Southern Tanzania & Zanzibar Trip Report for February 2009

PART 1: STONE TOWN, ZANZIBAR ISLAND

It is a very long way from Houston to Dar Es Salaam in southern Tanzania. Getting there entailed two long back to back flights from IAH/Houston Intercontinental to AMS/Amsterdam, then AMS to JRO/Kilimanjaro, followed by a final hop of about 45 minutes to Dar, as Dar Es Salaam is commonly referred to. The first leg was pleasant enough with a good cabin crew making up for the extremely limited legroom in the Boeing 747 Combi. Candy and cookies in the galley between meals helped to relieve the unbelievable tedium of spending so much time in so little space. Our dogs have more room in their crates.

The second leg was on a relatively much roomier Boeing 777 but by then we were starting to get very fatigued. When we finally arrived in Dar, it was already 1145P. And a day later. And we still had to get visas.Should have done this before we left the USA! So we completed a visa application form, and handed over a C-note each for the privilege of entering Tanzania.The official scrutinized the bills and handed them back to me. Only ‘new’ US money is acceptable – my ‘vintage’ $100 bills
(printed in 1996) were no good.They could buy you a nice dinner for two in the USA, but not even a loaf of bread, never mind a visa, in Tanzania… Thinking but not verbalizing a few choice expletives, I handed over some crisp new 20’s instead.Much scrutiny of the ‘born by’ dates later, the currency was given the thumbs up. Swell. Then followed a 20 minute wait while four other officials seemed to be taking turns handing off our passports to each other for additional scrutiny. Eventually we were off to the Kempinski Kilimanjaro Hotel in lovely downtown Dar. Even at night we could tell the place was a dump. The hotel was first class though. We were in a zombie-like state by then, but we did enjoy the huge big bath with scalding hot water. Otherwise the room was so-so. The highlight of our short overnight stay was watching the end of the last one-day cricket match between South Africa and Australia. The South African Proteas humiliated Australia by a 4 to 1 margin in the 1-day series having already clinched the test series.

Breakfast at the Kempinski was amazing. The array of fresh fruit was stunning, including excellent papaya, honeydew, bananas, apples, mango, watermelon, pineapple and granadilla (aka passion fruit). There were several types of bread, a dozen varieties of jams and preserves, sweet cakes, pastries, croissants, apple fritters etc. I was very happy with the choice of cereals with soy milk. For
those people wanting a ‘real’ breakfast, you could have eggs to order, three types of sausage (beef, chicken and pork), fish cakes, roasted vegetables, bacon, beans, and Belgian waffles.Not enough for you? Well then try the yoghurt, wild honey, dried fruit, three kinds of smoothies, cured ham, beef stew, or the large variety of cold meats and cheeses.

It is a short 25 minute flight on a Caravan from Dar to Zanzibar Island. At the tiny and rather dismal airport our guide Fauz picked us up and drove us to the Zanzibar Serena Inn where we would spend the next two nights. It was an excellent choice: a well-run property right on the beach with great views over the placid, clear water of the Indian Ocean. We ended up in one of the best rooms in the place, a corner ‘prime room’, with stunning views. I unpacked, laced on my running
shoes and went for a 5-mile jaunt along the beach, staying just on the edge of Stone Town. For lunch I enjoyed a spicy Zanzibar pilaf, and Kathleen had some locally caught cobia, also known as Ling.

Our first activity was a tour of Stone Town with our private guide Fauz, walking through the maze of narrow alleys, gawking at a bewildering array of old, decaying buildings of several different styles, mostly Indian and Arabic but also Portuguese. The place was somewhat reminiscent of Lisbon’s Alfama district with its narrow streets. Stone Town is a fascinating place where an unrivaled cultural experience awaits visitors who cannot fail to be bowled over by the impact of this place. Stone Town hits you on many levels. Of course there’s the dazzling visual impact of the place. Beyond what is visible, the sense of history and of bygone times is palpable. I would not have been surprised in the least, if a real Sultan appeared around the next corner. There is just so much to
see: the ornate doors, the plethora of balconies, both exterior and interior, the beautifully designed and often quite ornate lobbies of several building which are now hotels such as the Al Johari, the Dhow Palace, the Tembo Hotel and many others. There are houses of worship galore; some 48 mosques, a magnificent yet sadly dilapidated Catholic Church and many others.

The Wednesday and Sunday market adds an olfactory level to the Stone Town experience. Squeamish visitors beware: the fish market flat out stinks, at least on a hot Sunday in early February. But what a place! It would last about a week in any major US cities by which time the health authorities would shut it down.Refrigeration? Don’t need no stinking refrigeration…And then there’s the people of Stone Town. One is often hard pressed to even guess at their ethnic background. African, Turkish, Indian, Arabic, the diversity is astonishing. One thing that most of them do have in common is the Islamic faith, and the Swahili language.

PART 2: MANGROVES, MONKEYS, AND A SPICE TOUR

On February 2, still jet lagged, we were up at 0445A just in time to watch the second half of the Superbowl, broadcast live in Zanzibar on ESPN – without the commercials. What a game! Breakfast at the Serena dining room overlooking the ocean, consisted almost totally of local items, such as pigeon peas, fried banana, sweet potato, rice cake, Swahili donuts (mandazi), and sesame bread. Just after 0700A we departed with Fauz via a couple of small towns, en route to Jozani Forest. Driving in Zanzibar is an otherworldly experience, especially early on a weekday morning, when everyone seems to be on the road at the same time. At any stage, the narrow road would be replete with dozens if not hundreds of bikes, many with passengers and other loaded to the hilt, swarms of overloaded matatus (minibuses), and hundreds of pedestrians all seemingly hell-bent on crossing the road as soon as possible and in the most unpredictable manner. The effect is a ballet of traffic mayhem, performed in double quick time, with bandits flying at you from every angle. The impact is somewhere between frightening and hilarious, comical and suicidal, insane and inane.

At Jozani Forest our plus minus 3 hour outing included a stroll to the Mangrove Forest, some excellent Red Colobus monkey sightings, and a walk through an astonishing mahogany gallery forest. Our guide was an accomplished herbalist, and provided us with detailed information about a dizzying array of plants and their medicinal uses. The Mangrove Forest was particularly interesting with many species of tiny crabs, fish, and plants adapted to the saline water environment. The journey to Jozani is definitely worth the effort just to experience the lovely walk along an elevated boardwalk through the thick mangrove forest.

Another view of the mangrove forest showing the peculiarly adapted tree roots, typical of mangrove forests throughout the world. These trees are keenly sought for all types of construction, boats, furniture and a myriad other uses, making them (and the forests themselves) a very threatened habitat type

At the Jozani Forest Reserve, the ‘must see’ mammal is the endemic Red Colobus monkey. There were many of them moving low down in the brushy vegetation between the mahogany forest and the mangroves.

From there, we took a short detour to a small local ocean village resort, with rustic bandas overlooking a simply gorgeous and semi-deserted beach. If this were Miami, there would be hundreds of beach goers spread out on the sand. Here, there was barely a handful of people strolling along the soft white sand.

The highlight of this day was a Spice Tour. I didn’t know quite what to make of the Spice Tour idea in advance of going. It sounded rather touristy, and I anticipated a visit to a factory or spice outlet, looking at different types of packaged spices. The tour instead turned into a fun and highly educational experience, with two young, enthusiastic local guides showing us where spices really come from. For example, we saw a pepper tree with green, red and black berries all on the same tree. We were treated to handling and smelling fresh turmeric root, lemongrass, cinnamon tree bark, some roots with a menthol (Vicks) flavor and several others. And of course the tour would not have been complete without Zanzibar’s signature spice – cloves. We saw it right on the tree in three stages: immature, green with a small bulb (best for picking), and reddish mature. Along the way there were many kinds of fruits which we got to sample, including lychees, mango (green), banana, the weird Jack fruit, and fresh young coconut, from which we enjoyed both the juice and soft pulp. Finally, there were some vanilla beans on the vine and then a nutmeg demonstration. This was really amazing. You are shown a nondescript fruit, somewhat like an apricot in appearance. When split in half, it reveals a hard nutmeg kernel (the way you and I would buy it in a bottle), but here still surrounded by a red plastic-like sheath.

For dinner that evening, Kathleen and I wandered down a narrow alley in Stone Town (it is quite safe) to the Al Johari Restaurant, where she enjoyed some grilled prawns while I had a herb perfumed vegetable medley with a side order of spicy couscous. It was altogether quite pleasant, in an attractive room which was air-conditioned, an important consideration in Zanzibar at this time of the year.

Malaria is definitely an issue in Zanzibar: our driver-guide Fauz and the Jozani forest guide both mentioned multiple bouts with malaria; even their children have had to deal with this scourge.

The next morning (February 3) we had an early breakfast, and were then driven to Zanzibar Airport (like so many things in Zanzibar it really needs some work!) for the short 25 minute flight to Dar Es Salaam. From there, a friendly Canadian lady pilot flew us by Caravn (30 minutes) to Selous Game Reserve, where she dropped off a couple of passengers and picked up two more for the 1 hr 15 minute flight to Jongomero in the Ruaha National Park. Our Tanzania safari adventure was about to begin.

PART 3: INTO THE WILD, RUAHA NATIONAL PARK

The Cessna Caravan flight from the Selous Game Reserve to Ruaha National Park on Feb. 3 was one of the most interesting safari flights we have undertaken in several years. Just as we were gaining altitude coming out of the airstrip at Selous, the pilot pointed out the location of Sand Rivers Camp to us. We would return to this property a couple of days later. It has an ideal location right on the bank of the Rufiji River, overlooking a wide expanse of water.

Further along the way to Ruaha, we flew over some massive sugar cane plantations. Next was an impressive mountainous area which demarcates the escarpment. From the air I could clearly identify some prominent gorges, cliffs and waterfalls. Our pilot put the more than willing Caravan into a gentle climb as the ground was now 3,000 feet closer to us than when we were flying over the Selous. Finally, we descended into the Jongomero Airstrip for a rather tricky uphill landing. The Canadian pilot handled it with skill and confidence. I’d fly with her again anytime.

Jongomero had arranged a very nice welcoming ceremony for us with what appeared to be the entire camp staff complement bidding us a warm welcome, complete with damp towels and a refreshing drink. Our hosts Greg and Isabel introduced us to the camp, gave us the usual briefing (don’t go walkabout at night, watch out for Kingo the ‘camp’ elephant, by all means drink the water but there’s bottled mineral water at extra cost if you prefer) etc. and then left us alone to unpack and settle in.

Soon after, we were treated to a splendid lunch on the riverbank of the dry Jongomero River, a tributary of the Ruaha which in turn spills into the Rufiji. Yeah it took me a while to get it too. How vegan can you be in a place like this where people have to drive for 9 hours one way for a fresh tomato? Very. Jenny’s Noodle House here in Houston would have been thrilled to serve such a nice spread including cellophane noodles, a fresh green salad, and an excellent aubergine side dish. The omnivores had some chicken satay.

At 1530 that afternoon, over tea, we met with our guide Kim for a safari briefing and then set out on our first game drive in Ruaha National Park, which is just about as remote an area as you can get to, nowadays. Remote, beautiful and very atmospheric. This is the Africa of old, when the word ‘safari’ did not immediately conjure up images of massive designer rooms, fresh cut flowers in the room and spa treatments. Ruaha is the real deal where you don’t see many other vehicles. How about NO other vehicles! It might not be the best destination for people going on safari for the very first time. For them, Northern Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Maasai Mara would be a better bet, with their wide-open spaces where the animals are essentially just waiting for you to clap your eyes on them. At Ruaha, you have to work a little harder to gain your game-viewing spurs. And certainly at this time of the year (February, after the first rains had fallen & many of the animals had dispersed) the game-viewing can be challenging, as the bush is exceedingly thick and you have to be persistent – and get lucky – to see some of the more elusive mammals. For example, we had a tough time finding buffalo, even though there are several thousand of them resident in the park.

However, if you are a real safari aficionado who had been to a few other places already, and if you appreciate Africa’s truly wild and unspoiled places and everything they offer, then Ruaha is for you. By all means stay for a few days. Certainly no less than three nights, four would be even better. This place is made for slow travel. Put aside the Blackberry, banish thoughts of spreadsheets from your mind, and embrace the relaxed pace of the bush. Look at the stars, wake up with the light and enjoy the cleanest air you might breathe all year. Ruaha’s climate is about as good as it gets on safari. This was mid-summer and we had to wear wind-breakers on the early morning and later afternoon game drives. There were some pesky tsetse flies here and there on game drives, but we found Mossi Guard (it is available for sale at the camp) to be practically 100% effective against these persistent pests.

On this late afternoon, we did pretty well by finding a couple of male lions, many dik-dik (superb tiny little antelope, bring your binocs!), some zebra (they just would not stand still for a pic!), a couple of elephants on the move, a few waterbuck and giraffe everywhere. I also picked up several new life birds, always a thrill. Ruaha is simply a dazzling birding destination, so if you also happen to be a birder, you’d be in heaven. Our guide Kim was an expert on the local birds so it was great to have him around.

The next morning, I was up very early and tried to do some ab and core exercises, but my heart wasn’t in it. Even with the best of intentions, it is difficult to remain in an ‘exercise’ mode when you are on safari. However I think even camps without mains electricity would do well to make a stationary bike and a rowing machine (a Concept2 of course) available to their guests. But I digress. Breakfast was ‘a la carte’ with eggs to order, and sides of bacon, sausage, beans and mushrooms. I settled for a very creamy porridge of oatmeal cooked with soy milk, some toast and more of the lovely fresh fruit which turned out be a staple item at every meal we had in Tanzania. While enjoying breakfast, a dark shrike-type bird hopped out of the bush on my right hand side, and starting calling quite prominently, duetting with another bird not far away. Setting aside the marmalade, I picked up the binoculars, had a good look, checked out Birds of Africa and voila, a life bird (almost) before breakfast! Slaty-coloured Boubou.

The morning game drive (it starts at 0800A at Ruaha) was somewhat on the quiet side, although we got some excellent looks at giraffe, which seemed to be abundant in the area. Other sightings included Defassa waterbuck, some very elegant kudu (my favorite antelope I think), the ever entertaining warthogs, ubiquitous impala, zebra (skittish!), several troops of yellow baboons, vervet monkeys, and dik-dik around every corner. We were back in camp around 1200 noon.

The afternoon game drive initially started out slow but picked up later when we saw a nice herd of elephants with two young babies, in a very relaxed mood in the middle of the road. We stopped and observed them from far away, so as not to spoil their almost contemplative mood or cause them any stress. The elephants remained in the road for quite a while, peacefully milling about, browsing here and there and just totally in control of the space. Finally, they slowly drifted into the bush and disappeared from view.

At the conclusion of our sundowner stop on the banks of the Ruaha River, where we had been observing some waterbuck and a few marabou storks staring at the water in their usual desultory fashion, Kim started to pack away the fold-up table and other paraphernalia when Kathleen spotted something on the other side of the river. More lions, six of them in fact, standing and moving around in what appeared to be an agitated state. They were just a bit too far for a useful photograph but we had some good looks through the binoculars. Anticipating some action, Kim skillfully maneuvered the truck closer. Maybe the lions had some designs on the waterbuck? It was not to be and we returned to camp.

In the middle of the night Kathleen and I woke up to the sound of running water, of the ‘babbling brook’ variety. I immediately realized what had happened. Sometime the previous day, heavy rain had fallen in the catchment area of the Jongomero well upstream from the camp and this was essentially a flash flood. This was confirmed the next morning at first light. The Jongomero had turned into a real river overnight, having been a river of sand until then. Apparently this usually happens a little earlier every year, but we were happy to be there to observe the phenomenon. The water flowed quite shallow but more than 30 meters wide, the advancing rush of water carrying large chunks of foam with it. Some of the animals in the area must have been just as excited as were were to witness this welcome event. At around 0500A I had heard heavy splashing noises, no doubt caused by some hippo getting their feet wet.

Our last morning game drive at Ruaha was one of the best yet with some great close-up views of an elephant, a most relaxed bull who stood just meters from the vehicle, contentedly selecting mouthfuls of fresh green shoots. We also spotted several black-backed jackals, grey duiker, and naturally more giraffe.

All too soon we had to say farewell to the friendly people of Jongomero Camp. We hope to return here someday perhaps in the dry season and we will be sure to go out on a walk with Molly if he is still there. Next stop: Sand Rivers Camp on the mighty Rufiji River.

PART 4: SAND RIVERS SELOUS

By the time we made it to Nomad’s Sand Rivers Selous lodge in the Selous Game Reserve in Southern Tanzania, we had twice flown over the property so we had a notion that this might be a special place. And so it turned out to be. The location is absolutely perfect. Perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the broad and slow-flowing Rufiji River, the camp is everything any first-class African safari lodge aspires to be. Romantic, authentic, visually striking and very private.

The huge wood, brick and stone rooms with high canvas ceilings are totally open in front, with dramatic views over the river. Nights (at least in summer) are sultry but quite comfortable inside a huge mosquito net, a powerful yet quiet fan providing a cool breeze. Sleep comes easily among the rhythmic drone of frogs, the occasional grunts and snorts of hippo, and the pleasantly lulling effect of millions of liters of waters rushing off to the Indian Ocean, just meters away from your room. This is truly a place that dreams are made of.

On our first game drive, it quickly became apparent that wildlife is quite abundant in this part of the Selous Game Reserve. In short order I had taken my best photographs yet (at least on this trip) of elephant, one of which twice mock-charged us. Somehow I missed those pics but working with a brand new camera I guess that was to be expected. We also had some superb views of large numbers of Carmine Bee-eaters. Unfortunately our afternoon drive was cut short by 45 minutes or so due to a flat battery. Help came quickly enough for us to get back to camp in time to enjoy a hot shower before dinner at 2000. Compared with the stellar fare at Jongomero, my vegan dinner (beans and couscous with a mixed salad) was nothing special, but nonetheless quite satisfying. The regular main course was grilled snapper with veggies and couscous, dessert being a chocolate pudding. We joined an interesting group table hosted by camp managers Steve and Lynn, an Australian couple. Other than the two of us, all the other guests were British.

On February 6 we were up quite early at 0600 for an 0630 departure by boat up the Rufiji River into Stiegler’s Gorge. The trip on a flat-bottomed aluminum skiff started out from just below the lodge, where the Rufiji stretches out for nearly a half mile wide, with massive sand banks and dense riverine forest on the edges. We saw literally dozens of hippo during the 2-hour trip into the Gorge, where we enjoyed a light breakfast consisting of sandwiches, fruit and tea/coffee. Despite several attempts, I just could not get a decent photo of a hippo, due to poor light and excessive movement on the boat.

