Tanzania
February, 2001

Tanzania, 2001 Diary
a day-to-day account of our adventures during
a camping safari with Abercrombie and Kent

(Click on any picture to get information and see an enlargement.)

Notes written on:
Wednesday, February 21, 2001
SFO (San Francisco International Airport)
15:30 PST

We're at SFO awaiting KLM flight #606. The new terminal is spacious and exciting. While waiting, we viewed a nice exhibition of Pomo Indian baskets - some with decorations from the topknot feathers of California Quail.

Time to board ...

Later that afternoon

We're on board now; Jack and I have an aisle seat and a window seat with the seat between empty. It has been very hectic getting ready to leave home and it is good to have time to relax. The plane pushed back from the gate 8 minutes early - something that is unheard of. This might be a good omen for the safari. I'm actually looking forward to the meal service on board because KLM has the best dinner rolls in the world.

Notes written on:
Saturday, February 24, 2001
Mt. Meru Lodge, Tanzania, Room #10
05:25 Local Time

The rest of the flight into Amsterdam, Netherlands was uneventful. We booked a hotel room for our 23 hour layover in Amsterdam and are reasonably well rested. On the flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro International Airport (outside Arusha, Tanzania) we had bulkhead seats. The closet door in front of us kept opening. Watching the passengers and staff trying to latch or jam it shut was something from television - either the Twilight Zone or Candid Camera. Especially amusing was the staff person who tried to tape the door shut. Finally, Jack just held it shut with his foot - more leg room that way.

Elias, our safari guide, met us (after we passed Customs and Immigration) last night as old friends. We, and the other people who will be sharing this safari, were whisked away from the airport and tucked into the Mt. Meru with the efficiency and care that we have come to know from Abercrombie and Kent. We're looking forward to being spoiled for the next 11 days.

This morning will be dedicated to repacking our gear, assembling the camera equipment, a safari briefing, touring the "zoo" here at Mt. Meru and lunch. After lunch, we will mount our trusty steed (a.k.a. a Toyota Land Cruiser) and drive to our first campsite in Tarangire National Park.

Notes written on:
Sunday, February 25, 2001
Mbweha Campsite, Tent #1
Tarangire National Park
Somewhere in Tanzania
04:00 Local Time

Don't ask why but we're awake at 4:00 AM - again. Boy is it hot here. The bugs are brutal. There are Tse-Tse Flies chewing on us during the day and mosquitoes at night. We had a number of multi-legged guests walking around on the dinner table last night including a preying mantis.

Dinner was fish (tilapia) which was awesome. We're always impressed by the number and variety of vegetables and fruits we get while we're "in camp". We're also impressed by the fact that we're ready for bed by 9:00 PM.

On the game drive yesterday afternoon, we saw a lot of animals. Tarangire is known for its elephant herds and we weren't disappointed. There were two huge herds of elephant with some very young babies (under a year old). At the end of the herd were two GIANT bulls one of whom didn't like us for some reason. After stamping the ground and flaring his ears forward, he charged our truck. We moved quickly away.

The animal sounds this evening were crickets and night birds - no hyena, lions, buffalo etc. But it is still too noisy to sleep well.

The short rains came to Tanzania in November last year. They lasted until just a few weeks ago, ending a drought that started with the El Nino rains in 1998. The park is lush and green and the grass is plentiful. There are even leaves on the Baobab Trees - something we've never seen before. Because food and water are readily available, the grazing animals can spread out throughout the park.

The Guinea Fowl just awoke, noisily.

Notes written on:
Sunday, February 25, 2001
Mbweha Campsite, Tent #1
Tarangire National Park
Somewhere in Tanzania
15:35 Local Time

We had a good game drive this morning. We left camp between 7:30 and 8AM. Along with a herd of about 20 giraffe with whom we got "up close and personal", we got to see our first "kill" as a striped mongoose took a lizard. Big game abounds!! There were also baboons whose older offspring were playing "King of the Hill". Every time the youngest baboons would climb up a small hill, the older baboon "children" would push them back down. This went on until the adult baboons moved the troop on into the grass where they began eating the grass seeds by straining individual blades of grass through their teeth to remove the seed heads. Because they don't use dinner napkins, they ended up with seeds throughout the fur around their mouths.

