On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
way2blue
Our first full day in Maasi Mara, we decided to head toward the wildebeest. (Of course.) A wet winter meant abundant grass in Tanzania so the wildebeest were slow to migrate north into Kenya. We ended up driving all the way to the Serengeti—just across the border into Tanzania to find them.
We stopped often en route to the Serengeti. Here Jonathan is using binoculars as a ‘telephoto lens’ with my mobile phone.
Map showing the annual wildebeest migration routes from Tanzania into Kenya then back again.
We finally found the wildebeest (along with a multitude of other vehicles). I was fascinated by their herd dynamics. One wildebeest would start moving; then a group would trot after. They’d stop, then one would turn & start galloping back the other way. And the rest would follow. Really goofy.
They’re skittish about crossing rivers, so we never actually saw wildebeest cross which is okay, because apparently the crocodile lie in wait…
Such beautiful animals—Ioved their coloring.
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eclare
Cool photos. I would not want to see a river crossing, either.
SiubhanDuinne
Gorgeous animals.
This, I’m afraid, is obligatory:
youtu.be/YqgPyqyh4X4
Wag
@SiubhanDuinne: Absolutely perfect
Albatrossity
And you have to hear the sounds they make!
Mai Naem mobile
I hope you have more pics. I know wildlife there has been decimated so I hope you saw a lot more than wildebeest. I’ve been here when I was a kid. The coolest part was driving through a pride.of lions. The lions happened to be laying down where you could drive the Land Rover through with the lions on either side. I am assuming they were used to tourists in Land Rovers or they’d just feasted on some beast on the food chain.
YY_Sima Qian
Nice pics! Wildebeests really are pretty dumb… such a contrast to zebras. You photos do bring back memories of my safari trips in Tanzania & Botswana.
YY_Sima Qian
@Mai Naem mobile: When I was in Tanzania in 2014, the density of wild life in the national parks (Tarangire, Lake Manyara, NgoroNgoro & Serengeti) are quite high. I have a picture where I pointed my camera to a random direction, & there are 5 species of mammals in the frame.
If you thought riding through a pride of lions inside of an enclosed Land Rover is exhilaration, imagine my initial surprise in Botswana upon seeing the open sided Toyotas that we were suppose to safari in. When I expressed my concern to the guides, they laughed & said (I paraphrase):”Our lions are nice, we execute poachers here, so the lions do not see humans as threats.”
YY_Sima Qian
@YY_Sima Qian: The ecosystem in Lake Victory is pretty messed up, though, due to overfishing & invasive species.
way2blue
(This set is missing a few photos of what Jonathan was photographing, lion cubs. Alas.) Compared with the Tsavo Nat’l Parks, Maasi Mara is full of animals living the good life. When we were there, tourism was maybe at half speed owing to the pandemic just easing. I’d hate to visit when it’s in full swing as there are lots of camps tucked in the trees with lots of field vehicles…
YY_Sima Qian
@way2blue: Lion cubs are the cutest.