Thursday, December 26, 2019

Tanzania pt.2/5 SAFARI

Get comfortable in your seat because this is gonna be ridiculously long post! 

The Tarangire landscape is distinctive dry scrub lush rivers and baobab trees
When planning the trip of a lifetime to Tanzania, of course the most important thing was to get a world-class safari organized. Serengeti promised crippling views and high numbers of large carnivores, but almost zero chance of Wild Dog. Selous Game Reserve was also on the table with relatively high chance of Wild Dogs, but much fewer large carnivore sightings and the animals are more shy. Of course the group overwhelmingly voted for Serengeti. It was insanely expensive but I can honestly say it blew away everybody's expectations - it quite simply could be the world's best safari place. Every day was like being in a National Geographic documentary.

Through my internet contact Per Holmen we were able to secure the services of Kelvin Mlay and 'Natural Life Experience' who supplied us with a top notch driver, cook and land cruiser to rock the Serengeti. John was actually not our first choice of guides; I had taken too long sending Kevin his deposit wo we didn't know who we were getting until the last minute. I was nervous we might get somebody who isn't enough of a bird specialist but John ended up being perfectly capable of taking us to the right sites for the special birds - we basically missed only one target (Grey-crested Helmet-shrike) which, from what I've read, is NO guarantee on any birding safari. We totally slayed it in the big cats department. John was a jovial guide who was very accommodating to our priorities, could really make the landcruiser move when needed and could crack a good joke.

I planned two days in Tarangire as a warm-up for Serengeti which made sense because its closer, has different habitat, and has much cheaper fees. I opted to skip Manyara because ecologically it's quite similar to Tarangire and didn't see the need see tree-climbing lions which are its claim to fame. The trip was a fast-paced whirlwind of adventure so I didn't even have the energy to keep a journal, so I will share sporadic memories with no specific timeline.

My wish to get an early morning start was not fulfilled because we needed to stop for supplies (which I though could have been done the day before) but from experience it seems that with any guided safari the first morning is always a write-off no matter which company you're with. We rolled through the park gates around mid-day and were brimming with excitement. .

Tarangire: birds, birds and more birds...

Most people who visit Tarangire are drawn by its big game, but the bird life that abounds is more than enough to turn the heads of even the most narrow-minded tourists. Dry scrub specials mingle amongst the shrubs, baobabs and acacias, feasting on seasonal fruits or termite irruptions.

The first bird tourists usually see is the Superb Starling
Lilac-breasted Roller

Orange-bellied Parrot

Ashy Starling
African Hoopoe

Red-and-Yellow Barbets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsExPt_pSIk
Red and Yellow Barbets
Hildebrandt's Francolin

The very cute Two-banded Courser
Black-faced Sandgrouse
Namaqua Dove - very far from Namaqua! 
It didn't take long to rack up lifers with Ashy Starling, Rufous-tailed Weaver, Hildebrandt's Francolin and Two-banded Courser added to the list. Thousands of elephants travel from all directions to concentrate along the Tarangire River and it was extremely easy to see them. I reckon we counted over a hundred in a day. Chris and Nicole were really enjoying all the game animals known to them from documentaries on TV during childhood. Back at camp we enjoyed an amazing meal prepared by our hired cook named Hoffman. As the sun set behind the great Baobabs, new creatures emerged from hiding.

Nocturnal Visitors

Our bush camping experience was proving more wild than expected. We were advised not to wander outside the edge of camp (and for good reason). Leopards, hyeenas and lions could lurk at any time. John told us a chilling tale of a leopard who had plucked a 7-year-old boy from a luxury lodge in the park in 2005. But the calls of African Scops Owls lured us toward a Baobab just outside of camp. It is difficult to motivate people to seek out owls. On previous trips, Dominic had passed up European Scops Owls and Tawny Owl in favour of sleep, and Ramata did the same in Sri Lanka, missing Brown Hawk Owls and Sri Lanka Bay Owl on our last trip. Nicole was the only one brave (or stupid?) enough to venture to the edge of camp with me, where we were rewarded with nocturnal views of two Scops Owls in the Baobab. Then we heard some rustling in the bush not far from our position, which my headlamp revealed to be a very large Elephant! We gathered the others for this unusual nocturnal visitor at the edge of camp, but to him, we were the visitors.