A troop of (maybe 50) Vervet Monkeys scampered past our truck into a dry river bed. They crossed the river bed and proceeded to climb a tree where they were met by a "rival gang". The tree residents chased the interlopers into the river bed and the two troops proceeded to have a small war. There was a lot of posturing, some slapping, some beating of chests (like Godzilla), an occasional team huddle and much noise. it reminded us of a game of US football. Eventually, all the monkeys settled down to grooming. We never did figure out who won.

To top off the game drive, we saw a leopard in a tree. (THIS IS LEOPARD #1.) Leopards are very elusive, solitary and have large territories. It is always a special treat to find one. Most leopards spend the heat of the day resting in the trees.

Notes written on:
Monday, February 26, 2001
Mbweha Campsite, Tent #1
Tarangire National Park
Somewhere in Tanzania
03:00 Local Time

And I wonder why when we're on safari I'm sleep-deprived... California is 11 time zones away from Tanzania so if conventional wisdom holds and you acclimate one time zone per day, we should be totally time adjusted just before we go home.

Yesterday between game drives, we had a tour of the camp kitchen. It is a tent, a barbecue pit, an open fire and a tin trunk buried in hot coals. The chef prepares everything from scratch, including the rolls he bakes daily for dinner (in the tin trunk) and the bread that is used for our morning toast.

It is what might be called Spring, here, in Tanzania. The game birds (the Guinea Fowl and Spur Fowl) all have large numbers of chicks of varying sizes. The acacia trees are in flower and the valleys have more colors of green than I've ever seen before in one place.

During our afternoon game drive, there came, out of nowhere, a cloudburst of rain. After the rain, we were rewarded with a small rainbow. Even though the shower was brief, there was enough water that we couldn't ford the river to get back to camp. We had to use a bridge.

Today we leave camp, have lunch in Lake Manyara National Park and spend the night at Gibbs Farm on the outside wall of the Ngorongoro Crater.

To see a collection of photos taken at Tarangire National Park, please click here.

Notes written on:
Tuesday, February 27, 2001
Nyati Campsite, Tent #1
on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater
Somewhere in Tanzania
17:15 Local Time

Yesterday about 10 minutes after leaving camp, we came across 2 young leopards (Elias estimated they were about 3 months old.) in a tree. We waited and watched and the mother leopard came and sat on a stump at the base of the tree but she never went up. Eventually she left and the 2 cubs got down and followed. Sightings of multiple leopards is very rare. (THESE ARE LEOPARDS #2, 3 AND 4.)

Lake Manyara National Park is what is known as a "ground water forest". It looks and feels like a rain forest except the water isn't falling from the sky, it is falling down from the slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater highlands. The foliage is lush and green. There is a huge lake (named Lake Manyara, of course) in the park that is the repository for all the water. Since the El Nino rains in 1998, the water level in the lake has been very high. There is no outlet for the lake and it depends solely on evaporation for water level control. We ate our picnic lunch not far from the edge of the lake where a hippopotamus was bathing about 20 yards off shore.

To see a collection of photos taken at Lake Manyara National Park, please click here.

Lake Manyara National Park built its reputation as the home of tree-climbing lions. The story goes that the lions would climb the trees to get away from the herds of elephant and buffalo that were were resident in the park. After poaching decimated the herds, the lions came down from the trees and are rarely seen. We were fortunate yesterday to find two lions comfortably resting in a tree, escaping the heat of the day.

Gibbs Farm gets more beautiful every year. As an old coffee plantation, the gardens are incredible and the food is the best we get on the entire safari. We stayed in one of the new cottages that were under construction during our last stay.

To see a collection of photos taken at Gibbs Farm, please click here

Notes written on:
Tuesday, February 27, 2001
Nyati Campsite, Tent #1
on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater
Somewhere in Tanzania
21:05 Local Time

Dinner tonight was steak, potato, tomatoes stuffed with cauliflower and peppers, peas and salad. Dessert was banana passion - another great meal. Our camp site is on the southwest rim of the Ngorongoro Crater at about 7500 feet elevation. Almost half a mile vertical distance below is the floor of the Crater. At about 12 miles across, it is the largest uninterrupted caldera in the world. The campsite is green with short grass so if you fall out of your tent, you might not stop rolling before you get to the Crater floor. Nothing here is flat. We even thought of requesting the installation of a rope-tow to get us to the bath/dressing room and shower at the rear of our tent.

