Leely

Okay, I'm ready for more.

You've had some very interesting sightings so far despite the lack of a dense migration. I have to say I like hyenas, especially the way they lope around--lucky you got to see the babies.

Can't wait to tell my friends about the toilet scene at Ronjo--that'll give them something to ponder for the next four months. When you say the bathrooms are outside the tents, do you mean you access them by walking outside? I'm one of those people who inevitably wakes up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Problem?

Keep it coming, bat. I love all the details.

Leely

Also, you said you had arranged a late start for your Arusha NP day. Do you think you would have liked more time there or was your (half day?) sufficient?

Can you tell I'm reading and re-reading and making notes?

bat

Leely:
I am glad that you are reading closely--I worried about the length and detail but wanted to put it in, particularly for places about which we have not had alot of reports. Feel free to ask as many questions as you want.

re the bathroom at Olduvai and Ronjo. I tried to make a sketch out of parentheses and underlining but when I went to preview it the letters were all moved around--so let me try to describe it in words.

You unzip the back wall of the tent and step out--yes, you are outside. You are in an enclosed area of thatched walls.
Within that enclosure a few feet back from your tent is your toilet on one side and your shower on the other. At Olduvai the thatched bathroom side walls connect to the tent with a gate on one side--for staff to access the toilet area to replenish supplies. At Ronjo the walls wrap around like a U with the side walls extending a few feet, parallel to the side wall of the tent. But there is no gate, just an opening. And the problem with tent 3 was that the path to the dining room was on that side of the tent so that with the curtain flapping in the wind, you felt that someone walking down the path would be able to see in. The other tents would not have this problem. But all of them at Ronjo have a lower height thatched wall than at Olduvai (and are not backed onto a kopje)--so when someone is taking a shower, you can see your neighbor--depending on their height perhaps from shoulders up.

Maybe sarvowinner can chime in--she did not mention any of this so I do not want you to get a distorted view from me. If we had not been assigned tent 3, I think that all that I would have said was that the walls could be a little higher as could the shower head.

Re Arusha NP--yes, I definitely wish that we had stated earlier to add the walk at Meru. Friends did that and found themselves walking with giraffes. Also, Stacia mentioned the ash cone on Meru that you can walk to. When you read about Arusha NP, the descriptions tend to indicate 3 distinct areas--lower slopes of Meru, the crater, and the lakes. Besides you are paying for a full day anyway.

Leely

bat,
Thanks for the heads-up. I'm not going to worry about this too much (even though I'm 5'8&quot, but will definitely request tents away from the dining tent. And definitely not a hatch-top vehicle; that sun is too strong for me.

bat

leely:
Not to confuse--The second vehicle we had with the sun canopy has a hatch top. But you have the option up raising 4 rods to a vertical position upon which the canvas sun canopy fits to shade the open hatch area--high enough above to permit standing with our heads and cameras above roof level.

bat

leely:
Also, re the bathroom walls--my "neighbor" was my TC who is over 6 ft tall-besides, I should get a "reality check" from the guys to see how they remember it.

Leely

re: roofs. Hatch-top, pop-top, Pop Tart...I know what you mean.

And showers: funny, I called my friend to tell her about your report. She said, "Oh, I'll just bring a bathing suit."

As we're also a party of three, one more question, and then I hope you'll get back to your wonderful report. Did they always give you tents next to each other? As the person who will be sleeping solo, I do hope to have my friends nearby to hold my flapping toilet "wall" for me.

bat

Yes, always tents next to each other.

bat

P.S. no bathing suits necessary.

Sarvowinner

Great report Bat - I'll have to get going again.
We had exactly the same thoughts on the coffee at Olduvai & Ronjo. MKSC has to get their act together & "smell the coffee".
Certainly agree with you about the jackals - they are lovely animals. You were so lucky with the kills (or maybe not??). I also enjoyed the stalking but in the end wasn't too sad to have missed the actual death strikes.
I wonder if it was the same cheetah & cubs we saw by the river? The cubs were half grown & the mother was stalking a baby hartebeest.
Read your comments on tent 3 to my daughter who stayed in the sme one. She asked me to relay her solution - she used the pieces of loose wire holding the wall thatch together & poked a hole in the curtin fabric. I guess those years in Brownies & Guides paid off.
BTW did you happen to come across a swimsuit. I think I left it hanging on the thatch after our swim - I had to use knickers & tank tops in Zanzibar.Keep writing - I'm looking forward to reading more.

Kavey

Welcome back! Am saving this to read when I have proper internet access back!

