East Africa August 2023 - Part Two Tanzania
We next traveled overland, crossing the border into Tanzania. All our visas were complete and we had a smooth border crossing. Lunch in Ashura at a beautiful coffee plantation, then we continued our travels to Burunge Tented Camp near Tarangire National Park. The camp has an elevated dining deck and infinity pool overlooking a small waterhole. Tarangire National Park is considered to have the largest concentration of breeding birds in the world! This location provided great bird photography right off the dining deck.
Magpie Shrike
Red-Faced Mousebird
Tawny Eagle
I do not normally have allergies, but I had trouble breathing and slept poorly our first night at this camp. Becky also slept poorly. Through the tent screen she watched an elephant browse a tree within feet of our bed. I slept through it. The night guards confirmed it was an elephant who visited us and mentioned that the tent next to our also had nocturnal prowlers, six lions. After that we slept with out tent securely buttoned up.
African Savanna Elephant
The next morning we embarked on an all day game drive within Tarangire National Park. It was a long, dusty, rough drive to a swampy area with abundant wildlife. We observed vast numbers of African buffalo, and six lions, including one well up in a tree.
Arboreal Lioness
Elephants were numerous and close, including one whom had been lost from the herd and walked the shoreline trumpeting loudly. We observed a few new species here including, Klipspringer, martial eagle, long-crested eagle, black-faced sandgrouse, Verreaux's eagle-owl, wattled lapwing, red-billed quella, cut-throat, purple grenadier, ashy starling, D'Arnaud's barbet, speckled mousebird, and Von der Decken's hornbill. My allergies got worse and I resorted to wearing a buff to reduce dust inhalation. The group took a short drive to Lake Burungee to view vast concentrations of flamingo. I stayed at the elevated deck and photographed the numerous birds hanging out near the waterhole. I got some nice shots of the very unattractive marabou stork and had six tawny eagles in sight at one time.
Long-Crested Eagle
Lilac-Breasted Roller
Black-Faced Sandgrouse
White-Headed Buffalo Weaver
Marabou Stork -Primarily a Scavenger and Labeled as One of the African Ugly Five
Marabou Stork - Note the Enlarged Gular Sac
The next morning as we enjoyed a sunrise breakfast we were visited by eight elephants as they made use of the waterhole.
Breakfast Elephants
After breakfast we were on the move again and headed to Tloma Lodge near Karatu. This lodge was beautiful with large, individual bungalows within a shaded coffee plantation. This camp was at the highest elevation of any we visited. Each bungalow was equipped with a gas fireplace. We had some much needed downtime during the afternoon which allowed me to catch up on my photo downloads and backups.
The next morning we headed for Ngorongoro Crater. As we gained elevation we entered a dense, lush rainforest type vegetation where we encountered African savanna elephant and African buffalo at very close range.
We came upon two male giraffe posturing and shuffling. They suddenly began to beat each other by swinging their necks and smashing their heads into their opponent. Then they would take another break to posture and juke before repeating their attacks. Remarkable behavior that I never expected to observe. Very cool. They were still at it with no clear winner when we departed. However, using your head as weapon has some cosmetic consequences.
Masai Giraffe Dominance fight
There are Cosmetic Consequences to Using Your Head as Your Principal Weapon
We made a brief stop at the crater overlook. The crater was formed when a volcano collapsed resulting in a 100-square mile relatively flat plain about 2,000 feet below the crater rim. An estimated 25,000 large animals live within the crater and this abundance supports five lion prides.
Ngorongoro Crater
After descending into the crater on a very steep brick road, we entered the crater floor. The diversity and abundance of animals was amazing, quite unlike anything we had seen previously. The crater floor is flat and generally lacks tall vegetation, so visibility is excellent. We came upon a pride of lions snoozing next to the remains of a recent buffalo kill. One woke up and cruised on over to inspect the safari trucks. Nice close looks.
