On Safari

Notes from Tanzania – we started our day with a leisurely trip to Arusha National Park to see if we could spot some of the gorgeous but somewhat reclusive Colobus monkeys. These are the black and white monkeys with 6-foot long white tails (makes them somewhat easy to spot in the forest canopy) and black human-looking faces surrounded by white fur.  The monkeys didn’t disappoint us as we spotted several large families, each of at least ten monkeys, near the road. While photographing the white and black fur of the monkeys proved to be challenging, we managed to get a few great shots, including several of the monkeys leaping from branch to branch.

After returning to Mountain Village we took a 3-mile hike around the local lake, taking in a variety of bird species and watching a monitor lizard snarf down a crayfish. By sunset we were back at the lodge enjoying a beverage, good company and delightful dinner of fish, lamb or vegetarian fare complemented by organically grown vegetables.

Tomorrow we head to Tarangire National Park to find the large elephant herds, a few lions, and perhaps even a leopard or two.

Temperature is in the high 80′s during the day, overcast with some sun breaks, and cool in the evenings.  Very high humidity as storms are all around us.  Looks like lots of heavy rain in the Serengeti Plains.  We will be off the net for the next several days due to the remoteness of Tarangire.  Next update in three days from Gibbs Farm.

Cheers and happy photo’ing.