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A Return to the Serengeti: Migration Season in the South (February 2017)


sek07

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After such an epic and long morning ride down we took a longer nap than usual and decided to go out a little later and do a drive up from camp basically to the end of the road. The endpoint was to get to a lookout point over lake eyasi 

 

Almost immediately from camp we started gaining elevation on a somewhat rugged track.  We passed numerous masai homes and several large herds of cattle.  Extremely large herds that at this time of the year come up into the highlands to feed on the fresh grass.  At other times of the year we learned they do come down into the plains.   From what we understand there has been some human wildlife conflict in this area for sure, but i appreciated Alex not shying away from locating his camp in this area and for his policy of hiring some local tribe members to work in his camps.   Like many places where masai and their store of wealth (cattle) live in close proximity to wildlife there have been problems.  I guess they got a whole year of having a wild dog pack denning in the area the prior year with near daily sightings, only to have the masai kill the pack.  There are lion in the area but they tend to operate more stealthily at night.  (we still saw lions here as you will see later).  The elephants seem just a bit more cautious here. But i do believe that the presence of a camp, which hires locals and can help discuss new ways of mitigating wildlife loss can only be a positive in the longer run.  

 

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A stop about half way up looking back north towards the serengeti and NCA plains.

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a juvenile bataleur eagle while we were enjoying the view

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And finally we got to the top looking down at Lake Eyasi.  Absolutely ridiculously stunning from this elevation and this picture does it no justice.

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Love these trees, dangling over the edge

This is one of the fly camping locations they use which would be pretty epic.

 

Hopefully these two short videos better capture the view (and are rightside up!).  

 

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A final video (bumpy, apologies) to show just a fraction of the masai cattle herds in the highlands

 

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Edited by sek07
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After enjoying the view we had to race to meet the other guests for sundowners.  This particular spot, on the top of a kopje, was located next to a cave where local masai men meet up to hang and cook meat.  An actual man cave!!

The view was amazing and we met some really nice people, some of whom live within blocks of us!  small world

 

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Despite the cattle, the migration still made it all the way up the hill along with zebra and a journey of giraffe

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So we didn't come all the way down to the southernmost point of the Serengeti for nice views and sundowners (although we certainly were not complaining about those)- we came for the MIGRATION.  We got glimpses of the vast #'s on our drive down, but our drive on our 5th morning was where it would all sink in.  

 

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This is what we came for.  This little guy or girl got confused and started following the vehicle.  Luckily he or she found his mom pretty quickly.  IMG_1697.thumb.JPG.26f8721c1ab47f9d75c5a516c79c494d.JPG

WIlde's for days

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Notice the wildebeest in front is in process of giving birth with legs and sack sticking out

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Now down, shouldn't be long now...IMG_1705.thumb.JPG.dc04ac6f969007aa3c6631105999dd1b.JPG

So many babies, just an amazing natural spectacle the sheer numbers.

Edited by sek07
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This was our first wildebeest birth and i believe everyone in camp got to see at least one.  We ended up learning what to look for from masha and once we did that we started seeing them left and right!   

 

The migration steals the show, but there were plenty of other things to enjoy every few minutes. 

 

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we're a part of this whole migration thing too!

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Incredibly large flocks of ostriches

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Our first golden jackal

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Our first steenbok (one of many to come although always solitary or in a small family group)

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I like this picture because it depicts the common scene we came across. the national animal of tanzania, the wonderful giraffe. But every time we would see one or two, if you started looking carefully, as with this picture all of a sudden you end up seeing 5, 10, 15+....  they were EVERYWHERE, and who doesn't love seeing towers and journeys of giraffe.  

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Perhaps no animal loves the migration more than this insect...

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the dung beetle!  they were everywhere

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Baby leopard tortoise, which has always been good luck for us on previous sightings

 

 

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And on the way back to camp we saw some vultures with the remains of a carcass.  After surveying the area we found this well fed female cheetah

 

 

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Really enjoying your fabulous trip report.  We will be visiting the same area next year only at a different time of year.  Hope we have half the great sightings you experienced.