Secretarybird
Thompson's Gazelle
Young Lion Checking out the Safari Truck
Dwarf Mongoose
Around the next bend we found another lion pride feeding on a very recent zebra kill. Once the large males were done feeding the females moved in and fed. Hyenas and jackals circled at a distance waiting for their opportunity. Off in the distance we saw great clouds of dust as another hunting pride of lions produced a mass stampede of wildebeest and zebra. It was unclear if their hunt was successful. About thirty minutes later we encountered yet another pride of lions on a kill. Thirty-two lions in a morning. When we stopped for lunch at a swampy area we saw fifty of the striking gray-crowned crane in a single group.
Male lion on a Recent Zebra Kill.
Kori Bustard - Largest African Bird Capable of Flight with Reported Weights up to 40 Pounds
Wildebeest Stampede
Large Male Lion at our Third Pride of the Day.
Topi - Blue Jean Antelope
Displaying Gray-Crowned Crane
The next morning we headed to Lake Eyasi, home of the Hadzabe (Bushman). The visit was probably worth a blog on its own. Very interesting and friendly people. They live a very primitive, hunter/gatherer existence and communicate in an odd clicking language which our Datoga guide was able to translate. The bushman trade with the nearby Datoga tribe who are skilled blacksmiths and provide the Bushman with arrowheads fashioned from large nails. We followed our Datoga guide to the Bushman's current camp and in exchange for a handful of finely crafted arrowheads we were welcomed to the camp. The entire tribe sheltered inside a single hollow baobab tree. The wore a mixture of animal hides and modern clothing.
Hadzabe Encampment
Hadzabe Hunter
Hadzabe Singers - Note the Baboon Arrowhead in the Hair of the Singer on the Right of the Frame
Each morning the men depart with their bow and arrows and hunt the country for up to 10 miles around. The women, armed with pointed digging sticks collect edible plants and the odd rodent or snake. Every day is a new search for protein. We followed as a woman dug up a small mouse and the men killed a small sunbird with their bows. They quickly started a fire using two pieces of wood and cooked both prey items whole. The offered us the choicer morsels. Becky, oddly was not hungry. They gave the snacks to the children who happily consumed them.
Mouse Snack
Becky in the Bushman Trophy Room
They kept trophies tacked to the side of the baobab tree including several baboon skulls. Baboon brains are considered a delicacy and they use a special back-barbed arrowhead to hunt them. The barbs prevent the punctured baboons from pulling the arrow out. They use a variety of arrows, including poisoned ones for larger game. They urged me to try one of their bows and I was unable to pull it to full draw. They claim kills out to 200 yards using these bows.
We briefly visited a Datoga homestead where several skilled blacksmiths were using rather primitive tools in their work. We watched at they took a large nail and fashioned it into a baboon arrowhead. They added intricate designs to copper and brass jewelry which was smelted on a home-made forge. We met the headman of the village and his five wives.
Datoga Blacksmiths at Work - Note the Homemade Bellows.
Datoga Crafted Baboon Arrowhead Made from a Large Nail
Datoga Woman Grinding Millet
One of the Datoga Headman's Five Wives
Early the next morning we departed Tloma Lodge and crossed through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descended into Serengeti Nation Park. As we descended from the crater highlands the landscape began to change. It was an extremely desolate, windy, and dusty passage. We made a quick stop at the head of Olduvai Gorge. This is the location where anthropologists Mary and Louis Leaky unearthed one of our earliest ancestors. Shortly before entering Serengeti National Park, I photographed what I believe is an African wolf. They are very rare and difficult species to observe.
African Wolf
Serengeti means endless plain in Swahili. It fits. The Serengeti is about 5,700 square miles of savanna grassland with lesser amounts of acacia woodland and riverine brush habitats. It quickly became our favorite location of the trip. We spotted a pair of cheetah resting on a termite mound near a recent kill. They moved off as a young male lion checked out the remains of their kill. We followed the young male lion as he moved toward a stream occupied by a large lion pride. The lioness were on high alert and watched his every move until he disappeared. On the way to camp we spotted a large leopard lounging in a tree. Lots of cats.
Young Male Lion
Leopard Lounging the Afternoon Away
Our Serengeti camp was a temporary tent camp that OAT moves to follow the game. The tents were new and the staff and service were excellent. The camp differed from others in that hot water for showers was delivered by hand to a bucket behind each tent. The bucket was raised via a pulley to produce a gravity feed shower. The attendant waited patiently to determine if more than one bucket was needed.
