[binary visions]

In case you missed it, Part 1 of the Tanzania trip - our climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro - is here:
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=268903

This one will take a little longer so I'll be posting in a multi-post series.

We arrived back at the same lodge that we left from. I think we were both a little overwhelmed - the climb surpassed all of our expectations and it felt strange now that it was over. Not, of course, that we didn't have a lot to look forward to. For the evening, though, we had a wonderful, simple meal - I don't know if it was because we had eaten only camp food for over a week, but the food was just amazing at the lodge. We also spent a few hours chasing the local birds, like this Speckled Mousebird, or the White-Browed Coucal:

The next morning we had a lot of driving to get to Serengeti. We took off for Lake Manyara first thing in the morning and after a number of hours of "African massage" - the washboard roads - we turn off into a densely vegetated area. The first thing we see are huge trees that appear to have sausages dangling from them. They are, appropriately enough, referred to as sausage trees.

Wildlife abounds here. Blue Monkeys clamber all around the trees over our heads, and hippos laze around near the pools, letting the Red-Billed Oxpeckers clean them of bugs.

As we drive, there are dozens of birds all around us. Our guide, Francis, is exceptionally good with birds and carries a couple birding guides - he says most of the guides do not know birds. Lucky for us! We see a Grey-headed Kingfisher, a Lilac Breasted Roller, a Grey Crowned Crane and a Blue-capped Cordon-bleu among many, many others.

Families of elephants stand under the trees, seeking some relief from the sun. Mom escorts a young baby through the brush and starts pulling down leaves to feed her child. Jenn is enthralled and restrains herself from exiting the vehicle to play with the young one.

At this point, several hours have elapsed and it's time to drive on towards our lodge. As we start towards the park exit, we see a family of Olive Baboons playing - the little ones are barely bigger than a cat.

All of the lodges are simple and we enjoy them. The hot water is typically in short supply, so showers tend to be invigorating, but the food is almost universally good. The next morning we leave early, and as we drive, we pass through the beautiful Great Rift Valley. The giraffe wander through the valley, taking leaves off the tall trees while the Masai herdsmen drive their goats and cattle toward uneaten grass. The Great Rift Valley is really a beautiful place.

We stop at Olduvai Gorge on the way to Serengeti. It's not exactly the most photogenic place on the planet, consisting almost entirely of a few small plateaus, some scrubby bushes, and a whole lot of sand & rocks. However, if you venture a little closer, and go down into the gorge, you'll find the most amazing wealth of fossils you've ever seen. In case you skipped your science classes, Olduvai Gorge is where the Leakeys first discovered multiple species of our ancestors in the same time period - providing evidence that we don't just have one straight evolutionary line, but multiple intelligent, bipedal ancestors that existed simultaneously.

The guide from the gorge tells us we can dig through the areas that aren't roped off for excavation. We find, literally, thousands of fossils. Scoop up a handful of dirt and there will be half a dozen fossils in it. Unbelievable. Jenn finds some teeth, I unearth a skull fragment, and eventually we're both standing there with piles of bones, joints, teeth, and who knows what else.

After we leave, Francis tells us that very few people actually go down into the gorge, content to browse the small museum at the top and go on their way. I'm not entirely clear on why - it sounded like they might not tell many people that going down into the gorge is even an option.

We pack back into the car and head to Serengeti.

More posts to come.

 

[jonKranked]

the new and improved ridemonkey mascot:

 

[jonKranked]

also, how do you know all these birds?

 

[binary visions]

also, how do you know all these birds?

Our guide was awesome. Jenn said when she was booking, she mentioned that I like to photograph birds so apparently that resulted in us getting the resident bird expert from the tour agency.

We'd be driving along and he'd all of a sudden shout "hold on," slam on the brakes, and point somewhere in the underbrush, saying "look! It's a <insert bird species>!" I think every single species we checked against a bird book was spot on to what he said.

For the ones he didn't know (few and far between), he carried two guides and we looked them up. I think we picked up 100 identified species during the trip, and we didn't even do any special bird trips - just saw what we saw along the way.