The Morning Drink

Sunrise and the hopes and dreams that come with it (of birding glory)



One of our mornings in Tarangire started with an experience so magical that it brought participants to tears: a visit to a prominent watering hole to witness the morning drink. After sunrise, three species of sandgrouse and several doves flew in one small group at a time until hundreds had their fill. Chestnut-bellied, Black-faced and Yellow-bellied Sandgrouse were among their ranks, along with Laughing, Red-eyed and Mourning Doves. Their drinking space would soon be invaded by zebras, then rambunctious wildebeest and elands. Each animal had to move over for a larger one (even the bullies get bullied!) until everybody had to clear out for the elephants arrived. Led by the matriarch, they playfully claimed the entire watering hole as their own, sending the meek sandgrouse scattering to avoid being trampled. They greeted one another with trumpeting and playful swings of the trunk, splashing about so close to our vehicle we could almost reach out and touch them. Nicole sprang a tear from her eye. This in turn triggered one from my own eye I must admit, so powerful was the moment. The family group consisted of adult females and their young, adult males being relegated to small bands who came to drink later. In the second video, we can see two young males playing with their oversized 'fifth leg'.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnbV1rnip_c


 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp0NpBLvO4A

The Rise of Mammals

Of course birds alone would not be enough to fulfil our appetites and the reason you pay big bucks is to see the carnivores! Tarangire certainly wetted our appetites for the days to come: we had distant but agreeable views of Leopard, Lions, and my favourite: Bat-eared Foxes. But among our group as a whole it is safe to say that the elephants were the highlight, with countless breathtaking encounters of solitary males and large family groups passing close to our vehicle. The giraffes too were very entertaining as we watch them play host to flocks of Red-billed Oxpeckers and got to see one go for drink.




A leopard snoozes in a 'sausage tree'

Off for the evening hunt, never to be seen again

Bat-eared Foxes!!!

Our first lion encounter - not a great view but only the begining

An old male
Video showing the male blowing air into the sand to access the underground stream. It must be muddy water though!

The lush riverbeds were hotspots for elephants of all ages

A family group led by a large female, checking the air for scents

Breathtaking encounter! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogowznsq5d8
Young males deploying the 'fifth leg'

Impala
Wildebeest
Common Zebra



Birds of Prey

If the vast hordes of basic tourists fail to appreciate the subtle beauty and endemism of Ashy Starlings or the identification of Cisticolas by song, then most of them surely cannot ignore the epic birds of prey that lurk the grasslands of Tarangire. Among them, the legendary Secretary Bird who, protected by long, scaly legs, hunts snakes on the ground. Perhaps the lay tourist would notice the Batteleur, a strikingly handsome eagle with an unusually tiny tail. But no bird could be more underappreciated than the Pearl-spotted Owlet, an active little killing machine that gets songbirds into a frenzy whenever it is in the area. Nubian Woodpecker, African Hoopoe and Abyssinian Scimitarbill were among the participants. I can't say how many times we were engaged in a "owlet party" when other vehicles passed us by in favour of more furry targets. "If it wasn't shot by colonial hunters, we're not interested" is the general rule among these simple travelers.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G8vqTlx_Eo
Pearl-spotted Owlet and Nubian Woodpecker
Little Sparrowhawk
Pygmy Falcons post-coitus

Day 3: Gates of the Serengeti!!!

From Tarangire we proceeded to Serengeti along a spectacular winding road over the Ngorongoro caldera, spotting a soaring African Crowned Eagle along the way. Everybody stops at the Ngorongoro viewpoint for pictures but what we did not expect was extremely distant scope views of Black Rhinoceros all the way down in the crater!

The Ngorongoro Crater viewed from the mountain pass

Snapping a pic of the Black Rhinoceros some km's away!

John expertly maneuvered the landcruiser as best he could along the washboard and pothole-ridden road that the park service refuses to maintain - to the detriment of tour operators who need to constantly repair their vehicles which take an absolute beating. Perhaps the park administrators are investors in the car repair business? If they were, they would make a killing.



The Serengeti gates are located in a vast dry plain with no landmarks - a primitive and desolate landscape. Yet out of nowhere popped 3 Masai children, eagre to get their photo taken with my dad who had already gone "full mzungu." They got a few coins off him and were on their way, wandering off into the distance until they became specks.

Dad gone "full mzungu"


Capped Wheatear - a 'welcome lifer'
 After some goofing around, we reset our priorities to the most important one: birding. The first lifer of the Serengeti was right at the gate: a Capped Wheatear. Just down the road, we were stopped in our tracks by breathtaking Greater Kestrel, a bird I've been wanting to see badly for years. It was hunting birds acrobatically in front of a dramatic backdrop of stormy clouds before taking a precarious perch on a thorny acacia.


