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In February I lead a group of 8 (not counting me) to Tanzania with the major goals of seeing chimpanzees in the wild, and experiencing huge numbers of animals in the Serengeti with the migration at its peak concentration during the calving season along with its accompanying potential to see predators run rampant in this gourmet grocery store. This time of year also attracted me because the action is in the Ndutu area of the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where off road driving is permitted.
The itinerary was also crafted to provide a unique opportunity for Northern Tanzania to see African wild dogs by including Suyan Camp located in the Maasai owned Loliondo Reserve, which also gave the advantage of being outside of park boundaries and thus allowing for night drives and walking opportunities.
Full itinerary was as follows:
1 nt London – Friends House
1 nt Arusha – Arusha Hotel
3 nt Mahale N.P. – Greystoke
1 nt Lake Manyara Area – Kirurumu Tented Camp
2 nt Loliondo Reserve Southern Location, Piyaya Area – Suyan Camp
4 nt Ndutu Area of Serengeti – Olakira Camp
1 nt Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
Travel
Flew from Denver to Washington, Dulles where we exited the USA with one last great meal at 5 Guys Burgers. This was covered in my last trip report but for those who may have missed it I remain old school in my believe that the fact that humans have eyes in the front of our heads means we are natural predators and I am in the front of the carnivore line in my love for red-meat products. As such I know what I’m talking about when it comes to top-flight burgers and 5 Guys are some of the best in the USA as are their fries.
Flight to London was an overnight getting in at 10:00 a.m. and then we had an overnight before flying out at 7 p.m. the following day. My group wanted to break up the trip to avoid jet lag and it probably did help some. What was great for me was a couple of very generous Fodorites invited me into their country home an hour and half outside of London for the night, which gave me a fantastic layover. Great dinner and Africa conversation (with biltong no less) as well as a great learning experience about the U.K., including the chance to stroll through a lovely little historic town and a gourmet lunch at an authentic independent pub. Huge thanks to my hosts!
Arusha – Arusha Hotel
We arrived around 10 a.m. after the overnight flight. Unfortunately it was a Sunday which meant we could not visit schools or a clinic as we had desired so it ended up being a day of in town strolling, shopping, and beer by the pool which made for a nice relaxed settling period. The Arusha Hotel had very nice rooms (in the new wing) that were comfortable and well appointed. Service throughout was fast and friendly and the food was solid. Only knock would be the showers in the new wing do not all drain fast enough and thus can flood under the door and all over the bathroom so I’d suggest having an extra towel rolled up to block the crack. A plus is the hotel is right in the center of town so you can easily walk out to stores, etc. but the street hawkers are relentless so be prepared if that bothers you. The hotel itself is free from any type of street touts who wait beyond the property.
Mahale – Greystoke Camp
As luck would have it President Bush was coming to Arusha and actually staying at the Arusha Hotel as we were leaving. This was almost a bad turn of events for us as all flights were grounded after 10 a.m. but fortunately we were flying early (moved even earlier due to the Bush’s visit) so we were able to get up at 6 a.m., eat and head for the Arusha Airport. Typically there are only 2 flights a week to and from Greystoke so you either stay 3 nights or 4 nights and there really would not have been anything else comparable had we missed a night so thankfully it worked out.
The flight went 1 ½ hours to Tabora where you land to refuel and go to the bathroom and then another 1 ½ hours flying. Often times they go via Katavi but we were all Greystoke bound so we didn’t have to do that route. Western Tanzania was very lush with lots of rice farming. As you get to the Mahale mountains it could be jungle anywhere, one of my clients said it reminded him a lot of his flying missions in Vietnam. We landed at a small airstrip and were met by one of the Greystoke guides named Kabeth and then we boarded our Panga boat for another 1 ½ hour ride south on Lake Tanganyika to reach remote Greystoke. Not long after the airstrip you see no sign of people except for the 3 camps with Greystoke being farthest south. African fish eagles and palm nut vultures (beautiful and a first for me) kept us company throughout much of the journey. Arriving at Greystoke is quite dramatic as you round a corner of dense jungle and spy a gorgeous stretch of white sand beach and the Robinson Crusoe castaway style central building. The bandas are built right at the edge of the jungle that engulfs everything past the beach and rises into steep mountains (look more like hills when you come from Colorado but they are steep climbing). We were greeted by the warm staff and co-managers, Anna from France and Doug from South Africa (leaving in March to do research in the Congo), and then escorted to our assigned bandas.
The bandas are extraordinary, open on one side with views out to the lake. They are a funky blend of island rustic and understated luxury. Each banda is two story with an old canoe built into steps to reach your loft area. A short boardwalk connects to each bandas bathroom built about 20 feet behind the banda. The lodge encourages eco-friendly principles and thus they do not leave the pilots lit for hot showers and they must be requested allowing 15 or 20 minutes to heat up water. I never took a shower instead opting for the encouraged option of bathing in the largest, cleanest bathtub in the world – Lake Tanganyika! Not sure who certifies such things but supposedly it is the cleanest lake in the world (also the 2nd deepest) and they provided bio-degradeable soap and shampoo. I thoroughly enjoyed my daily bath in the lake, it was splendid and highly recommended.
Of course funky cool digs and a gorgeous setting were not what brought us here, it was to view chimpanzees as Mahale is reputed to be the best wild chimp viewing available. A Japanese researcher from Kyoto University began a study in the early 1960’s right around the same time that Jane Goodall began her work just a couple hours north at Gombe Stream. The M Group has thus been habituated for more than 40 years and currently numbered 60. The senior guide Kabeth had told us he knew all 60 by their faces and that he would teach us their behavior and their politics! A second guide would lead some of our group as well, Theophil, also known as Too Tall (6 ft. 4) since many people have trouble saying his name. There are a number of rules to chimp trekking and one is the group can only be 6 tourists and thus camp is split into two groups. One group will arrive at the chimps first and have an hour to view them before the second group takes over. On occasion the M group could be spread out and then both groups could view at the same time. There is a government park ranger who supervises the visits and there is one to two trackers from camp who head out early to find the chimps and call it in on the radio. The trackers also help supervise the group. In addition to the size and time limits you cannot have cold or flu symptoms. When in the proximity of the chimps it is required to wear a surgical mask. In 2006 there was a pneumonia outbreak that killed about 15 chimps and is the sickness is suspected to have originated from tourists. Because we share about 98.5% DNA diseases are readily transferred between the species so now masks are required and it is believed they have worked well thus far. Another rule is to remain 10 meters from chimps but it seems often that the guides and rangers feel comfortable approaching closer from time to time and very frequently the chimps ignore this rule and pass by within a few feet.
The first night we were awoken by jarring lightening and morning arrived with a steady downpour of rain. We arrived to breakfast and were assured the visit to the chimps would still happen even if it was pouring but we would go about an hour late to give it a chance to calm down. Fortunately the rain stopped but creeks raged and the climbs up and down were slippery slopes. On this day I went with the 2nd group lead by Too Tall, which would take a longer route to allow the first group to get in most of their hour before we arrive. Creek crossings were tricky and usually Too Tall’s helping hand was needed to keep from falling in off the rocks where we would cross. Unfortunately the first group was actually very slow taking the shorter route and thus we arrived at close to the same time. We waited for about 45 minutes in one place before having our turn to enter in but could often hear the diverse cacophony of calls from the excited chimps. The first group had seen them on the ground and seemed thrilled although their good viewing was short lived. We followed the ranger in and I was having big issues with the mask on in the post rain humidity and my glasses were fogging big time making me have to take them off and see chimps through my camera lens only (tip – wear contacts if you have them). We left the trail to hike through some thick bush and then I couldn’t believe my eyes as the black back of a chimp appeared less than 10 feet to the side of me. This was Orion, a 17 year old male sitting motionless in a tree by himself. In a tree 25 yards out in front of us was a female, Totsy and her 6 year old son Teddy, as well as another female Ruby in the fork to the left. Totsy and Teddy provided good entertainment as they were high out of the vegetation and easy to see as they groomed, hugged, and Teddy foraged for insects. Totsy was in estrus and eventually she went swinging across out of the tree and started to make her way down into the thick bush which started a chorus of pant-hoots and barks from the numerous high ranking males awaiting her. We could hear this tremendous noise coming from just about 20 feet in front of us on the other side of the thick bush but we could not see them at all. At some junctures the bushes would even shake and it seemed as if they could come bursting through but they never did. Orion just sat motionless almost close enough to touch. Apparently his mother died during the pneumonia outbreak in 2006 and he has become somewhat of a loner wandering off and keeping to himself often but more recently starting to join in with the group, liking to fight and beginning to win some rank and earn meat on hunts. The humidity caused condensation between my filter and lens and I had to remove the filter to keep taking pictures and it caused a lot of issues on this day. Further my video camera, which I really wanted to use to capture the amazing vocalizations, would not work due to a moisture in the camera error – my camera and glasses would be fine on day 2 but the video would not. Between the humidity issues and it being extremely dark (no flashes is another rule) I could not even capture a truly good picture of Orion from less than 10 feet away. As we neared camp I could not believe that it was 3 p.m., we had left before 10 a.m. but the time really flew. Being my first time with chimps I did not know what to expect but the proximity of the motionless Orion as well as the antics of Totsy and Teddy, combined with the sounds of all the unseen chimps had my excitement flying high even though I did not think it was a vintage sighting. I asked Too Tall was that about typical of an average experience or how did it rank – he said that was not as good as the average usually is and that they usually do see chimps on the ground. Considering how happy I already felt I was now excited for day 2.
Afternoon activities were variable, for the first two afternoons I walked in the jungle but others in the group went fishing with hand lines and came back with quite a catch that made for an incredible fish curry on our second night, best meal of the trip. It was also possible to go snorkel or sea kayak (more on these later). The walking was similar to other jungles that I have been in on other continents in that there are sounds everywhere but sights other than plants and insects are rare. The guides, especially Kabeth were very good with the sounds and could tell you the bird but to sight them was another story. I did finally spot a trumpeter hornbill about the 4th time that I heard them. Other primates were around too and I caught brief sightings of yellow baboons, vervet monkeys, red colubus monkeys, and red-tailed monkeys between walks and chimp treks. This place was like a butterfly zoo with numerous varieties and almost always one species or another in sight, a must visit for anyone with a heavy interest in Lepidoptera. There were amazing emerald dung beetles, built like the typical dung beetle but in a vibrant shining green! Had one sighting of a duiker and signs of bush pigs were everywhere. Found leopard dung on a trail near the camp and there was a bushbuck (called George) that would hang out in the lounge area and a family of warthogs that were regulars in the camp. Most of the walking focused on plants, how the chimps used them as well as the local people. The chimps used over 100 plants for medicinal purposes and because we are so much alike virtually any plant or fruit that the chimps eat people can safely eat. Most interestingly was learning how the locals make rifles out of bamboo and mix a gunpowder by boiling up the glue of a specific tree with the dried urine from a rock hyrax latrine. You only get one shot as the bamboo shatters but supposedly people were able to hunt even elephant and buffalo with this primitive gun, they just had to jam a lot of powder in it.
