We arrived quite late in Dar es Salam due to the 2 stop flight coming in. After picking up our bags and exiting the airport we were a little surprises nobody was waiting for us. Untill now transfers had been smooth. It was getting less and less busy, all passengers had been picked, but we were still on the side walk. What now? At that time luckily the woman from Foxes/SafariAirLink walked towards us: "You're the ones going to Lazy Lagoon?". "Yes". "I"ll call the driver".
After a quick soda at their office we went on our way to Bagamoyo. After a drive of an hour and a half we arrived at the small beach where the boat to Lazy Lagoon is launched. About 10 minutes later we finally arrived: "Welcome to Lazy Lagoon, we are very sorry but we currently don't have water".
Dinner was oké, but too tasty.
October 11th - Time to Relax
After the water arrived and we had a delicious Full English Breakfast, it was now time to wind down and relax ....... Petra is already sleeping.
We are doing a good job relaxing, as we were almost late for Lunch and ..... Afternoon Thee. Super, doing little to nothing, staring over the beautifull Indian Ocean.
October 12th ... 14th - Paradise found
Days fly by doing little to nothing. Lots of sleeping, a little reading, some snorkeling, walking the dogs - Mino & Angel - on the beautiful beach ... . Food is getting better and tastier by the day.
The flight from Selous to Ruaha wasn't a direct flight, but had one stop after 35 minutes to drop off two staff member at a local Camp.
From there another 1 hours and 10 minutes in the tiny plane. And that was a little bit too much for Petra, who already didn't feel okay the last days. Only 15 minutes in the air and all came out. A big releave for her, but quite a mess in the plane.
The descent was quite bumpy and the temperature in the plane was going up and up. So also I wasn't feeling that well anymore. But fortunately not too bad, as we were now out of paper bags.
After the "paper work" and enjoying our packed lunch on the air strip, we picked up the British couple, that had arrived a lot earlier, to head for the Camp. A 3 to 4 hour Game Drive. Enroute we saw many animals, including a male Cheetah.
The last hour we didn't see any animals, and as soon as the car slowed down the car was full of Tsee Tsee Flies (according our guide the reason for the lack of animals in this area, as they feed on mammal blood). Close to the Camp the animals started to re-appear (they had some Tsee Tsee Fly control project going on).
Time to check-in, shower and after that: dinner.
Walking into our Tent it was clear that Mdonya Old River Camp (where we are staying for the next three nights) is the sister Camp of Lake Manze, as it was quite identical. So we felt home immediately!
October 8th - Leopard!
Tonight there was a lot of shuffling and snorting around our tent (Buffalo?). First breakfast and than out for a Full Day of Game Driving. The first part is very dull, where are the animals? And than, out of the blue, a pack of Lions. Males, females and cubs. So beautiful!
We continue and see the Lesser Kudu (with beautiful patterning, not seen often) and Greater Kudu. We see a Rock Hyrax in a tree (the small, and only, causin of the Elephant). Later that day we see one more. And than ... again a pack of Lions. The driver hits the breaks just as we go off road towards the Lions. Just in time as the Rangers are just passing by (leaving the road means a $50 'on the spot' fine for the Guide - a lot of money in Tanzania!). Once the Ranger has left, we quickly go for a peep. Again, a big Pride!
Next we head for lunch, but it seems to take forever before we really do .. . Hé, wasn't that the picknick spot at the right? So why are we passing by? A Leopard had been spotted nearby, hence the detour. Unfortunately the male Leopard is nowhere to be seen. But wait, ....... what is that in the tree back there? Finally, a Leopard (after missing this elusive animal in Kenia and India - finally we are lucky). It's a female. Quickly some pic's and a movie, before she disappears in the undergrouth.
After lunch we return towards Mdoya. Again we take a detour, and bump into a pack of Lions - with a three month old cub. The guide was already surprised to see so little animals in a place normally packed with life (it is close to a pool where all come to drink). So he read the signs right, because on the Kopjes (Wikipedia: The Kopjes of Eastern Africa tend to be a refuge for life in the Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya. Where the soil is too thin or hard to support tree life in large areas, soil trapped by Kopjes can be dense with trees while the surrounding land contains only short grass. Hollows in the rock surfaces provide catchments for rainwater.[10] Many animals have adapted to the use of Kopjes, to include the lion, hyrax, and an abundance of bird and reptile life.) they where. Until now that already adds up to 37 Lions.
Really a beautiful day (together with Kath and Chris from the UK and Kahimba our Guide), so tomorrow we will opt for a "Full Day" again!
