Animals, animals, animals--almost everywhere you look--Dec 2014

It's one of our favorite things to do...being in and with nature, having a driver navigate where you just get to watch, photograph, and take it all in...it really is one of the best things.  We're talking about a photo safari in East Africa...if you've never done one, we HIGHLY recommend it and if you have, we hope you enjoy these photos.  (You will definitely want to click on the photos you like--to enlarge them...click again--and get back to normal viewing.)

We've done this trip before, numerous times, to the same parks even--Tarangire National Park, the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area in North Central Tanzania.  Normally this is only a couple of hour airplane flight from Kigali, but our routing on Rwanda Air took us about 5 hours as we flew from Kigali to Arusha, via Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, the capital, on the coast, then back to Arusha, where we would start our safari.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from the air

the port in Dar

a Tanzanian view out our window

The last time we did this trip was 12 years ago with our good friend Bill--here's to ya Bill!  Sure did miss you this go-round.

March 2002, Aly, Buddy and Bill

We arrived in Arusha, Tanzania, the gateway to climbing Kilimanjaro or starting a safari to a number of parks located in this region. The tour company we booked met us at the airport.

the airport in Arusha, where most safaris begin

our plane

Met by Isaac, our driver, from Duma Explorer

a beautiful flame tree in FULL bloom at the airport

Duma Explorer was the tour company we chose, after doing a lot of homework.  We both will attest that we were treated like royalty and were extremely satisfied with our wonderful 6 day - 5 night safari plus a night on either side in Arusha-- totaling 8 days and 7 nights.  We STRONGLY recommend this company if you're ever interested in taking a safari.  They can help with everything from airport pick up and drop off, Arusha lodging, to providing really comfortable long chassis Land Cruisers for the trip, extremely knowledgeable driver/guides, and they also have their own bush camp--luxury tents where they think of EVERYTHING to make your safari and stay the most memorable.  The owner is a Texan woman, Stacy, and her Tanzanian husband, and they've had years of experience in the tour company business.  http://www.dumaexplorer.com/.  Click on the link and check it out.  You won't be sorry.

After Isaac met us at the airport, he took us to a very nice lodge about 50 minutes away, outside of Arusha, Kigongoni, with 18 cottages and beautiful views of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru.  Click on their link as well.  http://www.kigongoni.net/.  A beautiful lodge in a beautiful setting.

The plan is to spend the 1st and last nights at Kigongoni and spend 5 nights in the bush.

main office at Kigongoni

Kigongoni's pool

garden and restaurant

our bungalow

inside our bungalow

a refreshing drink

Mount Kilimanjaro (see the peak above the clouds)
19,341 ft (Aly climbed this in 1997)--Kigongoni  is 4,551 ft

Mount Meru14,977 ft--view from Kigongoni

mama Vervet and her baby in the trees around the lodge

After a wonderful 1st evening and morning at Kigongoni, Isaac returned to the lodge to pick us up.  We loaded up and headed into Arusha to change some money, make a few purchases and off we were to our 1st park, Tarangeri National Park, about a 2.5 hour drive and 90 miles southwest from Arusha.  Tarangire is the 6th largest park in Tanzania at 1,100 square miles.

carts for hire--leaving Arusha

sights along the outskirts of Arusha

Masaai men chit-chatting

a roadside Masaai market

Almost there

We arrived at the entrance to the park just around lunch time, paid our park fees, (all covered in the price we paid to Duma), and had a delicious picnic lunch packed by Kigongoni Lodge (a normal thing on safari--the lodge of the night before packs your lunch and/or breakfast if you leave early for game dries for the following day).  We then had a full afternoon game drive in the park, working our way to our next evenings lodging inside the park.

The rule of thumb is you leave camp no earlier than sunrise and return no later than sunset.  It's hit or miss as to when you'll see the most animals, and you can discuss with your driver/guide on the next days schedule--you can decide on early morning game drives, or start after breakfast, have a picnic lunch out or return to camp for lunch and then do a late afternoon game drive, or any combination of the above, but always returning to camp around sunset and preparation for the following day.

Another rule, yet often broken, is that you stay on the roads, except where allowed to drive off road.  As you will see from the below, you can see all the animals you need to without driving off road, yet many drivers do drive off road to 'satisfy their clients while looking for their tip'.  If you do choose to take a safari in any country, please follow the rules and do not ask your driver to drive off road.  Erosion, damage to the ecosystem, and undue stress put on the animals will eventually lead to either tighter regulations and/or complete disappearance of this magnificent wonder.

