Trip to Selous and Ruaha , Adansonia paranoia !

[TonyQ]

@@africawild

Great report

So many lions - but i really like the baby impala and the baby elephant!

Looking forward to the last day..

[pault]

Happy New Year. Time for the last day soon @@africawild ? Sad you will be leaving - can't you stay another week?

 

Great story of the impala and the jackal, and a pity you couldn't shoot it. Don't you have some pictures of branches and out of focus animals?

 

I can't decide wihich of the three baobab shots I like the best, but while I like the idea of the second, I think the third is strongest. Just a baobab at sunset - it's enough to make a great picture.

[africawild]

After the festive season break is about time i finish this trip report . Two more installments and i will be done .

 

In this first one i will cover our last full day in Ruaha , a day that happened to be a very adventurous one .

 

When we arrived in Ruaha i talked to our guide about what we wanting and expecting to see . I mentioned that maybe one day we could try the possibility of finding sable , even i knew is very difficult in Ruaha . He said there was an area of the park where he has seen sable every time he had visited but it was a very long drive and it would take the hole day . Last time he had visited ( about 2 weeks previous to our visit ) he also had wild dogs .

 

Our decision was made and we saved our last full day for that matter . The area we wanted to visit is in the south east part of the park , inside of the former Usangu Game Reserve . The drive from the Mwagusi River is more than 100 km , a very long drive in dirt roads but also a full day game drive along the Great Ruaha River .

 

 

Our first nice sight of the day right after leaving camp was a solitary female elephant with a small baby

 

 

 

 

 

And minutes later a lioness blocking the road

 

 

 

 

 

Since we where on a mission , we left the lioness and continue our way along the Ruaha River and soon we encounter the first of the 3 big buffalo herds we were going to find , coming from the river after a drink

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minutes later we stopped to collect some elephant dung to burn for the tse tse fly , moment i enjoyed taking some baobab detail shots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then another herd of buffalos were in the middle of the way

 

 

 

 

 

When we were taking a look at the tail of the buffalo herd that still were drinking i noticed a dead buffalo in the bank over the river . We were looking at the dead buffalo with the binoculars when the driver said there were lions beside . And they were , 3 of them , a lioness and 2 small cubs that started to run away to hide behind some bushes. The guide mentioned animals are more skittish in this part of the park and it was very true

 

 

 

 

 

A few kilometers further past the Jongomeru river , already around midmorning , we came across 3 elands , our first of the trip , but they started to run as soon as they saw us

 

 

 

 

A bit further down and i don´t know how the guide saw some sable . At first i was understanding serval and i was looking to the ground but , of course , i could not see anything . Then i realized he said sable and i then i cloud see them trough the bushes , 3 females . Not good photos but it was very nice to be able to find them.

 

 

 

 

 

Jimmy stopped for breakfast at a very nice spot , beside a big hippo pool and were he had seen sable and roan coming to drink in a previous visit

 

 

 

 

 

After a nice breakfast with the hippos an a couple of bushbuck males coming to drink in the opposite bank we continue our way south along the river .

 

We stopped again at another hippo pool were we saw our only crocs in Ruaha and soon Jimmy tell us to look down far at some antelopes in the river bed

 

 

 

 

 

They were very far away but we could see the roans , a first for us after 9 safaris , so we also enjoyed the moment . Then we tried to come closer and we could count 7 adults and 2 calves , but they also run aways as soon as they noticed us

 

 

 

We then arrived to a huge open and flat area that i was not expected to find there but it was already noon , very very hot and the place was empty of animals so we turned around to look for the hot springs were we were supposed to have lunch .

 

We came across a group of men doing some construction work and they asked Jimmy if he could notify the son of one of them ( working further down ) that was having very bad head aches , probably malaria . I asked Jimmy what he thinks about giving him a couple of pain killer tablets we were carrying with us and he said ok , so i did it and also explained him he could take one every 8 hours He was very grateful , too bad we could not do much more for him ( it was sad to see him working at 40 c with his condition )

 

 

 

 

This men told us they have seen sables every day and also wild dogs the day before . Our look for the dogs is in vain but as we were driving back minutes later a small herd of sables came across the road in front of us , 15 of them running at full speed , all females

 

 

 

 

 

Then lunch by the hot springs , very hot by the way and some shots in our way back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived in camp just before sunset , very tired after the long day , but also happy after visiting a different area of the park and also after been able to find sable , eland and roan , apart from the buffalo herds and more .

