My turn to give back after all the help I got, trip report for Kenya and Zanzibar August 2013

[PT123]

Thanks for the great report. Did I understand that you did drives in both the Mara Triangle and the Narok side? Also, what did you think of Mara West (the pro and cons and pictures if any).

 

Cheers!

[gregv]

Thanks for the great report. Did I understand that you did drives in both the Mara Triangle and the Narok side? Also, what did you think of Mara West (the pro and cons and pictures if any).

 

Cheers!

 

Hey PT! Yes we did both the Mara Triangle and the Narok side and then also ill do some more of my report when we went into the MAra North conservancy. I have a few pics of the Mara West camp. Its late here so tomorrow ill post up a few pics and my thoughts on the camp

[Kitsafari]

@@gregv thanks for the report, which I am thoroughly enjoying. i love your pix 14, the lion's face. the scars on his nose tell many tales, probably of battles and fights? he looks magnificent, yet the pix captured how relaxed he is, and how much he looks like a domesticated cat.

[pault]

@@gregv .... Good day! The grass looks long. in the reserve.

 

Looking forward to the next installment. How much more to go?

[gregv]

@@gregv thanks for the report, which I am thoroughly enjoying. i love your pix 14, the lion's face. the scars on his nose tell many tales, probably of battles and fights? he looks magnificent, yet the pix captured how relaxed he is, and how much he looks like a domesticated cat.

 

Thanks!! I totally agree, this picture along with 1-2 others is my favorite of the whole safari for the reason u mentioned. I love the way it shows the scars on his face and at the same time he looks so gentle you would want to take him home as a pet to rub his belly

 

@@gregv .... Good day! The grass looks long. in the reserve.

 

Looking forward to the next installment. How much more to go?

 

Thanks pault!! Have i think three more days of safari to write for the trip report then ill write a small bit about our time in Zanzibar.

[KasperW]

Hi Greg

 

Thanks for your reply on the photo gear. Lots to consider!

 

About taking a cat back home, I just do not think the one in image 1 is a good idea!

[Super LEEDS]

Really enjoying this TR. Thank you for sharing

[gregv]

August 11th,

Today we got up and had breakfast with Ben, packed our things and left Mara West. Before we were about to leave the management took Ben aside and said he had to pay $25 per meal to eat with us!! We were quite upset about this because they never said anything about it and we didn’t like the fact that they were segregating the guides and the clients. They said the food was different between the two groups. Although its true the food is a bit different, there aren’t major differences and certainly not worth $25 a meal!! We complained and they said they wouldn’t make Ben pay. We really enjoyed Mara West for the view, the tents and the service but this last issue left a bit of a sour taste in our mouth. In the end it was OK but we would not go back to this place strictly for this issue despite it being a good camp. Since there are other good ones in the area we would go sompleace else next time. We had dinner one night in the restaurant and the owner happened to be there and it was all talk about money etc. etc. It just seemed a bit sketchy.

It was about a two hour drive to Offbeat Mara and we arrived around noon. Offbeat Mara is a very cool place with tents set up right in the middle of the Northern Conservancy. They have a common tent to lounge and hang out then a common tent where everyone eats dinner together. They have a super cute dog named pumba who hangs out and always enjoys a belly rub. She tried to pretend and be tough and bark at the animals but she is really just a sweetheart.

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WE hung out, had a beer and chatted with the other guests here. Every single one of them was from England and they are very friendly and interesting to talk to. In the late afternoon we went on a game drive and it was nice to see a change of scenery than the Mara Reserve. Some interesting animals, but nothing new to see, however the landscape is very beautiful and with a nice sunset made for some nice scenery and landscape photos. Since we only had about two hours of game driving today nothing too excited for animals but we enjoyed the landscape in the NOrthern Conservancy which was a bit different than the flat masai mara.

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Some people had asked me about my gear which I explained later that I was happy how it performed. For example this monkey shot was quite a bit later in the day, it was at 340mm (70-200 lens with the 1.7TC) and ISO 6400 and still turned out very nice.

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We had a sundown drink where the drivers took us to a remote plain where they had a campfire set up and chairs for all the guests. They served us cocktails and snacks with the fire looking over the plains with wildebeests and zebras in the distance. Pretty amazing stuff, I don’t think I will have a campfire again without thinking of Kenya!!