We saw so many animals, we wanted to show some of our favorites from each day...we also tried for the 1st time to incorporate some videos we took along the way.  If you want to watch any of the videos, just click on the arrow to play...sorry for the unprofessional footage in some of them, but this was our 1st attempt..we will improve!  (After viewing the video's ourselves, you'll want to mute some of them as the wind and other sounds is distracting--just click the volume icon.  If you want to view 'full screen', click on the icon in the bottom left of the video).  Again, sorry for the amateurism in these short videos, we will get better!

DAY 1:  Tarangeri game drive--started just after 1pm and we drove around (game drive) until almost dusk when we found our way to our tented camp.

our 1st wildlife sighting...and often hard to see, a male Dik Dik

this park is famous for their Baobab trees...they are lovely

male Impala

male Waterbuck

We saw hundreds of elephants and here are some of our favorite shots:

curious babe

a bathing Warthog

colorful love birds

1 tusked male

This was really interesting, the elephants gather in the nearly dried up river bed and dig with their feet and trunks, holes in the soil and get down deep enough for them to drink.  Mom below puts her trunk deep into the hole then is drinking fresh water and baby is both drinking (if mom will let her) and nursing during our visit.

Feeding time...

We continued on down the road...

Hyena eating an OLD and dirty carcass while a vulture waits 

Hyena's are dirty and stinky--nobody eats a Hyena

banded mongoose scurrying along

brothers resting

the Tarangeri River and beyond from our lodge

our tented camp at Tarangeri Safari Lodge

they had about 18 tents and some small bungalows as well

the main dining room and lobby

the pool

After a great 1st day in Tarangeri National Park, a hot shower, a tent-side cocktail, and a delicious dinner we had a restful sleep.  We decided on an early morning game drive to start Day 2 and left the lodge at 6am.

Day 2: Tarangeri National Park early morning drive.

sunrise in the park

elephants eat the bark off Baobab trees

Tawney Eagle with a rising sun on his feathers

Wildebeest at breakfast

lazy boys after possibly a nights feed

1st leopard sighting about 50 yards from the road

We spotted this leopard in the tree just off the road on our way back to the lodge for breakfast.  It's exhilarating going out at 6am and seeing all these animals--what a way to start a day--any day!  After our mid-morning breakfast (9am-ish) back at the lodge, we packed our bags and headed out...onward toward the Serengeti for our 3 nights there....on our way, this how we ended our visit in Tarangeri...

DAY 2:  mid morning drive, Tarangeri National Park.

look at the banded mongoose in the fore-ground

We could barely believe it...but we were lucky enough to see our 2nd leopard in 1 day...all in about 3 hours...that's almost unheard of (they are a very solitary animal and it is very rare to see 2 in such a short period of time...really)...and this tree was about 1/2 the distance to the road as the leopard this morning...it was a FABULOUS 20 minutes with him (or her)...

you can see her in the tree, 2nd branch up on the left
and her dead prey is in the V of the tree...look closely

Seeing this leopard just about 10 minutes from the park entrance was a highlight for us both and for Isaac as well.  We left Tarangeri about 11am and headed towards the Serengeti  about 5 hours away, via the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater...some paved roads but more dirt and much of it in the Serengeti making our way to our next camp...

DAY 2:  afternoon leaving Tarangeri heading to the Serengeti National Park.

transporting firewood

Masaai women on the side of the road

Masaai woman-look at all her beads

flame tree in full bloom

Masaai men and women on the go

beauty

Ngorongoro Crater entrance on the way to the Serengeti

the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater

The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the 7 wonders of Africa if not the world.  It is the largest un flooded and unbroken volcanic caldera in the world.  It's about 12.5 miles across, 2,000 feet deep and covers over 100 sq miles (that's larger than Paris and is about the size of Sacramento, California or Salt Lake City, Utah).  The valley floor is about 5,900 ft above sea level.  There are resident and visiting animals inside the crater, making it one of the most unique places to view wildlife.  We only passed by the crater, drove along the rim, towards the Serengeti and we'll make our descent into the crater on our way back, our last day on this wonderful journey...stay tuned.

