Day1 We arrived in Tanzania, and stayed overnight Arusha Coffee Lodge. It was late so we had dinner in the bar—baked apple for Nancy and french fries for Sue, we were happy. Our guide and driver is Henry or Baboo.
In the morning we are off to Tarangire National Park for two nights at Swala Camp in the Baobab capital of the world. Game drive all day with picnic lunch prior to our arrival at dusk to camp. We found our tent up against a baobab tree with a resident Tree Hyrex right out the window. Sue was not well for dinner so Nancy ate with Kate and Frank who had arrived when we did and are on a month long Abercrombie trip. Elephants, zebra and impalas hang out at the watering hole the camp keeps open for them. Laying on your bed and seeing the game is pretty cool.
Day two game drive: We started what was to be our normal routine for the next several weeks. Up early, breakfast and a game drive. We are introduced to our first local creature- the tsetse fly. Lots of fly swatting. And boy do they bite! Our game drive produces great sightings of baboon (who stayed and watched us), lions, giraffe, zebra, elephant, wart hogs, and great birds. And this is our first drive!!!!! One of the favorites is a red headed , spotted wing, striped tail bird or officially the red and yellow Bobbit.
Back to camp to prepare for dinner. After cleaning up we walked out the door of our tent to be greeted by two very large (the very is because they were so so close) elephants. So now what! Dinner awaited. Remembering what our camp manager had said they often do to move elephants so others could drink at the water hole, we began to whistle and clap our hands. After thinking about it for a bit the elephants turned and left. Dinner was terrific.
Morning game drive heading out of the park for our drive to Lake Manyara. We saw lions and wild dogs, prettier and less scruffy then the Botswana pack we saw. Lake Manyara itself is a shallow lake and was covered by thousands of Pink Flamingos. We also spotted Hornbill, Yellow Throated Sandgrouse, Long Crested Eagle and many other birds. Then on a rock was a vibrant blue and hot pink Agama Lizard. Wow-who would think a lizard could be so colorful.
Then the drive from the flat open terrain to our steep climb up to the rim of Ngorongoro Crater. Our lodge perched on the rim was absolutely stunning. Each handcrafted suite is a large hut full of antiques, a fireplace, soaking tub and crater views from each room, including the “loo with a view”. We rose early to enter the park at 6:30, one road in and one road out. We spent about an hour watching a mother lion with her 2 cubs near a stream The cubs played together as the mom was always aware of where they were as well as where we were. After a bit of a drive we saw 2 moms with 3 cubs watching the cape buffalo herd. As the head came down the hill, one of the lionesses sounded the alert and they all moved away as the buffalo marched to the river.
We had a picnic breakfast near the hippo pool before continuing our drive.The crater has a salt lake, complete with flamingos, forest and open lands, and what we thought were lots of wildebeests (more to come in Kenya). The crater has 30,000 animals living in the 100 sq miles of the crater floor. All the big five are here—cape buffalo, lion, elephant, leopard, rhino are present here or nearby. Elephants do not like to scale the walls with their young as they are afraid they will slip and fall. We saw three rhino way, way off, they are a black spot on our pictures. Picnic lunch by the hippo pool again where we ran into Kate and Frank, the couple we met earlier at Swala camp, and agreed to dine together.
The variety of the topography should be mentioned. We were in mountains, volcanic craters, lush green rainforests and dry, dusty, arid plains. The Masai are herdsmen and it is amazing to us that their cattle and goats can survive on these harsh plains.
Morning departure for Arusha and our plane to Nairobi. Drove through Arusha…1/2 million people but not the infrastructure for it. Lots of government housing and buildings downtown, it looked like an overgrown African village. Even in Nairobi the cattle graze on the median strips, life seems to be transplanted from the village to the city and it all has a similar sense about it. We stopped at a cultural center and art gallery, which had some beautiful pieces: carvings, paintings. photography and beading—we would love to have brought it all home.
