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TAKE TWO: WE FOUND THE MIGRATION IN MORU!


KaliCA

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The next day we observe many elephants around Silale Swamp and another serval crosses in front of us. We love this area as there is always something to look at and it’s great having lunch at the picnic area while looking across the greenery. 

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Silale Swamp picnic area. Every stop we have to remember to charge our solar lights. 56931E0B-3733-4289-9370-4D81E35350EE.jpeg.c141ed07cb6d4f29a8d06ae30adaaa8b.jpeg

Later, a herd of ellies walked through. 74D75E13-ABD7-4169-8793-73B9F8BB54D4.jpeg.931d97671c6b5d63b57566d568421aa2.jpeg

 

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Cutest tree hugger. 

 

 

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That tree got a lot of attention. 

 

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The second evening, after having enjoyed the Silale Swamp area, we drive 8.5 miles along the swamp track to reach Hondo Hondo special campsite. It’s in a clearing in a wooded area and has lots of flies and tsetses. Just as I was fearing it would be since it’s enclosed by bushes, which is the environment the tsetses like best. A game driver called the area around HondoHondo the “fly country”and he surely was correct. 

So plan B is to camp at Silale picnic site which is nice and open and ....there is water and a bathroom available. 

At almost dark, we head up to the picnic site and meet two ellies who are browsing on the bushes around the facilities. Soon, they move off and we set up the tent and spend a quiet night camping at Silale Picnic site.

 

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~ @KaliCA

 

The image above reminded me of photographs of Holi in India.

 

Your trip report continues to be of substantial interest.

 

Thank you for the effort of posting it.

 

Tom K.

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Where Boundary Hill road meets the river road, we find a male lion and his buffalo kill. He is sitting in the empty space under a bush guarding the buffalo carcass in front of him. No other lions are visible. We stay with him a while but he only moves once and is not feeding. In the course of the day, we pay him three more visits but there is no change in scenery.

 

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The next day we are lucky with dwarf mongoose. Always a welcoming sight with their funny antics.

In addition, we surprise a herd of buffalo about to cross the road and they retreat in fear. Some animals are more skittish then others. 

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At one point, we look across the river and notice many vehicles parked under a tree and our first thought is “leopard”. But, as we get closer, we see one vehicle stuck in the mud in the middle of the river and the others parked above the far bank with the drivers out of their cars shouting advice to the game driver of what to do to get out. We drive down into the riverbed and decide to help them out and they seem excited to see a Land Rover. They attach their strap and DH is trying to pull them out backwards.... no go. They are in deep doodoo up to their exhaust. Then the same thing pulling forward with the same result. They remain thoroughly stuck. So we give up and they thank us profusely for having tried. Their guests look quite worried. In the evening we learn that a tractor had to be called to push them out.

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Here a few pics to give you an idea what camping and cooking is like. I ordered two gas burners which were a big help. I could make pasta and fry meat at the same time and things would be ready to eat at the same time. Wind was always an issue in the evenings, so I made a windguard out of an old table cloth which also doubled as a shower mat. Our biggest problem was not having a proper camping lantern as the solar ones would get dim after an hour. 

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~ @KaliCA

 

This latest group of images flesh out your safari story.

 

The lion guarding his kill. That's one scene where one wouldn't want to intrude.

 

Pulling a stuck vehicle out of a mire. Your photos have stirred memories of safaris past.

 

My friend @Anthony Gitau is a genial helpful individual, so we've extracted several stuck vehicles in scenes such as you've nicely depicted.

 

I like the camping & cooking images. They bring home what it's really like out on safari.

 

Not Maxim’s of Paris but oh-so-good! Looking at the meal above makes me smile. Such fine eats!

 

Thank you for posting such a delightful trip report!

 

Tom K.

