Lake Nakuru National Park - For seventeen days in February 2009, I lived a Teddy Roosevelt adventure. OK, it wasn't quite like the way Teddy did it, but my African safari was a real thrill that I will cherish the rest of my life. My safari wasn't a big game hunt but an African photography safari to Kenya and Tanzania.

We started our safari flying from Tucson to Nairobi by way of London, arriving early in the morning. At the Nairobi airport Somak Travel, one of the leading safari companies in Kenya, picked us up.

After breakfast we headed north arriving at the Sarova Lion Hill Lodge in Lake Nakuru National Park. The first thing I noticed as we arrived at the lodge was that it is surrounded by an electric fence. In fact, many of the lodges use electric fences to keep unwanted wildlife out.

After 30 hours in the air or at airports and a 4-hour drive, I was a whipped pup. No matter, after lunch and a quick nap we left the protection of the lodge and headed out on our first game drive. Simon, our driver, had to become weary of our questions but never let on or missed a beat. He answered every question and seemed to know every bird, reptile and mammal by name.

When I asked about the chances of seeing the big cats, lions, leopards, and cheetahs, he said we would see lions and cheetahs without a doubt, then apologized saying he hadn't seen a leopard in three months and wasn't sure we would see one on our safari. He clearly knew that leopards were a big-ticket item for tourists to see and as we wanted to photograph them he could sense our disappointment.

Not to worry, within two hours of leaving the lodge Simon spotted two leopards in a densely forested area. We waited for some time to get photographs we would be proud of. Because we were patient, we were rewarded with several really nice photographs.

During our afternoon game drive we saw wildlife by the hundreds, six lions laying in the shade, a female white rhino and calf, hundreds of antelope, birds, and cape buffalo. It was a glorious start for any safari.

The Lake Nakuru National Park is really well cared for and maintained. Regulations of the Kenyan Park system forbid anyone in the park prior to 6AM and after 6:30PM to allow wildlife to act like wildlife. Staying at the Sarova Lion Hill Lodge was a very nice experience. Housing consisted of separate bungalows with electricity, private bathrooms, and showers. Meals were on par with most US restaurants; we were fed three buffet meals a day. After spending two nights at Lake Nakuru we headed for the next stop on our African Wildlife Safari, the Masai Mara National Reserve.

Masai Mara National Reserve - The Masai Mara National Reserve is located in southwestern Kenya and covers about 950 square miles. Effectively it is the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. This reserve is named for the Maasai people and the Mara River, which divides the area. The ecosystem is open grassland with areas containing clumps of the distinctive acacia tree. We arrived at the Mara Simba Lodge by mid-morning. After a great luncheon buffet and short nap, we were off on our afternoon game drive. On the first afternoon of the two days we spent there a pair of lions approached to within 30' of our vehicle and decided it was time to mate. We photographed several additional lions, cheetahs hunting, and thousands of other mammals, birds and reptiles. In fact wildlife viewing is excellent year round on the Masai Mara including cape buffalo, elephant, hartebeest, zebra, giraffe and big cats. We photographed four of Africa's "Big Five" rhino, elephant, cape buffalo, and lion. The leopard was the only one of the Big Five I didn't photograph on the reserve.

The rivers are home to large numbers of hippos and crocodiles. Also calling the reserve home are 452 species of birds including 53 raptors.

Please note that the black rhino is severely threatened, with a population of only 37 recorded in 2000 on the Mara. I think myself extremely lucky and privileged to get a photograph of a black rhino. It's not much of a photo as photos go, but a thrill nonetheless.

This lodge was also surrounded by an electric fence like many others. One evening during dinner I watched a huge crocodile try to enter the compound only to receive a shocking experience. He got the message and returned to the river.

I truly hated to leave the Masai Mara, but other places awaited, so we headed for our next stop in Kenya, Amboseli National Park.

Amboseli National Park - Amboseli National Park offers one of the most classic and breathtaking views of Kenya, with Mount Kilimanjaro (in Tanzania) as the backdrop. At 18,652 feet Kilimanjaro dominates the plains like a powerful god ruling the world from his white-capped throne. In fact, ancient Swahili and Arab legends tell of a great inland mountain with a terrible god living at the top. As punishment for anyone daring to approach his throne, he would paralyze their hands and feet. Interesting how inhabitants of tropical areas described being frozen. Mount Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania but the most spectacular view is from Amboseli National Park.

Back to Amboseli, we arrived at the Amboseli Serena Lodge in time for lunch and then an afternoon game drive. The lodge is truly wonderful. The accommodations were on par with an upscale US hotel. Meals were buffet and well prepared, again very westernized.

Despite your first impression that this is nothing but a dry, arid and dusty land, you soon become educated. Amboseli has plenty of water year round, it's just underground. The snows of Kilimanjaro melt, soaking into the porous subsoil layers of volcanic rocks. These underground streams bubble to the surface forming two clear springs in the center of the park. Water also oozes up at several other points in the park creating large marshes like the Loginya Swamp. These swamps and marshes have become private spas for elephants, hippos and buffalos.

During my stay in Amboseli I photographed some truly huge elephants and hundreds of other plains animals. What I didn't see at Amboseli were cats. In fact, I didn't get a photograph of any predators.

