61luv2travel

Great Migration Mara River crossing: Tanzania

Part 1
This was initially a bucket list trip that my DH (Dear Husband) was gifting me to celebrate a milestone birthday AND my retirement. I had previously posted on the forum about our amazing 2017 trip to Vic Falls/Botswana/South Africa (see “Africa – after 10 years of waiting…”). For that trip, I had worked with Liesl Matthews from Southern Destinations (Cape Town) and I turned to her once again to help me plan this trip. Then COVID hit and we had to postpone. Liesl hung in there with me as I would email her about every 6-9 months thinking that maybe I could start planning, only to realize that I just didn’t feel safe enough to travel. Thankfully we managed to emerge safely into the post-pandemic world. The next order of business was trying to find a time that would work for my family. This would be the first international trip with just our family of 4 in over 10 years. Now that both our daughter (DD) and son (DS) have become full-fledged adults with independent careers, the logistics of finding a time when everyone can take a 2 week vacation are complicated.

Working with Liesl, I noted that we wanted to visit Kenya and Tanzania to see the Great Migration and hopefully river crossings. At first, my DH and I also talked about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or adding on Zanzibar. My daughter was kind of hopeful that we would add Cape Town. My son, who had lived in Nigeria for a few months just before the pandemic started, was fine with whatever we chose. We quickly realized that a) we were not really the trekking type of family that wanted to spend our time going up Kilimanjaro just to say we had done it, b) while Zanzibar would be interesting culturally, we didn’t really need to travel all the way to Africa for a beach break (we visit Hawaii frequently) and c) obviously it didn’t make sense to detour all the way to Cape Town if we were visiting East Africa. We finally settled on mid-late August dates and were able to book a 3 camp package with the travel company andBeyond (hence the trip report title) which would take us from Ngorongoro Crater to the Serengeti to the Masai Mara.


Sunrise view from Ngorongoro Crater Lodge

Sunset view from Serengeti Under Canvas

Sunset view Masai Mara

Our itinerary ended up looking like this:
Day 1 – Fly from Home airport to DEN, then DEN to FRA (9hr, 40min) on United

Day 2 – Fly from FRA to NBO on Lufthansa (8hr, 10min), overnight Villa Rosa Kempinski, Nairobi

Day 3 - Full day Nairobi tour, overnight Villa Rosa Kempinski

Day 4 – Fly from Nairobi-Wilson Airport to Kilimanjaro Airport on Air Kenya Express, then Kilimanjaro to Lake Manyara on Coastal with pick up for 2 night stay at andBeyond’s Ngorongoro Crater Lodge

Day 5 - Full day safari in Ngorongoro Crater

Day 6 – Fly from Lake Manyara to Serengeti-Kogatende on Coastal with pick up for 3 night stay at andBeyond’s Serengeti Under Canvas (Kogatende area, Northern Serengeti)

Day 7-8 - 2 safari game drives each day in the Serengeti

Day 9 – Fly from Kogatende to Migori (Tanzania side) on Auric Air, bus pickup to go through border control, then fly from Migori (Kenya side) to Mara-Kichwa on Air Kenya Express with pick up for 3 night stay at andBeyond’s Bataleur Camp in the Masai Mara

Day 10-11 – 2 safari game drives each day in the Masai Mara

Day 12 – morning walking safari, then fly from Mara-Kichwa to Nairobi-Wilson on Air Kenya Express, pick up to check into day rooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel with check-out for midnight departure from NBO

Day 13 - Fly from NBO to CDG (Paris) on AirFrance (8hr, 25 min), CDG to LAX on AirFrance (11hr, 30min)

Day 13 (Yes, it was still Day 13!) - Arrive LAX, LAX back to home airport

Yes, this was an expensive trip. Yes, we moved around A LOT – which required many flights (12 segments in all!). But it really was a trip of a lifetime. We stayed in incredible accommodations, ate delicious meals that were fresh, varied and creatively presented, experienced pretty much every wildlife sighting that we could wish for and met and interacted with the warm, thoughtful and delightful andBeyond staff at every step of the way. Best of all, our family had the opportunity to bond in a way that we hadn’t had the time to do for so long. As a family, we have traveled all over the world together, but this trip was different in that for the first time we were sharing the experience with our fully adult children. I couldn’t wish for a better family and we agreed at the end of the trip that we were all grateful for the wonderful adventure that we shared!

The logistical information may be overkill for some but hopefully the photos (courtesy of my DH!) will make up for that.

Next up: Days 1-3, Just getting to Nairobi

Giraffe Center, Nairobi

Moderator1

Added Trip Report and country tags

KTtravel

I am enjoying your report and pictures. It looks like you had a great trip. Isn't Africa amazing?!

61luv2travel

Part 2
Days 1-3: Just getting to Nairobi

Some logistics – As MDs, DH and I made sure to check the CDC recommendations and our entire family took anti-malaria medications. While we have taken malarone previously without problems, for some reason DH and I had a really hard time tolerating it. Not sure if it was the particular formulation or the fact that we are getting older, but the GI side effects were not fun. In fact, I was just not very hungry for most of the trip which was sad because I couldn’t eat much despite the delicious multi-course meals that we were served.

I feel that we were VERY fortunate in that we did not have a problem with any flight segment. I must admit that in this post-pandemic travel world, I was very anxious about just getting to Africa. After our return, hearing about the episode in which United had to ground stop all of their US flights for a few hours or the Delta flight to Barcelona that had to turn back because a passenger had diarrhea all the way down the aisle – it makes me thankful that our flights went smoothly. We made sure to take carry-on soft-sided bags (you have to have them anyway to fit in the small propeller planes for the intra-Africa flights) so we never had to deal with lost luggage. We DID NOT wear masks during any of our flights and none of us contracted COVID.

Getting the evisas for Kenya and Tanzania was not very fun. The websites were glitchy, the file requirements for supplemental documentation were very picky and I had to reassure my credit card company that the charge for the visa application was legitimately me and not a fraudulent charge. For a few days, the Kenya website was down completely because they were hacked. Even though I had finished and received the visa approvals, I had a moment of panic that I hadn’t downloaded my son’s visa and wouldn’t be able to get it off the site. Fortunately, I did have it downloaded. I ended up printing out EVERYTHING - including 2 copies of each visa and all of our e-tickets just in case.

We landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi around 8:30 PM local time. It was nice to just walk off with our carry-on and we were met by an Afritrek representative right after we deplaned. It was kind of funny as he brought us inside and then put us in the “UN” (United Nations) passport control line. I think it was because it was shorter. Of course we are not UN personnel but no one batted an eye. After going through, we were driven by minivan to our hotel. As we drove away from the airport, I was startled by a giant sign with the initials “JKIA” affixed to a distinctly pagoda looking structure. I couldn’t figure out why it looked as if it was Chinese and tried to think if maybe there was some kind of Kenyan Chinese cultural intersection. Later I found out from my DS’ Kenyan friend that China built the Nairobi Expressway which links the airport with the wealthier parts of the city. I guess they had the final say on the design of the airport entry sign and that writing out “Jomo Kenyatta International Airport '' was too cumbersome. As it was past rush hour, we went the local route through the city, but it was hard to see much in the dark other than endless roundabouts.