Early evening brought more rain but it stopped during the night leaving us clear for our second morning chimp trek. The groups switched the order but I switched groups so again I went second but with Kabeth this time. When we were close to the group of chimps we were extremely lucky as Orion was off by himself and we came upon him while the other group was doing their hour and it was bonus for us not counting on our time. Orion came down a tree very close to us and moved off to eat some fruit. I squatted down to photograph at his level and then to my disbelief Orion starts walking right toward me with a big green fruit filling his mouth (think the Godfather with an orange in his mouth playing with his grandson). As he strutted toward me my lens was too long to focus and I didn’t want to miss any of this experience so I lowered the camera and realized it would be more disruptive and startling if I tried to move so I just remained still as Orion and his large muscles continued directly toward me. He approached with our eyes at the same height and cocked his head to gaze into my eyes from less than a foot between our faces as he passed by brushing his shoulder against mine, never breaking his slow constant stride as he went by me. With years of working with wildlife and some nice trips in between I have had some great wildlife encounters and experiences but I knew before I even stood up that this was clearly the most intimate moment I have ever had with a wild animal!! I could have left at that moment and traveled home completely satisfied with my trip that was just beginning. For that matter my hour with the chimps had not even begun yet. Orion walked a short distance and sat down to wait for me to make the portrait that I had missed the previous day and on his approach to touch me. I took pictures of him that far exceeded any photo expectations I had for chimps and through the glow in his eyes I was continuously reminded that he welcomed me into his world with his gentle approach and accepting touch.
I was reluctant to leave this relative that had rekindled such a soulful connection but the other group had finished their hour and it was our turn to immerse into the activities of M Group. We had a brief exchange with the other group who had smiles ear to ear and talked of amazing viewing right on the path with chimps moving between them while of course I quickly recounted actually being touched by a chimp. As we approached 3 large males were right on the trail and two of them began to hoot with excitement but then they headed into the bush. The tracking scout radioed where the group was heading and we went far down the hiking trail to where it was predicted that the group would emerge. During this portion there was one couple that had not traveled with us as a part of the group that I was leading and the poor woman was having heat stroke so when we reached where the chimps were expected to come out we waited and I gave up my water to help cool down our sick trekker. Typically the group moves as the alpha male (Pimu) dictates but in this case things were going slow. The deal was Totsy was actually leading the group by default because she was in estrus and thus all the high ranking males including Pimu wouldn’t leave her proximity and now she was demonstrating why she was nicknamed Miss Mahale as she likes to amble and take her time and play games with the males. She ends up taking so long, about an hour since we thought our viewing was going to begin that its decided that the tracker will machete us a path into the chimps. Our heat stroke victim stays behind on the path with another tracker but don’t feel sorry for her as she is about to have a Jane Goodall event. We follow the tracker as he hacks us a makeshift trail through the bush arriving in the midst of volatile chimp activity. There are chimps everywhere, you walk a few steps and all of a sudden see a chimp sitting in thick vegetation just a few feet away. In the trees the males are going crazy for Miss Mahale and their drumming on a tree breaks a huge limb clean from a tree and chimps are jumping from it for whatever they can grab as it plunges 50 feet to the ground. Within two minutes they break another huge limb, the sounds, the fury, the breakage it seems like chimp chaos and amazing that no one gets hurt as chimps are falling and hurtling themselves from harms way. Everyone grounded they begin walking around and we move through encountering a Japanese researcher as we go. We find Caesar, a 9 year old adolescent male swinging through the trees. Then we find Kalunde, the 45 year old King-Maker, probably the smartest chimp in the group and definitely its master politician. Kalunde was the number one ally for the last two alpha males prior to Pimu keeping them in power for more than 20 years and ending their reigns when he switched alliances. All the males want him on their side and he is especially powerful because he is ultra-popular with the females and they fight nasty with biting off fingers and toes so know one wants them in the fights. The current alpha Pimu has had his post for a short time and is very unpopular as he rules with force, even forcing his mother to mate with him which is a big no no in chimp society. Kalunde may be scheming to install his next king shortly with number 3 Primus being the likely ally to benefit from this master manipulator who builds alliances to do things his way. From the handsome elder statesman Kalunde we come to a rambunctious 12 year old adolescent named Christmas. Christmas gets very excited and jumps up shaking a tree screaming before pole vaulting off landing three feet from one of my clients and slapping the ground twice before walking off a couple steps. Kabeth tells us that Christmas loves to bluff charge tourists and soon does it again for all of us. The behaviors and individual personalities are so interesting and the knowledge of Kabeth keeps us finding new stories to unfold.
Our next sighting is very special as we spot a 14 month old baby, the third youngest in the group! Amazingly he looks at us and picks up a thick stick and shakes it like a club. This baby was born on Christmas day in 2006 and has yet to be named but should have a name starting with C as his mother is Canato and the Japanese researchers name with the first letter of the mothers name. We have great viewing of this precious young one as he plays while sitting on his mothers back and then he starts swinging back and forth on a vine. Finally our time is about up so we move out toward the path but many of the chimps are moving our way. I reach the path just in time to see Pimu the alpha male emerge onto it. He is an enormous beast with thick black fur and a dark face who has a real gorilla look to him, very different than any of the other chimps I have seen. He is physically intimidating and I can see how he has fought his way to the top and rules by fear. With him is Primus, currently ranked number 3 and an important ally for Pimu right now as he does not want to face a coalition lead by Primus. Christmas makes the mistake of coming up and greeting Primus too enthusiastically resulting in a scolding attack from Pimu as he chases him into the bush and delivers a slap. Christmas then runs out to the trail screaming a pleading call for friends to come to his aid but the event is over as Pimu would rather eat. Primus poses for some good photos and then moves on by as the group enters the bush again and our time has been up. We head up the trail and discover that our heat stroke companion had been sitting on a nice bed of leaves cut by the tracker and then Darwin, a 19 year old male chimp approached and sat down 3 feet across from her just looking at her for over 20 minutes. Needless to say she was ecstatic. Darwin is another loner chimp since his mother died when he was only 3 or 4 years old but a legendary Alpha who controlled the group for 15 years had taken Darwin under his care and protected him but once he died Darwin developed slowly and often remains on the edge. He is Kabeth’s favorite chimp and is considered to be very smart and calm often interacting closely with humans.
Our return trip had to be slow due to our ailing member but Kabeth told me to feel free to hike ahead with my people which I did only to round a corner and find a smashing surprise with a familiar face 10 feet in front of me – there was Orion and behind him was Darwin grooming his back. While waiting for the whole group to catch up we got to finish with another 15 minutes or so of Orion and Darwin exchanging grooming sessions with one another. In all we would be gone from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. but we probably had more than 2 hours all together with chimps encountering the majority of the males, a baby, and tons of interesting interaction. This was a day I will never forget and I can’t imagine a more personal and interesting wildlife experience. On this day both groups had much better than average trekking, in fact Kabeth said it was the best day this February for behavioral viewing and tied with the best for pure sighting with an unusual day that the chimps actually hung out on the beach by the camp so we had extremely good luck.
See the photographs here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=jjigq2q.93vko63u&Uy=3izna5&Ux=0
Following this amazing day with the chimps our entire group went snorkeling in a wonderful cove. Lake Tanganyika has 140 species of cichlids, which are some of the most colorful and interesting fresh water fish. The snorkeling was excellent with outstanding visibility and I would guess I saw about 40 species of fish plus a small eel.
We had scheduled a 1:40 flight out with hopes of a 3rd chimp trek but unfortunately Nomad moved our flight to noon meaning a 10 a.m. departure for the boat trip to the airstrip and thus no chimping even though they were only a ½ hour out of camp that morning. After what we had I’m not sure I wanted to go again as we had such a supreme experience but obviously I would have taken advantage if the opportunity was there. Typically they do not trek on your departure day unless the chimps are close and you have not had very good viewing. I went out at 7:30 instead for a nice long solo sea kayak which was good fun and nice solitude as I had the water to myself and gazed into the jungle along the shore.
I have seen some complaints about activities here being too structured but we were given great flexibility for kayaking, swimming, and snorkeling from the beach by yourself and then two guided activities could occur each day. Other things like food, service, and an elevated bar overlooking the water for sundowners were all absolutely tip top. I loved this camp and the entire experience, as did every member of my group. Honestly I would sleep in a hole in the sand or under a log in the jungle for that matter for the opportunity to view the chimps but the camp and its staff is as good as it gets and this is a magical place to stay.
Next up … Lake Manyara and Kirurumu Tented Camp
Predator Biologist Report on Tanzania: Touched by a relative and more National Geographic Moments (includes photo link)
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Bill,
I really enjoyed the detailed report, and the excellent photos that went along with.
Very anxious for the next chapter.
Davgai
Wow! What a great report. I enjoyed reading it. I hope when I finally get to Africa that my experiences are as great as all the one's I've read so far. Your pictures were amazing. I so wish I could add Mahale onto my trip in Sept. but not this time. Thanks again for sharing.
Jamie
PB,
You have to be one of the luckiest people on earth. First baby Leo, then the dogs followed by close encounters with Orion.
You almost brought me to tears of joy with your Orion experience.
Your exquisite report is somewhat timely as;
1. I'm trying to find a light weight water/fog proof camera for my upcoming Mana Pools and kayak/dive trips. Did any of your people have less humidity problems with a camera. Good tip about wearing contacts, btw.
2. I've been thinking I'd like to do some kind of Chimp with a gorilla add on and am trying to figure out the logistics of getting to Rwanda from Greystone. Any thoughts?
As always your report and photos are invaluable.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Bill,
Haven't read the report as yet, but, loved the pictures!
Cheers
Hari
Very nice report start Bill,looks like Mahale is a must go destination and the experience with the chimps not to be missed.
Some nice pictures ,specially the close up faces.
Today i have received my Africa Geographic Magazine with the article about Mapula wildogs.
One of the nice things this forum has is that you get to know many things before they are in the headlines.
Thanks for your (always) very interesting information.
Paco.
Great report -- I'd really like to visit the chimps (the biggest hole in my Africa safari history).
I didn't realize that Tanganyika had cichlids -- I snorkeled with hundreds on Lake Malawi, and its almost like diving in an aquarium.
Looking forward to the next installments.
Great photos and report so far! Loved the detailed accounts of the chimp interaction. Looking forward to more.
You had tremendous Mahale sightings and I'm sure your photos back that up. I'll look at them next.
I wonder if anybody did miss out on the Mahale portion of their trip (or who knows what else) due to President Bush. Does trip insurance cover that? Not that even a full refund or 3x the cost could make up for the lost opportunity. I hope you did not have to fret too long about possibly being grounded.
With the rain, it must have been some muddy hiking. Thanks for the warnings on the camera gear. Not much you can do about the tremendous humidity.
The contrast in your two chimp viewing experiences emphasizes the importance of not having just one shot.
Did you hear rumblings about limiting the chimp viewing to one visit per person? I thought I had heard or read that.
You really made good use of your time to enjoy the other activities.
