To those who received instant photos from
the safari it is no surprise that I was so blown away by the safari experience.
We went in two 4WD vehicles carrying 4 and 5
people plus drivers with a third support vehicle carrying supplies. Denise and I went in separate vehicles, by
choice. We got back home at 9pm Friday
night after having dinner with the safari group.
For all those not interested in safari,
switch off now.
For those who want even more information,
come on over as we would love to do it again with you. For more information have a look at these
sites:
For those reading the online blog, there is
more if you click on the Read more>>
button below.
I have included the tour package comments in
italics, while my comments are in normal text.
This was a camping safari with limited access
to showers. The only hot shower was Day
5, while on Day 4 it was tepid/cold. No
matter what level of accommodation you got the dust, so a shower at the end of
the trip was our little luxury. You can
go all the way and have 5 star, but you don't get to see any more than we did
and you pay about 2-4 times more.
Day 1: Tarangire National Park
Drive from Arusha to Tarangire National Park. Have a
picnic lunch in the park, followed by an afternoon game drive. Drive through
the parks varied landscape, which is scattered with huge baobabs trees and home
to herds of elephants. Stay overnight at Zion Camp.
On arrival at Tarangire National Park we
stopped for lunch. I placed a cupcake on
the table and looked back to see a cheeky monkey steal it. Apart from monkeys, the first thing we saw
was a herd of elephants about 100 meters away.
After lunch we went driving through some of the park and saw wildebeest,
zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle (Thomson and Grants), hartebeest, eland,
mongoose as well as many birds. I made
the comment at the end of the day that we had seen everything we came to see on
day 1 so wondered how we would top that off.
There were also many birds, but as you will
see, I was here to see the animals. The
birds were pretty, but the animals were my focus, while Denise was looking at and
photographing both.
Day 2: Serengeti National Park
Drive to the Serengeti National Park visiting Oldupai
Gorge enroute. For those with an interest in archaeology, this was the site, in
1959, where fossil fragments of a skull belonging to pre homo-sapien man were
discovered. The Serengeti is the largest of all the parks in Tanzania, famous
for both its migratory and resident animal population. Stay overnight in the
Seronera Campsite in the Serengeti. We spend two days exploring the vast grassy
plains, rocky outcrops and sparsely wooded river valleys of this incomparable
park where lion, cheetah, leopard, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, gazelle,
elephant, and Cape Buffalo can be seen. In general, you search for the animals
in the early morning and late afternoon, while you follow the animal’s example
and rest during the heat of the day. We camp within the Serengeti, listening to
the sounds of the nocturnal animals and birds.
The drive went via Ngorongoro Crater, but due
to low cloud we couldn't see it. The
Oldupai site was interesting, and then it was off to the Serengeti. On the drive from the crater we saw many
giraffe, wildebeest and zebras mixed in with Maasai tribes tending their herds
of cows and goats. Didn't see any predators,
but I guess that's why they are predators.
After the Oldupai Gorge the land flattened
out and there were many gazelles (Thompsons and Grants) that eventually became
quite common that you failed to notice them except that they would make a nice
meal for any predator.
At the gate to the Serengeti National Park
there was a snake spotted on the hill you walk up. Unsure of the type. Our drive to camp was across the Serengeti on
4WD tracks, in fact all roads in the Serengeti are either 4WD track or dirt roads
of varying degrees of roughness.
After 2 days of seeing animals, we were
starting to get a bit ho hum about them unless they were very close or doing
something out of the ordinary. Don't get
me wrong, we weren't bored, but after seeing hundreds or probably thousands of
them, they had to do something special to attract our attention.
The highlights of Day 2 were seeing lionesses and
their cubs (about 3-6 months old), and then a leopard in a tree with 2
elephants below. One of the elephants
wandered off to another tree and decided to reach for a branch with its
trunk, but was about 1 metre short. On the
next attempt he got up on his rear legs and got it. I thought that only happened in the circus.
Instead of the Seronera Campsite we stayed at
Nyani Camp.
Day 3: Serengeti National Park
Full day in the Serengeti. Stay overnight at Seronera
Campsite in the Serengeti.
