Kenya & Tanzania Sept. 2010

[Ellie]

Part 5 (Continued)

 

Tarangire Safari Lodge is much nicer than I expected, and it has a location to die for, overlooking the Tarangire River inside the park. At various times throughout the day, all kinds of animals come to the river to drink. The main building with the dining area, lounge, bar, etc. is very nice, and the food is OK, although not gourmet by any means. Staff are really nice, especially our favorite, Eutropia. She took excellent care of us while we were here. The tents here are fine, a little smaller than Entim, but the bathroom is better, and there is much better lighting! We really hated the dim lighting at Entim – really our only complaint about Entim Camp. Although the tents look rather close together, it was really not an issue as we never heard anyone else.

 

9/15 – This morning we got up early and were on the road at 6:30 to see what was out and about early in the day. Again, the birding was fantastic. We saw a large herd of Waterbuck, which we’d never seen in groups of more than 3 or 4 before. Factoid of the day – lions only eat bushbuck if there is nothing else available, because the skin of the bushbuck has a smell and taste that is very strong and offensive to lions. Nice survival strategy. Waterbuck, on the other hand, apparently taste just fine. We saw lots of impala and zebras and even some wildebeest, and were able to finally get a good shot of an impala with lovely horns and one of two impala bucks sparring.

 

There are many tawny eagles in Tarangire, as well as black-chested snake eagles. The dwarf mongoose are about the cutest rodents we’ve seen, although the Tree Hyrax come pretty close.

 

The new birds for us here in Tarangire have been numerous: White-browed cuckoos, red-necked spur fowl, yellow-necked spur fowl, Coqui Francolin, Spotted Thick Knee, Blacksmith Plover, Spur-winged Plover, Crowned Plover, African Mourning Dove, Russet –tailed Dove, Fisher’s Lovebirds, Yellow-collared Lovebirds, Brown Parrots, White-bellied Go Away Birds, Bare-faced Go Away Birds, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Eurasian Swifts, African Palm Swifts, Red and Yellow Barbets, African Grey Hornbills, Red-billed Hornbills, Von Der Decken’s Hornbills, Magpie Shrike, Babblers, Southern Black Flycatcher, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleus, Red-billed Firefinches, White-headed Buffalo Weavers, Rufous-tailed Weavers, Red-billed Queleas, Superb Starlings, Hildebrandt’s Starling, Gold-breasted Starlings, Ashy Starlings, Magpie Starlings, Common Drongos, Yellow-billed Oxpeckers, Pied Crow, and some others that I never got written down! This is definitely a birder’s paradise! (Because we took so many pictures of birds that you may or may not be interested in, I’ll post those separately.) Factoid of the day – Baobab trees produce a fruit that is edible by both people and animals, and the flowers are pollinated by fruit bats. Factoid no. 2 – there are no young Baobab trees in Tarangire, because the elephants eat them as soon as they sprout. Factoid no. 3 - Elephants strip the bark from Baobab trees because it has a very high water content as well as being nutritious; Baobabs have two layers of bark and so they can survive having the entire outer layer of bark stripped off, unlike other trees that would die.

 

This afternoon we encountered the dreaded tsetse flies – and we survived! They really are incredibly difficult to kill, and they bite hard, almost like a mild bee sting. I don’t seem to react to their bites at all; no itching, burning or swelling. On the other hand, Dick does react but we’re not sure how much is from the mosquito bites he got at Entim (although I never even saw a mosquito there), and how much from the tsetse flies. Best sighting of the day was leaf bats in a fig tree – they even have lines on their wings so that when they are hanging by one leg blowing in the breeze they look exactly like large brown leaves. Of course they were back-lit, so no photo op. There was a juvenile Martial Eagle in the top of a dead tree, which George says is the only kind they will perch in (also back-lit). Later, we saw a couple of lionesses across the river, about 150 yards away. One was in a tree lying down, the other was lying down under the tree. We watched them for a while, when the one under the tree got up and sauntered up a trail about 30 yards then suddenly turned and trotted back a ways, and dropped into a stealth crouch overlooking the river. We couldn’t see what she was watching, because of the lay of the land. After a few seconds, she disappeared into the river where we couldn’t see her. A couple of minutes later a wildebeest came running up from the river, with the lioness close behind. Once the wildebeest hit flat ground, he took off, and the lioness gave up the chase. In the meantime, the lioness in the tree stood up, watched the chase, then turned around and went back to sleep!