Hmm, I was wondering about Mahale--I haven't liked the sound of it too much from reports here and talking to people in Tanzania. But your first chapter has opened my mind. Great writing, very evocative.
Now I'm off to see your photos! Thanks and please hurry with Chapter 2.
Thanks to all for your comments!
Davgai: glad you are enjoying it. Once I get to the Ndutu section you will recognize some faces!
Jamie: I'm sure you will have a brilliant trip of your own! The good thing about finding new locations like Mahale is you will definitely want to return after your first trip and there is always another great destination to get to.
Cybor: yes, I know I am very lucky living a blessed life!! Only one other person had a big lens and she had some fogging issues too so I'm not much help there. I did think I would pack some of those dessicant? packs that often come with electronics in the future, not sure if they would make any difference but could at least help in the pack and to get the moisture out when not trekking.
As for getting from Rwanda to Greystoke I think you would be stuck going via Arusha making it inconvenient unless coming for a safari in Tanzania. There are chimps in Rwanda but I understand they are tough to find and definitely do not typically provide the same kind of experience as Mahale. Uganda of course also has opportunities with Kibale but I'm not sure anywhere else can quite deliver chimps with the regularity that Mahale does.
Hari: thanks, glad you loved the pics. I was lucky and did much better than I expected with photo ops.
Paco: Mahale is definitely a must do for the chimps! Glad you got your Africa Geographic, I'm actually still waiting for mine. Hope you liked the article.
Michael: you do need to make it to see chimps at some point, it is extraordinary. Snorkeling with the cichlids was a very nice bonus that I was excited for. I think Lake Malawi has many more species and is probably better snorkeling but I did see a lot of species and enjoyed it very much.
Patty: glad you enjoyed the chimp account. It's quite a bit more detail that I usually report for one activity but that's the nature with all the names and personalities it just needed to be recounted to that level.
Lynn: Fortunately everyone going to Mahale was on our plane (our group + one other couple) so no one missed out due to Bush's visit. I'm sure some people were inconvenienced though as it was a huge deal and closing down a lot of things but luckily no real impact on us.
Yes, rain made trekking difficult with slippery mud and numerous creek crossings that were more complicated by the extra water but nothing that couldn't be handled.
There has been rumors/discussions for 2 years or so about having a chimp permit fee, allowing less people per day which would result in possibly one visit per stay, etc. but things move very slowly and no changes have occurred yet. I think it would be a huge mistake to limit to one chimp trek because as you observed the experience can vary greatly day to day and you want to maximize your opportunities. Having to fly to such a remote area makes it an expensive endeavor and if you would only have one crack at the chimps it would be an expensive gamble that might reduce the number of people visiting. If the chimps needed less visitation though I would support it but it seems that the current system is working fine.
Leely: yes, I highly recommend it. I had read a few people who had issues with the other activities but I found them to be great and I think virtually everyone has loved the chimp visits.
Working on photos so I can move forward with the report soon (hopefully).
OK...that's it! When are you going again 'cause I'm going with you?! And don't bother trying to talk me out of it.
Oh man, what a slide show! These are the least obscured, best lit chimp photos I've seen, including brochures and websites from companies advertising Mahale trips! Some of your hand shots were really gripping (no pun intended) and the baby in motion caught the spirit of a young chimp. So many gems!
Thanks for your answers. Of course the welfare of the chimps is #1 and if less visitation is needed, then that's what must be done. But I don't know that I'd devote the time and $ to go there for just one trip.
Were all of your flights scheduled charters or were you able to charter planes for your particular group?
Don't hurry on the report. This is plenty to appreciate for now.
Thank you PB for your most detailed and compelling report on Mahale,that brought back fond memories of our Mahale journey last Sept. at Greystoke.On our charter back to Arusha,we were joined by the camp manager,who also was a researcher with MGVP,and she had our pilot steer off course to fly over an unspoiled stretch of remote jungle about 30 miles SE of the airstrip that she had trekked to a few months earlier,and home to another as yet unexplored population of chimps and other primates.I sure hope areas such as this can remain unexploited into the future...we will see...
topping for later
Excuse my ignorance but what does 'topping for later' mean?
Hi PredatorBiologist,
I love reading your trip reports and you are one of the main reasons I have decided to make africa the main visit and not just the stop off for our next holiday!
My only problem is everywhere sounds fascinating how can I possibly choose. Looks like I'll have to win lotto and stay for months.
Topping for later means the poster wants this thread back at the top of the listings so it is easy to find.
Sometimes they just write ttt for take to top or topping this thread.
thanks atravelynn. I have seen the ttt's before and wondered.
WOW PB! You had an AMAZING experience! Excellent pictures and what a tale to tell Leo! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for so many wonderful messages! Sorry the next installments are coming slowly but after being gone a couple of weeks I had lots of work waiting and now all of a sudden it looks like I will be going to Botswana in April for some scientific work so I'm scrambling a little. I will try and post another installment in the next day or two.
Divewop: you know I would love to have you travel with me. My luck mojo still is below Lynn's but it certainly is getting high up there.
Lynn: thanks for the photo compliments. I was so extremely lucky that the chimps went about their lives and shared them well with me at close range. I had low expectations for photos but apparently the chimps felt very comfortable with me as the photographer.
As for group limits the chimps do not appear to care in the least with the current visitation, for the most part they act as if no humans are there so my impression is it works fine and if they decrease the visits I worry that tourists will not support the area and that will be bad for the world's largest chimp population. Wearing the medical masks however is a must policy as visits certainly did impact them when germs were being spread.
We flew on the scheduled charters as it was still a little cheaper than chartering our own and the schedule worked fine for us.
Toontowndoc: glad to rekindle your memories of this special place. The manager who flew with you has moved on to Rwanda where she is a vet with the gorilla project (I don't know her name) but her husband Doug was just finishing up his role as manager before spending the next year on a research project in the Congo. Your jungle flyover must have been impressive, it appears so inpenetrable and definitely has more of a Congo, central Africa feel than what you typically think of Tanzania. It is a tremendous area and thus far they seem to be doing a very good job of protecting it. We saw rangers on patrol a few times and were told if they catch Congolese fish poachers they take them straight to 5 years in jail.
Dana: thanks for getting this back to the top so I can catch up a little.
Oneday: I'm so glad that my passion and enthusiasm for Africa has helped entice you for a visit. You are right there are so many wonderful places and I too am still trying to get to them all. Just pick the area that feels right for the first time and I'm sure you will return again for other areas once you have experienced it firsthand.
Dennis: thanks! It's always fun to share with those who can appreciate it like you. Plus recounting my experiences is good practice for when Leo is ready to hear them. I did bring back a handpainted batik canvas with lots of bright whimsical African animals to add to his wild room while my wild office will be receiving a portrait of my new friend Orion!
I want to go with you too!
Nancy
I think we probably all want to travel with PB!
I'm really looking forward to the rest of your report. The first part was just flabbergastingly great, and has given me yet another reason to want to return to Tanzania (as if I needed one). PB, you are so good at conveying how those moments with the animals feel, and why it is such a moving experience.
Bill,
I sent it to the top so I could find it under my own name search. Every time I start reading I get intrerrupted. And each time I pick it back up I re-read the Mahale portion from the beginning because it just sounds so absolutely wonderful.
Nancy and MDK come on aboard, I'd love to travel with everyone!
MDK: thank you for your compliments. The moments with wildlife really connect deep inside of me so it is pretty easy for me to write about but I'm ecstatic that it is coming across so vividly for others too as the pictures cannot nearly convey the depths of the experience.
Dana: that makes sense, good way to track a thread. It worked to get me going again too so now you will have something new to read in the next post.
Next installment.
We flew from Mahale to Ndutu to drop off one couple and then onto Manyara Airstrip. It was exciting as we entered and left Ndutu as we saw a small preview of the herds that were to come later in the trip. We were met by our guides from Kiliwarriors, Gilliard and George (later we would be joined by Paul as well). For our group of 8 we had two vehicles and Gilliard and I acted as guides in one vehicle and George and Paul took care of the other. Kiliwarriors had new vehicles that had just come into service in late December that I was excited to see as they are state of the art for Tanzania. They have the standard pop top roof but also have jeep like soft windows that can be rolled up to make open sided game viewing vehicles which I believe greatly enhances the intimacy of viewing wildlife that is in close proximity and it also allows for unobstructed viewing without having to stand the entire time. Additionally the vehicles have refrigerator boxes and inverter plugs that can be used to charge batteries while driving, a huge advantage since we were in the vehicles much more than we were in camps. I enjoyed finally meeting my guiding team and was optimistic that we would work well together. As it was late in the day we proceeded to Kirurumu Tented Camp for one night.
Kirurumu Tented Lodge was a short drive from the airstrip and in a good proximity to Lake Manyara National Park but beyond that it was very ordinary. We checked in and almost immediately went on a walk with two Maasai guides of the area surrounding the lodge. I found this to be a very disappointing experience and not something I would do again. It was basically a well rehearsed walk with stops at certain plants for a brief telling of facts. Any questions basically threw them for a loop and their knowledge seemed very limited. I am probably somewhat jaded because I tend to plan very carefully to be in wonderful wilderness and intimate surroundings but this camp was 22 tents (probably double any I have ever been in) and this walking area was through a farming property with lots of livestock, dogs and impacts of people. Other than a tremendous view down from the escarpment to Lake Manyara if felt like battered land that did not really interest me, quite the opposite of the beautiful, barely touched jungle of the west that we had just come from. Dinner was not spectacular but was more than adequate and the service was excellent. My tent was canvas and mesh with a concrete floor, basic accommodation that is nothing special but is suitably comfortable for a nights stay. My tent was a tough location as it was closest to the main lodge area with a path behind it to worker quarters or some part of the operation and I could hear lots of noise late into the night as well as lots of dogs barking. Then I had a crazy wake up at 4:45 that I believe was the call to Islamic worship down in the valley, at first it sounded like air raid sirens going off and then trance like singing. It could have been an interesting cultural experience but I wasn’t really sure what it was and following little sleep I was not very enthralled with it at that early hour. My understanding is that lodging options in the Lake Manyara area are quite limited, we wanted to be brief and relatively cheap for a visit to Lake Manyara so this may be the best choice but I was disappointed in the experience, especially the walk and I will consider what else is available in the future.
We were up early and off to Lake Manyara National Park in the morning. This would also be an African first for me, sharing one road for quite a while with a jam up of vehicles. Again not really my preference or style but it was a good easy start for Gilliard and I to get a rhythm for co-guiding and I had 7 first time safari goers so almost everything they saw would be new for them. For that kind of crowd it is a nice little introductory park as baboons, Syke’s monkeys, elephants, impala and giraffes were all close to the road allowing very relaxed viewing. We were just doing a short morning so we stopped when we reached the hippo pool where we took in the great site of everyone’s first hippos and lots of birds then we headed out for a long drive to get to Suyan Camp. We passed the Crater on the way taking in the spectacular view and stopping for lunch. Olduvai Gorge is right on the way to Suyan so we popped in for a short visit, which was interesting, it is nothing spectacular but there are very well done educational displays.
