Tanzania Safari Blog with Tanzania Odyssey

February 2, 2012

Governors’ Camp Game Report, Masai Mara, January 2012

Filed under: Kenya — Tanzania Odyssey @ 9:20 am

Weather and grasslands:

We have enjoyed some lovely fair weather this month with stunning early morning sunrises. The early morning temperatures have been generally cool at 13/14°C and mid day temperatures were warm and averaged 31°C. January was a relatively dry month with little pockets of rain in the evenings with no more than 3-5 mm at a time. The Mara River appears at a low ebb and is slowly receding. On the 9^th of January there was a spectacular full moon, that afternoon guests took sundowners and moon risers, and enjoyed watching the sun go down and 15mins later the moon rising, magic. With clear skies above this is a truly great evening to have a candlelight diner out under a full sky. There is still good grass coverage still within the Bila Shaka, Rhino Ridge and Musiara Plains. The conservation areas that shadow the reserve where livestock is present have shorter grasses; these short grass plains are home to Thomson Gazelle and zebra.

Photo courtesy of Katie McLellan

General game:

We have had wonderful sightings of lion, leopard and elephant galore around the marsh this month and lots of regular sightings of the big 5.

Elephant pass through the woodlands and camps under the fall of night as the Warburgia trees are still fruiting, they feed off these fruit and spend long periods of time under the trees, picking up an individual fruit with the fingers at the end of their trunk. The Teclea Nobilis is also fruiting and this has drawn many birds and Olive Baboons who also love this fruit. There are young elephant calves some of which are only weeks old in the grasslands of the Musiara and Bila Shaka plains.

Photo courtesy of Katie McLellan

Giraffe wander effortlessly across the open plans from the Acacia and riparian woodlands to the Mara riverine woodlands. Large and dominant males move from one breeding herd to another. On Paradise and Topi plains topi with their two month old calves are in the shorter grass areas, having a narrow muzzle means they prefer the shorter grasses. The males and the stronger older males have leks where females visit. On the western fan of Rhino Ridge that leads onto Paradise Plains the males are rutting, they grunt, strutting about between their leks, male sparring sessions can last literally a matter of seconds.

Cokes Hartebeest with young that are also two months old are on Rhino Ridge, Topi Plains and at Bila Shaka. Breeding herds of eland move back and forth between the conservation areas of Koiyaki and the reserve itself, there are some bachelor herds that float around and one male has an incredible pair of horns, he is approximately 3-4 years old, when he reaches breeding age he will be an awesome animal. A large Eland bull can weigh in at 900 – 1,000 kgs.

Blue Monkeys being more arboreal are seen in the woodland canopy, the Warburgia fruit are keeping them occupied. Olive Baboons are also spending more time in closed habitat where the trees are now fruiting this adds to their omnivorous diet. We have had comical sights of baboons in the canopy of fruiting trees and large bull elephant feeding on the fruit below, these large bulls often rock these large trees to shake the fruit down, the baboons get caught up in the trees, often shrieking and have to hold tight, on some occasions the baboons have been shaken out!! On the 21^st at 4.30pm four Baboons were shaken and fell to the ground.

We have enjoyed regular sightings of male black rhino up on Paradise Plains and Rhino Ridge. There are two males that we regularly see and they like to browse on the native woolley caper bush.

Photo courtesy of Ann Aveyard

There are good numbers of defassa waterbuck between the woodland verges and the Marsh, their ideal habitat is well watered grasslands and marshes, they do not live in water as the name describes but will take refuge there to escape predators. When times are hard lion will feed on them although they have an oily and scented skin and the so called waterproofing secretions of their sweat glands produce an unpleasant odor in the meat, lion will often avoid them if other species are available, hyena is the other main predator of waterbuck and their calves.

A Caracal was seen near Rhino ridge on the West side on the morning of the 25^th. These small cats can be found in dry savannah and woodland areas, scrubland and also in rugged terrain in mountainous regions. Caracals are amazing jumpers and will catch ground birds in flight. Here in the Mara they have been recorded preying on Rock Hyrax and Thompson Gazelle fawns although they have a more varied diet depending on habitat.

The large herd of buffalo are within Bila Shaka and Rhino Ridge. There are two other smaller herds’ one near Naibor Soit and the other on Paradise Plains. The resident male buffalo remain within the grassland verges of the Musiara Marsh and Bila Shaka, the four new male lion have preyed upon three of these now. Cattle egrets can be seen flighting between them, even using resting buffalo as a perch!

The hippo pods in the Mara River have been very noisy this month, with water levels dropping the pods are getting more closely packed together, often causing a rift between dominant males, who are forced to get too close.

Photo courtesy of Steve Clark

January has proved a great month for birding with good water birds being seen in the Marsh and other watered byways. Crested cranes have chicks and one of them can be seen near the causeway. Woolly necked storks have migrated and have been seen catching small fish. Great white egrets and a Rufus bellied Heron. On the east side of the Marsh early one morning there were about 5 or 6 Black Necked Herons all together and this is a site which is not often seen. Long Toed Plover are close to the causeway and also Ground hornbills have been seen collecting nesting material.