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You never say how the red bananas were? Love the tree hugger - such a great photo! Oh dear - not good news about Hondo Hondo. We may also have to go to plan B. That guide must have been crazy to try that crossing. Did he really expect to be able to cross that wide expanse of mud? Lucky you didn't get stuck trying to tow his 4x4 out. Good idea to ask for two propane tanks - that had not occurred to me. You had very good caracal sightings on this trip - unusual surely to see so many. We will check out the public campsite at Tarangire - perhaps have lunch there on the way into the park. The views look lovely. So you hard boil the eggs and then freeze them? Your sunset photos with the baobabs are stunning, and I love the shot from the picnic site of the ellies in the Tarangire River - such a classic shot from that park. 

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@Birdie Mtowambu seems to be famous for their red bananas and they are sweeter than normal. Hope you will try some when passing through there. 

Now you have a plan B in case HondoHondo is inhospitable. 

The game driver who got stuck in the river was not supposed to drive there as there were many humps of dirt on the road leading there to tell drivers this crossing is closed. But this driver did not follow the obvious and drove down and promptly got stuck. 

That shot was taken from Tarangire Safari Lodge, a worthwhile stop for a cold drink and the View. 

 

Thank you and everyone for your nice comments!

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I am really enjoying this trip report! Thank you very much.

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On 2/8/2019 at 3:06 AM, KaliCA said:

The next day we observe many elephants around Silale Swamp and another serval crosses in front of us. We love this area as there is always something to look at and it’s great having lunch at the picnic area while looking across the greenery. 

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Silale Swamp picnic area. Every stop we have to remember to charge our solar lights. 56931E0B-3733-4289-9370-4D81E35350EE.jpeg.c141ed07cb6d4f29a8d06ae30adaaa8b.jpeg

Later, a herd of ellies walked through. 74D75E13-ABD7-4169-8793-73B9F8BB54D4.jpeg.931d97671c6b5d63b57566d568421aa2.jpeg

 

CE45C054-FCA3-45AA-A929-95223DA1DD1D.jpeg.b9ee849c629310788f43ab7baf479286.jpeg

Cutest tree hugger. 

 

 

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That tree got a lot of attention. 

 

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Flowers and elephants, perfect. Love the tree hugging bless ??

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Botswanadreams
On 1/8/2019 at 10:59 PM, KaliCA said:

At the entrance gate to the Serengeti we spend a small fortune paying  11 days entrance fees, camping fees, and vehicle fees. 

 

Oh I remember our trip to Tanzania in 2015 very well. We weren't on a self drive trip but a camping trip like you. Our guide were ask at the desk if we would like to built our own house in the Serengeti in our 11 days time in the park. It was in June like you traveled last year. Seronera 4, a place we loved. Kirawira 1, happy to get this campe site in June, but without Gnus not the best place. We met the migration in Bolongonia, an experience I never can forget. 24 hours the sound. Hondo Hondo special campsite without tse tses as we had and all the elephants around this place I would like to go back as soon as possible. 

 

Thanks so much to remind me of a fantastic time in Tanzania.  

Edited by Botswanadreams
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@Botswanadreams  happy to hear that my TR reminded you of your safari in TZ. I read your TR before our trip, as well as many others on your excellent website. You have had some fantastic adventures and sightings in many parts of the world. I admire your tiger safaris in India and your jaguar sightings in the Pantanal. I hope to get to those destinations one day as well and your reports are certainly an inspiration to me. 

Thank you!

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At one point we pay a visit to Nathan’s brother’s lodge, the Tarangire Safari Lodge. The view is awesome as advertised by the road and we enjoy watching ellies in the river while sipping a coke with ice!

Back at the campsite we do laundry for the last time and arrange the car best we can. The evening drive is seeing us back at the water and lettuce lakes holes and there is lots of activity to keep us entertained. 

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It’s the morning of our very last game drive. Always a bitter-sweet affair. The waterholes are deserted and so we drive down ito the river valley. What luck! Just as we get to the river crossing, two sub-adult lions are walking into the river from the other side and we have those two totally to ourselves for the next hour. They lounge, walk, nuzzle, drink a little, go into the bushes then appear back in the river bed before they march off  into the greenery. There are also 4 bee-eaters huddled on a branch in front of the lion, a double feature!

