Tanzania Photo Experience:

Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Ndarakwai

May 18-29, 2014

This is a trip of miracles. A trip of first time experiences. A trip of Wows! This will be my fourth trip to Tanzania, and every year surprises me with unrepeatable moments I will never forget. Last year we were driving across the Ngorongoro Crater and discovered this baby zebra who came into the world moments before. Within ten minutes it stood up and found milk. Unforgettable. Two days before we found two families of lions sleeping in the tall grasses, and spent a couple hours watching the antics of the cubs, like this little guy trying to wake up dad.

We decided to come back for sunrise the next morning, hoping they were still there. The sun came up and out popped the little one a couple photos below. I have come to realize that if you roll the visual dice in Tanzania, you not be let down.

On my second year we came across a meadow that seemed right out of a Camille Pissarro painting. Instead of pedestrians walking a Parisian boulevard, at least fifty pairs of African crowned cranes were taking a dignified stroll around the grass. Surreal turned bizarre when a hyena charged an ostrich, sending the cranes into flight. It was a moment that propelled other moments. There were cheetahs in the shade, which sent the water buffaloes on the move. With the background sounds of wildebeests grunting and monkeys fighting amongst themselves, we watched the rhythmic gate of giraffe necks advancing through the acacias, we spotted a hippo out of water, and to our comic surprise, watched lions walk towards us and take a nap under the shade of our vehicles.

Our four nights at Ndutu Lodge never cease to amaze me. During my first trip, a late afternoon adventure brought us to the elephants below. They came to a watering hole to drink and shower themselves with water, before covering themselves with dust, a great natural sun screen.

And back at our base at Ndarakwai, we were celebrated guests at the local school, and were serenaded by the sweet songs of the children. As guests at the Maasai village on Peter's ranch, we experienced the dark reality inside a Maasai home, a small fire dancing shadows against the earthen home, and we watched as children brought goats back inside the village walls at sunset. Back in our own luxurious tent cabins, canvas walls rolled up, listening to the wind blowing through the leaves, watching a monkey troupe swing between the trees, waiting for the sweet voice announcing that your shower was ready, you realized this was bliss. A perfect immersion into Africa.

At the core of our adventure is Peter Jones. Peter built the original trip for us in 2010, and we start and end our experience at his 11,000 acre Ndarakwai Ranch. Peter is the guy you want to be with in the Serengeti. In his early twenties he was hired by the Leakey's to come to the Olduvai Gorge and help them on their archeological digs of early humans. (Peter's stories, which we will hear at the Gorge, are profound, and historically important.) Peter's love for Africa led to Ndarakwai, his preserve for 65 mammal species, including elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, and 350 species of birds, and within site of Mount Kilimanjaro. Over the decades Peter has been sought out by photographers, such as Herb Ritts and Nick Brandt, and film crews from around the world, to provide them with the best access to great wildlife and beautiful landscapes. And the great news is that Peter joins us on the trip to the Serengeti. Whether you have a question about the Cheetah's life history, or the desire to hear captivating stories gathered from years in the bush, Peter is at the heart of our adventure.

We start our experience by arriving from Amsterdam into Kilimanjaro airport in the early evening. Peter and his staff meet us and bring us back to the beautiful Ndarakwai Ranch. After three nights at Ndarakwai we fly a chartered plane into the Serengeti, and spent four nights based at Ndutu Lodge. Peter's crew drives ahead and is ready to meet us. With no more than three people to a stretched safari vehicle, everyone gets a full seat, providing the ability to move side to side as wildlife show up. Our days are long and rich with two drives a day, venturing off road in search of anything and everything that catches our eye. Cheetahs in pursuit, elephants on the move to a watering hole, or lions on a hunt. Each day will be different, and each day exceptional.

From the Serengeti we drive to the Ngorongoro Crater, with a lunch stop at Olduvai Gorge, site of remarkable discoveries about early humans. Our two nights at the Crater are at Serena Lodge, perched on the edge of this breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Crater encompasses 3,200 square miles, and is home to about 25,000 large mammals. In addition to the animals we see in the Serengeti, we are also looking for black rhinoceros and hippopotamus. After a full day in the crater, and a second night at the luxurious Serena, we take a late morning flight back to Ndarakwai. It always feels like coming home. Back in our tent cabins, with the cool breezes running through the trees, a cup of tea on the porch, and a couple monkey teenagers swinging and chasing each other through the forest canopy, life is good. Our days at Ndarakwai are rich with night game drives, re-visits to the Maasai, and a memorable meeting with two orphaned elephants.

All these experiences are built into our adventure this May. May is a great time to be in Tanzania. Our days are warm, and the nights are cool. The tail end of the migration is likely to be moving through the Serengeti, but the onslaught of visitors will be gone. And the landscape is beautiful.

I have included a summary of our upcoming itinerary at the bottom of this page.

HERE ARE THE DETAILS:

Prerequisites: This experience is open to all photographers, spouses, friends and artists with an adventurous spirit willing to embrace the photographic focus of the experience.

