Tanzania - July 2012

Well, how do I begin to describe one of the most amazing experiences of our lives?  This was more than a holiday – it was sensory overload; the sights and sounds were awe-inspiring and followed on one from the other in such rapidity that it made us reel at times!   I have doubts that my journal will do it justice, but here goes – the story of nine very special days.
 

Friday
After a very comfortable flight to Dar es Salaam, we were bustled out of the international airport and driven for 10 minutes to the domestic terminal.  Some of the things we saw along the way were eye-boggling  and, under different circumstances, they would have been very interesting, but we were desperate to get to our first camp!  The domestic terminal was a bit manic and keeping an eye on our luggage was a priority as we knew that bags go missing depressingly frequently here.  Luckily, Tony managed to keep track of them right up to the time they were loaded onto the plane so that was a relief!!  And then we were boarding the little aircraft which would take us to Selous and the beginning of our adventure.  After a 40-minute flight, we landed on Siwandu airstrip in the middle of nowhere – no buildings, no anything – just a landrover waiting to take us to Selous Safari Camp.
  

We were greeted by Mashaka (our guide for the time we were in Selous) and took off on a leisurely drive to the camp.  We were really pleased to see that the landrover had tiered seating and was completely open, apart from a high roof – great for photography!  Within minutes, we had seen giraffe watching us curiously, and a herd of impala were leaping across the airstrip in front of the departing plane.  We also had our first sighting of the lilac-breasted roller which appeared to be posing just for us – a beautiful bird which we saw many times during our holiday.  The colours are just beautiful, especially with the sunshine glinting off their feathers.

 
We arrived at the camp and were welcomed at reception with a drink by the managers, Pietro and Ricas, who suggested that we might like to go out on the pontoon on Lake Nzerakera before lunch.  (The camp is alongside the lake and all the tents have lovely views over it, and elephant and giraffe regularly walk past.)

We were escorted to our tent by Salum, (who was to be our butler during our time at the camp) though  it wasn’t much like a tent at all!  Yes, the walls were canvas, but it was raised up on a wooden platform and wonderfully comfortable inside.  A vast bed which looked directly out onto the lake, a bathroom area and a lovely outdoor shower.

We just had time to dump our stuff and have a quick wash and change before mustering at the lake, along with two other couples (Jo & Mark, and Emma & Giles who were on their honeymoon).  Onto the pontoon along a rickety plank (a bit scary because there are hundreds of crocs in the lake!) It had directors’ chairs arranged around the outside, with plenty of room to move around to get the best vantage point, and slowly we puttered off.  Accompanied by a very welcome beer (it was very hot!), we saw hippo and crocodile, giraffe, impala, crocodile, elephant and a solitary water buck along the bank.

 

There was a small island in the middle of the lake, and almost every inch was taken up by large birds and their nests – spoonbills, sacred ibis, storks, cormorants etc, all of them making a deafening racket, and made even louder by their chicks who were clamouring for food.

 

We were out on the lake for a good hour, and then slowly made our way back to the bank – it was a wonderful introduction to Selous.

Lunch was in a lovely restaurant raised about eight feet off the ground with amazing views across the lake and, while we ate, we watched baboons, impala and warthogs going about their business!  The food was wonderful, served by Salum, after which in great excitement  we went on our first game drive in search of wild dogs. The dogs failed to materialise, though we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of a civet cat, and hundreds of giraffe!

 

 

Back to camp just after sunset and we were escorted to our tent by a Masai warrior!  After a quick shower, we were collected by another Masai who led us to a blazing campfire in front of the restaurant.  Several drinks and a catch-up with the other guests followed and we were aware of animals passing between us and the lake whilst guards kept a wary look out!    Then came dinner - individual tables for two were set up around the campfire, lit with oil lamps and quite romantic!  The food again was wonderful and it was so lovely to listen to the night sounds.  Apart from the lamps, it was pitch dark and the starry sky was incredible.  Stuffed full, we were escorted back to our tent and we slept the sleep of the dead despite the sound of hippos snuffling and chomping outside!

Saturday

We awoke to sunrise and almost the first thing we saw was an elephant strolling leisurely between our tent and the lake.  Into the outdoor shower and as I peered over the low wall, I came almost face to face with a giraffe.  I found it a bit disconcerting, but he had seen it all before!  Shortly afterwards, we heard a kerfuffle from the front of the tent and went to investigate – a troop of baboons was shouting its head off very close by and Tony saw a glimpse of what looked like a lion slinking off.  Whether it  had managed to catch a baboon or not, we don’t know but slowly the troop crossed the clearing in front of us and stopped its screeching.
 

