Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti National Parkpark covers more than 5000 square miles of grassland plains and savanna as well as river forest and woodlands. The park is bordered to the north by Kenya.  

The park is usually described as having three regions.  The plains are the endless and treeless grasslands of the south.  This is where the wildebeest breed, as they roam in the plains from December to May.  Many other animals including zebra, gazelle, impala, hartebeest, topi, buffalo, waterbuck also occupy the area in huge numbers during the wet season.  

The western end of the park has black clay soil covering the swampy savannah of the region.  The Grumeti River is home to enormous Nile crocodiles, colobus monkey, and the martial eagle. 

The Northern Serengeti has open woodlands and hills.  The northern region runs from Seronera in the south to the border with Kenya.

As our "preview" photos from the Serengeti showed, the pictures tell most of the story.

Mr. Karashi explained that the treeless plains are a result of volcanic eruptions carpeting the area and the rain water hardening the surface making it almost impossible for roots to break through and sustain most plant and tree life.  In fact, many years ago the Maasi people would walk endlessly toward the mirage that appeared to be water as the sun glared off the plains. 

Below is a photo of the sun glistening in the distance. 

We were so fortunate to see all that we encountered.  

95% of cheetah cubs die during their first few months.  As a result, the cheetah numbers continue to dwindle. Below, is a picture of a cheetah and her cub that Mr. K estimated to be more than six months old. 

Below, a silver haired jackal howls in an annoying fashion until the cheetah finally took its Cubs and moved on. The jackal also had a cub with her and each wanted the other to yield. 

Perhaps our best lion shot.

While we could not get all of them in one shot, below are many of the 15 lions in a single pride that we encountered. 

An endless herd of wildebeest move into the plains. Within a few weeks, it is estimated that more than 1.5 million of these beautiful creatures will inhabit the area.

These two lion cubs ponder a walk down a steep rock formation. Ultimately, they turned around and took another route to their mothers.

This lion wears an electronic monitor so that researchers can track her movements and travel habits.

One of our game drives came to a close with this rainbow in the distance.

The Serengeti had already served as the treasure.  We are fortunate that we experienced all that it had to offer. 

Tarangire National Park

For those of you following closely, Tarangire National Park followed our visit to Arusha National Park and the news that our guide, Ali, would not be able to complete our safari due to the death of his sister.  We had no internet connection for almost a week.  As we post this entry, we have just completed a 16 hour travel day which took us from Serengeti to Kilimanjaro Airport and a 5:30pm flight to Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia.  We are safely in Ethiopia and the below post details Tarangire National Park.  Tonight or tomorrow we will post entries detailing Ngorongoro Conservation Area and more from Serengeti.  

Tuesday morning (December 10th) brought the arrival of our new safari guide, Larzaro Karashi.  Mr. Karashi "hung up his guide boots about 4 years ago" but he has answered the call to assist us as Ali mourns the loss of his sister.  It did not take long to figure out that Mr. Karashi is a professor emeritus of Tanzanian wildlife. He is exceedingly knowledgeable and equally as kind and humble. We are fortunate that he agreed to lead our rag tag group.

Below is "Mr. K" with Mabret and Roman. 

Our drive toward Tarangire National Park took us through the heart of Tanzania's third largest city, Arusha.  The picture below was taken near the center of town and marks the spot which is said to be the exact center of Africa.

Tarangire National Park is Tanzania's third largest wildlife reserve.  The park is home to elephants, leopards, lions, gazelles, hartebeest, impala and many other animals and birds.  The Tarangire River meanders through the park which entices many animals to come into the park from surrounding areas during the dry season.

By the early afternoon, we had arrived at Maramboi Camp which is approximately 20 minutes from the entrance to Tarangire National Park.  Camp Maramboi is breathtaking with, perhaps, the best scenery and layout of all the stops thus far in Tanzania.  The zebras and impala freely roam the front of the camp all day adding to the relaxing feel of the place. 

Below are views from around the campground. 

We took a game drive on Tuesday afternoon followed by a 6am game drive on Wednesday morning.  While these explorations did not lead us to a lion, we were blessed to be spectators to other wonders of nature.  

The elephant population in Africa has dwindled throughout the years but the Tanzanian government has been taking steps to curtail poaching.  This large herd of bull elephants was a welcome sight. 

Below, is one of the highlights of our two days in Tarangire.

It is mind boggling that people would kill these animals for the ivory from their tusks.  It is further confounding that ivory is considered by some to be a jewel and worn as a fashion statement. 

It is welcome news that the Clinton Foundation has announced that working with governments worldwide to stop the ivory trade will be a focus of its 2014 campaign. 

