My Own Private Africa - Serengeti and Ngorongoro Late March 2015

[graceland]

What a team effort to find the wallet and passport. Roger was pretty spot on; keep it in the safe..I know everyone says keep your passport ON your person, but in my mind, that is why safes are provided. I would not want to go through that experience of yours whasoever (esp after my own passport fiasco) and money and passport being locked away is my preference.

 

And, in a highly respected camp I don't think you need to worry about staff members prying open a safe...and losing a job.

 

On the other hand, you still managed great shots and videos! Love Black Rhino; how very fortunate.

Edited April 30, 2015 by graceland

[Scott8586]

Fantastic shot of that Rhino!

 

Wow, really incredible that they managed to find your passport, must be harder than the proverbial needle! Glad that that situation was resolved relatively quickly, and you could enjoy your safari again.

 

I can't tell you how much that 'spooked' me. I don't think I've ever lost my wallet or been pick-pocketed, I keep those things in my front pocket: it's a hold over from the days when I lived in Switzerland, and the Fremdenpolizei wanted us keep our passports and our residency permits on us at all times. At Sayari camp it was just Stephanie and I in the safari truck so I was moving from side to side, and I think all the gettng up and down out of my seat must have popped out of my pocket. I have now learned my lesson.

 

I took quite a few shots of that Rhino as he was trying to get away from us - I'll see if any more are worthy of a post.

[Safaridude]

Awesome rhino shot!!!

[madaboutcheetah]

Awesome report with the videos ....... Definitely spectacular Rhino shot!!!

 

I was told that the Sandriver/ border area between Mara and Serengeti is good for Rhino - hopefully they will be protected in this area going forward.

[joliverself]

That is a truly magnificent Rhino pic! One of the best I have ever seen really....brilliant!

[Scott8586]

One more shot of the Black Rhino - which is his better side?

 

[Geoff]

Excellent report so far...

[Steph8586]

I was told that the Sandriver/ border area between Mara and Serengeti is good for Rhino - hopefully they will be protected in this area going forward.

Our guide said that there are only a total of 13 rhino left in this area. There are also some problems with inbreeding due to the small population. We felt lucky to see one, The sighting by Namiri guides usually happen about once every 3-4 weeks, but this was during the off season with fewer vehicles out and about.

[AKR1]

Boy you guys were truly lucky to find not only your wallet but also your passport. The integrity and honesty of the Sayari staff along extraordinary feat of actually finding your personal items in literally, the middle of the Serengeti is beyond commendable. Kudos to the entire staff of Sayari. I know US passports have a high value on the black market.

 

Love your two rhino shots, especially the first one.

[madaboutcheetah]

 

I was told that the Sandriver/ border area between Mara and Serengeti is good for Rhino - hopefully they will be protected in this area going forward.

Our guide said that there are only a total of 13 rhino left in this area. There are also some problems with inbreeding due to the small population. We felt lucky to see one, The sighting by Namiri guides usually happen about once every 3-4 weeks, but this was during the off season with fewer vehicles out and about.

 

 

True - the Namiri guides go towards the Seronera area (airport side) to find Black Rhino - there aren't any in the Namiri area itself.

[Marks]

It's been said already, but that rhino shot is superb. Both shots are nice, but the "charging through the water" aspect of the first is really something else!

[Scott8586]

 

 

I was told that the Sandriver/ border area between Mara and Serengeti is good for Rhino - hopefully they will be protected in this area going forward.

Our guide said that there are only a total of 13 rhino left in this area. There are also some problems with inbreeding due to the small population. We felt lucky to see one, The sighting by Namiri guides usually happen about once every 3-4 weeks, but this was during the off season with fewer vehicles out and about.

 

 

True - the Namiri guides go towards the Seronera area (airport side) to find Black Rhino - there aren't any in the Namiri area itself.

 

 

I'm not sure but I think @@Steph8586 meant the guides at Sayari, not Namiri - I don't remember discussing Rhinos when we were at Namiri (we were focused on the big cats). Calson, our guide at Sayari, said he sees one about once a month.

