Ruaha ; Mwagusi, 17 years after

[AfricIan]

@@Bush dog

 

Cheers Mike.

 

All the elephant must have moved east! Walking around Kichaka, we couldn't move for them.

[Bush dog]

All the elephant must have moved east! Walking around Kichaka, we couldn't move for them.

 

Yes, because they could not live without Moli!

[Caracal]

I'm later still to this TR but I've thoroughly enjoyed it and all the beautiful photos @@Bush dog.

 

How big was the rock python? - I'm always hoping to see one but so far no luck apart from a partial sighting years back of one coiled up in the fork of a tree.

 

When I was in Mwagusi in 2000 Chris Fox had been feeding douma palm nuts out to some particular elephants for 6 years. Two he named Mary and Marion came right up close to the vehicle and one day when we were there Marion took a nut from his hand for the first time. There was another elephant named Corrine that had a newly born calf which hopefully is now a fit and healthy 14 year old. Was there any mention of these elephants?

[Bush dog]

@@Caracal

 

Thanks a lot. The python was a bit less than two meters. The day before, Simon, the manager had found a young one in the camp, taken it and showed it to the guests, before releasing it.

 

Chris Fox is not guiding anymore, he is too busy with his anti-poaching project in the Mufindi forest. I was lucky to meet him again during this trip, but he only stayed two days.

In 1997, I also saw him feeding the elephants with the palm nuts. No mention was made of those elephants while I was there.

[Atravelynn]

"But also, this buffalo skull that I expected to find there." Then you say that is the link to 2010 lions. Do you mean you expected to find the skull because it was there back in 2010?

 

If those lions had indeed killed the honey badger, it would be a far different outcome from a recent video posted here that showed a HB intruding on a pride with much bravado and then departing fully intact.

 

Very gritty photos! Nothing sugar coated in those predator and what was left of prey shots!

[Bush dog]

"But also, this buffalo skull that I expected to find there." Then you say that is the link to 2010 lions. Do you mean you expected to find the skull because it was there back in 2010?

 

From my experience, I noticed that on kills' sites, the skull, at least, stays put during several years. In this perspective, I expected to find, at the place of the 2010 kill, the skull of the buffalo, those lions were feeding on. So, to answer your question, one can say that it was there back in 2010.

[KathBC]

Great trip report -- those leopard shots are amazing!!

 

You've got me really interested in Mwagusi for Oct 2016 but the 40C temps is a bit daunting for me.

 

What would you think of combining Mwagusi with Kwihila?

 

Did you feel safe with all the night activity being so close?

 

[Bush dog]

@@KathBC

 

Thank you very much for your comments!

 

Personally, I do not see any interest in combining the 2 camps, except perhaps if you foresee a long stay in the Ruaha. If you intend to remain no more than a week, my first choice will always be Mwagusi, because their location is the best. Also, if you visit only one camp, you might negotiate a better price, like, for example, 7 nights for the price of 5.

 

If you do not go out to have a closer look at the night activity in question, there are no risks at all. So yes, I felt entirely safe.

[Geoff]

@@Bush dog

 

Excellent TR MIke. I've just read it through for the second time. Some top notch images too.

[Bush dog]

@@Geoff

 

Thanks, Geoff!

[Julian]

Superb report and some fantastic photos Bush Dog.

Really looking forward to my four days in Mwagusi in September.

I have a Canon EOS 60 D and will soon be buying a Sigma 150 -500 lens, which will give a maximum of 800mm on the Canon, so I will be really pleased if I can get some photos (nearly) as good as yours.

Edited January 25, 2015 by Julian

[Bush dog]

@@Julian

 

Thanks a lot for your kind words!

 

I wish you plenty of good sightings and great succes with your new lens.

[KathBC]

@Bushdog - was considering Ruaha for the safari portion of my trip with 7 to 8 days in Ruaha. Thought that might be too long in one place which is why Kwihila has been thrown into the mix.

[Kitsafari]

@@Bush dog I'm glad this got bumped up today for some reason. I missed the better part of this TR. When you were writing it, one of my dogs was in intensive care and I was too preoccupied and later too distraught to read many of the TRs.

 

Just the shot of the elephant trunk resting on another elephant's body is so precious and touching. those were superb close-ups of the leopard and so pleased you made the decision to move off quick. sad to see the HB's stiff body when you think how fiesty and fierce they can be, it's not every fight that it can win. and love that praying mantis shot.

 

as I was looking at your photos, I told my OH again, Ruaha is so beautiful - we have to go there one day.

[Bush dog]

@@Kitsafari

 

Thanks a lot for your comments!

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@Bush dog:

 

Both of these images tugged at me when they appeared on my computer screen.

Vivid!

The aesthetic and technical aspects are a visual lesson to me.

Thank you for sharing such fine lion photos, which generate interest in learning more about Mwagusi.

Tom K.

[TravelinTeacherAU]

 

post-48450-0-92256700-1417874453.jpg

post-48450-0-82407400-1417874473.jpg

~ @@Bush dog:

 

Both of these images tugged at me when they appeared on my computer screen.

Vivid!

The aesthetic and technical aspects are a visual lesson to me.

Thank you for sharing such fine lion photos, which generate interest in learning more about Mwagusi.

Tom K.

 

 

Lord, those are really gorgeous.

[Tom Kellie]

Lord, those are really gorgeous.

 

~ @TravelinTeacherAU:

 

The day that I saw @@Bush dog's lion images my heart skipped a beat.

Enjoying them tonight elicits the same response.

One of the joys of Safaritalk is returning to favorite images or commentary and falling in love with Africa anew.

For example, every time I read any of the commentary in the ‘Lions, Leopards and the Lipault Ladies’, I smile, laugh and daydream about Africa.

After you and your wife return from your globe-spanning odyssey, we hope to react likewise to your trip report.

Tom K.