We bless the rains down in Africa, gunna take some time...

[bPeteb]

picnic lunch at a very busy picnic area, including a coffee truck!



We chuckled at some people sitting at a picnic table laid with a tablecloth and getting served a three course meal, including wine. The wind was howling and that tablecloth so wanted to fly off into the hippo populated swamp. The over the top lunches were to become an ongoing sight


bAlt had became fixated on baby zebras quite early on in the trip and this manifested itself here. I post just one image of the 6,329,309 pictures that he took of them


lots of buffalo


hyena is the only popualtion that they control. If the population gets to high they impact the ability of lions to get a meal

crown cranes and their chicks. Very cute. We saw a few pairs with two checks as we journied towards the road up and out of the crater


hamerkop


one way road in and one way road out


the look out on the edge of the rim


unlike most of the places we've been to so far, we won't be back


thriving Rhotia. Tonight's digs are just out the other side of the town

 

[bPeteb]

What a unexpected surprise Ngorongoro Forest Tented Lodge was. It was really really nice


instead of tents we found ourselves in the best two of the eight solid structure rooms


the view from our verandah back towards the crater


in case a baboon comes in and tries to attack us


our rooms beside each other on the upper floor


main camp building - viewing lounge upper level, restaurant/bar/reception lower level


the standalone 'viewing deck', down a path below the pool, that was so much more than a deck


inside the main building




the upper viewing lounge




and dinnert hat was a fixed menu and was very nice


day 12, done

 

[bPeteb]

Say 13

Ngorongoro Tented Safari Camp to Simba Tarangire Camp

Looking back through my notes that I put into my phone as we go I have -

Ngorongoro comes from the the sound of cow bells ringing
Poli poli - slowly slowly
A new Geopark Museum has been constructed on the road from the crater towards where we stayed
An elephant never forgets and a buffalo never forgives

Back to normal programming. A TERRIBLE nights sleep. There was constant singing coming up from the valley below. What we thought was an all night party, that conveniently fiished right on 6am was in fact an f'n all night church 'service'. F'n missionaries have a lot to answer for with what they have done to African society. I'll say no more on that subject.

Opened the curtains and it was grey and damp looking outside. The weather gods had sure been on our side for our visit to Ngorongoro. The Pittsburgh people we'd spoken to at our Serengeti camp had rain and cloud when they were there.


Breakfast was part buffet, part cooked to order. Yet again the service here was just so good


but the concept of soft poached eggs was not really understood and that bacon was, unusual


looking back towards the crater


lunch bag for today's trip to Tarangire. Great concept where you grabbed a bag and you put into it what you wanted. A chef there to make you a roll with whatever you wanted in it.

a warm goodbye from a great little lodge. The tents here look great. Another recommendation we'll take back to Tapestry


Ernest pointed out Lake Manyara as we started down a decent. Here it is in the distance


we were looking forward to this drive as it mentioned the possibility of lions in trees but we drove straight past the entrance. I said to Ernest aren't we supposed to be doing a drive there and he said no, just Tarangire. I said that's not what our itinerary says.

We pulled over, he got on the phone, we drove back to the park. He showed us his very basic itinerary for the day - Tarangire Lodge, Tarangire National Park, and he read through the rest of what we had for Tanzania. Our itinerary was a little more detailed.

We had to wait until a booking was created before we could go into the park. While we did Ernest explained that the tree lions were only during the wet season. No matter, we've done pretty well with lions so far.

We're all really glad that I mentioned it. Ernest loves this little park. he loves the trees and pointed lots of them out to us. He loves the geography of the narrow park that skirts the edges of a growing lake and he loves the animals.

Literally five minutes in and one of the last animals on bALt's list - blue monkeys - were beside the road


then baboons high in the trees


we saw some vehicles together on the side of the road and LAbert stopped and asked what they were looking for. Someone in the thick undergrowth was a lion. We all decided not to bother. Then the first of many, many elephants emerged from the jungle


where one of the roads used to go


I love the next series of pictures that bAlt took. It's like he said to the blue monkey strike some different poses. I wish the eyes closed one was clear


then we came across a huge group of baboons around and in a flowing stream. It was beautiful



baboons seem to only have one thing on their mind


even the really tiny babies!!!