Stiegler’s Gorge was definitely worth the trip. Its raw African setting has been spoiled somewhat by a rather prominently placed new lodge, whose air-conditioned units seem out of place. Once past this lodge, the majestic beauty of the gorge with its very heavily wooded slopes is striking. Along the way we spotted several crocodiles on the sandbanks; apparently the bigger ones had been h0ther than the occasional baby-like wail of a Trumpeter hornbill, the screechy territorial calls of many rock rabbits, and the liquid gurgle when an upwelling of water boiled to the surface of this mighty river, one of the largest in Africa together with the Zambezi, the Nile, the Niger and the Congo. The three of us were mostly quiet too. There is little one can – and should – say when the force of nature is on display all around you.

Soon, we were back at the lodge for lunch: your choice of Coronation chicken (I did say many of the guests were British…) or a delicious vegetable curry with couscous, brown rice, a fresh green salad and an excellent fruit salad for dessert. Just as lunch got underway, a massive thunderstorm rolled through camp, sending everybody scampering for cover and the staff dashing around lowering protective canvas around the edge of the dining area. It was a formidable storm with drenching rain, high wind and a few massive thunderclaps.

The storm soon blew over and by 1600 we were ready for tea, followed by a quick inspection trip to nearby Kiba Point, Nomad’s adjacent private camp, with just four rooms. Kiba Point appeared to be an ideal option for an extended family group or friends wanting total privacy and exclusivity. In the busy season, another advantage of staying there is that it has priority in terms of activities; the camp shares vehicles and guides with Sand Rivers. The rooms are similar to those at Sand Rivers, with larger bathrooms, a private plunge pool and two showers, one outside in the garden.

After checking out Kiba Point Kathleen and I and our guide Philip tried our hand at fishing off a large
sandbank across from camp. It was a fun and relaxing outing, even though we only caught one
small catfish. With the river in flood stage, fishing conditions were just not ideal. At other times of
the year I believe some very good catches are possible. Philip was a star – so personable, knowledgeable
and confident, everything you’d want your safari guide to be. Dinner was quite a convivial
affair with our hosts Steve and Lynn. It was tempting to stay up a bit later, but we were scheduled
to depart at 0530 the next morning on a long overland trip to Selous Safari Camp on the northeastern
edge of the Reserve.

Very early on February 7 we were having tea and coffee in our room when a bush baby – there
are several in and around the lodge that have become semi-habituated – lightly jumped onto the
railing in front of our room and then bounced up to the tea box. As I was trying to focus on the
animal in the semi-darkness (they are crepuscular, i.e. mostly active in the dawn and dusk hours) it
stuck its head into the milk pitcher and when we reacted, it jumped back, spilling milk all over the
place. I got off one or two more pics before we ushered our little mammalian visitor out of the
room and cleaned up its mess. This adds to the bottom line for staying at Sand Rivers: the rooms
are open so if you won’t mind a visit from a small furry animal and won’t get freaked out by an occasional
bat or two, then it is for you. We very pleasantly surprised at just how few insects there
were in the room, and this was the season when one would expect more.

Of course we were absolutely delighted at the unexpected company. Would have liked to have
gotten a better photograph though! Next: the long drive to Selous Safari Camp.

PART 5: OVERLAND TO SELOUS SAFARI CAMP

We were up at 0530 on Feb 7 2009 for yet another early breakfast (toast, jam & fruit – alas no soy milk at Sand Rivers Lodge for cereal). With Philip behind the wheel, we set off for what turned out to be a 5.5 hour overland expedition to Selous Safari Camp. Initially, it was very slow-going due to wet and muddy roads. Kathleen and I were both a bit tense but Philip capably guided the heavy Landrover vehicle through or around some nasty spots where it would have been easy to get stuck. As time went by, conditions improved and we started to relax and enjoy the trip. Early on, there were literally hundreds of birds around hawking flying termites from the sky. It was particularly impressive to see many carmine bee-eaters swooping around.

As a game drive, the overland trip was very successful with good views of hyena, side-striped jackal, several small herds of wildebeest, some zebra (still skittish), kudu, warthog and loads of giraffe.

The most amazing experience of the day was a stop at a small lake which produced as interesting a spectacle as I have ever experienced in Africa. There were literally hundreds of crocodiles in the receding lake, lined up side by side and nose to tail, just their heads and backs visible, lurking in the water while waiting for fish to get close enough. When this happy event (for the crocodile, not the fish) occurred, it resulted in jaws snapping shut, with a simultaneous splashing effect. As we were watching, all we could hear and see was one splash followed by another and then another, sometimes several in rapid succession. It’s a tough life out there for a fish in an African lake, when there’s literally nowhere to go. Philip told us that there was an estimated 1,000 crocodiles in this small lake. There were at least 300 of them visible from where we were parked, with many others either submerged or out of sight. There was also a massive raft of hippo in the center of the lake – with several egrets using them as convenient perching spots. Just to top it all, we spotted at least 20 different bird species in and around the lake. Too bad we couldn’t spend more time here, but we had a long way to drive. Sand Rivers Selous Lodge uses this area for a stop-over point for their all-day game drives. I would recommending spending at least 3 nights at Sand Rivers and including the full day game drive in order to reach this area.

From here onwards the change in terrain is noticeable. It changes from riverine bush to open woodland approaching the Beho Beho Camp area, and then morphs into dense woodland in the eastern section of the reserve towards Selous Safari Camp. Just before we reached the designated meeting spot (where a Selous Safari Camp driver would meet us for the last stretch of the drive) we made a stop at Selous’ gravesite. Selous Game Reserve was named after Frederick Courtney Selous, an Englishman whose knowledge of the African bush has entered the stuff of legends. From 1871, and for 40 years hence, Selous developed his intimate knowledge of the wilderness and served as hunting guide for personages as illustrious as (then) former US President Theodore Roosevelt. He died during World War I when he was shot by a German sniper not far from the Ruffiji River near Beho Beho on January 4, 1917. Selous was buried near the site where he died.

Our accommodations at Selous Safari Camp was one of the best designed tents we had experienced to date, octagonal in lay-out with a large veranda both in front and behind the tent; there is a large separate bathroom area and an outdoor (enclosed) shower.

Later that afternoon, we were taken on a pleasant boating outing on Lake Nzerakera, observing many species of birds, some gorgeous natural scenery as well as plenty of hippo and crocodiles. Dinner that night was one of the best on the trip, with delicious stuffed butternut squash as the main course.

On February 8 (another early morning) we enjoyed our first guided walk of the trip, with guides Mpoto and Mashaka. In single file, we walked for what must have been 4 miles or so total, through a variety of habitats including riverine forest and open woodland, making frequent stops when Mpoto would point out animal spoor, droppings, interesting plant species, etc. For example, Mpoto illustrated the symbiotic relationship between ants and a local type of acacia tree. As soon as the tree is disturbed (such as when a browser tries to feed on it), the ants appear in their hundreds and thousands, ready to defend their home against all comers. We also saw quite a bit of game which is unusual on a foot safari: hyena, warthog, giraffe, impala and elephant. At the end of the walk we were treated to a surprise breakfast in the bush, with fresh juice, tea/coffee, toast, egg frittata and oats porridge with soy milk for the vegan. There was also a fresh fruit starter.

Our last game drive at Selous Safari Camp was rather quiet; significant amounts of rain had fallen in
the area lately and this disperses the wildlife. Even so, we had our best sighting yet of a hyena with
a newborn cub. Other visitors who had stayed at this camp just days earlier reported excellent
game-viewing. Given the abundance of resident wildlife in the area, one can confidently visit Selous
Safari Camp with expectations for good to excellent game-viewing. The dry season from June
through September is the best time of the year to visit for game-viewing. As for Jongomero and
Sand Rivers Selous I would highly recommend spending a minimum of three nights at this camp. We
loved Selous Safari Camp and would definitely want to return there. Camp manager Jenny could not
have been nicer and the camp chef went out of his way to accommodate any special diets.

PART 6: SEA, SAND AND TURTLES AT RAS KUTANI
RESORT

Ras Kutani is a relaxed, friendly Indian Ocean Lodge, about a 90 minute to 2 hr drive or a very short flight south of Dar Es Salaam. A few days here make for a perfect end to a safari. No 0530A wakeups, no long bumpy game drives, no getting into and out of safari gear, identifying various new species or jockeying for the best position to take a photograph. None of that. It is easy to have fun at Ras Kutani. It involves a minimum of clothing, lots of sand and sea, great food, exotic cocktails for those so inclined, and great glorious sleep, with a real live ocean and actual wave sounds to take you away. Did I mention a beautiful, big white beach? Ras Kutani is the place to indulge in today’s greatest luxury which is to do nothing. Just sit on your comfortable veranda gazing out over the Indian Ocean, take a nap, read a book, have another meal with some of the freshest ingredient you can imagine, or if you have to, catch up on your safari notes and photographs. The rooms are huge and have fantastic views over the lagoon and ocean, and great big comfortable beds where you’d be tempted to spend a lot of time.

Over the course of a 3-day stay there, we enjoyed some excellent meals including fresh seafood (caught by local fishermen and hand-delivered to the lodge), lots of exotic sub-tropical fruit such as granadilla, papaya, pineapple and mango, some wonderfully creative salads and some vegan staples such as herb-flavored couscous and tabouleh.

One morning Kathleen and I strolled over to the remnants of a ship which stranded near Ras Kutani many years ago and snorkelled in and around what remains of the wreck, observing many colorful species of reef fish. I was also able to resume my training for the Boston Marathon. On both full days there, I ran for about an hour along a sandy track to the main road. It was hot and humid, the sandy footing was not ideal and I was running with new shoe inserts. Even so, it was great to be back on my feet again. There are other things to do at Ras Kutani such as horse-back riding, kayak trips on the lagoon, a forest walk and village visits, but that is not why people come here.

On Tuesday Feb 10 we were told to gather at the beach at 1700 (high tide) to witness some young sea turtles being released into the ocean. The local representive of ‘Sea Sense’ removed the sand from some nesting sites (to which the turtle eggs had been relocated some 55 days previously) and voila, some 40 or so tiny hatchlings started a single-minded scramble to the ocean. The release was timed to occur right at high tide so as to give these vulnerable creatures the best possible chance to make it into deeper water. They need every break they can get: their chance of survival into adulthood is only 1 or 2 in a thousand.

Too soon, our trip came to an end and we had to get back in a car for the bumpy drive back to Dar Es Salaam. Ras Kutani will remain in our memories as a warm and special days to spend a few wonderful, relaxing days. The staff and management were incredibly caring and responsive to our every request – I never needed to ask for soy milk or rooibos tea! Special thanks to Jules for the Dar suggestions – they were all spot on!

We had the better part of a day to kill in Dar Es Salaam and ended up paying a cab driver about
US$45 for three hours, to drive us to various places around town, including The Oyster Bay Hotel,
Sea Cliff Hotel – where we enjoyed lunch with a glorious view – and ending up at the Slipway,
where we made a contribution to the local economy. Kathleen tells me that curios are about 50%
less expensive there than at the safari camps. We had a day room at the Kempinski Hotel which we
would highly recommend to other visitors in the same situation. We made use of the excellent
pool, I spent an hour on a treadmill in the well-equipped gym and we enjoyed a superb dinner at
the Oriental restaurant, reputed to be the best of its kind in Dar Es Salaam.

And then it was time to drive back to the rather dismal DAR Airport, submit to the usual indignities
and inconveniences of multiple security checks and eventually take to the air for the lengthy journey
back to Houston. We had packed a lot into what was not even quite a two week trip and I
would certainly recommend a much more leisurely visit for anyone else. So if you ever find yourself
planning a trip to this marvelous and largely unknown part of Tanzania, take it easy and spend
more time in fewer places. It is the secret to a great safari.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

Kenya June 2014

PART 1: NAIROBI AND THE RIFT VALLEY

Writing a trip report about Kenya nowadays is an unenviable task.  The country’s tourism industry has lately taken a beating because of a string of attacks and bombings in coastal areas and in Nairobi – mostly claimed as their handiwork by Al Shabaab, a Somalia-based militant group.  Ostensibly, the attacks are retribution for the Kenya Government’s incursion into Somalia to pursue and eliminate elements of Al Shabaab.

Not only the attacks themselves but also the resulting ‘travel warnings’ issued by the UK Foreign Office and the US State Department and their counterparts elsewhere in the world, have resulted in a sharp dip in tourism arrivals.  Many hotels along the coast – notably around Mombasa – have been closed and their employees laid off, with a loss of 5,000+ jobs just in that one area.

Having recently returned from a trip to Kenya, it is alarming to realize the wide discrepancy between outsiders’ perception of the situation in the country, and the reality of it. There may be issues in a few isolated areas but everywhere on safari (Rift Valley, Laikipia & Samburu) I felt and appeared to be totally safe.

In my opinion, there are few if any safer travel experiences than being on safari in Kenya or anywhere else in Africa, due to the almost complete absence of other people, speeding vehicles, and the usual trappings of civilization.  Almost no crime, no tension, just a peaceful and relaxed environment with friendly people totally intent on helping you make the experience the best one of your life.

Travel warnings are a well-intentioned attempt by civic-minded governments to protect their citizens traveling abroad, but they are a particularly blunt tool.  Isolated incidents of violence and intimidation – regrettable and tragic as the consequences may be to those involved – rarely make an entire country unsafe to visit.  This is exactly the case inKenya.  Probably 95%-plus of the country – including the safari circuit – is perfectly safe, but this gets lost in the  publicity surrounding attacks and in ‘travel advisories’ which discourage all but essential travel to the country.

Travel advisories play right into the hands of the perpetrators of violence and indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians.  How so?  By discouraging travel to a specific area or country, they cause sometimes irreparable and long-term harm to the tourism sector and hence the economic well-being of mostly emerging economies.  They result in thousands of tourism jobs being lost with a ripple effect into many other areas of the economy such as transportation, food & agriculture and  the retail trade.  Stretch this over a number of years and you have entrenched and worsening unemployment, unrest, perhaps even political instability – all of which can be ameliorated with a vibrant tourism sector and strong and growing economy.  And all of which can be exploited by persons or entities wishing to harm a country or its people.

Wildlife conservation is yet another unintended ‘victim’ of travel advisories.  It is self-evident that the presence of visitors in wildlife-rich areas act as a deterrent to poachers.  Poachers operate much more effectively and devastatingly so when there is nobody around such as when camps are closed for the rainy season or when the number of visitors dwindle for whatever reason.  Such as being discouraged by inane travel advisories.

Discouraging all but essential travel to an area or country is  out of proportion with the intended outcome which is to protect a country’s citizens from harm or injury as a result of a terrorist event.  The specter of terrorism anywhere in the world pushes emotional buttons and the mass media exaggerate its risk and prevalence.  Deaths caused by terrorist events are tragic and shocking but they are a miniscule number compared with almost any other cause of death and bodily harm.

If you travel to Kenya is it likely that you will become a victim of terrorism?  No.  You are about 1,900 times more likely to die from a car accident than from a terrorist attack and more than a 100 times more likely to succumb to the effects of contaminated food.  Worried about being crushed to death by your television or furniture or being hit by an asteroid?  Of course not – and those two events are about as likely to cause you harm as you are to fall victim to a terrorist.

So do we stop driving because driving results in accidents and death?  No we don’t.  And we don’t stop flying because aircraft occasionally (but very seldom) crash.   By the same token it would be daft to stop eating because of the potential risk of dying from contaminated food.  Avoiding all risk is not possible except perhaps by seeking refuge in a remote cave somewhere.  Which is not how we as free people choose to live.

Which makes travel warnings all the more pernicious.  They purport to tell you how to live your life and what to do or not to do.  Are people not capable of making their own value judgement about the safety of an area?  Of course they are but ‘official’ statements made by high-profile government agencies carry a lot of weight.  Which is unfortunate because discouraging travel to disadvantaged areas of the world – which are often the areas hit by travel advisories – is a sure-fire way to stymie development and progress.

As it is, many US states and cities are prone to chronic gun violence which results in the death of thousands of people every year, a lot of it gang-related. That, together with sporadic yet all too common and totally unpredictable mass shootings likely make large parts of the USA a far more risky proposition than the distant plains of the Masai Mara or the swamps of Amboseli.  Where are the travel advisories when you really need them?

Nairobi
Our two most recent arrivals in Nairobi have been almost ridiculously quick and pleasant with a minimum of wait time to get a visa and to pick up luggage. I always carp about this but lately JKIA has been the exception to the rule. Kenyan immigration officials are now clearly authorized to smile and it is quite refreshing. I just hope it stays that way. When the old – horrible – international arrivals halls at JKIA burnt down a year or so ago, the airport was immediately a better place, despite the temporary inconvenience. When the new Unit 4 terminal becomes fully operational JKIA will have more parking (a real problem now!) and shuttling arriving passengers around on long bus rides will hopefully be a thing of the past.

In June this year we were inside our hotel room at the Ole Sereni in less than an hour from when our aircraft taxied off the runway.  Not bad anywhere in the world!  The Ole Sereni has a good location very close to JKIA and the happy hour Tusker draft at KS340 (about US$4.00) for 2 is definitely a bargain.  Beyond that, there is not much that would distinguish it from any other run of the mill city hotel.  The room itself was quite small, and it looked out over a construction site – a major road project which will likely take some months to complete. The rooms facing Nairobi National Park can apparently be very noisy at night due to boisterous bar patrons, so pick your poison… I found the bathrooms & shower arrangement to be a bit odd. Like so many other hotel rooms, it is impossible for one person to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom without disturbing the other (sleeping) person, due to the location of the lights.

Perhaps we made the wrong menu choices but our experience at the main restaurant was sub-par.  Kathy’s medium fillet steak ended up being neither medium nor fillet.  I guess fillet steak in Kenya is not what we know as fillet mignon in the USA.  It was tough and overcooked.  To their credit the restaurant offered a replacement sirloin steak which unfortunately was just as tough and likewise overcooked, but at least they tried.  Order something else, not steak.

The Ole Sereni staff were friendly and helpful – and we will continue to use it as a good and convenient option for a day-room for visitors flying out of JKIA.