[Steph8586]

On our last full day at Sayari Camp, we chose to go back to where the herds of wildebeest and zebra were gathering. We left early, with the rains having cleared out overnight and the Serengeit offered up another beautiful sunrise. Afterwe were greeted by a few elephants, we made a rocky crossing. I know there was a lot of talk about rough roads, and they are rough, but I have to give a shout out to the skills of our guide/drivers. They knew what they were doing and we always felt safe, despite some of the terrain we crossed! Once we crossed we noticed several hyena groups who had been successful hunting overnight. After watching them finish off a zebra for a bit, we headed onward toward the herds.

 

Today, there were hundreds if not thousands more animals. I don't know how you go about "estimating" herd size, but based on the previous day it was clear that many more herds were moving into the area. We drove along and watched a couple of times as they crossed the river. Calson kept shaking his head and saying, they aren't supposed to be here until July or August, he had never seen this at this time of year. We just sat back and enjoyed the show. While we did not see a Mara River crossing with Crocodile attacks (we were out in the Sand River area) it was still pretty impressive to see and amazing to watch how the animals were most definitely on the move.

 

Poor Scott, he was kind of worried after Namiri Plains that he wasn't going to see any zebra (there were just a handful we saw, and not really a focus when there are lions and cheetah everywhere). Well there were zebra everywhere at Sayari! It was amazing to see how well fed they looked and I am sure to the lions, hyena and leopards it is like us looking at a meat case to pick out dinner. As we crossed one of only two bridges in the area, we had an up close (and safe) encounter with a cape buffalo who was feeding right beside the elevated concrete roadway. He did not like being quite that close, so after a bit he moved away to continue grazing.

 

By this time we were pretty hungry so we stopped in the shade of a large tree for another wonderful "bush breakfast". It is always a tough call as to whether to eat breakfast in camp or on safari. We did both, but most often chose to eat out on the road. With the coffee and cookies that arrived with our wake up call we mostly were able to hold on for a much later breakfast around 10am. More coffee, juice, yogurt, pastries, ham/egg sandwiches, fruit. Every day was a new and always tasty option.

 

After breakfast we cruised where the lions like to sleep but didn't see much going on so we took a slightly different route back, seeing lots of giraffe, including a very young one. We loved watching them, and they were always watching us warily as well. Believe it or not we had been in Africa almost a week without seeing a hippo, so Scott asked to see some Hippopotamus, and of course, they are not hard to find in the Mara River area. However, it isn't too exciting watching them wiggle their ears and be almost entirely submerged in water, which is what they do during the heat of the day. Instead the Nile Crocodile who was on the move caught our attention and we waited to see if he would go after a baby hippo. But the croc was smarter than that and kept clear of the hippo as he glided through the water.

 

We headed back for lunch and -- once again -- were treated to a marvelous lunch outside. Every meal was served outside at Sayari unless rain forced us inside. That afternoon we were also given the option for a walking Safari, so we met that afternoon with Nhatu who was our guide, with a large rifle. Nhatu took the lead and we were followed by a ranger, also armed. It is a whole different feeling being out there on foot, and even with two armed escorts, you never stop keeping your eyes peeled. We have all seen what can be hiding in that grass! We learned about a variety of plants we passed, and it is much different to get to see things at a close up level instead of from a vehicle. We checked out an aardvark hole in a termite mound, learned how to best survive a night if alone in the serengeti, and made our way slowly to the river. As we arrived a large family herd of elephants were at and around the river with males pushing over trees and eating the leaves, others in the water and along the banks so we were able to watch them for a while.

 

Just slightly downstream, Roger and the Sayari crew had arranged a full bar, snacks, chairs and we had a cocktail hour overlooking the hippos in the river, which was fabulous. At the end, Calson asked if we wanted to take a game drive with the remaining time before sunset, and we were off to cruise the kopjes for leopard, or whatever we could find. After another hour or so, the sun was setting and the clouds looked more threatening and we headed back to find the elephants from the river had moved up into the camp area, eating brush and trees near the drive into the main entrance.

 

Another couple from Croatia had arrived, so we had company for dinner, and while it was set up on the lawn, a last minute downpour required it all to be moved inside, where we had a full on African buffet with dozens of Tanzanian dishes that were absolutely amazing. Fred, the chef, outdid himself and was justifiably proud of the barbecue and other Tanzanian specialities he shared. After a song by some of the staff, we were escorted back to our tent with umbrellas for our last night at Sayari Camp.

 

Here is the video for day six, and I am sure Scott will find some more photos.