Greater Kestrel

Just down the road, Nicole initiated what would be a continuing competition for the coming days: who could spot the most cats. She claimed the first point: a Serval hunting in the late morning sun. What an epic start to our Serengeti adventure!

Serval in full hunt mode
Its hard to do justice to the abundance and variety of birds in the Serengeti. Just walking over to my tent I looked up into small tree and found myself at eye-level with a Pearl-spotted Owlet mere feed away. 
Pearl-spotted Owlet

Day 4: Birding the Grasslands and More Cats!

I expected Tarangire to provide the best birding but I would say the Serengeti was solidly better. A safari tip: instruct the cook to prepare a minimal breakfast so that you can hit the game tracks at the exact minute the park is open. The Serengeti game driving is highly regulated and you aren't allowed to drive before sunrise or after sunset, so every minute of morning light is critical to success.

Our request to forego of egg and sausage breakfast for 5 days allowed us to be among the first vehicles in the park and produced a breathtaking sighting on the first dawn drive: another Serval glowing in morning light.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUF88jy-8HQ&feature=youtu.be

The rest of the morning was an absolute lifer-fest. Nicole who had never been to the continent it was an absolute bonanza of non-stop lifers. Here are a few general bird highlights:

White-headed Vulture (my last East African Vulture!)
Gray-breasted Spurfowl - endemic to the Serengeti

Coqui Francolin







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TimK7U0jMQ&feature=youtu.be
 
Painted Snipe (at last!!!)


Yellow-throated Sandgrouse
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse

White-bellied Bustard
Time to turn our attention towards birds. The Serengeti and adjacent areas has several endemic species and others that are difficult to secure anywhere else in East Africa. Our main targets were:

1. Karamoja Apalis
2. Schallow's Turaco
3. Gray-breasted Suprfowl
4. Gray-crested Helmet-shrike
5. Rock-loving Cisticola
6. Red-throated Tit

For our guide John, securing all of these specials as well as big cats and satisfying everybody was a formidable task and I have to say he did an outstanding job. Unfortunately nobody I talked to knew a site for Rock-loving Cisticola so that one was pretty much off the table.

For the Karamoja Apalis, John knew the site well. It was a particular part of the park with these distinctive 'whistling acacias' which were short and scraggly with huge thorns. Immediately upon entering the habitat we had a response to playing their call only once. A pair of them got agitated.



Celebrating our victory, we probed little tracks that penetrated into a strip of riparian habitat for the elusive Schallow's Turaco which proved more difficult. John told us to look into the low bushes but did not say what it was (as per my request). It was a juvenile leopard! How he spotted it in the thick bushes I have no idea. We proceeded to some new areas where a group was doing some bush camping. I could not believe they would camp in the thick bush of the riparian area, which must be thick with dangerous animals. Fortunately some of us were able to use their thunderbox for a much needed pit-stop, and during the wait we detected the call of the Schallow's, "Raaawwk raaawk rawk rawk rawk…" Eventually one responded to our tape and perched in open view for us to see its massive crest.


The Hippo Pool

Returning from our epic bird quest, we came upon a most disgusting cesspool. A shrunken river was jam packed with hippos, who had taken to merging their living quarters and toilet as one forsaken entity. The fell beasts wallowed in their septic slough of feces, recycling their own sewage as drink, emanating a foul stank that nauseated the observer. A little baby hippo was raised in a cradle of floating paddies. Every couple of minutes, a rogue hippo would blast an mini explosion of feces by means of a pinwheeling of the tail, splaying it in all directions upon his companions with a motorboat-like noise. "I'm glad I'm not an animal" said John. True words.



Over by the riverbank, we came upon a limping male lion, who led us to the rest of the pride, content to lounging about in less than ideal light. They became especially lazy and sessile when it started to rain. There would be many more opportunities - I reckon we saw between 40 and 60 lions during our Serengeti visit.

 
 
Lions look miserable when its raining
Immature Martial Eagle
Back at camp, we found that our tent had fallen victim to the massive rainstorm earlier in the day. Unfortunately I had put it up in a very slight depression but since the ground is quite compact, a great deal of water was pooling under the tent and so our tent floor had about an inch of water and it continued raining heavily into the night with no sign of stopping. John and Hoffman insisted we sleep in their tent while they take the comfort of the car seats, but we would not allow this madness to pass. It then occurred to us that my dad had rented a massive canvas safari tent so he shared it with me and Ramata. It was a very interesting sleeping arrangement since my dad and girlfriend has just met for the first time during this trip and now we were sharing a tent together! 

