Tsavo East

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Well, the leopard finally did show up at around 5am to eat his treat.  We never saw it happen - which by the way I am grateful for because I don't think it's right to begin with.  Anyway, yesterday's drive was through Tsavo West. This morning we did a short game drive before breakfast. Watched the sun come up.  Was greeted by the token giraffe of the day. Got a few shows of early morning activity in the wild. After breakfast,we headed to Tsavo East. Made a stop at Mudanda Rock - a very very old formation and a kind of hangout for the big cats.  Tsavo East is known for the legend of the "man-eating lions".  

Next we came upon a big herd of red elephants - also known only in Tsavo East because of the clay soil.  Sat and watched them for a while before moving on. Arrived at the lodge in time for lunch.  This place is a bit nicer than last night.  Although there is no hanging around the pool.  Absolutely no shade and it wasn't very clean. In any event, the hotel is over run with a mess of French Canadians. It is very busy here.

Going out on another game drive in a little while.  More later....

Got back at 6pm. Went through the "Elephat Grid" and yes, we saw more elephants.  Got very close to this big guy and just watched hiim consume his evening meal.  Juma spotted a pride of lions in the distance cooling off in the shade of a tree.  Their buffalo carcus was basking in the sun not too far away from them.

Came back to the lodge and sat and had drinks before dinner.  We have one more small game drive tomorrow morning and then we are headed straight to the beach!  We have been rocking and rolling for so long now, it will sure feel good to sit and just do nothing for a while.  We do hope to get to go on a snorkel trip and see some underwater creatures.  

Next time... Dina Beach

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The Road to Tsavo

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Well it has been quite the day.  We left Ngorogoro early this morning.  Met up with Alex in Arusha and
gave him all our gifts.  We were told it would be a couple of more hours to the border an then maybe an hour and a half to our lodging in Tsavo Kenya.  Took some stupid tourist pics from the car along the way.

Border crossing was a breeze.  Said goodbye to Gila and Juma was there to welcome us.  We ate our box lunch in the car and then we were off.  The roads were paved, until Juma took a left and we were back on the Kenya highway - bump, bump, bump.  We were driving for miles with nothing to see.  The landscape looked dry and desolate.  After a couple of hours, I kept thinking that we had been hijcacked!  Then Juma aske if we wante to do a hippo trail.  Everyone said no except J. so we decided to go and see what this hippo thing was all about.  Turns out the we were at Mzimo Springs  which comes down from the mountain and feeds the water supply all the way to Mombasa.  There was one lonely hippo, but they did have a cool observatory that looked at the fish underwater,  Another cool thing was learning about the yellow acacia tree.  The elephants use the base to scratch their back which is why the bark is all gone.

We were back in the jeep and driving and driving until finally Juma pulls into this hotel which is not the hotel we are supposed to be at.  Well, that didnt' sit well with either me or Paula.  We had been driving for 10 hours only to wind up at the wrong hotel.  There wasn't much to do about it - it was already five in the evening.  Paula and I walked into the reception area in a real huff and then I tapped her on the shoulder and said "Look".  There were elephants right by the hotel at a watering hole. We ordered beers, talked with Alex, got everything settled with Juma and now we are here and have to more again tomorrow.  We were planning on staying two nights in one place.  

Ok so now we are here and we see the elephants and cape buffalo but wait there's more.  The string a slab of beef to entice the leopard to come feast for the tourists.  This is all a bit too bizarre - not to mention I think it is a bit illegal.  However, J found out that this place is owned by the government -- so I guess they can do whatever the hell they want.  It is all pretty strange.  It is now 10pm and the meat is still out there.  The elephants are getting feisty though.

That's it.  I don't have a clue about tomorrow.  I'll let you know if the leopard shows up or not.

Next time....???

Ngorogoro Crater

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Got on the road around 7am.  Nothing much exciting happened on the way out of the Serengeti.  Passed some more ostrichs on the side of the road. We made a tourist stop at Oluvai Gorge the site where they found the oldest human skulls.

 Arrived at the crater at around 11ish.The crater was created when the volcanic mountain erupted and left the crater.  Lava spewed and created the plains of the Serengeti. This is the world's largest caldera.  Ngorogoro means bowl or the sound the Masai cow bell - pick one.  This is Masai country. The government pushed them out of the Serengeti to make it a conservation area. So they moved to Ngorogoro. The Masai originated in Ethopia and migrated south following the water. 

The most entertaining part of the day was when we ran into two lions trying to cool off in the bucket of a front loader.  There is a lot of construction going on down there.  They are building new roads.  These lions were a hoot to watch.  The driver had a hard time getting back in and then had to gently try to move them.  After that show, we saw two black rhinos.  Best viewing Geoff and I have ever had of the elusive beast. This also happens to be birthing season for the gnu. Lots of little ones around. We were hoping to witness a birth but no luck.  