October 9th - Lions & Honey
A quick shower (and yes, those Tented Camp Outdoor Showers are sooo gooood!) before we leave for our last "Full Day of Game Driving". And what a day. Okay, it was hard to beat yesterday, but counting all we had seen we got close: 22 Lions, of which six 3 to 4 month old cubs (bringing our total in Ruaha at 59 Lion spotted in only 2 days!)
During lunch our Guide gave us a lecture on Honey Poaching*, the Tanzanian school system, cost of living ($110/month needed at least for a family of 4) and corruption in the Tanzanian politics to name a few topics.
* Due to the Honey Poaching there were a lot of Wild Fires around the Camp. The poachers leave the torches they use to smoke out the bees, to create the fires - keeping the Rangers busy, while they can escape. And all that for a merely 40 liters of Honey a month, worth only $50.
On our way back we search for the Cheetah, but no luck this time. We have a stop at an Owl in a tree (in the morning we had seen a chick of the same kind) before we return to Camp.
October 10th - The Mdonya Pride
After a slow breakfast, paying and checking out, we left Mdonya Old River Camp and headed for the Airstrip. On our way there the Driver (no additional Guide today as we were only transfering) spotted the local Lion Pack: The Mdonya Pride. Another sixteen (!) Lions, bringing our grant total during our three days stay in Mdonya at SeventyFive Lions ... whaow.
The Pride was eating a Giraffe, killed earlier in the morning. Despite seeing so many Lions, these were the first we saw eating, in stead of sleeping/resting. The Giraffe is totally opened, guts out. Ooh my God, what a smell.
After having dropped some items (post) at one of the airstrips, we continue on a very bad road ... and there is nothing to see, so what's the point? Aah, we were heading for a lunch area near the Ruaha River.One of the places that hadden't dried out, so all Crocidiles and Hippos had congrigated here. And the Crocs were enormous. They use this place to bridge the 1 to 2 months before the rain in the mountains start to fill river again.
The many Crocs, but also Marabou, had plenty to eat, as the fish could simply be scooped up. Both death and alive (the water was very hot and had obviously little to no oxigen, so difficult to survive for the fish).
After lunch we returned to Airstrip. Luckily a bigger plane this time (Chessna Caravan 208) and ..... the same Pilot* as to Selous. A warm re-union of Pilot and Co-Pilot. * We heard she was from Argentina, explaining the accent
The flight to Dar Es Salam had 2 stops. One at Selous and one near "The Tides".
Woke up early (at 4:10 - before the alarm). Quikc shower and hopped in the car. On our way to Schiphol airport. We arrive nice and early, no stress. Our flight - to Kilimanjaro - leaves at 11:00, and arrives at 20:10 local time (+1 hr). After a short stop of 1.5 hours the flight continues to Dar Es Sallam, where we arrive on scheduled at 22:30. After arranging our visa ($50 each), we were taken to our 'stop-over' hotel.
October 4th - Co-Pilot
After a good breakfast we are collected at 9:00 to return to Dar Es Sallam airport for our local flight (at 10:30) to Selous. Hopefully the bagage is not an issue, as it is quite a bit more than the allowed 15kg each.
The flight was very nice. We had a femal pilot (Seqai) and Petra was allowed to sit next to her, on the Co-Pilot seat. After we quick detour off about an hour to Zanzibar, where we collected another 6 passangers, the Chessna Grand Caravan flew us in about 1 hour to one of the airstrips in Selous.
As some leaving guest had to wait for the next plane we were asked to stay at Selous International Airport (a picnic table and a toilet) and have our packed lunch there.
After an hour drive, which was already a kind of Game Drive as we saw many animals, we arrived at Lake Manze Tented Camp - our stay for the next nights. On arrival we were offered lunch - a real one - after which we went to our tent. #6 and a real nice one!
16:00 we left for our first Game Drive. And boy, what did we already see a lot of animals!
Impala, Zebra, Giraf, Wildebeest, Hyena, Hippo's, Elandantilope, Croc's, Buffalo's, Elephants, Baboons, Warthogs, Mongoose, Lion's eating and ..... the reason we picked Selous: African Wild Dogs!! Moreover, we saw them hunting, and capturing 3 Impala baby's.
October 5th - Rafiki
During last nights dinner the signs were already there. Petra felt far from good. Last night a soar throat, this morning feaverish. Conclusion is that she, unfortunately, can't join for the morning Game Drive. So she takes 2 paracetamol and returns to bed.