Day 5: a Day of Mixed Success

Lappet-faced Vulture
Bateleur

Usambiro Barbets

Striped Mongoose
Olive Baboon
 
 
Fischer's Lovebirds
Brown Parrots
John got word of a leopard further down the same riverbank so we headed tried our luck. After some patience a male leopard appeared out of a bush and walked through the grasslands before marking his territory and springing up a massive tree. A thrilling start to the day!

Male Leopard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WiMWNhd2h8&feature=youtu.be
Marking the territory
In the late morning, we tried our luck for the Gray-crested Helmet Shrike and White-tailed Lark. To be honest I didn't even know these were Serengeti specials until the trip was already underway, having seen their restricted ranges and read about them on blogs mid-trip. John knew of one place where the helmet shrike could be seen but wasn't that confident we'd get it. It was on the tracks in the hills surrounding Sopa Lodge. This was the only unsuccessful part of our safari, the main reason being I hadn't done proper research and I hadn't emphasized properly to John the priority of seeing these two targets. Secondly, the site was quite a far drive from our camp meaning that we only had one shot. The Red-throated Tit was secured fairly easily, but a fleeting glimpse of a lark with white outer tail feathers turned out to be a regret on my part for not getting John to stop. I had no idea at the time but that was the only spot for the White-tailed Lark (I read about it later on a blog). If I had known at the time I would have told John to stop but I thought it was just another lark and that we'd see more. We used quite a bit of playback for the Helmet-shrike but could never find them. I didn't know the habitat and all we were going on was a spot where John has seen it once in his life. But we couldn't linger there forever, so we carried on to look for more mammals since I seemed to be the only one who cared about the Helmet-shrike and the others were beginning to get bored. I will have to try for it in Kenya some day! 

The Red-throated Tit: at last within my grasp
The area around Sopa Lodge was interesting in itself though; we came across some elephants peeling apart some huge yellow-barked trees and some hippos playing host to oxpeckers, who were pecking more than just ticks from on hippo. One of them was continuing to peck at an open wound, the bloodthirsty little bugger.

Waterbuck

Having given up on Helmet-shrikes, we found a site that everybody could enjoy: a pair of lions mating! Definitely a major trip highlight for the entire group and something I've always wanted to see! 
Mfalme claiming what is his
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-qVPnkNPRg&feature=youtu.be
Back on the riverside track John claimed another point in the cat-spotting department (thus dominating us) - a dangling leg betrayed the presence of a sleeping leopard in the crotch of a tree. How come none of us spotted it?

 

From there we drove out the kopjes to look for a different lion family lounging among the rocks in a kopje, sharing real estate with Rock Hyraxes and Agama lizards! Despite the abundance of nearby prey this family of lions was extremely lazy with the sunset approaching we made our way back to camp.



Thompson's Gazelles

Martial Eagle

Steenbok: one of the less famous antelope and a new one for me
Another gorgeous Yellow-throated Sandgrouse
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
 After nice views of Martial Eagle, Steenbok, Black-bellied and Kori Bustard and stunning views of sandgrouse, we went back to the kopje to check on the lions and at last saw some movement from the big male at last.

Back at camp, Ramata and I had a little impromptu "night walk" which started when we saw two Hyenas casually stroll right in between the tents (about 2 meters away from ours) on their way to the kitchen. That was quite unsettling! While observing them, we saw a couple of Oribi Antelope and a Common Genet at the edge of camp which was pretty exciting.

Day 6: Cat Extravaganza


The fourth morning was focused on cats, since getting a cheetah for the group was at this time the highest priority. It turned out to be by far the most epic day for predators I've ever experienced, sighting three species. We visited the same family of lions as the previous day, lounging around a kopje, an island of ancient rocks jutting out from the surrounding plains. These are gold mines for big cats. The female and cubs did not care about the abundance of land cruisers clustered around them, weaving in between cars and even scratching herself on the back end of one of the vehicles!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrIgEgk9v8E&feature=youtu.be











At a nearby kopje, John had a very special surprise for us: a female Leopard with a young one lounging on the open rocks. The little rascal playfully scrambled up and down the rocks causing all the bazookas to fire rapidly. This was hands down the highlight of our entire safari and overall I felt very good that John didn't let us get too distracted by birds so that we didn't miss this once in a lifetime sighting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS2fcBT6QJ8&feature=youtu.be

To find a cheetah, the guides usually listen to the radio channel to poach another guide's sighting. Since there had not been any sightings that day, we broke off from the hordes of vehicles to seek one out by the power of our own steam. I was tempted to check this one rock kopje but instead checked a setting on my camera. I instantly regretted it because John of course checked it himself and saw two Cheetahs sitting on top. We drove over and had amazing views in perfect light of the two brothers marking their territory before wandering across the open plain in search of lunch. We drove in a roundabout direction to try to intercept them along another road. Guides don't use maps out here - except the one they have memorized in their head. It's amazing cause there were zero landmarks and yet John knew exactly where he could drive to intercept the cheetahs, even though it was about half a km away. They walked right in front of our car. By that time John had put out the call and about 5 other vehicles had arrived on the scene, in time for the hunt.




