Up bright and early for the first game drive of the day (you'll see this was a recurring theme!)

The highlight of the morning drive was seeing Fringe-eared Oryx (and being close enough to photograph them) - a first for us (photo below).

We also had our first sight of lions for this holiday.

The sun came out, the sky was blue (and very big!). As it was the dry season, everything was quite yellow and there was a lot of dust! We came back from the drives in a very grubby state.

The tree on the left is a sausage tree. The picture on the right is a sausage.

Dry river bed

After a couple of great game drives, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset whilst heading back to camp for dinner - not a bad walk from our tent to the main area.

Birthday boy sharing tech talk with Kevin

First leopard sighting for this holiday

To make sure the elephants didn't disturb us (or the other way round) we had lunch at our tent - very yummy it was too.

This white-headed buffalo weaver was waiting for us when we got up. Far more welcome than the bull elephant who chomped his way through camp during the night or the lion that also visited - such noisy creatures!

Time to say goodbye to Tarangire and the team at Little Oliver's and drive over to Lake Manyara National Park to &Beyond's Manyara Tree Lodge for 3 nights.

We were just about to be shown to our tree house when Kevin called for us as some lions had been seen quite close by, so back into the truck and off we went.

As you can see from the photos below, the scenery in Lake Manyara National Park was very different.

Having enjoyed the beautiful sunrise, we headed off to Maji Moto Boardwalk - a Jonathon dream with loads of birds to photograph (see Birds page) and a chance for us to stretch our legs.

Lake Manyara National Park is lovely and the scenery a real contrast to Tarangire (where we had just been) and the Serengeti (where we headed off to next).

I have no idea which of the parks I like best as I enjoy each of them for different reasons.

Dinner was in the boma, all lit up really prettily and with a fire (bush TV) in the centre .

 

 

Another day, another beautiful sunrise. We had a good morning drive, spotting Bushbuck amongst other things. This stretch of water was a magnet for wildlife with several different species when we drove by.

We had breakfast near the boardwalk that we had enjoyed so much the day before so had to have another stroll along it. When we got back to the table area, a fellow guest asked Jonathon for help with her camera. Needless to say, it was all sorted very quickly.

These boats didn't look like they were going far. Kevin explained that they had been confiscated by the rangers.

When we returned to the lodge, instead of lunch in the main area, Eliya (our personal butler) guided us to a table by the swimming pool - great idea and, as usual, the food was excellent and (more than) plentiful.

After a quick stroll to see a sleeping bushbaby, we got back to our tree house to find monkeys waiting for us, playing on the balcony and generally having a good time.

That afternoon was designated a "birding" session so while Jonathon and Kevin worked hard at trying to photograph very fast moving (and sometimes very small) birds ...

Sadly it was time to leave Lake Manyara and the Tree Lodge but pleased that this meant we were moving on to Dunia in the Serengeti.

We hadn't got far from the lodge before we came across a few cats in the road. We parked up and waited for them to move before continuing on our way.

This vervet monkey was clearly sounding the alarm and we found out why - there was a very well camouflaged leopard close by.

During the afternoon drive we came across hippos, loads of birds and a leopard in the tree on the right. This acacia tree was in full "autumn" colour but the trees in Tanzania lose their leaves in the dry season so not sure autumn is the right description here.

Our last full day came all too soon. We drove over to Namiri Plains to check out what Asilia had done to the camp in the upgrade. It was amazing! Really high class with large lodges (I call them that as they are stone buildings with a canopy rather than canvas tents), amazing views and a great idea with a "Den" where you can plug laptops etc. in and work with a view.

Lunch was also delicious and, with a lion not too far away, we had a beautiful view.

For some strange reason, Jonathon had a second birthday party, complete with cake. We didn't have our cameras with us as we definitely weren't expecting it. The other guests seemed to enjoy it as much as we did.

Next morning we were up, packed and ready for the long drive home, spotting a few animals on the way.

Whilst I don't know which park I like best, Dunia is still my favourite camp and we hope to be back very soon.

Goodbye and thanks to all the Dunia team and, especially, to Kevin for a fantastic holiday.