Photo courtesy of Steve Clark

Bila Shaka / Marsh Pride

Joy was last seen on the north side of Rhino rRdge at the beginning of the month, The three sub adults (two males and a female) often join up with Joy and her cubs or will be with another female who also moves about. The other three sub adults have not been seen for some time now and are presumed to be in the Paradise and Olkiombo area. On the afternoon on the 6^th the two young males and two females were seen in the long grass north of the Marsh and had killed a warthog

Photo courtesy of Ann Aveyard

The four new younger males arrived in October / November last year and displaced Romeo and Clawed. Romeo had not been seen for some time but our guides had a sighting of him up on Paradise Plain on a kill towards the end of the month. We are sad to report that Clawed met his end this month outside the Reserve. He had been seen on the Musiara Plains on the 16^th on a buffalo kill with the four musketeers, he was in such bad shape that the other males saw him as no threat and allowed him to share the kill. He was suffering from Sarcoptic mange and looking thin, his back hindquarters were very wobbly when he got up to move. He had trouble eating due to his lower right canine which was nearly smashed in probably from a kick of an ungulate approximately two years ago and this more than likely put him under much stress. We shall miss his presence around the Musiara area but his lineage lives on.

Photo courtesy of Samuel Kiplangat

The new males have been named and are Hunter, Scar face, Morani and Skip. The gash on the right side eye on Scar face is still open but he is looking well enough and is still active. On the 30^th the wildlife services vet darted Scar face and treated his eye lid, there was a little infection although surprisingly the eye itself is fine. They have been feeding off buffalo with three so far of these old boys being taken down between Bila Shaka and Musiara. The two young females from the Marsh Pride have been seen on Topi plains recently.

Notch and the four males are being seen in the Talek region and early on in the month they were feeding off a hippo; they have also been feeding off buffalo.

Five females and two cubs that are approximately three months old are also in the Talek area. As well as another two females a young male about two years old.

The single male that turned up last month is still in the area below the Bila Shaka river bed. He was limping on right front leg although looks in otherwise in good condition.

Cheetah

A female cheetah at paradise has been seen frequently and on the 26^th she had killed a Thomson Gazelle. The two male brothers were last seen on the Olkiombo area, in the morning of the 19^th they were with a young female warthog. Another female has been on the north side of Rhino Ridge although with grass levels so high cheetah sightings have been a little slim this month.

Photo courtesy of Ann Aveyard

The two males have been seen once only on the other side of the Talek River and that was early on in the month. Another female with an eight month old cub has been seen near Olkiombo and she has been feeding of Thompson Gazelles.

Leopard

Olive and her 13 month old cub have been seen quite recently again but her older male cub has been seldom seen.

The female leopard near the croton thickets at Paradise has two cubs; a male and a female which are about 4 months old now. They are seen frequently and have been feeding off Thomson Gazelles and warthog. There was an excellent sighting of all of them on the 27^th of this month. The large male at the end of the Bila Shaka river bed has been seen more often this month. Another male leopard who is really quite habituated has been sighted near to the Little Governors junction and is the last offspring of the Il Moran female who died about a year ago. He is often at Lake Nakuru near the Marsh and close to Il Moran; he has been feeding off warthog and many bushbuck. Within the woodlands between Il Moran Camp and the BBC site two remains of bushbuck have been seen.

Photo courtesy of Ann Aveyard

A male is being seen from time to time at the Paradise croton crossing point up stream from the main rocky crossing point.

Walking in the Koiyaki Conservation Area.

Long grass is still prevalent in this area of Koiyaki with heavy dew on some cool mornings. Large numbers of elephant are seen passing through and are feeding on the grass coverage that is here. With plenty of long grass and and warburgia fruit about the acacia woodlands have not been affected and there is also evidence of young acacia growth. Most of the elephant dung contains grass and the whole fruit of the Warburgia tree which will germinate but out here they do not seem not to grow much more than ten feet perhaps due to insufficient water. Termite activity on elephant dung has brought up little mushrooms from the Termitomyces fungi spores. The Fungal Termite and the mutualistic fungi of the genus Termitomyces have a kind of symbiotic relationship and viaSACCHARIFICATION which is the process of breaking a complex carbohydrate (as starch or cellulose) into its monosaccharide components which the termite can assimilate.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Reynolds

On the 26^th an estimated 75 elephant were seen on the White highland ridge with three large males. Eland in small breeding herds of no more than 20, there is also a bachelor herd of 15 males with one young male that has a very good pair of Horns and is quite outstanding. There were three large bulls that frequented the acacia Gerrardii woodland near the Olare Orok River but on the 4^th one was taken by lion.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Reynolds

Zebra are more common here particularly in the shorter grass areas close to where livestock is present, in the last few days of January an estimated 150 Zebra were seen in the north of the conservation area. Lion are infrequently seen although there is the presence of four females and 9 cubs. On the 4^th these lion were seen on a large bull eland they had killed earlier on in the night and they were being harassed by 24 Spotted Hyena, the sounds of the hyena could be heard from some distance. There is a herd of breeding buffalo an estimated 50 near the saltlick in the north of the conservancy there are also a few scattered old bulls with four often being seen together. Many Thomson Gazelles‘ with a bachelor heard of over 30 males being seen just outside of the Mara reserve. Warthog are also being seen with piglet litters of more than 4 which is an indication that predation is less prevalent here. Breeding herds of impala are scattered throughout the woodlands and riverine pockets. A large bachelor herd of impala are near the Olare Orok River. Masai Giraffe can be seen throughout the woodlands and good numbers of them were seen recently. There are also some large males that wander form herd to herd, one of these males is very dark in colour almost chocolate and is an attractive animal.

We hope to share the magic of our corner of the Mara with you sometime soon.

