Self-Drive Safari through Northern TZ Parks. Of Mara crossings and lions in camp

[KaliCA]

On to the famous crater. Are you coming?

 

August 17 from Seronera to Rhino Lodge on Crater

 

It is another windy night, so we have trouble sleeping because of all the tent flapping going on. (On windy nights, I usually wear earplugs, but not on Sero 4, as I did not want to miss the lions roar or the other nightly sounds there)The only visitors are hyena. We pack up and leave our most favorite campsite ever. Thank you, Sero 4, you have been very good to us.

We game-drive our morning loop and find a fantastic sighting. On one side of the track there is a mating pair of lions; the male huge and imposingly handsome, especially when the wind blows his tremendous mane back. On the other side of the track, a very alert lioness and three cubs playing around her in the tall grass The cubs are the youngest ones we have seen in TZ.

There is some movement, so we want to drive on for a better position.... but our Defender will not start. It sounds like a battery or starter problem. We are in the midst of a true Serengeti double lion jam. Game drive vehicles all around us and we are blocking their way. We call Nathan in near panic and he advises to ask a game driver to push us backwards to make the car start in third gear. (Turns out I did have cell phone coverage around Seronera, but not in the Mara)

So I ask the GD next to us if he would be willing to give us a push and, luckily, he agrees and tells the cars in back of us to clear out. He gently drives into us, then pushes us backwards and on the second try, our car starts. Whew! Nice guy, thank you so much. His guests seemed to have enjoyed this little excitement as well.

But where are the lions? The lioness with the cubs has moved on and we missed seeing it. The mating couple are still around, but further off. Darn, such a great sighting and we missed most of it because the Defender would not start. Can you feel my frustration?

We buy fuel one last time at Seronera, then drive south for Nabi Hill. Around the airport, I look to my right and there are three cheetah walking in our direction. We stop and have them all to ourselves for quite a while, which is a rarity in this area. They move closer and to our delight, sit and pose on a mound, before crossing the street in front of us. Beautiful cat brothers?!

Further south there is quite a big grass fire with tall, orange flames leaping and getting pushed on by the wind. Close by, we see something move in the burnt area. It's our second serval of the trip. It's hunting something in a bush. (No one around to check on the fire. We are commenting how in the USA, there would be Rangers around, most likely warning signs miles ahead, maybe a detour, maybe a closing of the road. In TZ, you are on your own and will have to deal with whatever, as no one is looking out for you)

Off to Nabi Hill. At the turnoff to Simba copies, two mating simbas. It must be that time of the month?

We detour around Simba kopjes, but no more simbas present today. Just before Nabi Hill, a few cars have stopped, mostly the ones coming into the park. There are two lionesses on our right sprawled out, while on the left, there is a gorgeous male lion five feet from the road sitting under a thorny bush. Although we are very very close to him, his handsome face is partly obscured by the thorny bush.

Still, a perfect good-bye from the Serengeti.

We find my sister and BIL eating lunch at the picnic area. It's decided that sister and I will do the paperwork. Check OUT of Serengeti Park is a breeze. Go to the window, show your permit and sign out in the ledger book. Checking INTO the NCA, however, is a nightmare. Here we are, two blond women standing with probably 40 game drivers in a tight little office and it's quite unclear how to proceed. Luckily, I find a familiar face, it's our helper from this morning who pushed us to start our car. "Jambo and Karibu!" He lets us stand in line with him and explains the procedure. Once at the window, we are asked to produce the car registration that shows each car's weight. Pleading is not helpful, so my sis goes back to get the papers and we briefly lose our spot in line. She is back, and our cars fall into the more expensive weight category. Of course!

We pay with our pre-paid Exim cards provided by Nathan. See above.

$50 pppd entrance fee

$200 crater descent fee for one car.

About $20 vehicle fee, had to be paid in TSH

(That's why we had two pre-paid cards, one in $ and one in TSH)

So it's more than $400 for four people for our 24 hr visit to the NCA and the crater.

Anyway, once we show the receipt to the third person, he scribbles out our permit. It's for the four of us together again! We are out of patience to have him do it over. Well, this is one of the more frustrating things we have done and we need a hug. I ask my DH to go peek into the office to appreciate what we have just gone through and he comes back shaking his head, laughing.

We present the permit at the gate.... But are told to go sign into the ledger book before we can leave. Grrrrrr.