The two cheetahs stalked a herd of gazelles but in the end it was a half-hearted effort and they failed. Probably just as well for them because a freeloading Hyena was trailing them and probably would have stolen their kill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYfNaLoXZmg&feature=youtu.be
I filmed the attempt

A free-loading Hyena goes hungry this day

Later we found a female with three cubs (about half a km away), and it was at last me who spotted a battle-scarred male Cheetah with only one eye. He too attempted to catch a gazelle but failed.

The morning concluded with some shenanigans. A male lion with a wounded paw attracted several vehicles, among them a very serious old dude with fancy safari clothes, his personal guide just for him and his big bazooka. He looked very unimpressed and irritated with we all started to break wind and laughing, spoiling his serene natural moment entirely. When I demonstrated a special abdominal massage I had learnt which helps evacuate trapped wind, all hell broke loose and we laughed uncontrollably, causing visible irritation on the part of the gentleman. The whole incident earned Chris the nickname 'Kiboko' (hippo).

This male lion looked pretty badly wounded
The legendary Puff Adder
The epic sightings didn't stop. A Puff Adder slithered across the road, then we found a distant female Cheetah with two young resting on the horizon.


On the way back to camp, it was finally my time to shine when I spotted a lone Cheetah really close to camp. This guy had only one eye and made a lackluster attempt at hunting some gazelles, to our disappointment. Back at camp we admired some Dwarf Mongoose at a termite mound.



Dwarf Mongoose


Day 7: The Morning Feast

Our last morning would be only a half-day because we needed to drive to Ngorongoro Crater Rim later that. We got up before dawn to pre-pack our things to maximize our game driving time.

Our last morning could have been used to re-attempt the Helmet-shrike and White-tailed Lark, but instead John had other plans and convinced us that we might get different leopard and lion encounters - a decision we did not regret! We got to see the female Leopard carrying the front end of a gazelle while the baby had ripped off a leg for himself and was chewing on it. The mum sprang up and down the rocks with amazing strength. We had to leave them so that we could have a quick lunch before scooting off to Ngorongoro.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVjxi-h4m6A&feature=youtu.be
Day 8: Ngorongoro Crater

That evening we relaxed a bit in Simba Camp at a cool 2,320m above sea level. A lot of people were jogging around a track that rimmed the camp so I decided to do some intervals myself. When I heard some Montane Nightjars I decided to go out for a little night walk, careful not to invade the personal space of the many Cape Buffalo that roamed the open field. Then an African Wildcat moved across the field in short spurts. This was the 5th cat species of our safari! 

African Wildcat
 

We started driving before the break of dawn. Unfortunately the Ngorongoro 24h permit kicked in the day before when we drove into camp, so we actually had only a half-day in the crater. We got straight to work probing the edge of the forest in the hopes of intercepting a Black Rhino on its daily commute into the plains. All we found was more elephants so we returned to the plains where perhaps our fortunes would change. The clock was ticking and the frigid, overcast and windy weather was not helping the situation. 



Gray-crowned Cranes
Superb Starlings, Hildebrandt's Starling, White-headed Buffalo Weaver and Lilac-breasted Roller!
Fortunately it didn't take too long to get a radio call about two Black Rhinos browsing amongst some shrubbery. This would be the best view we'd get of this highly endangered species.

Black Rhino

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4MxDoOjHqM&feature=youtu.be
 
Pectoral Patch Cisticolas
Kori Bustard
With the clock ticking on our short Ngorongoro tour, about 40 land cruisers (a new record) betrayed the presence of a female Black Rhino with her calf. We waited a long time for them to get up and do something but alas it became time for us to take our leave lest the park authorities bust us for overstaying our welcome. It was a bit of an anticlimactic ending to our otherwise epic safari, considering Ngorongoro is the most legendary safari spot in the entire world and most of the animals we saw were sleeping or hiding. But we all agreed we were glad to have entered the famous Ngorongoro Crater. 

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