Suyan Camp – Loliondo Reserve, Piyaya area
Suyan Camp is located within the Loliondo Reserve, which is owned by the Maasai community who lease rights to Suyan Camp. The camp has two locations, a northern one and southern (Piyaya) one that moves seasonally. We were in the southern location east of the Serengeti National Park and north of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The closer we got the more dramatic the scenery became and we continued to be amazed spotting lone Maasai walking with livestock very far from any community areas. This is an area of rolling hills and it is a stunning landscape, from what I have been told perhaps the most scenically beautiful location in the Serengeti area. Unfortunately the Maasai here are very rough on lions and cheetah and they are virtually eliminated from the area. Normally that would deter me from visiting the location but this area has become famed for being the best greater Serengeti area for wild dogs. The last two years they had been regularly sighted near this camp during February and that was a major draw for staying here. I also wanted some time in a private concession area because you can night drive, walk, and not see any other vehicles on game drives.
The wild dog situation this year is in flux. In the northern area a pack of more than 20 (22 I think) were poisoned a couple months ago. In the southern area there had been a pack of 14(?) the past two years but this year they have not returned, no one knows their whereabouts. A group of 5 new females though did enter the area and met up with 3 new males to form a new pack. Unfortunately this pack is not staying close to camp and the drive area is enormous so its completely hit or miss to find them. We had hope as they were seen 2 days before our arrival.
Suyan Camp is just 6 tents and we would have the entire camp for our group. Because it is semi-permanent moving only twice a year the camp is a bit more established than mobiles and the tents are large and well appointed. They also have flush toilets but still use bucket showers. The setting is spectacular with a large hill behind the camp and a big open valley studded with trees in front of the tents. Each night in bed I could hear the zebras which was fantastic. Food and service were very good.
Activities are done with resident guides because the concession area is so vast that visiting guides will easily get lost and not know the best areas to drive through. Early on our first morning drive we came upon vultures and tawny eagles scavenging, this area was huge for wildebeest calving and there is food on the ground everywhere with dynamic vulture activity. As we proceeded up a fairly steep hill a medium sized brown animal caught my eyes – Caracal! I couldn’t believe the luck, our first cat was a caracal, something none of my guests had even heard of. He was moving along the front of some bushes hunting birds. When he saw us stop he went through the bushes and we lost sight until the guinea fowl came flying up and we knew it had to be the caracal. We were able to locate it as it headed down the hill quickly and into a thick drainage area, at that point we saw its head pop out to look at us. It was a long shot but I took it resulting in a surprisingly fair image (for a caracal) once cropped a little. We were off to a great start! The area may have lacked the lions but it turned out to be very good for smaller predators, in addition to the caracal we had brilliant sightings of golden and black-backed jackals, bat eared foxes, and some wonderful hyenas including a couple of very handsome maturing pups and one overstuffed mother. On a night drive we spotted an African wild cat and lots of bat eared foxes. Apparently zorillas are commonly sighted on the night drives and I was hopeful for one but it did not happen for us. Wildebeest, zebra, and Thomson’s gazelles were present in the thousands. I decided in this beautiful terrain that I do not understand why lots of people say wildebeests are ugly. I thoroughly enjoy when they break into a wild herky jerky gait and with their beards waving in the wind they have a very solid and respectful look to them, certainly not ugly in my mind. The hills were very breezy and it was quite cool at times on the drives due to the wind. We all were somewhat reminded of home as the area has a Colorado/Wyoming type of landscape and feel to it – especially when the wind was howling.
In the afternoon we split up for 3 activities. Some people went for a long walk, others visited a local Maasai boma that is quite different than the more touristy area experiences, and the last group drove in hopes of finding the wild dogs. Although I would have liked to do all 3 things looking for dogs was my priority. Eben, the managing partner of Kiliwarriors came to join us and it was great fun for me to get to know him and share in the search of the wild dogs. We were covering lots of ground when we got a call from a wild dog researcher, the dogs were on the hunt. The rover kicked into high speed and we flew across the plains! Our guide John was remarkable missing all the aardvark holes but keeping the pedal to the floor as we raced toward the area of the call. Excitement was high for all of us in a way that only the rush after hunting dogs can produce. As we neared the researcher we stopped to check in and position correctly. At this point it became clear that there was a miscommunication, the researcher had only seen some prey running and thought we might have a better position to see if wild dogs were the cause, he had not actually seen them at all. It was an empty result but the thrill of the chase did occur and it gave some of my clients an understanding of why I wanted them to experience the wild dogs so badly. We headed to meet the rest of the group for sundowners before a night drive with only a tale of a high speed chase of phantom dogs but with our hair blown into crazy formations and big smiles on our faces we had very much enjoyed the adventure.
An early morning start would be our last chance for wild dogs. We sent out extra vehicles with Kiliwarrior and camp vehicles going out to cover all the ground possible. We found a kill but it turned out to be hyena. We spotted a mother cheetah with two large cubs approaching her size, a very surprising sighting for this area. She was skittish so we watched from a distance as they had not seen cheetah in quite a while. We visited a spectacular oasis where the wild dogs had been seen two days before our arrival. Everyone scoured the area but no one could find them. Two women in my group said they were sorry for me that I didn’t see them, knowing they were my favorite species and I said no need to feel sorry for me I have seen them well before but I was disappointed that I could not share them with the group so they could understand why they are so special. Fortunately I had prepared everyone well saying how difficult they were to find before we ever came on the trip and I’m not sure that anyone really was that excited to see them anyway due to their unfamiliarity but I know that would have changed instantly had they encountered these charismatic carnivores.
Photos from Lake Manyara and Suyan here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=jjigq2q.1fhu6ic2&Uy=-fkzd8o&Ux=0
Next up … onto the Serengeti: a visit to Gol Kopjes and onto Ndutu (Olakira Camp)
One addition as I didn't properly close out Suyan Camp. This has to be one of the most beautifully located camps in all of Tanzania and the ability to drive in a large area and see no other vehicles adds a special dimension that we certainly did not have in the Serengeti. For that reason alone I think it makes a very nice complimentary location to the Serengeti safari during the January to March period. Add in walks and night drives and it provides all of the opportunities that are lacking within the park. The downside is the Maasai have eliminated all the lions, elephants do not occur in this area, and from time to time you will see Maasai with livestock (this is rare though and the area is immense so it was interesting to see them and not an issue to me). For the variety of experience, scenic landscape, and a good chance for a variety of predators and grazers I think it is an excellent choice and if your timing is very good it seems to be one of the major birthing areas for the wildies, we were too late for this but I heard the concentration was huge.
Thanks for the latest installment and pics. Congrats on your caracal!
Bill,
I am totally envious of your trip, which sounds absolutely fantastic. I have thus far only read the Mahale portion. Actually, I’ve started reading it a couple of times. I just can’t force myself to start in the middle of this thread even though I’ve read the first part over and over. It sounds so absolutely amazing. I’ve been struggling with the cost Mahale will add to my Rwanda/Uganda/Serengeti trip next February-March, and now I know I just have to bite the bullet and suck up it up.
The camp itself sounds amazing. Your description of beach-meets-jungle Robin Crusoe style is exactly how I’ve imagined it. The rest of your descriptions are wonderful as well. I can picture myself bathing in the cleanest water I’ve ever seen; kayaking in solitude; even watching a thunderstorm roll over the lake while sitting in the loft of the banda. What I cannot imagine, however, is your encounter with Orion. While the description of this event is wonderful, I am sure words cannot do justice to this experience. I cannot in my wildest dreams imagine how you must have felt at that moment.
Your first day with the chimps sounded quite productive: the sounds of so many chimps up in the trees, Totsy and Teddy playing, and Orion sitting on the sidelines quietly almost within touching distance. Wow! But then I moved onto day 2 and my heart stopped. Locking eyes with a chimp less than a foot away; being so close that his shoulder brushed yours. And this before your official trek even started. To have this experience followed by seeing so many chimps that you describe them as being “everywhere” is just amazing. I love your account of Totsy and her male entourage, and of Pimu’s rise to power as the alpha male. And you even got to see a baby so young that he has not yet been named. I wonder if any experience will ever be able to top your encounters with Orion. Somehow he seemed to find you wherever you went on day two. What another fabulous surprise to see him again after you thought your trek was over. How absolutely amazing!
Question about the weather. I know Greystoke closes mid-March through the end of May. While the closing is supposedly for annual maintenance, it happens to coincide with the rainy season. I know April and May are the highest months in terms of rainfall, but March is also pretty high. I thought of starting my trip with Mahale, but since March also has a higher incidence of rainfall than February in Uganda and Rwanda, I’m probably going to start there and end with Mahale. So, my question is this. If it did rain heavily the time you were there, would you still go?
Your photos are fantastic. I particularly loved the close-ups of Orion and the photos of the baby. The photos also really show the size and strength of Pimu. They are all wonderful. What a truly amazing experience.
Thanks Patty, caracal had moved to number one on my never seen but want to African animal list so I was very pleased indeed with the sighting. Truly a gorgeous animal and it was completely unexpected!
Dana: Next year this time it will be me who is envious of your trip -- what you are putting together will be sensational! You understand completely what my experience with Orion was, I can detail the account and it helps that I was fortunate enough to capture the depth of his eyes in some photos but there is no way to convey how deeply felt my time was with him. Just an instant when another species somehow reaches in and touches your soul in a place and way that it has never been touched before. The touch on the shoulder was the obvious part but it was how it resonated inside to touch my heart that cannot be passed on in this report, you have to experience it yourself to truly understand.
The price of Mahale is a difficult pill to swallow and definitely needs to be carefully considered by anyone. My experience was priceless and it was also likely better than almost anyone elses but everyone in my group thought the experience was amazing and all felt they received great value for their money. In fact I was told that I had undersold it when I offered up the idea, which I probably did because of the high price tag I did not want anyone to feel like I was pushing it. I was ecstatic that they all decided on including it though as I had long wanted to visit.
As for the weather you are correct they close for the heavy rains. At one point they used to close March 1st and that is why we did it at the start of the trip as you are strategizing. My preference was to do it last but I thought it might help avoid rain to go early. It rained two of 3 nights and part of each day for us but we were lucky that it stopped for our treks and each afternoon was fine for our activities. Weather patterns seem to be falling out of whack everywhere so it is getting harder to predict. The fact that they stay open until mid-March now makes me think it is generally similar to what I experienced but of course its hard to really know. The plus is during this time of year the chimps tend to stay closer to camp, I was told in August and September they often move far up the mountain and 7 to 8 hour treks can be common. Rain also tends to keep them from moving very far as they like to wait it out a little in the morning but it also keeps them quiet and harder to find. Ignoring the price I would not hesitate to try it out risking rain but of course with it being an investment it does make it a tough choice, you will still trek in the rain but of course it impacts your experience.
