Six Kansans on a Tanzania safari

[AKR1]

@Mapumbo

Thanks for an informative report with lots of useful details. 

 

A question on your last post about the crossing and the horrible behavior of folks on the other side of the Mara river from where you were , although it appears vehicles on your side were also blocking the gnu access. 

 

I had had thought that this type of nonsense happens often on the Kenyan side of the border in the Mara mostly due to day trippers and general mismanagement but that the Tanzanian side is much better controlled including the Lamai wedge. It’s disappointing to see ( if I understand your location correctly) that this is no longer true and the misbehavior has spread to the Tanzanian side as well. Are there many camps in the area and were they no rangers around? 

 

 

[mapumbo]

After this fiasco, we asked George that we would like to leave and look at other things.  We headed down stream and were coming on another crossing point.  It appeared that the group that had gotten cut off on their crossing attempt was headed this way.  Sure enough, they were coming right to the river and began crossing right in front of us.  The number of vehicles was reduced because of the unpredictable decision of the herd to suddenly cross.  The people on the other side stayed in their vehicles this time.  I wonder if word had gotten out and a ranger was over there watching.  George said the driver would be subject to stiff fines if they let there passengers out.  Anyway, we got to see the bulk of the herd cross without the negative atmosphere we witnessed previously.  

 

These crossings are an awesome sight.  There certainly is plenty of drama involved.  We ended up being glad we waited to finally observe a successful event and felt privileged to be able to have that opportunity, but we were satisfied that this one crossing was enough for us and we were ready to head out and away from the river.  We still had 2 and a half more days to enjoy our Tanzania safari.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mapumbo]

13 minutes ago, amybatt said:

Wow!!  Patience paid off!  Your photos and description are excellent.  This is the second time in as many days I've read about people getting out of the vehicles for the crossings (the other was on another forum).  Are there rules around this?  What did your guide tell you?

Our guide said that behavior is totally unacceptable.  If there are rangers around the drivers will be heavily fined.  

[mapumbo]

9 minutes ago, AKR1 said:

@Mapumbo

Thanks for an informative report with lots of useful details. 

 

A question on your last post about the crossing and the horrible behavior of folks on the other side of the Mara river from where you were , although it appears vehicles on your side were also blocking the gnu access. 

 

I had had thought that this type of nonsense happens often on the Kenyan side of the border in the Mara mostly due to day trippers and general mismanagement but that the Tanzanian side is much better controlled including the Lamai wedge. It’s disappointing to see ( if I understand your location correctly) that this is no longer true and the misbehavior has spread to the Tanzanian side as well. Are there many camps in the area and were they no rangers around? 

 

 

 

@AKR1  Those are good questions.  We had one other guest in Njozi Camp who was a seasoned Africa traveler who gave us lots of good information and things to think about.

 

His take is that the Kenya side is even much worse, but he thought that the crossings in Tanzania were also becoming out of control.  He didn't know if the rangers were over whelmed  or giving up on controlling the abuse.  He did mention that there are so many more people coming up to the north to witness the crossings and many of them are not sympathetic to the plight of the animal and all they want is that Discovery Channel photo.

 

This guys opinion is that they are allowing too many more camps to be built in the Serengeti.  His solution would be to limit the camps but charge more per person to control the over population of safari goers but still give the country the income they are wanting.

 

You are correct that the Lamai Wedge on the other side of the Mara River is also part of Tanzania and the Serengeti Park system.  So the animals are crossing the Mara at this location to and from Tanzania, thus the Tanzania authority should have control on both sides.  And yes, cars on our side were blocking the exits as well.  We asked George to move at one point when we could see that the wildebeests were having difficulty finding a path through.

 

There must not have been any rangers around, at least the first time.  As we were able to see the finishing of the herd crossing a bit later, no one got out of the cars so I wonder if there was a ranger around that time.  There are at least 10 different crossing points over a fairly long stretch of river so I suppose that it is hard to patrol all of them and it is a crap shoot to know where the animals are going to decide to cross.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

A very enjoyable report, thank you so much for sharing. The Northern Circuit of Tanzania was my first safari, so this brings back a lot of good memories. Particularly loved the Elephants on the Kopjes, such a special scene.

[mapumbo]

@michael-ibk  I'm glad you are enjoying this TR.  Our previous trip in 2004/05 was our favorite safari to date so we were glad to share a similar track with friends.

[CDL111]

Very emotive subject is the wildebeest crossings and the attitude of some of the public. I agree with your comments. I remember reading somewhere that at one particular crossing, there was 153 vehicles trying to get a view for their customers. 

I doubt that the multi national hotel groups, where some of the places have 100 rooms would accept less customers. Could more rangers be a solution? That then is a cost that needs to be paid for, increase the daily entrance on the park fees? 

To move on from the main crossing and being rewarded with another crossing must have been satisfying. Your photographs and words are first-class.

[mapumbo]

@CDL111 You are correct about the lodges not reducing their beds. 

Tanzania needs to do something about the crowds at the crossings harassing the herds.  I have not been to the area in Kenya but it must be even worse..