I was happy to recognize our good friend and guide extraordinaire Edwin Selempo – who would accompany me for the first few days in Kenya – in amongst the sea of faces as we exited the temporary international arrivals facility.  Edwin has few rivals as an all-round superb guide and a traveling companion.  Always courteous and mindful of others’ needs – and often anticipating what you might need well before you become aware of it.  Edwin is also well-informed and not shy to express an opinion which makes for great conversation and interaction.  Being on safari with him is a rare treat.

Edwin arranged a day tour of Nairobi for Kathy which turned out to be one of the highlights of her Africa trip.  Amongst others she visited the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, the Giraffe Center and the Kazuri Bead factory where a range of hand-made and hand-painted beads are for sale.

Lake Elmenteita Serena Camp
Meanwhile Edwin and I negotiated some unavoidable Nairobi traffic and headed out west towards the Rift Valley. Less than 3 hours later – and including a bird-watching stop for White-backed Duck at the Limuru Ponds – we made it to the Serena Elmenteita Camp, on the edge of Lake Elmenteita. I was pleasantly surprised by this property, anticipating a large hotel-like structure only to be shown to a beautiful tented room, one of 24 – all with lake views – to the left and right of a spacious, elegant tented lounge and dining room complex. We will definitely be using this property to accommodate our clients on future visits to the Rift Valley. Like all Serena properties I have ever been to in Africa, it is exceedingly well managed, everything works (including fast WIFI), there is good lighting and charging facilities in the room, the food is well prepared and attractively presented, everything is super clean and the service and hospitality are impeccable. Can’t do much better than that.

The room itself was very comfortable with deluxe bedding, a small desk, a chest, ample clothing storage space, a bathroom with shower and a good hot water supply and a separate toilet.  There is a well-lit pathway to the main area and the entire camp is inside a guarded and electrically charged fence to keep out buffalo and other unwelcome intruders.

Edwin and I soon sat down to a delicious lunch with two starter options, three main course options (fish, poultry and vegetarian) and a couple of desserts to boot.  Like our dinner later that day everything was delicious, attractively plated and presented and with a good choice of wine by the glass or by the bottle.  We tried a fine South African merlot.  Drinks are extra.

Edwin – who had previously spent several years based at Lake Elmenteita as a guide – took me on  an afternoon game drive along the perimeter of the lake.  Almost immediately we started seeing various mammal and bird species and in less than 3 hours racked up some impressive sightings including good numbers of waterbuck, zebra, eland, impala, Rotchchilds Giraffe, a leopard tortoise, black-backed jackal, gazelles and buffalo.  Notable birds included Greater and Lesser Flamingo, lots of pelicans, yellowbilled stork, Augur buzzard and various others.

Lake Elmenteita Serena Camp is just half an hour from Lake Nakuru so over the course of a 2-day stay it would be easy to make a side-trip to Lake Nakuru National Park to see rhino & more buffalo and giraffe and perhaps a few other species.

The next morning, while enjoying a nice al fresco breakfast, I was struck by a feeling of being in a very remote spot with the lake right in front and a large rocky ridge protruding into my field of view, towards the left.  It was deceiving because there is a highway just a few hundred meters away, and of course the property is barely 2 hours solid driving away from Nairobi. Even so it is a great spot for a couple of days of low-key game-viewing and exploring some of the Rift Valley lakes and national parks.

From Lake Elmenteita Edwin headed north to Nyahururu on a good asphalt road,  stopping at Thomson Falls to take a few photographs.  This 74 meter (243 feet ) waterfall in the Ewaso Nyiro river is quite impressive and the Thomson Falls Hotel – right next to the Falls – has a sparkling clean restroom facility.  It is a very short walk through a small park to the edge of the falls – entry fee required.  I was not impressed by the guy with the chameleon and the various hawkers.  Just ignore them or have your pic taken with the chameleon and buy some cheap trinkets.  The choice is yours.

PART 2: LAIKIPIA CENTRAL PLATEAU – SEGERA AND SABUK

June 17.  We were now well into the Laikipia plateau, the region of central Kenya more or less bounded by Mt Kenya to the east, the Aberdare Mountains in the south and the lower-lying, hotter and much drier Samburu region to the north.  Laikipia’s climate is characterized by relatively low rainfall (it is in the rain shadow of Mt. Kenya), with warm days and cool, pleasant nights.  Altitude  is mostly over a mile high so it never gets too hot and the proximity to the equator means it never gets very cold either.

Just beyond Nyahururu, we turned off the well-maintained asphalt road and then proceeded for about 50 km (less than 30 miles) along a dusty, sometimes rocky and clearly ‘muddy when wet’ road, eventually reaching the fence-line and gate of the Ol Pejeta (pronounced Ol’ PEDG-uh-tah’) Conservancy, a well-established and successful private ranch & game conservation complex.  Ol Pejeta is a ‘Big Five’ destination, and is home to a few Northern white rhino which are on the very brink of extinction.  It has re-introduced (from South Africa) southern white rhino and black rhino as well.

Not long afterwards, we were met at the gate of Segera by head guide David Lakili and escorted on a drive of about 30 minutes or so to the main compound.  Almost all arrivals at Segera are by air, so this was not the usual procedure.  Ordinarily arriving guests would literally taxi off the airstrip and to within a hundred meters or so from the entrance of the lodge, where they are met and escorted right into the property.

I had a few pre-conceived ideas about Segera, having been exposed to some of its marketing and publicity materials.  Several of the notions were confirmed – and others dispelled – during an introductory walk-through with manager Jens Kozany, formerly at North Island in the Seychelles and prior to that the GM of the highly regarded Grande Roche in the Cape winelands.  Jens is a hotelier of the highest order, with the skills of a seasoned concierge and the calm, unflappable demeanor of a manager capable of getting the most out of a large staff and meeting extraordinarily high standards.

Segera certainly lived up to my preconceived notions about the level of luxury and comfort.  The villas are simply out of this world.  Tucked in behind a massive cactus fence or hedge – which serves to keep out dangerous animals – they are elevated well above the ground to make the most of the gorgeous views over the plains and distant mountains and to enjoy the breezes which are typical of Laikipia.  Hence no need for artificial air-conditioning which is a pleasant bonus here.  No noisy fan at night.

Even though the days can be warm the villa was never hot – on a short afternoon siesta I was perfectly comfortable.  Beyond that, the villa had the luxury of space, a separate shower with massive shower-head, his and hers washbasins, plenty of clothing storage and hanging space, a safe and separate toilet.  Lighting was very good but I could never quite figure out the various on-off switches; it would have been nice to have had one master switch at the entry and by the bed.

One of the best features of my villa was an outside lounger on the verandah,  as well as a massive jacuzzi-bath which I tried to good effect on the first night.

It was rather windy and even cold on my first night at Segera but inside the villa I felt snug and warm, and the ultra-luxurious cushions and bedding ensured a very pleasant night’s sleep.  The food and catering at Segera were likewise impeccable and went well beyond what I had experienced at any other African property to date.  The range of meals and variety of items served was simply extraordinary.

As alluded to earlier, I had some food issues at one or two of the other lodge earlier during my trip.  Not at Segera.  They executed the vegan dietary requirements flawlessly and even beyond that, made it fresh and exciting.  I enjoyed various wraps, delicate salads, fresh bread and the most flavorful array of local African specialties including sukuma wiki, maharage, and several other delicious dishes, served with ugali and rice.

Segera maintains an extensive fresh produce garden so much of what ends up on one’s plate in the vegetable, tuber and herb category is grown right there.  Fresh, organic and delicious.  Over the couple of days at Segera I tried a few of the wines on the extensive winelist, including a cabernet sauvignon, a chardonnay and a merlot and they were all superb.  This is clearly a place where serious wine-lovers can explore some interesting vintages and varietals.

Segera is a place where one can and should spend some time at the lodge itself.  It is refreshing and relaxing yet also stimulating.  The variety of architecture, the inviting public areas, fascinating art installations and historical elements create a wonderful sanctuary.  Within hours of my arrival I realized that Segera can inspire you to do something extraordinary.  Spend a week there and you might very well decide to write a book or learn to speak Swahili.  Segera is the result of a vision of a better future for its inhabitants – people, wildlife and livestock – and it is inspiring just to be there and to realize what can be done with drive and determination and the ability to harness the goodwill of the community.

Clearly, Segera Retreat has already had a huge impact on its immediate environment and all the life forms which depend on it.  It is astonishing to look at an aerial photograph of the homestead area taken just a scant 8 years ago, and to compare it with what there is right now.  A true transformation.

The experience is most striking when one first arrives at the property and walks first past the paddock house, the wine tower,  through the stables with their permanent art installation, past the gym and spa, the expansive pool and magnificent gardens in every direction, and finally all the way to your room.  The walk is a multi-sensory experience:   hearing various birds calling, breathing in the fresh air, smelling the sweet perfume of various flowering plants and trying to take it all in on a visual level.  Around every turn, there is something different to be seen and savored; an unusual statue, a particularly striking cactus or a massive euphorbia tree being swallowed by a carpet of bougainvillea flowers.

At Segera, you are never far away from a pleasing and peculiar mix of bird calls – sunbirds and mousebirds being very vocal – as well as the haunting braying of zebras beyond the cactus hedge.  The sound of zebras vocalizing is one of the most iconic of African sounds – right up there with the call of the African Fish Eagle.  The whisper of a vapor trail left by a high-flying jet is sometimes the only reminder of mundane reality beyond this extraordinary place.

Segera is a retreat in the full sense of the word and it makes eminently good sense to spend at least four or better yet five  days here.  It is a destination unto itself where you can truly relax and reflect, tune out the dross of day to day noise and connect with a pure, uncluttered Africa. The clean air, the organic fresh produce, the sense of remoteness and privacy and the impeccable service and hospitality put this property in a very elevated status which few others in the world can match.

June 18.  It was exhilirating to enjoy breakfast in the Paddock House overlooking the plains, with no ambient noise other than some bird calls and the zebras braying.  The sense of solitude was complete.  One could probably spend several days at Segera without doing much at all, just enjoying the villa, the pool, the gardens and lounging around, or getting a spa treatment, spend some time in the gym.

However – if you are so inclined, there is much to be seen in the way of wildlife including buffalo, elephant, zebra, greater kudu, Reticulated giraffe, impala and more.  On an afternoon game drive we saw plenty of these.

We also did a short 2-hour walk in search of the rare Pata’s Monkeys, and much longer hikes are available and recommended.  The southern part of the Segera ranch lends itself admirably to such an outing and it would likely be a wonderful experience, during the course of a longer stay.

Market Day at Segera
One of the most fascinating outings during my short stay at Segera was a morning visit to a nearby market day, held weekly in the community land adjacent to the northern border of the reserve.

In an area which is noticeably heavily overgrazed compared with the ranch property, some 70 or so Samburu people from neighboring villages and manyattas had gathered to buy, sell and barter a variety of items ranging from fresh produce to dried beans, ugali meal, candy, herbs and spices, grocery items, shoes and livestock including goats, sheep and chickens.

Clearly there was quite a lot of buying and selling going on with various vendors exchanging cash for plastic bags filled with potatoes or dried beans and always generously measured, the large measuring can topped to overflowing and then another small handful tossed into the bag for good measure.

Many of the young men present were Samburu warriors – in a peculiar stage  of bachelorhood when they live a relatively carefree existence with girlfriends but no possibility of marriage.  Marriage is not an option as it is only allowed with a girl from a different clan.  Handsome and even a bit vain, the warriors are turned out in splendid colorful costumes, complete with neatly done headgear and spotlessly clean kikoi-like main garments.

The young men – many of whom had arrived by motorbike – had gathered in the bike parking lot under a couple of trees.  The young unmarried women were slightly on the periphery, chatting and lounging in small groups of 3 or so, no doubt exchanging some gossip and catching up with their friends.  The sort of thing you do when you are not on Facebook.

There was some selling and buying of sheep and goats happening as well.  Unfortunately I managed only a couple of photographs before the subjects started to demand rather exorbitant amounts of money to be in front of the lens.  I had not anticipated this happening and it is a pity that Segera had no arrangement in place with the local community leaders, to prevent this situation.  For a photographer to negotiate individually with every subject, is not ideal at all.  It was uncomfortable and as a result some ‘once in at lifetime’ photo opportunities went begging.

Segera is a superb property and for visitors looking well beyond a game-viewing trip, it offers an extraordinarily luxurious and all-encompassing experience.

Sambuk: Place of the Camels
From Segera I traveled by road to Sabuk, another Laikipia property, but in completely different terrain right along the Ewaso Nyire River. As I was accompanied by Verity Williams, the owner and co-founder of Sabuk, I received an excellent introduction to the area. Verity is a veteran guide and long-time safari operator in Kenya and elsewhere in East Africa with special expertise in mobile camping safaris. She is a great conversationalist and we chatted away for a couple of hours en route. I am glad she was doing the driving and not me as some of it was pretty rough going.

As we got closer to Sabuk the landscape became quite dramatic with craggy outcrops and canyons giving way to  impressive vistas over the distant hills.  Just before turning off the main road – if one can call it that – you cross a large bridge over the Ewaso Nyiro River, and then travel a short distance up a rather steep little hill before coming to a stop close to the front entrance of the lodge.  On the drive we saw a couple of elephants

The main lodge or mess (it has two wings,  a dining room and lounge/fireplace) and the rooms – no two of which are the same – are bulky rock, cement and wood structures, all covered by huge reed-covered roofs.  The initial impression is rustic yet impressive.  I suppose one could describe Sabuk as being quirky and organic, with each room and the cottage annex (a self-contained until sleeping 4 persons with its own small kitchen and private lounge and plunge pool) having its own layout and different views.

Some rooms have a smaller verandah; most have a semi-outdoor bath with a view and there is a family room with a king size bed and three singles, one of which is a bunk bed.  The family house – partially on a wooden deck – can sleep as many as seven persons.

Of course, Sabuk is much more than a collection of rooms and buildings.  It has personality and style and offers a unique combination of activities and surroundings in a very dramatic landscape.

Every room at Sabuk shares an inescapable and welcome bonus:  the natural sound track of the water of the Ewaso Nyiro River being forced into a series of narrow rocky gaps right below the lodge.  The result is a soothing curtain of sound, like a never-ending wave breaking gently on a beach.  Add to that some drop-dead gorgeous views from practically every room and from various vantage points in the lounge and dining room, and you have a great setting for a relaxing, low-key safari experience.

What Sabuk does best – at least in my very limited experience of a couple of days there – is to introduce visitors (old and young, this is a great place for kids) to activities other than game drives.  So it will appeal mostly to people who want to take a break from ‘safari’, get out of the vehicle and discover some other things to see and do.  Amongst others, these include camel treks, hiking, fly-camping, a village visits and even some fishing in the Ewaso Nyire river.

Owner Verity Williams was always around to help with suggestions and to arrange activities – she and my two guides Tise and Gus certainly worked hard to make my stay at Sabuk a very pleasant one.

June 20: ‘Your Camel is Ready’
It has been a long time since I’ve done anything completely new – and over the course of three decades on this earth I’ve never walked with, been on the back of or even been close to a camel. All this changed early on June 20 when Verity met me at the entrance to the lodge and announced: ‘Your camel is ready’.

Minutes later, having been given a few perfunctory do’s and don’ts, I swung my left leg over a camel’s back.  His name was Soro.  Without much warning and rather abruptly Soro ‘woke up’ – meaning that he forcefully straightened first his back legs and then his front legs, so lean back right after mounting to avoid being pitched over the camel’s neck.

Once up, a camel is quite stable and at walking pace there is a minimum of discomfort.  I would not want to stay in the saddle for more than a couple of hours at a time but the view from up there was worth it.  It is certainly high to the point where kids up to 8 years or so are best picked up once the camel is up, to share a ride with a parent.

We traveled a mile or so to a nice spot in the bush where a surprise breakfast had been arranged for me, complete with a small portable table and chairs, a cook, coffee and breakfast to order.  There was even a small portable toilet.

While I was there, a young American family with two boys aged 8 and 10 were spending 3 nights at Sabuk and the kids were clearly having fun, doing some exploring on their own and joining their parents on walks, camel treks and a fishing expedition.  The food at Sabuk was good and wholesome and there was plenty of it, with nice vegetarian options as well.

I would be reluctant to recommend Sabuk to visitors wanting a luxury experience but if you enjoy ‘camping wild’ and wouldn’t mind an occasional bat or spider then Sabuk would be right up your alley.  That being said I’ve encountered bats in many safari properties – even some very luxurious ones…

Walking is highly encouraged at Sabuk and due to the many hills in the property, you are almost always able to scan a distant hillside or ravine for animals of one kind or another.  We were not lucky with the animals when I was there, but rainfall and seasonality play a big role in that.

Over the course of a couple of days at Sabuk I saw a few elephants at a distance, some kudu, zebra, waterbuck and impala.  I am sure they have better days, but Sabuk is not really a game-viewing destination.  It has almost no roads suitable for game-viewing so even if there were more animals, walking and camel treks would still be a better proposition.

Not everyone will like the rough rock construction of the rooms at Sabuk and I also had some issues with the almost non-existent lighting.  Another personal foible of mine is that I don’t care for any bath that does not have an enamel surface – at Sabuk they have a terra cotta-like ‘clay’ finish which adds to the rustic feel of the place.  I very much enjoyed the totally open front to my room – it is almost a necessity in the spot where the lodge is built.  While some guests might feel a bit nervous about this, there is no reason for concern as the front of the rooms are well protected.

As long as would-be visitors know what to expect and visit Sabuk for the right reasons, they are likely to find a very special and very warm place.

PART 3: SASAAB LODGE, SAMBURU

Sasaab Lodge
This June 2014 trip to Samburu was my third one to the area and while they have all been different and had various highlights, there are a few things about Samburu which never change.

For one, the area is very ‘out of Africa’ with the proliferation of acacia trees, the vistas over distant mountains and valleys, and the abundance of wildlife. It is unmistakeably Africa but totally the opposite of better watered elevated areas of Kenya such as the Maasai Mara.

There’s nothing genteel about the place. Amboseli is harsh.  It is almost always dry, and often in the grip of drought.  This year again, I could see the early signs of what may turn out to be a very severe drought, barring some unexpected late-season rain.

So it is not surprising that many of the animals found in the area are adapted to deal with this harsh, dry environment and to even thrive in it.  Samburu is well-known for its many endemic mammals, particularly the handsome Reticulated Giraffe, Grevy’s Zebra, Beisa Oryx and the Somali Ostrich.  Other animals to be found in the area are equally fascinating, such as the gerenuk, which feeds at a level well higher than that utilized by other antelopes. Seeing it standing on its hind legs and practically using its two front legs like hands, is a most peculiar yet singularly entertaining wildlife experience. That alone is probably worth a trip to Samburu.

