Moli Magic in Mpululu

[twaffle]

Such beauty seen on this walk, I didn't realise that Ruaha could deliver these kinds of scenery.

[Zim Girl]

The Kudu we saw in Mpululu were Greater. We did see Lesser on quite a few occasions while out walking, but all on the other side of the escarpment.

Edited December 17, 2018 by Zim Girl

[Zim Girl]

Such beauty seen on this walk, I didn't realise that Ruaha could deliver these kinds of scenery.

 

It was one of the things that surprised me. I was somehow expecting a drier, more barren landscape.

The Ruaha still had quite a lot of water in it and in the areas where there were palm trees it had a lovely oasis feel.

It really was a very beautiful Park.

[Safaridude]

On 10/21/2014 at 7:57 AM, Zim Girl said:

 

 

The Kudu we saw in Mpululu were Greater. We did see Lesser on quite a few occasions while out walking, but all on the other side of the escarpment.

 

@@Zim Girl

 

In Chinyanja (one of the language spoken in Zambia), kudu is "mphulu pulu". Bantu-based languages share many similar words. The Mpululu River just may have been named after the kudu.

[Zim Girl]

@@Safaridude

 

Interesting, the words are definitely very similar. The river is actually called Mzombe, Mpululu is the area, but maybe it is 'Place of the Kudu'. Nice thought!

[Soukous]

Super trip report @@Zim Girl. Ruaha is one of my favourite parks but I've never been to the areas where you walked - not yet anyway.

[Zim Girl]

Thanks @@Soukous

 

You should go, being on foot in all that wilderness is pretty cool.

[Zim Girl]

We spent the last couple of days at Main Camp. The next morning we drove out west from camp and started walking from where we left off before going to Mpululu.

 

 

We were back following the Ruaha, passing this guy on the way.

 

 

Then later we had this really bizarre encounter with a Dik-Dik. We spotted him up ahead and stopped, expecting him to run immediately. He looked up at us then just carried on eating. So while he had his head down we very carefully moved towards him, still expecting him to run at any minute, but he didn’t. So we then spent a few minutes playing ‘statues’. He looked at us, we froze. He carried on eating, we moved a few steps forward. We did this a couple of times until we were only about 3 or 4 metres from him, but he just wasn’t bothered and we were looking at each other in amazement. I was beginning to think we were going to get to within touching distance when there was a noise, not us, a bird I think, and it spooked him just enough to wander away. No pictures, but really nice to be so close.

 

We hadn’t got much further along the bank when a lion cub broke cover right in front of us and went running off, with another one jumping up and running a bit further up. No pictures again, all just a bit too quick. We didn’t see any adults but I guess they must have been around somewhere.

This is the great advantage to being on foot. You feel like you are right in amongst all the action.

 

After lunch back at camp we walked out east, coming across yet another group of ele’s.

 

 

 

We were picked up from the walk by vehicle and on our way back in, one of the staff radioed us to say they had the local pride of lions in camp.

So we raced back and Moli went off to check out the situation. The two male lions had by now walked off, but the female and two cubs were sitting in the little island in the middle of the riverbed directly in front of camp. Using the spotlight we were able to see them quite clearly.

They stayed there all evening and kept us company while we had dinner.

[Zim Girl]

So this is our last full day in Ruaha. We planned to walk in another new area for Moli, so first of all we had a long drive down to near the Park main gate.

We passed this Oribi on the way. She is a long way off so this is another ‘just to prove I saw it’ shot.

 

 

We drove over the only bridge over the Ruaha and parked up on the other side.

We were going to walk this side of the river for approx 15kms.

 

 

There was plenty of water in the river and a lot of elephant wandering around.

 

 

 

More boulders to climb over.

 

 

With some more hippo in them.

 

 

Then we came across this grumpy one.

 

 

Only a few seconds after I took this picture, this hippo charged us!

My god, they can move fast. It exploded through the water. We were told to run back and quickly get out of its line of view. We did, and luckily the hippo only ran as far as the other side of the water and then stopped. At which point we all beat a hasty retreat further along the bank.

Nothing like a hippo charge to live up a walk!

 

 

 

[FlyTraveler]

@@Zim Girl, what an adventure - to get charged by a hippo while walking! Did you have time to get scared?

[Zim Girl]

@@FlyTraveler

 

No, way too quick, it was more the sudden burst of speed that was shocking.

[Zim Girl]

Moli had arranged for the vehicle to meet us early afternoon for lunch.

We drove for a bit and found this nice spot to stop.

 

 

Preparing lunch.

 

 

The Kichaka game viewer.

 

 

After lunch we went for a fairly short walk further down the river, as we needed to leave enough time to drive all the way back to Lunda.

 

We saw a lovely herd of Waterbuck and later on a small herd of Buffalo.

 

 

That night the lions came back through camp but after we had gone to bed, although I did hear one run past the back of the tent. It was a nice way to end our last night.