 

We also saw a Brown Parrot (much prettier than it sounds) eating the seeds from a sausage tree “sausage” that had been broken open by baboons. On the way back to the lodge, we came across a troop of baboons up in a sausage tree eating the blossoms. The baboons here are Olive Baboons, and are much furrier than the Yellow Baboons in Zambia. The 3 large males stayed down on the ground and ate all the blossoms that the ones up in the tree dropped. It pays to be top dog in any society I guess.

[twaffle]

There was an article in SWARA about the lack of baby baobab trees in Tsavo and the same thing was surmised, that the elephants were killing them off. But the scientists discovered that the young baobabs were there, they just didn't look like baobabs. I will try to find the article as I'm sure it was in the last couple of years. It was really interesting. I'll post it in a different thread though.

[madaboutcheetah]

Ellie,

 

Thanks a lot for your time to make this great report.

 

Couple of questions,

 

1.) How would you summarize your stay at Entim Mara in terms of their strengths?

2.) Would you return if you went to the Mara again?

 

Fantastic trip and so glad you had a fantastic time.

 

Regards

Hari

[Ellie]

Twaffle, I'd love to see that article on the baobab trees - as you can see I'm a sucker for factoids, but I do like to get them straight. I'll forward the article to our guide who was totally into information on everything having to do with the birds, beasts and flora of Tanzania.

[Ellie]

Hari, Entim Camp was very comfortable. Not so "over-the-top" that we felt like fools, but definitely not camping out. The tents were large, with separate bathroom areas, very nice furnishings and comfortable bedding (and those really wonderful hot water bottles at night), and there was plenty of space between the tents so that you didn't worry about hearing/seeing/being seen by your neighbors. The location is great, overlooking the Mara River, with a crossing area right below the camp, although it is not used that much these days as the herds seem to be crossing up-river a bit (still in view of the camp, however). We saw vehicles from Governor's Camp, so I guess it's not too far from them. Staff at Entim was really good, very attentive and friendly. All of the staff, including the manager, are African, with the exception of a young woman who is the assistant manager (and does most of the interfacing with guests). There is a nicely appointed lounge tent with lots of plugs for charging, interesting photo books, etc. Their food was very good - definitely on a par with some of the really expensive camps we've stayed in. They also had pretty much every kind of liquor you could want, and very decent wine. Because the camp is unfenced, we had a number of interesting moments during the night and early mornings with animals in close proximity to the tents, which is always fun.

 

Downsides to the camp - they are relatively new (only a few years under this owner and management), and there are a few quirks that need to be ironed out (i.e., our toilet leaked around the base the entire 4 days we were there, although the camp tried to fix it twice, and was awaiting some additional parts when we left; they have 10 tents, but only 5 land cruisers and guides on staff - they brought in a local Masai lad for us who was quite good, along with a well-used land rover which we ended up becoming quite fond of, since there was a photography group of 18 taking up all the other vehicles). The camp is "green" in that they use their generator only as much as is absolutely necessary and then pretty much only when everyone is out on drives; however, this also means the lighting in the tents is really dim, which was a trifle difficult for our old eyes.

 

Would we go back to Entim if we returned to the Masai Mara? Absolutely yes. Let me know if you want any other info.

[madaboutcheetah]

Much appreciated info, Ellie. Thanks so much! From your description - sounds like they have a good location, and a good game viewing ethos.

 

Regards

Hari

[Ellie]

Here's Part 6 of our Trip Report:

 

9/16– today we had an early breakfast at the lodge and were on the road by 7:15. We drove a considerable distance down to the other end of the park to what George called the Swamp. We saw a few new birds on the way, as well as our first small group of Hartebeest. The Swamp is incredible. A sea of green surrounded by dry grass and acacia trees. Lots of birds – Sacred Ibis, Hadada Ibis, Cattle Egrets, African Jacanas, Open-billed Storks, various Herons including a few Goliath Herons, a juvenile and adult Saddle-billed Stork, lots of Plovers, an Ayer’s Hawk-Eagle, and some Yellow-billed Storks. We also “almost” saw a mousebird, which flew away before I could even focus on it.

The elephants came down from the hills in groups of 5 to 10 almost always with one or two really young calves, and headed out into the Swamp. What we thought was grass surrounding some open water turned out to be grass growing on top of more water. The elephants waded in, and were eating the soft green grass and drinking their fill of water, and then wading further out until they came to semi-dry land where there was still plenty of grass. When they pulled up grasses by the roots, they would hold them in their trunks and swish them back and forth in the water to rinse the mud off before stuffing it in their mouths. Clever. At one point I counted at least 150 elephants out in the Swamp drinking and eating. What an incredible sight.