We are extremely happy to have seen those two and it makes for a great “good-bye Tarangire” sighting. 

We have a last breakfast up on the plains where the big Baobabs are and then drive out of the park and head for Arusha. 12B6775E-5AD1-4F5F-9421-27567E33782A.jpeg.4ebc4ede245f09cf3451f4c628684b1e.jpeg

 

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We shop for coffee and snacks in the Allmart Supermarket and then visit the Cultural Center where we are turned off by super-high prices but we love to see their mask collection from all over Africa. We buy our souvenirs across the street and have an immensely pleasant visit with the shopkeeping couple, Jocelyn and Muhammad. Just very sweet and warm people. Nathan and Patricia are happy to see us back safe and sound and so are we. We unload and repack all of our dirty belongings into the suitcases that were stored in their office. Then Nathan is nice enough to lend us a small sedan to drive up to the L’Oasis Lodge. There we get acclimated to be back in civilization that offers a cooked meal, television, hot water...Yay! and a hair dryer. Oh well... again, bitter-sweet, but all good things must come to an end. 

 

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~ @KaliCA

 

That's close!

 

Great shot! What a nice ending to an amazing safari.

 

Tom K.

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It’s our last morning in Tanzania and we spend lunchtime at the Blue Heron Cafe next to Nathan’s office ,in the company of Nathan and his friend who is an expat Swiss, like me, and we speak Swiss German to each other. How funny! Later, our shuttle is ready and we drive to the airport along the Moshi road with full view of magnificent Kilimanjaro. 

 

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The flight home is uneventful and takes us with Qatar Air to Doha, to Kennedy, and home to Florida where we are enjoying our sunsets and wildlife. B)

Thank you, dear readers, for following along and letting me relive our Tanzania Self-Drive adventure. 

 

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Yes, a black bear. 

 

 

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Not to forget our most famous animal

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@KaliCAmarvelous trip report, my favorite in quite a while. Thanks for taking me along, it brought back so many memories. Loved the writing style and fantastic pictures, there are several sunset pictures that are worthy framers. A self-drive safari is about immersing yourself in the moment and being an active participant in how the adventure plays out. So different than a regular safari. Hat's off to you and your DH, well played! I hope there are more in your future.

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Lovely trip report, thank you for sharing your trip with us!

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Thanks for sharing, you definitely had some adventures you wouldn’t have had staying at camps.  I showed my wife some of your pictures, she was pretty emphatic that she liked a little more luxury than you had.  I have to admit I’m not sure how I’d feel about being all alone in the dark at one of the special campsites, I could imagine having some stress if the bushes started to rustle nearby!

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@Paul B @Tom Kellie @Zubbie15 @Peter Connan

thank you for your kind words. Having never been on a guided safari, I can’t compare the two. All I know is that I so cherish the freedom to decide where, when and how long we will be game driving and staying with a sighting. Yes, it’s a grand adventure and certainly a lot of work and living conditions are less than ideal. However, being out there in the wilds, not knowing what I will discover around the next bend and then cherish all nature has to offer, the big and the small, the heartwarming and the cruel, beats anything in travel I have ever done. I like cruising, art and history museums, hiking, boating, reading, and RVing, too, but nothing gets my heart rate going as self-driving on a big game safari. 

If our health permits, we will do it a few more times. I’m thinking the Mara might be next, in 2020. First, we are off on a monster RV trip driving from Florida to Alaska via our favorite parks in Utah, Wyoming, and Montana, hopefully with lots of sightings of bear, moose, eagle, wolves, elk, and caribou. Destinations include Brooks Falls, Denali, fishing the Kenai, driving the Dempster Hwy to the Arctic Ocean... etc 

Edited by KaliCA
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~ @KaliCA

 

If this safari was any indication, your upcoming Florida to Alaska trip will be a doozy!

 

May that North American journey be as wonderful as was your drive in Africa.

 

Thank you again for this lovely trip report.

 

Tom K.

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