Serengeti Camp Shower Arrangement
We spent four nights in this camp and enjoyed so many lion sightings on our game drives. I ended up with 108 lions for the trip, most in Tanzania. We watched two successful lion hunts and several unsuccessful ones. One lioness managed to snag a Thompson's gazelle out of midair as it tried unsuccessfully to avoid her.
Lioness with a Thompson's Gazelle Kill
She quickly took her prey down near the stream to keep it out of sight. She was unsuccessful as a large male lion charged in and took her kill. He only enjoyed his stolen meal for a minute when two additional male lions rushed in and created a dusty scrum as they fought for a piece of the small antelope.
Once the Dust Settled This Large Male Ended Up With the Biggest Piece
Other interesting wildlife behavior involved hyena and lion interactions at a recent lion killed buffalo carcass. We found the carcass after observing a lioness with a very distended belly. As she moved away from the carcass the hyenas began to move in. When another single lioness returned to feed the hyenas brazenly dashed in and made off with a foreleg. When a second lioness joined the first, the hyenas became more circumspect and retreated to a safe distance. Such cool interspecific interactions.
Spotted Hyena Circling a Recent Lion Kill
Spotted Hyena - Note the Distended Belly
On one of our all-day game drives we chanced upon a serval in tall grass. We had a few quick looks and then he disappeared. We were lucky to spot one as the guides indicated it was the first one that they had seen in three months. That same afternoon we had a mock elephant charge and had some nice looks at a distant leopard on one of the rock outcrops (locally called kopjes).
Serval
Leopard on a Kopjes
The next morning we dashed to a reported cheetah sighting. It turned out to be an adult female and five half-grown young. The female watched for predators as the young finished off a recently killed gazelle. Beautiful cats. Pretty amazing that she had been able to feed and protect the cubs in such a predator rich environment.
Female Cheetah with One of Five Cubs
Young Cheetah Practicing his Takedown Moves on Mom
Shortly after leaving the cheetahs we spotted a leopard asleep in a tree. Before his nap he had packed a lunch. A Thompson's gazelle was placed on a fork in the tree next to the sleeping cat.
Leopard with Gazelle.
We continued to find lions every day whenever we were near water. The lions knew that the prey had to have water and staked out prime drinking spots. We found a collared lion with very young cubs. The guides indicated that the cubs were probably less than two weeks old. At one point we had a pride of 14 lions surrounding the trucks. Quite an adventure.
Very Young Lion Cub
Surrounded by Lions
Hunting Lioness
Successful Lion Hunt
Lioness on the Move
We had been advised by OAT that we were limited to a total 33 pounds each. Becky and I packed and repacked attempting to get all of our luggage under 33 pounds. My downsized photo gear weighed 18 pounds, so I wore the same cloths a lot. We were fortunate that most camps provided laundry service. We were later told that limit was only for the flight from the Serengeti back to Ashura and did not include backpack weight. However, no bags were weighed for that flight including some very large suitcases. Frustrating!
After our flight back to Ashura we checked into an upscale hotel (Kimbo Palace) and were provided with a hotel room for the day. That afternoon we were transported to the airport to begin our journey home. Becky and I had elected a three-day stopover in Amsterdam on our way home.
This was an exceptional tour which greatly surpassed my expectations. All of the OAT staff were excellent and really seemed to enjoy their work. OAT travelers are almost exclusively American. OAT specializes in small group travel, advertising maximum group size of sixteen or less. OAT also does not charge a single supplement. We had a total of ten in our group ranging in age from 60 to 80 years of age. A good group.
I used two cameras, a Canon 7D2 and a Canon R5 mirrorless for almost all the photos in this blog and in the East Africa folder on this website. I used two lenses, a Sigma 150-600mm zoom and an 800mm F11 fixed. This proved to be an effective combination. We were frequently so close that the ability to zoom was needed and the 800 gave me the reach to capture small or distant subjects. I ended up with just under 15,000 images.
I used the Merlin app exclusively for bird identification and Stuart's African Mammals app for mammal identification. I was fortunate that two of our fellow travelers were avid birders, so between Ken and Clara and the guides, I believe that most of my bird identifications are accurate.
I highly recommend this OAT Adventure.