Ruaha and Zanzibar - September / October 2014

[graceland]

Oct. 03, 2014. Ruaha National Park, afternoon game drive.

 

 

A few more images of the playing young lions. The saddest thing was the they were playing with a bag from potato chips. Who would think that this could happen at a remote and kind of wild park as Ruaha...

 

 

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OH no, now they will develop a taste for salt.

 

You know what that means....do not SWEAT on safari!

 

Great shots Fly, you had such awesome viewing in Ruaha. I did love that park..and I recognized some of the areas, the banks of the river for instance - I could swear I saw the same elies.

And on our last day, Moli COOKED lunch every day, no boxes for him; a pride of lions sat and watch. We never knew until we left.

 

What a place!

 

@@Tom Kellie

 

My first Mobile experience. We wanted to get out of vehicle and walk.- sleep in real tents on the ground..if you have a minute between classes,

you can skim through! (I don't usually do Mara Plains style always!)

 

http://safaritalk.net/topic/11573-kichaka-expeditions-first-walking-safari-sept-2013/

[graceland]

Oct. 03, 2014. Ruaha National Park, afternoon game drive.

 

 

A few more images of the playing young lions. The saddest thing was the they were playing with a bag from potato chips. Who would think that this could happen at a remote and kind of wild park as Ruaha...

 

 

11000352_10204774597498741_5679566065375816765_o.jpg

 

 

 

 

11004534_10204774592458615_8141862984724932624_o.jpg

 

 

 

 

10996440_10204774613579143_1009489951159619782_o.jpg

 

 

 

 

1658488_10204774619819299_6603836630614484542_o.jpg

 

 

 

 

11002684_10204774602098856_8134869420274406249_o.jpg

 

 

 

 

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Well I should really know by now how to delete a double posit --How it happened....whoops, a splash of wine was involved. Guilty. Will one of our lovely moderators help everyone out and delete this?

 

 

 

OH no, now they will develop a taste for salt.

 

You know what that means....do not SWEAT on safari!

 

Great shots Fly, you had such awesome viewing in Ruaha. I did love that park..and I recognized some of the areas, the banks of the river for instance - I could swear I saw the same elies.

And on our last day, Moli COOKED lunch every day, no boxes for him; a pride of lions sat and watch. We never knew until we left.

 

What a place!

 

@@Tom Kellie

 

My first Mobile experience. We wanted to get out of vehicle and walk.- sleep in real tents on the ground..if you have a minute between classes,

you can skim through! (I don't usually do Mara Plains style always!)

 

http://safaritalk.net/topic/11573-kichaka-expeditions-first-walking-safari-sept-2013/

Edited April 9, 2015 by graceland

[Kitsafari]

I just love those blue hillsides in the distance.

 

me too. beautiful long shots of the scenery. the reports of zimgirl, pault and yours @Flytraveller really makes me want to put ruaha higher on the must do list.

[Kitsafari]

@@FlyTraveler i'm revisiting your report again, and can i say, i love this long report because it keeps me coming back again and again and seeing all the pictures anew once more.

 

so i'm at post #280, and that looks like quite a young leopard. she (or he) also looks rather scared or is that just my imagination? she's gorgeous.

[FlyTraveler]

@@FlyTraveler i'm revisiting your report again, and can i say, i love this long report because it keeps me coming back again and again and seeing all the pictures anew once more.

 

so i'm at post #280, and that looks like quite a young leopard. she (or he) also looks rather scared or is that just my imagination? she's gorgeous.

 

Thanks for the good words @@Kitsafari! I am quite determined to complete this report some day

 

I believe the leopard was a young male. Initially it was only our vehicle (the guide, my wife and myself) with the leopard. Later on other vehicles started to arrive and perhaps this scared the leopard. He (she) jumped so quickly down the tree that I didn't have time to change to shutter speed settings of my camera and couldn't get a single descent shot of the leopard on the ground...

 

The park (Ruaha) is amazing and totally deserves your attention.

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 04, 2014. Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. Morning game drive

We started our sixth day in Ruaha NP (our last full day there) quite early. As usual we skipped breakfast and departed at 06:30 to enjoy the great light during the "golden hour", a great time for landscape photography. Here are some images taken with my very old entry level D50 body with a kit lens.