On the way back to the lodge, we saw the two lionesses in the same spot as yesterday, lying under a tree watching the zebras and wildebeest come down to the water to drink. There was a group of elephants between the lions and the zebras and wildebeest, so the lions were pretty much out of luck with respect to trying to catch a meal there.

There were many elephants at the river, no matter where we went, and so many little ones. We really enjoyed watching the babies playing, learning how to use their trunks and emulating mom and their older siblings. We decided that elephant “culture” is fascinating to watch.

 

We saw our first reedbuck today – very beautiful animal. And then we came across this really great example of a weaver nest - not sure which kind of weaver builds these, but they are really incredible looking with their "entrance hall" construction. This afternoon we finally saw some giraffes drinking from the river. The biggest one had the splayed-out front legs you often see in carvings, but the shorter two had hardly any angle to their legs. Guess their necks were longer in proportion to the legs.

We came across a very large troop of Olive Baboons who were busily grooming each other. There was one big male sprawled out on his side with his hind legs spraddled, being groomed from behind by a small female – the male had his eyes closed and looked just like someone getting a really good massage! Another small baboon was on his back while what might have been his mother was busily grooming his belly; it must have tickled because he’d twitch around every so often. After a while, he jumped up, and his “mother” turned her back to him and he started grooming her.

There were 4 youngsters playing with each other and with anything that happened to be in their path, rolling around, jumping on one another, throwing twigs and things and generally racing around the center of the troop. The other baboons just ignored the kids completely. It was amazing how quiet this group of 50 or so animals was – the only sound we heard was acacia seeds being cracked open and eaten.

[Ellie]

Part 6 Trip Report (Continued)

We came across the lionesses again on the way back to the lodge, and they had been joined by a third lioness. All of them were completely sacked out, so we had a glass of wine from the refrigerator in the truck and watched them sleep for a while. Not a bad way to spend a half-hour or so.

Funniest sight this afternoon was the young Yellow-billed Stork that landed at the very top of a dead tree (already occupied by a Fish Eagle). The stork just couldn’t quite get its balance after landing. It kept rocking back and forth, spreading its wings and taking little baby steps trying to find a more secure perch, which never materialized as long as we watched. But that stork just wouldn’t give up. It was determined to roost in that tree.

 

9/17– This morning we woke up to the screech of the Francolins as usual, had a late breakfast, and then watched from our porch as some elephants and an ostrich come down to the river to drink. Around 9 a.m. we started the long drive to Ngorongoro Crater, stopping on the way to watch some hornbills eating – they pick up seeds or bugs with the tip of their large beak and then flip their head back while opening their beak to get the food down their throat (reminded us of pelicans eating).

The road to the Crater is paved until you actually get to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, then it is hard packed dirt and fairly rough in places. We stopped at one place where a ground-water forest suddenly began after miles of dry grass plains. There were a couple of trees right over the road that were full of nesting Yellow-billed Storks – there must have been a hundred or more nests (and lots of “white” leaves on the trees…).

Of course, since tourists regularly stopped to see the storks, a couple of local vendors were also there, and they never did take “no” for an answer. They only stopped trying to sell us stuff when we got in the truck and drove away, and then I was surprised they didn’t follow us! This was also a bus stop of sorts; I was really curious about how the bundles of wood and the bicycles would be put on the bus, since most of the public transportation was minivans. Another common vehicle on these rural roads was the three-wheeler, which appeared to be used as taxis. They all looked well-used.

It took about 3 hours to get from Tarangire to the Ngorongoro Crater entrance, then another 45 minutes or so, on a narrow dirt road following the rim of the crater, to get to the Sopa Lodge. The Lodge is really nice, great views of the crater from our room, lovely lobby and dining room, nice bar area and beautiful grounds. But it is so cold up here! There is a brisk breeze blowing and we’re at a pretty high elevation. There’s a heater in our room and one in the bathroom, but we can’t figure out yet how to turn them on (after mentioning this to the desk clerk, we were told they don’t use the heaters anymore…). We’ll be taking our all-day tour of the crater tomorrow, and I’m really looking forward to it.