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We then came back to camp and had a shower, sat by the campfire for a drink and then had a nice dinner with everyone. This camp runs on solar power, so during the day there are no lights and then at night they put small solar lights (that were charging outside all day) in your room when it gets dark. They also have no running water, so they have jug of warm water by the sink to wash your hands and face and then another jug for brushing teeth. The shower is a “bucket shower” where you order a shower and a worker comes and pours a bucket of warm water outside and its hooked up to a shower head in the room that you turn on and off. There is enough water to soap, shampoo and conditioner but you need to turn off the water where you lather up or you run out of water before you are rinsed. It makes you think twice a bit about how we do it at home where we leave the lights on, and take long showers. This camp is not quite as luxurious as Mara West as far as the showers etc, but the atmosphere and other things are more enjoyable. We are looking forward to our next few days. Tomorrow we will go on an early morning game drive and for now I am off to bed as I hear the sound of animals outside our tent as we are sleeping in the wild!!

[gregv]

 

Thanks for the great report. Did I understand that you did drives in both the Mara Triangle and the Narok side? Also, what did you think of Mara West (the pro and cons and pictures if any).

 

Cheers!

 

Hey PT! Yes we did both the Mara Triangle and the Narok side and then also ill do some more of my report when we went into the MAra North conservancy. I have a few pics of the Mara West camp. Its late here so tomorrow ill post up a few pics and my thoughts on the camp

 

 

Check my last post for trip report from Day August 11th for my thoughts on Mara West camp. I dont have too many pics of the camp itself but here is what I have. Hope that helps!

 

 

 

 

[PT123]

Thanks very much Greg - these are great. I have stayed a few times at a camp near Mara West at the base of the escarpment and always wondered what the camp up top looked like. Sorry that the management left you with a bit of a sour taste - it sounds like everything else was ok though. How long did it take to drive from the camp to the reserve?

 

Also, I love the shot of the stork coming in for a landing on the tree!

[Atravelynn]

You put all that info you gathered to great use and ended up with an exciting safari! Smashing bandana, I agree. You certainly had your share of group shots from rhino to jackals to baboons on a trunk. I agree the stork flying into the tree in low light is unique. Same for the giraffe silhouettes. Thanks for pointing out the crocs near the wildes. The lioness closeup with flies is a terrific shot.

 

 

How wonderful you had Ben. Do you have any Ben stories? Did he turn you into a birder?

[gregv]

Just sitting in the airport in Calgary on the last leg of flights home. Here is next day of trip report. Hope u enjoy.

 

 

August 12th,

We woke up early today at about 5:45 and got ready and headed out for 6:30 game drive. At home its normally a little tough for me to get up in the morning but I sure didnt have difficulty when it was for a safari ) We were able to catch a beautiful sunrise over the hill at the beginning of the drive.

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It was a pretty good drive as we saw a pride of lions (3 lioness and 2 cubs) eating a freshly killed wildebeest. The cubs were very cute and playful.

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One lioness was stalking a herd of wildebeest but she decided not to attack as I guess they had already killed one wildebeest and it seemed like they were content for now.

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We moved along and later came upon a pair of vultures picking at a wildebeest head, they are bigtime scavengers and ugly birds!!

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Later on we found a leopard in a tree and watched for awhile but he was pretty sleepy and was not moving around much at all.

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While watching the leopard, a herd of about 20 elephants came trampling over the horizon and was quite a sight to see!!

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After that we stopped and had breakfast on the Africa plains as the camp packs a breakfast for us to take in the jeep. Our driver Joseph told us a bit about the Masai culture, their dress and their traditions. Our spotter Karpan told us a bit more as well and explained how the holes in his ears were cut out since in the past they did this if you didn’t go to school. Joseph was also missing his two lower central incisors and even though he went to school sometimes in the past they removed these teeth as culture. Nowadays they said they don’t cut ears or take out teeth whether you go to school or not as it seems their culture changes a bit.

We then continued on back to camp for some lunch and a nap as we were up very early!!