We were met on the tarmac at Nairobi airport and escorted through customs. We drove through Nairobi to the Nairobi National park. It is the only national park this close to a city, outside the gate is the traffic and hustle and bustle of Nairobi and inside are lions, rhino, and leopards….We arrived too late and too tired to do a game drive, but who needs a game drive when the local hippos show up to drink from the swimming pool outside our window. We met up with our fellow travelers and Andy our guide who is a transplanted Irishman. He fell in love with Kenya on a trip when he was young and returned to live out his dream of guiding and photographing Kenya’s wildlife. We met our fellow photographers: Dean, Saul, Kay and John. This part of the trip has a special emphasis on photography and the great migration, so there is max of 9 participants though we have 6. They all shared tips and hints that made our photos even better, we are grateful.
In the morning we fly off in a 20 seater plane to the Kicheche Bush Camp in the Olar Orok Conservancy. Because we are on a private conservancy we can go out before dawn and stay out past dark as well as going off road to be closer, respectfully, to the animals that we spot. The camp is a permanent camp and while it is tented, they are quite luxurious tents. The grounds are unfenced and tucked among the euclea and african olive trees. Animals wander freely and can munch outside your tents at night. The Masai warriors serve as escorts once nightfalls and protect the camp at night. The food was terrific and prepared and cooked by Masai. Here we met our first traditional safari bucket shower. The staff draws hot water from the supply heated over a camp fire, climbs a ladder and fills your bucket. You can control the flow, so if you want it hot, wash quickly as it is about 4 minutes worth of water. We did just fine, though Sue donated some water to Nancy to wash her hair. Thank you Sue.
Animals and landscape:
We fell in love with the expansive landscape. We encountered many lion prides, night hunting, wildebeests, monkeys, gazelles and impalas, giraffes, and unfortunately leopards on the game drives we happened to sit out. Many kills with the requisite hyenas and vultures. We learned there are four types of vultures and even among them there is a pecking order of who eats when. While it often sounds gruesome to talk about the kills, you learn quickly what a major part of that cycle of life mentioned in the Lion King the kills play. The lions are bountiful here, though endangered in many places, because the conservancy is protected land with food aplenty. Fat bellies and healthy cubs abound. One of the highlights of the game drives was the river crossing by a lioness who searched the banks for a safe place to cross after the rains swelled the river. We followed her along the bank and were rewarded by her slow, careful crossing and then swift last jump to dry land. Wow!
During lunch in the camp, two Masai women set up a market displaying and selling the goods of several women who make up a craft consortium. Again a time for conversation, pictures and a bit of buying. The prize purchase was a wedding necklace made of cow hide, shells and beaded strands. It is quite beautiful and now hangs in our home.
The next day we ran into a head of elephants with babies onboard. What fun watching the youngest, about a month old, run between us and his mom and the other elephants, Much like a toddler dashing off in all directions only to return quickly to mom and safety. His trunk was flying in all directions as they do not have total control of them until about one year old. 
Next we came upon two giraffes “necking”. This is the ritual to determine who is stronger. Standing side by side the giraffes twist and turn their necks around each other to deliver a head butt. Eventually one surrenders. Next a pride of lions, two moms and 7 cubs. We watched them play and romp on a peninsula in the river. Soon both moms crossed over the water, more of a wide stream and called to the cubs to follow.
One by one they found the courage to do what, was for them, a big jump/crossing. As they arrived on the other side mom greeted them with a lick or nudge to congratulate them on their accomplishments.
Just like kids two of the cubs approached the river, looked, and one pushed the other forward—you could almost hear him saying, “no, you go first”. Soon there was only one on the far side and he could not get enough courage to cross. He went over land to a shallower, slower area of the water and crossed there. This brought him with all the jeeps between him and his mom. He went back down the bank but came up again and circled widely around the jeeps to mom. She was not impressed and did not greet him. He will learn.
Driving to the Maasai Mara we learned that it is the same eco-system as the Serengeti, the Mara is Kenya’s name for it. The wildebeests roam in tens of thousands and we are hoping to catch them crossing the Mara river. Our camp is a Natural Habitat Camp set up just for the season. It is a little more campish, simple, then others we have been in but with all the amenities we need including our bucket showers, five minutes here. We are the only group in the camp which is located on a bend in the river. Across is a flat expanse of land which hosts different animals during our stay. The Mara has a myriad of plains animals. The wildebeests are joined by their zebra friends. Also abundant are gazelles, impala, hartebeest, topi and giraffe. Then there are the lions, leopards and cheetah. The hyenas here are not just scavengers here, they are hunters as well and are found in some of the largest numbers in Africa here on the Mara.