Will you be doing any chimp experiences in Uganda? If you are going to see chimps in Uganda and gorillas in both Uganda and Rwanda you may want to hang onto the cash for a downpayment on your next safari. Then if you include Mahale maybe I'll pop in and introduce you to my special friend Orion
Bill,
Great ongoing report you have going there. We spent some time in the Loliondo area; this area was as you say beautiful and remote, but in our case it came after our visit to Ndutu area, so it was a little bit of a let-down from a wildlife standpoint. However we did encounter a fairly large herd of elephants on a morning walk we took there. We were at the Nomad Nduara camp; which I believe has now been relocated to Ndutu. We saw no lion or cheetah or not really even many antelope there. The landscape around Loliondo was breathtaking I will admit.
Predator, Your comments on accommodations and their unique qualities are great. Can you tell me where Suyan was located in relation to Oldupai? It is possible to stay in Oldupai I believe, I think in a permanent tented camp.
Your wild dog chasing had to be thrilling. The caracal photo is coming up I presume. I didn't write that to pressure you, just to be sure I didn't miss it.
Not long ago someone asked where the best places to see caracal and serval is. That's a tall order without a definitive answer, but your comments on the area around Suyan and the animals that you actually saw may mean that's a good place. You mentioned the lack of big cats may mean the smaller predators flourish. Do you think small predator activity around there was greater than other places?
The comment that the chimps stick closer to camp in Feb is interesting. I had read that the rains meant clearer skies, once the rain stopped. So for that reason Feb. could offer better views. But shorter hikes are also an advantage. You mentioned the downside of the rain keeping the chimps quiet and harder to find. All things to weigh when contemplating a visit, especially such a high-priced one as Mahale. Can you tell us why you chose Greystoke instead of any of the other camps there?
People say wildebeests are ugly? That is like saying dandelions are ugly. Or stars.
I'm off to view your photos! Thanks for the latest chapter.
Davgai: I think the ordering of an itinerary is a critical step that often does not get enough attention. Ocassionally logistics or availability will dictate it. For instance I did not want to end with the Crater as I expected Ndutu to be the climax of the safari but reluctantly decided to finish at the Crater so our drive back on the day of our big international flights would not be as long as coming all the way from Ndutu. Along those lines I knew what not to expect at Suyan/Loliondo and thus went there before Ndutu and also stayed 1/2 as long as Ndutu. I can understand why you would be disappointed coming from the prime location for big cat action into Loliondo. When we were there Tommies numbered in the tens of thousands so it also must have changed considerably in the few weeks following your visit. I also was told it was one of the prime spots for wildebeest calving before we arrived too. My guess is Suyan is located in the best part of Loliondo as they are seasonally permanent there and the Nomad site is probably not in as prime of a location (just speculation by me here).
Lynn: from Oldupai you head almost due north and slightly east and Suyan is a little ways after you cross over the border from the NCA in to the Loliondo concession area. It's tough to estimate the time because we stopped often for viewing along the way but it is probably about an hour driving from Oldupai if you drive almost straight through.
The link with the caracal photo is above in the write up for Suyan, the picture comes right after the 8 legged zebra but with all the vegetation its hard to see the caracal on the thumbnail, it needs to be opened up larger. The guide said it was his 5th caracal this seaon since the camp moved in sometime in mid-December I think so I would say it is a very good place for caracal but still only a remote chance as that means he sees one about every 10 days on average. I don't know if the lack of big cats makes for a higher density of the smaller carnivores in this area or not but I do think it allows them to be more bold and thus probably easier to sight them. In areas like much of South Africa where the big predators are completely eliminated the other carnivores definitely can develop higher densities too.
Based on my limited experience I think the clear sky following the rain theory is spot on. I had expected real problems with photos because it would be too dark in the jungle and you cannot use a flash but we actually had good sunlight penetrating following the overnight rains, in some cases too much hitting the chimps and overlighting them so this is perhaps another plus for the February timeframe.
I had priced out Nkungwe as another option to Greystoke and I was shocked when I got the quote as I had thought it was supposed to be significantly cheaper and it was not. It was a long time back but as I recall for our 3 night stay we would have saved $300 pp total which in the grand scheme was not very much so I opted to pay the extra and have the truly unique lodging of Greystoke. I had heard Flycatchers was quite a step down from the other two camps but more importantly it is seasonal, only July to October I think so not open at our time of year. Flycatchers might warrant investigation as a cheaper alternative but I think you need to do their circuit at Katavi and Ruaha to get the most economical deal.
Leely: not sure why people so enjoy labeling some animals as ugly, and I definitely do not know what the criteria is. I was once hanging out with another biologist and a 3rd party mentioned that a woman we knew had two different colored eyes, one green and one brown. My biologist friend replied "I know and they are each so beautiful." I have never seen the world the same since I heard him say that.
I had missed the whole Suyan-Manyara slide show. The caracal face shot was beautiful. The 8-legged zebra was an adult so it made it that far in life. Did the extra legs just dangle when it walked and did it seem to get around ok? It was alone in your photo. Was it readily accepted by the herd?
The scrub hare was a cute photo with the flower in the background. They are not easy to photograph even when they are hopping around left and rigiht.
Your jackal shots were excellent and lots of good vulture action.
You did a nice job of not disturbing the giraffes if a whole journey remained in a sitting position. How unusual.
The white beards were really flowing and blowing on the wildebeest. Regarding the beauty of that creature...On my last trip I was with some people who were on their first safari and we saw a single wildebeest at a distance. They insisted we stop and examined it with binocs. Their reactions were refreshing with words like stunning and maginficent. They were right but sometimes it takes a beginner's eye to remind us.
Thanks for the pricing info on the Mahale options.
Leely, your comment on wildebeests made my morning. So true!
Same goes for warthogs and hyenas, in my humble opinion.
I don't understand this need to label animals as "ugly," either. The only really ugly animals I've ever seen have been some humans, and then it was just because of how they were acting, not how they looked.
The 8-legged zebra was an adult so it made it that far in life. Did the extra legs just dangle when it walked and did it seem to get around ok?
Are you serious? Look at the photo again ... next you'll be believing the story of the five-legged elephants ...
I'm hoping Lynn was just playing around with her comments/questions about the "8-legged" zebra.
Lynn?
I have seen a 5 legged-elephant. A big bull when its a uh, uh, never mind.
Oh, and BTW, thanks PB for great report
regards - tom
ps - Bill listen closely to the guide on the May 2007 DVD when we see the big bull ele.
I vote for humor.
Ha Ha, glad you all got my joke about the 8-legged zebra. Yeah, that's the ticket. I knew there were two zebras. Really!
Will I ever live this one down?
Even my husband was asking me why I was both screaming and laughing at the computer. He didn't understand my answer of an 8-legged zebra.
At least it's not as bad as going to Burundi by mistake.
When I read Predator's comment about the caracal being after the 8-legged zebra picture, I went to the slide show and scrolled through, focusing on the legs until I got to the zebra. I did not even see the baby behind its mother, I was so focused on this 8-legged zebra. I've seen a zebra that was white around the middle with only striped legs, so why not some extra limbs?
I almost wrote something like "A caracal, an erupting volcano AND and 8-legged zebra! No fair, you get to see everything!"
Now the 5-legged elephant is something I have seen and in fact the fifth leg was even doing tai chi.
Bill,
Your comment about the flow of an itinerary is so accurate. That’s one reason I’m struggling with moving Mahale from the end of my trip to the beginning. I think ending there will be a nice treat. Yours and Lynn’s comments about clear skies after rain are well taken. Plus, hiking in the mud really doesn’t sound so bad if it cuts the time in half (or more).
After reading your trip report, I don’t think I’ll be able to postpone Mahale for another trip, although I’d love to have you introduce me to your friend Orion! I do plan on going to Ngamba Island while in Uganda, but wasn’t planning on going to Kibale or on going chimp tracking in Rwanda. More importantly, another trip to Tanzania isn’t even in my thought process. I have so many other places on my travel wish list and generally only travel internationally once a year. I’ve been to the western and northern Serengeti and to the Crater in July/August. With the 2009 February/March trip to the southern Serengeti, I just can’t imagine I’ll be going back to Tanzania anytime soon after that.
Lynn,
Regarding pricing, the cost of getting to Mahale is a large part of what makes it so expensive. The flight can be $900- $1,000 round trip from Arusha, and if you get picked up in the Serengeti you can add another $250 or so. Bill, please correct me if I’m wrong on this. Over a 3 night stay, that’s already around $400/pppn before you factor in accommodations.
I’ve been following the permit question over the past few months, and it seems no decision has been made, either on whether they will be required or not, and if they are, when that requirement could go into affect. Because of the way the scheduled flights run (Monday and Thursday only), you either stay 3 nights or 4 nights. If you only get one permit per stay, I can’t imagine too many people will want to spend 3 or 4 nights there. I’m currently trying to find out if you can get in line to reserve a permit for each day of a trip (or at least each full day you’re there) so that if the rule does go into affect I’d be guaranteed no less than two treks during a 3 night stay.
Now I'm off to read the next installment.
PB
I cannot say I was disappointed in any part of our trip. This was our first trip to Africa; we really don't know how things are "supposed" to be... It is easy to be spoiled by the things we had seen earlier in our trip (Ndutu-Rwanda etc).
I bet you're right about Suyan being in a prime location. We had hopes of seeing the wild dogs in Loliondo ourselves having read one report about some sightings there.
Looking forward to additional chapters of your trip. I hope to start a list of things-to-do one day, and one of the things I plan to put on the list is to write a report of my trip to Africa. Thank you very much for taking the time to do such a good job on yours.
I have enjoyed all your photos, especially the caracal. I have to go back to Africa because I didnt see a serval, which was on my list of things-to-see.
dg
Bill,
Another wonderful installment and photos.
Too bad Kirurumu was so disappointing. It’s good that you only had one night there.
Loliondo sounds beautiful. I’ve been exchanging emails with Eben and your description is exactly what I pictured from his recommendations. Suyan Camp sounds very nice, particularly your description of sleeping to the sound of the zebras and the camp’s remote location. Your photo of the landscape shows just how beautiful the area is. What that photo taken from Suyan Camp?
You were so lucky with your caracal sighting, and to have a glimpse of the migration before Ndutu must have been a treat for you and your guests. I love your description of the dog chase. It’s funny how the chase is half the fun. I’m glad you enjoyed the adventure even if you didn’t find the dogs. Overall it sounds like game viewing in Loliondo was actually quite good. Did you find that two nights here was enough, or if you had time would you have stayed a third night?
Great photos. Several wonderful bird shots, particularly those of the vultures. I also really enjoyed the golden jackal stretching, wildebeest nursing, and the giraffe garden. And thanks for the camp photos. Suyan was already on my short list for next year’s trip.
Davgai1,
I remember viewing your photos but don’t recall when exactly you were in the Loliondo area. Was it the middle of January?
Lynn,
You had me choking I was laughing so hard when I read your comments about the 8 legged zebra. Did I miss something, perhaps an inside joke? What is this about going to Burundi by mistake?
Thanks Bill for the great report.