 

[binary visions]

As we drove towards Serengeti National Park, we were astounded by the level of dust kicked up into the air as other vehicles came by us. Eventually, we resorted to digging some clothing out of a bag and holding it up to our mouths when other vehicles drove by. By the end of the safari, we were blowing our noses and having black gunk come out - lovely.

Standing immediately outside the park gate was a Grant's Gazelle, welcoming us inside. We got very, very used to seeing gazelle - they were absolutely everywhere.

As we paused to collect our entrance documents at a hut inside the park, we get out to stretch our legs and encounter a breathtaking Mwanza Flat-headed Agama. It's hard to tell from the photo but he actually shimmered, as if dusted with silver:

We got back in the car and start through the park, and see these slightly strange looking animal called a hartebeest standing guard in front of a grazing group of other hartebeest and Thomson's Gazelle. It turns out that the hartebeest have very good eyesight, but a poor sense of smell. The gazelle have excellent smell, but can't see over the grass very well, so they provide mutually beneficial protection.

The guide paused to ask us what we wanted to see while we were on safari - what was our most important animal? Jenn says she wants to see a cheetah. The guide tells her that cheetah are not assured but they do see them sometimes. I tell him I want to see a black rhino and he rolls his eyes. Black rhino are not common and he says that only about 1 in 10 trips will see them. I joked that his tip depended on it.

A pair of Common Eland watch us as we drive by. These are a species of antelope, the largest in Serengeti. They're the size of cows and don't look like any antelope I've ever seen pictures of! Nearby, we see movement under a bush and pause to spot a family of Spotted Hyena lazily lounging in the shade.

Speaking of lazy, lions must be the laziest animals in the savanna. They just lie around, washing themselves and their other family members.

Bam, Jenn gets her cheetah barely an hour into the drive. She (the cheetah, not Jenn) is sitting on a termite mound, watching intently.

The variety of wildlife is amazing as we drive. We see dozens of birds like these Yellow-billed Storks and Little Bee Eaters, lots of elephants, Masai Giraffe...

We stop a lot to just watch the animals. The elephants have great personalities, interacting with their family groups, playing together, occasionally bickering with each other.

A leopard sitting in the tree causes us to pull up short and watch for a while. She is enjoying the shade, but eventually she gets down and slinks off into the grass to stalk a gazelle. She does not go after it, but the cat disappearing into the long grass is enough to send a little shiver down my spine - somewhere inside my brain the little simian instinct was screaming "DANGER DANGER DANGER."

There are other animals absolutely littering the savanna - warthogs graze on their knees, because they have no necks. The zebra watch curiously and are basically unafraid of us - a lot of animals have birds perched on their backs that eat the bugs either flying around the animals, or getting kicked up as they graze. A Von der Decken Hornbill eyes us suspiciously for a moment before fleeing to a nearby tree.

Before packing it in for the day, Francis takes us to a big hippo pool. The hippos lounge around in the water, using their tails to splash water on themselves and others around them. Sitting by the pool, all you hear is splish-splash of tails flicking the water, interrupted by the occasional groan/roar of one of them challenging another, opening their mouths wide to show bent and broken teeth, though nothing really seems to come of it. After staying with the hippos for a while, we head to the lodge for dinner and watch the sun set over Serengeti.

 

[jdcamb]

More rock pictures please...

 

[binary visions]

More rock pictures please...

I aim to please...

These are called kopjes - specifically, lion kopjes - and they exist all over Serengeti. They're often habitats for animals since they provide lookout points, shade and places to hide.

 

[ICEBALL585]

By the end of the safari, we were blowing our noses and having black gunk come out - lovely.

Why no pics of that?

 

[valve bouncer]

Any rhinos BV? Recent news sounds grim. Anyway beaut pictures, the only problem with going to Africa is everywhere else disappoints now in comparison.

 

[binary visions]

Why no pics of that?

Who says there aren't any?

Any rhinos BV? Recent news sounds grim. Anyway beaut pictures, the only problem with going to Africa is everywhere else disappoints now in comparison.