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@mapumbo thank you.  I am sure you will love it.  which camp will you be visiting and when?   

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On night 5 we had something different scheduled.  On the website Serian offered flycamping as an activity.  In Mara North a few years prior our night that was to be spent in the treehouse was cancelled due to lightening and ominous rain clouds.   I think M was relieved then.   I had to do some convincing with M on this trip, and with reassurances from the Serian crew i was able to get her to agree to accompany me as it was something i really wanted to do. 

We drove a short 5-10 minutes from the main camp and arrived to an awesome setup and met what would be our crew for the next 24 hours or so. 

 

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A camp fire with some chairs around.  A few small tents with mats on the ground, a long drop toilet and a shared bucket shower (and a surprise for later).  This is something i have always wanted to do and it has only stoked my desire to do a full 1-2 week camping trip (the mana pools trips with @Doug Macdonald look really amazing to me from the trip reports posted here)

 

We met Gilet and Nyuki, who are hadza and masai respectively who would help lead us on our walks during the flycamping trip..   Alex met Nyuki while he was wandering the area scouting for potential spots to put a camp.  Nyuki is somewhat of a medicine man of his tribe and was out collecting various items to use for his tribes daily life.  

The hadza (or hadzabe), of which GIlet is a member, are absolutely fascinating:

 

Brief wiki interlude:

The Hadza, or Hadzabe,[3][4] are an indigenous ethnic group in north-central Tanzania, living around Lake Eyasi in the central Rift Valley and in the neighboring Serengeti Plateau. There are, as of 2015, between 1,200 and 1,300 Hadza people living in Tanzania,[5] although the increasing impact of tourism and encroaching pastoralists pose serious threats to the continuation of their traditional way of life.[6][7]

Genetically, the Hadza are not closely related to any other people.[2] While traditionally classified with the Khoisan languages, primarily because it has clicks, the Hadza language appears to be an isolate, unrelated to any other.[8] As descendants of Tanzania's aboriginal hunter-gatherer population, they have probably occupied their current territory for thousands of years, with relatively little modification to their basic way of life until the past hundred years.

 

I can say comfortably these guys were the real deal.  We are sensitive to forced cultural interactions where employees are made to sing and dance etc or staged situations.. and generally try to avoid these situations as it makes us personally uncomfortable (zero offense intended to others who may enjoy this). 

 

The following interaction was one of the more facsinating/mind blowing things we're been a part of on any trip and was just a whole lot of fun.

 

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NYUKI MEANS BEE IN SWAHILI

 

After we arrived we put our stuff in the tent and proceeded to get ready for a walk.  

Right at the beginning Alex said that Nyuki had something to show us.  He asked us if we knew what a honeyguide was.   We had seen and heard one once in Zambia in South Luangwa with Phil Berry at Kuyenda Camp.  

back to wiki: 

These birds are best known for their interaction with humans. Honeyguides are noted and named for one or two species that will deliberately lead humans (but, contrary to popular claims, not honey badgers) directly to bee colonies, so that they can feast on the grubs and beeswax that are left behind

 

Alex explained how the bird calls and will fly from tree to tree and if humans follow it eventually they will lead you to a beehive.   The saying is you have to leave some for the bird or else next time it will lead you to a buffalo.  

They told us to listen as there was one calling.  We heard the call, and nyuki responded and we followed the bird from tree to tree.

And wouldn't you know there was a bee hive.  Had they found this before we arrived and just led us back to it?  Possibly, but that doesn't explain the bird in the tree calling/responding to nyuki and flying right to where the beehive was, located IN the trunk of a tree.


Nyuki and Gilet set to starting a small fire using their knife as a base and spinning sticks in their hands

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They then proceeded to blow the smoke into the hive to calm the bee's, and then use their machete type knife to hack away at the trunk (with their bare hands).   we were standing back a decent distance so as to not get stung.  

 

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Yes those are his bare hands reaching right to the hive.  Yes i shot this with the zoom from a distance!

 

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Alex encouraged me to come forward to get some better pictures now that Nyuki and Gilet had gotten chunks of the honeycomb out.  

