Destination Africa: Tanzania

[Birdjaguar]

We spent at least an hour here watching the lions while we had breakfast. More lions became visible. In the still pic you will see a sleeping lion across the water and one of the nearer ones looking across the water. She is following a herd of zebras that are making their way towards this waterhole. Shortly after this picture was taken, the distant lioness went into stalking mode and moved into the tall grass. The zebras spotted the lions pretty quickly land scurried away.

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[Birdjaguar]

There is a high spot in the crater where most game drives make a stop for the view. I did also and here is a 360 video from it. While a bit blurry, it shows the crater walls and nature of the land inside the crater. On the map in post 36, I think it is Engitati Hill, at the center near the top.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Lions once again were on our agenda and we found a mated pair!

Spoiler :

We watched them for an hour and they never even changed position.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I loved all the zebras we saw. They were always fun to watch and so beautiful At this time of year the females are "all" pregnant. The zebras in the crater were less apt to flee vehicles than those we saw later in the Serengeti.

We saw the zebras on our way to find one of scarce black rhinos that can be found in the crater. No one gets close to them for fear of drawing a "too close" encounter. He is there.

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[warpus]

Great that you did your Tanzania trip! Ours is getting moved to next year at the earliest, for various reasons (I had knee surgery being one of them)

I will def have to read through this thread with a bit more detail later. The pics I have looked at so far have sort of convinced me that I will have to be a bit more vigilant/serious in planning this for next year. This year I sort of resigned myself that this wasn't going to happen (but it's probably a good idea anyhow).. but now I feel a bit more motivated

 

[Birdjaguar]

@warpus Ask anything you like.

 

[Birdjaguar]

We pushed on through the crater. Here you will see the dirt tack we were following and two ostriches (both female). Vehicles stay on the roads and do not chase or try to follow critters by going off the roads. Breaking the rules in the crater can cause the guides to be fined or even loose their permits to be there. The space is huge and appears mostly empty, but there were almost always animals visible even if not close. This space is sparse compared to the huge herds of the Serengeti. that is a warthog to the right of the birds.

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[Birdjaguar]

On our way to the picnic grounds for lunch we passed a few Cape Buffalo.

And a solitary bull.

Spoiler :

The only legal palaces to get out of the vehicles are at a few designated spots. The picnic grounds are one and they have actual bathrooms! It was crowded. There was no available shade so we ate in vehicle. Peeing in the bushes or next to the vehicle also works when needed.

 

[Birdjaguar]

After lunch we continued our way around the crater seeing more buffalo, zebras, Thompson Gazelles and Crowned cranes and then headed out.

On the way out of the crater the road gets very steep in places, very steep. On our way up at one spot, we came upon a tourist vehicle stuck on one of those spots. It had a driver and 7 passengers and could not get up past this part of the climb. The guide asked for a push. We gave it and got them over the hard stretch, passed them (so as not to be behind them in the future) and then the two guides chatted briefly and we moved on. We stayed close to be around if they had additional problems. They didn't. We stopped at the overlook. They did too and the mom of the family came over to talk. They were 7, two parents and five sons from CA. She was terrible distraught and thought they were all going to die. Certainly possible given where they were. Their vehicle had no breaks and they had been stuck where they were with the emergency break holding them from rolling backward off the road, over the cliff and into the jungle. The guide could not make any forward progress. He kept telling them that there were no problems and not to worry. It was a crap vehicle. Chargers didn't work; internet didn't work; and now no breaks. They had to get to Arusha that night (a hundred mile drive at best) and endure at least two huge losses in altitude on very steep roads. Their guide kept saying there were no problems, he was sure the breaks would be fine. My guide and I didn't agree. We took 4 of the boys and their father in our vehicle and Penuel arranged for another guide to carry the mom and last boy. We would meet them all in Karatu where Penuel (my guide) arranged for a new vehicle to meet us all and drive them to Arusha. I don't know what their original guide did or where he went. The perils of choosing safari services without working through folks who know what they are doing. One of the sons texted me that night that they had made it safely to Arusha.