Finally, we are in the second promised land, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and we continue on the long, and dusty and, of course, corrugated road towards the crater rim. In all of our time in TZ parks we have seen exactly ONE grader machine at work.

We are back in Masai territory. We encounter Masai herders with their cattle, even a few camels, and many bomas along the way, with freshly washed Maasai blankets adding some color to the rather drab landscape. The road starts to climb and there is more shrubbery and greenery after the big empty. At 4 pm, we finally reach the crater rim and look down into this world-famous sight at Sedoto Descend road. Hmmmm, to tell you the truth, it's a little underwhelming. Would be nicer if it were green, we comment.

Anyway, this is where we will show our permit and go into the crater at 6 am tomorrow. Off we go to find Rhino lodge which is a 30 minute drive around the rim.

This cozy lodge is NOT on the rim and therefore a lot cheaper. ($137pppn, full board). As I was guessing when planning, we would have little time to just sit and look into the crater. We check in and are delighted to see waterbuck roaming around the entrance. We get room number 14, an end unit. It is nice enough, maybe a 2 1/2 star in the real world, but has everything we need, even a balcony. We step outside and see a small herd of buffalo laying in the grass. How funny is that, habituated buffalo?

Most importantly, there is a great strong shower with unending HOT water which we thoroughly enjoy. We do a lot of laundry and hang a make-shift clothes line around the stove area. The attendant comes by to light a fire in the stove and it takes the chill out of the air. One reason I chose to stay in a lodge tonight was to avoid being cold and miserable at Simba campsite. It was a good choice.

We meet at 7:30 in the dining room. There are many tourists present, some sitting on couches around a double-sided fireplace that has a roaring fire going. Nice atmosphere. Our table is set for five. Why? For our guide/driver, of course! We had to chuckle about that.

It is buffet food but quite tasty with fish, beef, chicken, and a vegetarian choice. We have an enjoyable meal and then I talk briefly to Alessandro, the Italian owner/manager who is very helpful with crater information.

He clarifies that there is no 6 hours crater limit rule as I thought, but that people who entered at Nabi Gate at 3pm, would have to leave the Lodaware Gate by 2:59pm in order to be out of the NCA after 24 hrs. Therefore, it is because of MAKING GATE TIME, that a crater visit is limited in hours. Ahhh, that's how it works!

So for us, we would have to leave the crater by 1pm, giving us at the most a 7 hour visit. Wish I had known this before hand, we could have stayed a second night at the lodge and then stayed from morning till evening inside the crater. (Daniel Staub, as mentioned, is not familiar with these important details)

By now it's past 10 pm and we are exhausted. Off to bed, since we will be having breakfast by 5:40 am in order to be inside the crater shortly after 6 am.

We are clean and the room is nicely warmed by the stove. All is good and tomorrow we will be experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime place. Good night you buffalo and waterbuck outside!

[KaliCA]

[KaliCA]

[KaliCA]

Bye bye Serengeti. You have been awesome showing us your treasures. Thanks to all who work tirelessly to keep this great park open for self-drivers and give the wildlife a true sanctuary.

A life-long dream fulfilled. See the Serengeti and........go back again and again.

 

[KaliCA]

The way from the plains up to the crater.

 

[penolva]

Love the close up lion! And that roof top tent looks big enough for six

[KaliCA]

See the office shack in the back? This is where you will show your pre-paid crater descent permit. Good luck!

[KaliCA]

[KaliCA]

[KaliCA]

The lion hunt was fun to watch but we were as frustrated as the lions when the little one missed his chance at a warthog meal. No good pics, though as they were all spread out.

 

[Marks]

The lions photos are great, especially with the classic hazy trees as a backdrop. That said, this photo:

 

 

is my favorite - What a face!

The first photo in post #148 is also a standout.

Sorry to hear you kept having administrative aggravations, but it looks like the wildlife experiences compensated!

(Sorry if this post appears more than once, I seem to be having some technical difficulties tonight...)

[twaffle]

Thank you for all your hard work with this trip report, it's very much appreciated.

[KaliCA]

The lions photos are great, especially with the classic hazy trees as a backdrop. That said, this photo:

 

 

is my favorite - What a face!

 

The first photo in post #148 is also a standout.

 

Sorry to hear you kept having administrative aggravations, but it looks like the wildlife experiences compensated!