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Nyuki REALLY loves honey!!

He earned his name for sure. i've never seen someone enjoy something more and while he was generous sharing with us, he definitely ate more honey than i've ever seen a human eat including the honeycomb.  i even tried the grubs that live in the honeycomb.   I also made sure they left some behind for the bird so we didn't end up face to face with a buffalo!

 

 

 

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I have to give Alex credit for encouraging me to capture the following composition (and to get close to the bees) as its one of my favorite pictures i've taken as it captured a really neat moment/experience for us and the smoke gives it an other worldly feel. 

Nyuki The Bee Man

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Here's a few videos of the experience:

 

starting the fire

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opening up the tree

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Honeycomb!

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editors note:  i realize these videos aren't great but i let Gilet take some of them as it was so close to the bees (sure blame the hadza tribesman you had take the video!!).  My computer also having such memory issues i can't properly edit them.  

 

We proceeded to do a short walk through the area which was located adjacent to a dry riverbed.  The area was beautiful and we saw lots of signs of life spoor etc.. and alex and the guides pointed out many plants, insects, tracks etc..  This was apparently a popular area for elephants as they could dig into the sand to get water.

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Elephant calling card

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Digging down to the water below

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Alex teaching

 

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And tonights surprise.  Before dinner, as the sun was setting a wood fired bath with a fire nearby.  Well done team, you made M's day (and therefore mine!)

I snapped this earlier as i wasn't carrying my camera around later!!

 

 

Edited by sek07
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A great night of amazing food cooked over the fire, tremendous conversation with Alex about all sorts of topics and sleeping hard under the stars.  In the end marci loved the experience as much as i did.

 

We woke up in the morning and went for another hike through beautiful terrain.  We got very close to this beautiful impala

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Learned about fascinating uses of nature such as the sap from this treeIMG_1771.thumb.JPG.a7369a7434e4db322829aff7aa169a67.JPG

 

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Could smell this guy from a ways off

 

We saw vervet monkeys, dik dik, dwarf mongoose and a bushbuck startled us so badly when we were in tight quarters that guns were drawn!  We were looking at some spoor in the mud next to a stream and surrounded by bushes etc..     A good laugh was had...

 

We identified spoor of leopard, hyena, side striped hyena, porcupine, elephant, buffalo, wildebeest and eland. 

 

All in a fascinating and fun 24 hours and great to stretch our legs, meet some incredibly unique people, and we learned a ton.   I'd say a resounding success and would encourage anyone to presented with the opportunity to take it.   Upon returning to camp some of the other guests enquired where we had been, and weren't aware that fly camping was even an option which surprised me.   

 

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What a grand experience!  That's a fascinating story about the honeyguide. I do have to say I would have drawn the line at eating the grubs in the honeycomb, but you do have my most esteemed respect, nevertheless.  I'm betting this will be a lasting memory, and one I'd love to have myself. 

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Wow, what a delightful interlude! Thanks for sharing the fly camp!

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Thank photo in post 85 is really something, very nice. I’d love to fly camp sometime, but the wife is not too keen! Someday I’ll wear her down... ;)

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offshorebirder

Wow @sek07 - what a privilege to witness (and photograph) a Honeyguide + human cooperative team work from start to finish!    

 

That is a very special treat Alex gave you.  

 

 

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@offshorebirder we felt very lucky.  I felt very badly for the gentleman who was staying in camp who keeps bees at his home in the US and missed out.  They did bring some honey for him to try when we got back though. 

 

thank you @Zubbie15.  Keep at it, its worth it and i bet she would end up loving. 

 

@Alexander33 i think i surprised myself a little bit eating the grubs but they were pretty bland with a honey flavor.  One time was plenty though!

 

 

 

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We returned to camp for lunch and a siesta.  we had worked up a good appetite on a decent hike and it had gotten very hot.    I have definitely neglected the amazing birdlife in southern Tanzania in this report but even walking from the dining hall to your tent if you stopped and spent a few minutes just listening and looking the trees came alive

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Help with ID?

