Month: September 2016

Day 144: The Serengeti – Day 4

Since we had to drive all the way back to the Ngorongoro Crate from the Mara River in the northern Serengeti by the end of the day, we had an early start for our last day in the park. The game drive back through the park was fantastic, with many animal sightings. We exited the park on schedule at lunchtime and made our way to the Sopa Lodge on the crater rim by late afternoon. While the Wilderness Camp was our favorite accommodation in Tanzania – by far! – we still enjoyed the luxuries of an unlimited hot shower, a massive buffet, and even an educational presentation!

 

Up with the sun on our final day in Serengeti National Park

 

Following our bow & arrow armed escort to the dining tent for breakfast

 

Spotted Hyenas! Lots and lots of them – today was Hyena Day

 

In addition to the dozens of Spotted Hyena, Joseph pointed out a lone Striped Hyena mingling with the pack. Smaller, and more solitary then the spotted variety, the Striped Hyena is actually a rare find

 

A fresh kill! Looks like we were an hour too late!

 

Even though there are plenty of hyenas in the area, this lucky vulture has the carcass to himself for a moment

 

Wildebeest! As far as the eye can see!

 

Once we return to the southern part of the Serengeti we find more trees and more giraffes

 

Lions, relaxing in the shade

 

Just as we are about to drive off from the pride of lions, Igor spots another female coming out of the tall grass by the side of the road. She walked directly in fron of our car, and we got a close-up of her face – tough broad has been in a fight, judging by her busted nose

 

Elephants! It’s been a few days since we’ve seen Africa’s giants

 

We arrive at the park entrance gate around noon – just in time for lunch, and just under the 72hr mark (even though we were in the park on 4 calendar days, admission tickets are sold in 24hr increments, so we actually only paid for three days! Since admission is more than $100pp/day, it was very important to be punctual)

 

Joseph spots a minivan in the distance and tells us that is a Kenyan safari. “You will probably be in a minivan too,” he informs us. Ugh, hope not! We’ve gotten comfortable in our pop-top Land Cruiser! As we drive back through Maasai land, we see more giraffes commuting in the distance

 

After we check-in to the Sopa Lodge at the Ngorongoro Crater, we take long, luxurious, hot showers before heading out to catch the sunset.

 

There was a huge crowd hanging out near the pool, which had the most open view of the crater. As we were jostling for a good spot, a waiter came up to us and asked if we would like a seat on the empty top deck – score! We ordered some drinks and enjoyed a clear view over the dozens of heads below.

View from the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater

Sunset at the Ngorongoro Crater

 

Just after the sun sank below the hills, we noticed that a PowerPoint Presentation was about to start in the upstairs conference room behind us. We were invited to sit in on a free presentation about the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Tanzanian national park system. We weren’t expecting much from a hotel presentation, but we were actually really impressed – the guy knew his stuff! We walked away to dinner afterwards with a better understanding of how the caldera was formed, and how the animal population within the crater differs from the Serengeti. (No tree means no giraffes. Even though grassland is usually good for cheetahs, the ridiculously high number of lions a hyenas make it too dangerous for cheetahs as they risk injury when bigger predators try to steal their kill. And sadly, only about 15 Black Rhinos in the entire crater, although there are anti-poaching teams and security cameras set-up all around the crater to protect what is left)

Day 143: The Serengeti – Day 3

Around midnight, Igor shook Lindsay awake. She pulled out her earplugs and started to ask WTF, when Igor quickly “SHHHH!”-ed her. Quietly, he pointed out both windows. We were completely surrounded by a huge herd of grazing wildebeest! The animals clearly had no idea there were humans inside the large, soft rock, that was ur tent and were therefore completely unafraid to walk an arm’s length away from us. As Lindsay was gazing out the window, she *literally* saw a wildebeest bump his nose against our tent pole as he was biting the grass.

Since we had a 5:30AM wake-up call, Lindsay fell back asleep after 15min, but Igor was so enamored with the wildebeests, he stayed up for another hour until one of the camp staff chased the herd away. When we were escorted from our tent early that morning, Igor was delighted to see fresh poops all around our camp. We met up with Joseph – who carried a HUGE cooler bag with both a packed breakfast and a packed lunch for us – hopped in the car and drove off in the dark.