Samburu’s elephants are likewise an interesting subject.  They are the common Loxodonta Africana found all over Africa yet they are quite unmistakeable with their muddy reddish brown color, imparted by years of Samburu soil and dust coming into contact with their leathery hides.  The Samburu elephants are not heavily tusked and are extremely tolerant of vehicles, so you will no doubt get some very good close-up views of them.  Except if it is very, very dry when many of the elephants migrate out of the area to the highlands.

On the morning of June 21 I was driven to the airstrip at Loisaba, for the flight to Samburu.  Loisaba’s main lodge and family homes burnt down in a fire some months previously, and driving up to the airstrip it was remarkable to see the high number of elephants and other game in the previously burnt area.  It was clearly much favored by the animals for its newly emergent vegetation and both driving in and flying out we saw literally dozens of elephants dotting the hillsides.

On this day, I would transfer to Samburu on a private charter flight.  Flying as the only passenger on a private plane is quite a treat.  And certainly not something we do all the time.  But it was either this or a 6 hour road trip over horrible roads to Samburu.  Easy decision.

The flight turned out to be one of the most interesting ones I’ve done in a long time.  The young pilot asked and got a big ‘yes’ nod from me about low-level flying.  So all the way from Laikipia to Samburu we were never more than 500 feet or so above the ground.  An exhilarating experience compared with the more mundane feel from 5,000 ft and up.  I could clearly see the elevation increasing as the ground dropped away approaching the edge of the escarpment.  Right at the edge of the Samburu area there was a sharp drop-off with the Ewaso Nyiro River glistening below us, to the right and left.

Even from the air, it was noticeable just how dry it was, as we were later to observe first-hand.  Approaching the Ewaso Nyiro, the pilot glanced over at me (in the co-pilot’s seat), gave me the universal ‘the fun starts now’ thumbs-up sign and then took the powerful single-engined Cessna 206 down over the water, right on the deck in flying parlance, at just 30 meters up from where the air stops and the land begins.   Fun it was and the kind that you cannot find on a computer game or inside a movie theater. This was the real thing with lots of engine and propeller noise and extremely rapid forward motion which will get the adrenaline flowing in even the most jaded of adventure travelers.

Skimming over the wide shallow expanse of the Ewaso Nyiro was a whole lot smoother than the camel ride with an even better view.  With its flat-six Lycoming engine generating about 300 horse-power, resulting in a cruising speed of 160 mph or so, the C-206 is not an ideal  game-viewing platform that low down over the water, but I did see several elephants just off the water’s edge on our left.

All too soon, a riverine forest with some very tall trees on the left and right edge of the river loomed up ahead of us.  The pilot made a wise decision to pull sharply on the yoke and bank to the left.  I could feel myself being pushed down into the seat as we swooped up and away from the river, the tops of the tall trees sliding away below and to our right.  Bullet safely dodged. What a thrill!  Who knew going on safari could be this much fun.  From that point the Sasaab airstrip was barely 10 minutes away; we checked the runway for wildlife, came around and landed.

Twenty or so minutes later, I was being welcomed to Sasaab by lodge managers Ron and Margaret Gratzinger.  Margaret’s bubbly, sparkling personality makes her the ideal host and while she has lost the accent, her innate Southern charm is still very much intact.  Ron strikes one as a steady, no-nonsense all-American guy and the two of them clearly work well together.  I very much enjoyed their company over the next couple of days and so did the other guests who were there at the time, including a young Chinese couple from Hong Kong – celebrating a belated anniversary.  Also with us for the two days were a grandmother and grand-daughter from New York. It turned out that the lady was the founder of Nickelodeon and she soon revealed her formidable personality and tons of charisma, much to our delight.  For the first day we were joined by a French photographer and his companion – both seasoned Africa and world travelers  – with a wealth of stories and experiences from remote, little-visited African locations. Like so often on safari in far-flung corners of Africa, our diverse little group enjoyed some splendid meals and get-togethers, quickly getting to know each other and making the most of our shared experience.

Sasaab’s spectacular facade and entrance-way is the show-piece of its Moroccan inspired design, which is evident throughout the property and the rooms.  My suite – it can hardly be described as a room or tent – had all the space in the world with a fantastic view over the Ewaso Nyiro and the valley and mountains in the distance.  It is multi-leveled but there is a walkway (no steps) down from the sleeping quarters to the ‘bathroom’ – or rather the area which has a his and hers sink, a separate toilet and a semi-outdoor but private shower.  The rooms are far from each other and they very much have the feel of a private sanctuary.  The large king size bed has a view out over the river and plains as well, and it has a private plunge pool and verandah.  For once the lighting was adequate and easily controlled from the bed.

The main lounge and dining room/bar area is expansive with several inviting and very comfortable stuffed chairs and colorful couches.  An attempt by the barman at mixing a dry gin martini unfortunately failed due to an overabundance of vermouth.  Like someone once said, very wisely, all you need to do to get the perfect dry martini is to walk through a room with a bottle of vermouth somewhere in it.  Actually a tiny bit, maybe half an ounce or so, of dry vermouth is fine, but anything beyond that pretty much ruins the drink.  And please – all safari bar tenders take a note – everything has to be icy cold.  Including the glass itself.

The grounds at Sasaab are home to a variety of birds and several dik-dik also hang out around the property, being fed some cabbage from time to time, I suspect.  They are very tame and very photogenic although the ones by my tent disappeared by the time I had the camera ready.

On our first afternoon at Sasaab we took a bush walk – which was pleasant even if we did not see any wildlife – to a nearby rocky outcrop where sundowners were served a bit later.  The young Chinese couple went on camel-back while the French couple and I were on foot.  The sunset was not the most spectacular one I had ever experienced, but on the right day with the right sun/cloud mix, the spot would be amazing.  As it was the snacks were great and the G & T top-notch.  A perfect end to a very eventful day.  Dinner that evening was served al fresco and our party of eight tucked into the expertly prepared dishes which included chicken breast, freshly baked bread, salad and other side dishes.  All very elegant, much like the type of  dinner party you would like to be invited to.

The next morning we were up and out quite early for a half day game drive to Samburu National Park.  Initially the game drive was very slow with few animals seen, but it started to pick up by the time we had driven about an hour from the entrance to the  park.  This does present a problem, as it takes a full 2 hours total from the lodge to where one can reasonable expect good game-viewing.  In the process you lose almost all of the good early morning ‘golden hour’ light, i.e. the first hour after the sun is up.  Either you have to leave from camp very early or spend a couple of days at a different property inside the park.  Serious photographers need to give this some thought in making a decision about where to stay in Samburu.

As it turned out the day of our drive was unseasonably windy – the wind reached near gale strength by late morning with the result that conditions were not ideal at all.  Bird-watching was impossible and photography was most challenging.  I managed to get a few half-decent pics, but nothing nearly as good as on my previous trip to the area.  We did get lucky with some lions which walked right by us, saw a couple of groups of elephants, lots and lots of giraffe, plenty of Grevy’s zebra, some gerenuk and a few other species.  Mixed in with quite a bit of dust but what can you do.  Our ‘bush breakfast’ was served on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro and the Sasaab crew made the best of extremely trying conditions.  I could not believe that our guide succeeded in getting a fire going to cook some delicious pancakes, amongst others.  All in all, breakfast was quite nice despite the occasional swirl of dust blowing across the picnic site.

On the way back to camp we saw many more animals – it was a pity that the light was quite harsh by then because we did see several very special things including a bird of prey which had taken down a smaller bird (or maybe it was a hare), some dwarf mongoose peering out of a anthill, some young impala, more zebra and several giraffe, as well as some nice groups of oryx and Grevy’s Zebra.

That afternoon we visited a nearby Samburu village.  It was a sobering experience to see the very basic, stripped down existence which they lead, compared with the over-abundance of possessions which clutter the lives of most of us.  Inside one of the rough houses (designed and built by the women) there was barely anything other than a few calf hides on the dirt floor and a couple of pots and utensils next to a smoldering fire.  No chairs, tables, closets or gadgets.  Nothing.

Outside, the kids were dirty and dusty but seemingly healthy and happy.  Their diet is sparse and they probably don’t know what it feels like to overeat.  Things like candy and sugared soda are rarely consumed – never mind pizza or fast food.  People who get most of their nutrition from ox-blood and goat milk are very lean and one of the kids actually wrapped his little hand around my calve, smiling and chatting away to one of his friends.  What was said about the mzungu’s oversize calves and later about his hairy forearms – the Samburu have no hair on their arms or legs – thankfully will never be revealed.

The smokiness of the room was rather over-powering and gave me a bit of a headache so I was not totally sad to have to say goodbye to the people in the village and get back into the car.  Cultural interaction is almost always interesting but can be a bit depressing for some people.  Other guests thrive on it – I suppose the point is that there is a very authentic Samburu village quite close to the camp and that guest are encouraged to visit it and take photographs without fear of having a fee demanded of them for every pic.  Sasaab management has an arrangement in place with the village to take care of that.  Even so, I was reticent to stick the camera into total strangers’ faces.  The kids were keen to perform in front of the lens, singing their local version of ‘Freres Jacques’ with big broad smiles lighting up their faces.

On the last day of my Kenya trip, Ron dropped me off at the Samburu airstrip (inside the National Park) and I spent the afternoon in a day room at the Ole Sereni in Nairobi before the long flight back to Amsterdam and then Houston.

On every visit to Kenya I have grown more fond of the country and its people. As I’ve said previously, I still consider it to be the Rolls Royce of safari destinations.

Nowhere else in Africa will you find such a stunning combination of abundant and easily seen wildlife, such diversity of habitat and scenery and such rich culture. Kenya was the original safari destination and once you get there, it is easy to see why.

Yes the Rolls Royce of safaris has a few dings, it needs a paint job and the leather seats need to be replaced. But its powerful 8-cylinder engine is still going strong; a little tune-up and it will be good for many more thousands of miles.

What is more, there are no friendlier people than Kenyans. They genuinely want you to love their country just as much as they do, and they will do anything to make that happen.

I look forward to returning to Kenya again soon and to become even better acquainted with this wonderful country. So many other places yet to be seen and experienced such as Lake Turkana, Tsavo and Kakamega Forest in the west. And of course I will just have to go back to the Masai Mara and Amboseli and to the Chyulu Mountains. The beautiful animals and the friendly people are waiting.

More Info

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Botswana February 2014 II

PART 1: INTRO, CAMP MOREMI & XAKANAXA

This trip was a refresher for what is still considered the meat and potatoes safari destination in southern Africa, Botswana.  It was the destination of the first educational I ever took with my brother back in 2007 and I have been back multiple times.  When it comes to Botswana, the more the merrier, in fact I had been there as recently as two years ago in most of the general areas that I will cover in this trip report.  We begin at a great Desert and Delta property, Camp Moremi, in perhaps the most iconic area of Botswana, the Okavango Delta.

After the standard flight from Johannesburg up to Maun we are quickly off to the property and upon arrival it is quickly evident that the rains have been heavy this year.  The roads are tough to navigate and full of water in places.  The area we are staying has a few public camp sites and we hear that on more than a couple of occasions self-drivers get stuck on the roads and require assistance from the camps.  The heavy rain also makes the Mopani woodland quite beautiful and green, very lush.  The downside to this, of course, is that it makes game viewing quite difficult as animals can disappear only a few feet from the road.

CAMP MOREMI AND XAKANAXA, EASTERN OKAVANGO DELTA
This camp was one of the few that I would get to stay at simultaneously with Jason and Sara. Our guide, Banda, started what would be quite a terrific run of knowledgeable and friendly guides that lasted through the entire trip. The camp itself is a nice looking camp with an outer fence that keeps out only the elephants. It has 2 central meal areas with dinner usually served upstairs and breakfast and brunch downstairs. The rooms are spacious with bathroom facilities in an adjacent door as well as a good view of the lagoon in front of camp.

We arrived in the afternoon and by the time we were finished getting our things in order in our rooms we were running just a little bit late and the vehicle had left to go on the afternoon activity.  Not a problem at all as we were simply dropped off by another vehicle.  This is a fairly common practice as the camps go out of their way to cater to each individual guest/group.  Our game drives while at the camp were relatively quiet with some general game such as zebra, wildebeest, impala and other antelope mixed in.   Saw some lion tracks on the second day and had heard them the previous night and that morning but we were unable to find them.  Of course our clients would spend at least three nights here – not just one.  Enough time to find and observe a good variety of game at any time of the year.

The transfer to Xakanaxa was done via boat and only took about 5 minutes as the two properties are literally adjacent.  My first impressions on the camp were that it was similar to Moremi in many ways but the tents were significantly closer together.

Our first game drive we were fortunate and were able to view a leopard that another vehicle had spotted.  It was resting up before the evening hunt on top of a termite mound which made it easier to spot.  It was tough to get a different angle due to the thick foliage but we decided to have our sundowner drinks and snacks in the vehicle while we stayed with the animal.  Dinner that night was some very tasty lamb.  It was a fun dinner with a group of Australians a couple from the UK and another single traveler also from the UK.

After a quick snack the next morning we were off at about 5:30.  Not a long way out of camp we drove by some noisy guinea fowl which sparked the interest of our guide Ngande.  He quickly put the vehicle in reverse and sure enough there was a leopard, briefly silhouetted against a small mound.  It quickly took off and we were unable to get a good look at it afterwards but just another example of how a quality guide will help get the most out of your game drives.  After this we spotted some red lechwe, waterbuck and a couple wattled cranes.  Had a nice up-close elephant sighting and he seemed quite relaxed with us so nearby.  After tea and some more snacks as we were heading back to camp we really lucked out and saw a leopard just as it was crossing the road in front of us.  Because it was out in the open we had a fantastic view… for about 15 wonderful seconds.  Once it headed into the bush it was invisible in moments.  Had we come across the same location a minute earlier or later we might have gotten lucky and spotted the tracks but we would have had zero chance of spotting the animal itself.

On our arrival back at camp we enjoyed a fantastic brunch with some especially tasty bream.  There was a small croc sunbathing not far from where we ate and he must have just eaten something because his stomach was literally the shape and size of a watermelon.  I got in a short swim, did some reading and took a bit of a nap before the evening activity.

That evening we took a boat cruise straight from camp.  There were some beautiful birds spotted including African Darter and Jacana, nicknamed the “Jesus” bird as it appears to walk on water.  Quite an excellent area for birding.  From our boat we transferred onto mokoros and went for a short ride.  We saw some antelope and giraffe in the distance and the painted reed frog up close.  Dinner was great again with some excellent chicken.

The following morning all guests were scheduled to leave so our game drives headed in the direction of the airstrip along with our luggage.  We got to see some general game and a very nice malachite kingfisher as well as a woodland kingfisher.    I said my goodbyes to the other guests and our guide and it was off on a short hop to Chitabe Camp.

PART 2: CHITABE & LITTLE VUMBURA

CHITABE CAMP, SOUTHEASTERN OKAVANGO DELTA
Chitabe Camp is a traditional raised platform camp with spacious tented rooms. As I arrived and sat down for the safety briefing that occurs at every camp some other guests remarked that they thought they had seen me earlier. This drew a bit of a chuckle from me as I knew my brother was staying at this camp and of course it turns out they had seen him earlier. After the briefing I made my way back to my room and settled in before heading back for high tea. It was a typical high tea where I convinced myself that I would take it easy on the snacks and then proceeded to sample everything they had.

The highlight of our evening game drive with our guide Bebe was getting to see a small pack of 4 wild dog.  They were relaxing in the waning sun although one of them was obviously a bit hungry and eager to get the others to go on a hunt.  Shortly after we left them we came across a couple of lions taking a stroll just as the sun really started to disappear.  A delicious chicken dinner was prepared for us as we returned to camp and shortly afterwards it was off to bed although there was a particularly noisy cricket that drew my ire throughout the night.

The following morning we woke up early and had a tasty little breakfast with some poppy seed muffins and toast to hold us over until brunch.   This game drive would be abbreviated as we were scheduled to leave on a flight that afternoon, Jason and Sara to one camp, myself to another.  We saw some nice birds and quite a bit of general game but a bit quiet on the predator side.  On arrival back into camp we had time to finish packing and get in a fine brunch.  Unfortunately, as we drove to the airstrip we passed the other guests arriving back into camp and heard about their lion and cheetah sightings just after we had gone.  Needless to say I think we all would have traded in that brunch, especially for a chance to see some cheetah.  This type of thing tends to happen though when all you have are 1 or 2 nights per camp.

LITTLE VUMBURA, NORTHERN OKAVANGO DELTA
The next camp on the list was Little Vumbura and after saying my goodbyes and after a short flight I was meeting with my new guide, Kay, and we were taking the 40 minute drive to camp. Little Vumbura is actually built on an island so there is a short boat transfer involved as you head to and back from activities. Very good views from the tents out to some classic Okavango Delta scenery. The tents themselves are comfortable with doors separating the restroom area and the shower. As I said earlier it had been about 2 years since I was last in Botswana and as I was meeting some of the camp staff I instantly recognized someone but was having trouble remembering where I had last seen him. Terrible with names but great with faces. Quest was his name and eventually I remembered that he was previously the camp manager at Kalahari Plains Camp which I had visited on my last trip so it was nice to catch up with him. Ironically the two guests I would share game drives at the camp with for the following two days were a couple from England who had been to Little Vumbura 14 years ago and Kay had been their guide then so it was a day of coincidences all around.

Could not resist a small slice of carrot cake before our evening drive and it was mighty tasty indeed.  Quite quickly after we left camp we saw a mother hyena with some very young pups.  We watched them for quite some time and saw that their den was nearby.  After this it was some birding as well as general game including a group of about 5 elephants having fun in a small watering hole and then getting back out and promptly dusting themselves down.  We picked out a nice spot and had a sundowner before heading back to camp.  As we all had some drinks around the fire in anticipation of dinner the staff entertained us with some songs.  Had some more excellent lamb for dinner as well as crème brule and slept like a rock.

The following morning the park-wide wake-up call changed from 5:00 to 5:30 because it was getting a bit darker in the mornings so we got to “sleep in” a bit.  After a small breakfast and some tea we were off on our game drive.  We spotted a ‘handsome’ group of ground hornbill getting their own breakfast as well as the same hyenas we had seen previously.  As we watched them we received radio notification that another vehicle had spotted fresh wild dog tracks so we sped off to try our luck with them.  Not too long afterwards they were spotted and about 15 minutes later we had caught up and had a fantastic viewing of a group of 15.  They were on the move and we followed for a good while not sure if they were hunting or just avoiding other predators.  5 pups trailed the main group.