[Ellie]

...., no buffalo at the Swamp (Silale is a much nicer name for it), but we did see a couple of sizable herds in other parts of the Crater.

[Ellie]

Part 7 Trip Report

 

Part 7 Trip Report

9/18 – We got up at 5:30 this morning to head down into the Crater and beat the crowds. What a good idea that was! There was almost no one in the crater when we got there. It was pretty nippy though. We almost ran over a jackal sleeping in the road, with his two buddies just up the hill, all trying to stay warm.

First thing we came across was a lion kill of a buffalo, apparently last night or early this morning from the condition of the carcass. There was a black-maned male eating, with a young adult lioness and her brother hanging around, looking like they were already gorged. Lots of jackals and hyenas were hanging around, apparently staying just far enough away not to irritate the lions. After a while the young female wandered over toward us, to get a drink from the creek; she kept making a low coughing sound which George said was her way of calling to the others.

Her brother finally joined her, and they both had a drink from the creek before finding a nice spot to lie down and sleep off breakfast.

 

We had our picnic breakfast by one of the “swamps” which are really just smallish freshwater lakes with lots of reeds and grass nearby, plus a few hippos and a couple of very noisy Egyptian Geese who just wouldn’t shut up! We had to wait for a herd of buffalo to move out of the area, but then we were the only ones there, and it was so peaceful.

 

What a difference when we returned for our picnic lunch – there were 40 or so trucks and about 100 people in that same spot! What a crowd – George said that was nothing compared to the number of trucks and people in July and August. Good reason to avoid those months in the Crater!

Later, we were treated to a great view of about a gazillion pink flamingoes in the main salt lake in the center of the Crater. That was really a treat to see. After lunch it was really windy (and kind of chilly which surprised us), and the dust from passing trucks was really nasty. This is the only place so far that we’ve encountered much in the way of dust, and after today’s experience, I’m really happy about that. One special encounter this afternoon was with a herd of about 200 buffalo crossing the road in front of us. Near the end was a brand spanking new baby not more than an hour or so old, still having difficulty walking. So cute.

We saw our first Kori Bustards here – they are really big birds. George said they were quite good flyers, although we only saw them walking around in the dry grass hunting mice and insects. We also saw our first Auger Buzzard, and got a really lovely picture as it took off in flight.

The clouds were hanging over the opposite side of the crater today, looking like a wave of froth spilling over the rim. (cont'd)

[Ellie]

(Part 7 Cont'd)

On our way out of the Crater, after a really long day (nearly 11 hours) we came across the same group of lions, plus more of the pride, totaling 7 animals (2 fully adult males, 3 fully adult females, and the 2-yr old brother and sister). At one point one of the females got up and wandered over to an adult male, nuzzled him, and then peed in the weeds about 3 feet in front of him. He didn’t do anything then, but later when she had joined the other females and laid back down, he got up and came over to check her out. Then he went back to where he’d been lying with the other male, and started sniffing around. Finally he buried his muzzle in the grass where the lioness had peed , then raised up his head with his eyes closed, mouth open and lips pulled back in that really funny “cat grimace” that all cats seem to make when they smell something really interesting (well, interesting to a cat, anyway…). Then he came over and joined the girls for a snooze, all of them laid out in a line half on top of each other. Looked just like housecats. But bigger. Much bigger. The young male never did join the rest of the pride, preferring his nice shady spot down by the creek.

There is so much fresh water year available in the Crater that 4 separate prides of lions are supported, along with hyenas, jackals and a few cheetahs. Lots of food for prey and predator. Life is definitely good here. Factoid for the day – Ostriches eat mice.

[Atravelynn]

That augur buzzard in flight really is lovely. The way you have the cheetah mom and cub photos posted, it looks like a stack of cheetahs.

 

The jackals around the lion is a fascinating shot.

 

Thanks for all the details. I'd actually rather learn that Entim adhered to driving rules even when the patrols were not around. But such practices are common all over.

 

Great illustrated report!