Getting an early start on our game drive really paid off, as the animals (especially predators) as most active just after sunrise. We had time to scout out two locations along the Mara River, searching for a crossing herd of wildebeest, earning us a prime location for witnessing one of nature’s most spectacular events. It was a fantastic day, even though we didn’t get to see a kill.

 

The moon is still high in the sky as we start our game drive in the pre-dawn hours. A male Dik-dik keeps a watch for his lady as the sun starts to rise

 

Sunrise game drive in the northern Serengeti

 

Mufasa! Getting up early has it’s rewards as we spot a huge male lion on the prowl

 

While lions are always a thrill, we were on the serch for wildebeest today! As we made our way to the river, we passed a large herd that had already successfully completed the crossing – keeping our fingers crossed for more!

 

Since we left camp so early, the staff packed our breakfast to go – per usual we had a huge spread that we couldn’t finish (despite it being so tasty). Since we decided to park out next to the river to keep an eye out for animals (both wildebeest, and this pretty Lilac-Breasted Roller bird!), we didn’t have a picnic table to spread out our meal, which made it a bit tricky to balance all the breakable dishware and courses.

 

We found a lookout over the river, where we spotted a huge family of hippos. No wildebeest though, as there were plenty of active crocs on the riverbank

 

We see a herd of wildebeest on the other side of the river looking for a safe spot to cross, but when they see a huge crocodile sunning himself on an island, they wisely keeping walking upstream

 

We decided to check out our crossing spot from the day before to see if we would have better luck. On our way, we passed by the airstrip to use the restrooms. All the planes were tiny single-engine propeller planes. We watched as the pilot of a private-charter plane was rearranging the passenger seats in the back – customizing the size of you plane: how the other half goes on safari!

 

As we drive upriver, Igor spots a HUGE herd of wildebeest on the opposite side – seriously, it looked like a wildebeest army! We followed them for several kilometers until they found a path they seemed to like. Then the waiting game began.

Wildebeest are the most indesisive creatures we have viewed in our travels. We *literally* waited for 4 HOURS, watching them go back and forth between two access points, even several false starts where a dozen wildebeest would descend to the river only to change their minds and climb back up the bank. Like the day before, we parked out under a tree a good 500m away from the river (Joseph confirmed that if we parked at the river’s edge, it would spook the wildebeest and they wouldn’t cross).

We were not the only safari car waiting – about a dozen others showed up throughout the early afternoon and parked next to us, trying to share our shade. We got sandwiched between a pair of cars with a large Indian group for a good hour and a half. (Smart parents got a separate car for their bratty teenage boys, who were constantly complaining how bored / hot / hungry they were. That, or talking *loudly* about which Ivy League Colleges they were applying to.) We were deserately willing the wildebeest to JUST CROSS ALREADY before we lost our cool and snapped at the kids, when two things happened: first the Indian group decided to give up and started driving back to their camp for a late lunch, and second the wildebeest started to cross.

Igor started yelling, “They’re crossing, they’re crossing!” and Joseph immediately kicked the car into gear and started racing all the other safari operators to the river in order to find the best view. We got an amazing spot, and watched in awe as THOUSANDS of wildebeest ran down the banks, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. As much as we said we wanted to see a kill, our hearts went out to the poor creatures as they pitifully cried in fear as they swam across the river in a panic – we started rooting for them to make it across safely and were relived when they did.

 

Waiting for wildebeest – an exercise which started in solitude and ended in a stake-out parking lot

 

After 4 hours of deliberating, the herd finally takes the plung and crosses the Mara River

 

The herd was massive – a couple thousand wildebeests!

 

When they reached the other side of the river, the herd had to navigate around several dozen safari vehicles full of photo-snapping tourists

 

Even a handful of zebra decided to take advantage of the “safety in numers” and joined the crossing

 

As the seemingly endless stream of wildebeests started to thin out, the animals at the back started to get nervous – should we go? Is it safe? Or did the crowd attract crocs? What’s worse – to jump in the river last, or get left behind?!? The hippos and the humans watched as every wildebeest got through safely, although the dead body from the day before was still an ominous presence in the water.