Sitting by the campfire before dinner we were relaxing and watching the stars. We quickly made two observations: the stars that are directly overhead don't twinkle (no pollution and thinner air at 7500 feet elevation) and you can see a lot of satellites when you are close to the equator. In one 5 minute period, we saw 3 satellites each going in a different direction.

Before sunset today, we heard ripping and munching noises behind our tent. We looked around and found a HUGE male elephant about 50 feet from us. We yelled and ran to get help and the elephant walked away. The staff came and acted like it happened every day. It might happen regularly for them but for us it was definitely a Valium moment.

Notes written on:
Wednesday, February 28, 2001
Nyati Campsite, Tent #1
on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater
Somewhere in Tanzania
20:56 Local Time

We were up before dawn today and watched the sun rise over the Crater. We even got to see Mt. Kilimanjaro before it was lost in the haze. We've never before seen the mountain from the ground. After breakfast it was down, down, down to the Crater floor to view the game. The Ngorongoro Crater is a fairly complete ecosystem. There is a lake or two, forests, hills, long grass areas and short grass areas. All the various animals, birds, predators and prey are there. The two most obvious exceptions are the giraffe (who couldn't walk down the inside of the Crater walls) and the Nile Crocodile. So we never know what we might see. This morning our first prize was a Tawny Eagle roosting on the ground. It is large and beautiful. While we were admiring it, one of the people in our Land Cruiser said, "Did anyone notice the lion 50 feet behind the truck?" We drove past it and never saw it. The driver, a little embarrassed, backed up the truck.

Further into the Crater, we came upon 3 other safari vehicles parked on a salt flat. The salt flats come from evaporation of the lakes and pools that form during the rains. In the shade of one of the vehicles were 3 lions, lounging, out of the sun. The people in the vehicle were hanging out of the top, photographing the lions. Eventually the lions got bored and wandered over to another vehicle - ours. While parading back and forth to find just the right spot, a large male lion passed under my window. Elias, who was seated in front of me quickly rolled up his window. I wasn't fast enough and a lion tail came in the window. I didn't touch.

Next we parked our vehicle at the edge of the road for an encounter with a huge male rhinoceros. We watched him defecate and urinate to scent mark his territory. Eventually he crossed the road and browsed away.

Lunch today was a picnic at a wonderfully green and lush hippo pool. We parked away from the (about 30) other vehicles and were amazed when Elias and Astarik (our driver) pulled a shade cloth from the back of the truck and made a lean-to tent for us to sit under. Not only did it provide shade but it also discouraged the Black Kites (a type of predatory bird) from attacking our lunch.

Kites and Tawny Eagles are just the beginning of the birds that we saw today. There were many Crowned Cranes (Jan's personal favorite safari animal), some of whom were dancing for their mates. The question is if Crowned Cranes mate for life, why does the male court the female at the start of each breeding season. Perhaps human husbands (and marriage counselors) should take note. On a more grizzly note (but real life), we saw a Marabou Stork that was killed while landing in the top of a dead acacia tree. Evidently he got a foot caught in the wood and died there.

Towards the end of the day, we went to the East side of the Crater to the wildebeest and zebra herds. During this time of year, many of the wildebeest and zebra leave the Crater to join the migratory herds in the Serengeti. Those who are left in the Crater have their young at the same time so there are wildebeest calves and zebra foals everywhere - some only hours old. The zebra provide the wildebeest with intelligence and warn them of predator attack and the wildebeest provide security for the zebra by being preyed upon.

We'll be up before dawn tomorrow and on the Crater floor in hopes of seeing the lions having breakfast.

Notes written on:
Thursday, March 1, 2001
Nyati Campsite, Tent #1
on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater
Somewhere in Tanzania
21:10 Local Time

There are a lot of elephant in the Crater but no babies. Elias estimated that there may be over 40 now with the number increasing as more elephants are migrating into the Crater from the surrounding forest areas. One of the elephants we saw today was very old. His ivory tusks reached almost to the ground. He posed beside the road for us to photograph him and then he wandered off.