[Ellie]

Ruaha Trip Report

9/19 - We left the crater about 9 this morning, but not until I had our first accident of the trip. It was really misting, almost a fine rain, when we went to breakfast, and coming down the ramp my foot slipped and I went down. At least I didn't land on my ankle this time, so nothing was broken, just a nice bruise on the inside of my knee and a very sore tendon or ligament. We got to the Manyara Airstrip in plenty of time, and then waited around for our plane. I don't think we've ever been in one that was quite so tight before. It held 12 people, and was completely full; the aisle between seats was only about six inches wide, and the ceiling was so low even I had to stoop over. We flew to Arusha, then waited about an hour for our flight to Ruaha. This was in a really nice little plane with roomy leather seats, 4 facing each other and two facing front. You could tell it was originally a charter aircraft. Very comfortable for the hour and a half flight. We were met at Ruaha by Mollel from Kigelia Camp, and made about an hour's game ride to the camp. We saw some tree hyrax in the rocks (as opposed to rock hyrax in trees), and a really young zebra colt We really like this camp. Only 7 very nice tents, plus a pavilion for lounging, breakfast and lunch. The tents are really separated from one another, and it is very warm so all the windows stay open (just screened) day and night. We overlook a dry riverbed, and our tent is under a lovely big shady Kigelia (sausage) tree. Dinner was served outside under a tree, with candles and wine, and was excellent - grilled lamb chops, some kind of grilled ground meat and spices on a stick, vegetables and desert. We met the other people staying at the camp, 2 couples from the Netherlands, and a young guy from Germany who'd been in Africa for a year, named Haness. His parents had become hooked on Africa when they were young so they sent him to Africa after he finished high school. He then went home to the university for 3 years, but couldn't stay away. He's been working at a sister camp up near the Serengeti and is down here for a couple of weeks before he goes back to Austria to finish school in October.

 

9/20 - We went out at 6:30 this morning with a box breakfast, and had some good sightings of some very young giraffes, lots of birds (there are 5 different species of hornbills here, including one only found in Ruaha), a couple of Greater Kudu females with lovely red ears, some elephants (which are smaller here than in Tarangire, probably because the living is not so easy), and a lioness with 3 cubs about 6 weeks old.

We came back to camp for lunch and a nap, but it was so hot it was hard to sleep and I felt like I'd been clubbed over the head when I woke up. Like a really bad hangover. It took me almost an hour to cool back down to where I felt like a human being again. The afternoon drive was a little slow, but we saw some giraffe eating and at the river where there are still some waterholes, and caught them spraddled out. So funny to see. They get really nervous before they drink, because with their heads down they can't see well and they are at their most vulnerable to lions. Since there are no wildebeest here, the main food source for the lions is giraffe and zebra. We saw two groups of giraffes with youngsters, one of which was only a month old or so. He was gamboling around and having a great time running and kicking up his heels. Just before we were leaving to meet up with the other truck for sundowners, we heard from them that they had seen something interesting, so we backtracked and were able to watch a leopard working its way through the brush on its way to an evening hunt. The sunset was incredible. There were shooting streaks of blue coming up through the firey red and orange on the horizon - almost looked like some kind of aurora borealis. Dinner was again really good, a chicken stewed with spices Tanzanian style, along with Chiche (which is just any kind of chopped steamed spinach-like greens), sweet potatoes (which we've had everywhere) and salad. The food here is lighter that at the other places we've stayed, which is good since it is much warmer here.

More factoids - There is a cactus tree here called candelabra which flourishes because it is poisonous to everything that might be inclined to eat it. Baobab trees have large white flowers, which bloom at night and are pollinated by bats. We saw a lot of the flowers on the ground under one tree, apparently knocked off by the pollinating bats. Baboons and elephants love the flowers. Kudus and giraffes prefer the flower of another shrub (name of which I’ve forgotten but which is pictured below), which is one reason the Ruaha has so many of both animals.

 

9/21 - We are now the only guests here, since the Dutch group left this morning, so we did another early drive with a box breakfast, and Haness joined us as an additional spotter/guide and semi-guest. We had a great morning. First was a lioness right next to the road, napping in the shade. She had hidden her 3-day old cubs in the brush behind her, where they were completely out of sight. We had breakfast at a really nice spot overlooking some meandering waterholes in an otherwise dry riverbed. While we were there two large flocks of guinea fowl came down to drink, then a nice herd of Impala accompanied by two zebras, and then a giraffe. It looked like Noah's Ark. The giraffe was very cooperative and after spending about five minutes just looking around and making sure the coast was clear, did a bent-knee spraddle to get a drink. It looked amazingly uncomfortable, but those long front legs made it necessary.