Mrs. FlyTraveler and the Land Rover with the cottages and the rising sun in the background:

Identical photo, this time with Yours truly:

This is the place where we had our meals. On the other side there is an open veranda with a million dollars view:

The view itself:

A few landscapes taken during the golden hour - baobabs and kopjes:

A lonely tree:

Edited April 10, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 04, 2014. Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. Morning game drive

 

A few more landscapes from this morning, this time taken with the longer lens and the full frame camera:

 

 

 

An elephant enters the frame:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the old D50 body for a shot down to the road with the two spare tires visible on the back of the Land Rover:

 

 

 

 

 

Ruaha hornbill:

 

 

 

 

Go-away bird:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White-crowned lapwings (@@michael-ibk, thanks for ID-ing this bird for me earlier):

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 04, 2014. Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. Morning game drive

 

Continuing the morning game drive with an African fish eagle at the bank of Ruaha River:

 

 

 

Crocs in Ruaha River:

 

 

 

 

 

Couple of Ostriches:

 

 

 

The Ruaha riverbed with acacia trees and a hill in the background:

 

 

 

 

 

A male Vervet monkey (love the blue balls):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A very beautiful mixed (acacia plus other trees) forest with grazing Impalas at the bank of Ruaha River. Due to proximity to water the trees are green even during the height of the dry season:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 04, 2014. Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. Morning game drive

 

On with the morning game drive and a group of banded mongoose:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impalas at the bank of Ruaha River:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grey crowned cranes:

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[Tom Kellie]

What a Superb Crocodile Portrait!

Those Trees Are Ideal

~ @FlyTraveler:

 

You do know how to get one dreaming about parks unseen.

Ruaha had done no more than rattle around at the edge of the campfire in my consciousness until seeing your fine images and reading your commentary.

Really admirable, from my standpoint. That still water with lethal crocodiles at rest is top-notch composition.

Your writing about Ruaha is nudging my complacency about it into awareness.

Many Thanks!

Tom K.

[Marks]

Great shots on the last two pages. Those Ruaha landscapes are just so pleasing to the eye. I hope you wouldn't object to me using one as my desktop wallpaper here at work.

[FlyTraveler]

Great shots on the last two pages. Those Ruaha landscapes are just so pleasing to the eye. I hope you wouldn't object to me using one as my desktop wallpaper here at work.

 

Thanks for the good words! The park is truly amazing and you are very welcome to use any image as a desktop wallpaper.

[FlyTraveler]

 

Ruaha had done no more than rattle around at the edge of the campfire in my consciousness until seeing your fine images and reading your commentary.

Your writing about Ruaha is nudging my complacency about it into awareness.

Many Thanks!

Tom K.

 

 

Thanks for the interest @@Tom Kellie! I can assure you that you can place Ruaha NP at or near the top of your list and you will not be disappointed...

[Caracal]

So enjoyed returning to this report,

 

Amazing for me to think that it's now 10 years since I last visited Ruaha.

 

Love all your photos but particularly the landscapes - whenever I've thought of Ruaha in the intervening years it's firstly memories of the landscapes then of the wonderful and varied wildlife.

 

Fascinating and pleasing to see Ruaha still spinning it's magic. Thank you.

 

 

[graceland]

@@FlyTraveler, thanks for including photos of your lodge, the landscapes and Mrs. Fly. who looked very happy on her Ruaha expedition!

 

Yes, Ruaha landscapes never disappoint. When I go back to my time there, the look is foremost, (the thousands of impala, birds and elies as well); other than the camp location Kichaka expeditions set up; a mobile you cannot imagine in your dreams overlooking the riverbed. With a character to match.

 

If you ever feel like taking a walk in the wild, give them a holler.

[FlyTraveler]

So enjoyed returning to this report,

 

Amazing for me to think that it's now 10 years since I last visited Ruaha.

 

Love all your photos but particularly the landscapes - whenever I've thought of Ruaha in the intervening years it's firstly memories of the landscapes then of the wonderful and varied wildlife.

 

Fascinating and pleasing to see Ruaha still spinning it's magic. Thank you.

 

 

 

Thanks for the interest and the good words @@Caracal! You've been very privileged to visit Ruaha NP 10 years ago and have all the images in your head since then. You are right that the first impressions that come to the mind when we think of Ruaha are landscapes or a combination of landscapes with wild animals (baobabs with elephants or buffalo herd with the tall palm trees along Mwagusi River, green acacia trees at the bank of Ruaha River with giraffes and impalas etc.)

[FlyTraveler]

@@FlyTraveler, thanks for including photos of your lodge, the landscapes and Mrs. Fly. who looked very happy on her Ruaha expedition!

 

 

Once again, thanks for the interest @@graceland! We actually stayed at TANAPA government owned cottages rather than at a lodge - the second cheapest accommodation option inside the park after the TANAPA bandas (fantastic location at the bank of Ruaha River) where I would stay if I am lucky to revisit Ruaha some day...

Edited April 14, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[Tom Kellie]

 

 

 

Thanks for the interest @@Tom Kellie! I can assure you that you can place Ruaha NP at or near the top of your list and you will not be disappointed...

 

 

~ @FlyTraveler:

 

With each trip report about Ruaha NP read, my interest increases.

Had I not read your report in Safaritalk, I might have thoughtlessly dismissed it.