 

After lunch we proceeded out for a drive, which after our interlude fly camping seemed really fresh and exciting even after a one day break.  As i mentioned earlier, the number of giraffe was staggering.  Really great to see healthy thriving populations

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Iconic scene of the migration

 

We hadn't seen many elephant so we were really pleased when Felix spotted one deep in a wooded area.  He was a little wary of the vehicle so we kept our distance and let him be

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Edited by sek07
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We continued out onto the plains and had a gentle drive but took time to drive out to a lookout hill and have sundowners enjoying the view and totally amazing sunset.

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Tonight we had a special treat in store.  Herman, one of the cooks came on the drive with us and was going to prepare dinner in the bush.  One thing we've found is people seemed unaware of all the activities offered at the different camps we've been at over the years.  Either their agents didn't mention them or they didn't spend the time looking at the websites and marketing materials of the camps-  you are paying for it you might as well get the most out of things!  We have noticed they have seemed a little perturbed when they find out other people are doing things that are included or available at an extra cost even.  

Serian allows you to take your meals out with advance notice, and so we were happy to take advantage.  Herman doesn't get to go on drives very often and seemed genuinely pleased to get to come along.  And WOW what a meal he prepared for us.   A hyena even joined us for dinner-  its a really neat thing to be in the middle of the plains of Tanzania listening to the sounds and flashing the lights occasionally to see what was out and about.  

 

The best part of the dinner was talking to Masha and Herman who we found out was a musician.   I had brought along some portable speakers and we took turns playing some of our favorite songs.  It was a real pleasure to hear about their lives and how they grew up.   Another special night (each one better than the last).  

 

We did a night drive back from dinner that was relatively uneventful, the highlight being a bushbaby

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We slept like the dead after another full, amazing day.  It had apparently rained all night which would keep the wildebeests happy.  It was very cold and drizzly when we left for our AM drive, so we bundled up with blankets and the rain ponchos provided.  

Masha decided we would go north in the direction of ndutu and to the east of the road to try to find some lions that sometimes hang out in the area.  Almost right off the bat after reaching the plains we came across 3 male cheetah brothers, about 5 years old and fairly big.  Two of them were very skittish and kept running from us so we left them to their own.  

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We continued on to Raptor Ridge to take in the view and then continued on north in the rain, but after a while the rain stopped and a THICK fog rolled in.  It was difficult to see more than 50 yards in any direction and it felt a lot like Scotland-  cold, wet and foggy.  

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This picture of an eland running away from us captures the weather

 

We were definitely a bit lost- we drove for quite a while and didn't see much game and were off the main road.  I think Masha lined us up in the right direction and just drove until we would run into something we recognized or the fog would eventually burn off.  

After an hour or so the fog burned off, we got our bearings and continued our drive.  As we were driving along Masha suddenly stopped the vehicle and pointed.  I thought it was another small antelope... but he repeated, and i asked him to repeat again  cara....

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offshorebirder

More good stuff @sek07.      I think the Sunbird in post #93 is a Beautiful Sunbird, which is a very apt name.  

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I hope you got some photos of the cara.... !!

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Those of you who have made it this far maybe remember me saying there are two things we always joke about at the beginning of the trip with our guide when he asks what we would like to see.  The first, a pangolin which Masha delivered.

The second...

Caracal

 

And i'll be honest i really never thought i'd see one of these two things, let alone two on the same trip.

But there it was about 30 yards from the vehicle tucked at the base of some shrubs.  i asked masha not to move so i could get at least one photo in case it bolted and we never saw it again.

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how masha saw it i'll never know.  we were moving at a pretty good clip and it looked like the myriad rocks you see as you are driving from our distance.  But there it was, and honestly our hearts skipped a beat.  

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The scene

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She seemed to get comfortable with our presence and we followed her at a comfortable distance as she went on the prowl for something to hunt.  We were the only vehicle probably for 30-60 mins in any direction.  And we found her by getting lost.   AmazingIMG_1864.thumb.JPG.3de2d8b12706c9b85c48e67f4a06b7aa.JPG

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Scroll ahead if you don't want to see a lot of Caracal pics.  

 

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