The Masai herdsmen who live on the Crater rim are allowed to graze and water their cattle on the Crater floor. Every day the Masai cattle are driven down the trails into the Crater. One herd was being watered in a pool where a hippopotamus was resting. Hippos are notorious for their ill-temper and their vicious nature. When the hippo became aware of the cattle at the edge of the water and made advances in that direction, the Masai herdsmen quickly moved the cattle away and then defended themselves by throwing rocks at the hippo. I guess that is one of the difficulties you have when you share your life with wild animals.

While we were watching the flamingos in the lake (both Lesser Flamingos that are more pink and more abundant and the Greater Flamingos that are less pink and less abundant - go figure) a group of 5 hyenas wanted to cross the lake. Immediately the flamingo flock parted and left a wide path for the hyenas - sort of like a VIP and his entourage passing through a crowd. We could imagine hearing the front hyena saying, "Make way. VIP coming."

Tomorrow we break camp again. We'll visit a Masai village, Olduvai Gorge and then make the long trek to the Serengeti.

To see a collection of photos taken at Ngorongoro Crater National Park, please click here.

Notes written on:
Friday, March 2, 2001
Kusini Tented Camp, Tent #9
outside the Serengeti National Park
Somewhere in Tanzania
22:15 Local Time

Today started at about 5:30AM with a Cape Buffalo mowing the grass in front of our tent - about 5 feet from the foot of my bed. I crept to the front tent flap and stuck my head out - WRONG!! - The buffalo panicked and galloped away to return in a few minutes - nervous beasts. Eventually, the 2 buffalo left when the camp staff started moving around.

We left camp this morning around 8AM and visited a Masai village. The Masai warrior who was our host (and the business manager for the village) spoke English very well with an American accent. The villagers sang and danced for us and we visited a home and their school. From there we went to Olduvai Gorge. Over the years, we've been able to watch the museum at the Gorge grow and develop. I signed their guest book - again. It is interesting that Olduvai Gorge, where Mary Leakey and other archaeologists have found the earliest evidence of human existence is on the outside of the Ngorongoro Crater, a place that the Masai call Eden.

En route from the Gorge, we came across four young Masai men in their post-circumcision outfits. For 3 months after circumcision, they dress in black and paint their faces white in intricate patterns with limestone chalk. This is their custom. It is not something they do for the tourists. Even though they know about Western cultures, those who have been schooled out of the villages often return to their traditional way of life. We stopped and photographed the young men. Elias, a Masai elder, spoke to them in Masai and instantly they became very respectful - almost shy. When we commented about this, Elias wondered if the young men were afraid they were going to be in trouble.

To see a collection of photos taken at the Masai village and Olduvai Gorge, please click here.

Lunch was in the middle of nowhere under a tree in the Serengeti. With one Land Cruiser and a group of 4 campers, driver and guide, we can stop almost anywhere, spread the tablecloth on the hood of the truck and have lunch.

This evening we stayed at Kusini Tented Camp. Kusini is a permanent tented camp where the tents have electricity, running water and a front veranda that overlooks the plains. I keep trying to lean against the walls, however. One of these times, I'm going to fall out of the tent. Dinner was Nile Perch, carrots, beans, rice, onion soup and a banana flan for dessert.

Notes written on:
Saturday, March 3, 2001
Emakat Campsite, Tent #1
Serengeti National Park
Somewhere in Tanzania
21:20 Local Time

Today was a very full day. We were lulled to sleep last night by the Symphony for Hyena and Guinea Fowl, op. 1. Every time the hyena vocalized, the fowl in the trees by the tent would sound their alert. Not much sleep for anyone.

Today we left Kusini and went in search of the "great herd" of wildebeest and zebra. At a permanent water hole, we found tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra. In the morning, there were lines of animals in every direction stretched from the water to the horizon - all the animals were coming to the water. By mid-day, some animals were already leaving and the lines in stretched in every direction with animals coming and going. In the early afternoon, most of the animals were leaving the water hole. We probably saw almost half a million wildebeest and 75,000 zebra. We also saw a herd of maybe 30 Eland, about 12 hyenas and 5 lions. Because of the abundance of prey, the lions and hyenas were gorged and they just laid on the shore as the herd animals came to drink.