Spoiler :

At the crater overlook. In this picture, the small lake to the right of my left shoulder, is where we had had lunch.

Driving through the town of Karatu

 

[Birdjaguar]

The next day we got an early start; the drive to the Serengeti was long and on a dirt road. This road is the only one connecting Arusha/Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti. See the earlier maps. The pavement ends back in Kartatu and from there west everything is dirt. The road runs through Olduvai Gorge but not close to the Leakey site or their museum. The character of the land changes dramatically. The dry season is evident. WE drove with the top closed and the windows mostly closed.

Heading down from the crater into the dryer plains.

Spoiler :

Driving to Oldulvai

Just before the gorge there is a turn off to the Leakey site

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Five Giraffes at Olduvai Gorge

 

[Valka D'Ur]

My plane to Lake Manyara, inside and out.

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View attachment 667807

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Pilots
View attachment 667808

My companions

View attachment 667809

Your companions are either very short, or they're invisible.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I had the plane to myself other than the pilots who paid no attention to me at all.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I had the plane to myself other than the pilots who paid no attention to me at all.

So you had nonexistent companions!

 

[Birdjaguar]

All my imaginary friends! They might as well be short too. It's been well over 30 years since I have flown in such a small plane. I had forgotten how much fun it can be. The terrain was especially dramatic.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Sorry for the delay, but I had to learn to do some video editing for some of the upcoming posts. Where last I left off, I had crossed the Olduvai Gorge turnoff from the main road running to the Serengeti. to get you reoriented here is a map. The Ngorongoro Crater is the large circle at the bottom center just above the two large lakes. The darker red line is the road to the Serengeti. You have seen it in the pictures above. The Leakey worksite is north of the road about where the "C" is in the label Olmeri Crater. Out target that day was to drive to the Central Serengeti around the big black tent symbol. We had lunch with us so we didn't need to be at the mobile campsite until evening. It was southwest of Seronera.

 

[Birdjaguar]

At the border between the Ngorongoro and Serengeti Areas.

Spoiler :

Penuel, my guide.

paperwork check

 

[Birdjaguar]

This was my first day in the Serengeti, but for Penuel it was just another visit and part of his routine as a guide. He knew the Serengeti well and his value as an experienced guide became very obvious this day. In March of this year He took a picture of two brother lions that controlled a pride in a particular area he was familiar with. At the time they were somewhere between 7-10 years old and a bit past their prime.

After that picture was taken, four young males encroached on the pride. One night when the two brothers were apart, they ganged up 4 against 1, twice in the night and killed them both. They took over the pride. At least two of the new leaders were brothers.

 

[Birdjaguar]

After lunch on our arrival in the Serengeti, we found this lion resting peacefully in the shade. Penuel identified him as one of the four that had killed the two pride leaders pictured above. He suspected that this lion's brother was nearby. And it turned out to be true.

 

[Birdjaguar]

The story that follows in this long video (~20 minutes) goes like this:

• Lion Brother 1's resting, as seen above, is interrupted by a young lioness who has been hanging out nearby with Lion Brother 2.
• She comes looking for a bit of romance. And is rewarded.
• This "tryst in wild" in interrupted when Lion Brother 2 decides to break things up and regain his Lady Fair.
• His courting is apparently not up to snuff and he is not up to brawling. Lion Brother 1 is #1, for now anyway.
• She clearly prefers Lion Brother 1 and to drive home the point, she makes Brother 2 watch.
• Discouraged, Lion Brother 2 looks for shady spots to brood over his failures.

This video begins with 50 seconds of black because of poor editing skills, ignorance of the software and and eventual WTH. Just move the slider to 50 seconds and the story will begin.

 

[Birdjaguar]

The lion drama was an exceptional event of Day 1 in the Serengeti especially since most of the morning was spent driving from Ngorongoro. It highlights the value of an experienced guide who knows the land and the animals. Thompson Gazzelles were frequently seen inhabitants of the area.