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Big Birthday at Namiri (cheetah) Plains; Friends, fun, photography, laughs and giggles, toasts and celebrations - A truly memorable safari that was nothing but epic !!!!


madaboutcheetah

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madaboutcheetah

@Alex The Lion- if you dash straight without any stop - 20 minutes ish …. But you will have to stop!!! There’s too much on the way …. It’s namiri !!!! . I was leaving at 6 am every morning still dark.  20 minutes to the top of gol ..:: gol itself is huge (western and eastern side of gol - plus you have the central portion too ) 

 

This year Barafu had a lot of action too …. 
 

 

Edited by madaboutcheetah
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So Namari Plains would be south East in the map above?

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7 hours ago, madaboutcheetah said:

Some guests in our group went to Rwanda for a gorilla trek prior and flew into Seronera with Auric Air .... The flight went from Kigali to Sero with an immigration stamp in Mwanza.

That’s the only commercial flight from the Serengeti direct to Rwanda  and Auric charges premium fares- about USD 1k for the 2 hr RT at present. 

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madaboutcheetah
2 hours ago, AKR1 said:

That’s the only commercial flight from the Serengeti direct to Rwanda  and Auric charges premium fares- about USD 1k for the 2 hr RT at present. 

@AKR1not that we are aware of …. It’s a seat rate as far as I know. 

 

EDIT - Sorry I mis read it ........  I read too quick earlier - Yes, you are right it's a pricey flight.

Edited by madaboutcheetah
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madaboutcheetah
On 5/16/2023 at 3:19 PM, AKR1 said:

So Namari Plains would be south East in the map above?

The short cut road from namiri to gol kopjes is via zebra kopjes and Hyena gully  …

Edited by madaboutcheetah
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madaboutcheetah

Did I say Cheetah ????? 

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madaboutcheetah

The Fischer's Love birds are not easy to photograph .... they are small and super quick !!! Chuffed that I got a shot at least .... And yup!! More cheetah/cubs.

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So you finally turned 30! :D So many cheetah, what a great birthday present trip!  Happy belated!

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I love your cheetah pictures, these sightings are so wonderful, thanks for going there every year and sharing them with us. I wish you many happy and healthy years to come.

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when I was on the plane on April 12 from Seronera to Arusha we picked up a guest who had stayed several weeks at Ndutu Safari lodge. She told me that large herds had left Ndutu in February ( like they usually do) and then they returned for some reason. 

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I'm delighted that you had such a great birthday. You took so many amazing photos.

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I feel kind of prescient, having asked you in IG just before you started this report if you were going to do one! Really impressive seeing all the shots together, you had some great sightings and the weather seems not bad at all.  What a great way to spend an important birthday! 

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madaboutcheetah

Thanks a lot @janzin@Biko@optigand @Zubbie15

 

Re the weather .......  We did get rained on a couple of times!!  The lovely Asilia ponchos came in handy ........  There was one night where it rained from dinner time until 4:30 am the next morning.  A Couple of afternoon T'storms ..........  We didn't really miss any game drives (maybe a couple of leisurely lunches to wait out a storm) .... Also note - all the T'storms were so localised.  One day we got rained on quite heavily not far from camp - while some members of our group were at Barafu and they didn't get even a drizzle there!   However, as you know all of this rain was instrumental to push the mega herds our way and also keep the plethora of Seronera vehicles away ;) 

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What's a phrase common to Hari, Africa and birthdays? Many happy returns!

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madaboutcheetah

Thanks a lot John @John M.much appreciated…. 
 

I’m going to be busy with work the next few days and so the editing will have to slow down …. 
 

meanwhile a few iPhone photos ….

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Glorious photos, Hari, as expected from you. that Lion has the most perfect mane. 

you had a fantastic cheetahful birthday!

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TravelMore

Happy Birthday Hari! What a great way to celebrate! What lens were you using for these great pics? We finally bit the bullet and booked NP for Sept '24, it looks like a really special place😊

Edited by TravelMore
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madaboutcheetah

Thanks a lot @TravelMoreand @Kitsafari- Most of those photos with my new Z mount 400 f2.8 lens which has the inbuilt TC.