Dana,
When I first saw the photo that Predator had referred to as the 8-legged zebra, I thought it really was. I commented on it, along with his other fine pictures. I'll repeat those embarrassing comments:
"The 8-legged zebra was an adult so it made it that far in life. Did the extra legs just dangle when it walked and did it seem to get around ok? It was alone in your photo. Was it readily accepted by the herd?"
Duh, it was two zebras, one behind the next, and it really wasn't hard to see that. I had tunnel vision searching the slide show for the caracal and Predator had written it would be found after the 8-legged zebra picture. I was focused on finding an 8-legged zebra, just like Predator said.
The Burundi comment is because one delightful Fodorite, Imelda, described the journey she and her husband took in East Africa. It included the gorillas and they accidentally got off the plane in Burundi and did not realize it until they had purchased a visa. Her account of it was hilarious and everything worked out fine in the end and they left Burundi on the same plane. I'll see if I can find her report link.
Not only did tunnel vision make me see an 8-legged zebra, but I also once mistook a stranger of a different race for my husband due to this phenomenon.
I was home sick and feverish so I was resting in only undies. My husband went out for a walk, wearing a baseball hat and a jacket. A little later I heard a knock on our door. I looked out of the peephole and could see a guy in a cap sorting through some letters. My mind told me it was my husband, who had stopped for the mail, and I figured he didn't have his keys so I opened the door and said, "Come on in." In walked the FedEx guy who was delivering some envelopes.
I apologized profusely and he just nonchalantly continued to conduct the transaction, where I had to sign something, from outside the door. I had expected my Caucasian husband in a baseball hat with the mail and that's what my eyes saw. In reality it was a younger, dark skinned man who looked nothing like my husband, but he had a FedEx cap on and was performing the task I anticipated--sorting through envelopes.
For that fiasco I can blame the fever. I have no excuse for the zebra.
Dana M,
The link, if I have done this right, to OnlyMeOirish's trip report, "Imelda's African Adventure," is
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4&tid=34852537
Read to the bottom part, "The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often go Awry!" of her first (8/12/2006) entry. I think it's one of the more entertaining and potentially frightening stories on the Forum.
Lynn,
I read your post, every word of it, but I thought you were joking. I laughed all the way through it. However, I was laughing with you, not at you. Are you now really serious...that you thought that zebra had eight legs, or are you pulling my leg? I have four.
The FedEx story is hilarious. Thanks for my second great chuckle of the day.
hguy47,
Thanks for that link. The next time I have a mishap at an airport I'll think of the start of Imelda's trip. That should put things into perspective for sure.
Bill,
Sorry for the hijack. I just had to know what that Burundi story was all about.
Bill-
I've only read your first trip report with Mahale, we were there following your group, probably by a few days. (My sister was stuck in Dar es Salaam for 8 hours due to Bush flying to Arusha!) It was fun to read your report, Greystoke was an amazing experience with the accomadations, chimps, and locatin.
I'm curious about your snorkling experience. At first we were told snorkling was not longer allowed due to a run in with a crocodile. My husband who works with the cichlid fish in Lake Tanganyika was in heaven and couldn't stay away from the water! So reading your experience with snorkeling, I"m only curious how it worked for your group. After much conversation with Doug and the "corporate office" we were finally able to go snorkeling to view fish. We were taken to a cove also and it was amazing! Now it's a matter of returning... : )
Hi Bill,
I'm sending this back to the top for you.
Next up the Serengeti.....
Is that a subtle hint?
Hi Dana, thanks for bumping this back up often times I need a little jump start -- sorry to everyone for the delay between postings.
I was away for Easter followed by taking my daughter to a couple of national parks for her Spring break and then we arrived home to get nailed by the flu so I'm on the slow mend to recovery and quite behind on work but hopefully I will post the next segment over the weekend. Good news is I have made it through most of my pictures so ready to roll there with the rest of the story.
Luster: so glad to hear that you also had a brilliant experience at Greystoke -- truly a unique and special place. Too bad your sister was thrown by the Bush visit, had to be a frustrating 8 hours in Dar.
When we arrived we were told the same thing about the snorkeling, that due to crocs they no longer did the outing by boat but that we were welcome to snorkel at the rocks to the side of the camp. However, for our last afternoon we all said we wanted to boat and snorkel and they just said o.k. the boat leaves at 4:30, no discussion at all. We did go to the magical cove, same place I'm sure. Doug and the crew did a once around looking for crocs then anchored and gave us the o.k. The crew stayed on the boat and on rocks near the best snorkeling and watched for danger. I never gave it a second thought and the snorkeling was wonderful!
That is fascinating that your husband works with the Lake Tanganyika cichlids, I would love to hear more about that as well as your experience with the chimps. Feel free to email me direct if that is better communicated off of the public message board.
Up next ... coming within a few days
Lynn-It wasn't very subtle, but it worked
Sorry for the "pressure" Bill. None intended. Well, maybe a little. I just can't wait to hear how the Serengeti was. Having the flu stinks. I'm glad you're on the road to recovery.
O.K. I still have not had time to write since I got myself sidetracked on the cheetah conservation thread but I have finally finished getting all the photos up online. I had posted Mahale, Manyara, and Suyan previously but I think everything shows better on this new hosting site. There are 3 additional albums covering the rest of the trip that had not been shown before: Gol Kopjes, Ndutu and the Crater.
http://bgiven.zenfolio.com/
Enjoy the pics and I will try and finish the write up soon.
Lionesses and cubs, mother cheetahs with cubs, the male cheetah hunt and kill, and arriving at Gol Kopjes to suddenly see thousands and thousands of wildebeest march into the area, well that says it all. I needed a fix to curb my impatience for next year, and this was it. Thank you.
Wonderful photos. The phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" is quite appropriate right now. Your photos really do tell the perfect story. They show the incredible diversity of wildlife you saw, everything from such a variety of birds to a lion in a tree, all the big cats, the line of wildebeests, and oh, the cheetahs. You were really in the right place at the right time, weren’t you?
This was the first safari for your guests, right? If so, you have definitely spoiled them for their next safari!
The cheetah conservation thread was a good reason to get sidetracked.
Thanks again for posting the photos. They satisfied the cravings of an addict having withdrawls.
When you have cheetah conservation written on your excuse for tardiness, then all is well.
Your photo website is great. I was getting hypnotized by the motion of the loading shots. It really displays them well.
When you go to Gol Kopjes, you expect to see some kopjes. They were upstaged only by the wonderful lion family interaction that took place on them. Nice agama pose too.
I saw the caracal peeking at me again and my friend, the 8-legged zebra. She has a cousin in Ngorongoro--the 2-headed male lion!
A great collection from primates to birds flying and the smaller predators.
Oh yeah, and that elephant in Manyara is in everybody's photo's album, including mine. A real close up!
ttt
Sorry for the delay in finishing this everyone! My very time sensitive proposal for Botswana predator/livestock conflict project is almost complete and then I hope to get back to finish this.
PB
i very much appreciated your report!
especially the mahale-greystoke part because that's in the pipeline for 2009
also your report on suyan (asilia lodges) was enjoyable. one of our favourite in TZ!
what was extremly devastating: your report on the dogs!
when i read it i could not avoid tears running down my cheeks. it's so so sad!
it's absolitely disturbing that obviously the wildlife service and NGO's like "frankfurter zoologische gesellschaft" - which is so actively involved for decades cannot get the value of these animals into the massai heads....despite the compensation payments for liftstock loss.
For those who don't believe in 8 legged Zebras, here's living proof here:
http://africaddict.smugmug.com/gallery/3577726#251770762_br82M
Cheers
Marc
Lynn believes in 8 legged zebras
PB-your delay is for a cause much more worthwhile than my selfish interest in living vicariously.
Ditto what Dana said.
Looking forward to the rest of it whenever it comes!
See, there's another one! That recessive gene shows up all over Africa--Tanzania, Zambia. Thanks for the vindication Africaditct!
Your reading public will be here when you can return to your report PB@
Sorry for the huge delay and losing all momentum but I will attempt to restore your interest with this next installment. From Suyan Camp and into the Serengeti.
We had breakfast at Suyan, packed up and headed for the famed Serengeti National Park. We entered and stopped to pay park fees at the Naabi Hill park headquarters. Here we had box lunches before proceeding on toward Gol Kopjes in hope of big cats. Along the way had a surprise sighting of a serval, it was quite shy so the viewing was brief but a great treat. For a good stretch approaching Gol Kopjes there was absolutely no animals, it had me wondering how there would be any cats with nothing to eat. As we began to circle around our first rock formation and up on top of a large boulder was a number of lionesses and some older cubs probably approaching a year old. In the grass at the base of a tree was two males but the view was mostly their bellies and paws with the manes barely visible through the grass and brush. As we were watching for movement, what little there was from this pride of flat cats I glanced out to the open savanna and where there had been nothing there was a line of wildebeest approaching and stretching for as far as I could see. It was incredible how there was no grazers to be found anywhere and all of a sudden there were thousands arriving. We continued on inspecting kopjes one by one until we arrived at one with a lioness on a ledge adorned by two beautiful little cubs! These were young cubs, probably only 5 or 6 weeks old and we watched as they harassed their mother climbing on her, seeming to want to nurse but not being allowed to. One of the little cubs headed down the ledge and as the mother and other cub followed it was a bit of a struggle to keep balance. The mother kind of straight leg skated parts of the slope. Then from above in a different area a third cub revealed itself and the family came together – now the cubs were allowed to nurse and we were party to witness this wonderful natural event. These were the first wild lions ever seen for everyone in my group so it was a very exciting time, and as a big bonus we were the only two vehicles at the viewing. We reluctantly left but to make it to Olakira Camp in Ndutu by dark and avoid a violation we had to hustle.
Olakira Camp is a seasonal mobile camp moved occasionally to be well positioned for the migration. At this time of year it was inside the Serengeti National Park in the Ndutu area. It had a nice setting which was convenient to the road to head down to the Lake but remote enough that while in camp you felt like no one else was in the area. The camp had 6 tents when we were there so always our group plus one other couple. The tents in my mind are perfect for this type of safari, they are basic, roomy enough for the large bed and to hold your luggage, and have the bathroom attached to the back. There is a bucket sink, bucket shower, and a chemical toilet similar to what you might find in an R.V. There are zip flaps to separate the toilet and the shower for privacy from the rest of the tent. No extra frills, just a comfortable place to sleep and maintain yourself which I think is fitting for a mobile safari camp. My only knock would be the tents are placed fairly close together so there is not much privacy from your neighbors, I would prefer that they are spread out more but there could be rules about that in the area and it definitely helps minimize the impact keeping camp tight together. There was a large community tent with a long dining table and a small lounge sitting area. Food was always good, usually fairly simple but well cooked. Homemade potato chips to accompany drinks around the fire is actually what I remember being pretty thrilled with. Service was always good too. There were a lot of different choices for seasonal camps and I worked for a long time with Eben at Kiliwarriors to find the best option for us. Olakira is one of the more reasonable cost camp choices and I think it was perfect for us so we received very good advice from Kiliwarriors. For a comfortable level of accommodation, good service and food, as well as being in an excellent location I think this camp provides good value. To me there is no reason to pay for things like chandeliers in the tent, or a private tent butler when you are traveling with your own guides and vehicles.
