Week 10- Lions of the Serengeti

We explore the town of Karatu for a day, but we mostly anticipate the arrival of the Casey family- Nellie, Chris, Brenna, and Erin are heading into Tanzania for a week from their Embassy home in Madagascar.  Together the Bondis and Caseys share and compare stories of Methow and Madagasi life and times, play games and explore town, and venture out on a 3 day Serengeti safari, which is unforgettable from the start. 

Serengeti National Park is world renowned for its abundance of wildlife and its fabulous migrations across the borders with Kenya.  We now see why! From just at the park entrance, an entourage of fantastic wildlife viewing opens in front of us. A jackal family emerges from a den-site; several cheetahs give us sneak peaks of life on the grasslands; lanky secretary birds strut across the endless plains; and thousands of zebras speckle the land. Interestingly, we learn that the zebras follow the wildebeest herds because the wildebeest have an internal compass to find water (and even sense rain), hence their famous migration patterns. However the wildebeest have terrible eyesight, and use the zebras keen sense of eyesight as protection from predators. 

4 ft tall secretary bird!

zebras everywhere, however the wildebeest for the most part had moved on...

This beneficial relationship did not help today however, as we spotted an alert female lion attentively watching a large herd of zebras and wildebeest getting water down an embankment of the Seronera River. There were at least 10 safari rigs parked and watching at a very close distance, so we were amazed when the lioness suddenly crouched and started to stalk towards the ridge where her prey accessed the water. Within a minute or so, she leapt out of view into the shallow waters and all we could see was gray, white and black stripes scattering, and then hoofs in the air with the lion’s head emerging. Her jaws were sunk into the neck of a young wildebeest. We were awestruck by her speed, agility, and success! We couldn’t help but watch from our peek-a-boo view as the lioness pulled the wildebeest out of the gully to a more protected site where she could feed without interruption from the hyenas, vultures and overhead maribou storks. 

Upon arrival at dusk at our lodge, we were all so jazzed we decided on an early morning safari to

keep the momentum in our favor. Six AM start-time, with breakfast boxes packed to-go. And we were rewarded! In the same vicinity where our lioness had taken the wildebeest was a lion pride who had taken down a Cape buffalo the same evening.  Most of the pride was finished feeding for the morning as we arrived, but we realized some of the lions were still coming off the carcass which was surrounded by 8 or so safari vehicles. All this (including the carcass) was in the middle of the road! Of course, we were all feeling guilty about the disturbance, and repulsed by the way all the cars surrounded the lions at such close distance. We thought to hang back a bit, but within a short time, the lions came to the side of our vehicle to laze in its shade. Amelia’s photographic ambitions were going to pay off here, especially because she was only within a meter (!) of a male lion’s face.  So beautiful, but daunting; keep

those arms and cameras inside! We watched the cubs tumble over each other, mewing as they rubbed against mamas head, and swishing tails to flick the flies covering their backs. We even had to keep moving the vehicle so they didn’t climb under the vehicle.

We finally left the site only to encounter a majestic pair of lions (whom we saw the day before as well). Both days they simply told their story- its mating season and they openly displayed their affection towards one another. Another awe-inspiring level of connection to these animals while sharing experiences with a dozen other vehicles in our midst; it seems the animals have habituated to the presence of humans in this area.  Lots of curious banter from the kids in our group as drove through more Serengeti bush country, then back to the lodge for an afternoon by the swimming pool and a serious safari buffet dinner.

Ngorogoro Conservation Area is our next destination, as we head back the direction of our accommodations in Karatu.  We’ve all heard about Ngorogoro Crater, but not much about the surrounding 16,000 sq miles of the Conservation Area, government set aside land for the Masaai people.   It’s a similar story to our Native Americans history of an indigenous tribe having their land confiscated, and reserve areas designated as a place for them to live. Many of the Masaai still practice their traditional pastoral lifestyle raising herd animals, living in thorn-protected bomas, and wearing their traditional clothing and jewelry.  Their past tradition of hunting lions to progress to manhood is not allowed by the Tanzanian government, and the national parks are working on ways to collaborate with Masaai to help protect wildlife in an ever increasing controversy on wildlife poaching and habitat destruction (over grazing and desertification).