 

[bPeteb]

Is that weapon completely disproportionate or what to that little guys size???

back to g rated

Lake Manyara


a bird of some kind


there are of course hippos in the lake


hadada ibis


I can't resist. Dik dik


elephants of all sizes. There were a lot of elephants here and they seemed to be having an excellent time


vervet monkeys, the males of which go around with very blue balls, all of the time


Ernest kept telling us this was a bee-eater but we Aussies know that is a fisher of kings


some big monitors. We saw one swimming a little later on

 

[bPeteb]

the pland was for Ernest to drive the whole way down the length of the park/lake and we would come out very close to our lodge. Unfortunately due to lake rises and rain washouts this became impossible so we turned back. This gave us the opportunity to stop for lunch at a large picnic area.



we watched with great interest the goings on here. A table set for a fancy lunch. Two silver topped food warmers. A bbq. A chef complete with chef's hat. We couldn't wait to see who it was for. They even had a selection of wine and beers to choose from

At least one North American but pretty sure the majority were Aussie's. The faux farmer's hat was my giveaway. The North American walked past us and she was talking to someone who had been at a tables nearby. She said to him that they had no idea that this was waiting for them. Hat lady sure looked like it was what she was accustomed to.



jealousy is a cough but to be honest who needs a two hour lunch when there is so much amazing nature around you?

tuk tuk = bodi bodi


for our two nights at Tarangire National Park we stayed at Tarangire Simba Lodge. We loved it. Our safari tent Nyati (buffalo) was getting a bit tired but it was pretty darn nice


the other tents around us


Great restaurant, bar and pool area

 

[bPeteb]

mongoose at the entrance


some more of the beautiful sunset.


water buck out by the waterhole


firepit peeps



Another camp/lodge where we were not allowed to walk unaccompanied after dusk and until dawn

Buffet again for dinner. All freshly prepared and the chefs standing proudly behind their food



coughtail o'clock. I have no idea what they were


if there were any mossies this kept them out


day 13, check

 

[bPeteb]

Day 14

Full day Tarangire National Park

Up at sparrow fart yet again. Wandered into the bathroom to start getting ready and this happened. I think I am very, very lucky that I didn't go the whole way through


dawn


as we were being escorted to the lodge building the guard confirmed that the noise we'd heard in the night was in fact a lion somewhere nearby. Yikes!

lots of vervent monkeys in the grounds


Tarangire is famous for giant baobabs and elephants. We saw lots of both


white headed buffalo weaver


we drove a real lot here and to be honest there wasn't as much wildlife as I expected. Sure, a decent amount of elephants but not a huge amount of anything else. There were giraffes and various gazelles and antelopes. We didn't go near the lake that had a huge number of flamingo. We hinted but to no avail

first elephants


vulture feeding chicks


giant baobab used by poachers to hide in during the day. It was gigantic inside


more elephants. First time that we'd seen them in water and they were also drinking that water



of course there were more baboons


giraffe making a getaway

 

[RooFlyer]

who needs a two hour lunch when there is so much amazing nature around you?

Amen, brother. or even one hour. Just give me a sandwich and a banana and let’s keep going.

 

[bPeteb]

a couple of young giraffes getting their fight practicing in for the day


a big old tusker


it was about this time that we started getting buzzed by flies, and they not just any flies, they were bloody tsetse flies.


Did we know Tarangire was known for them? Yes. Did bAlt and I where appropriate long clothing with enclosed shoes? For some unknown reason no again. These little f*ers were very persistent. They filled the vehicle. Poor Ernest was getting attacked up front. Splattered one of the window that was a little ball of blood. Arghhhhhhhhhhhh.

I think Ernest intended to stay out longer but he decided to head for the lodge and we were not against the idea.