This was an early start before sunrise to see
animals at the waterholes. We found all
the usual suspects including hippo, crocodile, zebra, wildebeest and once again
another leopard and her two cubs with approaching elephants. The adult leopard went up the tree as the
elephants approached and didn't seem too concerned her cubs were still on the
ground. The elephants did look at the
cubs but wandered on. Back to camp for
lunch and nap/sleep followed by another drive.
The afternoon produced a large pride of lions
on a rock and as we stopped we noticed a large herd of buffalo approaching the
lions. Also from behind where we stopped
was a large herd of elephants coming down to the creek.
As the buffalo approach the lions, the lions
got interested and sat up at which point the buffalo turned and made a
strategic retreat. In the meantime the
elephants, with babies, wandered between both our vehicles down to the creek.
After all this excitement it was a drive of over
1 hour up to the Retima Hippo Pool. This
was home to many hippos and crocodiles.
The water appeared stagnant and with many hippos living there and not
getting out the water to do their business, the water didn't look to
pleasant. Occasionally one would let one
go and the smell was bad. It is amazing
how much noise they make and that lasts about 1-2 mins then it's quiet until
the next disturbance.
The rules of safari parks are that you can't
be driving after dark so it was a race to get home. Penalties are quite high, as are penalties
for hitting wildlife and being out of a vehicle.
When you are out for 3 or more hours the call
of nature becomes a problem. We did make
the occasional stops to "check the tyres" or "pick flowers". Some just couldn't do anything for fear of
what was watching them so on return to camp it was a flat out run to the
toilet.
Day 4: Ngorongoro Crater
Morning game drive in the Serengeti or an optional
balloon flight which includes a champagne breakfast (*this costs extra and must
be pre-booked well in advance. Contact the Back Track office for details). In
the afternoon drive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Stay overnight at Simba
Camp overlooking the Crater. From the crater rim there are magnificent views
down into the caldera.
Today was cool to cold in the morning (below 10C)
and we had another pre-sunrise start. We
saw yet another leopard in a tree. Near
where we had seen the lion pride the previous day, I spotted movement and
discovered it was lions with a kill - what looked like buffalo. After a late breakfast we packed up and left
for the drive to Ngorongoro Crater. At
the park entrance stop I discovered more elephants and was taking pics of them with
others only about 10 paces away with no fence.
One decided that we were too close so took a few steps towards us, then
decided the food was better - luckily.
The drive back to the crater was good and
once there we got to see into the crater.
It was getting cold so sleeping wouldn't be a problem.
Today we got our first shower since leaving
Arusha. The water was closer to cold
than hot, but it was good to wash off the dust.
Day 5: Mto Wa Mbu
Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive. This
100 square mile natural amphitheatre is host to an astonishing array of
wildlife. You may be lucky enough to see rhino, elephant and lion, as well as
large herds of zebra and wildebeest. In the crater we travel in smaller
four-wheel drive vehicles, accompanied by a local guide. There is excellent
game viewing with 30,000 resident animals and the photographic opportunities
are unrivalled. This is one of the best places to see the endangered Black Rhino.
A picnic lunch will be taken in the crater. After the game drive we exit the
crater and drive to Mto Wa Mbu Stay at Jambo Camp overnight.
Today started off cold (below 5C) with low
cloud so nothing was visible at the top of the crater. This made the drive very interesting/scary. Today was jumper, ski jacket, ski gloves and
beanie day, and we were glad we brought them with us.
Once in the crater it remained overcast, but with
plenty of wildlife including our first sighting of flamingos. Unfortunately we only saw the horns of a
hippo about 2kms or more away. The day
was well worth it.
Denise has bought another giraffe as a mate
for the one she bought on last trip here.
Day 6 : Arusha
On the return journey to Arusha we stop for a picnic
lunch at Lake Manyara National Park, followed by an afternoon game drive. This
is an opportunity to see Manyara’s marvellous concentration of game, including
350 species of birds. Afternoon drive back to Arusha.
Now it's back to school/home/work.
The final day saw us with another cool day,
but no gloves or ski jackets. First up
we saw zebras crossing close to hippos, then lots of trees until we nearly ran
into a herd of elephants with babies. Stayed
with them for about 15 mins then drove on to see giraffes on the beach and then
found a mother with baby giraffe.
All in all a great experience, one I would
love to do again so come on over.
Saturday was back to work, then an 80's party
that night at The Waterhole (The Hole).
Sorry for the length of this blog, but that's
the best I could do.
Until next time.
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