Each and every day was a feast for the eyes, the acacia trees dotted the landscape. Everywhere you looked there were wildebeests. Our first sighting as we headed out in the Mara was a Cheetah. We found her behind a bush in the otherwise open plain. She laid there preening and scanning the horizon for prey. We were probably 10 feet away but she had no interest in us. Next days we saw Cheetah again, always under a bush watching. Dean got the patience prize when he waited 45 minutes for one to move—success, off to the river to jump across and run into the bush on the other side. Yea Dean! Nancy can still see this happening in her minds eye even though she wasn’t there—talk about living vicariously.
While we are on the subject of cats—We sighted out first leopard as you would normally see them, obscure and hidden in the bush, munching on something. No problem we were still thrilled aT this “usual” sighting. Nancy asked for an unusual sighting and was rewarded when we followed a leopard along the river with his kill, a large hare, in his mouth. He did not climb a tree but stayed on the ground to devour his breakfast. Then came out to preen and walked across the open plain. Holy smokes, the cameras were clicking furiously. WOW! Even now as we type our smiles are ear to ear remembering the sight.
We haven’t mentioned the cape buffalo which are abundant. We were often within a few feet of them but they would usually turn away as if camera shy. They are huge animals and often travel with their own birds to keep them free of insects—everyone is happy. We saw a den of Jackal pups, they would look, go back down and come back up. Mom and Dad were off hunting so they stayed close to the den but were too curious not to come out and peak at and entertain us. A Hyena protected her den, no pups in sight. We saw bat eared fox and their young as well as a herd of mongoose and a family of wart hogs. They are a funny looking animal, usually seen from behind with tails straight up in the air as they run off.
Wildebeest crossings: There are no other antelope that look like the Wildebeest—it is said that it looks like they are assembled from spare parts. The fore quarters from an ox big and broad, the hind quarters from and antelope lean and skinny, and the mane and tail from a horse. They are bearded and horned on a box like head. While they look black from a distance they are actually dark grey with vertical stripes. They are weird but fascinating. They make a migratory circle each year of between 500 and 1000 miles. It starts after calving season on the short grass plains of the SE Serengeti. Then they head west to Lake Victoria, across the grass savannah to the open woodlands and turn north to the Mara. Once there they start their return trip to the south. They are continually on the move, day and night. They often form long columns and are accompanied by zebras and Thompson gazelles. They number about 1.5 million. The highlight, and much photographed event of this migration, is the Mara River Crossing.
There are a few spots on the river that are known to have crossings. We spent two hours one day waiting for a small group to decide to cross, no one made the first move and eventually they all wandered away from the river. It was fun and interesting to watch them even though they did not cross. It just takes just one to jump in the river and they all follow. A few would go down the slope and get us all ready with cameras held high before they would turn and go back up the bank. Maybe tomorrow. And indeed we saw a crossing that day. The herds were massing and heading to the river. We followed them down and found a spot to wait in the human ritual accompanying that of the wildebeest ritual. Not wanting to scare the animals we parked a good 50 yards back from the river bank. More and more jeeps came and lined up as we watched and waited. They are going, they are not, they are going, they are not. The suspense was killing Sue. You can see a massive column coming your way and realize how big this crossing could be if they would only go—and go they did, one toe in the water and they are off and 25 jeeps race to the river’s edge for the view. Once committed the wildebeest go, undisturbed by the jeeps. What an incredible treat. Our guides estimated 40-50 thousand that crossed. It went on for 30-40 minutes. Dean said it was only animal show where you come 20 minutes late and still see a great show. Everyone was thrilled and full of adrenaline. A few crocs loomed in the distance but did not come in for the kill. No more adjectives in our vocabulary to describe this. They leap into the river from the shore, run if they can but more likely swim to emerge on the other side to run up a steep bank and head off to follow the leader across the plains. The water runs swiftly and is churned to a deep brown as they cross. They young must fight not to be swept downstream. The air is thick from the dust of their hooves. We were taken by surprise when a few jumped back in the river and returned to the where they had started. Why? Who knows. TIA (explained later). When it was over you could look back or forward and not see a single wildebeest. Within hours a new group would begin to assemble to do it once again.