After a nap we went to visit a local Masai village and saw how their way of life is VERY different than ours. They were very friendly and welcomed us with a dance and to show us their homes. They live in mud huts with a room for their calves to sleep and then a room where they sleep with their wife or in their case sometimes wives as they are polygamous. Also they have their cattle stay in the middle of their village at night so there is cow dung everywhere and they walk all around it with bare feet. Of course this is their life but it just seems sooooo different and was an interesting lesson in different cultures. They explained a bit about how the traditional cultures eat meat once a week by killing a goat or a cow. Then the rest of the week they drink only milk or blood!! Yes that’s right, blood. They will make a small cut in the cow’s neck (not hurting or killing the cow) and collect the blood to drink. Basically they will have a “hunger for blood” and that is when they drink it, if they don’t have this hunger, they drink milk instead the rest of the week!! They don’t eat any vegetables, just milk, blood and meat!! They said that they take blood from a cow only three times a year and if it has been three times they take from a different cow. Nowadays with cultures changing and some Masai having more money (the more cows they have means they are richer) they go to town and purchase vegetables and build better huts. Anita asked where the toilet was to go to bathroom for the Masai and the guy point to the bush!!

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Our guide Levy (who is also Masai) was explaining to us on the way back from the village how things are changing a bit with time and more wealthy Masai are building bigger huts and buying more modern things. It seems like things are changing a little bit. Levy still said he prefers to drink blood often, it just seems so strange to us as he seems like such a normal guy to us then he talks about drinking blood!! Of course this is normal for them and odd for us which is the great thing about travelling and learning about different cultures.

After that we went on a game drive on the way home and about to pack it in when was getting dark when we saw a lioness come down from the trees in a stalking walk. We followed her in the dark for about 40 minutes as she preyed on wildebeest and eventually attacked one and made a kill!! It was very exciting as the timing was perfect as she ran out in front of the car and we could see it in the headlights. You have to be very careful when watching as you have to turn the headlights off or keep them in a different direction so as not to blind the animals and give the lioness the advantage, basically needing to let nature do its thing. I wish I had photos of this but it was too dark however I got a pretty good video.

It was an exciting finish to the day but I just felt for the wildebeest and it losing its life, but I suppose that is nature.

[Game Warden]

Great photos @@gregv. I love it when Safaritalkers use airport time to update us

[Sangeeta]

Love the stork silhouette - though it all sounds and great and all your photos are lovely!

 

I've heard that the drive up and down from Mara West is really terrible. Did it bother you a lot?

[Sharifa]

Just caught up with your TR and enjoying it tremendously. Love the detailed information and beautiful photos @@gregv

[gregv]

Great photos @@gregv. I love it when Safaritalkers use airport time to update us

thanks!!

 

Love the stork silhouette - though it all sounds and great and all your photos are lovely!

 

I've heard that the drive up and down from Mara West is really terrible. Did it bother you a lot?

 

thanks!! i had heard the same thing and asked my driver that as he had been to Mara west before. He said they had just recently fixed up the road so it was much better. The road was a little bumpy but not bad at all. Took about 10 minutes from the camp into the triangle through the oloololo gate.

[gregv]

Just caught up with your TR and enjoying it tremendously. Love the detailed information and beautiful photos @@gregv

 

Thanks!! glad u are enjoying it.

[gregv]

Hey all, sorry for the delay, I was visiting my parents and forgot my laptop there with my photos and diary. Got it back so on to the next day, hope u enjoy!

August 13th,

Today we woke up and had breakfast in the camp. We left at 8am, which seemed like a nice sleep in as some days we were leaving at 7 am. We drove around the conservancy and right away saw a lioness hunting wildabeest!! She tried a few times and wasn’t too into it and went back into the bushes, too bad as that would have been two kills in two days and our first in daylight!!

We then continued on and saw another two cheetahs, a good morning so far!! The cheetahs looked like they would hunt some wildebeest as well, but in the end were just hanging around.

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We then went into the Mara to see if we could catch a crossing. On our way to the river we saw a pride of lions lying around in a dried out river bed and watched them and took some photos. A group of elephants came by and went through the river bed and wetted themselves in the water that remained.

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As we continued to the river we came across a cheetah!! We had seen them before but they were always lying in the shade, this one was walking in the grass and seeing it walk was much better as you good really appreciate its curves and strength and could see why it was such a fast animal!!