Entrance to the Villa Rosa Kempinski, Nairobi

Checking in to the Villa Rosa Kempinski was a process itself. First we stopped outside of the gates so that security could look in our vehicle and confirm who was in it, then they scanned with an undercarriage mirror and had a dog sniff his way around the car. Our vehicle was allowed through the gate and at the imposing entrance we passed our bags through x-ray and walked through a scanner. Having experienced this in Istanbul, Bangalore, Jakarta and Bali, it is always interesting to me when these types of precautions are required to enter a hotel. The Villa Rosa Kempinski is a beautiful hotel and our connecting rooms were very comfortable, especially after traveling for over 24 hours just to get to Africa.

The next morning we ate a filling breakfast from the extensive and delicious breakfast buffet before pick-up by Samuel, our Afritrek rep. We spent the day doing what I would consider the usual tourist circuit for a day in Nairobi. At least these are the top stops that you would find when you look up “Things to Do in Nairobi.” First, we started at the Giraffe Center. Created by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW Kenya), the Center provides education about the Rothschild giraffe. The Center works on rescuing this endangered species and also gives the public a very cool and fun opportunity to interact with the giraffes in an up close and personal way. An info sign with the rules states that you must wash your hands in order to feed the giraffes. Also, you shouldn’t tease them with the food or they may head butt you! At one point there were these 2 young, pretty but very obnoxious women who were clearly trying to take photos for Instagram. You could tell it was all about them and at one point they wanted DH to move as he was trying to take our photo. He told them “Nyet,” took his time and finished his photo. We then stood back and watched these 2 women proceed to tease an adult giraffe with a food pellet. Sadly, they did not get head butted. (I know, we are terrible aren’t we?). We did not opt to solicit a giraffe “kiss.” If you put the food pellet in your lips and offer it to the giraffe, the giraffe will “kiss” you as its long tongue comes out to grab the food.


Giraffe Center - note the warning sign

This little guy had a huge appetite!

Next up, was a visit to the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. Just as its name suggests the Orphanage rescues and rehabilitates baby elephants. The Orphanage is open for 1 hr daily for visiting with an advance booking. We watched 2 rounds of baby elephants – one group with under 2yr olds and a second group who were 2-3 yrs old. They were just so cute as they came running down the path towards the corral around which we were grouped. When the staff is notified about an orphaned elephant in the bush, they fly out with a vet and bring them in and nurture them until they are old enough to go back out into the wild. Surprisingly, they will find a herd to accept them and will then “leave” the orphanage. Watching these small elephants using their trunks to hold their enormous “baby bottles'' full of formula was very heartwarming. They will then walk around all over the corral picking up branches to eat the leaves. Many of them brush by and you are allowed to “pet” them and feel their scratchy hide.


Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage


After our two “wildlife” encounters it was time to visit the Karen Blixen Museum – the house where she once lived. I have to admit that none of us have read her book “Out of Africa”, which she wrote under the pen name, Isak Dinesen. My DH and I saw the movie with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford when it came out in 1985 but can barely remember any of it. Our Kenyan guide, Caroline, was a bit taken aback at this confession but she gave us an informative tour of the house. Caroline, who was an extremely tall Masai woman, was completing her 2nd “extension” or internship towards her degree in tourism. I asked her which she liked better, the book or the movie. She preferred the book as she felt the movie concentrated too much on their romance. However, she also did take exception to the many comments in the author’s book which demonstrated her colonial racist attitude (the norm for that era). After our tour, we traveled a short distance away and had a buffet lunch at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden Restaurant. The setting was very peaceful with plenty of shade and a good selection of food. However, none of us was inclined to sample the desserts as there were so many bees flying around the sweets despite the best efforts of the staff to wave them away!

Our final stop was at the Kazuri Beads Factory which is a workshop where local women handcraft beautiful ceramic beads. “Kazuri” means “tiny and beautiful” and I would agree that that is an apt name. We were given a brief tour of the process and then spent some time shopping. DD and I each bought a bracelet. I don’t usually enjoy shopping but this was very low key and I loved looking at the colorful variety of the beautiful beads.


Kazuri Beads

Still a bit jet-lagged and satisfied by our day’s activities, we went back to our hotel to rest up. We decided to stay in and ended up eating dinner at Lucca. This is an Italian restaurant located on site on the first floor of the hotel which contains an open patio that faces the fancy entry driveway. DS’ Kenyan friend joined us for dinner and conversation. Apparently, locals in Nairobi considered the Villa Rosa Kempinski to be quite upscale. Right on cue there was a sudden loud commotion coming from the driveway. DH went to investigate and snapped some photos of an arriving celebrity: the wife of Atiku Abubakar (the Nigerian opposition party leader) was being feted for her birthday. All of us went to bed, except for DS who hung out with his friend at the rooftop bar until after midnight to catch up on the news of former co-workers from their time spent together working in Nigeria.

Next up: Days 4-5, Ngorongoro Crater

61luv2travel

Part 3
Days 4-5: Ngorongoro Crater

Some logistics again: We ate a leisurely breakfast before our pick-up to transfer to Nairobi-Wilson airport. This smaller regional airport was clean and well run and we were efficiently processed through passport control. Wilson was also super busy with a never ending stream of Cessna and Piper airplanes ferrying both tourists and safari camp staff to the many safari destinations in the Masai Mara or the Serengeti. Our flight to Kilimanjaro Airport ended up being held as we needed to wait for some connecting passengers who were flying back from the Mara. We were a little concerned since we in turn had to connect at Kilimanjaro. The staff at Wilson Airport notified the Kilimanjaro staff so they knew to hold our connecting flight. It ends up kind of like a game of dominoes. As the day goes on, the flights seem to become more and more delayed. When you only have 12 passengers per flight, the plane tends to wait for all connecting passengers.


Typical dirt landing strip

A brief word about the intra-Africa flights - they were flown on single propeller or twin engine Pipers and Cessnas that seat 12 passengers with the pilot and co-pilot in front. I enjoyed these flights because you could see straight through the windshield and down the runway during take-off and landing. However, they could be a bit hot, loud and nausea inducing. Also, if you have any fear of flying, it might be hard to deal with the occasional turbulence or the bumpy landings on dirt landing strips

Once we arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania, we were immediately taken to the 1st outdoor station to confirm that we had our yellow fever vaccinations. We were then rushed through passport control by our local Afritrek rep who then led us to the front entrance of the airport where we were met by a long line of passengers trying to get through a single airport security line. I think these passengers were all checking in for a wide body Ethiopian Air flight. Our Afritrek rep looked a bit frantic and had us cut to the front of the line. DS and DD told me that they heard some of the other passengers disgustedly mutter, “Americans!” Negotiating Tanzanian security was completely confusing - I think we went through scanners 3 separate times, shoes on and then back off, laptops in and then out, but liquids stayed in the bag. When we finally made it to the tarmac we were led to the prop plane and found that we were the only 4 passengers! Flight time was short with a very rough touchdown on the dirt landing strip at Lake Manyara Airport.