Africa

A great report bat. I just returned from TZ on 25th Feb and also stayed at Ronjo and Olduvai camp. I have to agree with bat regarding the "en-suite" bathrooms. Straw-thatched walls with Maasai blankets to cover the entrance. The bottom parts of the thatched wall have a wooden frame, into which I would tuck the blankets in. This was the only way to prevent the windy gusts revealing all. The milky liquid in the jug is dettol-water, used to prevent the odours from the chemical toilet. I took a bathrobe with me, which definately made me feel better. I have a photo of the bathroom....is there anyway of sharing it on this forum?

bat

Hi Africa, hope you had a great trip. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences. One possible way to share the photo is to send it to Eben for his website. Maybe he will see this and explain how to. Were you planning to post other photos of your trip? If so you could include it with them. I believe there are some threads on how to post pictures.

sarvowinner--clever daughter--since I had Fred I did not have to improvise!

bat

With Nomad at Ndutu

So we started our time with Ken. We drove out of the Serengeti NP on the Naabi gate road and then made a right turn to Ndutu. It’s a dirt road and it started out exactly as I expected--uneventful. Yeah, we saw our tommies and our Grant gazelles. But then, Ken saw something— a Grant gazelle nudging something in the ground.. Ken stopped the vehicle–the gazelle looked at us for a moment and then very deliberatively moved away. Ken indicated that this was her way of drawing us away–from a baby. He now turned the vehicle toward them. My brain was trying to take this in–we are driving off the road! He drove us to the original spot and indeed there was a newborn –breathing very rapidly as a cooling agent –we watched for only a few moments so that Mom could come back. Wow! This is really cool driving off road, I thought.

We continued our drive–we saw ostriches and female lions. Ken gave us a discourse on hyenas as super predators and that they eat even bones which gives the moms calcium-rich milk for pups. He explained the tapetum lucidum of cats that gives them the ability to see well at night. Ken spotted a cheetah and stopped but then repositioned the vehicle perfectly for picture taking, turning the engine off and rolling it the last few feet so as not to disturb the cheetah. He then pointed out certain aspects of her coat that indicated she might not be completely healthy. By the time we reached camp late that afternoon two things were clear to us--driving off road was incredible and that Ken had a very sophisticated knowledge of the animals and their behavior.

We arrived at Nomad’s camp (ATR calls it Masek Camp, Nomad calls it Serengeti Camp and relocates it seasonally. In Feb it is in the NCA at a private campsite in Ndutu–actually it is relocated every 2 weeks even within Ndutu among several private campsites to permit some “resting” for the campsites). A member of the staff greeted us with cold drinks and then Ken walked us to our tents. A khaki color, they looked relatively new. Out front a shaded verandah with two camp chairs and a table. Inside our bed (two twins joined together) was positioned with the headboard on the right wall flanked by matching tables (khaki fabric-covered cubes with a decorative African print overcloth). Each table held a lamp designed in the style of a kerosene lamp but powered by electricity from a solar powered battery (staff placed the battery in the bathroom during the afternoon and removed it in the morning to be recharged; cords ran from the battery to the lights). On the opposite wall a basket for laundry (included in the price), a dressing table with the same decorative African print tablecloth, and an open closet unit (hanging bar above, canvas shelves below). On the floor a sisal rug. As you exited the back tent wall you entered the bathroom tent (leely, you are not outside). The ceiling of the bathroom tent had plastic skylights. The toilet was on the right (regular toilet seat over a “drop” toilet into which you placed scoopfuls of earth after use, provided in a basket by the side), a bucket shower in the middle, and a “sink” table to the left (basin with two pitchers for hot and cold water–hot water replenished in the morning and afternoon, extra water in a large bucket under the table). An additional table with bottled water and upon which to place toiletry bags, and two hanging “kerosene” lanterns completed the furnishings in the bathroom. The tent walls had rope draped on them for the towels and for laundry (the room instructions indicated that women’s underwear could not be included in the camp laundry but they provided detergent for hand washing). Very nice indeed.

Within a few moments, Mark came into our tent and said, “this is exactly what I thought elegant camping would be.” Then he gave me what I can only describe as a kind of “high five.” Trust me, he is not a high-five kind of guy. But there it was –it was boyish, it was exuberant, he was happy, and so was I.

