Tag Archives: massai

Tanzania – Day 8 – More Serengeti

August 5, 2016 D. Chris Klompstra 4 Comments

(dedicated to Courtney L. for motivating me to finish this article)

The Serengeti Wild Camp is located somewhere near Seronera, but quite honestly, 100 miles from any real civilization. Sleeping in the middle of the Serengeti was very exciting, yet quite peaceful. No walls or fences to protect us from the predators of the night, we were completely exposed to the wilderness. In the dark hours you could hear the activity around us. A couple Dik-Diks wandered through the middle of our camp while making their calls that sound much like a high pitch cluck from a wild turkey. We confirmed the animals in the morning by the deposit they’d left on the trail to the dining tent.

By daybreak, we were out again on the game drive. It is in the earliest hours of the day that the animals are most active. Although I find it difficult to justify ever being up so early, we were almost immediately rewarded with the most amazing sunrise.

Taylor, who almost never wakes up this early, was also now suffering for a second day with nasty cold. Though she really didn’t have a choice, I applaud her for toughing-it-out and making the best of the situation. Despite feeling rough, she still got excited seeing her favorite animal, the giraffe.

Baboons on the move

Cape Buffalo on the move

On the hit list for today was more hippos, lions, a leopard, cheetah, and any other exotic species we happen upon. So we move on to the hippo pools. The hippopotamus typically emerges at night to graze on the grass of the plains before returning to their water sheds to keep cool during the day. This morning we had found most of them already submerged back under the water.

As I have mentioned before, the Tanzania has a plethora of exotic birds.

Unfortunately, I don’t know the name of this bird

Secretary Bird

Kori Bustard

Topi

Golden Jackal

Grant’s Gazzelle

Pack of Mongoose

A couple of Dik-diks

For months leading up to the trip, I’ve heard Connor talk about his favorite animal to be found in Africa, the Hyrax. Although it looks much like a large guinea pig or rodent, the hyrax has similar teeth, toes and skull structures as the elephant. These little animals actually share similar ancestry as the elephant. Although, I would have never found them, Connor spotted a few throughout the day.

Rock Hyrax

The quest on most safaris is generally to encounter all of the “Big 5” animals. The term “Big 5” was coined by big-game hunters for the animals which are typically the most difficult and dangerous to hunt on foot. They include the elephant, rhinoceros, lion, leopard and cape buffalo.

Although not one of the “Big 5”, my favorite was another big cat, the the ever-elusive cheetah. We had the good fortune to find one this day and he provided us a great photo shoot.

Even with all of the other sightings on this drive, it was the lions that seemed to steal the show. The opportunities to see these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat seemed to be endless.

With the hours slipping away, we made the trek south back toward the Ngorongoro Crater. Knowing everyone’s dislike for the long and dusty road that brought us into heart of the Serengeti, Peter took an alternate route that kept us far from all of the other vehicles. The much less traveled path took though a Massai “village”, where we made a rest stop, and then along some more remote and rugged roads. It was definitely the better route.

We arrived at our final overnight destination the Ngorongoro Wild Camp in the early evening. Located on the outer rim of the Crater, the camp was made up of about a dozen semi-permanent tents affixed upon stilted platforms. They had hardwood floors and full bathrooms with ceramic tiling — again… glamping.

At check-in we ate little fried “donuts” and drank complimentary hibiscus juice. They informed us that after dark, we were not allowed to wander without the accompaniment of a Massai warrior due to the dangerous animals that often wander through after sundown.

This evening’s dining did not disappoint. Via buffet, they provided, in my opinion, the best supper I’d had throughout the trip. Although similar dishes to those thoughout the safari — tender stir fried beef, roasted chicken, rice and different vegetables — here, they were better cooked and much more flavorful.

With full bellies and the anticipation of what we’ll see on the final day of our safari, we retired for the night. All hope was to sleep like a well fed baby.

Tanzania, Travel

Tanzania – Day 7 – Serengeti

August 3, 2016 D. Chris Klompstra 1 Comment

We departed the Flamingo Safari Lodge at an early hour knowing that we needed to cover nearly 100 miles to reach the Serengeti by the end of the day. I’m sure most people are thinking… “100 miles? That’s not very far.” Let me tell you, it wasn’t an easy trip.

Driving through the town of Karatu we learned that it had the nickname “dusty city”. Literally, everything had a reddish brown hue from the layer of dust that settles everywhere. In the early morning, many folks were busy dampening the ground with water to help mitigate the problem.