Aly and Buddy with the crater behind

a Masaai village en route to the Serengeti

Masaai Doma--enclosure with multiple houses inside

DAY 2:  Serengeti National Park.

the entrance to the spectacular Serengeti--just an arch
no fence

a Masaai woman who lives in the area...outside the park

We heard an interesting fact about the Masaai.  Because they pierce so much of their ears and lobes and much of it has large holes, their hearing is very bad.  The shape of the human ear is to aid in our hearing and when you puncture it, sound travels through instead of being reflected.

a lone giraffe at the entrance to the Serengeti

the view of the vastness of the Serengeti

The Serengeti National Park is the oldest and one of the most popular national parks in the region and at about 5,700 sq miles, it's wildlife is superb with its claim to fame--the legendary Wildebeest migration of over a million animals crossing the Grumeti river (no, we've never seen that spectacle).

absolutely beautiful and vast--you'd never know it is so full of life

a Kori Bustard displaying his full mating plumage

The Kori Bustard is the largest flying bird native to Africa and is thought to be the heaviest living animal capable of flight.

our 1st Serengeti sunset in years

We arrived at our camp, at almost sunset and settled in with a tent cocktail, a hot shower, bush TV (a campfire with 2 stations--fire or smoke!) and a wonderful dinner.  Chaka Camp, is a luxury tented camp we'd call home for the next 3 nights...what a fabulous place to stay.  The camp is owned by the tour operators we booked our safari with (Duma Explorers) and they left nothing out.  First of all, this is the off season, so tourist numbers are low to begin with, but then having an entire luxury camp to ourselves made us feel like royalty.  It really was fabulous.  It was just the 2 of us with 6 staff to cater to our needs.  Each tent (they have 9 tents which can sleep comfortably 20 clients) has running water and flush toilets.  They bring hot water and pour it into the outside tanks every day at the time you specify for your showers, early morning washing, etc.  The beds are really comfy with fluffy duvets and soft pillows.  There is electricity in each tent for charging your camera batteries or other electronic devices and each evening they put a hot water bottle in your bed to warm it up before the chill of the night sets in...a really nice treat.

Now, there are 'lodges' to stay in throughout every park, but why?  They are usually more refined with walls and doors and indoor carpeting and people milling about all doing their own thing and you just become a number at a table--they are nice, but in our opinion, not as nice as being out in nature with all the comforts of home and extra attention to detail.  Tented camps are more personalized and tailored with lots of individual attention.  We would recommend a tented camp safari to anyone, they really are special.  Plus, you are right out there with the wildlife...each night you are sung to sleep (or woken up from sleep, like we were) by buffalo literally outside your tent chomping on grass, also to the calls of hyena and the roars of lions.  The music of the plains....absolutely thrilling!  You are advised NOT to go out of your tent after dark or before sunrise without a camp guide as the animals do come into camp--there are no fences.  We had hyena, lion, buffalo and other wildlife only feet from our heads--it was exhilarating!

our tent

inside with a comfy king bed and duvet

bathroom with hot and cold water, flush toilet, shower

roomy with a view to die for

dining and living tent

inside the dining tent

Buddy at breakfast

the tents--just out there

Chaka's public toilet (yes, it's actually a flush toilet)

 DAY 3:  We head out after breakfast in the Serengeti National Park and return almost at dark.

our 1st lion sighting in the Serengeti

this is a Hyena researcher--think they know her?
the locals call her Mama Hyena

Agama lizard

a beautiful Secretary Bird--given then name because the head
feathers resemble those of a secretary with quill pens stuck
behind the ear

We came across two big boys eating a Gazelle from last night...they were about 10 yards from the road and resting in the shade of an Acacia tree.

Not 2 minutes down the road from the 2 large males, was the pride which the 2 males probably oversee.  This group of 9 lionesses and young, are intrigued by a monitor lizard.  We hung out here for probably an hour just watching and enjoying...

beautiful monitor lizard

After about an hour, we decided to leave the lionesses and young ones and continue our journey...I think we were the 2nd vehicle to arrive, but look what happened while we were being entertained by these cats and their monitor lizard friend (and remember this is low season!)...

We drove to the other side of the small creek and one of the young males continued his romp with the monitor lizard...he's now on the same side of the creek as we are and all the other lions are watching intently...

 So are the tourists...

It's been an incredible morning of lions; more lions than we've ever seen in one day...first, the females with the male after a feed with all the hyena around, then the 2 big males under the tree finishing their gazelle, then these 9 toying with the monitor lizard...

We moved on to see some wildebeest 'on the move'...

It's now lunch time and we pull up under one of the few places where there is shade and we look at the top of the rocks and see another pride of lion sleeping in the heat of the day...not to be repetitive, but more lion sightings in one day than ever before...