Masaai in front of their boma surrounded by thorn fencing (left)

Our ultimate celebration of time together with the Casey family was Thanksgiving Day back at Oldeani Lodge in Karatu.  Local foods like mashed potatoes, carrots, potato leek soup, bread stuffing, and home-made from scratch pumpkin pie reminded us of home in the USA, but the roast chicken and lack of cranberries pinched us awake to our Tanzanian reality.  We could have been on Mars, but sharing time together soothed all our souls and deepened our friendship.

matching elephant pants

The Caseys flew home from Kilimanjaro airport while our family settled in for a few days in Arusha with friends we have met through Teresa Castner and Bill Pope, Allan and Ester and their 5yr old son Billy. In Arusha, we partook in a bit of shopping, eating big city good food, fishing and walking around a city park lake. We scratched our head and giggled as we gathered with the Dutch who make Tanzania their home to celebrate Cinter Claus; who could have guessed?!

Here we sit reflecting on our good fortunes and preparing for our last couple of weeks in Tanzania. Zanzibar, here we come!

Week 9- Safari Country

Leaving Kigoma was a true experience, similar but different than our last travel by train across the country. As we boarded our train, we quickly realized the dilapidated state of the cars- most did not have windows, the grime factor was very high, and the maintenance and upkeep went to the engines and the guts of the train, but not the cars themselves. Emmet’s comment as we inspected our berth was, “this is horrifying” which is almost a polite way to describe the weathered and torn seats that folded into our sleeping beds and the

plywood-replaced window. We perked up, however, when the attendant delivered fresh and clean sheets, friendly security folks came to check on us and the other passengers, and we befriended a beautiful family with a bright eyed cutest little baby in the berth next door. The rest ride was uneventful, and can even be described as pleasant after we settled in.

We’ve made it to the northern portion of Tanzania after our 24 hour funky train, a couple of guesthouse stays, and buses and bjegis (3 wheeled vehicles) transporting us through the rural central portion of the country. Here, the weather is cooler than what we’ve experiences thus far, Massai people in their sukas and jewelried adornments speckle the landscape, and the distances seem endless against the volcanic caldera of the Great Rift Valley. 

dik dik wandering the lodge grounds

We are starting the safari portion of our travels through the more protected and world-wide revered portion of Tanzania, starting with 2 days in Tarangire National Park and our first in-park lodging accommodations. This proved to be an exceptional safari that we can’t say enough about- the undulating terrain kept us alert for animals and scenery, and the vastness of the park was incredible. The further we drove, the more expansive the viewshed. Then, we soaked in the ambiance of our in-park safari lodge with sundowners (drinks and snacks) on the veranda positioned on the edge of the escarpment, with views overlooking wildlife going about their business below. Sunset, good food, dik-diks wandering by (worlds smallest ungulate), and amazing bird-life. 

finding water whereever they can

yellow-throated spurfowl

 Onto Manyara National Park, which we had been awaiting mainly because of Emmet’s fascination for the fabled “tree climbing” lions. He was finally going to see them! As we entered the park, we discovered the dense forest and the shrub cover are ideal for hiding animals. But what we did find exceptional about this park (and what should be advertised in our minds) was the bird life of the saline lake shore. Spoonbills, pink-backed pelicans, flamingos, saddle-billed storks, sacred ibis, and of course the general African wildlife that congregate along on the water’s edge. But no lions in trees today. Our tented camp in Manyara was at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment- 1500 vertical feet of geologic wonder. Hundreds of baboons sunbathed on the rocks then retired for the night right next to camp as we ate dinner on a dry riverbed. We settled into the simple yet stylish tents for the night, listening to the sounds of elephants, leopards and baboons howling all night long!  Funny how each of these safari lodges are so different- all have an elegance and luxury to them, yet their styles vary dramatically.  We feel lucky to try several of them to see the differences.

Pink-backed pelicans and flamingos in Lake Manyara

Just near to Lake Manyara is Karatu, the closest town to the Ngorogoro Conservation Area. We are heading there to meet up with the Casey family in a couple of days.   

Week 8- Safaris of western Tanzania

Hi friends! 

We left off at Katavi National Park.  Here is Emmet’s account of his birthday safari:

“I woke up on my birthday to the sound of the hippos. They take a mud bath in the almost dry river only 100 meters from our guesthouse. When we got to the Katavi Park Headquarters there were elephants just out of the fence eating the leaves of the trees. When we actually got into the park the first animal we saw was a reed buck and then a giraffe. Our driver’s name was Juma and we were with two German men named Aaron and Timo. Juma was a very experienced guide. He helped us find the three leopards we saw. The first ones we saw there was a mom and one cub with their impala carcass in the tree with them. The mom was taking a nap while the cub was munching away. The next leopard was taking a nap too. He had his impala carcass in his tree too! Then we went to the hippo pool and there were hundreds of hippos. One of them had cracks in its back and the oxpecker birds were peck peck pecking out the bugs. When we left, we went to see crocodiles and we had to nudge one of the crocs tails to get our safari car through! 