After leaving the waterholes, we drove for a while without seeing much, then suddenly there were 15 Lesser Kudus near the road. We stopped and watched them and waited for them to cross the road. There was one young male with only a single twist to his horns, but the larger males were nowhere to be seen. The ladies were pretty skittish, but Mollel was very patient and kept rolling the truck forward to keep pace with them. Sure enough, they finally started crossing right in front of us, including this young fawn. Since I'd made my wish the night before for Kudus, it was very satisfying to see so many of them. Mollel said they are usually in groups of 3 to 6, and he'd never seen this many of them together. (cont'd)

[Ellie]

Ruaha Trip Report (cont'd)

 

As we drove away finally, Haness asked Mollel what was next, cheetah or leopard? As it turned out, it was leopard. We came across a gorgeous male in his prime, up in a Kigelia (Sausage) Tree, easily visible and photo perfect! Nice way to end a morning drive. Lunch was good, as usual, and now its nap time.

This afternoon we saw a couple of White-bellied Bustards, much smaller than the Kori Bustards and a different kind of sandgrouse than we'd seen before. Also a couple of eagles and really nice Hammerkopf nest which was huge, and an elephant stripping bark off a tree.

We stopped by the dry riverbed of one of the seasonal rivers in the area and watched a group of ten elephants dig for water. They use their front feet to kick sand forward and backward until they reach wet sand, then use their trunks to clear away more sand until the hole starts to fill with water. Then they suck up the clear water with their trunks and squirt it into their mouths or the mouths of the babies if they are too young to do it for themselves.

Very fine to watch the interaction between the 3 large females and their varying aged offspring, from tiny babies under a year old to 2 and 3 year olds, and a couple of 9 or10 year olds. They took a long time to get enough water out of the three or four holes they'd dug. One of the 2 or 3 year olds must have been really inefficient at getting water from this kind of source, or she was really thirsty, because she had her head buried in one of the holes for a really long time! The really little baby spent part of that time under mom, rolling around in the wet sand mom had dug out. One of the 2 or 3 year olds must have been a little male, because he kept trying to shove into his mom's waterhole before she was done digging it, and got head-butted for his trouble.

After a while, another group of 13 elephants came down the hill toward the riverbed. We were curious to see what the meet-up would be like - would the first group greet the others like long-lost relatives and share their waterholes, or would they not be welcoming at all? Turned out to be the latter. The matriarch of the first group came out in front of the others, and all the calves quickly paired up with their respective moms and siblings. The matriarch of the first group did a small mock charge, and the matriarch of the new group immediately turned away and she and her group headed off up the dry riverbed to dig waterholes of their own. It was very interesting to watch all of this.

Dinner tonight was just Dick and me, Haness, Mollel and Alex (the other Kigelia camp guide). We had some really good conversations about the different cultural aspects of Germany, Tanzania and the US. I think the US generally comes off behind in a lot of ways. One really interesting thing we learned from Haness was that in Germany they study German history primarily from just before WWII to just after WWII, and pretty much ignore everything else. According to Haness, the intent is to make sure that every kid knows just how bad Germany was during the war, so that it can never happen again. As a result, Haness said that the problems with neo-Nazism in Germany was declining rapidly.

 

9/22 - About 5 this morning, we were awakened by the sound of heavy footsteps in the brush right behind our heads, along with a lot of munching sounds. Dick turned on his flashlight, and we discovered a very large giraffe browsing away on the bushes right behind the tent! Had we been inclined to, we could have reached out and pulled his tail! The light from the flashlight had no effect whatsoever on the giraffe (probably because his head was way above its reach), so eventually Dick rapped the flashlight on the headboard, and the giraffe crashed away through the brush - luckily in the opposite direction from the tent.

 

We slept in until 6:30 and had breakfast in camp. Nice change from the early departures. Our morning drive was pretty uneventful, though we did see a Black-bellied Bustard, some really beautiful Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, a very colorful Agama Lizard, a pair of young giraffes left alone in the shade of a tree while their moms browsed on the slope below (within eyesight so that if anything threatened they could high tail it to mom) and a young male Impala with horns like an Oryx. We also saw our first Defassa Waterbuck (white on the back thighs but not in the shape of a toilet seat like the Common Waterbuck). Spaghetti and salad for lunch, and beer back at the tent to journal by. Life is good on safari.