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January 30, 2012

Surprises, suspense on Tanzanian safari

Filed under: Tanzania Safari,The Selous — Tanzania Odyssey @ 9:29 am

Originally published January 28, 2012 at 7:01 PM | Page modified January 29, 2012 at 7:19 AM

A safari in Tanzania should always begin in the Serengeti, but there’s much more to explore.

By Mary Ann Anderson

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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SARAH DURANT / AP

Wildebeest are seen at sunset in the Serengeti in Tanzania. Wildebeest and zebras rumble across one of the world’s biggest nature reserves during annual migrations.

SELOUS NATIONAL PARK, Tanzania — The hot African sun was unrelenting, the sky broken only by an occasional wisp of cloud. My guide, Mtambo, and I were alone in the Land Rover for an early-morning game drive.

As he drove through Selous National Park, gazing at the verdant treetops for an elusive leopard, I glanced at him. Mtambo, of the Ndengereko tribe, was of an indeterminate age. He could have been 40 or 70, but this much is known: He can identify every African critter or bird that crosses his path.

He pointed out an ebony tree, all gray and gnarled and not black as I thought it would be.

“It is black inside,” he said in a pure and simple declarative statement before driving on.

A few minutes later we stopped in a clearing framed by acacias and baobabs. Mtambo shut the engine, and for long minutes we just listened to the sounds of Africa: the softest of winds whirling around as rhythmic as iambic pentameter, the high pitch of a bazillion insects and birds. A bazillion of those, too.

All around us was an avian orchestra of calls, songs, whistles and tweets. Above the crazy din, a hornbill trumpeted “wah-wah-ned!” I thought it was a baby’s cry.

But no leopard, at least not on that day.

Leopards don’t come out on cue, and neither does any other African wildlife. But on safari, there are always surprises and elements of danger, plenty enough to satisfy a sense of adventure and curiosity and develop a healthy respect for the natural world.

Tanzania, in East Africa and surrounded by geographical treasures of the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, the Indian Ocean, Mount Kilimanjaro, Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi, is a melding together of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

The Serengeti

A safari in Tanzania should always begin in the Serengeti. Our journey took us to Singita Grumeti Reserve in the heart of the Serengeti, a Maasai word meaning “open plain.”

The Singita Sabora Tented Camp borders a windswept plain where you can see forever. Evening brings all sorts of animals close to camp, and all night buffalo snorted, lions roared and hyenas barked just steps away.

On our drive to Faru Faru, the next camp in the Singita reserve, the hunt was on again for leopard but they remained hidden that day, too. “It’s not easy to find them,” said our ranger, Arnold Swai. “Never is.”

We hunted for cheetah instead, finding a pair of young males resting in the shade of an acacia, their colors blending in easily with the warm notes of Tanzanian earth. We were greeted at Faru Faru with big glasses of sweet iced tea and a lunch of fried fish. Who knew you could get touches of Georgia it in the heart of the Serengeti?

Just a few minutes into our next game drive, Arnold’s radio crackled to life from a call from another ranger. All I picked out was “chui,” Swahili for leopard. Finally! The holy grail of all African wildlife. Arnold punched the gas, driving quickly for about a half-hour. Then there Miss Chui was, slumbering in the top of a tree, nearly completely occluded by gnarled limbs and thick leaves.

“We are lucky,” whispered Arnold. “It is very rare because they are so elusive.”

Sasakwa, the last of the three Singita lodges we visited, crowns a hilltop overlooking the vastness of the Serengeti. It is stunning.

“Being up here with these views puts the entire Serengeti into perspective and just how far it goes,” said assistant lodge manager Christopher Ford. I pondered getting a job there washing dishes, making beds, mowing the lawn — anything to see that view every day.

Untouched wilderness

The Serengeti is a tremendous introduction to Tanzania, but when you return or even extend your first trip, there’s always the “second safari” to lesser-known areas.

The untouched wilderness of the Selous Game Reserve is one of those places. Americans have yet to discover the Selous (pronounced “sa-loo”), a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the world’s largest game reserve.

Only a handful of camps dot the Selous, including the Selous Safari Camp where we stayed. Like the Serengeti, it is home to the Big Five, untold numbers of impala, a lake filled with crocs and hippos, and those bazillions of birds.

Everywhere sunbirds, bee-eaters, weavers, rollers and herons flit from tree to tree in the primary and pastel colors of yellow, green, blue, red, lilac and pink.

Mtambo also showed me “hippo highways” crisscrossing the Selous where those big boys come out of the lake at night, making tracks through savanna grasses for a midnight snack. Riki Tiki Tavi made an appearance, with Mtambo showing us a banded mongoose and explaining, “They kill the big snake.”

Our next stop was Jongomero Camp in Ruaha National Park, another perfect spot for a second safari.

The very uncrowded Ruaha is characterized by its diversity of open plains mixed in with riverine forests, savannas and acacia woodlands. Parts of it are so lush and thick that you can practically be standing next to an elephant and not see it. So many giraffe are here that a Dutch couple jokingly called it Giraffic Park.

The camp is not fenced and Maasai warriors — the askari — accompany you everywhere, lest samba (Swahili for lion) might be lurking in the tall grasses.

Then there’s Ngorongoro, which takes safari to an entirely new level. Ngorongoro, once an active volcano a few million years ago, is the world’s largest intact caldera. Nearly 2,000 feet deep, it is a virtual Garden of Eden, sheltering one of the most dramatic wildlife havens on Earth.