At lunch, we had an amazing birthday cake with a firework-sparkler as a candle.  Everybody sang happy birthday in German, English, and Spanish, too! Juma said there was no Kiswahili version of Happy Birthday. But we still had not seen a lion today. Then we went into the forest to find some big cats and when we came out, there in a bush there were five hyenas!!! We set off into the forest again - we only saw a herd of topi and a herd of beautiful Roan antelope. Then when we came out of the forest Juma yelled out “lion!” we were all like “where where”?! And we looked over the roof and ten feet away from us there was a huge female lion. 

There was ten vervet monkeys in the tree and three of them were babies! When we went back to the hippo pool there were zebra, impala, topi, hippos, elephants and giraffe. Three baby elephants were shooing the adults away from the water holes, by using their trunks and making loud noises.The elephants they dug these big holes in the ground to get water. Then they would use their trunks to get water, and they came up with their trunks in their mouths drinking water. They tried to shoo us away by waving their ears and trunks and swinging their heads”.

Katavi was a highlight, but now we are heading on to the fishing town of Kigoma, in the green and mountainous area on the north end of Lake Tanganyika. We hear good recommendations for Jacobsens beach and guesthouse located just outside of town. We arrive there in the dark, and are escorted to our rented tent a quarter-mile down the path through the dark forest.We wake in the morning to find a forest of vervet monkeys and a herd of zebras surrounding us, and the beach only a stones throw away. Right away we recognize the need to be very careful, because the monkeys find anything you leave out, such as our bug spray and shampoo which they toss down the hill after realizing they are not tasty treats. They also open our toiletry bag in a blink of an eye and eat our last two cough drops, which is quite humorous to watch. The vervet sat in the tree delicately licking the cough drop like a piece of candy, and growling at its mate as she approaches for a view.

One of the main reasons for Kigoma’s small tourist crowd is the proximity to Gombe Stream National Park. This is the famous forest reserve were Jane Goodall conducted her research on chimpanzees, and we are reading her book My Life with the Chimpanzees outloud as a family while here in the area.  Well, Kim’s been dreaming of visiting chimps on Jane Goodalls turf for many many years, so we make a push to visit the park for a day trek. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, children under 16 are not allowed to visit the habituated chimps, so Steve and the kids stay behind snorkeling on the beach and watching baboons for the afternoon.  I head up the mountain with my guide Idie. He

is very knowledgeable and has been working with the chimps and local researchers for 8 years now in Gombe Stream NP. We head up the steep grade towards the area where the chimps were sleeping last night, but do not find them. Therefore we keep our search up for almost 3 hours, up and down steep terrain, across valleys, and finally, we hear their foraging calls to one another as well as the Tanzanian researchers studying the F-family group of chimps. We eventually catch up to them after a 5km adventure - my face is beat red and I am sweating profusely from the humidity, but I can’t believe how exciting it is to be sitting next to chimpanzees while they carry on their daily lives. 

We have to stay at least 10 meters away from the chimps and move off of their path if they come your direction, but this is generally the only rule to abide by. There are about 25 in the community today- they are foraging while on the move for the late part of the morning.  A good number of them are young ones of varying ages, which you can tell by the white tuft still on their tails. A few older females standout, and then the gang of male chimps and the alphaare also very prominent.  The youngsters are as sweet as could be as they mimic their elders, jump and frolick with the siblings and cousins, and make the silliest faces. The adults forage on a few different fruits, fern fronds, a specific leaf of a tree and insects. They are continually grooming and playing with the youngsters too. All their actions, movements and facial expressions are so human-like, it is incredible to witness!  I get to spend just over an hour with the chimps, then we head back down the mountain to Park Headquarters.  The 2-hour evening boat ride back to Kigoma is full of stories and sharing photos with the family.

 

More in the coming weeks, as we are heading to the northern plains of the Serengeti. We are prepared for a more ‘tourist’ atmosphere when we get there, but are still relishing the remoteness of our travels thus far.  

We’ll be in touch next week!
XO Kim, Steve, Amelia and Emmet