The view from our camp tent is outstanding. We are up on a knoll overlooking the Serengeti - a Swahili word meaning "endless plain". When we got to camp this evening, we were told that the camp staff slept last night in the supply truck as a pride of lions came through the campsite at about sundown. Everyone is on guard. Despite the possible local "inconvenience", we had duck a l'orange for dinner. The orange sauce was the best I've had.

Notes written on:
Sunday, March 4, 2001
Emakat Campsite, Tent #1
Serengeti National Park
Somewhere in Tanzania
21:20 Local Time

This topic for this morning's game drive was definitely herds. We saw herds of elephant, giraffe and buffalo. Some of the buffalo were only 2-3 months old. The grass is very tall so it is hard to see many of the animals unless they are taller than a waterbuck or are standing for photos at the edge of the road.

One of the elephant herds that we saw contained 2 young male elephants. Like teenagers of all species, they were loud, rowdy and disruptive. One kept pulling grass and weeds up out of the ground with his trunk and smashing them against a tree. Eventually they settled down and rejoined the herd.

Lunch today was one of Abercrombie and Kent's special occasions - a "bush lunch". It is always a surprise when we drive up to one of the more spectacular picnic sites and find our camp truck, camp manager, kitchen, bar and lunch table set with a tablecloth, china and silverware. Truly Awesome.

The afternoon game drive was feline. Not too far out of camp, we found a female lion resting in a tree (probably one of the pride that walked through camp a couple of days ago. We also found a leopard in a different tree. (THIS IS LEOPARD #6. LEOPARD #5 WAS SEEN IN A TREE EARLIER THIS MORNING.) Tomorrow we get up at 5:30 and leave camp well before dawn to chase the cheetah.

Notes written on:
Monday, March 5, 2001
Emakat Campsite, Tent #1
Serengeti National Park
Somewhere in Tanzania
about 15:30 Local Time

Today began very early. We drove out to the Gol Kopjes on the short grass plains and found cheetah - two of them. The first was a very old, large female who still looked quite good although the fur on her ears and around her eyes was thinning. The second cheetah was young - maybe 9 - 10 months old and might be an orphan. If it hunts well, it should survive. It looked well fed and there were lots and lots of baby Thomson's Gazelles in the area - including 2 newborns (one that was still wet) who flattened themselves to the ground when their mothers ran off as we drive up. We will send a report on our cheetah sightings and photos for individual identification to The Serengeti Cheetah Project (part of the research being done by the Frankfurt Zoological Society).

It is good that we are starting for home tomorrow. We're ready to "come out of the bush" and go back to our regular lives. The morning didn't end with the cheetah sightings. A sub-title for this morning could have been, "Guess Who's Coming To Breakfast".
We had a picnic breakfast at the most southeast of the Barafu Kopjes. Our trusty Land Cruiser was parked between the picnic table and the rock of the kopje. While we were eating, Jack saw 6 dots approaching from the crest of the hill - about 200 yards away. He said that the wildebeest were coming. WRONG! They were 6 young lions (1 or 2 females and 4-5 males). Elias suggested that we should relax because when the lions saw us, they would run away. WRONG! The lions got to the point where they could see us, stopped, looked, thought for a few moments, looked again and kept coming!! EVERYONE IN THE TRUCK!! Five of the lions went up on the rock under a tree to nap and digest their breakfast. The sixth lion (a young male) was curious and wanted to explore the picnic table that we had left. (Lions are normally afraid of or indifferent to human things.) He looked at the table, sniffed the air and grabbed the straw picnic basket. We're still amazed at how fast the lions can react. The basket then became a toy as the other lions joined the first on the ground. Once the cover was torn off the basket, one lion grabbed the top and began parading around the kopje with his new prize. There had been a cloth napkin in the bottom of the basket and a third lion picked this up and very proudly displayed his new toy. Meanwhile the lion with the basket took it under the tree, placed his big front paws around it and began licking it. Eventually, he noticed the woven straw handles on the basket and began to tear them off, too.

One of the lions, we're not sure which one, went back to the picnic table to see if there were any additional prizes. He took on one of the camp stools. He lunged at it and it didn't move. He lost interest and laid down with his friends between the picnic table and the rock.

