Serengeti Day 3

Well today was going to be our last day with our group. We took our group photo and drove out for a bit before they had to catch their plane. We ended up seeing something new as we seem to keep on doing.  A leopard mother took a gazelle kill and placed it in a tree where her offspring worked on eating it in a tree. Below is a silhouette of leopard. Notice how it is tugging the head off the gazelle. Kind of gruesome but that is what you see sometimes in the Serengeti. 

After saying goodbye to our great group it was time for Rhonda, Justin and I to be on our way. Once again it is incredible what you find along the way. We ran across another leopard as well as the beautiful lioness below who was in a tree. The picture doesn't show this but she was wearing a collar. She was the second one we saw wearing radio collars. The funny thing I find is that we saw no tree climbing lions in Lake Manyara where you should see them, but a lot of them in trees in the Serengeti. 

Once again I was happy to see more elephants further north in the Serengeti. The landscape has greatly changed as we moved north. We saw more areas of low grass, lots of trees and more open areas. There seemed to be less high grasslands then we saw in the center. 

And what a surprise this was. As we drove through an area with Kopjes we saw the animals below. High on these Kopjes we found 5 lions including this beautiful male.  He was the first male we found with a long mane. 

Well we are now in Migration Camp which is a nice camp. Rhonda loves that it has a pool. I'm just glad I could have a shower. Apparently there are hyrax everywhere and we can hear the hippos which are done by the river next to the camp. This should be a nice stay. 

Serengeti Day 2

Another amazing day in the Serengeti. We went out for an all day game drive today since this was the last day for our group. Now the first thing we didn't expect to see was a baboon eating a dik-dik. It's not the most appetizing thing to see first thing in the morning. 

Today was a day for lions. We couldn't imagine how many lions we saw in trees. Supposedly you only see tree climbing lions in Lake Manyara. But we saw 11 lions in trees. In fact we even saw 6 in the same tree. Of course we thought this was the best thing we saw. 

But the lion I have shown you above jumped out of a tree and we decided to drive ahead to wait out this lion. When we parked we saw maybe 3 lions in the grass. When the lion above moved near us, all of a sudden about 20 or so lions appeared out of the grass. It was amazing how they popped up out of the grass when we didn't see any of them. That made our day. 

Our great lunch spot of the day was at a hippo pool. Probably not the best place to eat lunch while you are hearing disgusting sounds but it was a great place to see hippos. 

So today ends another beautiful day in the Serengeti. It's our last dinner with everyone. Tomorrow Rhonda and I leave with Justin for our drive north while everyone flies back to Arusha. Good night!

Lodging in Tanzania

There are so many options for sleeping and meals in Tanzania. For some people we have met they are truly roughing it by camping. There are campsites available in and near all the parks. You can also camp and use a company which would provide you with a cook as well. Of course there are also hotels and tented camps as Rhonda and I are doing. It's a little upscale but since I have never traveled this way, it is a nice treat. Every place we arrive at, they great us with towels and a fruit drink. Rhonda and I agree that the tented camps are the best. You really get to hear the sounds in your tent. All of our tented camps are very nice with a shower and flush toilet. So the accommodations are very nice. Always when we get back from a long drive we first get showers and have a drink by a fire pit before dinner. The camp we are in has bucket showers which are just as nice as a traditional shower. We just let our tent steward know we need a shower and he heats the water for us. So if you ever come here, there are plenty of really nice choices here. I will say though that Rhonda are having a real treat the next 6 days. Even at this place we have our own tent steward that takes care of us. I assume we will see the same the rest of the week. 

One thing I will say is that tourism is definitely down here. Ever since the recession and Ebola occurring in west Africa, not many are coming here. Steve says that he would often see 50 cars at an animal site but the most we saw was 12 vehicles. Even the place we are at tonight, no one is here but us.  I hope this changes soon because this is truly a very special place. 

Serengeti Day 1

Every day we keep thinking we have experienced the best possible day and then we have an incredible day. Well today we had a Safi Sana day. We started the day with an incredible sunrise with a cup a coffee. Talk about an incredible peaceful morning. 