 

(Sorry if this post appears more than once, I seem to be having some technical difficulties tonight...)

You are so right. Looking back at this trip, we had some troubles but when I see all the pics and remember the fantastic sightings, all the troubles just fade away and I want to go again, despite all the tribulations.

Did you notice the burnt hotdog next to the hyena above?

Glad you like to read a long.

[KaliCA]

Thank you for all your hard work with this trip report, it's very much appreciated.

Oh thank you. It's turning out to be a monster. Mostly because it's a day-by-day tale and and a log of what potential self-drivers need to know. Nice to know it's appreciated.

[KaliCA]

Oops, I posted the pictures before the story part. Anyway, here is the half-day in crater story, including getting passed the gate.

 

For the corresponding pics, please see ABOVE.

 

August 18 Ngorongoro Crater to Panorama campsite.

 

We have a quick BF, grab our box lunches and are off, all four of us in BIL's car. Better take the one Land Rover that will have enough power to get us back up to the rim, we figure. We are able to leave our laundry in the room, as it's not dry yet.

At the descent road, we are third in line behind game drivers only, to talk to the attendant. First thing, he has us read the back of the permit that states "all self-drivers need to hire a guide to visit the crater." My heart sinks and I'm thinking, "Oh no, we will have to go back to headquarters if he does not let us in." I tell my sis to get a $20 bill ready, just in case we need to grease his willpower a little. Anyway, we read it and tell him that there is no extra seat in our car for a guide. He is not convinced. I bet the feeling is a safety issue, so I ask the guide in back of me if we can follow him down, and he agrees! Still no go ahead. Here is my last option. I lie (may G-d forgive me) and tell him we have been here before and we know the descent road and the other roads, he needn't worry. So he takes the permit and goes to talk to the man at the gate who asks me when I have been here last. Confidently, I tell him in 2009 and he replies that he hopes I will find everything much improved. Wow, that's it. We are in and no extra money has changed hands.

It's a very steep descent and we drive into the famous carter as the sun is rising above its rim. Very scenic. The first animals are two buffaloes grazing on the slope.

At the bottom of the crater we turn right and basically make a counter-clockwise circle around the crater. There are some nice spots like the Lerai Forest, the lake with hippos, and the Munge River area. But overall, I'm a little disappointed in the lack of beauty inside the crater, other than the dramatic descent. I bet it looks nicer in the green season, as now, in August, everything is parched and the grass is brown and short.

All four of us are a little under-impressed with the amount of animals, as we have been spoiled by the Serengeti. However, we are happy to see 15 lions total. There were two lionesses past Lerai forest, a pride of 8 "lioning" around, with a cute cub, across from the lake, with wildebeest and zebra close by them. Then there were five lionesses by the Munge River setting up a hunting scenario for a warthog that failed, because the youngest one missed catching it. It was fun anticipating the hunt and the three of us were standing up in the hatch with an unobstructed view of the hunt. So that's how it feels to be able to SEE and photograph without windows in the way. What a difference a hatch makes.

There were also lots of hyena, buffalo, and hippo in the lake. No rhino today, the GDs say. At the hippo pool we meet up with our two-time GD helper and I have a chance to thank him and give him a box of cookies.

For the first two hours inside the crater, there was very little traffic, but later on during the lion hunt, there must have been more than 25 vehicles around. No fun.

The ascent, again, is all drama, and it is a very steep, but now paved road that leads us back to the crater rim shortly before 1pm.

We return to Rhino Lodge, grab our belongings, and make our way to the crater view point where we pose for pics. Promptly at 2:20 as

per our permit, we check out and leave via the Lodaware Gate. Now that they have our money, check out is easy, just show the permit and write in the ledger book.

We fill up gas at the first Puma gas station and DH discovers that the Defender is leaking a lot of oil. Thanks to two very helpful locals, it's not a big problem, just add more oil they advise. Ok, done, except now DH is stressed out over the car losing oil.

We say good-bye to my family members as they will stay in a lodge in Karatu and we will camp at Panorama CS, according to plan. Tomorrow, we will meet each other inside Lake Manyara park.

We see the tunoff to Panorama campsite, but decide to go down to Mtowambu town to shop for fresh veggies. Also, we see the entrance gate to Lake Manyara, in fact, the park boundary reaches right up to the highway.