After we were settled into our tents we began the routine that would run for the next 4 nights. Namely having drinks and talking about the day around the fire and then prior to dinner. On 3 of our 4 nights we were treated to the ‘Squrriel Band’, basically most of the staff play one type of instrument or another, lead by a guitar and sing traditional songs ending with some dancing. These guys have a lot of fun with their fireside gig and our group got pretty into it with the last night turning into a big dance around the fire.
I was excited for our first morning game drive in Ndutu, here we hoped to see cheetah, lions, great herds, and perhaps a hunt and kill. I had read of the amazing mother cheetah, known as Eleanor, and her 6 cubs so with great anticipation I was seeking that sighting. As we drove we found a troubling site that would become common, lost baby wildebeest. It was always heartbreaking to find these youngsters just a couple weeks old wandering aimlessly with no other wildlies in sight. You could take some solace in knowing they would soon feed predators and serve a purpose but each time it was a troubling site for me. Other wildebeest had already fallen to serve the masses and we saw many squabbles of spotted hyena, vultures, and jackals. At this time of year every animal looks full as can be, the grazers have the rich grasses and the predators and scavengers have as much as they can possibly handle – a true time of plenty. I love watching the interactions at the carcasses and hyenas would waddle off ready to burst and then come bowling back in sending vultures to flight while the jackals are always looking crafty.
While enjoying these interactions there was the telltale sign of a cheetah sighting, a number of vehicles gathered together in the distance. We went to check it out and there was a cheetah just opening up a Thomson’s gazelle in an odd high patch of grass. Movement in the grass revealed the bobbing little heads and whitish/blonde mantles of shoulder hair of cheetah cubs. This was indeed Eleanor and the 6 cubs (about 3 months old) although it was hard to see more than two or three of them at a time as they were in the grass eating. There were 12 vehicles all to one side of this feast but everyone was well behaved. The afternoon before, cheetah researchers were having to come to vehicles and warn them to give this family room to hunt as there had recently been too much interference causing difficulty and Eleanor had not been able to make a kill for two or three days so this was relieving to see the family gorging quickly. The mother was smart to drag the kill into the only high grass around and thus was not discovered by any scavengers, the first vultures only arrived when the meal was almost complete. She was also very cautious and would stop eating and look around every couple minutes to make sure no other large predators would catch her young by surprise. After about 20 minutes she chirped and called the cubs to follow her away from the kill. One by one they came until there were 5, and then a minute later the 6th straggler came off of the kill. I think she was just checking for danger because after a minute they all returned to eat some more. After another 5 minutes one of the cubs soon to be joined by others came to mom for what I dubbed the ‘cheetah bucket shower’ as she would lick their faces clean of the blood. We had witnessed a real National Geographic type moment, the kind you hope to have once on a safari but fortunately we would have more to come. With just some scraps left the mother once again chirped and began to lead the family off for shade, the problem was she wanted to walk far across the plain to the closest trees while the young cubs saw a much closer opportunity as they headed straight underneath one of the vehicles. She chirped and chirped for them and would get a few rounded up but 6 is more than a pawful! One of the cubs climbed up a tire into the wheel well of a vehicle making an interesting photo for me but not my preferred way to see wildlife. After a couple minutes mom managed to summon all of them and walk between two vehicles to head off in her preferred direction. At this point the vehicles all start up and grateful for the gift of this amazing sighting we are ready to head back to camp. Mind boggling though 2 vehicles that had actually left the sighting during the riveting feeding return at this point and start following them across the plains as they head for a nap! It would seem these cheetah likely have vehicle escorts virtually every waking hour. Seeing 6 cubs is almost unheard of as there are 95% cub mortality rates in the first 18 months for Serengeti cheetah, this mother is crushing the odds so far and it was an honor to spend time with this family.
All the trip photos are at bgiven.zenfolio.com This last portion is covered in the Gol Kopjes and Serengeti-Ndutu folders.
More from the Serengeti to come…
Thanks, PB! I've been looking forward to this...
Thanks MDK, glad I haven't lost all of the readers.
Now the conclusion of the Serengeti!
Following the afternoon siesta time we headed out and focused a bit on birds. Overall birds in the area were great with some nice raptors such as the lanner falcon and a juvenile bateleur. As we were driving we pulled slightly off the road close by Lake Masek to see some flamingos and as we went to drive again we were stuck! Lots of digging, gathering rocks, logs, etc. Jacking up the back of the vehicle etc., we tried to tie a rope to our other vehicle but it was not strong enough. Fortunately after close to an hour of working the problem another vehicle came by who had a winch and in about 10 minutes he was able to pull us out. We had heard lions were mating on the other side of the lake and it was getting close to dark, our first vehicle made it around the lake just in time to see 60 seconds of lion mating while the rest of us missed it. Unfortunately, no time to wait for another mating bout due to the park rules. We did catch a nice silhouette of a hyena dragging a drowned wildebeest out of the lake but we could only stop for one minute for a quick photo and had to leave that sighting behind too. Of course sitting around the fire the only other couple in camp told us all about the mating lions and a very relaxed leopard on the ground that was not far beyond.
Next day we would do an all day trip with box lunches to Seronera. I would have preferred more time in Ndutu than devoting an entire day to Seronera but with a group of first timers seeing leopard was of course in high demand and Seronera is where they are commonly sighted. On the way we did stop at Simba Kopjes and sure enough found two very relaxed lionesses. This was nice as again we were the only vehicles and we watched them laze around for a bit, then some warthogs showed up and they did try to stalk them. They were discovered quickly by the warthogs, but it was excellent to see the stalking behavior. Seronera is known for it’s year round resident game and there is a nice variety with hippos, giraffe, buffalo, elephant, kudu, etc. Some good general sightings but there was also lots of traffic, always other vehicles in view at any decent sighting. We searched and searched for leopard but unusually no one had seen one all day. I did spot the hung carcass of a baby buffalo in a tree right by the road so it appeared a leopard had been here overnight. Then the call came in, someone claimed there was a leopard in the grass. We were close by and pulled in to look. This was comical as about 35 vehicles triple parked up and down the road. There was high grass and an unknowing warthog was wandering in, but where was the leopard. Nobody knew, in fact nobody could actually say that they had seen one. After about 30 minutes of anticipation it was time to leave and take the long drive back to Ndutu as a throng of people waited for the mythical leopard that may well not have existed at all. In my opinion I would not make the drive to Seronera again unless desperate to look for leopard – Ndutu has a section of habitat that is very similar with far less people, saves the all day drive, and you can go off road. Of course, that is no surprise coming from me as I dislike areas where you are confined to the road and subject to subsequent crowding while you view from afar. I prefer it to being home of course but also consider it to typically be a sub-par viewing experience compared to other options and this is a huge reason why I planned Serengeti for the best time in Ndutu where you can go off road.
After a losing a lot of time with our stuck vehicle followed by an all day of average viewing it was time to get back to some exceptional viewing. We made an earlier start than usual, out at first sunlight. As we drove along out in the distance in lush green grass we found a lioness with 3 roly-poly little cubs (about 6 to 7 weeks old) playing around her. The lighting was perfect and this was as pure a sighting as one can have. We watched for a while from across a little water channel as they cavorted with one another. As another vehicle showed up we headed off into a woodland where we found two more lionesses stalking wildebeest. There were flies everywhere in these woods and one poor lioness looked miserable, our only day of bothersome insects. They gave up on the hunt and we moved on through, spending a little time with some banded mongooses.
Coming out of the woods we found a lone male cheetah strutting his stuff, it appeared he had not eaten and that he was walking out to the plains with a purpose so we followed at slowly at a distance. He sat on a little mound giving the classic cheetah view, we looked to and spotted herds in the distance so drove ahead and found a good out of the way position to observe from and stopped. Of course others eventually spied us and joined the watch including two Kibo vehicles, who must have radioed a third, because he came barreling in late from the other side of all the other vehicles who were positioned to observe and leave space to the herd the cheetah was approaching. This guide (and I use that term loosely here) zooms all the way in and nails the brakes about 30 feet from the cheetah covering him in a cloud of dust as they come to a stop. Consequently so does the cheetah, who sits down. Soon as the cheetah sits the other two Kibo vehicles fire up and zoom in from the other side for their close up photos. I was livid! We repositioned further a field and fortunately, about 10 minutes later he started to hunt again and all of a sudden there was the burst, from a bit of a distance all I could see was two rapidly moving clouds of dust with one gaining on the other until the dust merged and a cheetah came skidding out with a young wildebeest that he quickly clamped around the throat and began a dance of death, waltzing with his prey as we all approached closely. After a minute he took his quarry to the ground and continued to vice on the throat. Occasionally he would stand up a bit to reposition and a little kick of the wildebeest would be a sorrowful reminder that it was not quite dead yet. After a few minutes the life of one of the many had ended and the life of one of the few would continue. Cheetah incredible sprinting takes it’s toll with enormous spike in temperature up to 105 degrees so after a full on chase he needs to recuperate before eating. It took him 15 minutes of mostly laying and panting, sometimes on top of the prey (perhaps to conceal it from sight), before he began to feed. He then ate for 30 straight minutes to the point of being satiated. Amazingly many of the vehicles left soon after the kill was made not waiting to watch him feed or see what kind of interactions would follow as if they were going to find something better at 10 a.m.? It was nice as there was a maximum of about 5 vehicles at the feeding and for much of it just 3. Truly another National Geographic moment and the kind of sighting I dreamed about seeing in the Serengeti.
While watching our boy eat we saw a gathering of vehicles a quarter of a mile off, so we decided to check it out. We pulled in to find yet more cheetah eating going on. This time a mother with 4 very large cubs, about 85% as big as her and probably 10 to 12 months old. Hard to believe the 95% mortality rate with these 4 quickly approaching adulthood but for sure this was the time of plenty. We got to see more eating and then a nice round of ‘cheetah bucket showers’ with Mom administering the bath to her large cub and a party of 3 cubs doing a mutual bathing of one another. What a morning this turned out to be! An amazing kill sequence, another family of cheetah eating, the lioness and her cubs and lionesses on the hunt in the woods – definitely one of the top game drives I have ever had.
We returned to eat and then I went out immediately to scout for leopards with a couple others while the rest of the group had their siesta and would meet us later. We found the lioness in the tree again but all to ourselves this time. We found a breeding herd of elephant, big herd of eland and zebra, and lots of outstanding birds before our second vehicle met us. We then found a large nursery herd of wildebeest and before the drive was done a handsome young leopard perched high in the classic sprawled position of a horizontal branch. Yes, there would be big dancing around the fire tonight jamming with the Squirrel Band. Everyone very happy we had an excellent last night meal and in the morning we would head for Ngorongoro Crater.
Next up – Ngorongoro Crater, including a moment that shocked all the guides, and the Sopa Lodge ….