More than 30,000 critters graze its pastures at any given time, not including the birdlife and flocks of pink flamingoes that flood the lakes in an explosion of color. For the predators like lion, leopard, cheetah and hyenas, Ngorongoro is like a big open buffet for tamer creatures like buffalo and zebra. There are few hiding places in these high open plains, leaving a natural collision course waiting to happen.

Ngorongoro, which means “deep” in Swahili, is home to Maasai pastoralists who predominantly inhabit the conservation area, tending to their cattle and goats in a peaceful coexistence with the wildlife.

Only five hotels rim the crater, and Extraordinary Journeys, which set up almost our entire itinerary into Tanzania, selected for our group Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. The luxurious lodge, at about 8,000 feet in elevation, stands sentry over the crater and its terraced slopes. The view is simply unreal.

“Contrary to the belief that the animals are ‘trapped’ inside the crater, they move frequently in and out, especially the wildebeest and zebra during the Great Migration,” said lodge manager Innes Pruissen. “It’s a unique, amazing place.”

Yes, I think, as is all of Tanzania.

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November 23, 2011

Serengeti Migration Update – 23rd November 2011

Filed under: Serengeti,Tanzania Safari — Tanzania Odyssey @ 9:50 am

UPDATE: Kennedy has just called in to say he’s seen a wildebeest herd of over a million strong between Naabi, Gol Kopjes and Golini.

Nomad guides also report seeing some smaller herds down in the central Serengeti area, groups spread out between the Moru and Maasai Kopjes. Good rains in the area means there is plenty of grazing around.

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November 18, 2011

News from Adventure Camps

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tanzania Odyssey @ 10:52 am

Mdonya Old River, Ruaha One day in September our driver Ayoubu and guide Maulidi, along with their guests, saw amongst many other species, a staggering 80 lions in 6 different groups and areas, 3 leopards, 1 cheetah, plus 2 honey badgers, 1 oribi, 4 bat eared foxes, 20 bush pigs, over 1,000 elephants, 600 buffalo and a vast array of other animals, in one single day’s game drive, leaving at 6.30am and returning to camp at 6.30pm.

This will be difficult to beat ! but new records are set to be broken, and one never knows at Mdonya.

Mdonya Leopard

Introducing “Fundi”.:

Our newest arrival around the Mdonya area, and what an amazing one he is. A most beautiful young leopard, estimated at around 8 – 12 months old, with an undying curiosity about everything from tsetse flags to our staff quarters to Mdonya vehicles, and its occupants. He shows an amazing curiosity and teenager-like playfulness, and often comes in very close to eyeball our guest – one said that he had always wanted to see a leopard, assuming, if he was lucky enough to see one at all, it would be at a great distance, and never ever expected to have the experience of looking straight into the eyes of one.

He is regularly to be seen around the Mdonya River bed area, some 10 minutes from camp, sometimes at the outskirts of the camp, and on one fine occasion, up on the bonnet of one of our vehicles .

Both driver/guide and guests were surprised and amazed as he wandered up alongside our vehicle, climbed up onto the bumper bar, gave it a lick (and a few scratches our driver is now very proud of) and then settled himself upon the bonnet to peruse the inhabitants of the car through the windscreen – leaving only when he happened to put his weight on a part of the bonnet that popped under it and startled him just enough to descend again. An event never recorded before at Mdonya, and who knows whenever again?

Leopard Kills Lesser Kudu - Ruaha

In October, a quiet close-up viewing of a large male leopard stretched out lazily in a tree turned to incredible excitement, as it suddenly sprung into action, came down the tree, and pounced upon a quite unawares lesser kudu standing nearby with another. The kill was amazingly quick and efficient, showing the extraordinary prowess and power of this beautiful animal, which we have been so fortunate to see so many of again this month.

Ruaha Cheetah

And to top it off, a gentle meander only 15 minutes from camp for a sunset drive turned into unexpected delight as our guide Emmanuel almost impossibly spotted a pair of twitching ears, which turned out to be a cheetah, which then turned out to be a Fabulous Five cheetahs together.

See more newsletters from Mdonya at: Mdonya Old River camp in Ruaha – latest newsletters

Lake Manze Camp, Selous

Lake Manze car with lions

Sightings at lake Manze continue to amaze.

Hippo’s fighting, hippos mating, elephants coming daily down to the lakes and channels, crocodiles galore, one even grabbing one unlucky fisherman’s catfish before he could land his catch.

The lions have been very active in the general area around camp.

Many hunts have been viewed by our guests this month, lots unsuccessful, but a few times kills were made in front of our astonished visitors.

Some lucky guests watched a lioness catch an Impala and then other members of the pride attacking a Porcupine. Porcupines are much prized meat for a predator such as a lion, however can be tricky to kill. This time the lions gave up on the prospect of this tasty morsel in the face of the sheer determination of the rodent and its many sharp quills.

Other sightings this month include multiple sightings of buffalo, huge herds of Eland, the endangered African Wild Dog, leopard, black and white Colobus monkey and much, much more.

See more newsletters from Lake Manze at: Lake Manze Camp in Selous – latest newsletters

Kwihala Camp, Ruaha

Woooooaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!

Ruaha Baobab dawn

As per usual we get going really early morning. It’s the most beautiful time of day with pastel colours in different shades every dawn. It is like opening a lucky-packet, not knowing what is inside until it graces the skies.

This time we found an ele cow and 2 of her offspring, but the youngest laying with collapsed front legs! Gauging by the position the calf was laying in, we could surmise that it was terminal although it was still breathing. The whites of the eyes were clearly visible…panic flowing from them…a devastating experience!

