took a lot of family photos.
My sister and I reinacting playing monkey when we were kids and my brother being goofy in the background.
Our two guides Arron and Clemence posing. They were absolutely awesome and a lot of fun.
After this, on our way back to the airstrip, we were lucky enough to see our final lion pride (3 males and two females). We sat watching them nap and then slowly rise. However, just before leaving, something made a noise (possibly zebra fighting) off in the distance and they all got up and started walking towards the sound. Amazing how they all seem to come to attention at the same time.
Love this shot of her looking at us through the grass
One of the large males following her
We took our first bush plane out of the serengeti to the Killimanjaro airport. I was excited about it. Scott not so much. But we made it and can say we did it.
Now that our adventure of a lifetime is over, we’ve arrived safely home, gotten over the jetlag and spent time with our puppies, it’s time to get back to work. The trip inspired Scott to make some unusual creations like this one he’s working on.
It’s carved from a long narrow Claro Walnut log, which is already revealing some gorgeous grain. He carved out the flower shapes that curve around the log and will continue them all the way to the bottom. He will then add hash marks to the inner part of the log and Ebonize it, leaving the flower opening for me to sand. It will then stand on a stone base, making it around 4ft tall. For a little whimsy we’ll be adding some gold leaf balls that can fit in some of the flower shapes. I can’t wait till it’s done and can get photos of it posted on Instagram and Facebook. So be sure to check back in a couple of weeks.
Also in the works is the last of the very large Eucalyptus logs that we got in Phoenix. As you can see it’s still in progress, but you can see that it has very large waves and folds started on the inside. Next he’ll move to the outside, continuing the design by following the waves and folds. The last one he made was very popular and sold pretty quickly, but was a little smaller than this one. This one will be approximately 3ft diameter. These pieces along with many others will be at our upcoming shows in August, Crested Butte Arts Festival in CO and Sculpture in the Park in Loveland CO. To see our full schedule visit our website. http://www.shangrilawoodworks.com
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