nature travel by mwarv

Lake Chala

To end 2012, I joined brothers and sisters from Onetouch on a photographic road trip that took us to places Google hardly knew of.

Top on the list was Lake Chala, a crater lake in a caldera on the Eastern slopes of Kilimanjaro, sitting nice and pretty on the Kenya-Tanzania border. It can be accessed easily by road from Moshi in Tanzania or Taveta in Kenya. With the Voi – Taveta being a motoring challenge especially in the rainy season for now, I believe there should be a faster, easier route through Oloitoktok, but I can’t confirm this.

We got to camp at about 2am, so it wasn’t until 6am when shooting the sunrise that we got to enjoy the beauty that surrounded us. A beauty so inviting that after breakfast, we stripped to our undies and swam in the cool, fresh waters… bliss that words can’t explain!

From the top of the 100m high crater rim around Lake Chala, one can clearly see the Kilimanjaro peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo, making  Lake Chala a great location to bum, relax and sleep. While there, you can stay here.

Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/125sec at f/4.0, ISO 250
Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/25sec at f/20, ISO 160
Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/20sec at f/20, ISO 160
Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/25sec at f/22, ISO 160
Canon 7D. 31mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/640sec at f/7.1, ISO 160
Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/1000sec at f/9.0, ISO 160
Canon 7D. 17mm (EF 17-40mm f/4L USM) 1/1000sec at f/9.0, ISO 160
Canon 40D. 200mm (EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM) 1/400sec at f/8.0, ISO 100
Canon 40D. 200mm (EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM) 1/400sec at f/8.0, ISO 100

 

 

 

15 thoughts on “Lake Chala”

  1. dufo! :D. The experience of swimming in chala was unforgettable. Amazing shots esp the Kilimanjaro

  3. i have seen good work, great work but this is super magnificent work by the Sensi himself .. love it

  4. Amazing stuff!!! Need to visit that place soon!

    With the last click, I think you need clean your sensor. Try taking a pic with a small aperture like 22 and take a pic with white background, if lots of spots means your sensor needs cleaning.

    1. Thanks Asrar. My sensor does need cleaning. I just don’t have a reputable place to clean it. I’ve procrastinated on it a while. I think I should just DIY.

      1. DIY can be risky though, them sensors are sensitive, a misaligned sensor will give more headache!! Isn’t there a canon service center in Kenya? Unless you ship your camera to the nearest service center.

        1. Hey… Last time I took my camera to the Canon guys in Kenya, it took me a year to get it from them, and not fully fixed. I wouldn’t want to deal with them again.

  5. What!!!! This is Kenya???????????????? WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AMAZIIIING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. Lol… Yes Vivian. This IS Kenya. Well, and Tanzania as well but what you see is mostly the Kenyan side of the Lake.

  6. Awesome work my bro, best water scapes 🙂 I have ever seen…keep it up there!!!

Comments are closed.