Mom and elder brother were helpless and despite prods, prompts and even an attempt at raising it up…they could do nothing but stand and await the inevitable. We departed in order to allow for privacy during these times and when we returned a few hours later, the calf was dead. We do not know what the cause of the death is but assume it to be very fast acting as the calf was in good shape not showing any signs of emaciation or injury.

Now in my younger years I would have been emotionally impervious to this event as there is always a clinical and cold scientific explanation for most things and anthropomorphism (ascribing human emotion to animals) is not allowed. All I can say is that age has “softened” me and I challenge anyone to witness such an event and the concomitant behaviour displayed by the other members of the family and NOT recognise similarities with our own.

Ruaha Elephants RuahaElephants and young

By the afternoon we found the mom and brother still in close proximity to the dead calf. They were periodically approaching the carcass and sniffing and prodding it only after not getting any reaction, returning to feeding on a nearby bush. They were joined just before sunset by 3 teenage bulls who also did their level best at rousing the calf, using their trunks to sniff, prod, fiddle with the ears, use their feet very gently nudging it and even gingerly placing it on top of the tusk to roll the head. We wondered how long it would take for the lions and or hyaena to discover the carcass and during the night could hear the lions roaring from there, just below camp.
Ruaha elephants and lions Ruaha Lion

Early the next morning there was still mourning. They had not left his side and the presence of the resident pride made for some very interesting moments indeed. The outraged cow and brother would race at the lions sneaking closer to utilise the bounty. They in turn would growl and disappointingly retreat as size clearly matters. The cubs had not eaten in a few days and they were visibly distressed by the impedance to their mealtime. Patience would pay off though…

For more than 24hrs the mom and her older son stayed with the carcass keeping the scavengers at bay! Only then did they seem to accept that it was over and moved away enough for the starving cubs to gain access to the much needed sustenance.

Once we accepted the departure of the ele calf (having gone through the whole process with mom), it was macabrely acceptable to see the lions tuck in and we witnessed the nutrient-cycle in action.

Interestingly 48hrs after the death of the calf, the same group of 3 males accompanied the mom and her last remaining offspring as they appeared over the ridge and made their way towards where the lions are now devouring the last scraps of the carcass. We sat in anticipation while they determinedly ambled straight to the exact spot where the calf died and paid no attention to the place where the male lion had dragged the remains… They milled around a bit and rumbled, went quiet and then turned as one, walking off fading into the shrub not to look back again…

Read the rest of this and see more newsletters from Kwihala at: Kwihala Camp in Ruaha – latest newsletters

Selous Impala camp

Python

For those who love snakes as we do, here is a shot of an amazing sighting we had this month. One is of a juvenile Black Necked Spitting Cobra who caught a toad and the other is of an extraordinary African Python, about three meters long, who was seen in the middle of the day, rolled up on a fully grown female impala, suffocating it and then swallowing it. This was superb!

Pythons lie low along their victims’ trails, ambushing their prey. They kill the victim by asphyxia and, having split jaws, they can swallow large animals that take days to be digested.

The photo of the python is taken by Jenny and Jeremy Thompson, who also took a pic of two civet cats, while on a walking safari from Impala camp.

See more newsletters from Selous Impala at: Selous Impala Camp – latest newsletters

Mbweni Ruins Hotel, Zanzibar

Mbweni Jetty

Photo by Aitha Gothey at Mbweni last month

Take a look on our website in the Specials section - you can book a 6 to 9 night safari from Mbweni Ruins Hotel in Zanzibar, to Ruaha and Selous, beginning or ending in Arusha – for an unbeatable rate. Valid till the end of 2012:

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November 16, 2011

Beho Beho

Filed under: The Selous — Tanzania Odyssey @ 1:21 pm

BEHO BEHO BUSHMAIL

OCTOBER 2011

October – known throughout Southern and Eastern Africa as ‘suicide month’ is an intense month. It is a time when heat and her friend humidity sneak in and get comfortable – making themselves at home on your skin and hanging between the furniture like unwanted ghosts. Saying this, it is a fantastic month for game viewing – when animals are usually forced to drying water sources and desperate for the coming rain. Things have been slightly different this year with the early September rains we have experienced – which has bright green shoots of grass popping up everywhere and has filled up some small pools around the camp. Game viewing has not always been easy this month, with new grass coming up in the North of the reserve first attracting a lot of plains game to this inaccessible area. Yet, we have still managed to see our share of interesting and spectacular things! And of course the Beho Beho breeze continues to blow no matter the temperature – a wonderful relief during these months before the big rains.

October can be summarised as a month of change – with new grass coming up and then the bushes coming into bright green leaf followed by impala’s lambing – producing hundreds of young beautiful babies. It is during this stage that the burping calls of the ewe’s can be heard. The only time, besides giving alarm calls that the ewes are vocal, this call being used to communicate and remain in contact with the lambs. Some guests were even treated to finding an impala female who had just given birth. They watched in awe as it struggled out of the placenta and found its way on spindly legs to its mother. Ian has also had his share of finding rare antelope in the Beho Beho forest. This area with its dense forest cover is the perfect place for walking and searching for Suni. Being one of the smallest antelopes, they are difficult to find and spotting them involves a lot of crouching down and peering through thick foliage. But it’s a real treat to find one! They are monogamous and highly territorial little creatures who browse on forest leaves and fruit.