At the gate to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which was only a few miles from Karatu, we were required to purchase the necessary permits to enter the park. As part of the price of the safari, Agama Tours would cover the purchase of all permits and entrance fees. Unfortunately, this process took a considerable amount of time. As explained by Peter, a new system for payment has been terribly slow and is causing logjams at the gates. On the upside, the park entrance had a coffee shop, gift store, information, and bathrooms.

Baboons inspect the supply shipments

Once cleared to enter, we proceeded into the dense forest along the narrow, bumpy dirt road, wildly twisting back-and-forth as we ascended the south rim of the crater. At the summit came our first look into this magnificent geological wonder.

The Ngorongoro Crater is the worlds largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic caldera — in 2013, it was named as one of Africa’s Seven Natural Wonders. Inside the rim, lies about 100 square miles of mostly flat land that serve as a grazing location for many species. Our itinerary will lead us down into the caldera on Friday where we hope to see one of the 17 remaining black rhinos.

I think we found a weak WIFI signal!

The road through the conservation area and into the Serengeti National Park was ridiculously rough — I was certain my fillings were going to shake out. And, I believe Peter later referred to it as the “Serengeti massage”. To travel here in any ordinary vehicle would be nearly impossible.

The endless migration of Land Cruisers made the 2 hour drive an exercise in patience. Every time a vehicle passed, we would close all of the windows for a few seconds to limit the amount of dust we inhaled. We did this a couple times per minute during most of the drive. And despite our attempts, we all had nasal passages that were literally packed with dirt.

A few miles into the Serengeti National Park we arrived at the Naabi Hill park office to take care of another permit. The location was set up perfectly as a picnic area and had a fantastic vantage point look out over the Serengeti.

Red-Headed Agama

Continuing further into the park, it was apparent as to how it was named. Serengeti mean “endless plains” in the Massai language. The terrain in many places went from the golden brown to a charcoal black as controlled burns have been used to allow the new green grass shoots to take root and gain exposure to the sun.

Despite the wide open spaces, animals could be seen everywhere.

Grant’s Gazzelle

Hartebeest

Kori Bustard, Africa’s largest flying bird

Black-backed Jackal

Spotted Hyena

The Dik-Dik is a miniature antelope growing up to 17″ tall.

Driving around the outcrops of large mounds of boulders in search of big cats, Taylor asked, “Is that real? Or is that a sculpture carved in stone?” What the…? Blending in perfectly by color and shape was an elephant standing up on the hill. Peter said he’d seen tracks leading up there before, but never actually caught the animal in the act.

We had the good fortune of coming upon a male and female lion in the process of courting. They eventually mated as a half dozen trucks were parked within gawking distance. It is unusual to see this as it isn’t necessarily mating season.

The scene actually was double feature — lion porn to the east and the most amazing sunset to the west.

We ended our long day at the Serengeti Wild Camp. We had two tents that were outfitted with mosquito netted beds, private hot showers and private toilets. As camping goes, this was true luxary. “Glamping”, perhaps.

Tanzania, Travel

Tanzania – Day 5 – Tarangire National Park

July 30, 2016 D. Chris Klompstra 2 Comments

This morning was another early rise. Peter, from Agama Tours, picked us up promptly at 7 am. Our vehicle, an extended Toyota Land Cruiser outfitted with a removable top and plenty of sliding windows for proper wildlife viewing. These Land Cruisers are the only vehicles tough enough for the rugged terrain of the Serengeti.

After a quick stop within the city of Arush to pick up some bottled water and other provisions, we headed out toward Tarangire National Park. The drive was a little long so we passed the time by sight-seeing, writing, sudoku and napping.

Driving west on a well paved, asphalt highway we began to see the vast open spaces of the Tanzanian grasslands. You might expect a lot of green, but because we are in the dry season all of the ground cover is a light yellowish tan broken up by sage colored shrubs and small trees. At this point, since we are still a distance from the parks, we have not yet seen any wild animals. Only frequent herds of cows usually led by a Massai teenagers.

On this first day of our safari we were joined by a good looking young couple who are out for just a 1 day excursion. Minel (Spain) and Bruna (Portugal) were a couple of medical students who are spending a month volunteering their time in local villages.