 

Thousands of wildebeest reach the safety of the southern riverbank, in search of better grazing grounds

Feeling very satisfied with our game drive, we decided to call it an early day, and headed back to the camp around 4PM, where we had a nice hot shower (Lindsay finished hers in 46sec – Igor took 1min15sec), before chilling out in the common area with a beer and a rousing games of Jenga.

 

Clean and kicking back in our tent after a great game drive

 

Getting some writing done in my African “office,” before taking a Jenga break

 

A beautiful afternoon & a lovely sunset at the Serengeti Wilderness Camp near the Mara River

Day 142: The Serengeti – Day 2

Our second day in the Serengeti was the quietest day of the week – which just goes to show that we have been so spoiled by so many amazing animal sightings in the past month, that we are getting hard to impress! We did see some small migration activity today, but we have high expectations for tomorrow.

 

Sunrise wake-up in the Serengeti from our wilderness tent

 

Before breakfast, Igor runs behind the tent to check out the eco-friendly electrical & plumbing set-up. Each tent has a small 12v solar panel for lighting (there is a separate charging station in the common area for cameras & phones). The water for the sink and shower are both provided by a hanging bucket! The sink is always full of cold water, but if you want to take a shower, you must request a fresh bucket of hot water when you are ready to go.

 

Gray water from the sink and shower dump out into a small ditch behind the tent. And that’s how you do low-impact luxury in the African wilderness!

Heading out for our second game drive in the Serengeti – driving north towards the Mara River

 

It was a bit of a slow day for us in the Serengeti, as this was our only game drive where we didn’t spot any lions – which shows you how spoiled we are getting! – we pass by a small troop of Olive Baboons, a grizzly old Cape Buffalo, and an adorable male Dik-dik and barely take the time to lift our camera

 

Big birds in the Seregeti – a male ostrich and a vulture

 

An underground spring bubbles to the surface in the middle of the grassland, creating an oasis for zebra and warthogs

 

We start to see evidence of kills in the northern grasslands, where the wildebeest herds are grazing in large numbers. We see several pairs of legs dangling from a tree – sure sign that a leopard dragged a kill up there to eat, safe from the harassment of scavenging lions and hyenas. We spot another half dozen wildebeest carcasses around the plains – many of the adults injure themselves during the river crossing, making themselves easy targets for predators

The northern plains of the Serengeti

 

Picnic lunch under a tree before continuing our journey to the river

 

Once we reach the southern bank of the Mara River around 3PM, we keep an eye out for large herds of wildebeest near the river to see if we can witness a crossing

 

The river crossing is extremely dangerous for the wildebeest as the water is teeming with crocodiles. We counted about seven carcasses rotting in the river – we learned that crocs are not content to kill and eat one wildebeest at a time – they will take out 10-12 during a crossing and leave them in the water so they can come back and have plenty of food for later (in fact, this small croc seems to be enjoying a snack of dead wildebeest butt)

 

After waiting about an hour in the shade of a tree a good 500m away from the river, we get lucky and witness a “mini”-crossing of a group of about 50 wildebeest. Not too shabby, but we all agree that we can do better, and resolve to return the day to see if we can find a bigger herd

 

On our way to our next camp, we see a group of about a dozen vehicles surrounding a bush – must be a cat! Sure enough, when we join the fray, we see a sleepy cheetah

 

Whoa – look at the size of that lens! It’s over half the size of the photographer! As her safari vehicle drives around we check out the company – National Geographic Expeditions – that makes sense. Joseph tells us that NG is one of the few companies that pays for an additional “Off Road” permit which allows them track the animals when they leave the road (although, they are still not supposed to go off road if there are other cars present as other companies may mistakenly follow them)

 

We check-in to our second Serengeti Wilderness Camp (Mara River location) and enjoy another fantastic dinner while we plan the next day’s itinerary with Joseph. Afterwards, we return to our tent with the last glass of wine, and make sure the windows and doors are fully unzipped before going to sleep with a view of the stars

Day 141: The Serengeti – Day 1

We were super excited for today’s game drive – our first day in the Serengeti National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the largest animal migration in the world, the Great Migration of 1.7million wildebeest. Since we entered the park from the south, we would not be on the lookout for the wildebeest until tomorrow, when we planned to reach the Mara River on the northern border of the park. Today, we just drove around and admired the amazing animal diversity and density, as well as the breathtaking landscapes of the immense grassland “ocean”.