As well as the dogs there was a great amount of birdlife in the area and also some general game including tessebe, zebra, impala, wildebeest and hippo.  Before wrapping up the drive we were treated to a group of elusive sable antelope.  More than a few people I know rank them as the most handsome antelope.  The contrast in color between the young ones (brown) and the adult is quite striking.

Evening activity was a boat cruise around the island.  Not as much about the game as it is relaxing and changing up the routine a bit.  Very nice birdlife and the scenery is excellent.  Also got to take a closer look at some of the aquatic plants including the day and night lilies and all the papyrus.  One of these days I hope to get a look at the sitatunga, the rare antelope usually found submerged in water eating papyrus.

It was a traditional dinner that night with a good mixture of some of the local meat and fish.  We started with some “African Tapas” around the campfire and then all of the staff did some singing and dancing for us.  These happen once a week at all Wilderness Safaris camps so if you stay for a decent amount of time you will likely experience it.  In fact one of the starters was a combination of peanut butter and some of the delta plants we had just spent the evening looking at.

The following morning I was scheduled to leave but was still able to get in a full morning game drive.  It was a good thing because we spotted a pride of 7 lion lounging in the shade.  Literally the only time they moved was to get into a shadier spot as the sun shifted their cover.  This is about par for the course as far as lion activity during the daytime.  At one point a small group of impala wandered perilously close but must have gotten a whiff of the lion’s scent because they scattered quite quickly.  It drew a couple raised heads from the pride but it was really nothing worth their effort.  After the lions we got to see the sable one last time before heading back to camp and grabbing my luggage for the trip to Selinda Camp.

PART 3: SELINDA & DUMATAU CAMP

SELINDA CAMP, SELINDA CONCESSION, NORTHERN BOTSWANA
The flight schedule is usually pretty dependent on which guests from which other camps are heading where at which dates so you are just as likely to have a direct flight to your next camp or you might need to pick up some other passengers along the way. My flight to Selinda required about 3 such flights but they were all extremely short, none longer than 15 minutes, and loading and unloading occurs quite quickly so it’s not much of a hassle. Once we landed at Selinda I was picked up by my guide, Lets, and we took the short 15 minute ride to the area where the vehicles are parked. Even though it is not in the Okavango Delta like the previous camps located on their own islands a boat is needed to cross the Selinda Spillway to get to camp. This takes between 10 and 15 minutes so a bit longer than most but not at all unpleasant and in fact gives you some birding opportunities going to and from camp.

The camp itself has a very spacious main area with a brand new pool that was actually just being finished as I arrived.  The main areas and the tents are all raised but the pathways are not.  The tents are very nice with plenty of space, especially at the back in the restrooms where they have a big bathtub in the middle.  There are some innovative additional items such as a yoga mat and binoculars that you can take with you on your game drives.

I was the only guest at the camp for the entire first day so I literally had the entire place to myself.  After brunch with the managers they convinced me to concentrate a bit on the birdlife in the area and I went out with a checklist for the first time.  Most camps have a generic checklist with all the bird, mammal and reptiles found in the area but I hadn’t seriously kept up with them on any of my previous trips.  After the evening drive I had seen 54 different species of birds and I kept that list nearby for the rest of the trip.  It helped tremendously that Lets was an expert birder and anything I spotted he could quickly identify.  Dinner at Selinda is usually a choice between two or three starters and entrees followed by desert.  That night I had some wonderful grilled bream.

I marked off another 20 birds on the next day’s first game drive and as we stopped for high tea we spotted a group of elephant heading towards some water.  We were able to approach them on foot and get a great view of their crossing.  On the afternoon drive we spotted the first jackal of the trip which I made sure to mark in my checklist.  Another highlight was seeing a lone sable antelope.  He was a bit shy but we managed to get moderately close for some pictures.  There were a good amount of elephants and plenty of birds including two pelicans we spotted as we were enjoying our sundowner.   Following dinner that night we did a bit of stargazing and I must say, even a poor night for stars in Botswana is breathtaking.  If you see them with little to no moon it is borderline blinding.

Final morning at Selinda got started on a unique note.  I got my regular 5:00AM wakeup call and actually spotted a hippo from my tent.  I crept out to get a closer look but made a little bit too much noise and he trotted off.  Usually they come to pick you up 30 minutes after the initial wake up but when no one came for me I thought there might be a hippo too close to my tent for them to safely pick me up.  About 20 minutes later my suspicions were proven correct as I was collected and told there had been a hippo doing some feeding nearby.

Got a nice close-up of a big male elephant standing right by the road in the early morning sunlight.  He was calmly feeding, looking mighty dusty.  Saw some more birds as we cruised near some water and actually picked up some fresh wild dog tracks heading in the opposite direction we were headed.  I had a scheduled inspection of Zarafa Camp so we didn’t stick with the tracks but Lets radioed it in to the other vehicles.  Zarafa is quite spectacular with only 4 rooms but boy are they massive and luxurious.  They are in the process of building a two-room adjoining suite that should be open shortly.  Also have a rather large barge that they take out for sundowners.  It looks like the reputation of the camp is well deserved as it is extremely impressive.  By the time I was finished with the inspection the other vehicles had spotted the dogs and we later found them before heading off to the airstrip.  7 in total they looked exhausted and were just lying down under some trees and brush actually very near the concession manager’s house.

DUMATAU CAMP, LINYANTI CONCESSION, NORTHERN BOTSWANA
Almost felt guilty taking a flight from Selinda to Dumatau seeing as it couldn’t have been much longer than 5 minutes. Ran into the same couple from England (Scotland originally) that I had gone on activities at Little Vumbura with and we were joined by another couple from Switzerland. Quickly it was noticeable that there were a good amount of elephant in the area but apparently it pales in comparison to the dry season when they are really all over the place in huge numbers. Saw some kudu which apparently the wild dog in the area tends to prefer or even specialize in taking, specifically the small ones. Speaking of which we spotted a wild dog who promptly disappeared into the bush. Took us a while of tracking him but eventually we caught up with the majority of them and saw about 7 of them fairly briefly in the road. They were on the hunt and moving fast. Wound up taking our sundowner near the channel in the hope that the dogs might chase something toward it but unfortunately it did not materialize. Apparently that is a favorite tactic of theirs and they are highly, highly successful hunters.

Dinner was great because we got to go out onto their floating deck right in front of camp and eat under the stars.  Both lamb and chicken were served and they were both quite tasty.  Not to scare anyone too bad but before and after dinner I found lone scorpions in my room.  It was the first time I have found one in a room and to have it happen twice was quite a coincidence.  The staff was quite thorough in going through my room afterwards and I didn’t have any more visitors.

Our first order of business the next morning was to go to an elephant carcass that was about 12 days old.  He had been wounded by another elephant and died after having his chest deeply punctured.  The stench was palpable from a distance and got almost unbearable upon arrival but there was still some meat on the guy and that meant hyenas as well as vulture were still around in pretty good numbers.  After this we drove to the Linyanti Swamp and saw some elephant as well as plenty of birds.  A short drive from there is the mixed open woodland that is one of my favorite spots in southern Africa.  As we returned to camp we were rushed to a boat as there was a group of elephants in the process of crossing the channel right in front of camp.  We caught the tail end of this and then went on a short cruise were we spotted some lone bulls crossing and managed to get quite close.

That evening we had a proper cruise on their larger, slower boat and were treated to a fantastic show with an amazing amount of elephants crossing in separate, large groups.  There had to be over 200 in total and it happened directly in front of camp as well.  We got to enjoy the spectacle with some drinks in hand and plenty in the way of snacks as well.

Final morning drive was excellent as early on we were told of a lion killing a small giraffe near Savuti Camp and although it was a bit of a drive we started heading that way.  We made it and got to see 2 adult female lions with 3 small cubs feeding.  A bit gruesome as the cubs especially were covered in blood but quite unique.  The mother looked exhausted most likely from the hunt followed by dragging the carcass into some shade/brush to protect the kill and then presumably opening it up to allow the cubs to feed.  It didn’t look like she had even begun to feed herself at that time.

Overall it was an exciting and productive trip for me as I got to see some great new camps.  Even after some heavy rains this year the green season delivered excellent game viewing and scenery.  As I said earlier the guiding was especially fantastic which was a large reason for the game viewing and between that, a bit of luck, and a little bit more time at each camp guests should experience similar or better results on that end.  The sheer amount of wild dog was likely worth the trip itself.  I managed to avoid the rain outside of two very light showers that did not affect any of my activities and at no point during the trip did I have an uncomfortably hot night.  During midday it can become a little bit toasty but that’s what fans and swimming pools are for.

PART 4: COMBINED REPORT: NGOMA & VICTORIA FALLS

Ngoma Safari Lodge
At this point in the trip, Lyndon and Jason would finally be traveling together for the remaining 3 nights and Sara would be heading back home to return to the real world.

We met up at the Dumatau airstrip to share some stories and photos before our flight to Kasane where we were picked up for a 55km road transfer to Ngoma Safari Lodge. The lodge is located on the west side of Chobe National Park, where there are very few other camps. This is an important distinction between east and west Chobe, as in the east you will have to deal with many other vehicles while on game drives. At Ngoma, we only saw one other safari vehicle during our two game drives.

There were 8 rooms all facing a flood plain of the Chobe River. The view was spectacular even with the flood plain empty.

The rooms were once again quite luxurious. Beds facing a large wall of windows peeking out into the plains, sitting area to one side and a few stairs to the restroom which stood behind the bed. Each room has a private plunge pool as well where elephants have been known to come by and empty during the dry season.

The main area at the lodge had the same wonderful view with a larger rock pool down below. Our dinner had a few menu options including a large, well-cooked steak and some ice cream to finish off the night.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. We arrived in time for our afternoon activity, but the guides don’t recommend heading into the park for the evening. The path through Chobe is somewhat of a one way circle route that takes a certain amount of time to complete and the guides have to make it before the gates close. Instead of an evening drive in the park, the lodge offers night drives on the property just outside the National Park where they regularly see all of the same game including predators.

Our morning drive was exciting as we would be able to get into Chobe. We had to leave somewhat early for our transfer to Victoria Falls but we decided to stay somewhat close to the gate so that we could always leave quickly if we needed to.

This strategy ended up paying off quite well as we were able to see a female lion out in the open. She looked like she was hunting and ducked into a small dense group of trees and bushes. Once we made it to the other side we noticed a male was in the bushes as well! They looked at us for a little while and then went into the privacy of the bushes to continue what they had apparently been doing, mating.

There are plenty of other options for activities at Ngoma Safari Lodge including a drive to Kasane for a cruise and a village cultural visit. We have heard that Ngoma has received approval to build their own dock for the cruises so they can use their own boats eventually as well.

Victoria Falls Safari Club
We were picked up after our game drive for a road transfer to Victoria Falls Safari Club. Ngoma was kind enough to give us a pack lunch before we left as well. When we arrived at the border, customs and immigration were a bit odd as we had to leave our passports with them as the visas were being ‘processed’ and they managed to misspell my surname on my visa but I was told everything would be fine. Luckily it was!

The Safari Club is just a bit outside of Victoria Falls. We had stayed at the Safari Lodge next door but the Safari Club was new to us. The Safari Club is a private portion of the Safari Lodge, so at any time you can head to the Lodge and have drinks or meals but those staying at the Lodge cannot come have drinks or breakfast at the Safari Club. You are also given unlimited wireless internet but it was as most things are in Africa, slow. The rooms were also quite a bit nicer. They were very modern with a somewhat open concept restroom.

One interesting thing around there is the daily vulture feeding at about 3 PM just below the Safari Lodge. We both went to see them toss out a few dozen pounds of meat trimmings and bones so that over 100 vultures could feed. I must say, they smelled horrible.

We did have a somewhat major hiccup that was eventually resolved. Upon arrival we asked to be booked on the brand new Zambezi Explorer cruise ship. We were told the cruise pickup was at 4:30 and were out in the main area by 4:15. Once the transfer arrived the driver did not have us on the list and we were left behind, only to be rushed by another driver to try and catch the cruise ship. Unfortunately the ship we were rushed to was not the new one, which had apparently set off closer to 4:00, so we had to cancel our cruise.

The manager at Vic Falls Safari Club apologized to us and booked a transfer and the cruise for us on the following day at less than half price. It ended up working out well though, because that night we went to The Boma for dinner instead. If we had done the cruise AND the Boma we would have been over full.

The Boma was as it always has been, a very touristy experience with decent food at a somewhat high price.

Victoria Falls Hotel
After a nice breakfast at the Safari Club, our second stop in Victoria Falls was only a 10 minute transfer away. While it was built in 1905, recent refurbishments have brought some modern characteristics. There is a computer room with free internet and we were given wireless internet passwords for 50MB of data, any additional amount and we would need to pay.

Our one afternoon at Victoria Falls Hotel would be quite busy. Just before lunch time we walked to the falls along the hotel’s “private” path. We were unfortunately met halfway by nearly a dozen locals trying to sell or trade some of their curios. If you don’t want anything you must just keep walking! But if you are interested in something, I would suggest bringing some old clothes, shoes, hats or cheap sunglasses to trade. I’m sure you could get quite a good deal.

The water level was very high at this time of year, so we couldn’t risk bringing the camera down to some of the viewpoints. We saw some visitors that were completely drenched from spray! Even at one of the dryer spots, at one point the wind shifted and we were getting lots of water. Make sure you bring ziplock bags for your phones or larger bags for cameras if you want to go to all of the viewpoints!

At 3 we were just in time for high tea. Bert had recommended it to us. It’s a little pricey at $30, but it is meant to be shared between two and there is a huge variety of scones and cakes and treats to eat with your tea.

Lastly, we were picked up for our cruise on the mighty Zambezi Explorer. Once we finally got to see this ship we understood all of the talk we had heard. Three decks high, just gorgeous, it quite literally stood head and shoulders above the other ‘cruise’ ships. If you are going on a cruise in Zimbabwe, this is the only ship we will recommend from now on. For only a few dollars more than other cruises you get roughly 10-12 appetizers (enough to fill us to the brim after skipping lunch and dinner and only having high tea) along with any drinks you would like for the length of the cruise.

Our final morning on safari we headed for a late breakfast at Jungle Junction, one of the three restaurants at Victoria Falls Hotel. We would recommend having breakfast early on, as it seemed like the food was not as fresh as it could be.

We were once again off for about 24 hours of travel to get back to reality. Another educational safari in the books with 17 different properties during a 13 night trip. A few of the camps definitely stood out but we would return to any of them in a heartbeat. Botswana really is still one of if not the best safari destination in all of Africa.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

Botswana February 2014

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

Last year we embarked on our first ‘Green Season’ safari which took place entirely in Namibia. Now, most of the Namibia we visited rarely gets green at all so this year we were heading on a true Green Season experience in Botswana.  While Lyndon and I had been to Botswana before, I personally have not visited many of the main camps that we send clients to. My experience was only with a couple of camps on the Explorations circuit and the old Abu Camp which has now been renovated quite extensively. This trip has really helped in giving me a first person perspective of most of Botswana and Green Season safaris in general.

To start the trip, we spent three nights with family in Pretoria which is always a good time. I brought my lovely fiancé along to meet them and to go on her first ever safari. Some of this trip report will be from her eyes as a first time safari goer, as I can only imagine the things that I miss because of certain expectations. An example of this might be basically ignoring impala, knowing that they’re so common I don’t need to photograph them. I would notice Sara watching closely, taking photos, and I remembered just how beautiful impala really are. Their shiny hair looking like it’s almost painted on their bodies. Young impala jousting with each other, or just plain staring at us through the morning light. It’s amazing the things I don’t notice or appreciate as much as I should, and hopefully some of her insight can bring out the beauty in everything you might see on a safari as it did for me.

What’s interesting is this knowledge, or lack of knowledge, works the other way around. While working in the business, I know that African Wild Dog are very rare and endangered. But we saw plenty of them, and I believe it took the guides and my own explanation to help Sara and other first timers understand just how rare they are. We also saw plenty of lion up and active during the day at our second camp, Duba Plains. But in the remaining six camps we saw just two more lions at dusk and we could really only watch them for a few minutes. The action at our second camp seemingly spoiled expectations for the remaining camps. When you’re on a game drive, particularly on your first drive at a new camp, you just have to find whatever there is to be found. Since we had such short stays, we were constantly changing camps and having to start fresh. Sometimes we had lots of luck and sometimes we really could have used a few extra nights to find what was out there.

Of course, not every part of a safari is as pleasing or enjoyable as a first time safari goer might expect. Flying between camps (particularly if you don’t enjoy flying), game vehicles without a canopy for shade, awful smells and a few bug bites are all somewhat common. But in the hands of a good camp and a great guide, you can spend just a couple of weeks on a journey that really will, as Wilderness Safaris says, change your life.

PART 2: CAMP MOREMI, DUBA PLAINS AND CHITABE

Desert & Delta’s Camp Moremi, Moremi Game Reserve
Before leaving Atlanta, I noticed a map of Botswana on one of the televisions at our departure gate. The entire country was covered in green and yellow and it didn’t look like the rain was going to leave anytime soon. Sara had checked the weather reports for our time there, once again the forecast was all rain. So when we arrived in Maun to a large amount of clouds and standing water around the airport we weren’t surprised. Luckily at the time there was no rain, maybe things were looking up.

After meeting the first of many pilots, we took a 25 minute flight to the Xakanaxa air strip for our first night stay at Camp Moremi. On arrival we immediately noticed how wet everything was. Our 30 minute drive to Camp Moremi could have been a boat transfer! Large portions of the road were under about 3 feet of water. The soil/sand around the Moremi area holds firm in water though, so we didn’t have any problem getting through the water without sinking. I’ve always said that the vehicles will have no issue with wet sand or dry dirt, but when the sand dries into fine powder or the dirt gets muddy sometimes you have a problem. We actually didn’t get stuck at any of our camps due to water or mud, but dry sand gave us quite a bit of trouble later on!

This hammerkop was in the road, yes that’s the road!

Camp Moremi is quite pretty, with a slightly separated ‘breakfast’ area at ground level and a two story lounge/lunch/dinner area. The rooms are tents with attached bathrooms. Unfortunately one of our bathroom lights was out, which we didn’t notice until the night when it was too late to replace it. Later on we would have other issues at a few camps. My recommendation is to tell a camp manager as soon as possible if something is wrong. They will do everything they can to keep you happy and fix the problem.