And the next day it happened all over. We followed the column which moving slowly and unpredictably when five zebras raced to the water causing the wildebeest to follow. We found a spot on the river between the two potential crossings as they ran to the far one. Down to the bank—will they go or not? No. After milling around they quite unexpectedly turned on a dime and raced back along the road behind us, thundering like in the Lion King to the second crossing area. One went in and 3-4 thousand followed.
- Today the crocs added a new dimension to the show. One came in but missed it’s prey and then got stomped on by the swimming and jumping wildebeests. On the other side one caught his prey but could not bring it in, watching was hard but a part of the circle. We discovered that crocs eat once a year and with their slow metabolism digest till next year. This was feeding time. Eventually a second croc came in to finish the kill and the two made quick work of the wildebeest. The one who initially missed his prey caught one and traveled up stream with it in its jaws. Crocs here are huge, very HUGE—the African Croc is actually a Nile croc. They average 20 feet in length and weigh up to 900 pounds. These guys were well fed and fat.
Speaking of crossings, we saw a small herd of elephants do just that. The largest slowly explore the river to feel and look for crocs. When they decide it is safe to proceed they surround the young and venture further. Always checking it is a slow procession across the water. At one point all we could see of the smallest elephant was his trunk sticking up and the tippy top of his head. Earlier, a mom held her calf back by resting her trunk along his back and over his head. Their caution and protectiveness are always in play. They arrived safely on the other side.
One afternoon we drove to a nearby Masai village. 68 people of five families live within the circular, thorned, protective walls of the village. As we drove up we were greeted by 8 to 10 Masai Warriors who welcomed us with song and dance. Several spoke English as explained the purpose of each song. The Masai are great hunters who once proved their manliness by hunting lions with a spear. Now instead, to woo the women, they jump. The highest jumper attracts the most women. The jumps from a dead stop were amazing.
These tall thin warriors jumped many feet with what seemed to be little effort. Masai are polygamists to this day, though each young married man we met seemed happy with just one wife. We followed them into the heart of the village where the women engaged us in a wedding dance and song. Sue and Nancy joined the line with many smiles and laughs and attempts to learn the words to the song. These short white blandly dressed women stood out like a sore thumb among the tall brightly adorned black women with incredible smiles.
We were invited into their stick and adobe mud walled houses. An entry foyer of sorts lead to three rooms. The central room was the kitchen, living room and dining room with food prepared oven an open fire. It was about 8 feet by 10 feet with a low ceiling and a few places to perch. Off that room on either side was a doorway to the adult bedroom and the children’s bedroom, just large enough for a mattress. At night the cattle are gathered and brought into center of circle for protection from predators. Right now the predators are not as aggressive as usual due to the abundance of wildebeest prey. The local women, from several tribes, had set up a market so we could shop till we dropped—and we did. We met two young girls returning from school who conversed with us as we walked to the spear throwing demonstration. Dean and Saul both tried theirs hand at being a warrior.
Like all good things our trip had to come to an end. Our last night in camp was an African BBQ under the stars near the river. The food at this Natural Habitat Camp was extraordinary. Everything was made from scratch. We had fresh bread shaped like an elephant, who gets the trunk! Pork roast, beef wellington, etc etc. And then there was desert. We had to see the kitchen. In a tent was a small freezer. A tiny stove and a charcoal oven. Cooking incredible food for staff and guests was no small feet.
Each and every staff member was exceptional. Our Masai guards, our Masai spotters, our guides (especially David and Andy) our bucket fillers, the chefs etc etc made this an incredible trip. We hope to return!
Off to small airstrip to fly to Nairobi before returning home. A funny change of planes in the middle of no where even though our first plane was going to Nairobi. Who knows. We learned a new saying-TIA- meaning this is Africa. We love it!!!!
Cheers , Sue and Nancy
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