 

Multi-jam toast and a strong cup of coffee to start the day

 

Stopping for fuel on our way into the Serengeti, Igor is surprised to see an old-fashioned analog gas pump! It takes a while for the pump to fill up both gas tanks, but once we are full we are set for the next four days of game drives

 

On our way to the Serengeti, we pass through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area – while we won’t be going down into the crater for another three days, Joseph still had to pay the entry fee for us to pass through. The crater is known for an incredible density of wildlife, but even driving along the rim we spotted a huge Cape Buffalo

View into the Ngorongoro Crater – one of the most perfect volcanic calderas in the world. Because the crater is almost 6,000ft above sea level it is surprisingly chilly at the rim, with huge fog clouds pouring over the sides of the wall. We had to pull on our winter coats in order to take pictures!

 

After about an hour drive through Maasai farmland, where we spotted a pair of giraffes passing through in the distance, we made it to the Serengeti entrance just in time for lunch. (We started requesting vegetarian in an attempt to reduce the size of our lunch boxes by cutting out the chicken drumsticks – the reduction was barely noticeable) Afterwards, Joseph sent us off to go play – I mean, climb the hill behind the main park office, while he dealt with the ridiculously confusing park fees. (THANK YOU, Joseph!)

View from the Naabi Hill – an “island” in the grassland “ocean” that makes up the Serengeti

 

The vast plains of the Serengeti – home to many Thompson’s Gazelle

 

More antelope of the Serengeti: a Hartebeest, a herd of Topi, and a Grant’s Gazelle

 

Large birds of the Serengeti – a Secretary Bird, hunting for snakes & lizards, and a Kori Bustard, the largest flying bird in Africa

 

The picnic area was teeming with opportunistic Suberb Starlings, trying to scavenge crumbs and scraps from our lunches. Once again, fellow tourists ignored the “don’t feed the animals” sign, and Joseph told them off!

 

A huge pink & purple Agama Lizard, chillin’ on the rocks

 

Hungry lions, searching for prey in the Serengeti

Elephants crossing the vast grassland on their way to the waterhole

 

Where there’s water, there are hippos!

 

Mama hippo jumps into the water and baby follows with a big SPLASH

 

Naptime for baby hippo and a protective mama

 

At long last, we finally spot the final animal of our African Big 5 – the elusive leopard! This guy is so well camouflaged on the tree branch, a giraffe walked right past him without noticing the large predator! Once he started munching on the leaves, he noticed the danger and quickly moved on. Luckily for him, the leopard didn’t seem interested in taking down a full-grown male giraffe.

 

Our beautiful (if somewhat lazy) Tanzanian Leopard!

 

Late in the afternoon in the Serengeti, we head north towards camp – stunning landscape the whole drive

 

Final animal encounters of the day – a (wild!) Spotted Hyena crossing the road, and a family of Egyptian Geese

Our game drive lasted all day. We reached our tented campsite just after sunset, where we were blown away by the hospitality we received in the middle of the wilderness! While Kadizora, the luxury camp in the Okavango Delta, was insanely impressive, it was a permanent camp with its own solar panel farm. The Serengeti Wilderness Camp, on the other hand, is a seasonal lodge that is broken down every 3-6 months in order to allow the environment time to recuperate. Not only was it incredibly low-impact and eco-friendly, the food, wine and service was top-notch!

After dinner, we were escorted to our tent by a bow & arrow wielding camp guard, as wild animals could be lurking in the tall grasses. Our escort assured us that once we were in the closed tent, however, the animals would no longer consider us prey and we would be completely safe. Igor made sure to leave the door and window panels of our tent completely open so that the only thing separating us from the lions & hyenas was a zipped-up screen. As we went to bed, Lindsay could hear hyenas calling in the distance, so she popped in some earplugs to calm her nerves.

 

We make it to camp just after sunset, with only 15min before dinnertime! Since we were covered in dust, we raced to our tent to take a quick shower (no really, it had to be quick because it was a *bucket* shower and there was only enough hot water for 2½min each!)

