TC

I apologize for not having my trip report posted as yet. Its been very hectic getting back into the home routine. I have managed to organize and post photos which will give you some impression of how stunning we found Ruaha, Selous and Mafia Island. I promise to get back to writing a trip report very soon. Feel free to post your questions to me in the meantime. Enjoy.

http://tonna.zenfolio.com/

Lillipets

I took a quick glance. Wonderful photos. And you saw wild dogs???? Yahooo!

TC

Yes....wild dogs, twice. Once at rest and again later, hunting impala and sharing the kill. This was from Selous Safari Camp.

raelond

Wonderful pictures. I plan to visit Selous and Ruaha next year and was looking at staying at Sand River and Mwagusi. How would you compare Selous Safari Camp and Sand River. Were all the elephant pictures taken from camp at Selous Safari Camp? Did you happened to see Lake Manze Camp while you were in Selous as that is another camp I am considering.

LAleslie

Oh those darling lion cubs. And the 10 lions drinking from the water hole. The malachite birds are wonderfully colorful. And it was so helpful seeing the camps. Great pictures all, thank you. Looking forward to your repport.
Curious: You seemed almost too close to soome of the animals (unhappy eles and a lioness with cubs). Did you feel put in danger at all?

Leely2

Such stunning photos. The green everywhere is just lovely. Beautiful birds and mammals; I can't even pick favorites because they are all so beautiful, especially the light and color. Those itsy-bitsy lion cubs have captured my heart, though. The lions at the waterhole. The elephant protecting the babies. The dogs!

Thank you for sharing these. Made my evening!

sundowner

My, my. All the lions! And bat eared fox. And the cutest cubs ever. Love the photos!

TC

Raelond, Most of the elephant photos were taken at Mwagusi. I did not see Lake Manze Camp. My pick would <u>absolutely</u> be Selous Safari over Sand Rivers. We saw FAR more wildlife at Selous Safari than at Sand Rivers. Unfortunately, Sand Rivers is so near to the part of the park that is open to hunting that the wildlife is very skitterish and shy. We found it impossible to really sit and have any sort of meaningful interactive viewing of animals at Sand Rivers. The boat safaris are much better at Selous because you are on a lake and, again, the animals are so much more relaxed. On the river at SR, we only saw hippos from afar, while at Selous, we could practically be on top of them. We would glide so close to the birds that at one point I really should have been using my macro lens.

I also, really loved the staff at Selous. They bend over backwards to make every day special. The tents there are wonderful and filled with lots of extras. The food is delicious - every bit as good as SR. While SR "includes" all drinks, our bar bills were only about $100 for 4 days, so I don't think that's a reason to stay at SR. From Selous Safar we saw the wild dogs, giraffe, the tiny cubs, hippos, crocs, zebra, lions, birds, birds, birds. All in nice quantities.

Sadly, the bandas at Sand Rivers (while beautiful) are totally open and have been invaded by the resident monkeys to an extent that literally everything must be under lock and key. They have a reputation for going through ones luggage or cosmetics in search of food. Even the morning coffee comes in a locked box - which the monkeys have now figured out how to open. I don't mind interacting with wildlife, but they have allowed guests to feed the monkeys and therefore encouraged them to become real pests. That is sad. Its mostly sad, because the only solution will be to eventually destroy the animals. The current camp mangers at Sand Rivers are leaving very soon and when we were there, new managers had not yet been hired. So I suppose anything could change in the future.

LAleslie, the cubs were photgraphed at Selous Safari Camp as were the malachites. The pride of 22 lions (at the water hole) we found on two different days (same pride "at the beach") during game drives from Mwagusi.

Yes, we were VERY close to the wildlife, but NO, I never felt in any danger. The guides are very good and know just how far to take each situation. Then again....maybe I'm just not smart enough to be afraid.

LAleslie

22 lions, wow! Very useful info about the Selous camps. Our agent felt we'd be better off at Beho Beho than Sand Rivers, and I don't remember why (tho I think she thought the guiding at Beho is better) and I can only hope we have such fantastic sightigns as you. Alsas, in Sept. we're unlikely to get those little cubs and their fuzzy little ears). The monkey situation is sad; those critters can be very annoying.
I also loved the coral and fish pictures at Mafia. We're going to Vamizi off Mozambique and I'm hoping for equally spectacular snorkeling and diving.

atravelynn

Great photos, I was especially interested in your underwater shots. You had clear water and bright sun at Mafia Island for such brilliant under the sea photos.

Danny1

Excellent photos! Thanks so much for sharing!

About Mafia Island. Which snorkelling trips did you go on? Any recommendations of good reefs/places to snorkel at?

TC

Danny1, The snorkeling at Mafia is done at a small group of reefs and rock formations in Chole Bay. We went out three different days - twice to a place they call "Big Rock" and once to "Coral Gardens". Big Rock was our favorite. Because the whole area is so tide dependent, they take you snorkeling when the tide is low so that you are quite close to the coral. As the tide comes in, the water gets deeper and you are farther away from things and it gets harder to see. There isn't any snorkeling to be had from shore. The boat ride takes about 20-30 minutes going to the reefs. We would spend about an hour there and then return under sail (which is wonderful). A daily snorkeling trip was included with our accomodations at Pole Pole.

TC

http://www.youtube.com/user/tonnalea?feature=mhw5

Video from our trip finally up on YouTube.