After saying goodbye to Ndutu we went to find that cheetah. Luckily Tumainini got a call from another driver and we found the cheetah. I think we waited for probably an hour or so hoping we would witness the cheetah go after some nearby gazelles.  But this cheetah seemed to be only interested warming in the sun. 

So after seeing this cheetah we left for the entrance of the Serengeti.  There were many land cruisers at sign in.  So we expected to see a lot of vehicles but I'm not sure this is the case. So we were moving on to get to the Kopjes where the Masai used to makes calls to announce a meeting. But along our way, oh my God, we ran into part of the migration. I couldn't believe that I was seeing thousands of zebras. So instead of having lunch at the Kopjes, we had lunch watching the zebras. Amazing!

Some of the drivers are very good at sharing animal information.  There is some sort of honesty that exists between these drivers to share information. A driver from a Four Seasons sent us down a road where a leopard was. I didn't think we would see a leopard since they are very illusive.  Were we lucky. This leopard was lying at a top of a tree. So beautiful.  It's a shame he was only interested in sleeping. 

So we are now at a really cool camp.  We are back to sleeping in tents and we are at a camp where we are the only guests. It is so beautiful. Chuck, on of our safarist's, even had a giraffe waiting to greet him at his tent. We spent the evening watching bush tv in front of a fire. I can't imagine a better way to end the day. 

Serengeti Ndutu

I wish I could start every day with a cup of coffee while listening to song birds and watching the sun rise.  The birds start at 6 and go for an hour.  I'm going to try and do this on my remaining days I'm here. I want to treasure every moment I can here in case I never make it back again. 

So today we are in search of lions. We have been lucky every day due to Tumainini's eagle eyes.  He seems to see everything without needing binoculars. So as we are driving we see lots of giraffes, zebras, more elephants to everyone's dismay, different birds of prey, including a group of vultures. 

I think we circled so many sections that I wondered if we were lost or we just went over the same roads twice. I should not have doubted him. As we passed a swamp, he announced there are the lions. At first no one saw them until we saw their heads out of the swamp. Then one by one, the four females walked out of the swamp followed by two male lions. But that wasn't the last.  Rhonda said she saw cubs but none of us saw them. Next thing you know a female walks out and stays by our truck. We knew at that point she was protecting the cubs.  We didn't see any cubs but we plan to check back later to hopefully find them. 

Well in the late afternoon we went in search of lion cubs and cheetahs. The cubs are very illusion especially where we were looking. But I tell you it is all about timing. We just happen to find these 3 cubs which obviously we're obviously not obeying their mother. We were able to see them before some Masai cow bells scared them into the bush. You can't find them once they go there. 

Our last attempt was to find a cheetah.  We were told where one was sighted but we drove around for at least an hour with no luck. We'll try tomorrow. 

Well the Ndutu Safari Lodge was a wonderful place to stay. We watched bush tv each night and enjoyed two great sunrises and sunsets. 

Serengeti Oldupai Gorge

It was time to say goodbye to the crater and make our way to the Serengeti.  Out of all the parks in the world this is the one that is most famous and I'm glad to say that Rhonda and I are going to really see it.  Most people only come for a few days and only in the center and we will be in it for more than a week and will be in the north, center and north. 

Our first way into the park was to aim for the Oldupai gorge which was created by an earthquake and volcano. What is interesting about the drive down is how the landscape changes into a dry desert like area. We stopped at a very interesting museum in the gorge.  A curator at this museum explain the history of how this site was found and how the Leakeys spent 30 to 40 years surveying and excavating this area. It was only after 30 years that Mary made the first major discovery which was of a skull that dates 1.75 million years old. Since then two other skulls and skeleton remain were found. This is where they profess that man originated from and at some point migrated to the rest of the world. 

After visiting the museum we moved on to the shifting sands. Their is a sand dune that moves 60 meters a year. We walked on it and found it moves in a crescent shape which is partly why it stays together. It also seems to contain magnetic qualities. Really cool. 