The card with the camp instructions indicated that the bucket shower held enough water for only one shower. I showered first and noticed the “softness” of the water which made it a little difficult to tell that you had rinsed off the soap. [Ken later pointed out the wells that the various operators use for their non-drinking camp water–they have locked lids on them and trucks pull up to load water for the camps. We saw Explorer and Kibo trucks at the wells.] There was just enough water for me to finish my shower and at that point I thought, well this is kind of a nuisance because one of us is going to have to go out and ask for a refill. I had barely expressed this thought to Fred when I heard a staff member outside the back of the tent letting me know that he was re-filling it. Apparently they pay attention to the fact that there are two people in a tent and refill automatically at shower time. One last comment about the bathrooms–in the morning a staff member enters the bathroom from a “service door” and puts your hot water on the sink table for you. So I preferred to sleep with the cover over the screened window in the back tent wall shared by the bedroom and the bathroom. The staff member will call out before entering the bathroom in case you are in there.

Cleaned up we headed out to the campfire and met our camp mates, a couple from the U.K. (One tent was empty so there were only the five of us.) We also met their guide, Emmanuel. After cocktails and appetizers around the fire we moved into the dining room tent. To our delight we then realized that Ken and Emmanuel would be joining us for dinner. It turned out that the British couple and Emmanuel are all very funny storytellers. We had a great meal and great laughs all during dinner. At the end of the meal Emmanuel addressed all us about plans for the next day. He recommended an early morning game drive (6:30 am), a return to camp for lunch and then an afternoon drive (4:30). Because we were in the NCA, all vehicles needed to be back in camp by 7pm. After discussing it with Ken, I abandoned my original idea of returning to the Serengeti to the Moru Kopjes area we had not seen, and decided to see what else the Ndutu area might hold.

The next morning we had coffee (back in the land of real coffee) delivered to our tent with our wake-up call and then headed out. It was a cat morning. As we departed Mark caught sight of a leopard on the run but Fred and I missed it. . We followed a young male cheetah for awhile who, Ken indicated, was trying to mark out territory. We saw a hugely fat-stomached-from-a-kill female cheetah. Another female seemed as if she might be getting ready to stalk so we watched her for awhile. We finished the morning drive by watching a pride of lions–three males and two females at the time.
After a nice lunch and a nap we headed out for the afternoon drive during which we had fun watching an elephant family of a Mom and three younger elephants with the baby about 6 months old. Ken believed that one of the younger elephants must have been “adopted” because it was too close in age with another to have been the natural offspring of the Mom. One adolescent elephant did not have tusks which Ken indicated was a genetic factor that could be seen at times. We drove around Lakes Ndutu and Masek, both were dried out but we enjoyed the acacia woodland landscape, the umbrella and flat-top acacias now so evocative of Africa for me. Also enjoyed watching a family of bat eared foxes and then headed back to camp.

We made a stop at Nomad’s other Ndutu camp (they had two) to say goodbye to a couple from Minnesota we had run into repeatedly over the past days because their itinerary overlapped ours at Olduvai and Ronjo. We had previously had a lengthy discussion about their experience climbing Kilimanjaro which he described as 98% misery and 2% elation. But now with a few more days of resting, he changed it to 70% misery and 30% elation. We plan to check with them in 6 months at which time we expect the memory of the misery will have faded even more but the memory of the elation will not. We all talked about what we had seen at Ndutu. For the past three days they had been trying to find a lion pride that had 8 cubs but had been unsuccessful. They had one last brief chance in the morning as they were flying out to return home.

Back at our own camp, another great dinner full of laughter (perhaps enhanced by the free-flowing wine (included)). Before turning in I used our mobile phone to call my mother– the only call that I made on the trip. I had told her she would not hear from us but could not resist once I knew the reception was so good. She was extremely surprised and said “are you calling from your tent?” I replied, “Yes, Mom, I am as a matter of fact.”

We had spent our two nights at Ndutu and were scheduled to re-locate to Nomad’s Loliondo camp the next day. They could give us a “late checkout” because new clients were not arriving that day. Plans called for a morning game drive with a bush breakfast, return to camp to pack and then after lunch head out to Loliondo. As we readied for the morning drive, Ken asked if we had heard the lions roaring at 5am–we had not. It had been one of the things on my “list”–what it would be like to experience being in a tent while hearing a lion roar, and somehow I had managed to sleep through it. We headed out for the drive and within a half hour, Ken received a call on the radio from Emmanuel. We changed direction and Ken explained that he and Emmanuel had made a plan to find the lions they had heard that morning. They would each explore in a different direction and would call each other when one had found the pride. As we approached the pride, we saw another Nomad vehicle with the folks from Minnesota–they would get to see the pride after all.

