Coming back to Europe in spring this year turned out to be perfectly timed. The contrast of a hot dry scorching summer to some fresh weather, flower and tree blossoms and occasional sprinkling of rain is quite lovely.
When the opportunity to work for a short while in Tanzania came up, it was one I couldn’t pass up. Working in a remote rural area of a country can often be the best way to find out about its culture, the locals and the real rhythm of life. What makes Tanzanians laugh? What are traditional pet names and nicknames for mothers, relatives and outsiders? how do they poke fun at neighbouring countries? And why on Earth does ‘ 8’o clock’ actually mean 2pm? To find out – go there! Learn a few words of the fun Swahili language, maybe even pick up some local dialect!
My trip was also extended into leisure to include a short stay on the shore of lake Victoria, a three day safari through Serengeti, a one day stop at Ngorongoro conservation area, a whistle stop tour of Lake Manyara national park and several days on the island of Zanzibar.
This was my first outing to the Greek-side Struma reservoir of Kirkini known for its large population of Pink and Dalmatian pelicans, Great Blue and Small White herons and a lot of other curious inhabitants.
Not having done much bird photography, we were of course quite pathetic on the first day and scared off half the lake’s population.
Wisened up on the second day we ‘borrowed’ an old wooden boat and rowed into a swampy forest where we got pretty close and shot a lot of keepers