After a lovely picnic lunch INSIDE the vehicle (yes, it is against the rules of the park, all of them, to get out of your vehicle, except where/when necessary (potty breaks or break downs) and where one is as safe as possible) we head on down the road.  Even pottying is a bit scary...you exit the vehicle in a flat, open area, with low grass and nothing for predators to 'hide behind', you leave your door open (in case you need to make that quick re-entry) and you do your business right behind the vehicle on the road out of sight of the driver, but close enough for safety...

Thompson Gazelle

male Reedbuck

a pod of hippo

more lion with another kill

Oxpecker nibbling on ticks and insects on a giraffe neck

Giraffe are Aly's favorite

an early dinner

dusk on the Serengeti plains

Day 4:  We leave early taking our breakfast with us into the Serengeti.

leaving camp early in the morning

a black-backed Jackal not far from camp

We left camp early and found a few lions together.  For the 1st and only time I think all 3 of us were a bit scared.  The lone male in the group didn't really take note of our presence, but one of the females started walking towards us and she had 'that look'--anyone who has a domestic cat knows 'that look'.  It's that playful yet mischievous look of  'I'm going to pounce on you' and Isaac quickly started the engine to scare her, which it didn't do and she kept coming towards us.  Isaac actually had to do a spin out and she was 'trotting' after us (or whatever you call the gait of a lion in pursuit--not a full run, but not a walk either)...it was rather scary!  What a way to start a day...being pursued by a lioness who seemingly wanted to jump in our vehicle!  Aly was ducked down behind the seat while Buddy was watching and filming her, but he too finally knelt down and it was a bit of an adrenaline rush!!!  We decided to leave them alone and off we went in search more adventure...

look at this beauty

see 'the look'?

she is looking right at us....SCARY!

a crisp early morning savannah shot

And to our surprise...we were lucky enough to see all the great cats of the African Savannah.  After that rush with the lioness, we were in search of the elusive cheetah, and low and behold, we came across a mama and her 3 cubs...looking for food.  We followed them for a bit...

cheetah mom, looking for food

resting on a 'look out' termite mound

time to go...and off the 4 go, in search of food...much
farther than we could follow...

So, off we go as well...

And what do we come across, but our 2nd Cheetah of our trip...and of the day (amazing really)...within an hour of leaving the mother and her cubs, we find this lone cheetah.  We parked and had our delicious in-vehicle breakfast (it's probably 9am now), complete with hot tea and coffee and watched this cheetah until he decides to move on as well...

look how much better fed he looks than the female with cubs

a small herd of the largest and most timid antelope,
the Eland--they are so big, they are slow, hence their timidity

male Ostrich

We then came across a small herd of elephants eating...

and nursing

checking things out

really checking things out!

this is how close we get to these animals

a small herd of Heartebeest

rain on the Savannah

another beautiful herd of elephants

Topi, one of the fastest antelopes in Africa with beautiful coats

Cinnamon-Crested Bee-Eater

a little family of Hyrax--mistaken for rodents, but are
more closely related to elephants (imagine that!)

a sleeping  giant on the heated rocks

a savannah Wildebeest view

It was looking like rain and we had had a full day out in the bush.  We decided to head back to camp a bit early (it was probably 5pm or so) and on our way, we came across this lioness with her fresh Wildebeest kill.  This was 3 feet from the road.

Rain on the savannah...

As we arrived in camp, the rain had let up and there was a herd of Wildebeest outside the main tent, maybe 30 yards...

And Giraffe behind our tent (to the left of the tree)...

our Thaksgiving meal

view from our dining table

showing the camp guys some of our pictures

Our last night at Chaka Camp, we had a small Thanksgiving celebration with the guys, as tomorrow morning we're off for the Ngorongoro Crater...

Day 5:  Serengeti heading to Ngorongoro Crater.

leaving Chaka

Lilac-Breasted Roller

a rare sighting of a Bat-eared Fox

male Thompson Gazelle sparring

As we were on our way out of the park, we were on a road we hadn't been on and were the only ones in the area.  We spotted a cheetah not far from the road in full hunting mode.  We turned off the motor and sat for nearly 2 hours and watched our 1st Cheetah hunt and kill.  It was sad for the baby Thompson Gazelle but an amazing display of nature...