You'll have to wait and see

You know, when we were in Galapagos, one of the guys we were with said basically the same thing - "if you think this is good, wait until you see Africa, you'll think this sucks in comparison." Having done it, though, I don't know. It was definitely different, but better/worse? I'm not sure about that.

 

[binary visions]

One of the things we booked before we left was a balloon ride over the Serengeti. I was very excited because I'd never been in a balloon before and it sounded like the perfect place - floating over the savanna and watching the animals under you.

Early in the morning, while it was still pitch black, we got picked up in a van and driven out into the middle of a huge field. There were a dozen or so people milling around with us and my flashlight revealed one balloon nearby. As the sky started to lighten we saw the rest of the balloons and the workers turned on fans to begin inflating them.

Our balloon was named Simba and carried the fewest people of the four. Captain Mohammed is our guide today. You board with the basket lying sideways on the ground, sliding in on your back and looking up into the sky. Once everyone is settled, they fire up the gas cylinders and with a big roar, the basket tips upright and you lift off into the air, just as the sun is coming up over the horizon.

We float along and almost immediately we see a family of cheetahs - Jenn is ecstatic. Giraffes and zebra wander below us, and we pass over a large hippo pool. The captain takes us up and down to see the savanna from different perspectives.

The savanna is crisscrossed with migration and feeding routes. In some burned areas, it looks like a spiderweb and we see a lone gazelle making his way along the tracks - can you spot him?

The sky continues to lighten and it's really cool to see the effect that the water has on the grasslands, cutting a meandering, green streak through the golden-brown.

Eventually we approach the landing site and the other balloons come up behind us.

We land and have the most extraordinary breakfast I've ever had. First, they start you out with champagne at the landing site to celebrate a successful trip - maisha marefu! Long life!

Then they bring you to a site with long tables and serve a full English breakfast - eggs, toast, fruit, bacon, sausage, tea, coffee, juice, and as much champagne as you can drink. In the middle of the Serengeti. Giraffes walk by as we're eating, taking some leaves from the trees over our heads and moving on. It's absolutely astonishing, and feels like the ultimate luxury, even sitting there with our grubby hiking pants on at cheap card tables.

The final morning at Serengeti, we are to wake up and head for the Ngorongoro crater. I ask Francis if we can take one more spin through the park at sunrise and he says it's no problem. We barely get underway when we encounter three lions - two males and a female - walking along the road. There is clearly a story here. The males are walking a ways behind the female, maybe 20 or 30 ft.

The female is bored with the attention, and has no interest in either of them.

The males don't appreciate being ignored, and they approach her. She is not amused.

The males back off, intimidated. The female clearly is not to be trifled with.

She is content as long as they don't get too close.

Eventually, the female walks off with some purpose and the males trail behind her. Francis suggests they are probably two young males who have recently ousted the reigning male of the pride, since they both bear some fresh scars. He says that the females typically don't trust new leaders right away, and they will have to earn it.

We drive on and see a Dik-dik, a tiny antelope who is barely bigger than a Chihuahua. Our guide says they are fiercely territorial, and it makes me laugh. The rest of the animals out here outweigh it by orders of magnitude and many have teeth bigger than its head. I'm not sure how territorial you can be in those circumstances.

A Bare-faced Go-away Bird sits in a tree above us. They are so-named because their call sounds like "Go... Go... Go away!" Seriously, it actually does.

We spot a whole flock, maybe 30 or 40, of Fisher's lovebirds, and a Striped Kingfisher.

As we're getting ready to drive out of the park, I see a leopard and her cub on a fallen tree... then look a little closer, and see another cub. It's funny how much they pose just like house cats.

We're excited to go to the Ngorongoro Crater, but it's very sad to leave Serengeti.

 

[I Are Baboon]

COOL.

I'll be very, very disappointed if there are no black rhino pics.

I would not have been able to make this trip without saying "THERE IS A JUNGLE CAT IN THE BATHROOM!" after every pee stop.

 

[narlus]

A+ work. did you lug around a big lens for the bird and animal shots?