Now the problem became one of how to rescue the table, chairs, china, silverware, Tupperware etc. that the lions didn't want. Elias and Astarik from the safety of our truck tried shouting and waving the machete that they kept under the seat. No effect. They tried moving the truck slowly toward lions. Nope. The lions weren't hostile; they were just indifferent. Finally, Astarik charged the lion who was guarding the table with the truck and the lions all retreated onto the rock. Astarik and Elias very quickly put all the picnic stuff in the truck (while we kept watch on the lions) and we left the basket and napkin behind for some other group to find. We could just see the potential CNN headline, "SAFARI GROUP RAIDED BY LIONS. BASKET AND NAPKIN ARE ALL THAT REMAIN".

Cheetah, gazelles and lions weren't the only animals that we saw this morning. There were also wildebeest, zebra, hartebeest, eland, ostrich, a golden jackal, topi and a leopard (THIS IS LEOPARD #7 - A NEW SAFARI RECORD.)

To see a collection of photos taken at Serengeti National Park, please click here.

After lunch we added a new sub-title to the day: "The Day the Camp Caught Fire". While resting in the heat of the day, we heard a distinctive crackling sound from behind the tent (where the hot water barrel is kept over a fire). Upon investigation we found that the brush behind the tent was on fire and it was quickly moving toward a thicket of acacia brush behind the next tent. We yelled to the people in the next tent and they called to Elias (who was in the third tent) and we started towards the staff tents. We knew from our training with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention that we only had a few minutes before the fire would be so large that we couldn't fight it effectively. Responding to Elias' and our calls, the camp staff came up and we all began dousing the burning grass and brush with water from our wash basins and pails. Once addressed, it took no time to extinguish the fire and get the camp back to normal. We could just see another CNN headline, "SERENGETI CONSUMED BY CAMPFIRE".

Notes written on:
Monday, March 5, 2001
Emakat Campsite, Tent #1
Serengeti National Park
Somewhere in Tanzania
After Dinner

Are we having fun yet?
For the afternoon game drive, we went to the Moro Kopjes. They are quite beautiful and always fun to visit. On one side of the kopje, we came across a place where the road and the surrounding land was quite marshy. Elias and Astarik had a discussion about how to proceed (in Swahili) and it was decided that straight ahead was the course of choice. WRONG! We got stuck - really stuck - in the middle of a large puddle. We all got out of the truck and luckily the puddle wasn't too wide so we didn't have to put on our hip-waders. Elias told us not to go far and to watch for animals then he got on the radio and put out an SOS call (another sub-title: "Guess Who is Coming AS Dinner?"). After about 15-20 minutes time, they managed to get some rocks under the rear wheels and get the truck out of the mud. We all piled back in the truck and drove back to camp. Both Astarik and Elias were covered in mud - Astarik up to his knees. Luckily the mud is very sandy and brushes off when it is dry.

Tonight, after a barbecue dinner, we had our final campfire and ceremony where the camp staff sings traditional Tanzanian songs of friendship and farewell.

To see a collection of photos taken in our campsites, please click here.

Notes written on:
Tuesday, March 6, 2001
Departure Lounge
Kilimanjaro International Airport
Arusha, Tanzania
20:43 Local Time

We've begun the long journey home. We got up this morning, packed and said "Kwaherini" to our camp staff and Astarik. Despite the rain in Arusha, we had a very smooth flight from the Serengeti in our 8 seat plane. When we arrived in Arusha Mt. Meru had a snow cap - and this is the warm season. Evidently Mt. Meru is slightly above 15,000 feet - the snow level in Africa. If it rains in Arusha, it snows on Mt. Meru.

We shopped this morning at the Cultural Heritage Center and had a good lunch at Mambo Jazz. Then it was debriefing with the A&K representative and off to Mt. Meru Game Lodge for the afternoon of rest, clean-up and repacking.

Notes written on:
Friday, March 16, 2001
Our Living Room
La Honda, California
09:30 PST

We're home and rested. We still get up too early and go to bed just after supper. We know this will pass. The feline members of the Three Kitty Kompany have adjusted to having us home again. Our trip through Amsterdam was uneventful but physically taxing. Despite the task of going half way around the planet, we love Africa. Visiting Tanzania allows us to refocus our priorities and gives a new energy to our sometimes overstressed lives. We love the animals and the adventures and we will go back again. THE END.

There are still more photos. Please click here to find them.  

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