Many species of birds inhabit Tarangire and as we enhance our spotting skills finding the various birds has become a bit easier.  Below are a few of our favorites.

The yellow necked spur fowl.

The lilac breasted roller.

The steppe eagle.

These dwarf mongoose were guarding their ant hill against the blended mongoose shown in the following picture.

Wednesday evening brought dinner under a beautiful African sky and an early bedtime as we leave tomorrow morning (Thursday) for Ngorongoro Crater.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

We continue to encounter challenges uploading large numbers of photos to the blog. As a result, we will post a few select pictures and slightly shorter entries when necessary to ensure we can upload and keep you up to date.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area is located approximately 100 miles west of the city of Arusha.  Ngorongoro is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the large volcanic caldera within the Conservation Area is recognized as one of the seven natural wonders of Africa.  

The Ngorongoro Crater is a breath taking site as the world's largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera.  Mr. Karashi (Mr. K as the boys call him) tells us that the Crater was formed when a large volcano exploded and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago.  The Crater is 2000 feet deep and covers over 100 square miles.  Mr. K also informed us that geologists speculate that the height of the volcano was more than 15,000 feet.

Looking down from above.

The animal population in the Crater is rich and diverse.  The Crater produced our first glimpse of a rhinoceros along with many other memorable sights.  

The lion population in the Crater has dwindled over the years.  Mr. K informs us that this is a result of inbreeding causing the gene pool to weaken and disease to kill many lions.   Because new lions rarely enter the Crater from other areas, the gene pool continues to be effected.

Our Tarangire National Park entry needs to be trimmed a bit and I will post shortly.

The Big Five

We just successfully spotted the last of what is known in Africa as The Big Five...the very elusive leopard. We have now observed the Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Buffalo and Leopard.  

Below, a leopard lays asleep on a tree branch.

Just above and to the left of the sleeping leopard is its kill...a reedbuck which it dragged up the tree.

Another Quick Hello from the Serengeti

We just watched this cheetah run down a gazelle like it was standing still. 

Below, the cheetah enjoys its reward.

I haven't seen acceleration like that since I last saw TJ  go around a defender.

To Lukie, Jack and Brett who just wrote a message to us in the snow...we can see it from Africa and miss you guys too.  

Stay tuned. As we get a sporadic signal we will try to post a few more shots. 

Peace Out!

Briefly from the Serengeti

We are deep in the Serengeti and there is rarely a signal. We apologize that the blog has been temporarily interrupted as a result. We expect to be back with several posts on Tuesday or Wednesday. Until then, enjoy the photo that we just took.  Wow is all that we can say. 

Arusha National Park

Arusha National Park is set directly between the slopes of Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro.  The western side of the park boasts the Meru Crater which funnels the Jekukumia River.  The southeastern portion of the park is home to the Ngurdoto Crater.  Two shallow alkaline lakes highlight the northeastern end of the park.  These  lakes attract flamingos and a variety of other birds. The park is also home to elephants, buffalo, zebra, gazelle and a host of other wildlife. 

We arrived at the park in the mid-morning and quickly located several species of monkeys.

The Blue Monkeys.

The black and white Colobus Monkeys.

The Baboons. 

The viewpoint overlooking Meru Crater was worthy of a stop to take in our surroundings.

A very precious baby waterbuck. 

A giraffe chillin out in the grass.

The buffalo graze throughout Arusha National Park.

The alkaline lakes create a feeding frenzy for the flamingos.

Roman and Mabret have become proficient photographers and spotters.  We rely upon their skills daily and they continue to improve.

Our day ended on a sad note as our guide and friend, Ali, received a phone call informing him that his sister had passed away.  We were scheduled to spend the next week with Ali touring the national parks of Tanzania.  Roman and Mabret have become fond of Ali as well.  Ali was born and raised in Tanzania and attended college at Wichita State.  After college, he lived and worked in the States for many years before returning to his homeland.  

Ali has informed us that he convinced his mentor, Mr. Karashi, to come out of retirement to guide the remaining days of our safari.

Below is a picture of the boys as they bid farewell to Ali.

Tuesday morning we depart for Tarangire National Park. 

Sinya Wildlife Conservancy

On Saturday afternoon, we arrived at Kambi Ya Tembo Lodge which lies in the Sinya Wildlife Conservancy in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.  In addition to Mount Kilimanjaro looking down upon us, Mount Meru which stands nearly 14,000 feet above sea level and Longido Peak also paint an unforgettable landscape.  

Mount Kilimanjaro is shown below.