This cheetah was so patient..it took 2 hours for her to find the 'right one'...and it just so happened to be a frolicking baby Thompson Gazelle (cheetah's favorite food) who was not paying attention and that's when the cheetah took off at almost full speed.  She kept her eye on the 1 she had 'chosen' and after not more than 20 seconds, she had the antelope by the neck, suffocating it before eating...it was a rare moment for us and sad for the Gazelle, but when you see thousands and thousands of Gazelle and only a handful of Cheetah, we were in favor of the Cheetah eating that day.

patiently waiting

eyeing her prey

creeping closer

making sure no lions, hyena or other competition is around

getting ready

seconds after the capture

carrying the catch only a few yards before starting to eat

This was our 3rd cheetah sighting this trip...the mom with cubs, a lone male (we think) and this hunting cheetah (we're not sure if this or the 2nd were female or male), but seeing 3 cheetah during the trip was a true highlight.  And to watch a kill with such patience and precision is truly one of nature's wonders.  It was sad that a baby lost its life, but without baby Gazelle, there would be no baby Cheetah...the circle of life...

We had spent most of our morning with this Cheetah and we had to be out of the park by 1pm, in time to get to our next nights lodging, back on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater...we still had a good couple of hours to drive to the park entrance, so off we headed.

On the way, we were side tracked by 2 gorgeous HUGE male lions almost blocking the road...

And after 20 minutes or so with these boys, we headed back to the entrance of the Serengeti, through herds of thousands of Wildebeest and Zebra

Leaving the Serengeti behind, we returned on the same road we headed in on 3 days prior.  We passed the numerous Masaai villages and the Olduvai Gorge, where anthropological discoveries by Louis Leakey has led to further understanding of human evolution--this is one of the most important Paleoanthropological sites in the world.  We climbed back up to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater.

panorama of the Ngorongoro Crater

We skirted our way around the edge of the crater towards our nights lodging, The Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge http://sopalodges.com/ngorongoro-sopa-lodge/overview.  This was the only park lodge we stayed in on this trip.

main lodge

our suite with crater views

the pool and grounds with lovely crater views

home??

a blue monkey on the lodge grounds

view of inside the crater from the lodge

Day 6:  Ngorongoro Crater...The last day of our wonderful safari...We left our lodge just before sunrise so we could be inside the crater as early as possible.

a rainbow welcoming us into the crater

an early morning crater view

After the descent and a short drive inside the crater, we spotted a HUGE herd of Zebra and Wildebeest and turned off our motor and just watched them for a good hour...they just keep coming and coming and coming....there were thousands of them...

panoramic view

mom with her baby

More sights along the way...

Black-Bellied Bustard

very inquisitive Black-backed Jackals

And here is a short video of the 3 pups

We then came across some Buffalo and one of them had been attacked, probably the night before by lion.  Buffalo are one of the most feared, dangerous and unpredictable of all the African animals, although hippos actually kill more people, leaving them to the crocodiles.

you can see the attack marks on the side and tail end...
who knows how long he'll survive?  the others were
very protective of him

Moving on, we were in search of the only East African animal (the last of the Big 5) we had NOT yet seen while on this trip...and that is the critically endangered and disappearing Rhino.  It was out in this vast caldera where we finally came across our one and only Rhino.  They have been poached over the years and are quite timid and skittish because of this.  They do not hang out close to the roads so it was a good day for us to see this big guy.  They are very prehistoric looking...and quite quick despite their size and weight.

male Grant's Gazelle

beautiful mate-for-life Crowned Cranes

African Fish Eagle

Masked Weaver

hippos in the water, where we stopped for breakfast

Golden Jackal

Flamingo

Mr and Mrs Wharthog and family

One of our last encounters with lions on this safari...

inquisitive cub

mom reeling in her cubs

our final shot of the Ngorongoro Crater...

We climbed out of the crater around noon and skirted the rim until we intersected the road descending back into civilization.  We arrived back in Arusha shortly before dark, at Kigongoni Lodge, just in time for a cold drink, a hot meal and a relaxing evening celebrating Aly's birthday.

We hope you enjoyed this journey as much as we did.  With this, we'd like to wish you all Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2015 with much peace in your world, joy in your lives and love in your hearts.

As Aly's dear sweet father used to recite after a hot air balloon ride (and many other pilots continue this tradition) this prayer --  it is normally said after a flight and thought to have originated in Italy, though it is thought to have been said before air travel as well...it seems appropriate for an upcoming year--since time seems to 'fly by'...

"May the winds welcome you with softness.
May the sun bless you with his warm hands.
May you fly so high and so well,
That God joins you in your laughter
and sets you back again into the
loving arms of Mother Earth."  Author unknown