Now it's in the back of my mind in the ‘keep thinking about it’ category.

Many Thanks!

Tom K.

[graceland]

 

@@FlyTraveler, thanks for including photos of your lodge, the landscapes and Mrs. Fly. who looked very happy on her Ruaha expedition!

 

 

Once again, thanks for the interest @@graceland! We actually stayed at TANAPA government owned cottages rather than at a lodge - the second cheapest accommodation option inside the park after the TANAPA bandas (fantastic location at the bank of Ruaha River) where I would stay if I am lucky to revisit Ruaha some day...

 

Oh right, @Flytravler, we saw those as we picked our ranger up...Moli drove us by the Bandas on the Ruaha and I thought they were lovely. Great choice and spot to drive in both east (?) and west (?) - I believe we went east to Lunda (though i felt we were going north, but with the sunrises had to be east!)..

 

and the several lodges in Ruaha must be west - though again my internal gps thought south...I get a bit confused with that....

 

@@Tom Kellie, after reading all these trip reports I have a feeling you will be exploring way more Africa than you ever imagined! Ruaha was my fourth - though we were further east from Fly's bandas in Lunda at a mobile. Amazing landscapes.

 

I do hate for this report to end; brings back great memories!

 

 

[Tom Kellie]

 

 

@@Tom Kellie, after reading all these trip reports I have a feeling you will be exploring way more Africa than you ever imagined! Ruaha was my fourth - though we were further east from Fly's bandas in Lunda at a mobile. Amazing landscapes.

 

I do hate for this report to end; brings back great memories!

 

 

~ @graceland:

 

You may well be right!

Regular reading of Safaritalk trip reports has a way of planting seeds for future travels.

No wonder the safari itch has a way of sliding into an unquenchable addiction!

Ruaha was your fourth? That must have truly been a lovely experience, judging by @@FlyTraveler's trip report.

Tom K.

[FlyTraveler]

 

 

 

@@Tom Kellie, after reading all these trip reports I have a feeling you will be exploring way more Africa than you ever imagined! Ruaha was my fourth - though we were further east from Fly's bandas in Lunda at a mobile. Amazing landscapes.

 

I do hate for this report to end; brings back great memories!

 

 

Ruaha was your fourth? That must have truly been a lovely experience, judging by @@FlyTraveler's trip report.

Tom K.

 

 

Tom, there are several trip reports about Ruaha on this website, all totally fascinating and most of them with better photos than mine. At least three or four reports are about walking safaris with Kichaka Expeditions, an absolutely amazing venture for discriminating safari lovers. I would strongly advise you to go through these reports in details when you have time and you will see that a different world will unfold in front of your eyes... I don't mention the authors just because I am afraid that I might miss someone.

[graceland]

 

 

 

 

@@Tom Kellie, after reading all these trip reports I have a feeling you will be exploring way more Africa than you ever imagined! Ruaha was my fourth - though we were further east from Fly's bandas in Lunda at a mobile. Amazing landscapes.

 

I do hate for this report to end; brings back great memories!

 

 

Ruaha was your fourth? That must have truly been a lovely experience, judging by @@FlyTraveler's trip report.

Tom K.

 

 

Tom, there are several trip reports about Ruaha on this website, all totally fascinating and most of them with better photos than mine. At least three or four reports are about walking safaris with Kichaka Expeditions, an absolutely amazing venture for discriminating safari lovers. I would strongly advise you to go through these reports in details when you have time and you will see that a different world will unfold in front of your eyes... I don't mention the authors just because I am afraid that I might miss someone.

 

 

@@Tom Kellie,

 

I don't think Fly would mind me inserting a link for you ...my walking report (Not NEARLY the pics, its difficult for a "newbie" at walking, to walk and click the camera at the same time! But gives another perspective of Ruaha..

 

 

http://safaritalk.net/topic/11573-kichaka-expeditions-first-walking-safari-sept-2013/

 

(Thanks Flytraveler-- I am always promoting Moli's skills in the bush)

[AfricIan]

I'm another one who thinks Ruaha is a wonderful place (2 visits) and huge proponent of walking with Kichaka

 

Ruaha Ramble

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 04, 2014. Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. Morning game drive

 

On with the morning game drive on our sixth day in the park. We stopped again at the bank of Ruaha River to watch the activities of a troop of Baboons:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FlyTraveler]

 

Oct. 04, 2014. Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. Morning game drive

 

On with the morning game drive on our sixth day in the park. We stopped again at the bank of Ruaha River to watch the activities of a troop of Baboons:

 

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Well, I was too sleepy when I posted this and as a result have duplicated two images - numbers 3 and 5 / 4 and 8

 

I apologize for this, unfortunately it is too late to edit the post now.

Edited April 19, 2015 by FlyTraveler