 

By the way , ALL of our sightseeings of the day were " private ", no other car around , just us , not bad .

 

 

The last shot in camp , a jackal coming to drink under our tent

 

 

 

 

Paco

 

 

 

[pault]

It's great to go looking for something and find it - with a bonus too. It looks like there are some beautiful places on that route a and you got some beautiful pictures of wild Ruaha.

 

Is that really the end? No last game drive? If no more, then thank you. I've really enjoyed seeing Ruaha and Selous with you.

[Soukous]

Thanks for a great ride Paco. I've enjoyed being on safari with you and hope that my photos of Ruaha will be as good as yours.

[michael-ibk]

Thank you, this has been a magnificent report and certainly way bumped up Ruaha on my wishlist.

[TonyQ]

@@africawild

A very enjoyable report - and a great overview of that las full day

Ruaha is very appealing!

[graceland]

I remember so many buffalo and some beautiful roan...you caputured them perfectly.

 

 

A delicious report; thank you Paco!

[Atravelynn]

You had seen just about everything except sable and roan. Then, guess what? There's sable and roan!

[africawild]

Thank you all .

 

 

When we were arriving at the lodge after the long and tired driving full day i asked myself if it had been worth it to spent one full day away from Ruaha´s best wildlife and specially predator area just to try to see some unusual species or a different landscape .

Without been yet sure of the answer i asked my wife and she lighted me right away " just for that moment with the sable herd running in front of us the long drive was worth it " , how right she was !!!

 

Last chapter :

 

 

Sadly our trip was coming to an end and our flight to Dar was leaving after midday so we got up to our last drive in Ruaha

 

 

 

 

So we enjoyed our last drive admiring the fantastic Ruaha landscape and their usual inhabitants

 

 

 

 

 

Can she catch the bird with the tong , yes !

 

 

 

 

We spent some time with this pride of lions , the only moment of the morning we share sight with other vehicle , one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The baboons also take advantage of the impala baby boom

 

 

 

 

 

At midmorning the light is very bad but the scenes by the Mwagusi river are like paradise

 

 

 

 

And the last sights before going back to camp to get the luggage

 

 

 

 

 

One visitor came to our tent while we were packing

 

 

And in the way to the airstrip driving around Kimilamatonge hill we saw one more specie to finish the trip

 

 

 

We had a small incident at the airstrip . When the plane was at full speed the pilot had to abort the take off

 

 

 

Some aerial shots of Ruaha next

 

 

Paco

Edited January 11, 2014 by africawild

[africawild]

Ruaha from the air

 

 

 

 

 

42 Elephants in the river bed

 

 

 

Mountains and clouds

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think this could be Selous

 

 

 

And this is Ras Kutani

 

 

 

A woman making charcoal

 

 

 

An man with his cow herd

 

 

 

Finally 2 aerial views of Dar

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our flight was very late that night so we took a room at the Slipway to rest and also we had a nice dinner by the Ocean. I took a shot of the last sunset with my wife´s phone

 

 

 

 

 

We had a wonderful trip but i am counting the days to go back . Well i think you know something about that feeling !!!!

 

 

 

That´s all folks

 

 

Paco

 

 

 

 

Edited January 11, 2014 by africawild

[ZaminOz]

Awesome - thanks for that trip report!

[KaliCA]

Thanks so much for posting your experiences and your totally awesome images. I really enjoyed it all. How do you get the pic into a black frame? It looks so classy, especially the black and white images.

 

I know you had a guide, but do you think it is possible to see Ruaha and Selous by self-driving and camping?

Would I need a 4x4 vehicle?

 

Did you see any campgrounds?

 

How are the road conditions? From the pics, they look well-maintained.

 

Thanks for having taken the time to present your report so nicely. It's great for us arm-chair safari goers and will hold us over until our next one. Muchas Gracias.

[twaffle]

Fabulous Paco, absolutely brilliant report. Too many photos that I loved to name them but you have such a great eye for light and composition that I always wonder how I don't see the same types of things. I just loved the baobab flower with the empty sky, great use of negative space.

 

I'm sad that it's finished but where to next and when?

[TonyQ]

@@africawild

Thank for a really enjoyable report - it looks like a great trip. Excellent photos throughout.

You had an excellent last morning. What is the animal hiding in the rocks? (just before your exciting runway encounter)

The aerial photos give a real feel for the area

[africawild]

Thanks so much for posting your experiences and your totally awesome images. I really enjoyed it all. How do you get the pic into a black frame? It looks so classy, especially the black and white images.

