Potporri of photos

Well, this is it. I'm off to Aruba and Venezuala this weekend so I've decided to simply throw out some more pictures from Africa. You'll have to wait until later this summer to see Dubai and Zanzibar. By then I'll have shots to do from Aruba, Venezuala, Dominican Republic and Haiti. A busy summer for sure.

These first few shots are of some of the interesting trees and vegetation you find out in Tanzania. This first one is a Boboa tree. It's actually hollow and isn't wood like we think of it at all. They are also huge! Elephants love to scratch on them.
This is a shot of the umbrella trees you find around there. Very unique trees. Great for animals to climb.

Here's a close up of what elephants can do to a full grown tree bark in Africa.
That's one huge cacti tree! The animals avoid this tree because it gives off milk that leads to blindness. Not good.
Ah, my friend the elephant that charged at us. Rule one: don't get in an elephants way; they are bigger!
"98 99 100. Ready or not, here I come..." Kind of lonely and desolate in some parts of the Serengeti. The word itself stands for vast nothingness. The ground in many areas won't allow for trees to take root so only grass can grow.

Hyenas are nothing to laugh at. They are kind of creepy to me. They are also one of the only animals there that are not on the food chain. They are poisonous to eat. Not even the vultures will eat them. Must be nice to have a "get out of being eaten" card.
Tatonka! Errr...buffalo that is. He was like "Yeah...bring it on buddy..."
No, not your rodent of unusual size. This is a mongoose.
I think these hippos just woke up. At least they look about as awake as I am in the morning.
Looking up from the inside of the hot air balloon. Most of my photos from that came out blurry as we were moving faster than I realized and my shutter speed wasn't set fast enough. Oh well.

This is one of the lodges on the Serengeti
Yeah, be careful where you swim...
A family with their new baby...protecting it well.
Here's the airport terminal at the Serengeti. I'm not kidding.
I'll bet I saw at least 10,000 zebra and wildebeasts.

A few giraffe wandering around. At one point I counted 30 in a single view. The photo didn't come out though.
Some of the bead art available from the Massai
Soccer time for the Mossai
I took a mountain bike ride from a remote resort deep in Mossai territory. Came to a small village and entertained the kids with my digital camera. They got a real kick out seeing themselves on it. It was a magical moment I'll never forget.