The room had all the amenities that are needed for safari accommodations including a wardrobe with bug spray, an aerosol insecticide, a safe, cookies, a power adapter, a fan, a mini stove to brew coffee or tea, and a balcony with chairs and a wonderful view. We didn’t get a chance to spend any time in the rooms though, as there was just enough time to drop off our luggage and head out for high tea and our afternoon game drive. Inside the room you can see the tea & coffee station and the door leading to the entry area and onto the restroom.

Our two drives at Camp Moremi were very quiet and the bush was very thick. Our guide tried his best to find us something amazing, but when we heard alarm calls there was just nothing to see! The water was so high that many of the roads were closed and we just couldn’t get to areas that we wanted to get to at times. The remarkable thing is that during this quiet time I got some of my favorite photos. It really helped to focus on the little things like birds and beetles. For instance, while following elephant tracks in the road, we came across a large pile of fresh elephant dung.

Exciting? Not in the least, but slowly moving away from that dung was a dung beetle pushing a ball of dung with a female attached to it! I had seen dung beetles before, but never actively rolling a ball for mating purposes. It was quite interesting and I really enjoy the little bit of motion blur in the photo I captured. The beetles were in the shade of our vehicle and with a very narrow aperture, the photo focuses on the beetles and blurs out the boring background of more sand.

So when you’re out on safari having a quiet day, be sure to notice the little things. Ask your guide about something that catches your eye, there is always something interesting to talk about on a game drive.

The staff and the food at Camp Moremi were both very nice. We had a moment before dinner where Sara got to chat with some of the staff and request a local specialty drink of their choice. Their pick was called the Springbok, which was Amarula and Peppermint Bitters. I thought it sounded horrible, as I usually don’t enjoy peppermint much but if you have a chance to try it I really suggest you do so. It tastes like one of those Andes mints that some restaurants offer after a meal. To match the Springbok drink, we were served Springbok Carpaccio for an appetizer. Unfortunately it was probably my least favorite food option of the night. The rest of the buffet and dessert were excellent including a hake curry, stuffed squash and a semi traditional cheesecake.

For our morning game drive we went a different direction to try and avoid some of the more dense wooded areas in the Moremi Game Reserve. Some spots around the camp had open woodlands where animals tend to congregate. We managed to photograph some zebra and wildebeest during our only morning tea break.

Overall, Camp Moremi and the Moremi Reserve in general seems to be quite a difficult area for good game viewing during the green season. The camp is worth visiting, but we recommend it more for a shoulder or dry season safari.

Great Plains’ Duba Plains Camp. Private concession in the Northern Okavango Delta
I’ve heard some amazing things about Duba Plains and I was excited to visit the camp and the area. Duba is well known for interaction between lion and buffalo. There have been quite a few documentaries written, photographed and filmed at Duba Plains about this very subject. Some of the owners, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, actually have a private camp just for themselves a few minutes away from the main camp. They have used it to film and photograph the lions and buffalo for quite some time. One of the very well-known documentaries, Relentless Enemies, is about the daily struggle for life as a predator and as prey.

Of course, the first thing we hear upon arrival to Duba is that just two days ago a small pride of 3 had taken down a female buffalo that had just given birth. The calf was no match for the lions either and didn’t manage to live for more than a few hours. We also learned that the aptly named ‘Duba Boys’ were no longer around. They had dominated the area for nearly 14 years, and only a month before our arrival a younger male had managed to kill them both. We were experiencing a changing of the guard which caused the large pride of females to split up into three smaller prides. Two were currently with the new male, eating the buffalo cow, while three other females were tending to cubs and a few sub adult males. We would meet up with these males and possibly their mother, but we didn’t manage to find the cubs.

I was slightly worried that the lions wouldn’t be able to take out buffalo in smaller prides but the guides were confident that things would get even better quite quickly. With the previous Duba Boys, the females had lots of trouble raising their cubs to adulthood because other females would kill the cubs. These are females from the same pride possibly killing their sister’s cubs, mind you. From what I had read, experts suspect that a fear of inbreeding was the main reason for killing cubs. Even on our two night stay we managed to see three young males that were all cubs of the new dominant male. I believe the future of the prides at Duba is bright and we will continue to hear amazing things coming from the area.

Duba was possibly our favorite camp. As I said in the introduction, it might have ruined our game viewing expectations for the following camps. We got to see lions 4 different times. Feeding, playing, hunting, swimming, and we could hear them roaring in the mornings and evenings from our tent. I could sit here and describe what it was like, but I believe a few photographs will explain better than I could how wonderful our two nights were.

Lions weren’t the only thing at Duba. We saw lots of water birds as the area was flooded very similarly to Camp Moremi. The difference was the large amount of open plains between the dense bush. We could drive just about anywhere we wanted as well.

We happened to spend Valentine’s Day at Duba Plains, which was quite special. Not only did the staff surprise us with a bush lunch where we had kudu walking through our dining room, so to speak. But after a somewhat quiet evening boat cruise we were treated to an absolutely stunning private Valentine’s Day dinner on the balcony of our tent! The food during our stay was also possibly the best during our safari.

I really can’t recommend this camp enough. We also heard that the camp will be undergoing a renovation within the next few months. I guess we will just have to drag ourselves back to one of the best safari camps in the world for another visit!

Wilderness Safaris’ Chitabe Camp, Southeastern Okavango Delta
We were a bit unfortunate during our transfer to Chitabe. Instead of a single flight, we would end up landing at two stops on the way, Nxabeja and Pom Pom, before arriving at the Chitabe airstrip. This is just the luck of the draw as both Mack Air and Wilderness Air have a limited number of planes and have to adjust flight schedules according to when clients are arriving, changing camps, or heading home. Luckily we still arrived at Chitabe by about 12:30 with time for (another) lunch. That’s one thing you will have a difficulty escaping at any camp in Africa, food!

Chitabe Camp would be our first Wilderness Safaris camp of the trip. I have come to expect a certain level of comfort and beauty when visiting Wilderness camps and Chitabe met those expectations. The camp is on a private concession in the southeast portion of the Okavango Delta. 10% of the area is flooded year round and that number can rise to as high as 56% when the water flows in from Angola. The area is actually quite open compared to what we experienced at Camp Moremi. There are a good amount of open flood plains and while we were there, the water was actually not too bad.

We would only be spending one night at Chitabe, so once again we could only have a couple of drives total. The evening drive started off very slow but our guide, BB, did a great job of showing us tracks and explaining what he was looking for. He really was an excellent guide and we had fun with him. We only had about half an hour of sunlight left and we were told about a wild dog sighting nearby. There were only 4 of them but a couple of our shots came out quite nice during the golden hour. This was the first time I had seen wild dogs since about 2009.

After leaving the dogs we also had a quick sighting of some female lions hugging and grooming each other. The sun had already gone down and most of our shots are slightly blurry but the moment was worth the wait.

Still slightly jetlagged, and this being her first safari, Sara learned that this vacation would be quite a bit different than ones she had been on before. She decided that the next morning she would sleep in to avoid a 5:00AM wakeup call and just have a leisurely morning to herself. Sometimes a lazy morning is exactly what you need on your vacation, so don’t be afraid to ask for this if you’re feeling beat from too many flights or bumpy roads.

PART 3: LITTLE TUBU, KWANDO LEBALA & KWANDO LAGOON

Wildernes Safaris’ Little Tubu, Hunda Island, Okavango Delta
Both Bert and Lyndon have already had great experiences staying at camps near Hunda Island like Little Tubu, Tubu Tree or Kwetsani and I was excited to see them for myself. Once again it was just a single night at a camp that we recommend a minimum of 3 nights. At this point we were in the middle of what would be 8 different camps in 10 nights, so a 2 night stay can really be a luxury for agents.

I must say, Little Tubu really was gorgeous. The ‘island’ was currently not surrounded by water so the bridges leading in seemed like overkill, but just a few weeks from when we were there the whole place will be flooded. We were the only guests at the time, but even when the camp is full there are really only a maximum of 6 people staying, so you really can feel like the center of attention.

That brings me to our favorite thing about Little Tubu, the manager. Phili is a young lady from South Africa and she really stepped things up a notch with how she kept us entertained. She even taught Sara how to bun up her hair in a head scarf. The room at Little Tubu was also the best so far. It had an amazing double balcony with a staggering view that I can only imagine gets better when the floods roll in, and indoor and outdoor showers with plenty of privacy.

Even though we were in just the third room from the main area, we had to walk quite a long distance on the catwalks. So be ready to walk a little bit if you get put in room #1!

I would recommend Little Tubu just for the atmosphere and the accommodations but under normal circumstances the wildlife is quite epic as well. We were not very lucky, though. Since we only had one evening and one morning drive there wasn’t much time to explore. We did manage a good number of zebra, wildebeest, impala and managed to see the first snake of our trip. A rock python slithered it’s way to the top of a bush and seemed to be sunning itself.

I believe we really should have seen more game than we did. I know the area has a large number of leopard and unluckily it took us until the final hour of our morning game drive to find one. We had been searching far away from the camp, but an older female leopard had been strolling around the camp. With only a few moments in the open, we were able to tick off another one of the big five for this trip.

Kwando Lebala Camp, Kwando Concession, Linyanti Area
Kwando is a safari company that has been around Botswana for a very long time and I had never visited one of their camps until now. Our first Kwando experience was at Kwando Lebala. We arrived off the light aircraft and were picked up by a guide and a tracker. We immediately noticed that there was no canopy on the Kwando vehicles and as I mentioned, we would have a tracker for the first time on our trip. Trackers are generally guides in training that are extremely helpful in searching for big game and we were happy to have one, but the lack of a canopy was not a welcomed change. While the sky was mostly cloudy, it was still a very hot day. Particularly when we were picked up at the airstrip, roughly 1:00 PM, we really missed that canopy for some shade.

Lebala camp is located in the south of the Kwando concession which covers a very large area just south of Namibia (The Caprivi Strip). Quite often we were close enough to the Kwando river to see into Namibia. The camp itself is on a small island, which is quite apparent when you see how close the chalets are to each other. Many times we could hear our neighbors talking during our siesta time which was slightly annoying while attempting to rest. There was no problem in the evening because everyone would head to bed at the same time, but it could be an issue with a group that decides to stay up a little late drinking by the fire!

One other small issue was the whole camp was an ant magnet. If you put anything on the floor it would be covered in ants in under an hour. Shoes, bags, shirts, ants! We were given plenty of warning about this and were also given lots of space to put bags or shoes up on shelves in the room.

The staff was very accommodating. We had a wonderful time joking with our guides and trackers. We had heard that the day before our arrival the guests had seen the local pack of wild dogs hunting. Then they were ambushed by a much larger pack of dogs who chased them off toward Kwando Lagoon camp. Our first game drive took us to those dogs. We got a very quick but wonderful sighting of elephant in the water while we were driving as well.

Once again the dogs were very lazy, apparently having eaten between running away from the larger pack and finding the trees where we found them sleeping.

At one point the dogs got up and actually came toward our vehicles, but almost immediately settled back down to sleep in the shade.

The Kwando concession was very open compared to some of the other areas we had visited. We were no longer in the Okavango Delta, so even with all of the recent rain there is just never enough water in the area for a huge amount of trees to grow. The Linyanti area is very well known for game viewing though, and over the next few days we would experience some wonderful sightings!

We were at Lebala for the traditional dinner night, which was absolutely excellent. Not only did they sing and dance for over 15 minutes before dinner, but they served some of the most delicious food of our entire trip. ‘Pap’ or mealie pap, is a traditional porridge/polenta made from ground maize. It was served with a tomato and onion stew and beef. It was very simple, but there was a huge amount of flavor.

Kwando Lagoon
The next morning after breakfast, we were off on our game drive which would also work out as a transfer to our next camp, Kwando Lagoon. This is definitely a plus if you’re staying at both camps, as you won’t have to pay for another light aircraft flight. It would be roughly 2 hours to drive directly from camp to camp, but as a game drive it took quite a bit longer, which was perfectly fine. We actually had our first cheetah sighting on the way. The cheetah were simply sleeping under a bush, but we would see them again on our evening drive. We were quite lucky to get them in such good light!

Once again at Kwando Lagoon there were no catwalks, just paths between the rooms. We were directly on the Kwando River, looking into Namibia. At one point we heard some lions calling, but our guide at dinner said they were in Namibia, so we were unlikely to see them. This was Kwando’s first camp, and the company took their name from the river that they built the camp on. For the second (but not the last) time, we were put in the ‘Honeymoon Suite’. In most cases it is identical to all of the other rooms. It just happens to be the farthest one away from camp, so you have a bit of extra privacy. At some times it was actually nice to get to walk a little ways, as we were mostly sedentary during the safari. (Although riding in the vehicles on bumpy roads really does tire you out!)

The rooms themselves were enormous! Possibly twice as much space as any of the other camps we had stayed in previously. They could have fit an extra tub in the bathroom. One small issue for us was we noticed our cold water was not flowing well. Sara and I should have immediately mentioned this to the staff but I am quite forgetful and I only managed to tell them during dinner. By then it really was too late to have anything fixed. I’ve mentioned this before, but if you ever have anything wrong in your room don’t hesitate to tell the manager the staff. They will do all they can to fix it for you but they need a little bit of time.

Kwando has been doing very well during the green season. At all of our other camps we were either the only couple there or there were at most two other people. At both of the Kwando camps, every room was full! Kwando runs some great specials during this season so be sure to keep them in mind for your future plans.

PART 4: SAVUTI & KINGS POOL

Since we were already in the Linyanti area, it was a quite short flight over to the Dumatau airstrip on our way to Savuti. As many of you may know, the Savuti channel is now full of water year round after subterranean earthquakes in 2010. The density of the bush has changed since then and has made it quite thick and difficult to spot game while driving in certain areas.

Savuti Camp itself was lovely. The main area is split into multiple levels with a pool down below, then the bar area above that continuing into the library/sitting area and dining room. One of the other guests mentioned how remarkable the structure was and how intricate the engineering of it all must have been. We actually just sat for a moment admiring the structure.

Once again we were placed in the room farthest from the main area at camp, but the walk wasn’t too far at Savuti. It’s quite interesting moving along the boardwalk, always with a chance to see game below. The rooms are again somewhat standard for a Wilderness Safaris Classic camp. But when I say standard, I am by no means talking down the luxury and quality of the rooms. Wilderness Safaris rooms are the standard at which we measure other company’s rooms!

We had some breathtaking sightings of carmine bee eaters whizzing around the vehicle and snatching insects right before our eyes. They do this at quite a few camps but I had never seen so many at once. I believe there were upwards of a dozen birds circling our vehicle at some point. We tried and tried, but really only captured a couple images worth keeping. I would suggest either putting the camera down and just enjoying the moment, or using a small point and shoot camera/camcorder to record video.

We tried and tried, but couldn’t find any real predators. One hyena at a two week old elephant carcass was all that we could find. There were lion and leopard tracks everywhere, but the bush really was dense. At one point, we saw fresh leopard tracks go directly into a small wooded area surrounded by roads, but none of us could spot the leopard.

I’d also like to give kudos to Sara for capturing one of my favorite moments while on this safari. We were driving down a road with quite thick mopane bush on either side when a couple elephants started crossing in front of us. One young male was lagging behind and made it just to the middle of the road before stopping. I stopped to enjoy the moment while Sara kept her camera out. This young bull ended up so close ot us he nearly touched the vehicle’s hood with his trunk. Imagine the fright Sara had when she put her camera down and an elephant was 5 feet away!

This shot was captured with an entry level Nikon camera and a stock 55-200 lens. In fact, many of the photos in this report were taken by the same camera. With a good eye for photography and some inexpensive (but high quality) equipment you can really capture something spectacular.

Guests that we book here will generally stay for 3 nights and as our luck would have it, the third day would have been one of the best sightings yet. By then we had moved on to Kings Pool camp, but Lyndon’s trip report mentions what was seen right near Savuti camp the next day!

One thing I have to mention about Savuti is about the roads. I mentioned in my introduction that we never got stuck due to water or mud, but we did get stuck at Savuti because of sand. It wasn’t just because we were bogged down though, one of the drive members actually broke while we were on our way back to camp! Luckily they are very aware of the difficulty that comes with driving on sand and had another vehicle out to pick us up in 15 minutes. I actually got to sit in the driver’s seat and attempt to spin the wheels while our guide checked what was wrong! All in all, many of the roads are fine, others are overgrown with bushes (Elephants will thin out the bushes as the floods come in). But the road from Savuti to the airstrip has some very deep sand. When it’s very dry and fine, it can be quite difficult to traverse.

Wilderness Safaris’ Kings Pool Camp, Linyanti
After just our second two night stay during this safari, we would be off for our last Wilderness Safaris camp, Kings Pool. After a short morning activity and a full mid-morning breakfast we drove back to the Dumatau airstrip and transferred to a Kings Pool vehicle. In Wilderness Safaris’ Linyanti concession there are two classic camps, Dumatau and Savuti, along with the premier camp Kings Pool. They are all somewhere between 30-45 minutes away from the airstrip. The drive to Kings Pool would be 45 minutes, but the roads really were some of the best we had been on during our trip. The vehicle was absolutely flying, and comparing it to trudging through sand we really did travel a long distance during that 45 minute transfer.

Kings Pool would be our only premier camp during this trip and I am so glad that it was saved until the end. The camp is set beautifully on the Kings Pool Lagoon with a very large deck for dining and a lower C shaped campfire setting. Premier camps offer plenty beyond the traditional game drives and Kings Pool is no different. Game drives, night drives, nature walks, hides, cruises, fishing, birding and massages are all available. Certain ones like massages do come at an extra cost. Unfortunately, certain times in the green season are breeding times for the fish in Botswana and fishing is not permitted. We could have fished at quite a few of our camps but our trip fell within that breeding season and we could not do any fishing. Please ask us if you are interested in fishing and we will advise on the best possible times to travel.

The rooms are astoundingly large with double showers, a bathtub, private deck with a plunge pool and a great view of the water. We arrived in time for our siesta and after a somewhat lengthy walk to yet another ‘honeymoon suite’, we immediately cooled ourselves down in the plunge pool. About half an hour later I could hear elephants rumbling in the bushes behind us and we were treated to a small herd crossing just in front of our chalet. Unfortunately we were in the pool and couldn’t get any photos.

Our first activity was a sunset cruise. On the way we were lucky enough to see a herd of about 30 elephants crossing the water. It’s always fun seeing elephants in water, they just seem so happy.