This bloke was one of a pair of old males hanging together. He was using this tree to give himself a full body rub


Getting closer to the park gate we came across this guy who was happily munching away on some grass


He moved closer and closer to us and eventually Ernest started the engine and he backed off. I think all he wanted to do was eat the long grass right beside the road but we'll not ever know

banded mongoose


they'd asked what we wanted for lunch before we left and we all independently chose chicken and fries! It came with an unexpected pasta starter


When we got back to the room the floor had been mainly fixed. lazy afternoon by the pool. A swim and photo editing and uploading this report. Free popcorn handed out by the pool


another beautiful Tanzanian sunset


nyati artwork in our tent


dinner, wine and crème caramel and after another coughtail, and maybe a gin, and ay 14 drew to a close

 

[bPeteb]

Day 15

Tarangire Simba Lodge to Chanya Lodge, Moshi



After the misfire with Lake Manyara, Ernest knew exactly whay was on our schedule each day and today was to include more than we knew about. We knew a waterfall visit was on the agenda but the coffee making demo and local foods lunch were a welcome addition.

As we had to leave at 6.30 the lodge had breakfast ready at 6, 30 minutes early


our favourite smiling staff member


on the road via Arusha to Moshi


lots of these shells all over the place. I have no idea if they were waiting for completion, or had once been complete and had been stripped


Arusha Airport. This is apparently where the flights to the Serengeti originate. There were a lot of Cessna Caravans here that's for sure


a place we would have visited with some more time but we were running late as it was due to my need to find an ATM


fuel price translates to 18c/litre. I'm not sure that could be correct so maybe 1.80?


we saw quite a few 508s and this one was in the best condition by far


bodi bodis


we stopped in Moshi to pick up a local guide who would be taking us on the 5km round trip walk to the Materuni Waterfalls. Yes, 2.5km each way! This was news to us all. Aidan was a super nice guy and a member of the local Chaga clan.

Our big concern with the walk was the weather and track conditions. Aidan said it would be very slippery due to recent and ongoing rain. A few years ago we did a Sapa walk. I spent more time on my cough due to the skating rink muddy conditions. bStub was already a no and I was getting cold feet. Nevertheless we stopped at the wellington boot hire and paid our USD10 per pair.

 

[bPeteb]

The coffee demo was super good. I wish we'd taken a picture of the place we visited. While we were waiting for the demo to strat a group arrived covered in mud. Lovely Swedish family. I asked how bad was it and they said really slippery and there's no way you could do it without ending up on your butt. I was now a no and elt Ernest know. Aidan was dissappointed.

Back to the demo. We peeled the beans then roasted them and stripped them down to the beans by group poundings in a mortar and pestle.


the view towards a very cloudy and grey Kilimanjaro


delicious lunch with bananas and plantains grown on site


the building behind is four very nice looking holiday units

instead of doing the full 5km walk, Aidan suggested we walk up to another closer waterfall. bAlt and I had paid for the wellies and we were going to use them

We were gone for close to an hour I reckon. It wouldn't have been much more then 800m each way but we stopped and talked about all sorts of things - the plants being grown, the Tanzanian education system, Tanzanian health care, farming, funeral rites, religion, the clan system. A super interesting hour. The wtaerfall, and a local farm house and animal enclosure. Not even pretending to be humane


It was a really interesting afternoon. In hindsighth maybe bAlt and I should have done the walk but the whole idea of havingtwo set of clothes covered in mud was just not great.

Once we dropped Aidan back in town it was only a short drive to our last accommoation in Tanzania, Chanya Lodge, Moshi

 

[bPeteb]

Chanya Lodge was a great surprise. Our first, and only, urban stay.