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WE continued to the river and got a great spot with a large group of wildebeest nearby. We spent about 3 hours there and the group went back and forth to the river, then away, then back to the river then away but never made the commitment to cross the river, which was disappointing as this was pretty much the only thing left to see on our safari. After the group finally left since there were many crocs in the water we hung around a bit and watched the crocs. One croc had found a dead baby wildebeest along the bank (Levy our guide said that crocs like rotten meat, not fresh). Another HUGE croc came along the bank, bit the other crocs tail and then stole the wildebeest!!

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This croc was just massive and he floated down the river and hung out for a bit. About 10 minutes later the croc re-appeared and started eating the whole wildebeest!! Basically swallowing the whole thing in one piece and the two hind legs were sticking out of its mouth!! About 3 other crocs were around trying to take it but they had no chance, this croc was massive!! It was an exciting finish to the day and made up for missing the crossing.

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As we were leaving we saw about 6 hippos on the bank as well and two of them were mating. Since they mate underwater we couldn’t see much, basically the big male on top out of the water and the females head poking out of the water.

WE then watch a few more crocs on the shores and hung out a bit more before heading back after a pretty good day!!

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We then headed back to camp after a fun and VERY DUSTY day. It was nice to have a shower and clean up. We are sad as this is our last night in Kenya and we had to pack our things up as we leave early tomorrow back to Nairobi. Luckily our trip is only a quarter over and tomorrow we are headed to Zanzibar for some rest and relaxation.

We had dinner with everyone and another good meal. The food at all lodges has been excellent as well as the accommodations; we don’t have really any complaints! The only lone thing that stands out is missing a crossing but otherwise we saw all we wanted and had comfortable places to stay. At dinner I talked with a guy who was the C.O.O for a large company in Tokyo. He was a German and spoke good English, then he started talking with his Asian wife in Japanese!! Then I asked him a bit more and he said they speak to their sons in Chinese!! So I asked him how many languages he knows and he said “ hahaha don’t worry about it!!” IN the dinner conversations he seemed to know a little bit about everything so it was obvious he was very smart and successful man. He was very down to earth for likely being a multi-millionaire.

We then said bye to everyone and went to sleep.

[gregv]

August 14th was a travel day with nothing too exciting.

August 15th,

Today we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. It was excellent and we had a big breakfast as we wanted to be mostly full until late snack or dinner. Then we walked around Stonetown. It is a very nice city with lots of interesting buildings as well as small little streets and weave throughout the city.

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We walked along the ocean and into the old fort where they used to have some slaves as well as battles in Stonetown. We bought a few items from the local vendors and walked around the fort. For the most part people are friendly and there are the annoying locals hassling tourists for things as usual. We are easily spotted as tourists lol!!

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We then went to check out the slave market. To get there we had to weave in the small streets and alleyways through the city. To be honest I didn’t like it very much at all and it’s a bit unnerving. You quickly lose orientation of where you are and which way you want to go and all the local people are staring at you. I prefer the main streets as it’s a bit uncomfortable on these small streets.

We headed back to the hotel and waited for our driver to pick us up. He took us to Nungwi, it took about 1.5 hours. The driver is really nice and stops at places to tell us about the city.

Nungwi is beautiful and right on the Indian Ocean. I paid a bit extra for our room and it was well worth it, our view is stunning and looks right at the sunset over the Indian Ocean. Our balcony practically juts out over the beach so we are basically on top of the beach with a view of the Ocean, totally unobstructed, its really great.

We went for a snack of pizza at the local restaurant next to our hotel, it was really good. We continued on and went for a walk down the beach and watched the sunset and took some photos. It’s a really nice spot here with some people and action around but at the same time nice and quiet, it will be a nice 4 days of rest and relaxation!

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WE went to the hotel restaurant for dinner out by the water. The food was pretty good and a nice atmosphere. For some reason the service here in Zanzibar is not great from the waiters, mostly taking a long time to come around to ask your order or bring the bill. I guess we are on holidays so its no rush. We also asked a local store owner about tipping and he said generally 5-7% so maybe they don’t have incentive either to do a good job!! After dinner we were off to bed.

[africapurohit]

@@gregv I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your report and the images are fantastic! You've set the bar high for your next safari

[gregv]

@@gregv I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your report and the images are fantastic! You've set the bar high for your next safari

 

THanks so much ive enjoyed making the trip report. I sure had an amazing time on the safari and cant wait for my next one!!