 

https://vimeo.com/126088531

Edited May 4, 2015 by Steph8586

[Atravelynn]

That was quite a night you spent with all the visitors. Great stuff from Namiri Plains. Looking forward to the other videos.

[Scott8586]

Pictures from day six at Sayari Camp. Cape Buffalo from the bridge:

 

 

Greedy Hyena with Zebra hoof:

 

 

Grey Crowned Crane:

 

 

Herd of Zebra:

 

 

Pair of Maasai Giraffe:

 

 

Wildebeest Family:

 

 

Lone Wildebeest:

 

[madaboutcheetah]

Lovely report with the videos - makes me feel like I'm on safari .....

Glad you found the passports - Wow...... very fortunate.

When we were picked up at the airstrip during our visit to Namiri - we got a long brief about valuables in the vehicle and where to put them so that they don't drop out - wonder if your passport issue was the reason they now go into it? I thought it was odd at that time ........ after reading your report, I fully understand why ....... So glad it was sorted out.

[Marks]

Very nice that you were able to encounter eles on foot. Your latest video reminds me of the great pleasure I had in witnessing the migration.

 

The "Lone Wildbeest" photo has a dramatic separation between earth and sky.

[Soukous]

@@Steph8586 & @@Scott8586 I started to read your trip report with great interest but quickly realised that I don't have time to read it all so I've put it on hold for when I get back from South Africa.

thanks for sharing

[AKR1]

Love the zebra picture with the zebra brokah in the background. Great report and overall photography and videos. Thanks for sharing.

[Atravelynn]

Everybody loves your rhino. It had to be a celebrated sighting since you were again secure in the knowledge that your important documents and money were safe. In retrospect you could further enjoy your other great sightings too.

 

You literally made the kopjes come to life with the klipspringer and that impressive female leopard.

 

Kudus to Asilia for helping you out and finding the wallet. Talk about spotting skills.

 

The suggestion to "forget it and move on" would be beyond my ability.

 

We've been getting a lot of lost passport stories lately. I have nightmares about that kind of stuff. Glad it all worked out for you.

[Steph8586]

Well, all good things must come to an end... I have been putting off writing the last installment of this trip report because then this vacation is really "over." The good news is I am enjoying all of the other ST safari reports now so that helps a lot.

 

After our third night at Sayari the plan was to get up early, have breakfast and then spend a couple of hours on a game drive before heading to the airport. That last night was another wonderful dinner, with two other guests arriving (we were no longer alone) and the staff created a Tanzanian Buffet of about 15 local dishes. It was truly amazing. Sadly I never made it over to the office/gift shop, and that night I found a lovely thank you note from our camp managers with a gift of hibiscus tea (I loved it and requested it iced at almost every meal) and a lovely african print cloth. It was so nice and I would have (with one more day) loved to have done some shopping.

 

We made our usual runs among the kopjes looking for leopard, but none were out to wave goodbye. We saw some elephants and olive baboons, and it was especially magical when Calson spotted a Spotted Eagle Owl! Just the evening before I had asked him if they had any owls in the area and he said yes, but they did not see them often. Calson looked at me and said, "Weren't you the one just asking about the owls? I smiled and we enjoyed watching him in the branches near the road. Hopefully Scott has some photos because I did not shoot any video. I just enjoyed watching the Owl. We saw a few more birds then crossed the Mara River to watch the hippos congregating there before hopping back across to catch our flight.

The plane was 45 minutes late, but finally arrived and was full up -- a first on this trip. It was apparently headed back to Arusha, but had to stop at Manyara to drop us off first. We flew directly across the crater and there were some wonderful views before we landed at Manyara where we were met by our Planet Africa/Asilia guide Jackson who was ready to take us to Ngorongoro Crater. It was a good tow hours drive to the crater and Jackson let us know a bit about the areas of farming and coffee plantations we passed along the way. We stopped at the gate and -- after warning us to either stay in the car or go in the gatehouse/information center to avoid some aggressive baboons (I stayed in the car and people watched in the parking lot) Jackson went in to get our permits. The weather was growing more foreboding as we reached the crater rim and about ten minutes from the Crater Lodge it became a full fleged downpour (I reshot our "arrival" video the next day because it was raining so hard it was impossible to see anything). We were met by staff with umbrellas at the ready, ushered into the main lounge area where we were offered drinks and checked in.