Thank you for following along on this TR.  I appreciate you kind comments.

[anocn4]

Thanks for sharing...wonderful sightings. Glad you were able to enjoy the second crossing after the debacle at the first one.

[mapumbo]

9 hours ago, anocn4 said:

Thanks for sharing...wonderful sightings. Glad you were able to enjoy the second crossing after the debacle at the first one.

@anocn4

Thank you.  We really lucked out when we moved on and the crossing occurred right next to us.

[mapumbo]

After watching the crossing, we drove along the river to look for crocs,  There were some wildebeest carcasses in the river with vultures and maribou storks feeding on them.  The crocs all looked pretty full.  That's probably why we didn't see any at the herd crossing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mapumbo]

George decided to head over to the Sand River which is the border between Kenya and Tanzania.  There are a few rhino over there that cross back and forth from the two countries.

We did not see any rhino ourselves but some other vehicles had sighted some.  They stay in the trees in the river area where there is lots of cover so you are fortunate to see them.  We were heading back towards camp and could see that there was a storm gathering.  It started pounding down rain before we got back to camp and the streams were starting to run a lot of water.  We made it back to camp where it hadn't rained quite as much and called it an early day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While relaxing back at camp we had a card game and had service with a smile from  Amos.

 

[mapumbo]

The next day we got our usual early start.  It was quite wet and the roads were full of puddles and muddy from the hard rain.  It had rained even more during the night but was clearing as we started our drive.  Driving along the river we found these hyena and vultures finishing off someones kill from the previous night.

 

 

 

 

 

We then headed  up onto the plains to see what was around.  We could see there were already cars lined up waiting for a herd to cross.  The river was running a couple feet higher than yesterday and I don't know if the Mara Bridge was even safe to cross.  That didn't concern us since we were done with that business although I would have liked to explore the Lamai Wedge a bit more.  

Anyway we saw a nice herd of eland.  Then we spotted several female lion resting in the shade.  We were to see them again later.  There were plenty of wildebeests herds on the plains heading away from the river as well as the ones massing at the river planning to cross the other way.

 

 

 

 

We observed this battle between two topi.

 

 

 

MAMA WART HOG WITH BABIES

 

 

 

 

 

NJOZI CAMP WITH WILDEBEEST HERD IN BACKGROUND

[offshorebirder]

I am catching up again on this trip report @mapumbo.    Thank you so much for taking the time to prepare it and post photos.

 

That last photo in post #60 is certainly an idyllic scene.  And how lucky you were with the Serval!

 

I am sorry to hear that bad behavior at crossings is spreading to the Serengeti.  

 

Your TR is certainly a good advertisement for George in particular and The Wild Source in general.  George sounds like a Tanzanian Ben Mugambi.

[Zubbie15]

I’m also just catching up on this report @mapumbo, like many others it’s bringing back many memories.  That serval was definitely a special find, how fortunate.  We’re going to be in the Northern Serengeti next September for 4 nights, and I’ve been debating already whether we even try to see a crossing or not (we’ve already seen 2 previously).  If things have gotten that much crazier, as it felt hectic back in 2013, I think we probably will just avoid the crossings altogether.

[mapumbo]

5 hours ago, offshorebirder said:

I am catching up again on this trip report @mapumbo.    Thank you so much for taking the time to prepare it and post photos.

 

That last photo in post #60 is certainly an idyllic scene.  And how lucky you were with the Serval!

 

I am sorry to hear that bad behavior at crossings is spreading to the Serengeti.  

 

Your TR is certainly a good advertisement for George in particular and The Wild Source in general.  George sounds like a Tanzanian Ben Mugambi.

 

@offshorebirder  Thank you for the kind comments and for following along.  

The comparison between Ben and George is a very good.  George loves his birds.  I think he would be a good fit for you if you ever decide to tour Tanzania.  It was funny, we had several of our friends who were not particularly interested in birds and would good heartedley kid Mama Ndege about wanting to stop and look and take photss of the birds.  I noticed by the end of the safari they were taking photos and pointing out the birds as well.

[mapumbo]

2 hours ago, Zubbie15 said:

I’m also just catching up on this report @mapumbo, like many others it’s bringing back many memories.  That serval was definitely a special find, how fortunate.  We’re going to be in the Northern Serengeti next September for 4 nights, and I’ve been debating already whether we even try to see a crossing or not (we’ve already seen 2 previously).  If things have gotten that much crazier, as it felt hectic back in 2013, I think we probably will just avoid the crossings altogether.

 

I would hate to advise anyone not to see a river crossing, and I suppose there are times when it is not so crazy and one could enjoy it without the circus, but I would be hard pressed to ever take the time to do it again.  Saying that, I am glad we ended up experiencing it.  It is certainly a dramatic spectacle. 

 

Yes, that serval was certainly laid back and very accepting of our presence.

[CDL111]

See Amos has the right priorities with the brolly.

Looks a decent sized herd of elands and they do not seem to be skittish.