[PT123]

What a terrific report - thanks again for sharing! Where did you stay in Stonetown? Also, were you able to go snorkeling at all?

[gregv]

What a terrific report - thanks again for sharing! Where did you stay in Stonetown? Also, were you able to go snorkeling at all?

 

Hey PT! Glad ur enjoying it. I stayed at a place called Kholle house in Stonetown. It was very nice. Clean rooms, very cool and quaint, excellent location in the town, delicious breakfast included with the room etc. Not really anything bad to say about it. I use their recommended driver for a pickup from the airport which I would recommend as the hotel is a little hard to find of the main road so nice of him to know where it is. Their driver was excellent and we also hired him to drive us to Nungwi as he had a nice car, very friendly and would stop alot along the way to tell us about certain buildings, people, culture etc.

[gregv]

So Zanzibar and the beach area Nungwi is a great spot but not much action going on, its great for relaxing and enjoying the sun and the beach so ill combine the next few days in Nungwi into one post.

August 16th,

Today we woke up after a nice long sleep and went and had breakfast. We have breakfast included with our room and the breakfast is decent, not that great. WE have had better breakfasts on our trip but its not bad and at least we can fill our belly in the morning! The restaurant does have a great view of the ocean.

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WE then grabbed some towels and went to lay by the ocean. There is a nice deck overlooking the ocean at our hotel so we grabbed two chairs under the big thatch umbrellas and relaxed.

After some R and R we went and walked along the beach and then stopped for lunch. Anita had a fish burger and I had a regular burger. Burgers were good but the fries were not very good. The food took a long time to arrive but hakuna matata, we aren’t in a rush!!

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We then headed back to the hotel to lay in the shade again. We walked down the beach again for sunset but it was pretty cloudy today so not a great day to watch the sunset.

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We met some people here at Langi Langi that we had seen at Kholle house in Stonetown. Karim is from Lilles in France and Jane is from the U.S. They are a pretty interesting couple and are well traveled. Jane worked in the American military for 10 years and was posted in Baghdad at the beginning of the Iraq war where she mapped out communications for drones. She now works for the US embassy and spent the last three years in Cairo at the embassy there. Karim is pretty well travelled and has been a cop and nurse and knows about 10 languages. Both of them have written autobiographies and have been published with Karim being nominated in Belgium for best book (his is in French). We stopped and had happy hour with them and then met them for dinner as well at the hotel next door to ours. It was interesting chatting with them over dinner and making new friends. Karim is pretty outgoing and makes us laugh!!

Here are some links to their books for anyone interested,

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1442208767 for Jane's book

http://www.weyrich-edition.be/fr/detail-produit/serhani-mille-et-une-esbroufes.htm for Karim's book

After dinner we headed back and got ready for bed. Tomorrow or the day after we will do a snorkeling tour and then other day will be some lazing around. Not sure which we will do tomorrow!!

August 17th,

We woke up after a nice, long, lazy sleep. We headed down for breakfast again and then put on sunscreen and laid out on the deck overlooking the ocean. Its nice and peaceful. Tomorrow we will do the snorkeling trip with Jane and Karim as its nice to go on a trip with a few other people.

We hung out by the ocean in the morning and went for a swim. After that we strolled down the beach and stopped at a restaurant and had some drinks and pizza. The prices here are pretty cheap and the food is reasonably good. Probably about $15 for two lunches and a few alcoholic drinks. We had a nice long lunch and enjoyed the nice view of the ocean.

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We then headed back to the hotel and hung out on the deck for a little while longer. Anita read her book and I listened to an audio book. As soon as Anita was finished her book she started being a little pest as she wanted some attention since her book was over ☺

After that we headed upstairs to our deck to watch the sunset. We have a great view facing straight west over the Indian Ocean so it’s a great place to watch the sunset.

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We went to a place called Cholo’s and the food was excellent, the best yet in Zanzibar. We went with the waiter’s recommendation of the Swahili curry, I had calamari and Anita had red snapper and both were super yummy!! Tomorrow we will go back for cocktails as their drinks were also good and they have happy hour 5-7pm.

We then headed back and off to bed for the night as tomorrow we will go on snorkeling trip.

[Game Warden]

@@gregv, those sunset shots need to be included here.