The cruise itself was enjoyable. Snacks were served and we each had a few drinks. Sara even requested a margarita which was wonderful. We didn’t see much outside of a gorgeous sunset and a few hippo and birds but once again the quiet moments sometimes make for the best photography.

As this was Sara and my last night on safari together, we decided to skip the morning activity and sleep in. We really wanted to extend our stay at this immaculate camp, but Sara settled for a massage and a leisurely morning with me. We did happen to miss some amazing wild dog sightings, but in the end we were happy with our choice.

If you have the option to end your safari at a premier camp I fully recommend it.

PART 5: COMBINED REPORT: NGOMA & VICTORIA FALLS

Ngoma Safari Lodge
At this point in the trip, Lyndon and Jason would finally be traveling together for the remaining 3 nights and Sara would be heading back home to return to the real world.

We met up at the Dumatau airstrip to share some stories and photos before our flight to Kasane where we were picked up for a 55km road transfer to Ngoma Safari Lodge. The lodge is located on the west side of Chobe National Park, where there are very few other camps. This is an important distinction between east and west Chobe, as in the east you will have to deal with many other vehicles while on game drives. At Ngoma, we only saw one other safari vehicle during our two game drives.

There were 8 rooms all facing a flood plain of the Chobe River. The view was spectacular even with the flood plain empty.

The rooms were once again quite luxurious. Beds facing a large wall of windows peeking out into the plains, sitting area to one side and a few stairs to the restroom which stood behind the bed. Each room has a private plunge pool as well where elephants have been known to come by and empty during the dry season.

The main area at the lodge had the same wonderful view with a larger rock pool down below. Our dinner had a few menu options including a large, well-cooked steak and some ice cream to finish off the night.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. We arrived in time for our afternoon activity, but the guides don’t recommend heading into the park for the evening. The path through Chobe is somewhat of a one way circle route that takes a certain amount of time to complete and the guides have to make it before the gates close. Instead of an evening drive in the park, the lodge offers night drives on the property just outside the National Park where they regularly see all of the same game including predators.

Our morning drive was exciting as we would be able to get into Chobe. We had to leave somewhat early for our transfer to Victoria Falls but we decided to stay somewhat close to the gate so that we could always leave quickly if we needed to.

This strategy ended up paying off quite well as we were able to see a female lion out in the open. She looked like she was hunting and ducked into a small dense group of trees and bushes. Once we made it to the other side we noticed a male was in the bushes as well! They looked at us for a little while and then went into the privacy of the bushes to continue what they had apparently been doing, mating.

There are plenty of other options for activities at Ngoma Safari Lodge including a drive to Kasane for a cruise and a village cultural visit. We have heard that Ngoma has received approval to build their own dock for the cruises so they can use their own boats eventually as well.

Victoria Falls Safari Club
We were picked up after our game drive for a road transfer to Victoria Falls Safari Club. Ngoma was kind enough to give us a pack lunch before we left as well. When we arrived at the border, customs and immigration were a bit odd as we had to leave our passports with them as the visas were being ‘processed’ and they managed to misspell my surname on my visa but I was told everything would be fine. Luckily it was!

The Safari Club is just a bit outside of Victoria Falls. We had stayed at the Safari Lodge next door but the Safari Club was new to us. The Safari Club is a private portion of the Safari Lodge, so at any time you can head to the Lodge and have drinks or meals but those staying at the Lodge cannot come have drinks or breakfast at the Safari Club. You are also given unlimited wireless internet but it was as most things are in Africa, slow. The rooms were also quite a bit nicer. They were very modern with a somewhat open concept restroom.

One interesting thing around there is the daily vulture feeding at about 3 PM just below the Safari Lodge. We both went to see them toss out a few dozen pounds of meat trimmings and bones so that over 100 vultures could feed. I must say, they smelled horrible.

We did have a somewhat major hiccup that was eventually resolved. Upon arrival we asked to be booked on the brand new Zambezi Explorer cruise ship. We were told the cruise pickup was at 4:30 and were out in the main area by 4:15. Once the transfer arrived the driver did not have us on the list and we were left behind, only to be rushed by another driver to try and catch the cruise ship. Unfortunately the ship we were rushed to was not the new one, which had apparently set off closer to 4:00, so we had to cancel our cruise.

The manager at Vic Falls Safari Club apologized to us and booked a transfer and the cruise for us on the following day at less than half price. It ended up working out well though, because that night we went to The Boma for dinner instead. If we had done the cruise AND the Boma we would have been over full.

The Boma was as it always has been, a very touristy experience with decent food at a somewhat high price.

Victoria Falls Hotel
After a nice breakfast at the Safari Club, our second stop in Victoria Falls was only a 10 minute transfer away. While it was built in 1905, recent refurbishments have brought some modern characteristics. There is a computer room with free internet and we were given wireless internet passwords for 50MB of data, any additional amount and we would need to pay.

Our one afternoon at Victoria Falls Hotel would be quite busy. Just before lunch time we walked to the falls along the hotel’s “private” path. We were unfortunately met halfway by nearly a dozen locals trying to sell or trade some of their curios. If you don’t want anything you must just keep walking! But if you are interested in something, I would suggest bringing some old clothes, shoes, hats or cheap sunglasses to trade. I’m sure you could get quite a good deal.

The water level was very high at this time of year, so we couldn’t risk bringing the camera down to some of the viewpoints. We saw some visitors that were completely drenched from spray! Even at one of the dryer spots, at one point the wind shifted and we were getting lots of water. Make sure you bring ziplock bags for your phones or larger bags for cameras if you want to go to all of the viewpoints!

Our one afternoon at Victoria Falls Hotel would be quite busy. Just before lunch time we walked to the falls along the hotel’s “private” path. We were unfortunately met halfway by nearly a dozen locals trying to sell or trade some of their curios. If you don’t want anything you must just keep walking! But if you are interested in something, I would suggest bringing some old clothes, shoes, hats or cheap sunglasses to trade. I’m sure you could get quite a good deal.

The water level was very high at this time of year, so we couldn’t risk bringing the camera down to some of the viewpoints. We saw some visitors that were completely drenched from spray! Even at one of the dryer spots, at one point the wind shifted and we were getting lots of water. Make sure you bring ziplock bags for your phones or larger bags for cameras if you want to go to all of the viewpoints!

Lastly, we were picked up for our cruise on the mighty Zambezi Explorer. Once we finally got to see this ship we understood all of the talk we had heard. Three decks high, just gorgeous, it quite literally stood head and shoulders above the other ‘cruise’ ships. If you are going on a cruise in Zimbabwe, this is the only ship we will recommend from now on. For only a few dollars more than other cruises you get roughly 10-12 appetizers (enough to fill us to the brim after skipping lunch and dinner and only having high tea) along with any drinks you would like for the length of the cruise.

Our final morning on safari we headed for a late breakfast at Jungle Junction, one of the three restaurants at Victoria Falls Hotel. We would recommend having breakfast early on, as it seemed like the food was not as fresh as it could be.

We were once again off for about 24 hours of travel to get back to reality. Another educational safari in the books with 17 different properties during a 13 night trip. A few of the camps definitely stood out but we would return to any of them in a heartbeat. Botswana really is still one of if not the best safari destination in all of Africa.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

Congo November 2013

PART 1: INTRODUCTION, ODZALA-KOKOUA NATIONAL PARK

BEHIND A MASK IN THE CONGO
If you had asked me to nominate my favorite animal 6 weeks ago I might have said cheetah. Ask me now and the answer is Western Lowland Gorilla. Over the course of a 7-day trip to Odzala-Kokoua National Park the gorillas predictably stole the show. Finding them, hearing them, and then -finally – seeing them was the best African wildlife experience of my life to date. This was the thrill I expected to feel upon seeing the mountain gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda but never did. Neither of my two gorilla treks there even remotely matched the spectacle of Odzala’s gentle tree-climbing giants. Gorillas are awesome animals anywhere but put them in the trees, add motion, movement – up, down and side-ways – and you have a wildlife experience without equal.

Admittedly, we got very lucky with both our gorilla treks.  The first one came pretty close to being very disappointing, before a couple of obliging animals decided to make themselves available to the admiring and ever grateful visitors.  Had that not happened, we may have had to return to camp with nothing more than a few glimpses, some hairy faces peering around tree trunks and dark blobs moving through the leaves.

Our second gorilla trek was good almost from the word go with a decent look at the dominant silverback (in a tree) and very good to superb views of a couple of the other family members.

Gorillas being gorillas, a rainforest being a rainforest, one has to assume that there is a possibility of one or maybe even both of the treks being below par.  It could happen.  My sense is that the tracker and the guide will do absolutely everything they can to make sure that everyone gets a good look at a gorilla.  During our visit the trackers (who keep the stopwatch) were very liberal with  time management and I certainly never felt rushed.  When they called time we were all quite happy to call it a day.

By contrast the wildlife experience at Lango Camp was somewhat disappointing. Perhaps we were just not there at the best time of the year.  There were good numbers of forest buffalo around and the bird-watching was a lot better than at Ngaga.  We did have a sighting of a small group of hyenas, some bushbuck on the edge of the Bai and a couple of fairly good sightings of forest elephants.  But not much else. It was fun walking in the Bai down the Lango stream where we witnessed some impressive flocks of African Grey parrots and Green Pigeons flying right by us.  Unfortunately our boating trip on the Lekoli River was extremely quiet with I think one glimpse of a couple of monkeys and a far-off view of some elephants.  And fewer birds than I had anticipated, the highlight being an African Finfoot.

Clearly it takes luck – or a longer stay – to see some of the more elusive species such as sitatunga, bongo and giant forest hog, not to mention the various forest duikers or water chevrotain.  We dipped out on most of the other primates as well, with decent views of only colobus and putty-nosed monkeys.

Would I go back to Odzala-Kokoua and would I encourage anyone else to make this long and expensive trip?  Definitely yes – in fact I am already planning a return trip to neighboring Gabon to explore some venues to combine with an Odzala trip.  At this stage the most promising candidate is Loango National Park in Gabon.

I had previously experienced tropical rainforests in East Africa but the Congo basin is a whole new world.  ‘Congo’ is a very evocative word infused with adventure, exploration and excitement and the reality of it is no less romantic than the notion.  It is an intriguing area simply bristling with life and energy and for avid African wildlife enthusiasts it offers a rich and diverse experience which should be filled with many firsts.

THE PREQUEL
Tell someone you’re going to the Congo and you might get all kinds of reactions, depending on how well you know them. All the way from ‘Are you nuts!’ through to ‘Are you sure that’s a safe place?’ During the lead-up to this trip this would be the cue for my discussion of the ‘good’ Congo (i.e. Republic of Congo aka Congo Brazzaville) and the ‘bad’ Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo, aka DRC or Congo Kinshasa). Some parts of the DRC are definitely off-limits including the eastern region – others are probably worth exploring but perhaps just not quite yet.

By contrast the Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville) is quite stable and safe and we never felt even a twinge of unease or apprehension.  The  people we met could not have been friendlier and more welcoming of our presence.  It might be different if you were to travel there on your own, but with a good local operator it was really pretty uneventful, in terms of logistics.

The French invented and perfected the ‘art’ of bureaucracy and even though their former Congo possessions have long been independent, those old bureaucratic ways have persisted. So, as a result, you need an official letter of invitation from the Republic of Congo (ROC) Government to visit the country.  Your tour operator (Wilderness Safaris in this instance) handles that on your behalf.  This signed letter, plus several other documents including proof of Yellow Fever inoculation, needs to be sent to the ROC Embassy in Washington DC to get your visa.  We used Travisa for this & they did a great job – it was pricey though.

Anyway cutting to the chase, on the day we arrived in Brazzaville on a Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi  a very surly French-speaking immigration official demanded to see our letters of invitation.  He wasn’t interested in my explanation that we had sent the letter of invitation to the ROC Embassy to get a visa, and that the fact that we had a visa in our passport ‘proved’ that we had letters of invitation.  We just did not have them on us…

We were pulled out of the line and made to stay back with two Dutch businessmen (Heineken employees) who were getting exactly the same treatment.  I pretty much just shrugged my shoulders and looked befuddled – and after a while – when he learnt that we were ‘touristes’ en route to Odzala – the official handed back our passports and curtly waved us through.  Whew!  A rather bumpy introduction to the Congo.  There was more to come.

The driver from Mikhaels Hotel who was supposed to take us to the hotel never showed up.  They knew we were coming and had our arrival details, basically just a screw-up on their part.  Which caused an unnecessary delay and much grousing from me.  Eventually we got into a taxi and was driven the few miles to Mikhaels Hotel in Brazzaville.

MIKHAELS HOTEL, BRAZZAVILLE
At first glance the Mikhaels was a nice place: imposing lobby, great coffee while we waited for our room and a friendly manager who took time to answer all our questions. Unfortunately an overnight stay exposed several flaws. For one thing, everything is over-priced. Notably the restaurant, but also the drinks with the exception of local Congolese beer (Ngok or Primus, made locally by Heineken). For example, we paid as much as US$12.00 for a mediocre glass of wine and nearly $50.00 for a rather plain dinner (Saka-Saka – a local vegetarian dish – rice & pomme frites with 2 soup starters) for the two of us. We had a few other minor gripes about the hotel: very small rooms – or at least some of them – tiny showers, and very slow internet/wifi. All in all an okay choice in Brazzaville – but we may try a different hotel the next time around.

By the way the Saka-Saka  is made from plantain leaves – otherwise known as manioc or yuca – ground up with palm oil and some seasonings.    Served with plain white rice it is quite delicious and definitely worth trying if you are an adventurous diner.  It has an an earthy flavor reminiscent of Marog, a wild spinach dish from South Africa.   [Marog might be a species of amaranth – I will definitely have to follow up on that].  I was not at all impressed having to pay $4.00 extra for a ‘condiment’ platter with hardly more than a dab each of of ketchup, mayonnaise and what looked like mustard.

And don’t get me started on the poor excuse of a laptop in the business center.  In typical French fashion the rather important @ key is non-functional.  To get an @ symbol into an e-mail address you have to do ‘control’ and zero at the same time. Very logical and totally intuitive.  Right.

ACROSS THE EQUATOR TO ODZALA-KOKOUA
On the morning of our departure to Odzala, it was raining in Brazzaville. A lot. Clearly a big tropical storm had moved into the area and wasn’t going to clear out soon. And so it was. Our flight out of Brazzaville was delayed by about 90 minutes. No problems with that; the local representative of Wilderness Safaris smoothed things over considerably by having us wait out the delay in the airport’s comfortable business lounge. We enjoyed some good coffee and got to know some of the other members of our group – all of whom were seasoned Africa travelers.

When we finally took off it was towards the south and we could see a couple of landmarks near our hotel, the one being a very ugly cell-phone tower. The pilot then banked to the left and made a gentle 180-degree turn pointing us pretty much due north.  Just to our right and below was the Stanley Pool of the Congo River, an almost lake-like widening of the river which also marks the first navigable stretch of this major waterway.  From the air the volume of water and the strength of the current were impressive.  If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the Congo River was in flood stage, but of course its rate of flow is fairly constant, having catchment areas in both the southern and northern hemispheres.

It took just less than 2 hours non-stop from Brazzaville to the landing strip at Mboko in Odazala-Kokoua National Park.  Along the way we peered out from 15,000 feet to stare at magnificent forest patches sliding by underneath us,  sometimes contiguous for many miles.  As we approached Mboko the habitat changed quite dramatically to a more open, mostly savannah landscape with strips of riverine forest and patches of tropical forest.  Mboko is about an hour’s drive from Lango Camp, one of Wilderness Safaris’ two classic camps currently being operated in the area.  We would not visit it until day 4 of our stay.  Our first stop was the other camp – Ngaga.  Ngaga is hardly the most mellifluous of options for a camp name, but that’s where we were headed.

NGAGA CAMP – THE PLACE OF THE GORILLAS
For the three nights you spend at Ngaga Camp, you will never be far from the Marantaceae forest. Right around the camp it is the most dominant vegetation and on both of the gorilla treks we walked alongside and through massive stands of this giant herb. It reminds one a bit of a very dense kelp forest with heavily entangled stems and a profusion of massive leaves. From above it looks like a thick carpet or even a giant vividly green lawn. One glance makes it clear that a Marantaceae forest is all but impenetrable. All you can is to follow the same paths used by forest elephant (where they are present, not the case at Ngaga), forest buffalo, gorilla, forest hogs and other animals. It is believed that Marantaceae forest is an intermediate stage in the reforestation of the savannah, in this area.

The Marantaceae forest in front of and around Ngaga Camp is most impressive and it totally obscures the walkways from the lodge to the bungalows.  Just 2 metres from the edge of the camp boardwalk you’re way over your head in the Marantaceae – only to re-emerge a the edge of the walkway to your room.

Which brings me to the rooms.  At Ngaga they are elevated several meters above the Marantaceae with the front opening & small verandah with chairs and table, literally just a few meters from the edge of the closed canopy forest.  We spent some time sitting there and just listening to the sounds emanating from the forests.  Several birds which I never saw, some cicadas, frogs and other tropical rainforest sounds which I might never have heard before.  One  bird call in particular was intriguing as it was familiar to me – the very distinctive call of the green coucal, known locally as the yellowbill.

Like I said, I never saw the yellowbill or for that matter many birds at all, at Ngaga.  Which is not unusual in a forest environment. A forest just does not give up sightings left, right and center. It parcels them out slowly and selectively – or sometimes not at all.  You’re not driving up to gazelles in open savannah – you are searching for elusive species – many of which are largely nocturnal or furtive by nature.  Further complicated by limited visibility and limited vantage points.  So take a large dollop of patience and a stiff measure of reasonable expectations with you on your first trip to this area.  You won’t see everything you’ve come to see.  However almost everything you do see will surprise and delight you.  My best advice is not to get hung up on a long laundry list of exotic species.  Make the destination itelf part of the experience, enjoy the magnificent forests, the bais, the rivers and the overall experience of being in one of the last few truly pristine places in Africa.

Back to the rooms at Ngaga.  The elevated location right on the edge of the forest is perfect and the size –  just 6 rooms – and scale of the camp is ideal.  A hotel in the bush would be out of place at Odzala considering the fragility of the environment and the tone of the experience.  The bee-hive styled huts are made of locally sourced materials and minimalist in style and execution: nothing superfluous or ostentatious here.  A very comfortable mosquito-net ensconced bed, a rather odd but functional bronzed metal toilet/bathroom structure and a very effective hot water system.  Not a lot of space to hang or store things, but cozy and well insulated from the exterior.  We never had any issues with bugs.