The highlight of the afternoon drive was watching a group of adult elephants dig for water, while the Greater Kudu and Impala waited for them to quench their thirst so the next shift could come in and use the elephants' waterholes. We wondered why there were no young ones with this group as all the other elephant groups had included all ages. Then one of the elephants produced a fifth leg, which gave away the game. They were all bulls! What we thought was a matriarch with really good tusks was actually a fully adult male in the midst of a bull herd. Duh. Interesting factoid - elephants have six layers of molars, and if their diet is normal and wears down their teeth at the average rate, each set of molars lasts about 10 years. Softer diet, longer life; tougher diet, shorter life. They don't chew their food, only grind it. Interesting elephant factoid two - elephants are either right-tusked or left-tusked, just as humans are right- or left-handed. If the mother is right-tusked, usually the offspring will also be right-tusked; all of the elephants in a particular herd if related (and usually they are) may be tusked the same way. You can tell which tusk an elephant prefers by the fact that it is usually a little shorter than the other, and is cleaner or more polished looking.

At the campfire this evening, Mollel showed us a gps star locator that was really cool. You pointed it at a star and pressed a button and it would identify the star, and give you all kinds of information about it such as what constitution it is a part of, where its name comes from, etc. Dick of course is going to look for one when we get home! Our last Kigelia dinner was just Mollel, Haness, Dick and me, under the stars. Food as usual was very good, and the conversation as well. We've really enjoyed this camp.

[samburumags]

Ellie what a fabulous report and your photos are superb. How long were you away? Everything about your trip sounds great, except for your fall of course, I did the same thing flat on my face on the path leading to the bar (not from it!)

[Atravelynn]

Great Ruaha installment. Seems to be good wildife action at Kigelia. Lucky you ended up with a bruised ankle and nothing worse. Your leopard face shot is terrific.

 

I'm sure the lioness and cubs you photographed was the same one I saw. Let's hope the cubs are doing well.

[Ellie]

Mags and Lynn, thanks for the kind words. We were in Africa for 3 weeks, and all but a couple of days were spent on safari. Lynn, which camp in Ruaha were you staying at?

[Atravelynn]

I have never been to Ruaha but may some time in the future and that's why detailed information is helpful.

[pault]

Love the photos and description of the Crater - the breakfast to lucnhtime difference and the clouds over the edge especially. The morning photos even look cold.

 

Very nice Ruaha installment too. Quote "...eventually Dick rapped the flashlight on the headboard, and the giraffe crashed away through the brush - luckily in the opposite direction from the tent." made me laugh wondering if Dick had considered the possibility that it might run towards the tent rather than away....

 

I'm reading it all and liking it's beautiful illustratedness, even if I am not commenting much. All the details are appreciated.

[moses33]

hi,

what an exciting Safari and amazing photography.

I’m a student at Coventry University (UK) studying Transport Design and I’m currently doing a project involving Safari tourism.was the Land rover you travelled in open top vehicle or had the roof hatch opening?what was your experience of vehicle other than refusing to start?

 

I have discovered a big problem with overcrowding, especially around the animals like cheetah and lions. Aggressive driving is also interfering with animal’s behaviour. Animals beginning to hunt at night when there’s less vehicle activity. This is diminishing the tourist experience and a lot of tourists are opting to travel to countries like Botswana and South Africa.what is your opinion on this?

[Game Warden]

Welcome Moses33, hopefully soon Ellie will answer you here, but do feel free to post such a question in the Safari Talk section. Matt

[Ellie]

Hi, Moses - We were in Land cruisers most of the time, with the exception of the elderly land rover in the Mara. The vehicles all had hatches and in the roofs, and all were quite roomy, at least for just the two of us. The Ruaha and Selous trucks were open sided, which was very nice; roof with hatches was available for shade, but otherwise it was an open vehicle, which made for a feeling of closer contact with the animals. As to crowding and too many vehicles surrounding animals, we did experience that in the Masai Mara and in the Crater. Our experience was that the drivers and the guests were quite respectful of the animals, and polite about moving out to allow others to have a chance to see the animals. That being said, it was much more satisfying when there we were the only vehicle or one of just a few. I agree with Game Warden - you should have this post moved to a separate topic and get more input from others on Safaritalk.

 

P.S., thanks for the kind words about our photos - it really was a fabulous safari!

[Game Warden]

BTW Ellie, did having read Rolf's book in anticipation give you a greater understanding of the Selous?

[Ellie]

Reading Rolf's book (and seeing those fabulous paintings) definitely made the Selous more enjoyable, but even more it increased my appreciation of the whole of the african wilderness. I still can't quite comprehend the pleasure hunters find in shooting the animals rather than pictures, but the book overall was wonderful.