As we entered the Tarangerie National Park, the nations sixth largest national park, we were all brimming with excitement to see some real wildlife. The first animal we happened upon was a lonely old wildebeest. Wow! We took nearly a hundred pictures and joked that he had a rope holding him there just for our viewing. Peter must have been laughing inside for he knew better of what was to come.

And yes, there was so much more to come. I really was expecting most of the wildlife to be elusive and difficult to find, but that is furthest from the truth. For the next several hours, we were inundated with new and exciting scenes at every turn.

Here are some of the notable pictures of the animals and scenery as we saw them:

Young impalla

Waterbuck

Impalla

Warthogs

Female lion stalking its prey

Velvet monkey

Male and female ostrich

Baboons were always fun to watch

It was often obvious when there was something unique to see. As many as 20 or so Land Crusiers would line up to watch.

A little added adventure

Tanzania, Travel

Tanzania – Day 3 – Zanzibar, The Other Side

July 24, 2016 D. Chris Klompstra 8 Comments

Our final full day on Zanzibar Island was upon us and we had actually left ourselves without a plan. I guess we assumed that some jetlag recovery time would keep us settled in close to the hotel pool and beach, but that isn’t how the day went. The night before I messaged my amateur travel agent and love of my life, Beth, for some ideas. And as always, she came through with a good one — an ATV tour out of Kiwengwa on the other side of the island.

As always, it was very easy to hire a taxi to drive us where ever we needed to go for the day. On the one and a half hour drive across Zanzibar’s interior, we saw the landscape change from the congested and touristy Stone Town to a more rural setting. We had learned along the way about the islands 3 forms of industry: Stone Town provided mostly industrial careers; the interior was predominantly for agriculture; and the coastlines were all about fishing. Regardless, its very obvious that these people work hard to maintain any sort of living.

Enroute we came across a couple of Polisi check points. Normally we think of these checkpoints for drunk driving prevention, but here they put the importance on assuring your license, insurance and registration are up to date. Our driver didn’t have a current sticker on his license plate and was expecting that they would mail him a ticket.

Finally reaching the small village of Kiwengwa, it was time for lunch. Dad and Taylor must have been especially hungry as they had slept through breakfast. We were taken to a place known as Obama Beach Bar which was supposed to have really good pizza. As far as pizza goes, it wasn’t too bad.

This place was sandwiched between dozens of “resorts” that seem to especially cater to Italians on holiday. I put “resorts” in parentheses because they all are a little more rustic than what I would qualify as a resort.

Hanging out at the bar and on the beach were a dozen or so Massai warriors in the traditional clothing. Some played billiards (I should have gotten a picture) while others lounged around, but they were all very interested in our presence there. They operated a small stand selling some handmade crafts and jewelry; certainly they wanted us to come and purchase there wares. But they were very friendly and willing to pose for a few photos so we took some time to purchase a few items.

Because we waited until the final hour to call to reserve our places on the ATVs, they were fully booked for the day. “Hakuna matata” (no worries) our driver knew a local guy who could squeeze in as long as we were willing to ride two up.

Connor actually drove most of the time.

Well, from what we read on Trip Advisor the original company received nothing but favorable ratings from there customers. I don’t think the “local guy” we used was listed on trip advisor. Our group had four machines and all were pretty much complete crap. One Italian girl had about 4 incidences where her ATV would stall out. And then, hers quit because a battery cable snapped which was only a short delay because the company owner and his employee (who led us on an old 150 cc motorbike) seemed to have the necessary tools and know-how to make emergency repairs. But then we began having issues with the ATV that Connor and I were riding — the chain kept popping off the sprockets. After about four times, the reason became apparent. The bearings on the rear axle were completely shot. Hakuna matata! They had a new set of bearing and the rudimentary tools with them to fix it up. Well after about an hour, the repair didn’t exactly work as planned so the remainder of the tour Connor and I got towed. Honestly, I look at this setback as part of the adventure.

Spectators for the repair.

The ATV tour took through 3 different villages all with different levels of tough living conditions. Some lived in grass huts without electricity, while others were in clay houses, no water. And then some in brick and clay.

Despite the harsh conditions one thing was certain, the beautiful little kids made the best of the situations which they were born into. The appreciation they had for a simple little cookie or lollipop was quite inspiring.

The ride back.

Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life

Tag Archives: massai

Tanzania – Day 8 – More Serengeti

Tanzania – Day 7 – Serengeti

Tanzania – Day 5 – Tarangire National Park

Tanzania – Day 3 – Zanzibar, The Other Side

Life is the Journey