I was so excited to see this back at the top, and of course was even more excited once I started reading. You had such amazing sightings. One oi my favorite experiences is watching animal interaction such as that between Eleanor and her cubs. I am so glad you found them. The cheetah kill of the wildebeest must have been a real highlight, although I did shutter a little when I read about the legs kicking with the wildie still alive. Your description of lost baby wildies almost brought tears to my eyes.
It's a shame the Kibo guide behaved so badly when the cheetah was hunting. I am so glad I'll have my own vehicle, with excellent guides, on my trip.
Olakira sounds wonderful, squirrel band and all.
P.S. you have NOT lost your readers. Thank you for picking this back up. It was worth the wait.
I'm still reading too! Glad you found Eleanor. Looking forward to the Ngorongoro installment.
Your group had an exceptional first lion sighting, with very young cubs nursing!
Your Seronera comments were helpful. Great luck with the cheetahs in Ndutu, even if there was some bad luck with a guide or two. The screeching to a halt in a cloud of dust is terrible.
You finally found your leopard!
How long will you make us wait for the thrilling conclusion?
Topping, since Bill said this got buried somewhere, but was almost done with the last installment.
Sorry Bill, I know I can be a pain
Dana: not a pain at all. I wish I could afford to hire you to help manage my various projects!
Picking up with a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater...
I was sorry to leave Ndutu and head for our last stop, Ngorongoro Crater. Having formed an expectation from reading other people’s thoughts I really wasn’t looking forward to visiting the Crater, I expected crowds and a bit of a zoo-ish feel to game viewing here.
Upon arrival I quickly realized that at least one thing I expected was incorrect. I had read many reports of the harrowing entry road winding down to the Crater floor. As someone with a fear of heights and edges I was dreading the ride in but arrived to find what I would consider to be a road in very good condition. I have driven many steeper and more treacherous roads in Colorado, most of which are far less maintained, thus I was pleasantly surprised and glad not to be on something comparable to ‘Oh My God’ road that is a white knuckler near where I live. When we reached the floor there was a bus with a crowd of children all around it, while I normally want to see no other people when looking for wildlife I was happy to see a bus full of Tanzanian children getting exposure to their natural heritage.
We game drove across the Crater to the lunch picnic area, game viewing along the way with hyenas and some wonderful crowned crane sightings being the highlights, such graceful and gorgeous birds. The picnic area was wall-to-wall vehicles and people. I highly recommend skipping it if at all possible – it was the only chance for us to use the bathroom unfortunately. Having read of the aggressive behavior of the black kites I warned my group to beware while eating, and the kites were indeed coursing over the area. At this point in the trip I almost wanted them to steal my box lunch, as I was quite sick of those lunches. As we stood talking one of my clients held his sandwich in his hand around his shoulder height and in an instant a kite came from behind, right past his head and snatched the sandwich from his hand, luckily just nicking the finger and not leaving a real injury. It was a frightening moment for him and then it was either eat in the vehicle or sit on the ground between two vehicles and still eat with caution. To add to the dismal experience of the picnic area a hippo somehow managed to get stuck on its side between rocks and a bank two-thirds of the way out of the water. Park rangers were trying to figure out what to do and the situation did not look good for the hippo.
Back on the road we searched the swamps and spotted two enormous old bull elephants with tusks just about dragging on the ground, by far the longest that I have seen. They were far from the road so this was primarily a binocular sighting. We then found our main objective, the first rhinos of the trip – two black rhino who were again pretty far out requiring binoculars to observe. The grasses were lush and there were smatterings of gazelles, wildebeests, and zebras throughout. Vehicles were seen frequently but did seem to be spread out for the most part. We came upon some lionesses concealed in high grass with about 8 vehicles in attendance, we snapped a few pics and quickly continued on finding a mating pair of lions who had just completed a session. We waited 30 minutes for their next bout but there was no sign of interest so we continued on. My clients began a discussion of the Disneyesque quality of the Crater as we moved from one sighting to another. Traffic was actually considerably worse when we visited the Central Serengeti and for certain in Lake Manyara so I’m not so sure what it is that caused the tame, safari park like feel but I did feel it too, however, this feeling was about to come to an abrupt ending. Time was dwindling and we needed to work our way toward the exit road to the Sopa. Most vehicles must need to exit on the other side where there are multiple hotels because we stopped seeing any other vehicles. We came across a coalition of 3 big boy male lions, they were chilling together and you had to be quick to get photos during the brief times of raised alert heads as mostly there was just repositioning and flopping. I always love to see the bond the males have, and it is most evident as they flop all over each other choosing to keep lots of contact between the three despite having the freedom to spread out as much as they want. Witnessing the bonds of brotherhood close to the road, with no other vehicles, seemed like a good quality sighting to end our day on and we headed for the exit. As we make our way there is a nice size herd of Thomson and Grant’s gazelles, all of a sudden many of them start trotting and I spy a lioness walking straight through the herd. She is conspicuous, strutting with no effort to stalk or conceal her presence – both she and we know there is no way she is going to run down either gazelle species. Then my eyes catch two Grant’s gazelle rams deeply engrossed in a battle to determine supremacy. Heads down, horns engaged, the focus is on establishing a breeding advantage. It instantly registers that they might not see the lion, and as I verbalize this opportunity quick twitch muscles explode and the casual lioness converts from a stroll to an opportunistic meat seeking missile. A galloping gait of rippling muscles covers the open ground with just 4 strides, at one stride from impact the fortunate ram facing the attack catches the blur of movement and jerks out of his engaged battle and pivots to run as the lioness arrives enveloping the back two-thirds of the other ram and rolls it to the ground one step shy of clipping the legs of the second ram who sprints to safety as his opponent is now in the vise clamp eternal sleeper hold of the lioness. This would not be the prolonged choke of the cheetah that we witnessed in the Serengeti, life was gone within three minutes and in less than another five feeding begins. Unfortunately at this point we must rush to make the 6 p.m. closing gate and avoid a fine so reluctantly we pick our jaws up off the floor, rein our transcended wild spirits back into our bodies and proceed up the road. As we climb out of the Crater there is a breeding herd of elephants on both sides of the road but we can only slow down, no time to stop and we make the exit gate two minutes before closing. The surprise hunt is discussed and replayed over and over. Later, the guides meet by the pool to enjoy a Tusker at sundown and we decide to a man that this opportunistic ambush is the sighting of the safari and as breathtaking a hunting moment as anyone of has observed.
One more drive in the Crater and then the trip wrap up....
A lion kill in the crater. Grand finale for you and the poor gazelle. You used the Sopa road, right? That one is not bad.
Would rangers really get involved if a hippo wedges itself between some rocks? If it can get water to stay hydrated, won't it just lose weight and eventually slip out? If not, then wouldn't it just be nature taking its course? Maybe hippos wedging themselves in rocks are best left out of the gene pool.
In contrast, I was just reading about a hyena with a snare around its neck. I would hope there would be something rangers could do about that.
Lynn: this lion kill was the crowning event for the trip and one that I will never forget. I do not think she was really hunting, just saw an easy opportunity and took it creating an incredible sighting for us that was truly pure luck. We did no work to get this treat, just right place at an extraordinary time.
We used both roads as we entered the Crater arriving from Ndutu on the west access road and then utilized the east road by the Sopa the rest of the time. I thought both were in good condition, but using the east road did seem to help a lot with having less vehicles around early and late in the day.
I am a firm believer in the hands off policy for interfering with wildlife and I'm not sure what level of effort the rangers were going to put in as we left. This was a bit of a dilemma as the picnic ground is so crowded with tourists and the bus load of children were all crowding around this poor hippo. If there is a direct human cause to the issue, like a snare on a hyena, then I think it is appropriate to act. I did not fight through the crowd to see but it's possible that this hippo was stuck due to a manmade structure in the lake but I'm not sure. It was pathetic though as the hippo was sprawled over between its back and side moving legs trying to dislodge its behemoth mass. I'd rather think about the lioness.
Thanks for the hippo and the crater road explanation.
Even beyond the lion kill, the crater produced lots of great sightings. Are any of the 8 talking about a return to Africa with you?
Lynn: yes, we had a good variety as well as some good quality sightings in the Crater.
I believe everyone in the group definitely wants to return to Africa and there has been talk of me leading them to Botswana, as well as possibly a South American destination! Nothing immediately on tap as the saving process begins again but they have paid me the ultimate compliment of referring quite a few friends and I have two new groups to lead in 2009 directly attributable to this one. They were all really nice people and a pleasure to be on safari with and at this point they have become my friends.
YIPPEE--more of PBs report!
Bill,
I wish I could hire someone to manage my own projects. I have been back from my last vacation (Costa Rica) almost a month and I haven’t even started a trip report or posted photos yet.
Thanks for the update/continuation.
I'll remember to avoid the picnic area at the crater and ask for some variety in those box lunches.
Oh, that poor hippo. Not just to be trapped, but to be trapped amidst a boat load of gawking tourists. Ouch!
How wonderful you got some less crowded time in the Crater, especially watching the bonding of brotherhood among the lions. To be followed by the lioness taking down one of the dueling Grant’s must have been fantastic. That must rank right up there with your close encounter with Orion. What an amazing surprise ending to the day. I am sure it will be etched in your mind forever. Don’t you just love being on safari? Every time I read something like that I can almost imagine being there. It is then that I realize that no other place on earth comes close to offering such an experience.
You had me hooked at Orion. Any other amazing surprises?
Hi Dana: wow, Costa Rica, I'll have to look out for your report. Sounds great, and yes there is nothing else like being on safari.
The lion kill in the Crater was phenomenal but also completely different than the experience with Orion. Basically the lion kill was one of the most amazing moments you could ever watch, but with Orion I exited the role of observer and for a moment became an actor within his society, transending boundaries between us.
The lion kill is the last National G experience from the trip. I still have to report the last drive in the Crater and a summary of the trip but that is it for the Wow! highlights. Looks like I need to get out on another safari as soon as possible.
I still haven't started the CR trip report, but I'll let you know when I do.
I'm not surprised you don't have any more "wow" factors or National Geographic moments. Most of us don't get even one in a lifetime yet two on one vacation. What a wonderful trip you had. I'm looking forward to the last installment and wrap-up when you have time.
Of course another safari is in order. Isn't it always?
So right Dana, I was extremely fortunate on this trip to have had a few of those off the chart moments.
I do now have my next two safaris in place so that feels good but I'm hoping to return before those to work on my predator research project if I can secure sufficient funding.
Along those lines I'm leaving Sunday to do similar work with wolves so it will be a little while to put the last touch on this report. Perhaps next weekend if I can squeeze it in.
Where are the wolves that you are working with?
Lynn: I'm going to the California Wolf Center in Julian, CA where they have a captive breeding program for the endangered Mexican wolf as well as gray wolves.
We are testing out the conditioned taste aversion method that I am working on for lions and wild dogs. If successful with the captive animals we will hopefully be able to create a field study to research the ability to mitigate livestock conflicts for wolves and attract funding to pursue the same with the African predators.
Great. I could benefit from some taste aversion as well, especially right after the holidays.