[Ellie]

Selous Trip Report

 

9/23 - This morning we had a late breakfast and left for Mtemwe airstrip about 9 a.m., doing a modified game drive on the way. We finally saw a male Greater Kudu with good horns, but he remained buried in the bush so we couldn't really get a good view of him. There was a bit of a mix-up at the airstrip about who was supposed to be going on which aircraft. A total of 3 planes were eventually on the ground, but since there were only a few of us going on to the Selous rather than Zanzibar or Dar, the mix-up didn’t involve us, and we were able to enjoy the sideshow and the back and forth of luggage as people and bags were on- and off-loaded from one aircraft to another. While we waited for this to get straightened out, a mini-van from a local village arrived. They weren’t going anywhere, just on an outing and wanting to see the airplanes close up. And of course, like tourists everywhere, they wanted their pictures taken! We arrived at the Selous airstrip a little late, but Hussein and Aly were waiting for us in an open-sided range rover like the ones we had in Zambia. We had a similar vehicle in Ruaha, and we really like them. We drove straight to Impala Camp since we were already late and hadn't yet had lunch. Impala camp is really nice, in a very lovely setting on the Rufiji River. There are lots of trees with leaves on them instead of bare branches, but the grasses are low and grazed-off since its the dry season, and game visibility is still very high. There are only 8 tents. Our tent is No. 1, which is farthest from the dining pavilion and bar, but overlooks the river and has no visible (or audible) neighbors.

 

We’re in a really wonderful bush location, unless you don't care for a quarter-mile walk to the dining and bar area (well, maybe not quite that far…). The weather here is more humid than we seen so far, but definitely not unbearable, especially since there is a fan in our tent (whoohoo!). We opted for an evening boat tour instead of a game drive, since we hadn't had our daily nap, and it was a real treat. Lots of small Nile Crocodiles and some pods of hippos, many beautiful herons, egrets, sandpipers, plovers and other water birds, and best of all, three trees full of White-fronted Bee-eaters.

 

The trees they were in were just above the clay cliffs along the river where they dug their 3-foot deep nest holes. There were groups of 5 to a dozen birds at a time that would land on the side of the cliff and spread out their wings, which are iridescent green. What a special sight! This group looked like a bee-eater choir! The river was very scenic, and the birdlife was abundant, including a gorgeous Malachite Kingfisher,

a Pied Kingfisher and a Yellow-Billed Stork.

 

On the way back to the camp, we beached the boat and climbed up an embankment to find that a table and chairs had been set up for the six of us along with a chilled bottle of a really tasty sparkling Rose wine and some snacks, for sundowners. Another fine treat.

We had a honeymooning couple with us from Britain, and during the boat ride a fish jumped into the boat and landed right at the girl's feet! It was flopping around like mad, and she was squealing and almost went overboard trying to get away from it! She said later that she was so embarrassed at having been made to “scream like a girl.” That will surely be a moment from their honeymoon that they will remember for a long time! We also saw our first Nile Monitor Lizards which can reach up to 3 feet long and are usually found lying on a branch over the river. The ones we saw were smaller but very prettily marked (although the pictures don’t do it credit). Dinner was one of the best we've had anywhere - Indian Ocean Prawns with ratatouille of eggplant and peppers. And of course, the ginger carrot soup was great. Everywhere we've been the soups have been just wonderful.

9/24 - Last night we heard a lot of very “African bush” sounds: Bushbabies screaming, hyenas whooping and laughing, hippos grunting and splashing, and a lot of birds since there was a full moon. And as soon as it got light, the Vervet Monkeys started using our tent roof as a launching pad for the adjacent tree. So much for sleeping in. Today we did our first game drive in Selous, and it was really fine! Lots of new birds, and a Kudu with the biggest horns - and he finally managed to wander into a clear spot where we could not only see him clearly but get some good pictures of him! We also saw 3 young giraffes, one only a week or 10 days old, because part of his umbilicus was still attached. Later we saw a couple of 2- or 3-year old male lions (no manes yet and still some faint spots on the legs) walking through the bush at 11 a.m. or so, when most lions are sleeping. They didn't have the bulging stomachs lions get when they've had a good meal, so we figured they must be hungry and were in the mood to see what was available for lunch. We followed them for a while to see what would happen. Trouble was, it was really hot, they were panting and moving fairly slowly, and all the impalas and wildebeest either saw the lions or got wind of them, so finally the boys just gave it up and lay down under a shady tree for a nap.