[mapumbo]

9 hours ago, CDL111 said:

See Amos has the right priorities with the brolly.

Looks a decent sized herd of elands and they do not seem to be skittish.

Like a domestic herd of cows.

[mapumbo]

We checked out the area that has the kopjes again.  Hoping we will eventually spot a cat of some variety.  I still is fun to drive through these rocks.  There are always klipspringers or something about, and you constantly have the anticipation of seeing a predator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed out onto the open plains and came across a large group of vultures finishing up a carcass.  Baby elephant and baby wart hog.  One cuter than the other in some folks opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the same warthog family we had seen the day before.  Looks like they spent the night in a muddy den.  The poor piglets looked pretty miserable. 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2018 by mapumbo

[mapumbo]

Onward, we saw a nice herd of zebra.  Again we came across the same small pride of lionesses we had seen the day before in the same open area with just a few bushes for them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One zebra had an area on its side that was devoid of stripes.  It looked like a saddle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the lions made a half-hearted attempt at a wildebeest but the grass was too short for her to get within striking distance.

 

 

[mapumbo]

From the plains we headed over to the Sand River.  We had been there the day before looking for the elusive rhino.  We saw an oribi crossing the river and a large single bull elephant near the river.

 

We searched really hard for a sighting of the rhino.  We made one trip up along the tree lined Sand River and then returned back along the same route.  Mama Ndege called out to George to stop and back up a little.  She thought she might have seen something in the trees.  We backed up and sure enough, back in the woods we could see a rhino and when we stopped to check him out he started getting nervous and turned and when deeper into the woods.  That was a tremendous sighting.  George was amazed and kept saying "good spot".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vultures were descending on the box lunches.

 

Edited September 29, 2018 by mapumbo

[mapumbo]

After being satisfied that we had finally seen a rhino after all our effort, even though it was just a fleeting glance, we headed back towards the plains.

 

We were back in the territory of our familiar lion pride.  This would be the third time we saw them.  This time there was a massive herd of wildebeests filing by their hunting grounds.  The line of wildebeests stretched from horizon to horizon and just kept filing past below where we were watching.  This was going to be our golden chance to see a lion stalk and kill!!!  At first we were the only ones in the vicinity.  Just a handful of other vehicles came our way as we waited.  

 

About 20 minutes into our wait, one lioness made an attempt at an individual but failed.  We figured this would be it for this opportunity, but George said just wait the wildebeests will soon forget.  The herd behind stalled out for a while but soon carried on in the endless line.  Two other lions of the pride then slowly made their way into the tall grass from the bush they were resting under.  They would make their way closer to the trail, in stealthy moves, where the wildebeests were traveling on.  Again we were quietly urging them to make their move.  It looked like they had a prime opportunity to run one down.  A fourth lion came onto the scene as well.  We had lost sight of the first one.  We finally could see the end of the line of wildebeests and knew it was now or never.  For some reason they never made an attempt.  We had been there watching for at least an hour and a half.  It still was fun to be a spectator to this event.  7 safaris and still no successful hunt.  Reason to return.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While this was going on there was a really large male elephant off to our left who was slowly working his way toward us.  Also, a herd of zebra that was coming in the same direction as the wildebeests.  We kept trying to tell them to stay back because they are so much more aware of the predators and we were afraid they would see the lions and alert the wildebeests.

 

 

 

 

 

[CDL111]

Nice to see the lions again, l suppose that not seeing a kill is as good a reason as any to go on safari number 8. Nice photograph of the buffalo weaver with the elephant in the foreground!

[Amylovescritters]

Awesome report... We will be going on a Northern Circuit Safari with TWS next year beginning April 1st. We will not have George as our guide, as we will be traveling with Fadhil. We are so excited. Your report is fodder for increased excitement. We will start in Tarangire (TSL) for 2 nights, then a late morning decent into the crater, overnight at Sopa, first thing in the morning decent, then off to Njozi Ndutu for 3 nights (Olupai Gorge visit enroute), 3 nights at Dunia, 3 nights at Namiri Plains, and then two nights at Makoa Farm (farm and animal rehab/sanctuary near Moshi) at the end. 

Your sightings are unique and wonderful. I witnessed a crossing at the Mara river when in Kenya on a group Safari in 2004. Maybe we were lucky, but no vehicles (or people) behaved in the appalling fashion described in your report (&far too many other reports, frankly)... Where the river crossing was amazing (roughly40-50 animals so not a large crossing by any means) it was not necessarily a highlight for me. Maybe if a croc had successfully grabbed a crosser it would have excited me beyond words (herpetologist freak here), but all made it safely (much to the delight of most of my fellow travelers). So many special sightings occurred (civet cat was amazing)... Also were mesmerized by dung beetles, enchanted by the antics of the vervets, fell in love with ALL the Bushbabies, and all of the tree and rock hyrax tickled me to no end. It is definitely not all about the megafauna and associated sightings. The little things are so special, and far too often overlooked by far too many (not likely those on ST though). Thanks again! Loving it.