At the gas station, the same young man, Hamisi, recognizes us from before the trip to Lake Natron and is most helpful again, leading us to the market and to a shop that has frozen hamburger meat. We promise to stop by again on Friday and shop for souvenirs.

It's only about a seven minute drive back up to Panorama campsite. The best thing is its location, as the camp sits high on the escarpment looking over the valley with Lake Manyara in the distance. Other than that, the place is very much in need of some clean up and TLC. The showers look ok and the attendant promises hot water is always available.

We set up camp and hang up the laundry one last time, as some things were still not dry. We organize the car some more, clean out our Serengeti dust, take hot showers, and even relax a little. The night brings some music and dancing as locals perform Hakuna Matata songs for the overland tourists. We are the only self-drivers there and some American youngsters seem impressed with our lion visit tale, as is the souvenir shop keeper who keeps reminding us to check out his shop. He is a very nice man and we have extra food for dinner, so we bring a plate of food over to him. Once again, we are happy to find so many lovely and helpful people.

At night, there is a lot of noise from humans, not noises I care about, and once again, I'm glad to be using my earplugs.

[KaliCA]

Car trouble again!!!

 

 

Checking out (or in) building at the NCA.

 

[KaliCA]

Camping at Panorama CS. Best thing about it is the view as you sit high above on the escarpment looking over the Rift Valley and Lake Manyara NP.

 

 

[KaliCA]

August 19, Lake Manyara

 

After watching the beautiful sunrise from our perch on the escarpment, we are taking our sweet time today with breakfast and packing up and then we pay a visit to the souvenir shop where our friend is anxiously waiting. We bargain and then buy some souvenir items and both sides are happy with the deal. Win win.

Five minutes later, we are at the gate to Lake Manyara NP where Daniel Staub had pre-booked Bagayo special CS for four people. I go to get the entrance permit and ask to be given two nights at a special campsite, since we have paid $200, but are now only two people and not four. Well, this takes some talking, explaining, convincing, two different managers, and .... a phone call had to be made to the head office. But at the end it's a YES.

We discover that Lake Manyara park is not just for birders. Right away, we have some nice sightings. There are Blue Monkeys, Baboons, two ellie bulls and a Black Mamba in the road. It rears up then disappears. There is an impala with two fawns and a big black turtle. All this in a jungle-like thicket.

Once we see the lake, the area opens up and we see the most unusual and astonishing animal combinations: Sitting giraffe in front of a row of Pelicans, and a pink band of flamingo in the lake. Hippos out of water next to Pelicans, herons and ibises, with zebra and wildebeest in the foreground. Zebra in front of storks. Wildebeest in front of flamingos.

We like all of it and the roads are a dream.

We meet my sister and BIL at Endala picnic site. We have tuna fish salad on matza, and they have a boxed lunch from their beautiful lodge. (Bringing along Matza crackers from this year's Passover proved to be a great idea, as bread is hard to come by, especially inside the Serengeti) I ask a game driver about identifying the black snake and he thought it to be a Black Mamba. Good things come to the those who ask. This same game driver stops us later on and tells us where to find a .......lion in a tree! Wow, that's great information and off we go. My sis sends me a text as they have found the lion jam as well. Networking in the bush!

Sure enough, by the Bagayo River bridge, there is a dead tree with three levels of branches and a golden male is lying on the top branch. He is easy to spot as there are no leaves on the branches. Looking through the binos, we discover that he is hurt, sporting a big round hole on his forehead. Poorest. Looks like he had a run-in with a buffalo? But I'm conjecturing again.

He seems bothered by the wound and the flies it attracts, so he changes position frequently. It's very hot sitting there in our car with the sun beating on us, but we settle in for a while as we want to see how he gets down. Game drivers are coming and going, most staying only about 10 minutes.

At about 4:30 the last game drivers leave, as does my sister. We are alone for a while, but then three small busses filled with students appear as well as another GD. One bus gets stuck in the deep sand, and a second one gets stuck behind it. The adults come out of the bus and proceed to attach ropes to the GD vehicle. My DH who has been diligently watching the lion in the tree, is watching the commotion around the busses and... at that exact moment, the lion has had enough. He gets up and climbs down the tree in a hurry, and I sense fear in his expression, (check out his facial expression in the pic below) then disappears in the brush. I catch most of it on video, but DH misses the first few shots. Darn those humans.