Up a bumpy little road off the main road were a set of gates and behind them this cool little lodge


a full sized cape wolf snake on the driveway. 25cm long and not venemous


very nice quirky room



beautiful gardens complete with some very cheeky monkeys


huge surprisingly swimmable pool


Tusker Lite, very good. bAlt's complaint - they only come in 330ml bottles

tonight's wine, and selections form the buffet


coughtail created with much care


day 15, the last of our six in Tanzania, done

 

[bPeteb]

Day 16, the return to Kenya

Chanya Lodge Moshi to Amboseli Sopa Lodge

Open air dining and bar at Chanya


our excellent, very quiet guide, Ernest


on the road to the Tanzania - Kenya border


just terrifying


oranges


the very, very long line of trucks waiting at the border crossing


we'd had an excellent time in Tanzania. People just as beautiful as those in Kenya. The Serengeti was AMAZING, Ngorongoro not so amazing. Enkirari Wilderness Camp like somewhere out of a dream. Time for Kenya to bring this safari home

Jackson was waiting there for us at the border office. Had a laugh when we were clearing Tanzanian immigration. He told me I was expemt from fingerprint and I asked if it was because I was old and he just smiled. 62. Wth!!

Our vehicle had changed. From the very comfortable V8 powered Landcruiser we'd been in previously, we climbed into a very rough and tired straight 6. Whereas the V8 has seats that slid backwards and forwards to increase legroom, this one had fixed seats like the Tanzanian vehicle. Apparently the V8 was getting some repairs done.

It wasn't far to Amboseli Sopa Lodge Amboseli Sopa Lodge - The Lodge

We were there before lunch had even started and our cute little rooms were ready.

Main lodge building


gardens between dining and bar


bar. Beautiful


Another super retro lodge. We found out it was completed in 1984 (I think) and apart from soft furnishing changes it looked original 1984. That was not a bad thing at all.

I plonked a bit too hard on one of these chairs with disastrous, for the chair, results



these realestate.com images stretch the little round bungalow quite a bit. It did have one bed though. Jackson was making sure of that.



like at most places this shower needed quite a bit of time to warm up

 

[bPeteb]

While we were waiting for lunch the head barman Emmanuel came and talked to us. He explained lots about the lodge but most of all about Hemingways, the bar very close to our bungalows.

It was actually built by Ernest Hemingway in the late 50s. It is in the shape of Africa, and in the construction uses the lucky 7 of the Masai that he'd worked with. He lived in it for all of three weeks and eventually turned it over to the local people. He asked them to look after, leave it original, and one day someone will want to buy it off them and that money will help the local people. That is what came to pass. It was bought in 1977, along with 200 acres of land. As I said, the lodge was opened in 1984.

Before lunch we went up and had a look in the windows of Hemingways


the seven ceiling beams, seven wall lights and a couple of other sevens. The sleeping area was to the right, kind of where Morocco and the rest of north west Africa is


view from outside



lots of rock hyrax. The grotto area underneath filled with their cough


the stump stools are original. They were moved down into the grotto when it was accepted that they weren't exactly comfortable



bungalow 45


more from around the lodge site

vervet monkeys, those of the bluesest of blue balls


pool and pool bar

 

[bPeteb]

the lunch buffet, and the dinner and breakfast buffets, were a step up from any other lodge we'd stayed at



mongeese. Yeh, ok, not a real word

pudding!!

 

[bPeteb]

Then it was time for a late afternoon Amboseli game drive. The lodge was about 20km outside of the park. My suggestion will be to ask if there isn't a lodge closer to the park that could be offered. Sopa is nice but driving time means less animal time

As were were driving to the gate more of Kilimanjaro was becoming visible



giraffe on the run


Amboseli is all about elephants, so get ready


gnu


spotted hyena


cattle egret


the only lion that we saw, and it was a long, long way away


elephant and Kilimanjaro


the dozens of vehicles full of people trying to get a glimpse of a sleeping lion, far away in the dimming light. Go to Serengeti NP people

 

[bPeteb]

the sun was on it's way down and we were on our way out. Kili was just about perfectly clear. Some final elephants. A close up encounter with a giraffe, and group photos with Kili in the background



we decided againt a drink up at Hemingways after dinner. Early start in the morning for our Amboseli balloon ride

Day 16 and the return to Kenya was a fantastic day

 

[Major]

Of all the different beers you have had, is there a favourite ?