 

This, that and the other - A word of appreciation to Kenya Airways .......  One of the members in our group lost their watch in airport security in Nairobi airport.  He realised it only after getting on the KQ flight to Mumbai (we had a very quick connection from JRO to Mumbai via Nairobi).  On speaking to the pilot - he said the doors had to close - but, he would take it up with the airport authorities asap ........  Who would have known!!  They found the watch and it came back yesterday to Coimbatore ....... Lo and behold, I don't know many places in the world from where it would be returned from!! 

 

 

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Atravelynn

Happy ending to the watch story!  I'm toasting your big day from afar.

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madaboutcheetah

Thanks @Atravelynn

 

This, that and the other ...... To fill in while the editing is going to have to wait - here's another story that involves a Safari packing tip for all the Gentlemen travellers.  We went on game drive straight from Seronera on the day I landed on April 27th ...... Think went to camp just in time to freshen up before dinner.  Anyway, the packing tip involves shaving foam.  I carry travel size Gillette foam - lo and behold, it some how seemed to have exploded all over my wash bag when i opened it that evening.  It looked like a bubble bath in the wash bag.  I don't know if it happened on the plane at some point or during the bumpy drive all day (our bags were in the game drive vehicle all day with us from Sero) ...... Anyway,  the Room attendant did a great job in cleaning the wash bag immaculately along with the contents.  Dickson, the manager managed to get me a fresh bottle from Arusha, but, it took a couple of days to arrive because of flight movements (or the lack of) !!  Just FYI ...... I think next time, I might double bag it in a zip lock bag to be extra secure in case something happens?? oh and possibly carry two!  I did try to borrow some from any of the camp staff in the interim- but, alas no one had any Shave foam or gel.

Edited by madaboutcheetah
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Alex The Lion
1 hour ago, madaboutcheetah said:

Thanks @Atravelynn

 

This, that and the other ...... To fill in while the editing is going to have to wait - here's another story that involves a Safari packing tip for all the Gentlemen travellers.  We went on game drive straight from Seronera on the day I landed on April 27th ...... Think went to camp just in time to freshen up before dinner.  Anyway, the packing tip involves shaving foam.  I carry travel size Gillette foam - lo and behold, it some how seemed to have exploded all over my wash bag when i opened it that evening.  It looked like a bubble bath in the wash bag.  I don't know if it happened on the plane at some point or during the bumpy drive all day (our bags were in the game drive vehicle all day with us from Sero) ...... Anyway,  the Room attendant did a great job in cleaning the wash bag immaculately along with the contents.  Dickson, the manager managed to get me a fresh bottle from Arusha, but, it took a couple of days to arrive because of flight movements (or the lack of) !!  Just FYI ...... I think next time, I might double bag it in a zip lock bag to be extra secure in case something happens?? oh and possibly carry two!  I did try to borrow some from any of the camp staff in the interim- but, alas no one had any Shave foam or gel.

 

I operate a slightly different tactic, as I know we both shave our head.

 

Trip to the barbers for a full head and beard shave on the morning of my departure. Then I just let it grow for the entire trip, come back looking as though I've been on a rugged African adventure 🤣

Edited by Alex The Lion
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madaboutcheetah

Back to the editing ......

 

The Gol Kopjes male lions ....


Wilder and Walker (the Cub valley cheetah males) - Sorry I only have video of their wildebeest chase/hunt which I will find a way to post here later on .......

 

A hungry looking young female cheetah - possibly looking for scrub hares / baby gazelle.

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madaboutcheetah

When Gol kopjes comes to life ......... 

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Edited by madaboutcheetah
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madaboutcheetah

This instalment deserves it's own story line .........

 

We've all heard about the demise of Bob Junior the legendary Male Lion in the Eastern Serengeti.  Here is one of the males that brutalised him on that fateful day (one of a coalition of 7) ......  We did see the others, but, only sleeping (so no photos)

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