 

 

We drove to the airstrip the next morning and said our goodbyes.

It is always extremely sad to leave Africa but we had enjoyed a fantastic time with Moli and Noelle.

 

For anyone wanting to walk in Ruaha I can wholeheartedly recommend Kichaka.

Moli and Noelle are very flexible and will tailor the safari to exactly your requirements. They are superb hosts and you will find yourself thoroughly entertained in the evenings with their many tales of life in the bush.

[michael-ibk]

Thank you, Zimgirl, this has been a great tripreport, a joy to read. A true adventure in every sense, hippo charge et al. Your photos perfectly captured the beautiful scenery, really conveying the feeling of Ruaha. And I'm impressed by your sightings on foot. You and @FlyTraveller have certainly bumped Ruaha farther up my bucket list. Near the top, actually.

[africawild]

Thanks for the report, it is fantastic to refresh our visit to Ruaha a year ago now through your photos and stories. These landscapes and the atmosphere of this place is unique!

It seems that the river has more water than a year ago at this time !!

Paco

[FlyTraveler]

I enjoyed very much your entire trip report. It was great to see and read about these unknown to me parts of the park, walking seems to be a great adventure and I was really impressed by the mosquito net type tents, it probably feels like there is no tent at all. Thanks for sharing!

[AfricIan]

Thanks for your super report @@Zim Girl. As you know, we were there shortly after you and can only echo all your comments, we'd only booked for 5 nights as it was going to be our first "walking safari" so my trip report isn't going to be a patch on yours but we also had a fantastic time. I get the feeling that bookings for Kichaka might be bucking the Ebola driven downward trend!!

[Safaridude]

@@Zim Girl

 

Gorgeous scenery shots on the Mzombe...

[toontowndoc]

What a fabulous trip report @@Zim Girl !! You have wetted my appetite to get back over to Tanzania ! We are less than a month away from our upcoming walking adventure with Kichaka (7 nights ) preceded by Selous Impala ( 4 nights ). Since recent reports have it that the short rains have begun to make their appearance in Ruaha ,it will be interesting to see the changes in this stunning landscape as it greens up.I believe that Moli has us up in the Mzombe area for a bit of a walk - can't wait !

[Zim Girl]

@@michael-ibk @@africawild @@FlyTraveler @@AfricIan @@Safaridude

 

Thank you for all your kind comments and reading along. For us it was great to be in a place where you could really stretch out and walk some distance, the beautiful scenery was a huge bonus and when I look back I don't think we did do too badly with the wildlife encounters.

 

@@toontowndoc

Welcome to Safaritalk. It will be great if you do get the chance to walk the Mzombe. I am sure now that the rains have started it will look even better than ever.

[TonyQ]

@@Zim Girl

Thank you for a really enjoyable report. Your photos show the environment and the wildlife really well. You also communicate the pleasure and exitement of walking in Africa. You make Ruaha seem very attractive.

 

Thank you for al of the work you have put into the report - it has given a lot of pleasure.

[Zim Girl]

@@TonyQ

 

Thank you very much. Everybody's comments mean such a lot and I am really pleased my photos went some way to convey just how scenic the Park was.

 

If it encourages people to go and visit and especially to try out a walking safari then it will have been worth all the effort.

[Bush dog]

@@Zim Girl

 

I think you succeed brilliantly to show how scenic that park is.

 

I also think that the company of Moli and Noelle, that I alredy met four years ago, contribute a lot to the succes of this trip.

I know that, even if it is great and a privilege to be there, it's important, in the middle of nowhere, especially in the evening, to have the company of Noelle and Moli, who is not only a great guide, but also a fantastic story teller with a great sense of humour.

[Sangeeta]

@@Zim Girl -coming back this after a bit of a break but just reread ths whole report. The landscapes are captivating - like many of the others, I too had no idea that Ruaha had such variety and so much beauty. The campsites, the dinners in the river, the lion cubs suddenly breaking cover, charging hippos, boulder hippos, ele encounters, fearless dikdiks and goliath herons, those sunsets... You've brought it all to life so vividly and with so much feeling. Between your descriptions and Graceland's report, Kichaka is calling to me as well Thank you for sharing this - your photos have gone a long way to being persuasive and it was well worth the effort!

Edited October 24, 2014 by Sangeeta

[Zim Girl]

@@Bush dog

 

I do agree with you completely. We were with Moli and Noelle for 12 nights and every night there were new stories and conversation. At no point did we feel we had stayed too long. They really were the perfect hosts and being there felt like being in a home from home.

 

@@Sangeeta

 

Wow, Sangeeta, you have summed it up really well, thanks for reading along.

[Marks]

Sorry for all the "likes" at once, I missed a few pages. The hippo charge must have really ratcheted up the adrenaline! Really enjoying all the eles and rocky landscapes.