 

[binary visions]

We arrived at our lodge the evening before we went into the crater. As we pulled into the lodge, which is built up on the crater rim and right in the middle of the forest, several Marabou Storks stood along the driveway, like sentries standing guard. They were huge! As tall as Jenn was, and they definitely aren't the most beautiful animals in the world but they were majestic in their own right.

They brought us to the room and gave us the rundown of the quirks of that particular lodge (most of the lodges had some guidelines - "don't leave the windows open when you leave, the monkeys will come in and steal your things" was one that particularly amused me in Serengeti. Some of the others included when the electricity was shut off, what hours hot water was active, etc.). The guy brought us to the back of the room and flung open our porch door, announcing, "...and this is your view!"

Yep. That's a nice view. I'm not sure it's "my" view, though, I think it's actually the Cape Buffalo's view and he's tolerating me for the time being. I could have spent a week at that lodge, watching the animals come and go.

Another night, another nice meal. We get up early, as usual, to have breakfast and start the day's journey.

The Ngorongoro Crater is this spectacular ecosystem located inside a collapsed, extinct volcano caldera. It is a UNESCO world heritage site as well, and comprises a really wonderful array of terrains. In just one day as we drove across the crater - a mere 12 miles across - we saw a golden savanna reminiscent of Serengeti, a huge mineral lake, a small, lush freshwater lake, a dense forest, a barren desert-like area, and a swamp full of cattails and heron.

As we head down into the crater, a Rufous-tailed Weaver sits on a nearby bush with a bright blue eye which stands out among the goldens and browns of the environment.

There are the usual assortment of animals, like Warthogs and Wildabeest. The mineral lake attracts a lot of different animals, all seemingly existing side by side with little conflict. A Golden Jackal wanders through the nearby grasses, but nobody seems alarmed.

As we drive, we spot a pack of hyena, stalking a warthog. Francis tells us that the hyena are usually scavengers but they are also opportunistic hunters and will take down animals that are weak, sick or alone. In this case, a pack of 5 hyena are stalking a lone warthog who is not quite fleeing in terror, but is definitely aware he is being followed, and moves with purpose. Jenn is very unhappy with this situation and does not want to see the warthog get hurt.

After a couple minutes, it appears the warthog realizes he is not going to outrun his pursuers. He heads towards a little rise, then turns around and puts his back against it and faces the hyena. He appears to be saying, "if you want me, you're getting the pointy end, so come and get it."

The hyena pause. The warthog is clearly going to be more trouble than they initially estimated. With his newly fortified defensive position and willingness to put his tusks in anyone who wants to make trouble, they decide they'd prefer an easier lunch. Warthog prevails. Jenn is immensely pleased by this.

As we drive we spot some baby wildebeest. We see a Hammerkop who is a funny looking bird and, despite being a foot tall, builds a truly enormous nest that can be several feet across and study enough to stand on. We intrude on a sensitive moment and avert our eyes.

A Kori Bustard walks along the grass. Francis tells us this is the heaviest animal that can fly - he's truly enormous, and we're also told that other birds regularly ride on his back to eat the bugs that get kicked up as he walks. As our trip continues, we see more traditional African animals, with a giant elephant sporting some enormous tusks standing alone (unusual for a social animal like that), and a lion with the largest mane we've seen yet this trip.

We eventually pause to eat lunch by the side of a small freshwater lake. The guide warns us to eat in the car before we get out, as the Black Kites that inhabit the area have taken a liking to the lunches of the tourists. Sure enough, as we get out of the car after eating, I see another woman eating beside her vehicle. A kite circles above, getting lower and lower and I am just waiting for him to swoop down and scoop up the chicken breast that's sitting in her lunch box. The kite wobbles a little and starts to dive... and the woman chooses that moment to stand and close the lid of the box. Denied.

We start off after lunch and almost immediately, Francis hears some noise on the radio, reverses direction, and starts driving quickly. As he does so, he announces that one of the guides thinks he saw a black rhino. We move fast and get to the place where the rhino was seen and see... nothing. Sigh. Francis tell us that the rhino are pretty much the hardest animals to see since they basically fit the trifecta of hard-to-find: extremely endangered, solitary, and reclusive. There aren't many, they don't travel in big enough groups to spot, and they don't go near the roads.