Stopped for a picnic lunch down by a lake. This place was a mass of jeeps. But  lo and behold an ice cream truck!!  What a treat!

The animals in the crater stay in the crater.  There is no migration.  There are no cheetahs here.  They could not survive their preditors so they moved out. There are plenty of gnu, cape buffalo, zebra, lions, and black rhino.  Came upon some flamingos hanging out in the lake.  The lake is salt water so this is not a source for the animals. They drink from a river stream that feeds down from the rain forest.

Left the crater via the rain forest and drove through a very prosperous part of Tanzania to get to the Ngorogoro Coffee Lodge.  This place is on a beautiful coffee planation.  This is pure culture shock!   Very la-di-dah with lots of room a wonderful outdoor shower, etc., etc.  The only thing we won't have is falling asleep to the lion's roar. Checked in took an outdoor shower, rinsed all the dust out of our clothes and headed to pool.  Aahhhh. Tomorrow we are off to meet Alex in Arusha then up to the Kenya border where we are passed back over to Juma who will take us to Tsvao. Another long day. Sweet dreams!

Next time... Tsavo National Park

Serengeti Day 2

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We got an earlystart  and were rewarded with awesome views of both sunrise and hot air balloons. Today we have an all day drive to the eastern part of the Serengeti - far away from the maddening jeep brigade.  This is cat country.  However, we found ourselves in the middle of a zebra migration with lots of gnus tagging along.

There isn't a whole lot to say.  The pictures tell the story for the most part.  We had a lovely picnic lunch in the shade of a tree.  And even managed to get the chef to make us a couple of egg salad sandwiches with Paula's help on instructions - most lunches have been chicken and we have had to make do with various combinations of stuff.  One example with a huge roll filled with two tomato slices and two cucumbers - what's that about?? Anyway, not complaining - no one is starving.

Here are a few factoids that we have picked up over the course of hanging out in the Sergeneti. By the way, Serengeti means endless plain. A very apt description

• The traditional zebra pose - with two zebras leaning on one another each facing in the opposite direction - is not only for comfort, affection and to help swat flies, but is also a very effective way to look out for preditors - mostly lions.
• The lion and the leopard are "real" cats, the cheetah is not.  This is because both the lion and leopards claws that retract, the cheetah's does not.  You will never find a cheetah up a tree like the lion and leopard. I don't know about tigers - I'll you know when we get to India!
• When a leopard is up in a tree, you can tell if it is a female if the hind legs are straddling the limb. A male will put both hing legs on one side of the limb -- for obvious reasons.
• 
  Antolope Descriptions:
• Eland -  largest
• Dicdic - smallest
• Topi -     fastest
• Impala - highest jumper

 A thunderstorm greeted us when we got back to the tent. It was a quick shower and temperature gratefully dropped,.  It's been hovering around 90 during the day.  Dinner then bed.

Next time... Ngoragora Crater

Serengeti

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Feeling better today.  It always takes a while to get acclaimated to a new place and moving everyday does present its challenges in that regard.  We are in Serengeti for three nights.  So the first thing we did yesterday when we got to our tent was to jump in the shower and wash all the clothes we've been wearing for the last week.  It was wonderful seeing all that dust and dirt go down the drain.  Most things were dry by morning.

This morning's game drive was simply wonderful. The Serengeti is a truly magnificent place. So grab a snack and a cup of coffee, there a lot of pictures here because you just can stop at one! Since we have already seen the "Big Five" - lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, African (cape) buffalo - we were under no pressure to go speeding off from place to place.  When we were able to just sit and watch and enjoy as the animals went about their lives.  The giraffes were first, then the baboons, next the impala harem - all ladies and one male.  We stayed at the Hippo Hilton for quite a while.  What a sight.  We have never seen so many hippos. Well we were all truly awed but wait there was more.... a small herd of female elephants came right into our path and crossed the road right through jeeps.  I could have reached out and touched one.  

The hunt was on for the elusive cats.  Gila took us to where the Kopj rocks.  Kopj is Swahili for head.  This is where the leopards and lions bring their young and hide them among the rock formations.  We ran into a traffic jam waiting for a mother leopard and her cubs to appear. Didn't stick around. We left and found a lone lioness up among the rocks.  Moved on and found ourselves right in the middle of a Cape Buffalo migration. Came upon two big male lion brothers which were a stone's throw from the jeep. Last but not least, we were the first jeep at a leopard sighting. Could have watched him for hours.  Heading back we we saw the jeeps still lined up to find that momma leopard. They don't know what they are msising.

Back to the ranch for lunch and a short break before heading out this afternoon.  By the way, there are plenty of tsetse flies in this part of the Serengeti.  Not supposed to wear blue or black (oops!).  So far no bites, hope it stays that way.  Later....