It again became clear what a difference off-road driving made. Had we been limited to the road, we would have been able to see a lioness or two, but not the cubs. With Ken’s adroit positioning of the car, we were able to get quite close. Not all eight cubs were visible and they were only a little active, but not really frisky. Still, it was great fun. We next decided to have our breakfast. We had not, foolishly as it turns out, requested a bush breakfast on the preceding day. I expected a box breakfast–nice, but a box breakfast nonetheless presumably eaten in the car. Instead Ken pulled into a spot shaded by an acacia tree and proceeded to unload items from the back of the vehicle: four small folding camp chairs, a folding table and tablecloth, plastic boxes of food (egg sandwiches, fruit, cereal with milk), a thermos full of hot water, and, lo and behold, a French Press coffee carafe to make fresh coffee. It was great.

We game drove back to camp and went to our tents to finish packing for lunch. The sky was quite cloudy holding the promise of rain. As much as I hoped for rain, the thought it might rain as we were leaving Ndutu made me melancholy. We went to lunch to say our good-byes to the Brits and Emmanuel but the wheels were turning in my head already–they do not need the tents, our next stop is a Nomad camp also–maybe we can switch a night. And you know the rest–it did start to rain, we made the switch, and Fred gained mega points in our relationship for being so sensitive to my feelings.

Downright giddy we set out for our late afternoon drive. The rain slowed down to a gentle mist. The air smelled fresh and moist, the dust was gone, I could swear it looked greener already. Ken found the pride again and now the cubs were as lively and rambunctious as could be–playing nonstop with each other or “attacking” one of the three adolescent males who played back. For two hours we had our own animal planet/discovery channel show–only it was three dimensional. The cubs were endlessly entertaining but there were also a few moments that punctuated the festivities with a little drama. The pride comprised five females four of whom were the mothers of the young cubs ranging in age from four to six months and three adolescent male lions. When we first arrived, the rain was still falling gently and Fred’s camera was getting wet as he took pictures. I noticed that tourists in the other vehicle were holding an umbrella over their camera so I lifted ours out of the hatch and opened it. A minute or so later, I heard Ken say in a quiet and calm voice that I should bring the umbrella into the vehicle. I did so immediately and asked why–he said, “because she was getting upset.” Apparently one of the lionesses was becoming agitated as I opened the umbrella–I asked him how he knew and he said it was because of her tail movements. A little reminder that we were watching lions very closely in the wild with no barrier between us and them. About a half hour later, there was a tremendous commotion when one of the lionesses laid into one of the adolescent males, with two other females chiming in. He had not seemed to be doing anything. Ken surmised that she was conveying a preemptive caution to him to be careful around the cubs. His own mother came over to him and Ken translated her actions to be consoling him–there, there, my boy, it’s OK, just be careful. The highest moment of drama actually came when the lions had moved out of sight. By ones, and twos they started to drift away from us behind some shrubs and trees. All of a sudden there was a tremendous, spine-tingling roar from the lions. Ken explained that the rain had removed the scent marking their territory and this was their way of re-marking it at the moment. We relocated the car to where the lions had moved—now they were spread over the plain. The light was leaving as it approached 7 pm –time to get back to the camp. It had been a magical two hours
.
Dinner was particularly festive that night–the chef served a cheese souffle for the first course–how he could produce one over an acacia wood fire is beyond me. The entire group stayed up later than usual ending the evening by toasting our time together with some special cognac we had brought for the trip.

Next, last leg of the safari-Loliondo

sandi

bat -

This has been such a great read.
Thanks so much.

bat

thanks sandi--I appreciate it.

sundowner

What an awesome trip! First of all, you tell a wonderful story and second, I can't believe what all you were lucky enough to see.

I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks!

cooncat

Well, everyone has pretty much summed it up, but... this has been one fun report to read! Thanks for so much detail, bat! Any photos coming?

Cheerio,
Sharon

BostonGal

bat, I swear, my account of Oldupai and Ronjo is very similar! The friendly masaii guides, the lack of animals, etc..

For those looking for a visual of the fly-tents with the alfresco bath area, follow my links to our tent at Oldupai.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/4...026108ZbuHDRoA
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/4...026108ZbuHDRoA
and here is Ronjo
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/4...026108ZbuHDRoA

Not the best, but in the first pic, you can see where the "bedroom" separates from the bathroom.

ok now I need to backtrack and read the bit about Nomad.

Great report bat!

BostonGal

oh my gosh I just got chills reading your most recent segment! What a great decision to stick around - you saw so much!

Wow, wow and more wow!