We were met by our first andBeyond contact, Daniel, who had set up a welcome table of coffee, tea and snacks. He gave us a brief overview talk using a map to orient us to the geography of Lake Manyara and nearby Ngorongoro Crater. Daniel packed up the treats and pointed out the cooler full of bottled water, beers and soda. We jumped into the modified Toyota Land Cruiser for the hour-long drive to Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. The first half of the drive was paved and took us through multiple small towns. School children of many different ages and uniforms were walking home. Local businesses lined the road. Cows and goats were herded alongside the road. We eventually reached the turn off to the unpaved road climbing up to the Lodge. Daniel gave us an apologetic warning as we started the 30 minute bone rattling ride. On the way we began spotting wildlife - zebras and Cape Buffalo. We paused briefly while Daniel did some paperwork at the Ngorongoro Crater National Park entrance. He warned us to leave the large sliding windows closed as we were surrounded by a gang of baboons. Apparently this particular local gang was very bad and would jump into open vehicles to steal food. While he was gone, DD opened the cooler to grab a beer. As she handed the bottle off to her brother it slipped through his fingers. Even though he managed to catch it before it smashed to the floor, the sudden downward motion created a huge geyser of beer to erupt all over them. We hastily wiped what we could with the few tissues and then confessed to Daniel upon his return that we had turned his safari vehicle into a bar! In the end it wasn’t a problem since he said they wash the vehicles down every night anyway.



We finally arrived at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge as the sun was setting. As an andBeyond property, it sports the title “Where Masai Meets Versailles”. Sited on the edge of the crater rim and within the park borders proper, it provides over the top luxury: chandeliers, personal butler, suites with private patios with spectacular views into the crater. We met with TW - our safari guide to confirm our plans for the following day. We were then served a delicious 3 course meal accompanied by excellent French wine. Then exhausted from the full day it had taken us to travel from Nairobi, we returned to our connecting suites and quickly fell asleep between the cozy sheets warmed by electric blankets.

Because it takes at least 60 min to drive from the Lodge down into the crater proper, we elected to have a 5AM coffee wake up call so as to be out the door by 6AM. In the cool of the morning the wildlife would be more active. As we descended into the crater, the sun began to peep over the rim revealing a markedly varied landscape. Somehow I had imagined that the crater was filled with a rain forest jungle environment. I have no idea where I got that idea. Instead, as the largest intact caldera in the world (not filled with water) , Ngorongoro Crater contains a diverse and fascinating mix of environments - from dry savannah to marshland to forested hills to Lake Magadi. The Crater is a unique ecosystem unto itself.

Our family ended up labeling this day as “Lion Day” as we saw over 20 different lions during the drive. At one point, a young male lion considered facing off with a Cape Buffalo but ended up reconsidering. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. Because most of the wildlife stays in the crater and does not migrate they are somewhat used to the safari vehicles. For instance, we would drive down a path just as a line of zebras was about to cross. TW would stop, the zebras would also stop and hesitate until TW would wave them across. They really responded to him waving them on to cross over as if we were at a pedestrian crosswalk! This first safari drive was where we were also introduced to the term “ALT'' or “Animal Looking Thing.” Though our guide, TW, was of course quite experienced in scanning the environment to find and point out the wildlife, he encouraged us to stop him if we saw something interesting ourselves.



Trying to decide whether to face-off with a Cape Buffalo


This is when you really begin to appreciate how well the wildlife has adapted to blending in with their environment. You might call out, “I think I see a lion over there!” Then after stopping to take a closer look, we would realize that it was just another ALT. Even our guides would sometimes sigh after using their binoculars because they thought they saw something and then report “Just an ALT.”

About mid-morning, TW chose a safe site and set up a table with camp stools. He brought out previously prepared tins filled with bacon, sausage, toast, yogurt, etc so that we could enjoy breakfast surrounded by the amazing scenery. It almost seemed unreal to be munching on toast while watching the elephants, zebras and wildebeest at a safe distance.



By midday we drove back to the Lodge where we were met with fresh cold hand towels to wipe the dust from our face and hands. We then enjoyed our 3 course lunch (lunch and dinner were always 3 course meals). Towards the end of the lunch, DD had a bit of a scare when a large spider fell from the ceiling directly into her salad. She and I both recoiled and maybe we screamed (hopefully not that loudly). Upon returning to our suite, we noticed that a warm rose petal strewn bubble bath had been prepared in the large bathtub. Ahhh-h-h! So relaxing! Followed by a nap we then wandered back to the main dining area where DS and DD were already having snacks and cocktails and enjoying the incredible view out over the crater.


View from Ngorongoro Crater Lodge

As evening approached, a group of Masai warriors demonstrated traditional singing, chanting and dancing. As the sun set, we sat down to another 3 course meal. At the end of the meal, the staff came marching out singing “Happy Birthday” in Swahili and holding a birthday cake for me. At the rousing conclusion, the woman behind me dropped rose petals on top of my head and for a moment I thought I was being attacked by spiders - LOL! The chocolate cake was very delicious though I was quite embarrassed by the attention. We were escorted back to our suites by a Masai guide since it was already past nightfall. After sunset, you were never supposed to walk the property unless you were accompanied by a guide. (This is a standard rule for every safari camp I have ever visited.) Our suite was at one end of the line of suites lining the crater and situated right next to a trail that the Cape Buffalos would use to walk down into the crater during the night.


Table set for dinner.

Next up: Days 6-8 Serengeti Under Canvas

61luv2travel

Part 4
Days 6-8, Serengeti Under Canvas


"Waterfall" of clouds cascading over the rim of Ngorongoro Crater

We requested a 6AM coffee wake-up call which would entail the personal delivery to your doorway of a beautifully arranged tray with freshly brewed coffee, your choice of creamer/milk and a small bowl of cookies. Savoring the hot coffee while seated on our outdoor patio perched on the rim of the crater we enjoyed (and photographed) the beautiful sunrise. This morning there was a clear sky above, a mass of clouds pouring like a waterfall over the crater ridge opposite our position highlighted by a brilliant rose colored sunrise. After a final elaborate breakfast with eggs/bacon/sausage/toast to order and accompanied by fresh fruit, muesli, yogurt, croissants and other breakfast rolls we rolled ourselves into the Toyota Land Cruiser for the bumpy ride back down to the Lake Manyara airport. Even though we were stuffed, the staff handed each of us an elaborate “bag lunch” to tide us over until we reached our next safari camp. LOL - they definitely made sure that we didn’t starve to death.

Upon reaching Lake Manyara Airport, we said good-bye to TW as we passed our bags through very simple security - more of a formality than anything else. We boarded our next prop plane where the pilot provided us with “inflight service” consisting of a small box of wrapped candy mints to which we could help ourselves. I did find that they were actually very helpful in combating nausea. After a relatively short flight with one stopover at Lobo airstrip we landed at the Serengeti-Kogatende airport - in reality also a dirt landing strip where we were met by our next guide- Alpha. Again, he had the full welcome table with drinks, snacks and a brief overview talk to orient us. Surprisingly, this tiny airport had a very clean restroom facility which came in handy as a rest stop as we would often pass by it on the subsequent long game drives.

