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A tale of two safaris - Tanzania 2016 (followed by Rwanda)


Zubbie15

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Thanks @@amybatt and @@Atravelynn.

 

Lynn, I haven't had any update about the wild dogs around Ndutu. They travel so far (check out here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aje.12244/full) that it's hard to imagine they're still in the same area. I follow Ndutu Safari Lodge on Facebook, and most years they have a pack denning near them, but no posts about that this year. In any case, this story (http://allafrica.com/stories/201602160957.html) claims there are now somewhere around 325 wild dogs in the Serengeti, in which case they might get easier to see.

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With or without the wild dogs (and I missed them too even though the group I was dining with had seen them) your trip had many highlights and great photos. For many of your wide angle shots I recognize the location. In fact the last photo in post #146 is where we looked for dogs. Lovely scenery even without canines.

 

Since you counted cheetah and leopards, any idea how that total compares to # of lions? Your solitary cats might have outnumbered your pride members on this trip.

 

This report proves again what a productive time Ndutu green season is for predator species, prey species, birds, scenery and landscapes! Lucky you went on to a different experience in Rwanda after this.

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With or without the wild dogs (and I missed them too even though the group I was dining with had seen them) your trip had many highlights and great photos. For many of your wide angle shots I recognize the location. In fact the last photo in post #146 is where we looked for dogs. Lovely scenery even without canines.

 

Since you counted cheetah and leopards, any idea how that total compares to # of lions? Your solitary cats might have outnumbered your pride members on this trip.

 

This report proves again what a productive time Ndutu green season is for predator species, prey species, birds, scenery and landscapes! Lucky you went on to a different experience in Rwanda after this.

 

Thanks @@Atravelynn - actually, the last photo from 146 is also during the time we were looking for the dogs. It was a beautiful area, and for us there were essentially no other tourists there.

 

Regarding the number of lions, we conservatively estimated 70-80. It's hard to say too specifically - we'd see some lionesses in an area one day, and then the next day see some lionesses in roughly the same area, and couldn't be sure if they were the same ones. But by our count we saw approximately 25 lions just our day in the Crater, so they still be the other cats this trip.

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Again, a wonderful report I enjoyed very much - really need to get back to the Serengeti, I love those landscapes. Super idea to end this with the quintessential safari stars - Spotted Cats. Thank you for sharing. What´s next for you?

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Thanks @@michael-ibk for reading along, and the kind words. I think 2017 we're going to be staying closer to home, and bringing our toddler with us - we've been tossing around the idea of taking our major holiday next year in the Canadian Rockies. However, my wife said, this weekend and out of the blue, that we should go on safari in 2018. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the fabulous TR and the excellent photographs, Zubbie15!! I just went over the report quickly, but definitely will be back for a thorough reading. What a great safari.

Two, quick questions, please:

1. You may have mentioned in the narration, but since I rushed through the report - what part of February did you spend in NCA and Serengeti?

2. Based on your experiences on this particular safari, which area did I like better - Ndutu or Seronera? I guess the migration was in the Ndutu area and you had a lot more sightings in genera over there...

I didn't know that there was a Kati-Kati camp in the Ndutu area, as well...

Once again, thanks for sharing with us your great experiences and beautiful photos!

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Thanks @@FlyTraveler, I knew someone had sat down and read my report when I saw I had 37 new notifications!

 

To answer your questions, we arrived in the Ndutu area on February 13th, and flew out on the 19th from Seronera. When planning the trip, we had several thoughts for how to break up the 6 days, in the end we went with 4 in the South and 2 in Seronera. The decision to have the 2 days in Seronera was based on two things; firstly, it was a hedge in case the wildebeest herd wasn't where they were "supposed" to be, and secondly, to increase our chances of leopard sightings. We definitely had more success in the Ndutu area, and I think you could readily make the case to spend the whole time there in February, especially if seeing the big wildebeest herd isn't your top priority. You certainly wouldn't get bored in Ndutu in February.

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Thanks @@FlyTraveler, I knew someone had sat down and read my report when I saw I had 37 new notifications!

 

To answer your questions, we arrived in the Ndutu area on February 13th, and flew out on the 19th from Seronera. When planning the trip, we had several thoughts for how to break up the 6 days, in the end we went with 4 in the South and 2 in Seronera. The decision to have the 2 days in Seronera was based on two things; firstly, it was a hedge in case the wildebeest herd wasn't where they were "supposed" to be, and secondly, to increase our chances of leopard sightings. We definitely had more success in the Ndutu area, and I think you could readily make the case to spend the whole time there in February, especially if seeing the big wildebeest herd isn't your top priority. You certainly wouldn't get bored in Ndutu in February.

 

Thanks very much for your informative reply, Zubbie15! Once again - great TR and photos! Will read it in details when I have more time.

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