 

I know you had a guide, but do you think it is possible to see Ruaha and Selous by self-driving and camping?

Would I need a 4x4 vehicle?

 

Did you see any campgrounds?

 

How are the road conditions? From the pics, they look well-maintained.

 

Thanks for having taken the time to present your report so nicely. It's great for us arm-chair safari goers and will hold us over until our next one. Muchas Gracias.

De nada KaliCA,

 

I edit all the pictures with Lightroom 5 and then put the frames when export the files with a plug in call Mogrify , very easy . You can add all kinds of frames and watermarks .

 

I am no expert but i gees you can self drive both the Reserve and the National Park , and you have campgrounds in Ruaha , not sure about Selous. Road conditions were perfect but we went in dry season , i suppose rainy season would be much different , many camps close during long rainy season because driving conditions.

 

However i think having a good guide, even if you go camping , will make the experience much better and you will find more animals , specially predators .

 

Paco

[africawild]

On 1/12/2014 at 2:07 AM, twaffle said:

Fabulous Paco, absolutely brilliant report. Too many photos that I loved to name them but you have such a great eye for light and composition that I always wonder how I don't see the same types of things. I just loved the baobab flower with the empty sky, great use of negative space.

 

I'm sad that it's finished but where to next and when?

Thank you Hilary , but it is hard to understand why you say those things about my photos when i see yours !!!

 

Next ,,,, well i don´t know yet , hopefully it would be another last minute safari !!!! Maybe Zim ( Hwange and Mana ) with all the Safaritalk Manatics incredible stories , but also after 3 trips to Kenya i still have places to visit like Laikipia or the Amboseli area , which seems great after your AMAZING duet report ( former member and you ) .

 

However , I will be delighted if i can go back again in 2014 , no matter where !!!

 

Paco

Edited January 6, 2019 by Tdgraves
p

[africawild]

@@africawild

Thank for a really enjoyable report - it looks like a great trip. Excellent photos throughout.

You had an excellent last morning. What is the animal hiding in the rocks? (just before your exciting runway encounter)

The aerial photos give a real feel for the area

Thanks TonyQ ,

 

It is a Klipspringer . Not the best shot because terrible light and also it was very far from the road , but it was great to find one just in the last minute . A very fun antelope to watch , i love how they walk on the tips of their hooves !!!

 

Paco

[graceland]

Superb! Thank you for taking me back.

 

I'm so happy you took so many photos of Ruaha as I did not. It was much different than anyplace I had experienced in Africa and while I do not think it was the most beautiful place I've been - it certainly was the wildest . We just enjoy being in the moment and only take photos to remind us years later!

 

We ended up in Ras Katuni after Ruaha....thanks for letting me see it by air! It was a great spot to chill and remember our great week in Ruaha. The locals were very interesting as they went out fishing every day.

 

Sorry this has ended; but will look forward to your next adventure!

Edited January 12, 2014 by graceland

[pault]

Ah, there was a final game drive - and some great shots as a result.

 

You deserved that beer@@africawild! Good job.

[Soukous]

wonderful report Paco. Thanks

[Big_Dog]

I love the shot of the mixed herbivores at the spring. Good scenery and a multiple species herd really spice up ungulate photos.

Also cool photo of the baboon in the tree - never seen one tree a kill before - which leads me to wonder if he killed it or if he is ambitiously taking a leopard's lunch..

[xelas]

Congratulations on both excellent trip report and even better photos!

 

You have used some serious pro equipment; could you tell me what was your most used FL?

[Treepol]

Thanks for such an enjoyable TR and the photos that have captured the space and scenery of Ruaha so well, to say nothing of the wildlife, especially the lions.

 

I agree with @@pault on this one - I wanna go back, soon!

 

The final aerial photos give a true Tanzanian context to Ruaha - from the dry park to the blue of the Indian Ocean, rural activity and Dar. Thanks for taking the time to share your safari.

[africawild]

I love the shot of the mixed herbivores at the spring. Good scenery and a multiple species herd really spice up ungulate photos.

 

Also cool photo of the baboon in the tree - never seen one tree a kill before - which leads me to wonder if he killed it or if he is ambitiously taking a leopard's lunch..

Thanks BigDog , no sign of leopard around .

 

The guide was pretty sure the male baboon killed the impala lamb . This is the second time we see a baboon eating baby impala .

 

Paco