We scan for a while longer. He must be laying down in the tall grass. I see a little movement through the camera lens and then... there! He's there! Forgive the terrible picture, it's included only for completeness. The heat waves radiating off the ground make long distance photos impossible, but it was a thrill to see and looked far better in person.

I tell Francis he earned his tip just in the nick of time - the second half of our last day in Africa.

Not much can top that, but we spend the rest of the afternoon poking around the crater. It's a very beautiful place and the variety is amazing. Were I to go back, I would probably spend at least another day. Lake Magadi, the mineral lake, attracts all kinds of animals. Hyena lay along the shore looking like a dog on a hot day.

We head up onto one of the grassy plains. A male ostrich puts on a demonstration for a female nearby, his neck bright red, and begins a crazy dance for her. She watches him dance and then, almost contemptuously, turns her back and walks off. Guess he doesn't have the moves.

On the way out, we are suddenly swarmed by zebra and wildebeest. It's unreal, there are thousands of them and they've all come out at the same time to eat. Our journey back is wonderfully slow and halting, as the road is clogged with grazing animals.

Just as we get ready to leave the park. we spot a Serval in the grass. It's not all that common to see them, since they're small - about as big as a medium sized dog - and well camouflaged. They are completely invisible in the grass.

We pull back into the lodge and a Baglafecht Weaver chirps at us, saying goodbye. It was a spectacular trip.

 

[binary visions]

A+ work. did you lug around a big lens for the bird and animal shots?

The pictures are a mixture of my D7100 with the new 80-400mm AF-S lens, and Jenn's D40x with the 70-300mm VR.

The 80-400mm is "big" relatively speaking, but it's no bigger than a 70-200mm f/2.8. The 80-400mm didn't go up Kilimanjaro with us, I left it in the tour office until we went on safari, and on safari it's relatively easy to carry a big lens since we were the only ones in the vehicle and you are only allowed to get out in designated areas.

 

[binary visions]

Bump for daydreaming about going back.

Superb starling:

Baby zebra:

Kilimanjaro from the road to the airport:

 

[Colonel Angus]

Thanks for sharing all of that! Looks like a great trip.

 

[CBJ]

If I have not said it before amazing pictures. I could do a trip like that.

 

[valve bouncer]

Bump for daydreaming about going back.

Go further south next time.

 

[binary visions]

Go further south next time.

We'd both like to go to South Africa and see Kruger, see Tugela Falls... Another place on the list that's about 500 places long.

I can haz independent wealth?

 

[Pesqueeb]

You're gonna get teh Ebola!

 

[pinkshirtphotos]

Any vulture?

 

[StiHacka]

Very nice! But ... where is a large porcupine?

 

[valve bouncer]

We'd both like to go to South Africa and see Kruger, see Tugela Falls... Another place on the list that's about 500 places long.

I can haz independent wealth?

South Africa has its charms but ime wild animal life is better elsewhere. From experience Mana Pools in Zimbabwe is superb, from reputation Etosha in Namibia is supposed to properly wild and the Caprivi Strip even more so but that close to Angola is bound to be dodgy.

 

[binary visions]

Any vulture?

Yep. Just not a great photo... This is a lappet-faced vulture:

Very nice! But ... where is a large porcupine?

We didn't see any - Jenn's a big fan of most rodents so I'm sure she would have loved it. Guess we'll just have to go back

South Africa has its charms but ime wild animal life is better elsewhere. From experience Mana Pools in Zimbabwe is superb, from reputation Etosha in Namibia is supposed to properly wild and the Caprivi Strip even more so but that close to Angola is bound to be dodgy.

How long did you spend in Africa?

 

[valve bouncer]

First time was eight months in Zimbabwe and SA (mostly SA) and the second time was 3 weeks going all over Zimbabwe. 20 years ago but would return in a heartbeat given the chance.