I did not realize just how huge the Serengeti actually is - 11,583 square miles (3.7 million acres). Since we wanted to observe the Great Migration and hopefully Mara River crossings we were now situated in the Northern Serengeti where the herds were located for this time of the year. The andBeyond property, Serengeti Under Canvas, is a mobile tented camp which picks up and moves about every 3-4 months through their various permitted sites within the Serengeti to follow the Great Migration. The term “mobile tented camp" does not do justice to an amazing glamping set-up. What is even more astounding is that every time they move, they have to take everything with them and ensure that the site is left completely as they originally found it. Essentially they must leave no trace. They then move to the next site in the rotation and within 5 days set up the entire camp again. Take a look at the photos (or even better yet take a look at their own website). These spacious canvas tents have flaps that can be pulled back to allow ventilation and are surprisingly cool and comfortable in the warm afternoons. At night, with the tent flaps pulled down, the tent became slightly chilly but with the aid of the wonderful hot water bottles tucked between the sheets of our very comfortable bed, we slept soundly. We were definitely not suffering on hard camp cots. These tents included a partitioned area located behind the “bedroom” for the toilet and sink and then led to an enclosed zippered shower room large enough to accommodate a set up for 2 large bucket showers. When you were ready to shower you let your “butler” know so that he could add the hot water to the overhead tanks. Our butler, Daniel, told us that he knew exactly the right mixture of hot to cold water to make the shower comfortable and he was right!


Note the bucket shower setup at the back of the tent

Our tent at Serengeti Under Canvas

Getting back to our initial arrival, Alpha packed us up and we mutually agreed to start the game drive immediately instead of driving all the way east back to the camp and then having to turn around to come back west to the airport where the national park lands began. We immediately saw a large herd of elephants of all ages, eating, drinking, resting. Alpha also drove just a short distance northward to the Tanzania/Kenya border. In the distance we could see the Oloololo Escarpment hazily in the distance.

Next we headed further into the bush to where two male cheetahs were hanging out under a tree. DH and I were excited as this was one of the big cats that we had not seen at all on our previous safari trip. Because it was squarely mid-afternoon and fairly warm, the two cheetahs were just lazing around and resting. Alpha pointed out that they needed to conserve their energy for the cooler times of the day when they would hunt. We were a little disappointed that they weren’t active, though little did we know that we would run into them again later in the Masai Mara.


Cheetah brothers relaxing in the heat of the afternoon.


The primary impression that struck me about this game drive was the massive concentration of wildlife inhabiting the Serengeti. Of course part of this was due to this was the time of year when the wildebeest and zebra herds arrive into the Northern Serengeti. Also, the relatively flat landscape lent itself to expansive views which made it feel as if you could see everything that was going on at once. I thought that Ngorongoro Crater had a high concentration of wildlife (and it does because of the enclosed nature of the habitat), but what we were seeing now was orders of magnitude more.

After a 4 hour game drive, we made our way to the camp, where we were warmly greeted and given time to settle in. Making our way to the tents containing the common meeting and dining areas, we enjoyed cocktails and then sat down to eat our delicious 3 course dinner. The starting course was the most delicious tomato soup I have ever tasted. We later asked the chef about the recipe and it was actually quite involved. We marveled at the tasty cuisine on offer as the chef definitely had a challenging situation preparing these meals out in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know how he did it. After dinner we were tired as usual. Somehow sitting in a safari vehicle being jostled for hours at a time while constantly scanning the environment becomes incredibly fatiguing. DS would sometimes complain of a headache as he felt he was focusing so hard into the distance trying to sort out whether he was seeing an ALT vs a real animal. He actually had a good number of sightings but he really worked at it.

The only other comment about sleeping in these tents is that the staff warned us that wildlife definitely walked around in the camp at night (mostly zebras and maybe hyenas!) If for whatever reason we needed to come to the main area, we were given walkie-talkies to communicate with the staff for assistance. Our first night, we definitely heard the rustling of animals walking past right next to our tent accompanied by occasional yips and barks. I was a little unnerved that maybe there were hyenas mixed in with the zebras. However, the staff told us that those yips and barks were definitely made by the zebras. As we woke up just before sunrise we could hear lions roaring in the distance.

We always elected to get up as early as possible for the morning game drive to maximize our chances of seeing active wildlife. After drinking the coffee delivered to our tent for our wake-up call, we drove off with Alpha with the goal of catching a Mara River crossing. Magically, Alpha got us situated just as the wildebeest started crossing towards our side of the river. Our vehicle was parked on a bluff at a designated viewing point. It was quite exciting with what looked like large numbers of wildebeest gathering on the far side of the river. We could see multiple lines of wildebeest running in single file lines from as far as the horizon and funneling towards the crossing point. It was exciting until a completely idiotic photographer started setting up a tripod at the edge of the bluff and spooked the animals. Suddenly the wildebeest who had most recently entered the water abruptly stopped and then in a huge rush the leaders started making a U-turn and all of these wildebeest who seconds before were ready to cross, ran back up towards “safety”. The crossing just came to a screeching halt. Alpha was completely beside himself as he was so angry that this “photography team” had ruined the crossing for the rest of us. They must have had a permit since they were accompanied by a soldier with a rifle. Still it was a shame.


Note (yellow arrow) the crocodile checking out the action.



We then spent the next couple of hours watching for another crossing. Alpha identified a panoramic vantage point where we could globally see the wildebeest herds on the other side of the river. It was relaxing and fascinating and even comedic, all at the same time. We could watch the wildebeest as different lines would move in single file, back and forth, trying to decide where they might want to cross next. First lines would move in one direction, then they would mill around and then something would make them change their mind and they would turn around and walk back towards where they came from. Then they would turn around again. It turns out that the wildebeest are pretty stupid. I had always thought they were just one giant herd that moved in lockstep north during their migration, crossed the river only going in one direction and then eventually moving back south later in the cycle to complete the circuit. While they are in the Northern Serengeti they keep crossing the Mara River back and forth searching for the best foraging. It would rain almost every evening and the herds would cross to whichever side had had the most recent rain. Eventually we actually caught another crossing but it was not quite as impressive as the first one had been shaping up to be. We traveled back to camp constantly surrounded by wildlife. It was amazing to travel through the Serengeti at this time of the year. The animals were just…everywhere.

For the evening game drive Alpha knew that we were interested in seeing more of the big cats. One thing I noticed was that at each camp, our guide would ask us whether this was our first safari and if not, where had we visited before and what had we already seen. Then before every game drive, they would ask us what we would like to see that we hadn’t seen before. Our family always felt hesitant because it seemed to be such a presumptuous thing to request as if the animals were “on order”. However, our guides seemed to be able to deliver time and again. We had told Alpha that we had called our game drive in Ngorongoro Crater, “Lion Day” because we had seen so many. As we started this drive, I think Alpha was determined to outdo that experience. And wow - we saw many lions and even a male and female leopard “couple” hanging out together (yet not) near the tree that contained the remnants of their kill.


Even though they were "together" this leopard couple were lounging around in slightly separate locations.



This lioness was starting her evening hunt.

He is actually yawning and not roaring.

Clearly enjoying his nap, his paws would twitch from time to time.


Next up: Serengeti Under Canvas, Part 2

Heimdall

Great photos! Keep them coming. I was in the Serengeti a different time of year when the wildebeest herds were calving in the southeastern shortgrass plains. The sheer number of animals as we were driving toward Ngorongoro was mind boggling, but there were no dramatic river crossings.