The low-key yet impressive lounge and dining room at Ngaga is several meters higher than the rooms, on the high side of the Marantacea forest which leads down to the edge of the forest.  It has the same ‘no-frills’ feel and look of the rooms, again quite appropriate for the setting. Looking out from the dining room, the Marantacea has the appearance of an overgrown tea plantation and visually it has the same soothing, pleasing effect.  In the distance is the rain-forest, sometimes partially obscured by mist.

The food and hospitality at Ngaga were impeccable and manager Olivier was a star.  He was entertaining, helpful, friendly and made sure that we were well-briefed and well-prepared for the gorilla treks.  The same can be said about or Wilderness Safaris guide Justine Brown.  She was knowledgeable, very friendly and considerate of our well-being.  Her driving skills were superb too! The other half of our group was guided by Maxwell Muswere (who hails from Zimbabwe) and they had the same high opinion of his skills.

PART 2: LOWLAND GORILLAS

THE GORILLA TREKS
There are similarities between gorilla trekking at Odzala-Kokoua and in Uganda and Rwanda, but not many. There are no formalities, no bureaucrats, no groups being randomly allocated to guides or a dance troupe entertaining the tourists before they are driven to the trailhead. It is very much a scaled down operation which adds immensely to its appeal. No porters either, in an attempt to keep the groups as small as possible.

You walk right out of camp with just a single tracker leading the way, the only other non-visitor being your Wilderness Safaris guide.  Unlike the East Africa trips, there are no huge slopes to be tackled although on both days we had to resort to a bit of scrambling down steep embankments here and there, and there is a limited amount of slightly more difficult walking through swampy, boggy areas where waterproof boots come into their own.  At worst one could describe this as moderately difficult.  It is not quite a walk in the park but as long as you are capable of walking – with minimal resting – for up to an hour or two – you should be able to tackle this.  Unlike the mountain gorilla habitat the forests of the Congo basin are about 900 to 1,500 feet above sea level so there are none of the high altitude issues encountered in places such as Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

The way the gorilla trekking works at Ngaga is that there are two main habituated gorilla groups, headed up by two silverbacks – Jupiter and Neptuno – respectively.  Currently each group is assigned a tracker who takes a small party of 6 persons to see ‘his’ group on two consecutive mornings, currently Friday and Saturday.  Once the camps reach full occupancy there will be a second group of up to 12 in camp arriving on Sunday and doing gorilla treks on Monday and Tuesday.

The two gorilla treks – to the Jupiter and Neptuno groups – are done simultaneously with the visitors switching out trackers and gorilla groups (but not their Wilderness guide) on the second day of tracking.  On both days with guides Zephryn and Calvin we walked for about 45 minutes to an hour until we made contact with the gorillas. This does not mean that we went very far, less than 2 miles from the camp to where the gorillas were hanging out.

On the afternoon of the day prior to the gorilla trek, the tracker locates the spot where the gorillas will be spending the night.  He then uses that as his reference point the next morning, taking the trekking party to this last known location.  This is one of the reasons for the gorilla treks starting as early as they do:  the aim is to reach the gorillas while they are still fairly close to the nest and while they are still feeding.

Western lowland gorillas rarely move more than 3 kilometers (less than 2 miles) per day, but in the event of a disturbance – such as the presence of a leopard – or conflict they can move quite rapidly through the forest.  All the more reason to admire the tracking skills of the Odzala trackers who work solo and have to tease out clues about the whereabouts of the animals in a very tough tracking environment.  Rarely is it as easy as seeing footprints in mud.  Mostly the clues are subtle: a few broken twigs here and there, some discarded half-eaten fruit or a torn Marantaceae leaf.  When there is ripe fruit available the gorillas seem to favor it over other vegetation such as the Marantaceae leaves.

As I mentioned in my introduction, we got lucky with the gorillas on both days, finding them relatively quickly and ending up with some good views. Photographic conditions were never ideal with significant back-lighting issues.  An animal or bird  in a tree can be a photographer’s worst nightmare particularly if the background lighting is bright or harsh.  There is just no way to properly expose a very dark object like a black gorilla and not burn out the sky or light behind.  We do the best we can and hope that the object will move to a position where it has a dark leafy background.  Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t.  Over the course of the two outings I made perhaps half a dozen useful captures.  Once or twice I might have done better with a longer (500 mm) lens but I would say 80% of the time the 70-200mm 2.8 lens with a 1.7 tele-converter worked quite well.

It is essential for the group to remain quiet and calm and to limit conversation and rapid movement.  We managed that both times and the results were remarkable.  After a while one or more of the gorillas moved closer – out of curiosity – and started to look at us.  The tables were turned – we were being tracked!  This resulted in the best views on both of the outings with a couple of curious gorillas descending quite low and either just sitting there looking at us, or even lying upside down in what seemed to be a very comfortable positioning, checking us out.

All in all having the gorillas up in the trees and moving about added a whole new dimension to the gorilla trekking outing.  On my two gorilla treks at Bwindi in Uganda and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda I did not observe much activity beyond the gorillas stuffing their faces with big handfuls of bamboo shoots and other vegetation.  Not so in the Congo.  It was vibrant and dynamic – at one stage a fairly big branch snapped under the weight of a gorilla and the whole shebang came crashing down, much to our and the gorilla’s surprise, one would think.

I think all 5 of us felt that it was an exhilarating experience.  A good pair of binoculars is essential as the gorillas are rarely seen close-up.  Once contact has been made with the gorillas, all visitors have to wear face-masks.  A protective head-net is optional – I did not personally find the sweat-bees to be annoying enough to don the headgear.

We also did a couple of forest walks at Ngaga in the afternoons and while they were mostly rather quiet we did see a few interesting birds and some putty-nosed monkeys.  And lots more Marantaceae.

A brief outing to a local village was interesting but also a bit depressing – unfortunately there is nothing idyllic about poverty no matter where in the world it is observed.  I’ve become a little bit cynical about this but I think the point is that a short walk-through in any African village does not provide visitors with even the vaguest of clues as to the real issues and challenges faced by the inhabitants.  Yes there will be some smiling kids dressed in rags, chickens and goats and skeletally thin village dogs roaming around but there is nothing bucolic about it.  And an hour or two later you will still know practically nothing about the inhabitants.

PART 3: LANGO & DEPARTURE

A ‘PYGMY’ VILLAGE AND THEN ON TO LANGO
Our 4th day in Odzala-Kokoua National Park unexpectedly turned into a very long traveling day. The usual 4-hour or so journey from Ngaga to Lango Camp dragged on to 7 hours due to a couple of stops along the way at a church service and then again at a pygmy village which turned out not to have any pygmies. Or pygmy huts for that matter.

It was interesting nonetheless as the villagers – who had to date not received many or maybe any visits from Odzala tourists – tried their level best to entertain us.  There was a dancer with what seemed to be leopard spots painted on his skin dancing away to the rhythmic sound of a couple of drums, and lots of kids and adults enthusiastically cheering him on.  A few of our group were more enthusiastic than others to join in.  We took some photographs and departed wondering whether this was a good idea or not.  Was there any tangible benefit to the village – and would this lead to any long-term association with the inhabitants? Probably not.

Finally we made it to Lango where our vehicle promptly got stuck in a quagmire of mud just a few meters from the front entrance of the camp.  The entire camp is elevated on a boardwalk which is set inside of a small forest on the edge of Lango Bai which is an open clearing or saline.  The view from the open fireplace or for that matter from anywhere in the lounge and dining room area at Lango is pretty spectacular.  In the early morning when there is some fog around, even more so.

We were hungry and perhaps a bit crabby after such a long journey.  As a result some housekeeping issues at Lango assumed  bigger important than they might have otherwise.  The fans in the dining room did not work and it was really quite stiflingly hot on the day.  The warm water apparatus in our room (a paraffin boiler) was ridiculously ineffective.  We never knew if we were going to get just steam, a sudden rush of scalding hot water, cold water or nothing at all.  As far as I know this system has now been replaced with the same very effective units as at Ngaga.  Also – our shower had a leak (they were waiting for the silicone sealant) and the mosquito net was really dirty with stains all over it.  Very surprisingly, the entire back ‘wall’ of the room at Lango was open.  I have stayed in several rooms on safari which were open to the outside such as at Sand Rivers in the Selous – and it can be a very effective design element. At Lango it just makes no sense.  The camp is built right on the edge of a swamp with a heavy insect presence day and night – there is no way it should be partially open.  We were told that the materials to cover the back of the rooms were en route.

Everything else I said about the size and scope of Ngaga being ideal for the setting also applies to Lango.  This is indeed a light footprint and it clear that sustainability is taken seriously here.

ON A RIVER IN THE CONGO
This morning we reverted to our early start regime. Up at 05:00A, breakfast at 5:30A and off on a river cruise just after 6:00A. The actual river trip didn’t start until about 08:00A because it takes more than an hour to get to the boat ramp which is near the as yet un-opened Mboko Camp. In truth, we could have gotten there a lot earlier if we had not stopped for several animal and bird sightings along the way including Forest Buffalo, Palmnut Vulture, Forest Elephant in the distance and spotted hyena.

At the boat dock our skipper ‘Rock’ had to bail some water from the aluminum skiff (which can take up to 8 passengers) and it took a while before we were  underway, mostly drifting down the strong current of the Lekoli River.

It was quite exciting to be in a boat on a river in the Congo.  For a minute there we felt like explorers of old, traveling into terra incognita.  Any romantic notions of stepping into a Joseph Conrad novel were soon dispelled by several tsetse flies who were hitching a ride.  We were well-prepared with a Dettol mix and I had applied Peaceful Sleep before getting dressed and also on the outside of my clothes.  Almost nobody got bitten & the TF were reduced to just a nuisance.  One did make it to an unprotected spot low on my ankle below the edge of the boot.  So to repeat: spray the ankles and feet liberally, wear long, thick protective socks and tuck your long pants into the socks.

The trip down the river did not deliver a lot in the way of game sightings.  We saw a couple of elephant in the distance and had brief sightings of puttynosed and colobus monkeys.  We did enjoy a very good sighting of the rarely seen African Finfoot (male).  Several other bird species were  either seen pretty well (a few) or just glanced before they flew away or ducked into the undergrowth (most of them).  Just another day in the life of a bird-watcher in a tropical rainforest.

It was a long way back from the boat to camp.  Well over an hour and with not nearly as much to be seen as early in the morning.  Lasting impression of the boat trip:  amazing riverine vegetation, towering trees, almost mangrove-like conditions.  A bit like Louisiana but without any Cajuns.  The group consensus on the boat ride was fairly unanimous:  too far to drive to the dock and too quiet.  Lots of trees, but not enough animals.

We enjoyed our siesta this day and then went out on a low-key ‘Palm drive’ by late afternoon, along the fringe of the wetland area, staying on high ground.  We saw lots of birds, some forest buffalo and enjoyed a pretty good sighting of Forest Elephant.  It was a small party of 4 or 5 elephants, slowly making their way across an open area, right below and across from where we were parked.

WALKING IN THE BAI
This morning our activity took the form of a walk along the Lango Stream which empties into the Lekoli River. This was a first for most of us. Willingly and purposefully stepping off a small dock into the sandy bottom of a flowing river is counter-intuitive behavior. Our instincts are to stay dry, and certainly not to embrace the water, at least not fully clothed.

On this day the ‘water walk’ was destined for a slow start due to a complication in the form of a small group of forest buffalo.  They were standing and feeding exactly where we wanted to go.  One male took a particularly keen interested in us, approaching to within 20 meters of us.  If it were a Cape Buffalo our guide Justine would not have allowed it nearly that close.  These local forest buffaloes were apparently a lot less aggressive.  Even so, we were not about to prove or disprove the theory and kept a safe distance.

This necessitated a muddy detour through an extensive boggy area.  One or two ous almost lost a shoe and there was a tense moment or two before we were able to veer back into the water, onto firmer footing.  For the next couple of hours or so, we were mostly splashing gently through water.  Here and there the stream narrowed and deepened.  A few times the water came up to mid-thigh level, higher than even most gumboots.  There was no way to keep your feet and pants dry except perhaps by wearing a good pair of fishing waders.  Better to just go with the flow and use shoes which you don’t mind getting wet. Just be sure that they strap on securely.

The ‘buffalo delay’ ended up being fortuitous because we soon saw a forest elephant crossing the stream not too far from us, walking from our left to our right.  This ended up being the best forest elephant sighting of the entire trip.

A bit further on we reached a clearing with some white (salty) patches – the so-called ‘saline’ which attracts a lot of wildlife notably African Grey Parrots and Green Pigeons.  For several minutes we seemed to be in the middle of a bird storm with hundreds of parrots and then pigeons flying over in huge flocks, twisting this way and that. The changing angle of the light caused them to change color repeatedly – quite a spectacle.  Standing there I realized that I was seeing and experiencing something that is possible in very few places in the world – likely only to be seen in the Congo Basin rainforest.  We tried to take some photographs to capture the moment but it was like trying to photograph fish flashing through a breaking wave. An impossible task.

We turned around at a small island where we enjoyed some juice & water and a light snack.  Working quite a bit harder – dragging our legs through the current – we slogged back upstream to the lodge.  Despite out initial apprehension the stroll in the Baie ended up being the most popular activity at Lango.

As a group we decided to forego a second boat trip.  Instead, we opted for a short forest walks which was an uneventful but pleasant outing.  We very much enjoyed our last sundowner on African soil, toasting a successful trip with a G & T or some local Congolese beer, with a nice spicy ‘Hot Mix’ snack from France.

It was dark by the time we got back to camp.  Our Congolese adventure was almost over.  One last dinner with some new-found friends, one last attempt at coaxing some hot water from the recalcitrant paraffin heater system and then we settled down for the night. Safely behind the confines of the mosquito net we managed just a few small pages with large typeface on our Kindles before our room #2 reverted to the utter darkness of an equatorial night.

Even though we couldn’t see our hands in front of our eyes, our sense of hearing made the rest of the night quite exciting.  Mostly because a group of Forest Elephant which congregate and apparently socialize in the Baie in front of camp, on a regular basis.  Perhaps it had something to do with the waxing moon, but they were out in force this night.  Several times they woke us up with their trumpeting and squealing shrieks.  We were close enough to also hear their deep communicative rumbling sounds.

A DAMP GOODBYE FROM ODZALA
On the day of our departure – Wednesday Nov 13 – we woke up to the sound of heavy rainfall at around 05:00A. It did not let up until past 07:00A – fortunately we had protective plastic bags for our camera gear and other sensitive equipment. Shortly after breakfast we got onto our game-viewers and splashed through the mud and water to the airstrip, a trip of about 90 minutes. I think we were a bit apprehensive about taking off under less than ideal conditions but once again the Caravan demonstrated its suitability for rough terrain. It took to the skies in a burst of power and we all exhaled, turning our thoughts to the last phase of our journey and the trip home. We were damp and a bit tense but as the aircraft inched closer to Brazzaville one could sense the mood improving. Soon enough the usual banter resumed as we discussed our various plans. Some members of the party would go on to the DRC and other African destinations.

We would be going home to Texas but not until late that night, so it was very convenient to have a day room at the Mikhaels Hotel.  We enjoyed a late lunch at the Mami Wata restaurant which was a fascinating spot overlooking the wide Congo River with Kinshasa clearly visible across the water.  There were a couple of interesting things on the menu (pizza and Saka-Saka amongst others) and the local ‘special’ cocktail – with quite a bit of Curacao and hence very blue – was definitely palatable. Yes the joint is over-priced just like the restaurant at the hotel, but by then we were inured to silly prices.  I would recommend doing this – and it is just a short $2 or $3 taxi ride from the Mikhaels Hotel.

A FEW AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
As I said in my introduction, Odzala was all about the gorillas for me and I would happily have spent all 6 nights at Ngaga and spent more time with them. At other times of the year Lango is likely better – it was just not nearly as exciting or productive from a wildlife perspective, as Ngaga.

One hesitates to be critical of ‘nuts and bolts’ issues at camps located in a remote area like this.  I realize that operating conditions are far less than ideal.  Obviously getting anything into and out of Odzala – or the Republic of Congo for that matter – is a logistical nightmare and involves a lot of bureaucratic obstacles.

However, if the operator wants to position Odzala-Kokoua in the same ‘basket’ with North Island in the Seychelles and Abu Camp in Botswana, they are going to have to step up their game significantly.  There was an unfinished, somewhat improvisational feel to several of the elements of the experience, notably the accommodation and some of the activities such as the village visits.  Unlike practically every Wilderness Safaris property I had ever been to in Southern Africa, everything did not work well.  Sometimes very little worked – like at Lango – and there was no apparent sense of urgency to get it fixed.

The level of service at Lango leaves a lot to be desired.  Perhaps it was just a training issue but the local staff  just did not seem very guest-friendly, if one could put it like that. Little things like not enough coffee in the morning and an apparent reluctance to make more, or just not being available at the right times.  I also had some (vegan) food catering issues at the camp, particularly with breakfast when sometimes the only option was fruit and a piece of toast. Nobody at the camp seemed to realize that our group hardly touched the selection of cold meats which was put out every morning.  The same platters kept re-appearing with the same result.  The food was generally palatable and perfectly fine but the presentation was not the best.  Plenty of pizza but not enough pizzazz.

Not including the gorilla experience which was phenomenal I thought the two properties were too focused on delivering just the basics such as accommodation, food and activities.  Yes it is admittedly much more difficult to do that in a hostile environment like the Congo, but the aim should always be to delight and surprise guests with little extras, going beyond the expected or the mundane .  At Odzala-Kokoua the setting, the novelty of visiting the area, the exotic wildlife and of course the gorillas overshadow any shortcomings but at this price-point visitors are going to expect more.  Hopefully these are teething issues which will be dealt with promptly.

Useful Hints:

• Would-be visitors to the Republic of Congo should print a color copy of the ‘Letter of Invitation’ and have it ready on arrival.

• You will be asked for proof of Yellow Fever inoculation on arrival.
• At  Mikhaels Hotel, restaurant proportions are gigantic.  So order for one, it is more than enough for 2 persons.
• Visitors are not encouraged to give away items like pencils or other small gifts to village children; it leads to enmity and creates expectations which cannot always be fulfilled. The camps buy items like baskets direct from the villages.
• If you do want to reward someone for a job well done, consider bringing a soccer ball for the camps or a bird-book or other guide for the trackers.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

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