I join the morning Game Drive, joined by a Dutch mother and daugther (Melany & Dorien), and to British sisters (Emma & Jane). We saw pretty much the same as yesterday afternoon, only no dogs this time (no surprise as they are vary rare and always on the move). We did see, as an 'extra', a Kudu and a Loiness that seems to be lost (the guide was sure she didn't belong to the Prides in that region). And we looked very very hard for the Leopard. But no luck in finding this elusive animal.
Back in the camp Rafiki (the local 'resident' Elephant) was snooping around our neighbours tent.
Petra had slept a big part of the morning (she had been served breakfast on the veranda) and had enjoyed the Impala, the Baboons and of course Rafiki around the tent (Lake Manze Camp has no fences, so all wild animals can wonder through the camp without any restriction). She was feeling better than in the morning, but was far from fit yet.
After lunch in the main tent - where again Rafiki was snooping around - we decided to do a boat Safari (Lake Manze Camp offers Jeep, Boat and Walking Safari's), a very good choice! We saw Giraf crossing the Channel (connection between Lake Manze and the Rufiji River). Hippo's, Croc's, Buffalo, Waterbuck and loads and loads of Birds: Kingfisher, Herron, Ibis, Eagles and Bee-eater. Marvelous.
When we arrived back at the camp we heared Elephants everywhere. Petra, saw 4 Elephants when she returned to the tent. Due to that she got a lecture from one of the Masai, as she shouldn't have walked by herself!! (the Masai are guarding the camp day and night and escort the guest to and from the tents during the dark).
When we returned to our tent after dinner, escorted by a Masai, we saw a Gennet running away ....
October 6th - Searching for the Leopard
The morning starts with good and bad news. The good news is that the camp reserved a Jeep just for the 2 of us (on our request, to be able to return to the camp in case Petra was feeling too bad - without disappointing other guests on the jeep). The bad news was that Petra still felt sick. But okay, we were going to give it a try.
The first we spotted was a Hyena with cub. It was very cute as the cub was trying to hide in a, too small, whole in a big tree. Like little childern would do, it stuck it's head in so it couldn't see us anymore, assuming we couldn't see it anymore either.
Somewhat further: "A Leopard cub ..... oh no, it's a Gennet". Yes, we were looking for the elusive Leopard again. And since our guide is trying hard he sees them more often than they are there. After having enjoyed another range of animals and splendid views Nahumu (our Guide) and Abu (the Jeep driver) got word that a Leopard had been spot. It took us about half an hour to get there. We searched extremely well, but didn't find the Leopard. We had breakfast at Lake Manze (picnic) with a nice view over the lake and with that the animals in (Croc's) and around (drinking Impala) the lake.
After breakfast we continued our search, without success. Nahumu admitted the previous group same only a tail disappear in a ditch. On our return drive to the camp we saw Hartebeest, mother and young Bushbuck (very shy and rare to see), and just before we reached the camp 3 Lionesses - mother and 2 almost full grown daughtrers. They had tried to catch a baby Giraf - unsuccessfully.
Nahumu had told us that the Wild Dogs hadn't been seen last two days, so we decided for a boat safari - on the Lake this time. We had the same captain (Rashidi) as last time, and were joined by the Swiss couple that had just arrived. The boat ride was very relaxed, but not as exiting as the one on the Channel the other day ... untill a small fish jumed in the boat .... what a panic.
Tomorrow we will have breakfast at 7:00 (so we sleep long). At 8:00 we are planned to leave for the air strip to leave for Ruaha.
October 7th - Leaving Selous, arriving at Ruaha
On our way to the air strip we spotted a male and female Lion, so we had a quick stop for some pic's. From there we continued straight for the air strip. Just before we arrived the Guide and the Driver had quite an argument. No idea why (1. the driver walked off for a leak just around the corner where the lions were? or 2. the guide wanted to go to see some other Lions as they were having cubs - while actually there was no time?). The cubs were nowhere to be seen, so we had to quickly continue.
A Leopard had been spot nearby. Chance of a lifetime, so the plane can wait (we hope). Speeding through the shrubs and bumping over fallen over trees we arrived there. First falls alarm: a Gennet (again). But than, allthough very short, we saw our first wild Leopard!
And then, as quick as we could (yes, flat out) over the dirt roads to catch our plane. We arrived just in time, pfeww. This time not a big 12 seater Caravan, but a small 5+Pilot seater. Hardly bigger than a car.