 

Raising a glass to a wonderful day and lovely evening in the Serengeti

Day 140: Lake Manyara

We left the Tarangire Sopa Lodge early in the morning, and drove to the Sangaiwe Gate at the opposite end of the park. From there, it was a 35KM drive to Lake Manyara National Park, via a dirt road that passed through many rural villages. As we passed through the villages, many of the children would start running after the car shouting in Swahili. When we asked Joseph to translate, he said they were asking for money or presents.

Well. We had actually been preparing for this. Plenty of fellow travelers had recommended bringing candy to hand out to children in various countries, but do we want to contribute to the rotting of their teeth (not to mention rewarding poor manners)? No! Instead, we’ve been saving all of the travel toothbrushes and hotel soaps throughout our travels in southern Africa, and we gleefully started pulling them out of our bags. When we explained what we had to Joseph, he started laughing, and agreed to help us warn the kiddies NOT to eat the soaps. We felt like the lame parents giving out “healthy” Halloween snacks – not sure if the kids in these villages will keep running after cars anymore…

  

Leaving Tarangire early in the morning – despite the beautiful sunrise, Lindsay was very sleepy and took a little nap on our way to Lake Manyara. We didn’t see many animals on the way out, unfortunately, expect for a very red warthog (who looks like he’s been raiding the nerby termite mound!)

 

Passing through Lake Manyara National Park as a day-trip on our way to the Serengeti. While we wait for Joseph to pay the park fees, we get our first introduction to the wildlife – a teeny tree frog that tried to join our safari!

Lake Manyara is only 50KM long, so it is a very small park – more of a corridor for wildlife travelling through to Tarangire from the Serengeti. But despite its small size, it is very beautiful (according to Wikipedia, Ernest Hemingway thought this place was da bomb). There is a decent amount of wildlife to see (although the tree-lions eluded us) – a lot of birds, wildebeest, elephants and a pair of well-camouflaged lions. We finished the park in the late afternoon and kicked back in our tented lodge just before sunset, enjoying a beautiful view and a tasty dinner.

Lake Manyara, with mountains from the Rift Valley escarpment in the background

 

Many birds call Lake Manyara home, including both Greater and Lesser Flamingos, and lots of pelicans

 

Flocks of pelicans flying in the distance

 

Plenty of wildebeest in Lake Manyara Park – this cute guy takes a dirt bath while his friend just stares at him like he’s crazy

 

Who’s that hiding in the bush? It’s a lion! She’s eyeing the warthog, but since she’s upwind, the warthog gets tipped off by her scent and runs off to safety

 

Another ridiculously large (but tasty) lunch box from our hotel. Lindsay and Igor started trading food items that we felt we could finish – like kids at school! – even so, we still had a few items for Joseph to donate for us.

 

We are more excited than we should be over a 5min walk on a boardwalk, but after such a huge lunch, any exercise is welcome – especially one with a view like this

Looking back at the park from the waters of Lake Manyara

Lake Manyara – said to be the “loveliest lake in Africa” by Ernest Hemingway (source: Wikipedia)

 

Natural hot springs bubble down from the escarpment and drain into the lake, creating a few “hot tubs” for the local Cape Buffalo to enjoy an afternoon soak!

 

More birds in Lake Manyara – a pair of green & yellow Bee-Eaters and a female ostrich

A trio of baobab trees in the hills

 

As we drive through the forest, we keep a sharp eye out for the tree-climbing lions, but without any luck. Near the exit to the small park, we come upon a huge traffic jam of safari jeeps

 

A family of elephants is chowing down on the trees along the side of the road – unlike the ellies in Botswana & Namibia, these gentle giants allow us to get extremely close without a fuss

 

Two final animal sightings as we leave the park – a pretty, orange-headed Agama Lizard and a shy Blue Monkey

 

A lovely, tree framed view of the lake from our private patio of our safari tent at Kirurumu Tented Lodge, just outside the park

Day 139: Tarangire National Park

Osur safari adventure started at 8AM when Joseph from Basecamp Tanzania picked us up in his 8-seater Toyota Land Cruiser. We headed out to Tarangire National Park, a decent-sized park (although at barely 3000KM² it doesn’t even break the Tanzania’s Top 5 biggest parks) with *amazing* animal density! We’ve seen pretty much all of these animals before in southern Africa, but in much smaller numbers. In Tanzania, you can barely pick up your camera without an animal in the shot! It was a jam-packed day, as our game drive lasted right up to sunset, during which we spotted everything Tarangire is particularly famous for: baobab trees, birds and elephants (better tempered than their southern African relatives), plus the odd lion pride as a bonus!