Well, our campsite is very close by and we are hoping to see this lion later.

We find Bagayo A easily, as it is well marked off the main road. It is about 1km up a hill and close to the dry river where the lion has just left. There is a nice tree in a small clearing, but we are surprised how closed-in this site feels, not open like Sero 4. Hmmmm

Other than the site's enclosed space, Bagayo A is memorable for its moths. As soon as we turn on our front and back LED lights (one of the best things about this Defender) millions of small moths flit around the lights, then die by the thousands. It's impossible to wear our headlamps and even though we turn the back lights off and work in the semi-dark, we still get bugged by the bugs. At least they don't sting.

Later, DH is very busy taking pictures of the moon setting over the escarpment and the starry night sky. It was a beautiful night.

But we never really relax, maybe because our camp was darker than normal, and so we get the feeling that animals are hiding all around. But, in fact, the only critter we spot is a civet, and we hear and smell buffalo really close by. During the night we hear calls by lion, hyena, and buffalo. No earplugs tonight.

[KaliCA]

[KaliCA]

Bagayo A Special CS, would not recommend.

 

 

[KaliCA]

August 20 Lake Manyara

 

If you sleep inside Lake Manyara, it is wonderful to be all alone in the park until the first GD's arrive between eight and nine. The Bagayo loop shows us two cute Dik-Dik and then I see a male lion close by the edge of the lake. And lookey here, it's the same boy we saw up in the tree, unless there is another lion walking around with a hole in its head. Poorest. He doesn't look so good, and we hope he will be ok.

We use the facilities at Endaka picnic site and when we get back, our lion boy has left its spot. Instead, there are thousands of flamingos out in the lake and they show up as a dark pink band. Once in a while, a few hundred of them lift off as one and fly on and this cloud of birds creates a beautiful reflection in the lake. Quite magical to watch, although it happens far away.

We do the Lakshore loop and visit with a game driver whose guests are out walking with a ranger. We tell him our lion in camp story and he points out a single lioness sitting under a bush about 100 meters from us. Then he shares a pic with us he took earlier and it shows this lioness walking with a dead baboon in her mouth. Wow. And now she is guarding her kill under a bush.

We then make our way to the Hot Springs area which features a boardwalk that goes out into the swamp and is a great way to observe the comings and goings of all those birds and other animals. Great idea and a true pleasure to have such a visitor-friendly feature in this park. Here is a list of the different animals and birds we encountered from the Hot Springs Boardwalk.:

Marabou, pelican, stork, ibis, flamingo, heron, geese, bee eater, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, a herd of buffalo, and hippo. Later, before dusk, a herd of ellies.

We meet my sis and BIL here for a good-bye lunch as today is their last night in TZ and they will fly back to Switzerland late tomorrow. They also love this spot and we comment what a lovely and varied park LM truly is. We are so glad we included it in our itinerary.

We drive a bit more south for more birds, wildebeest and zebra. Back at the Hot Springs parking lot, we are all alone now. So we go back out to the boardwalk one last time and this is when the ellies make an entrance. It's great to have this spot all to ourselves as most GDs had to leave to make gate time by 6pm.

We decide to check on the lioness from this morning and, sure enough, she is under a different bush now, but clearly visible. She is still guarding her baboon prey and starts eating on it some more.

Lakeshore special campsite is not occupied tonight, however, it is only about 150 meters away from the lioness. So what do we do? It's a great spot away from bushes and not far from the lake and may produce some great sighting. We decide against risking being so close to a lion and drive 20 minutes to Endabash public campsite. What would you have done?

It's a nice spot, too, under some huge trees, facing a dry riverbed. It has a male and female shower/ bathroom building and the facilities sit right at river's edge, hiding the river view. How odd.

We set up in the clearing as we noticed some baboon poop under the trees!

We take coldish showers, wash hair, and feel like the Lord and Lady of the Manor at a lovely spot, just the two of us, in Lake Manyara, in AFRICA, among the wild things. We are so lucky and loving it.

Just after dusk, a small herd of ellies is browsing in the bushes across the sandy river. The moths are back as well, but now we know how to deal with them. We spend a very peaceful night at Endabash public campsite.

[KaliCA]

Lion in a tree, the iconic image to see in Lake Manyara

 

[ZaminOz]

Any idea what his head wound is from?

[KaliCA]

[KaliCA]