61luv2travel

To KTtravel - yes, Africa is truly amazing! It is just so unique and awe-inspiring. Sometimes I had to pinch myself to confirm that I was really getting to see all of this.

Heimdall - your comment re: watching the wildebeest herds calving is so interesting. While we really wanted to see a river crossing and were super happy to catch that huge one - our guide also mentioned that the calving season in the southern Serengeti was fascinating in a different way. He mentioned that not only could you see the calving but also how predators would sometimes snatch the newborns away right after birth! It made us realize that every part of the cycle has its own unique moments.

61luv2travel

Part 5
Days 6-8: Serengeti Under Canvas, Part 2


Hold your breath! Seconds before this river crossing starts.

While we were encouraged to consider taking a morning hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti, we declined for a number of reasons. First, it was super expensive (we decided we would rather spend some of the money on larger tips to the staff). Second, we were all a bit worried about being trapped up in the balloon if we needed to use the restroom (I know this might seem kind of ridiculous but there it is.) And finally, DS really wanted to go looking for another river crossing and we knew the early AM was probably our best bet for viewing one. So the next morning we repeated the early AM coffee wake-up call and then immediately jumped into the vehicle. The first thing we noticed as we approached the most likely river crossing viewing points was the tremendous number of wildebeest that were milling around everywhere, slowly making their way to the riverbank.

Wildebeest gathering for their next river crossing.

Alpha kept driving back and forth trying to decide at which viewing point to park (there are designated viewing points labeled “0” to “10”). We finally pulled up literally seconds before a HUGE river crossing started (the photo from the very 1st post that started this trip report was taken from this crossing). For more than 40 minutes, the wildebeest (and the occasional zebras) just kept coming and coming. In the distant horizon, you could see more and more tiny dots running in multiple single file lines towards the crossing location. It was as if the wildebeest were operating in “zombie” mode and couldn’t wait to join the crossing. We saw some of the baby wildebeest seemingly separated from their moms during the crossing. At one point, a number of them were running around in a giant circle and then finally one dashed off towards the main herd with the rest following - hopefully able to be reunited with their mothers. There were also zebras mixed in with the wildebeest. Their behavior was very different from the wildebeest. A group would kind of saunter down in the midst of the practically stampeding wildebeest. Then they would usually stop at the edge to drink and then when they decided they were ready they would trot across in single file.


Pouring in from everywhere.

Single file crossing...

...and massive hordes crossing.

And they just keep on coming.

These zebras stopped for a leisurely drink of water.

Then they finally decided to cross over.


When the crossing petered out, we kind of shook ourselves from our mesmerized state. Wow - we couldn’t believe what we had just witnessed. DD had noted the time that the crossing started and ended. To me it felt as if it went on for just 5 minutes when in fact it had been over 40 minutes. Alpha estimated that we had just watched several hundred thousand wildebeest cross over. We had definitely experienced our Nat Geo moment. Afterward, Alpha found a nice location to set up for breakfast. Again, everything had been provided - coffee, tea, milk, juice, yogurt, muesli, hard boiled eggs, bread, sausages, bacon, muffins. You name it, it was there. As we sat on our camp stools, we marveled at how the immediate landscape was practically devoid of any wildebeest. We could now see them on the other side of the river spreading out.

For our evening drive, Alpha had received word that a black rhino had been spotted - though its location was quite some distance away. We had told him that we had seen a young black rhino in Ngorongoro Crater - though it had been so far away it was barely perceptible with binoculars. In fact, until it moved it really looked like an ALT. Again, in that somewhat competitive spirit, I think Alpha was determined for us to see this adult black rhino. They are rare, solitary and shy. He warned us that it would be a long and bumpy ride but we were up for it. He then raced like a bat out of h*ll as he was worried that the rhino might disappear into the bush before we arrived . We definitely had to hold on to our seats! But we got there and were able to see this big guy in all his glory. Alpha tried to maneuver as close as possible without spooking the rhino as he didn’t want to stress him. He must have done a good job as the rhino just continued munching away and seemed pretty unconcerned. Alpha was actually surprised that the rhino didn’t seem to mind.


The elusive and endangered black rhino.

Fortunately, this rhino remained unconcerned with our presence.


As we made our way home at a much more sedate pace, we continued to see giraffes moving across the landscape, a warthog family traveling together, elephant herds grouped in family units, hyenas and the ever present impalas, Thompson gazelles, and topi. Of course, the wildebeest and zebras were always grazing. A funny note is that I never realized that “pumbaa” is the Swahili word for silly or foolish - or in other words - stupid. Whenever a guide would see them he would always point and call them out as pumbaas. I guess that in some ways, the Lion King was more accurate than I realized.




Warthog family






Male impala with his "harem."

Of course we happily ate our 3 course dinner but then quickly dropped into bed after taking our warm bucket showers. The next morning we were able to eat breakfast at camp before saying our good-byes and heading back out to the airstrip to fly to our last safari camp. Again we were handed our fancy bag lunches to prevent any possibility of experiencing hunger!


Sunset over the Serengeti.


Next up: Bateleur Camp in the Masai Mara

Heimdall

I would have liked to see a river crossing, but we were there in February when the herds are in a different part of the Serengeti. We also stayed in safari lodges rather than tents, so didn’t get the same close to nature experience as yours.

Our trip started in Kenya, with a stop at Amboseli NP, then across the border to Arusha, with a flight on Precision Air to a grass strip at Seronera Valley, where we stayed in a safari lodge rather than a tent. The pilot buzzed the airstrip to scare off the antelope grazing around the runway, then did a go around to land. We stayed there a few nights exploring that area, then drove across the shortgrass plains on the way to Ngorongoro.

There were certainly lots of predators around, lions, cheetahs and hyenas. We saw a pair of cheetahs stalking a herd of Thompson’s gazelle, but the lions were resting in the heat of the day. It’s incredible how quickly a newborn wildebeest calf can get on its feet and stay with the herd. For miles and miles across the plains were herds of wildebeest and zebra, with other species of antelope mixed in. It’s one of the most incredible sights I’ve ever seen.

EDIT: You posted Part 5 as I was composing this reply, and I must say your photos are stunning!

61luv2travel

Part 6
Days 9-11: Bateleur Camp in the Masai Mara Reserve, Part 1


One more lion to see as we say goodbye to the Serengeti.

During the 30 minute drive to the Kogatende airstrip we actually took our time as our flight had been delayed (that domino effect was starting again). Alpha spotted a serval cat slinking along in the bush. This was really exciting as they are rarely seen.


Serval cat traveling in the bush.

DS sighted a lioness sunning herself on a rock facing directly east. Alpha pulled the vehicle over and we watched as she slowly roused herself and then stood up and began walking directly towards us. Gradually she veered away and continued walking east towards a band of impalas. We enjoyed watching them all go on alert but she clearly wasn’t hunting as she didn’t try to hide herself. Behind her a single, lone Thompson’s gazelle followed her for a bit out of curiosity and then finally lost interest and peeled off. When we lost sight of her in the rays of the rising sun, we continued onward to Kogatende.


Walking off into the sunrise.