Heribert was chuffed to see some very spectacular sightings and a few rare ones as well! A morning game drive started with a rare sighting of a red duiker – which turned out to be a very short glimpse! Thereafter one of his guests saw some strange spots and they stopped the vehicle to reverse and get a better look. Just then a spotted cat-looking creature raised its head for a second from the long grass and then darted away. Mary-Beth (one of our guests) who was with Heribert managed to get some fantastic shots with her camera. Photographic evidence that they had in fact seen a Serval! Here in the Selous! A serval is the tallest of Africa’s small cats with very long legs, a spotted coat and large prominent ears. It is usually found in long grass where it hunts rodents and birds using it’s excellent sense of hearing. Once it has located its prey it leaps high in the air, out of the grass and pounces on its prey. Heribert and his guests were mighty pleased to have seen such an exceptional sighting here in the Selous. Heribert also spotted a beautiful puff adder on his way back to camp late one evening – adding a second very interesting sighting to his collection for October.

Around the same time Onesmo was up to his normal tricks and was the one who spotted a very relaxed leopard hanging out in a tree one afternoon. He had time to call the other guides and everyone got a good look at this gorgeous spotted cat with limbs hanging casually over either side of the branch. Some decided to wait and once it was almost dark the leopard came down from the tree and disappeared into the thickets. It was Onesmo too – who was even able to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience with one of our guests Angela. It was only Onesmo and Angela out on this particular drive when they turned a corner and there suddenly were two Rhinos coming towards them. Onesmo immediately switched off the engine and with the wind favouring them and blowing in the right direction – they were able to climb to the top of a nearby hill without the rhino’s smelling them. From there they watched them bathe and roll in some muddy pools – Fantastic!Walter bumped into an unlikely visitor on a walk one morning with some of our guests. It was a special lady – but not one anyone would like to meet unexpectedly! A female crocodile was waiting for him along the path down to the rivine overlooking the riverbed below. A 3.5metre croc lay to the side of the path ahead of them. She seemed to look almost dead apart from her deathly stare. After a little prodding with a very long stick she did open her jaws and let out a long hissing sound – showing she was very much alive! Walter skirted around his new acquaintance – leaving them to get to know each other better perhaps another time! Crocodiles will often travel long distances across land to find water and it is possible to meet them in the oddest of places! Even on a walk in the Beho Beho hills!

In terms of our resident Wild Dogs – October has been a very quiet month for us and we have struggled for most of October to find them. In the last week of October, the local pack with pups re-appeared and for a number of days provided excellent sightings. All the guides and guests were treated to an incredible spectacle when out driving one day. After spotting the dogs on a plain and watching them for some time, the vehicle continued on to find a lone baby impala lying hidden in some long grass. A zebra happened to pass nearby and the poor little impala decided to get up and get a better look at the zebra (some thought – the little impala thought the zebra was his mum returning). Unfortunately he gave away his hiding place and the dogs immediately spotted him and began careering towards the little fellow. He froze and stared at his quickly oncoming fate and then sprinted in the opposite direction. He gave up a good fight darting away on spindly little legs – but unfortunately was no match for a pack of hungry dogs. They killed the little impala in some thick brush and by the time everyone got there – the little impala had almost disappeared! It was sad then to see the mother impala returning to all the commotion – unfortunately to find her young missing.

‘Bon voyage Paka….’ We have all said a sad goodbye to a very special member of the Beho Beho family in October…a little courageous ginger tabby cat who arrived here to Beho Beho about five years ago. We are not sure how he arrived here but we think it must have been on an incoming supply truck from Dar es Salaam. As a fully grown kitten, he must have been very surprised to find himself suddenly in the middle of the Selous with lions and elephants as his new friends! He was named ‘Paka’ which is ‘Cat’ in Swahili and has spent the last 5 years or so living around the camp – sleeping in the day underneath and between storage containers and in the night prowling along the paths. One of our night gaurds once saw Paka be chased by lions and he has grown into a brave little fighting cat determined to survive against the toughest elements! He is still very much wild and does not allow anyone to touch him, but if you are lucky you could catch a glimpse of him on a pathway before sunrise. He has a muscular build and a stunning ginger and cream coat with huge green eyes.But correct wildlife management legislation stipulates that we may not keep any pets in the Selous Game Reserve (and rightly so!) and even though he came by accident it was decided that Paka must find a new home. And so ‘Operation relocation of paka’ commenced! A special cat capturing cage came from Dar es Salaam and it was baited with some yummy fried chicken. We managed to catch him on the first night that we put the cage out and then kept him covered until we could arrange a flight for him to Dar es Salaam. In the meantime, Kimberley contacted some friends Geoff and Vicky Fox who own and run Fox Farm in Mufindi. As a working farm (see image) surrounded by beautiful tea plantations this was thought to be the perfect place for Paka- somewhere he could roam free and get fat on tasty mice and rats! It turned out that Geoff Fox had a female farm cat and they were in fact looking for a male mate for her. Perfect match! After flying in the tiny plane to Dar es Salaam with his personal escort (Sean) he was taken to the local vet where he was checked out and inoculated. The vet was very impressed by his healthy size, strength and gleaming coat. In our opinion, clear indicators that a life in the bush is good for your body and soul! (If you can survive!) Furthermore the vet confirmed our hope and suspicions that Paka was indeed a male! Shortly thereafter Paka was flown on the next available flight to Mufindi where he has now settled into his new home very well. We wish Paka well…and hope he grows a thicker coat quick – as it is much colder up in the Mufindi area compared to the dry hot Selous! ‘Good Luck Paka!’