 

Starting our safari adventure in an 8-seater Toyota Land Cruiser – all to ourselves!

 

Pop-top safari 4×4 – now *this* is how you do Africa!

 

On the road in Tanzania, heading for our first park

 

Tarangire National Park! Igor sees the first benefit of having a guide: he doesn’t have to deal with the 30min inefficiency of paying the park entrance fees! We just run off and play around the giant baobab while Joseph takes care of business

 

Look at all the Land Cruisers! Toyota has got a monopoly on Tanzania! Everyone’s car looks the same…until we spot an Abercrombie & Kent car…they have cell-phone chargers! Fancy.

 

Wildebeest in Tarangire National Park – following the rains for their Great Migration

 

Zebra follow close behind the wildebeest in order to find the water

 

More residents of Tarangire – the Banded Mongoose, a mama Grants Gazelle and baby, and a herd of elephants (plus photo-snapping tourists) in the distance

 

East African elephants are so much more chill than their Southern African counterparts – no ear-flapping, no mock charges – these guys couldn’t that we are parked nearby taking pics! They just keep on eating, scratching their butt on a tree, and the babies even pull faces for the camera!

 

Tarangire is another birding hotspot, and our driver Joseph is quite a birder, pointing out many species to us – here we have the Glossy Starling and a White-Headed Buffalo Weaver

 

More birds! A pair of Red & Yellow Barbets, and a Grey-Headed Kingfisher

 

Lovebirds! Yellow-collared Lovebirds to be exact.

 

Our guide is an *excellent* tracker. Just before lunch, he pulls over near the dry riverbed, pulls out his binoculars, then informs us he has spotted a small pride of lions. Boom! – there they are! NEVER would have spotted them on our own!

 

Lunch break at the Tarangire picnic area, with a HUGE lunchbox packed by our hotel. We hate the idea of wasting food in Africa, so we tried our best to finish everything, but there was just too much! Joseph was kind enough to take our leftovers and gift them to some of the janitorial staff cleaning the bathrooms

View of the river from the picnic area – a herd of elephants in the distance

 

The picnic area was overrun with Black-Faced Vervet Monkeys, who scavenge for leftovers. There are signs EVERYWHERE telling tourists to be careful with their leftovers and to NOT FEED the monkeys. Our driver, Joseph, takes these rules very seriously, and when a couple of tourists (not sure of the nationality, let’s call them French) left an orange on their table as they walked away, Joseph immediately told them off, as a monkey took the food the moment they walked away! Jerks.

 

More Black-Faced Vervet Monkeys – a safe distance from the picnic area, so they are behaving like proper wild animals

 

Another family of ellies! With lots of adorable babies

 

Elephant bath-time!

 

These three babies were so cute! When two of the babies started rolling around in the muddy water, the third walked over and *sat on the other baby*! Siblings, am I right?

 

Antelope in Tarangire – a lone Waterbuck, and Grants Gazelle on the horizon

 

Olive Baboons. Did you know that a group of baboons is called a congress?…and vice versa? J

 

Even more birds – but these a birds of prey, so they are more interesting! A snake eagle, a juvenile Martial Eagle, and an owl

 

Giraffes! I’ll never get tired of giraffes. Just look at that goofy face!

 

A herd of giraffes chowing down a leafy dinner

 

Cape Buffalo in the distance

 

A herd of Cape Buffalo kick up some dust as the sun starts to sink below the horizon

 

Moonrise / Sunset in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

 

Our first (of many!) Sopa Lodge! We have a nice view for the last few second of daylight, and a delicious buffet dinner. Have I mentioned how much weight we have gained on this trip?