Though our flight from Kogatende was late in arriving, I wasn’t really concerned even though we again had to make a connection. By this point, I realized that the connecting flight would just wait for us as they knew we were coming. The interesting part is how we traveled through the border. First, we flew to Migori Airport on the Tanzania side, then we were picked up by the local Afritrek rep who ferried just the 4 of us in a 20 passenger coach. We then entered the border station between Kenya and Tanzania only to be faced with a long line as a tour group managed to arrive just before we did. There was a single window to process the exit from Tanzania and then right next to it a single window to process our re-entry into Kenya. One thing I forgot to mention is that at every border control station your photo is taken and your fingerprints scanned. Anyway, once we finished clearing the border, our driver urged us to quickly board so that he could then drive us to the Migori Airport on the Kenyan side. I felt really sorry for him as I could tell that he was anxious that we were running late. The problem was that the road led through multiple small towns and at every town they had built an endless number of speed bumps. We would race ahead about an eighth of a mile and then slow for speed bumps, then race ahead and slow down - over and over again. I don’t know how he could stand it. We only ended up being 15 min late for our connecting flight. This time our pilot informed us that first we would fly for 6 min and drop off some passengers and then fly another 14 min to get to our destination - Mara-Kichwa airstrip.


View of the Masai Mara from our tent at Bateleur Camp.

After landing on the tiny dirt strip at Mara-Kichwa we were met by our Bateleur guide, Denzoil (pronounced Denzel). He had the usual table set-up with drinks and treats, but this time we were also offered a flute of champagne which all of us happily accepted. Denzoil gave us the usual brief overview of our region and then asked us the usual questions as to where we had visited and what we had already seen and what we still hoped to see. We noted that Bateleur was our last stop and that we almost didn’t know what to ask for as we had seen almost everything we had wanted to see. When we mentioned that Alpha was our safari guide at Serengeti Under Canvas, Denzoil pulled out his cell phone to show us a photo of the two of them partying together in Nairobi. As close friends, I think it actually fueled his desire to give us an even more amazing safari experience than we had had with Alpha. We then took our time driving back to Bateleur Camp as it is conveniently located just 15 min away. On the way we saw the usual baboons, zebras, giraffes, and Cape Buffaloes. I probably shouldn’t say this so nonchalantly, but again there was an abundance of wildlife.


Hello!


Upon our arrival at Bateleur we were welcomed to our tents, though I hesitate to use that term as these are permanent structures with stone floors, indoor plumbing, indoor/outdoor shower, in-room bar and private outdoor deck with a view out onto the Masai Mara. We conferred with Denzoil and agreed to meet in a couple of hours for the evening game drive. We sat down to eat our elaborate lunch of leek and potato soup, delicious freshly baked bread, and a beautiful salad spread. A large tiered serving tower was brought out with small bowls filled with fried chicken, anchovies, bacon, egg, cheese, lettuce, salsa, and other dressings that allowed you to serve yourself. For dessert we had a choice of chocolate tart and/or lemon sorbet. Afterwards I relaxed with a nap. DD went to work out (they had a small workout room) and to take a short dip in the pool.


Outdoor dining patio.

Lunch on arrival to Bateleur - absolutely no chance of going hungry.


Our "tent" suite.

In the late afternoon, we loaded up and drove towards the entrance of the Masai Mara National Park. Shortly into the drive we stopped to watch a family of elephants. Suddenly, one of the younger male elephants looked up at us curiously. The next thing we knew he slowly, but deliberately walked over to our vehicle right in front of DH. Lifting his trunk up we could see the opening of his trunk dilating and I actually thought he was going to start feeling my husband up! We all held our breath as he took a big sniff and then decided we were not that interesting and moved away. All of us had frozen in place, holding our breaths, except for DD who was fortunately already taking a video and managed to capture most of the encounter. While it was actually happening it felt as if 10 seconds went by but in the video you can see it was just a second or two. After the elephant moved away we all took a huge sigh of relief and Denzoil said he was just glad that none of us screamed.


This image was not enlarged! This elephant walked right up to my husband who immediately stopped taking any more photos to hold absolutely still.

With that exciting introduction, we were off and running. While waiting in the Land Cruiser for Denzoil to sign in to the park proper, giraffes roamed around nearby as they foraged for food from the trees. It is awe inspiring to look up, up and up at a giraffe who is standing immediately next to you.

He is just so tall!

Next we drove to where a mother lion was sitting out with her 2 baby lion cubs. These little guys were adorably cute. One was quite the pig as we mostly saw only his plump back since he just kept nursing. The other smaller one was much more playful, active and curious. It was a bit sad as apparently this particular lioness had grown up alone when her pride was destroyed. She was very strong and could take down a zebra by herself, but she was all alone. This was her 3rd litter of cubs. The first 2 litters had not survived to adulthood as adult male lions had killed them off in order to mate with her. It remained to be seen whether these very young cubs (probably less than 2 mo old) would be able to survive to adulthood.


There is actually a 2nd lion cub but he was too busy nursing to turn around.


Afterward we were taken to an “appointment” which turned out to be a meeting place next to a river bluff overlooking a segment of the Mara River. Complete with a bonfire, camp chairs, a full bar set up and snacks, we were invited to partake in a happy hour surrounded by the sunset. A troupe of Masai warriors came marching up and proceeded to sing and perform the Adumu - a traditional jumping dance in which Masai men demonstrate their maturity and strength by seeing who can jump the highest.


Enjoying happy hour.

Masai warriors.

On the drive back to camp we had to slowly follow a mother elephant who was walking down the road with her baby walking alongside just off the road. The mother elephant knew we were there but refused to go faster or to move off the road for a bit. Then when her baby moved further off the road she finally swung off and followed as if she felt that she had shown us who was boss for long enough! We also saw a family of hyenas returning to their den. Not only did we see them but we could hear them fighting with each other while making these horrible squeals. Further down, closer to camp, we slowed as we came upon a large hyena sitting right next to the road who made the scariest screaming sound. As we slowly drove by him I was a bit unnerved as he watched us go by.


Creepy hyena eyeing us as we return to camp.

That night after dinner we collapsed into our bed with the much appreciated hot water bottles. However, for once we did NOT have a restful night. Let me preface this by saying that previously we had been introduced to the hyrax - a very cute (or so we initially thought) rabbit/rodent-like animal. Weirdly enough the hyrax is most closely related to elephants and manatees - something which does not make sense to me at all. We first saw them at the Karen Blixen house in Nairobi. At Bataleur, Denzoil pointed to one that was sitting on a tree branch as we drove into camp. My husband even proclaimed that they were his “favorite” animal because they were so cute. However, Denzoil noted that they could make a loud, screaming sound at night to establish their territory. Well that night there was a hyrax who sounded as if he lived in the trees right next door to us. Starting at about 10 PM he would emit the most hair raising screams about every 20 min. Just as you were about to fall asleep he would scream again. He must have stopped at some point but then he started up again around 4AM. Following this, my husband declared his hatred for the hyrax. I still can’t get over how such a cute and small animal could emit such a horrible loud scream. They could record these screams to use in horror films.


This "cute" hyrax turned out to be a "screaming" nightmare.

Next up: Days 9-11 Bateleur Camp in the Masai Mara Reserve, Part 2

progol

Absolutely stunning photos! The images of the Great Migration are remarkable- many of them look like paintings, with the steam or fog rising as they run through the river. Outstanding!