The end of the month saw a special fun celebration in camp with Halloween on the 31st October. The day was packed with yummy mouth-watering surprises -almost entirely the treat kind (rather than the trick kind)! Guests departing in the morning were sent away with a treat box filled with beautifully crafted orange spider web cupcakes. Those who stayed on had the usual delicious lunch but Karin and her team had added a scary face to the pie pastry top and we all could see it was going to be a fun-filled day! Tea time arrived and we were all in awe of the delicately crafted spider web cupcakes – some with marzipan pumpkins on their tops and the web-like dark and white chocolate cookies made by the cooks! As soon as it was dark, it was time for the creepy-crawlies to come out and we ate under the stars on the parade ground. The dinner table was filled with glow-in-the-dark snakes, mice and spiders and orange pumpkin buckets with candles lighted the pathway to dinner. One of our ‘more enthusiastic’ waiters appeared from the darkness dressed in a full skeleton costume – and danced a little jig as he mingled with the guests – providing much amusement and the odd fright as he took away your plate from behind you in the darkness! Dinner was a scrumptious meal especially pudding which was a creative coffin style chocolate mousse even with its own white chocolate RIP sign!

We will be closing for most of November and the beginning of December. This quiet time with no visitors enables us to do some important maintenance and also to complete some of our new projects. As a safari camp – we always strive to evolve and improve the product we provide to our guests. New exciting developments include an extension on the pool area making more space to relax and sunbathe; the demolition of an unused pilot’s room (banda 1) and a refurbishment of the interiors of the kitchen (which Karin is chuffed about!). All of this is keeping our camp manager Ian very busy as he regularly runs around all day with his tape measure in hand! We also have an exciting new look and feel for the camp with some bright new furniture and fittings – but we won’t spoil all the surprises – hopefully more on this next time!We hope this Bush Mail finds you well and you are looking forward to an enjoyable festive period ahead! Christmas plans are already under way here at Beho Beho and we are all brimming with excitement for the glorious food, fun and entertainment of Christmas that we have in-store for the lucky guests who will be here during this period! And if anyone is stuck with nothing exciting planned- then why not escape the cold and come spend Christmas with us in the Selous – we still have space and it’s going to be a bumper one! A very special and memorable Safari Christmas! Oh yes, and did we mention the weather looks to be blue skies and sunshine and HOT HOT HOT!

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November 8, 2011

Singita Explore Mobile Tented Camp

Filed under: Grumeti Reserves,Serengeti,Tanzania Safari — Tanzania Odyssey @ 9:32 am

Just back from Singita Explore Mobile Tented Camp, Mark Witney, Chief Operating Officer at Singita, shares his musings about a night under canvas and the vast African sky.

If you have never spent a night in the African bush with nothing between you and the vast African night sky but a canvas tent, you have to put it on your ‘bucket list’!

Anthropologists are pretty certain that man originated in Africa and I have to believe that this accounts for the spiritual experience often described by first-time visitors to this continent. Africa is etched deeply in the DNA of all of mankind. The best way to experience this is to immerse yourself in the sights, smells, sounds and feel of the night, and what better way to do this than to lie in a comfy bed in a beautiful tent with a gentle breeze blowing.

An evening at Singita Explore starts with a gathering around the fire. Cocktails and campfire talk as you watch the fire throw sparks up into the dark sky, and above you a view of the Milky Way as you have never seen it before. Because there is no surrounding light pollution, each star in this huge galaxy is clearly visible. Satellites drift across the evening sky, distant reminders of the technological world that seems so irrelevant when you contemplate the universe. Nearly 14 billion years old and expanding at hundreds of kilometres per second, around a billion galaxies in the universe and approximately a billion stars per galaxy – the numbers are beyond comprehension. Our sun is just one of those billion x billion stars and our earth is just a tiny speck revolving around that tiny sun. How irrelevant we are and how full we are of our own self-importance!

Nearby a fiery necked nightjar calls its plaintive prayer ‘good Lord – deliver us’. Far away a hyena whoops to announce that her night patrol has begun.

“Dinner’s ready” shakes you out of your reverie and to the table set just beyond the campfire. Hurricane lamps create a warm glow as you sit down to a simple but beautifully prepared meal. Potato and leek soup with bread freshly baked on the fire, grilled venison with locally grown, organic vegetables and a good old fashioned malva pudding with cream for dessert.

Coffee is served around the fire and as the embers fade so too does the conversation.

Back to your tent and, in the silence of the camp as you snuggle between the sheets, you become aware of the fact that many of the nocturnal creatures are just beginning their ‘day’. A spotted eagle owl hoots while the nightjars continue their repetitive call to the Lord. A lone hyena, closer now, whoops gently and sadly and in the distance you can just make out the roar of a territorial male lion announcing his dominance.

As you drift off to sleep you briefly contemplate how strangely familiar it all feels and yet how far away you are from the life you lead. You are hooked – and you’ll be back!

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November 7, 2011

News from From Robin Pope

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tanzania Odyssey @ 2:15 pm

Hello all, so then, how have things been?? Just thought that we would make you all really rather jealous with stories from our last week up in the Nsefu sector before the camps close for the rains…

After the early couple of days of rain at the beginning of the month, which took us really rather by surprise and left Nsefu bar with a curious looking new hair do, things dried out and really started to heat up. With temperatures resting in the early 40’s during the day everything was starting to get a little slower off the mark – even the birds sitting in the roads could only just get off in time to let you pass. However whilst we were all wilting away it would appear that mother nature decided to put on a pretty spectacular show for our last guests up in the Nsefu sector for the season.