The flies were annoying this afternoon.  But we managed to be entertained by the all popular baboons,
elephants, and giraffes and others.  Oh, and we ran into some ostriches - grey is female and the black is male.  We went on the hunt for six lions taking a walk but never found them.  And, there was lots of more two story activity.  We have decided it must be mating season. 

Arrived back just in time for a quick shower and then dinner.  The drive back got a bit dicey. It rained while we were on safari and it was quite muddy.  The jeep was slip sliding all over the place.  Gila did a great job reining it in and getting us back safely.

A side note, Jerry asked what the name of the tortoise is -- it is a leopard tortoise.

Tomorrow we go back out for an all day safari. 

Next time.. Serengeti Day 2

The Road to Serengeti

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Not too much to write about today due to the fact that we were in a jeep for most of it.  Juma picked us up at 7am. After saying goodbye to our new friends, we were off to the Tanzania border crossing. We did stop to take some pics as we were leaving the reserve.  Nothing new but a pair of  two-story hyenas. (Sorry Jennifer but I had to take the shot)

The roads in Kenya got progressively worse.  It was the bumpiest day yet.  Got to the border at around 12:30 and met our new guide, Gila.  After much confusion about where to go, what to do, and oh, where the hell is the bathroom, we made it out in about an hour.  Gila is a bit harder to understand and definitely doesn't have Juma's sense of humor.  We embarked in another 3-4 hour journey. The roads in Tanzania so far are bumpy but nothing like Kenya.  

Went through a Canadian diamond mining operation that was interesting but couldn't get pictures. Passed through fields of banana trees and was impressed with the local transportation.  In one town, there was a road block - pretty much a rope across the road. This was to collect taxes from the motorbikes that operate like a taxi.  Some system! There was a short lunch stop (lunch boxes from hotel) at a medical dispensary.  This place was like a clinic. J had an interesting conversation with the doctor as we were leaving.

Eventually we made it to Serengeti Park and did a mini game drive on the way to our new tents.  This is even more rustic than the last place.  However, we still have a hot water showers and flushing toilets.  It is a no fence area, so we have to have an escort everytime you leave or go to your tent at night -- just in case the wild beasts are lurking.

Tonight's dinner was the first that was not a buffet.  I didn't eat much. Stomach a bit woozy today.  Could be the partying last night or all the driving or probably both.  Either way, taking a breather with the food.  

Tomorrow we explore the Serengeti with a morning and afternoon game drive.  We have really seen so much already, I can't image what we will see next.  I must say, however, that the Serengeti is beautiful whether there are animals or not.  Forecast calls for clouds.  This is good since it is going to be in the 90's.  Time for bed - very, very tired.

Next time.. The Serengeti

Valentine's Day

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Before I begin today's recap, I'm going to add a few things that I had left out either because I didn't remember or I was just too tired. The first, going all the way back to Aberdare.  For fans of the Crown, the Aberdare Country Club was one of Queen Elizabeth's favorite spots both as a princess and a queen. The other point of interest I forgot to mention, for you movie buffs,  was that Lake Nakuru National Park was the filming location of much of film Out of Africa.

Ok getting back to today. Slept great last night which was good.  Today was a very long drive. We left at 7am. Spotting the usual suspects as we drove around the reserve.  The Masai Mara is much greener than our previous Kenyan locations.   The panoramas are wonderful and the dust is kept to a minimum because of the vegetation.  

Came upon a pride of lions taking their afternoon nap. Lions sleep approximately 16 hours a day.  From the lions it was off to the hippos and crockodiles. We made a pit stop at the park's airport.  The Masai were there selling their wares but I have to say they did not attack. I was looking to buy one of the colorful Masai blankets but Juma had already bought one for us while we were there.

It was on to the Mara River.  Took a short guided walk around the river and watched the big beasts wade about. Before lunch,  Juma took us down to the border of Tanzania and Kenya.  Next, we looked for an unoccupied tree to have lunch.  After our picnic, we had started back along the river and over some rough terrain when Juma made a u-turn and high tail it  back.  Turns out the word was out about a two male lions sighting.  Somewhere along the way, we were entertained by a couple of "two-story" mongoose!

Back at the shack by around 4pm and were greeted with a lovely Valentine's message.  Thank you
Alex.  Got to the bar just before the night's outdoor bbq.  Dinner was at the pool with a Masai show which we all participated in --what a hoot!.  We enjoyed our Valentine's cake and wine. After dinner, I noticed the chef was starting to dance,  That was my cue. I was up and dancing and then everyone was joining in.  A good time was had by all! A Valentine's night we will remember for a long time to come,

Back at our tent. Have to say good night now. 

Next time... The Serengeti