We had our first bush lunch. Tumainini parked near a tree where some Masai were hanging out with their cattle and we ate and just looked out at the view that seemed to go for miles. Amazing. 

Eventually we got to the north of the Serengeti in an area called Ndutu which is famous for its lion prides. My hope is we shall see some. 

Driving around would you believe we saw a lot of elephants.  At one point we stopped at a water hole where 24 elephants were. One bull that was there had to be as tall as Willy at the Cleveland Zoo. I was so touched to see them here too. Everyone is giving me a hard time about all the elephants we are seeing. I'm told I should start thinking of seeing leopards or cheetahs. 

But we did run across two beautiful lionesses. They were out in the open.   They looked very relaxed as they kept an eye on some nearby zebras. We think one of them had some nearby Cubs but we didn't see them. 

We are staying at an incredible camp the next two days.  They have stone cabins and wildlife regularly comes on the grounds. So far i have seen a giraffe, dik diks and genets. They also had a great fire pit that we sat around to watch the sunset. What a beautiful way to end the day. 

Ngorongoro Crater Day 2

Wow!  The second day started with a beautiful sunrise.  What a way to be greeted.  We can't get to the crater until 6am since that is the earliest the gate opens. So we opted for 7 or so to make our way down. The road down is a little steep so you don't want to look down. 

Our first sighting was of a couple of male lions which were laying in the grass and then we came upon a zebra kill that must have happened earlier in the night. Below is one of the lioness who was laying fat and sassy from her kill. Notice she is covered in flies because of the blood on her from eating the zebra. 

The crater was the only place we ran into a lot of land cruisers. I think at most we ran into 8 at different sights with everyone crowding in for a picture. 

There were also several hippo pools. Here is one of them. You have to admit they are kind of disgusting laying in that water all day. 

We ran into hyena packs several times.  Including one place where they were sleeping around a pool that was visited by a jackal and family of warthogs.  They must have been well fed since they didn't lift up their heads. 

The crater was amazing. You constantly saw sights where zebras were hanging out with Thomsom gazelles, wildebeest, buffalo and warthogs. I was also glad to see two famous animals.  We saw at least 6 rhinos which most people never see down here and 10 elephants.  Both animals came down in the 1980s to escape poachers. At some point these two animals will be gone if females don't mate with some of these males. 

What is also interesting about the crater is the topography.  There are soda pools for flamingos and ponds for hippos. There is a forest for animals to hide in.  Then there is a swamp and grasslands. Truly a diverse environment. 

One nice thing is we had a nice box lunch at a hippo pool. I couldn't imagine a better place to relax. There must have been 35 or more land cruisers at the parking lot. 

Most of our time was stopping for the big 5 as well as birds and smaller animals we hadn't seen yet. What is truly amazing is how multiple species coexist next to each other. As Steve says it is truly a very special place. 

I am praying this old tusker survives. We ran across him at the end of the day and he had the longest tusks we saw down in the crater. Notice that he lost part of his trunk since it is much shorter. But we saw him eat so we know it doesn't interfere with his eating.  But his back right leg had a gash and he was walking slowly and he tried to not put much weight on that foot. So I hope he can overcome this injury. 

So I feel very privileged to visit this very special place.  I hope the conservation can insure that it remains special and protected. 

Ngorongoro Crater Day 1

Well we actually had a lazy day in which we did not have to go out on a game drive.  We hung out at our lodge for the morning, had lunch then drove out toward Ngorongoro Crater.  It was nice taking our time.  We stopped at two contrasting stops along the way. 

Our first stop was in Karatu, which is a town of about 500,000 people. Steve and my group were given a walk through a permanent  market in the town.  It's nothing like our stores in the US but the people in the stalls and shops sell every possible basic need whether you need to buy a chicken, vegetables or need your bicycle fixed.  This is where the town comes to buy what they need. I think a lot of people would think the area is poor but it's not.   