From Amboseli my tour took me from the north side to the south side of Mount Kilimanjaro as I headed for the Tarangire National Park.

Tarangire National Park Located in northern Tanzania, Tarangire National Park is home to a wide variety of wildlife including elephant, buffalo, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, lion, leopard, and cheetah, and if you are really lucky, you may see the African wild dog. The Tarangire is famous for its huge herds of elephants; in fact, on the afternoon game drive I counted over two hundred elephants in a lush green area about a mile and a half square. Additionally the Tarangire is a birders paradise with over 517 species of birds.

Our stay at Tarangire National Park was short, but I was able to get some very good photographs, especially of birds. A final plus for the Tarangire is that it doesn't draw quite the droves of tourist that the rest of the Tanzanian northern circuit gets.

The Roika Tarangire Tented Lodge (www.tarangireroikatentedlodge.com) where we stayed is a well maintained with spacious walled tents, great beds and a private bath. Unfortunately I didn't think the food was on par with the other places we stayed.

Ngorongoro Crater Wildlife Area - The Ngorongoro Crater is a World Heritage Site and is a must on any photography safari to southeastern Africa. The world's largest volcanic crater that has not become a lake nor had its rim eroded away is really something to see. The rim of the crater is located 6,000' above sea level with the floor located 2,000' below covering an area of 100 square miles. The volcano's original height has been estimated at between fifteen and nineteen thousand feet.

I spent a full day inside the crater on my last safari and I was able to photograph four of Africa's "Big Five". The leopards refused to cooperate; perhaps they didn't get the memo.

The highlight of my entire 2009 safari occurred in the crater between a huge male lion and a zebra, and yep I was able to photograph the entire sequence of the zebra's fight for his life and of his escape. I wouldn't have believed it possible. Visit my photo gallery to view the photos www.wildlifephototour.com. You may also want to open my journal page and view a video of the attack.

This closed environment has a population of close to 30,000 animals including zebra, gazelle, and wildebeest. What are missing from this ecosystem are impalas, topis, oribis, giraffes, and crocodiles. Amazingly, all of Africa's "Big Five" (rhinoceros, lion, leopard, elephant, and cape buffalo) call the crater home. And contrary to popular belief this natural enclosure does not keep ALL wildlife in, in fact, 20% of the wildebeest and half of the zebras leave during the wet season.

The Serengeti National Park - The Serengeti was first discovered by white men in 1913 when Stewart Edward White, an American hunter recorded in his journal: "We walked for miles over burnt out country... Then I saw the green trees of the river, walked two miles more and found myself in paradise." The Maasai call it Siringitu - "the place where the land moves on forever." At about 20,000 square miles they are right.

Within the area called the Serengeti is the Serengeti National Park itself, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maswa Game Reserve, the Loliondo, Grumeti and Ikorongo Controlled Areas and the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Over 90,000 tourists visit the area each year.

Nearly one million wildebeest and 200,000 zebras migrate annually across the Serengeti through a variety of parks, reserves and protected areas. I'm not sure but I think saw and photographed all of them, some twice. Photography was really good on the Serengeti with thousands of plains animals and birds galore. We had lions laying and standing in trees, lions sunning themselves on large rocky outcroppings, lions eating wildebeest, and lions walking up to our vehicles. I heard someone say, "It's just another lion". I politely reminded them of the lion/zebra incident in the Ngorongoro Crater and if we had taken an attitude of "it's just another lion" we'd have missed a very special photo opportunity.

While on the Serengeti we stayed in two lodges the Lobo Wildlife Lodge (www.hotelsandlodges-tanzania.com/tanzania-hotel-and-lodges-the-group.htm) and its sister lodge the Seronera Serengeti Lodge.

Lake Manyara National Park - Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania is a small but scenic park we plan to visit in February as part of my African photo safari. It is ideally suited for a few hours of exploring and wildlife watching at the start of a safari and/or a morning at the end, as it lies on route to and from Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. The park is about 200 square miles with an alkaline lake covering about 140 square miles of it.

The Manyara is an excellent place for bird watching and photography with flocks of pink flamingoes standing around the shallow lake and several hundred other species of birds including African gray hornbill, grey-headed kingfisher, and vitelline masked weaver.

The rivers and riverbeds provide scenic vistas for wildlife watching including elephant, giraffe, cape buffalo and wildebeest. Warthog seem to thrive here, growing notably fat with large tusks. Additionally this is a natural playground for baboons and several species of monkeys.

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Join photographer Tom Whetten on a twelve day African Photo Safari. The safari starts on January 26th in Nairobi and ends back in Nairobi on February 6th. This photo safari is a real bargain at $3,995 without skimping on quality. Most photo safaris crowd six photographers in each vehicle. Tom limits the number to four and has the two extra seats removed so everyone has plenty of room to stand, move around and get the shot.

During this safari group will enter the Ngorongoro Crater and visit Lake Victoria, the Serengeti, the Masai Mara, and other wildlife areas in Kenya and Tanzania. Accommodations will be lodges similar to the Lobo Wildlife Lodge in Tanzania and camps such as the newly opened Nasikia Luxury Camp where evenings are spent sitting around a camp fire enjoying the sounds of Africa.

Visit Tom's web site Wildlife Photo Tour for more information and to view photographs from his February 2009 safari.