Carmine Bee-eaters littered the bank with their gloriously coloured plumage and their friendly and familiar chirps – Bertie had put in a fabulous hide down on the river bed, right amongst a Carmine colony and, once in there, they forgot you were around and flew right up to you giving a spectacular display. From the small and elegant Bee-eaters we were then blessed with the B52 bombers of the skies as the Pelicans dove down to feast on the fish trapped in the drying out Lunga Lagoon. Whilst large and slightly clumsy looking, they swim in perfect unison through the water creating a perfect trap for the fish – once full to the brim “time out” is taken on the edge of the lagoon waiting for their appetite to return.

Carmine Bee-Eater Carmine Bee-Eaters

Lunga Lagoon was also the site for some slightly less elegant shows, with a few buffalo getting stuck in the mud and providing a feast for the crocodiles as well as a young male lion who was not going to turn down such a wonderful opportunity. The lion pride at Tena took a little attempt at mating, but I think it was just a little bit too hot for the old guy and he really rather just take things easy in the shade!!

Pelicans Male Lion

Large herds of buffalo have been moving in swathes across the open plains, eating what small amounts of greenery that they can find, and maintaining comfort in numbers, but this really didn’t help a couple of them up at Nsefu when the Nsefu pride, with last years cubs, took to their feet and dashed through one particular herd, breaking it up from all sides, before isolating one buffalo and taking it down, whilst simultaneously (and I don’t think that this was planned) pushed another off into some deep thick mud where it got trapped and turned into easy pickings – it was like two for the price of one in the lion supermarket!! Rather full, they continued to gorge themselves on this wonderful feast before cooling off in the river and then doing what lions do best – sleeping!!!! From the same pride, mum has brought her new cubs out to play a couple of times, but they are still really rather tiny so not fully part of the pride yet, but the occasional glimpse has been had which is a real treat.

Buffalo Crocodile

The icing on the rather large cake then came with Wild Dogs… a pack of them were spotted on the salt pans for several days running, which is great news as they are not often seen at this time of the year as well as not often seen up in the Nsefu sector. We hope that they stick around and provide us with lots more excellent viewing.

Wild Dog Lions crossing river

So that was the last week of Nsefu and Tena Tena being open – you can not say that we didn’t go out in style! The camps are now closed and packed up for another rainy season – although we will be opening Nsefu for the River Journeys, which is always a particularly magical trip. The other thing is that we have had a lot of people inquiring about our beloved Tena Tena and what is happening.

We will be opening our current Tena at the beginning of the season for a few weeks (exact details yet to be finalized) whilst we finish building the new Tena. We will then block off a few days and move everyone across and get started with the new era. Whilst it will be sad to say goodbye to a camp that we all know and love, the new camp will be fantastic – a hard challenge though to upgrade such a camp and maintain its current feeling.

To give you all a brief insight into it, the new site will be just over a kilometer upstream and situated under a beautiful ebony grove. The new tents will be square in shape (current tents are 5m x 3m and the new ones will be 5m x 5m, so slightly bigger but not huge, which we feel is important) the bathrooms will be on the side and they will be pretty much the same as the current ones. The main difference in the rooms will be that there will be no thatch over the tents, so just a straight canvas roof, the floors will be a permanent fixture and the sides of the tents will baton down onto the floor. We are hoping to go solar which will be quite a challenge for us, as we have not gone this route so positively before – something new and exciting!!

So there we go for the brief insight into the new Tena Tena, I hope that it has got everyone excited and whetted the appetite. We are starting to get raw materials into place now and will start as and when we can, weather permitting, so shall keep you all posted with progress and, hopefully, with some photos.

I shall go now, but I really feel I should leave you all with a rather entertaining story from Luangwa River Camp… Claire was waving Sebastian off on his game drive a couple of days ago after a rather large rain storm. Just as the car drove off and Claire turned away, she heard a dull thud – Sebastian, rather un-used to driving a car with a canopy, had slightly misjudged the height and hit a low hanging branch which caused all of the water sitting ontop of the canopy to come pouring down creating a spectacular waterfall feature all over Sebastian and the spotter in the front seats!! Much hilarity was enjoyed by all onlookers!!!

Just in case anyone missed the online streaming of the hippo film , I believe it is being shown this evening in the UK on Channel 4 at 9 p.m.

Hope you all had a chuckle and have a great week. Next week who knows what tales we will have to share…

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November 3, 2011

Great Migration Serengeti – 1 November 2011

Filed under: Great Migration Serengeti — Tanzania Odyssey @ 12:23 pm

Migration report – 1 November 2011

Report from Nomad Tanzania’s Kiba Point Manager Matt, staying at Serengeti Lamai:

Guests at Lamai saw a good crossing yesterday. Heavy rain the last few days seems to have brought the wildebeest back and they have been around in force with herds visible in front of the lodge almost all the time. We’ve also had some nice morning visits from a herd of ellies one day, a herd of buffalo the next and a herd of eland the day after.

We watched a hyena chase some wildebeest two mornings ago. Last night, we watched a leopard and hyena walk in front of the rooms and lions pulled down two wildebeest just off the kopje a couple of days ago.

The highlight for me so far was when I went out on a game drive. We came across a pride of lions with a leopard in a tree about 200 meters away and a fresh zebra carcass fifty meters after the leopard at the bottom of a korongo. A lioness came over and was about to chase the leopard up the tree when a buffalo decided to join the party and chased the lion away (who then went and started eating the zebra).

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