61luv2travel

Heimdal - I remember when I was on safari in Botswana that the camp staff had to shoo away the impalas from the nearby airstrip. Then if the plane didn't come in quickly enough they would have to repeat the process as the impala would just meander back in. Somehow that was not an issue for this trip.

progol - I have to hand it to my husband. He loves to take photos and really has the eye for it. It is always a treat to be able to relive the trip through his wonderful photos. I agree that those river crossing photos appear almost as if they are paintings. The "mist" or "fog" is actually created by all of the dust that is thrown up by the massive number of wildebeest running down the dirt bank.

progol

61,
Your husband has a wonderful eye! And I was wondering if that “mist” was die to dust - I thought it might be, given the number of animals running through the the dirt. They are remarkable images, very National Geo!

KTtravel

Great photos!

61luv2travel

Part 7
Days 9-11: Bateleur Camp in the Masai Mara Reserve, Part 2


Reappearance of the same 2 cheetahs we saw in the Serengeti

Bleary eyed, we woke the next morning even before the coffee delivery. We opted to skip breakfast and to start our morning drive bright and early. And guess what? We ran into those very same cheetah brothers that we had seen in the Serengeti. They had crossed over to Kenya and this time they were out walking. While they were not actively hunting (you could see that their bellies were relatively full) they were searching for a place to rest for the day. This gave us a great opportunity to see their beautiful coats. At one point they came up on a large hyena. We watched as they did a face-off. Even though there were 2 of them, they eventually turned away as the hyena was pretty large and could have been an equal match. After all, it wasn't worth the energy to fight for some shade.


Face-off with the hyena?

Is this hyena showing us his victory face after the cheetahs turned away?

So what else did we see?

• went to a hippo pool and watched a “bloat” of hippos - yes, that is what a group of hippos is called
• caught a flash of a lioness racing to capture an impala
• watched a river crossing point in which zebras and wildebeest came to drink at a crocodile infested site AND then watched with morbid fascination as crocodiles attacked and took down 2 of 4 full grown wildebeest who for some reason felt the need to cross by themselves.
• and something that I haven’t really mentioned before - admiring the bird life, many species which seem to be unique to Africa - though I honestly cannot remember all of their names

A "bloat" of hippos



It's as if they just don't see the crocodile.

But now they do!

One wildebeest gets away and one doesn't.

We could not look away despite how horrifying this was.


A bateleur - for which the camp is named.

Lilac breasted roller - how can a bird have so many beautiful colors?

Surrounded by just the remaining bits of his prey.

Greater blue-eared starling - though common it has such vivid coloring.

After a full morning we returned to camp with the plan to go on a night drive. However, by late afternoon, it was pouring rain and though it did eventually stop, we decided to rest and relax in camp. We availed ourselves of the gin bar to have evening cocktails and of course ate a filling dinner. We had a more restful night as somehow either we were more used to the hyrax calls or he decided to take a break that night.

Lunch is served! Meals were not only nutritious and healthy but beautifully presented.

The following morning we again set off early. Denzoil was really hoping to find leopards - again I think he was trying to match or top Alpha. I would call the theme for this morning’s safari drive as “Family Day.” On the way towards the park entrance we saw a mother hyena with 2 of her cubs.



We did not end up seeing leopards, but we did come across a “coalition” of 4 young lions that were lolling around and relaxing. It was fun to sit and watch them as they were just waking up in the early morning - stretching, yawning, and goofing off with each other.


Again - he is yawning, not roaring


Next we watched a group of 4 lionesses who were monitoring their cubs who were eating a freshly killed wildebeest. Denzoil said that the cubs were not old enough to have brought down a young wildebeest by themselves and that they had probably watched the hunt to start learning. The lionesses had started slowly moving along probably to find a shady place to wait out the heat of the day. They were strung out in a long line, alert for any danger to their cubs. One of the cubs was trying to take the carcass along with him but was having trouble as it was as big as he was. We then moved on to watch a male and female lion mating. Now that was interesting. Apparently males will go through a cycle over about 3-4 days in which they will mate progressively more and more frequently with the female with as little as 15 min between. After this “enlightening” show we continued to travel around and came across multiple elephant families with mothers and babies. Driving back to camp for lunch, DD yelled out, “Lion!” and we backed up and sure enough we saw this big guy dozing in the shade. I think this was our lucky number 13 for lion sightings for the day.


Completely asleep in the shade.

Upon returning to camp we rested up in preparation for our night safari drive. Alas, this final drive was a bit of a bust. With clouds gathering in the evening sky we noticed that the landscape which was usually teeming with animals, seemed to be almost empty. We did see elephants and giraffes but only the occasional wildebeest and zebras. I don’t know where they went that evening. Denzoil got word that a black rhino had been spotted and spurred on by our previous report that we had had a close sighting of a black rhino with his colleague Alpha, he raced over as fast as he could. However, when we arrived it was only to find that this rhino had just disappeared back into the bushes and could no longer be seen. We were okay with that but I think Denzoil was the most disappointed. He asked us how well we had seen the other black rhino and seemed a bit deflated when we said that we had been able to drive up fairly close without him running away.


At this point we turned back towards Bateleur’s private reserve land to continue on our night safari drive. But not long after that, the wind picked up, rapidly bringing storm clouds towards us. We could see bright forks of lightning and then the rain started. It quickly became a torrential downpour. Denzoil stopped briefly to put up his windshield and attach his wipers and also to distribute heavy duty rain ponchos for all of us. Remember, we were riding in a completely open Land Cruiser which normally you want so that you have wide open views. Despite the ponchos we were pretty cold and wet. At this point our night drive morphed into a crazy, exciting ride that I likened to a real life version of Disneyland’s Mr Toad’s Wild Ride. When I mentioned this to DS he didn’t understand the reference at all (I didn’t realize that they had discontinued this ride over 20 years ago!). For his generation, he said the ride reminded him of the scene from Jurassic Park when the chubby scientist, Dennis Nedry, is driving crazily in the storm trying to make it to the dock to get off the island with his stolen dinosaur embryos. It does not end well for Dennis as he ends up crashing and then being killed off by a dinosaur. Thankfully, our bumpy stormy ride did not end in a crash or with us being killed off by any predators. Upon reaching the safe haven of Bateleur Camp we dried off and then consoled ourselves with another delicious dinner. Afterward, we had a fairly restful night and only noticed a couple of hyrax screams.


View from our tent to the Mara.

61luv2travel

Part 8
Days 12-13: Return home to the US


A surprise morning visit.

On our final morning at Bateleur we had requested to do a walking safari. However, on this final day we also had the luxury of enjoying our morning coffee while sitting on our private deck to watch the sun rising over the Masai Mara. As I sat there I heard some rustling in the bushes next to me and wondered if it was one of the resident monkeys. But no - all of a sudden a large warthog came trundling out, eating his way just a few feet from me. Even though I knew that warthogs frighten easily and would more likely run away then towards me, I was quite startled and a bit nervous about those tusks. My husband, who was behind me and who had been taking photos of the sunrise, quickly backed away from me towards the tent door. He snapped some photos of me and my “neighbor” and used these as proof that he wasn’t really abandoning me but just getting into a better position to take the photos! The pumbaa looked at me for one second and then just continued searching for food and eventually walked off. Later, the staff told us that 3 young lions had walked through the common area of the camp in the early morning hours. I guess I am thankful that it was the warthog and not the lions who came out of the bushes!