This area of Tanzania is home to many Maasi People.  While the Maasi people live throughout Tanzania, in this area they follow traditional customs and our interactions included joining a Maasi tracker on a wildlife hike.  In some areas of the country, the tourism business has created a more commercial interaction between the Maasi and visitors.  

After lunch on Saturday, the boys sat down for their first school session under Katie's command.  While Dad initially felt a bit blue as he was enjoying teaching the boys, this feeling quickly diminished as Roman and Mabret laughed and smiled through a creative writing lesson as well as math class.  We are proud of Roman who has mastered all of his multiplication tables through eleven.  As a result, Roman and Mabret enjoyed a joint division lesson today.  

Around 4pm, we departed on a nature hike with Sembeta, our Maasi friend and tracker.  Below, Sembeta is pictured with John, the assistant manager of the lodge.  John is also a member of the local Maasi community.  Recently, John decided to forego his traditional Maasi garb. 

Sembeta led us through the surrounding area introducing us to various plants and insects that form the foundation of the Eco-system here.  He also oriented us to the landscape giving a preview to where our morning game drive would take us. 

In the distance of the below picture lies Kenya and the Amboseli Narional Park.  

Tomorrow's adventure will take us just across the border in search of wildlife.

Sembeta's shoes are made from old motorbike tires.  They look comfortable and certainly get good traction.

Below is a photo of the dung beetle.  Yes, its job in the Eco-system of Africa is to round up the dung so it does not overtake the landscape.

The boys found the below ant hill to be fascinating.   The tunnels leading to the hill stretched farther than we could track.

Our day ended with dinner and a campfire.  Sunday morning brings a 5:30am wake-up call for a 6am game drive. 

6am peanut butter sandwiches with tea and coffee and we are off on another adventure.

The landscape is worthy of an early morning drive even if we see no wildlife today. 

Not long into our drive we spotted some vervet monkeys enjoying the early morning sun.

There are two types of gazelles found in Tanzania.  They are plentiful throughout the landscape.  The Thompson Gazelle is easily identified by the black stripe on its side.  

In a clearing, we observed a giraffe with her young one.  Shortly after quietly pulling close, many more giraffes appeared from behind the bushes and trees. They slowly moved toward our vehicle and gave us an opportunity to sit atop the Land Rover and take it all in.  

For those of you who have been reading the blog, you know that these are not the first giraffes that we have seen since arriving in Africa.  However, each of the previous times Dad has exercised amazing self-control and refrained from telling his giraffe joke.  Much to Roman and Mabret's delight, this time things would be different.  Ok, so if you must hear the joke continue reading. 

A giraffe walks into a bar and says...highballs on me.  Don't worry, before telling the joke Dad took the time to explain that a highball is a type of adult drink.  

Our next order of business was keeping all eyes peeled in the hopes of spotting bull elephants which inhabit this area.  Some of the bull elephants living freely in this protected area of Tanzania can reach 50 years of age.  

Success...

While spending time with these incredible animals at Addo Elephant Back Safari was unforgettable, there is nothing that equals watching them roam freely in the wild.

We also observed many wildebeest and impala.  

Next, Ali turned the Land Rover toward the Kenya border.  This area has seen heavy rain in the last few days. The ground has grown very soft and treacherous.  Thus began another chapter for the RTW Adventure Family...

We first surveyed the situation before deciding upon a course of action.

The decision was made to collect rocks and branches and jack the vehicle up so that we could place the items under the wheels in the hope of gaining traction.

While we were successful in getting some rocks under the driver's side rear wheel (the wheel that seemed to be the largest obstacle), the other wheels sunk further into the mud.

We also tried the "rock it back and forth" like we used to do in Philly when stuck in the snow.  This also did not work.  

While the Maasi people do follow many age old customs, they are not averse to carrying a cell phone. Sembeta phoned a friend.

While waiting for assistance to arrive, Ali made good on a promise to Roman that he would find Roman's favorite animal - a turtle.  

A shout out to Nico Nonemaker who also loves turtles.  Christian and Nico, the boys are sorry that they will not be able to ski with you this winter.  Have fun at Shawnee and we will see you soon.

Because assistance would take a while to arrive, we decided to take a walk to locate the border between Tanzania and Kenya.  With the help of Sembeta who was acting as a spotter today, we located a marker at the border.  Below, Mabret stands with one foot in Tanzania and the other in Kenya.

Help arrived and we were successfully pulled from the mud.

We left our mark behind to warn those who may follow.

Upon returning to the lodge, Mabret and Roman happily did their school work.  Roman then built and lit the camp fire.  

Monday morning was another early call as we said good bye to the wonderful staff at Kambi Ya Tembo Lodge and headed out for Arusha National Park.

Peace Out!