We also visited a luxury lodge that is managed by someone that has been asking for Steve to stop by. I think they are hoping EWT will consider using them.  We got the standard entrance greeting of song and a fruit drink as well as a grand tour. It was a very beautiful place. 

Of course what we were all waiting for was our first look at the top of the Ngorongoro Crater. Ngorongoro Crater is the largest unflooded, unbroken caldera.  It was a volcano that imploded probably 2 to 3 million years ago. It was discovered by people not from Tanzania around the 1890s. What is interesting about the crater and surrounding conservation area is that the Masai graze their animals along side with animals that stay in the crater. Many of the animals stay here for safety reasons, especially black rhinos and great tuskers. But others do migrate in and out of the crater. It is a beautiful site. From the top it's hard to believe it holds about 25,000 animals below but we shall see tomorrow.  We go down early at 7:30 so we can cover the whole crater. So wish me luck on me being able to see some amazing animals. This will be the only place I will ever see a wild black rhino since they are so rare these days. 

Sorry but it is impossible to really show the scale of this crater but here is the best I can do. 

Steve Taylor

I felt Steve deserved his own commentary since this wouldn't have been a great trip here. Most people just contact a local tour operator or some company in the states when planning to come here.  They also get packed in a car with a single guide/driver.  This is ok but what we have makes this trip extra-ordinary.  Steve Taylor who was the last retired director of the Cleveland Zoo. He was the director for 25 years.  To bring that knowledge and stories on a tour like this is great. He also has traveled many times to Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda to name a few.  He brings also his knowledge of people in the area like Monica and Derek who are observing giraffes.  I think he has some future meetings lined up for us.  He is also an avid birder so he has been teaching us how to sight and identify birds. There are so many colorful and unusual birds like in Latin America.  Most of all he is a really fascinating person who just makes this trip even more interesting.  We also have had many laughs with him so far on this trip. So along with him and our other guide we are seeing everything that we possible can here. I can't imagine doing this any other way. 

Lake Manyara

Rhonda and I are both sorry to say goodbye to the Tarangire River Camp. It's a wonderful camp which faces the Tarangire river. Both days we saw elephants or impalas crossing this river.  The hospitality at this place was wonderful. We had Masai warriors walk us to dinner each night and fun talks at the fire pit but we had to move on.  I hope we find similar places like this in the future. 

Our day started with us moving to Lake Manyara which is one of the oldest parks in Tanzania.  Before I came I read a book by Ian Thompson called "Among the Elephants" which is about his study of elephants. It is still one of the most noted studies on elephant behaviors.  Ian wrote this book in 1975 and still lives in Africa today.  He runs Save the Elephants foundation.  If you know me, I was hoping to site an elephant here after reading this book.  I want to know they are still here. 

What an interesting park.  It's small but so diverse since it includes a lake, dense forest and savannah areas.  We saw everything from hippos to giraffes, Ibis, baboons, flamingos, impalas and Elephants!  The day was perfect especially when we ended with a small cow herd of elephants that I caught on video. Several male calves were mimicking fighting.  This is how they learn before joining a male herd. 

But by the end of the day we made are way up to the top of the escarpment that overlooks Lake Manyara where we were staying.  It's a Serena hotel like our first lodge in Arusha. Another wonderful place to stay.  The only unfortunate thing is not many people are here either. We had a great dinner of South African wine with dinner. 

Tomorrow should be a lazy day since we are visiting a market in the afternoon and then driving to Nogorongoro Crater. I can't wait to see this incredible site.  

Good night!

Tarangire National Park - Day 2

Well last night was not easy for me to sleep. I think somewhere between 3 and 4 am I woke up and couldn't fall asleep.  Between the elephants, hyenas and other night life, it was so loud for me. I really tried. It's wild hearing all these noises at night.   Plus in the mornings it sounds like a symphony getting loader and loader from 6 am for an hour.  All the birds start waking up. 

What a beautiful day to spend the entire day in this park. Of course we saw lots and lots of elephants. So many herds with so many babies. Steve says this is the largest elephant population that is still growing since it's well protected.  He also mentioned at one time all the elephants were sired by only 3 elephants.  So much to learn here. 