The walking safari was an interesting experience. Accompanied by both a Masai guide and a ranger armed with a rifle, we walked quietly in single file. Right off the bat, as we walked out of the front gates of Bateleur, we encountered an old male Cape Buffalo. He was well known to the safari guides to be quite cranky. As he was standing on higher ground facing directly towards the road they did not want him to catch sight of us and to come charging down the hill. We didn’t really want that either. After a 5 min pause, waiting just out of his sightline, he finally decided to turn around and go back the way he came. Our guides advised us to walk quietly and rapidly to get around the curve of the road just in case he decided to come back to re-investigate. We quickly, quietly and somewhat apprehensively walked a bit further down the road before turning uphill to climb one of the small hills looking out over the Masai Mara. We saw: leftover bits of a rabbit, presumably eaten by a raptor, small holes in the ground which housed wolf spiders (thankfully did not see the spiders themselves!), and ate some tasty tiny wild red berries. Our Masai guide explained how they used various plants for natural remedies. When we reached the top of the hill I have to admit that my legs were shaking as we had not exercised for the past 10 days. But it was worth the climb as we had a beautiful panoramic vista of the Masai Mara. It was an inspiring way to say good-bye to Africa.


View from the top during our walking safari.

Upon our return we ate a full breakfast and then loaded up for our 15 minute drive to the Mara-Kichwe airstrip to begin the process of our long journey home. As we said our farewells, the Bateleur staff sent us off with a rousing Swahili song - Jambo Bwana-Hakuna Matata. It’s a really catchy song that is upbeat and fun. Once we reached the airstrip, our prop plane was ready and waiting. It was a bit weird when we returned to Nairobi. After so many days in wide open spaces, the hustle and bustle of Nairobi was a bit jarring. Afterward, there’s not much to report as our flights ran on time and we had a smooth re-entry into the US.

Next up: Final Comments

61luv2travel

Part 9
Final comments


Waterbuck - I think...

The text of this trip report might be too painstakingly logistical for you (hopefully the photos helped to keep things interesting), but the intent was to give some concrete information about what to expect if you go on safari. Since our primary goal was to see the wildlife I figured I would just post some of the wonderful photos DH took instead of listing all of the animals we saw. There were definitely many more animals that we saw and hundreds of photos of them to sort through. Hopefully, the report and the photos balance each other out. As I noted before, DH and I had visited Southern Africa previously. It was fascinating to see and explore, experience and compare safari in a variety of terrains: from a Chobe River cruise in Botswana to the waterways of the Okavango Delta (also in Botswana) to a private reserve adjacent to Kruger in South Africa to on this trip: the wide open savannas of the Serengeti, to the unique enclosed space of Ngorongoro Crater and to the hills of the Masai Mara. Of course, the vast continent of Africa contains so many more different habitats - the diversity is mind-boggling. Finally, once you have been on safari, it is hard to ever want to go to a zoo as you really know the extent to which animals in their enclosures are confined.


Masai Mara - there is something beautiful about the quality of the sunlight on the African plains.

When we first arrived in Nairobi, DS and I were surprised to notice that we felt somewhat short of breath whenever we would moderately exert ourselves. DH looked it up and realized that all of our locations were somewhat at elevation with Nairobi at 5889 ft, Ngorongoro Crater rim at 7500 ft, the caldera floor at 5500 ft, the Serengeti at 3700 ft at its lowest and the Masai Mara at 4875 ft at its lowest. Comparing this to Denver - the ‘Mile High City” at 5200 ft we felt more reassured to understand why we felt that way.

Having been on safari before, DH and I already knew that we would be fed relentlessly and would also not have any way to exercise it off. After all, you can’t just go for a run out in the bush once you get back to camp. I was surprised again though at how many fresh food choices we were offered. It was great to have fresh fruits and vegetables on offer at every meal (and remember I live in California).

With respect to packing: bringing and wearing layers is the most important. It might not feel that cold in the early morning, but as soon as you start driving, the breeze through the completely open vehicle is definitely chilling. As the day progresses you then start stripping off one layer at a time and then repeat this in reverse during the evening game drive as the sun begins to set. Also, less is more - no one cares whether you wear the same pants 3 days in a row - certainly not the animals. Your clothing is going to get covered with dust every day anyway.

Another pleasant surprise was the availability of decent wi-fi at every camp, even Serengeti Under Canvas. While it was not always the fastest, we were still able to make wi-fi calls back home to the US, check email and even post on social media. I must admit though that it was nice to unplug from the Internet and to only use my phone occasionally just to take photos or video.


Cape Buffalo

Safari is an expensive proposition. One method to control costs is to consider self-driving. However, East Africa is probably NOT the easiest place to choose this option. I asked our guides and TW pointed out that if you self drive in Ngorongoro Crater National Park you need to bring EVERYTHING with you - including all water, camping supplies and food. While you can self drive into both the Serengeti and the Masai Mara the amount of land is so vast that you could waste a lot of time driving around and probably not see the big cats. Our guides worked very hard to show us everything that we requested. It was really an embarrassment of riches. DD noted that she was almost afraid to ask because whatever she expressed an interest in seeing, they would manage to show us. The guides also were in constant communication with each other by radio - sharing and coordinating sightings. I also felt that our andBeyond guides were very conscientious in obeying not just the National Park rules but also showing care for the wildlife - backing off if the animal started showing signs of distress. I observed that not every company’s safari guide was as courteous or careful.


I would recommend that you bring at least 1 pair of good binoculars. andBeyond provided 1 set of binoculars for every 2 people. For our trip, DH (the designated trip photographer) would just look through his telephoto camera lens and then take the photos you are enjoying now. I brought my own binoculars and this allowed both DD and DS to each have their own set to work with. Additionally, we were fortunate that as a family of 4 we always had the entire vehicle and guide to ourselves which made it much easier to explore as we pleased without having to negotiate how long to stay or what to try to see next.

I know that this trip sounds like an advertisement for andBeyond, but I just want to give the staff working on the ground at the safari camps a final shout out to extend my gratitude. As a group they are some of the hardest working people I have ever encountered in the travel industry. Their service ethic was unmatched for warmth and genuine care. While viewing the wildlife made this a trip of a lifetime, their efforts were the ones that made it become a reality.


...and one last photo

61luv2travel

I just wanted to post an addendum. Once I returned home I checked out Isak Dinesen's (Karen Blixen) book, Out of Africa, from the library. Though it isn't the most engrossing book I have ever read, I do think she was an excellent writer. Her descriptions of her environement are evocative of what Kenya felt like to me while on safari. There is one passage early on when she recounts how Kamante, a native boy who works in her house, asks her "...do you believe yourself that you can write a book?" She replied that she didn't know "and he then said, "I do not believe it." How ironic!

Anyway, I do find it interesting to visualize her home as she talks about her experiences. In retrospect I am glad that we did make the visit to her home, even if I hadn't previously read her book.

Mabulachris

Sure thing looks like you had a great experience! Never hesitate to come back again to Tanzania!!