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Serengeti from the Sky

On a recent trip to the Serengeti, Adam captured some incredible photographs by helicopter. From a new perspective, he reflects on his new-found appreciation for this corner of the world
Active volcano, Ol Doinyo Lengai
Active volcano, Ol Doinyo Lengai

Helicopters are awe-inspiring – there is simply no other way to put it. For me, the more time up in the skies, flying amongst the birds, the better. It gives a perspective and a view of the world that is otherwise impossible, along with an incredible sense of place. Join me on a visual feast of some of my favourite aerial shots taken along this flight path...

Our ride for the trip, a beautiful Airbus
Our ride for the trip, a beautiful Airbus
Perched atop a rocky gorge, the sublime Mwiba Lodge
Perched atop a rocky gorge, the sublime Mwiba Lodge

Staying at the beautiful Mwiba Lodge, near to the Maswa Game Reserve, we used this location as a literal launchpad to explore one of the most iconic parts of Tanzania.

The route we flew starting and ending at Mwiba River Lodge
The route we flew starting and ending at Mwiba River Lodge

This rough and simplistic map above shows the route we flew in an anticlockwise direction. The starting and endpoint being Mwiba River Lodge, marked with the blue dot.

Flying down the escarpment towards Lake Eyasi
Flying down the escarpment towards Lake Eyasi
Dramatic scenery of waterfalls, gorges and forested ravines
Dramatic scenery of waterfalls, gorges and forested ravines

This area has such rich and diverse geography; from its location along the Great Rift Valley to the volcanoes and craters, the salt lakes, the open plains, the deep erosion gullies, the impressive protruding koppies, and the vast tracts of untouched, and inaccessible, wilderness.

Looking north along the escarpment, we flew over waterfalls, gorges, and thick forested ravines. This area is vast, largely unoccupied, super remote and breathtakingly gorgeous.

The salt rich Lake Eyasi
The salt rich Lake Eyasi
The salt creates a brilliant array of colours
The salt creates a brilliant array of colours

Looking out towards the salt-rich Lake Eyasi you can see the area locals are using to dry salt. The brilliant array of colours is created through different salt concentrations and temperatures. Once this water dries off, it leaves salt which the local people collect and sell. Look closely and you can see a flock of Flamingoes flying over.

A lone fisherman on the banks of Lake Eyasi
A lone fisherman on the banks of Lake Eyasi
Erosion gullies make wonderful patterns upon the earth
Erosion gullies make wonderful patterns upon the earth

A lone fisherman on the banks of Lake Eyasi caught my eye. Leaving the lake we headed north up the escarpment and then cut west. Huge erosion gullies can be seen scattered across, forming the most gorgeous of patterns when viewed from above.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area

We arrived at the endless open plains of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. There can be few massive, open grasslands, such as this left in Africa.

The migration herds; consisting largely of females and their young
The migration herds; consisting largely of females and their young
Impressive herds gathering in the plains
Impressive herds gathering in the plains

We managed to catch up with the wildebeest migration. Long lines of wildebeest slowly, but steadily, moving northwards. Almost all females, with a baby in tow.

A ‘Manyatta' - a traditional Maasai homestead
A ‘Manyatta' - a traditional Maasai homestead

Traditional Maasai ‘Manyattas.’ A method of traditional housing in which the livestock is secured overnight in the centre of all the huts – reducing predation of the livestock by lions, leopards, hyenas and jackals

The world famous Olduvai Gorge
The world famous Olduvai Gorge

The Olduvai Gorge is without a doubt one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world. It was here that Mary and Louis Leakey made numerous crucial discoveries, pivotal in understanding the development and social complexities of the earliest humans, or hominins.

Local Tanzanian communities as seen from above
Local Tanzanian communities as seen from above
These homesteads made wonderful patterns when viewed from the air
These homesteads made wonderful patterns when viewed from the air

Gaining altitude fast we passed by the famous Ngorongoro Crater, seeing a few sparsely distributed communities.

The Empakai Crater, a caved-in volcanic caldera
The Empakai Crater, a caved-in volcanic caldera

One of the highlights, of a trip already packed with highlights, was Empakai Crater, a caved-in volcanic caldera. I simply could not believe the colours–the verdant greens and the brilliant blues.

The view from the 'jump seat'