 

Then, although we were the only guests having lunch, there was a roaring fire in the dining room with a table set for two in front of the fire with our chairs facing out toward the crater. As we enjoyed the warmth of the fire, and a wonderful lunch, we watched the crater go in and (mostly) out of view with the passing rainclouds. It was truly magical and we had not planned to do another game drive until the next morning so the rain was a perfect excuse to go to our room, where I was greeted with a steaming bathtub and rose petals. It was very romantic and relaxing and the weather was perfect for a hot bath. We were able to relax and enjoy the five kinds of fudge in a box in the room and wander over to the gift shop when the rain let up a bit where I bought some Maasai beaded earrings as souvenirs/gifts (with the bonus of them being small and easy to carry!). We found at dinner that we were not the only guests, and an extended family group of six with two older teen kids were there, as well as two other couples. Dinner was outstanding, and we enjoyed a musical performance by staff and some others that was really good (lots of drums!).

 

The next morning the weather was a lot better as we headed into the crater. We decided to have breakfast in the Crater so we could leave early and we were the 5th car in. We enjoyed the crater, seeing mostly birds for the first hour or so and a few lions lazing in the distance. We also saw several rhinos, hyenas, elephants and flamingos! As well as a bright green snake. By the time we stopped for breakfast I was ready to leave. Yes the crater was lovely, but after a week of not seeing anyone else it really wasn't my scene. I was very glad we had not planned to spend any longer there and I felt having the entire afternoon and evening to enjoy the opulent Crater Lodge was enough. Am I glad we went there? Yes, absolutely. Would I choose to go back, probably not. The crater lodge was as I expected. Basically imagine building a hotel modeled on a native mud manyatta construction, oh and by the way you had Liberace come in to do the decorating at the end. Eclectic doesn't begin to describe it! My only disappointment was that I knew we were paying a lot for the Crater Lodge and the service, rooms and meals were wonderful, but what I personally was paying for was that breathtaking view that was mostly absent due to the rain. That said, it was still a lovely stay and it was nice to have a short hop into and out of the crater for our game drive.

 

After our game drive we returned to the Crater Lodge for lunch an they were very accommodating about not requiring us to check out and we could have showered, etc. after the game drive if we wanted to. We did not because we had a day room near the Kilimanjaro Airport at the end of the trip, but after the traffic (it took closer to 4 hours from the Crater Lodge to the Airport than the 2.5 hours we were quoted. We wanted to stop in Arusha to buy some Tanzanian coffee, but didn't have time. We were in our day room no more than 45 minutes -- just time to shower and change -- before heading back over to the airport to check in for our KLM flight home.

 

I will once again compliment Planet Africa and Asilia for the absolutely great service we had everywhere. Also, I think I would never want to go to Africa in the "busy" season and found plenty to see during March and I was really glad we had the solitude. The food was far better than I would have expected, the staff at every camp were unfailingly friendly and went above and beyond (as in the passport retrieval mission) to do whatever they could for us. I don't think I could have asked for anything better, and I really felt that Mary at Planet Africa was willing to listen and pay attention to my emails and used her expertise to craft an outstanding trip for someone who did not have a keen focus on what to do (and was sort of overwhelmed by too many options). What little I did know I learned here, so it was great to have all of the trip reports to look at for some ideas.

Finally, the last video of our day at the Ngorongoro Crater.

 

https://vimeo.com/126088533

[Marks]

Well, all good things must come to an end... I have been putting off writing the last installment of this trip report because then this vacation is really "over." The good news is I am enjoying all of the other ST safari reports now so that helps a lot.

 

It certainly helps, but also fuels your desire to plan the next trip.

 

Thanks for sharing your trip!

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@Scott8586 & @@Steph8586

 

All of this in one safari — make that one rather stupendous safari!

Your photography is an inspiration. I need to do far better to approach the beauty of your consistently fine images.

No one image stands out as much as the remarkably high quality throughout your trip report.

Thank you for taking time to include numerous salient details.

Enjoyable from start to finish for you, and for those of us on Safaritalk fortunate enough to be able to see your experience.

With Appreciation,

Tom K.

[Gregor]

Thank you, Steph for sharing your wonderful safari with us in this excellent written trip report. Videos and pictures are great and an inspiration. Namiri plains is now on my bucket-list