Travel: Our adventure starts with being met at the Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO) on the evening of May 18. The Ndarakwai crew will meet our group at the airport and transport us to Ndarakwai Ranch, approximately 1-1/2 hours, for a late dinner and celebration of the beginning of our experience.

It has been most common for participants to fly from the U.S. or Canada to Amsterdam, and then fly down to Kilimanjaro. KLM and Delta are partners, and you may find the best pricing by booking the entire flight together. There is one KLM flight on May 18 from Amsterdam to JRO, and upon confirmation of the experience you will be contacted to buy your ticket.

Our experience ends on the afternoon of May 29. The group will be transported back to Kilimanjaro Airport for the evening (overnight) flight back to Amsterdam.

A passport and visa are required for entry into Tanzania. The visa can be obtained directly from the Tanzania embassy or from a visa service organization, such as CIBT.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated information on the required and recommend vaccines for traveling in Tanzania.

Costs: $9,275.00 per person, double occupancy. For single occupancy, add $875.00. What is included in the fee: Eleven nights lodging, all meals from dinner May 18 through lunch May 29, guides, drivers, internal ground and air transportation, park entrance fees, permits, and all tips. International travel to and from Kilimanjaro airport, drinks not provided, and items of a personal nature are not included. Each night's lodging at Ndarakwai includes a donation to The Kilimanjaro Conservancy, a non-profit organization whose goal is to maintain conservation efforts and community projects.

Payment schedule: A $850.00 deposit ($200.00 of which is nonrefundable) and a registration form are required to hold a space in the experience. A second payment of $4,000.00 is due January 18. Final payment of the remaining balance is due February 17. Payment may be made by check (payable to Eddie Soloway), Visa, Master Card, or American Express.

Cancellation policy: The $200.00 deposit is nonrefundable. If cancellation is given before January 18, all money except the $200.00 will be refunded. If cancellation is given between January 18 - February 16, $2,000.00 will not be returned. If cancellation is given on or after February 17, no money will be returned. I am now requiring everyone on international experiences to purchase trip insurance to protect themselves in the event of unseen circumstances that might arise. Among many possibilities, this insurance would cover your need to cancel your participation, as well as any emergency or medical situations that arise while you are out of the country and away from your U.S. based health care provider. In the event that I have to cancel the workshop for any reason, all fees will be returned or you may choose to receive credit to a future session.

Confirmation Date . . . The adventure is confirmed! We are going!

To hold a place, 1.) Send me an e-mail or give a call and request that I hold a space for you and that I send you a registration form. 2.) I will send the registration form via e-mail, and will hold your space for one week while waiting for your form and deposit to arrive in the mail or by e-mail.

Upon payment of your deposit I will confirm your space and send out beginning travel information. Upon confirmation of the experience I will send out specific details about passports, visas, vaccines, and acknowledgement that you should go ahead and purchase your international tickets. A final e-mail will gather details about your travel, medical concerns, and emergency contacts. At that time you will also receive a list of contact information, and recommendations about what to bring.

Photographic Logistics: On several occasions we will have the chance to look at images made during the adventure. To participate in these sessions you must have a working knowledge of the digital workflow, including the ability to download your images to your laptop, make selections, re-name and re-size the selections, move them to a folder, and put them on a jump drive to move to the workshop laptop for projection. There will be no formal digital workflow instruction during the adventure, but there will be short sessions to inspire creative image-making and reenforce foundational ideas. There will also be a chance to show your images from home. If you decide to not bring a laptop, and pass on looking at images made in Tanzania, you are welcome to bring prints to share, or images on a flash drive that could then be transferred to the workshop laptop for projection.

I will send out a list of equipment you might consider bringing.
2014 Itinerary:

May 18
Evening pickup from Kilimanjaro Airport to shuttle to Ndarakwai Ranch
Cocktails, dinner and welcome celebration

May 19
Welcome orientation from Peter Jones
Morning and afternoon photo safaris on Ndarakwai's 11,000 acres

May 20
Another full day at Ndarawkai
Visits to the nearby Maasai Village, the local rural school, and the orphaned elephants will be offered during our Ndarakwai stays at the beginning and end of the experience.

May 21 through May 24
Chartered flight to Ndutu Lodge in the Serengeti.
For three and a half days we will be crisscrossing the open plains, the acacia forests, and inland waterways enjoying the enormous diversity of species. These are precious days.

May 25
Drive to UNESCO World Heritage Ngorongoro Crater, with a lunch stop and tour at Olduvai Gorge. Evening at Serena Lodge.

May 26
All day in Ngorongoro Crater. 25,000 large mammals, and all day to see what we can find.
Evening at Serena Lodge.

May 27
Late morning chartered flight back to Ndarakwai.
For the next two days we settle back into "home" and continue enjoying all the possibilities of photo drives, school and Maasai visits, and night drives.

May 28
Full day at Ndarakwai

May 29
Afternoon shuttle back to Kilimanjaro Airport.

eddie@eddiesoloway.com

(847) 452-7400


All photographs made in Tanzania
© Eddie Soloway. All Rights Reserved.