We had wonderful lunch overlooking a river. Of course there were a lot of vervet monkeys looking for food. They are so sneaky here.  But the other animal that was great to see was hundreds of zebras. So many were here and they were all following in a line throughout the park.  Apparently they weren't in the park a few weeks ago but recent rains lured them back.  I would like to name all the animals I saw but the list is far to long. 

On the way home to our camp to day we were greeted by a large bachelor group of elephant males and they were big.  Steve says he can't remember seeing so many Bulls here. 

Each night here we have seen elephants outside our camp in the evening and we had a wonderful fire on a deck where we watched the sun set.  The nights have been perfect here.  

One thing that is nice when you come to each new place is that they greet us with a fruit drink and hot towel.  It is so nice to be greeted this way. 

Tangerie National Park - Day 1

After spending an amazing day at Arusha National Park, it was time to say goodbye to Arusha. It's about 3 hours to drive to the lodge we were staying at. As we drove from Arusha the land turned from lush green to dry grasslands. We are definitely in a dryer area.   One thing you notice is how the Masai are now running farms which they never did before.  They were always nomadic pastoralists which has started to cause issues with animal migrations.  

Well today we got our first flat tire.  Just as we drove onto the road to the Tangarie National Park we got our flat tire and it was in the middle of a Sunday market day. So while the tire got changed, we went with Steve Taylor through the market.  They had everything from vegetables, flashlights, soap, goats, cattle and many more basic needs. Steve even asked how much would Rhonda be to be purchased for a wife and the one guy said 7 goats.  Too funny. 

The place we are staying at is incredible.  It's a tented camp that oversea,s a river. I hope to see elephants here.  I'd love to have my coffee with an elephant. 

After a great lunch of Nile perch, we went out for our first drive through the park. Would you believe what was my first animal to see?  I had tears in my eyes from what I was able to see right in from of our vehicle. It was a beautiful herd of female elephants, including several calves that were definitely less then 1 years old.  I just couldn't believe I was seeing them free and wild as they should be. 

We ended up seeing at least 4 separate herds in the park.  Another cool thing we saw was a huge herd of several hundred zebras that were migrating across the park. At one point we saw bucks, zebras, and elephants all eating together. We also saw some of the giraffes which are the same being observed by Monica and Derek.  

P.s.   Sorry for the delay.  No wifi at Tarangire River Camp

World Giraffe Day!

Last night we met a most interesting couple who started a project 2 years ago to identify and follow giraffes in Tarangire  and Lake Manyara parks. The Cleveland Zoo sponsors them so we can understand and follow these giraffes. Most people don't realize that giraffes are in the endangered status due to poaching and habitat loss. This couple has the largest study currently taking place here and I believe they have identified over 1900 giraffes using digital photography.  A few years ago a Dartmouth engineer wrote a program to help identify patterns in a giraffes coat to uniquely identify each and every giraffe they see. So they go out and photograph for several weeks then analyze data for several days.  They also are able to identify social behaviors that haven't really been documented until now. For instance when a giraffe is born, it's mother hides the calf for several weeks until she is ready to introduce the calf to the other females. So to spend an evening asking them all about their project has been great. 

One great thing they talked about was a children's book they created on the wildebeest migration. It was done in 3 languages and given out to children living around the parks.  This book more then likely was the only free book they ever received.  They are now working on a giraffe book.

So think about giraffes today and about how we can make better changes in our lives to insure we can live with our native animals and still meet our needs. 

Safi!

I can't even begin to tell you how blest I feel. We started our day with rain but I knew it wouldn't last. I had no idea we would see what we did. We spent the entire day at Arusha National Park. It's a small Park compared to others but it's a park packed with a wide variety of wildlife.  Apparently most people pass this park which is their loss. So we saw a fair number of mammals and birds. We would drive every so many feet, stop and we would see a new animal. So I'd like to share a small sample of what I saw today.  I hope you enjoy.