After breakfast in the restaurant, we went on our first ‘proper’ game drive.  We saw such a lot of animals that it’s easier to just list what we saw on our first morning: warthog, giraffe, impala, wildebeest, a herd of greater kudu, a female kudu and then a small herd of female kudu.  Then yellow baboons, zebra and a pride of lions lazing about.

 

 

 

And we saw another pride of lions feeding on a buffalo kill with cubs trying to eat from the carcass, but mostly playing and attempting to climb a tree. 

 

 

Looking upwards, we saw a fish eagle and martial eagle.  Also saw a bataleur eagle (unfortunately, all my photos of them were rubbish!)

 

 

On our way back for lunch, we were a bit late and Mashaka decided to return via a deep ditch.  We’d crossed it on the way with no problem but, returning, there was a big tree root which prevented the landrover getting up the other side and we were pretty much stuck.  For about ten minutes (though it seemed a lifetime!), he went forwards and backwards trying to get over it, but slowly the landrover started to tip dangerously to one side and how we weren’t thrown out with the vehicle on top of us, I’ll never know!  Eventually, he managed to reverse out and we found an alternative route, but we had had a scary few moments!  I think it was shortly after this that Emma decided she needed a wee – she was really embarrassed to have to ask but the rest of us were very relieved!  Mashaka found us suitable bushes and it broke the ice – it was much easier to bring the subject up on subsequent drives over the holiday!
 

After lunch, Tony and I went for  a trip around the lake with Kandindi.  Wow, what a magical afternoon.  We saw an elephant strolling along and went closer to take some photos.  He wasn’t at all impressed and started to threaten us from the lakeside, ears flared and trunk aloft whilst trumpeting at us and stamping his feet, raising quite a lot of dust!

We pulled back a bit and were amazed to see him enter the water, swimming across to an island in the middle of the lake and using his trunk as a snorkel.  Upon arrival, he pressed his trunk against a tree and shook it hard as if to say ‘I’ve arrived’.  We watched him leave the island and swim across to another islet of land in the middle of the lake but he was a bit pissed off with us by then and made his feelings known!  We left him in peace and moved across the lake to see a herd of elephants drinking, loads of hippos honking at each other, yellow baboons cavorting, and lots of the ubiquitous crocs, one of which suddenly woke up, turned 90 degrees and raced towards the boat – and me!  I don’t like them at the best of times, and that did nothing to change my mind about them!

We told Kandindi that we really wanted to see a malachite kingfisher and he said ‘no problem’!  And so he led us to the ‘bird island’ which we’d seen before, and there we saw several kingfishers – such beauties.

The spoonbills and other birds were making their usual cacophony and feeding their chicks before settling down for the night.  The water was so calm and it was a pleasure to watch the sun go down on such a special afternoon.  Certainly an afternoon to remember.

Pre-prandial drinks and dinner were by the camp fire again, whilst several pairs of eyes were watching us from the darkness.  We went to the bar with Mark and Jo after dinner and had a few more drinks before returning to our tent and bed.

Sunday

After breakfast, off we went on our morning game drive with Mashaka.  The first thing we saw was a couple of hyenas relaxing with a cub.  Apparently, they had a few other older cubs as well, but they were asleep inside the den.  This baby was so cute.  Hyenas aren’t my favourite animal but the cub was so sweet and fluffy that I forgave it!!

We then came across a pride of well-fed lions who were chilling out under a tree – most of them lying on their backs with bulging bellies exposed to the sky!

It was hard to think of them as being intimidating – stretched out as they were, they just looked like giant pussycats.  Mostly they just lay there, ignoring us but, when they do make eye contact, you are left in no doubt that these are killing machines and it does send quite a shiver down your spine.  Whilst we were watching, another one came up behind us, around the jeep.  We hadn’t even realised it was there, which was quite alarming considering we were in an open-sided vehicle and it was so close we could have touched it!  Then we dropped off Giles and Emma for their fly-camping experience (rather them than me!) and Mashaka found us a beautiful spot by the river to stop mid-morning.  We were on quite a high cliff edge  and the views were wonderful.  It was so peaceful and we spent a happy half-hour watching and photographing bee-eaters and pied kingfishers.

After lunch, we went on a further game drive with Mark & Jo.  We didn’t see much to be honest, but it was good to see a different area and we did spot a monitor lizard.  We stopped by the lake for sundowners and it seemed quite surreal to watch a large group of hippos and dozing crocs as the sun went down, with a wine glass in my hand!

Monday

We were sad to leave Selous, but excited to see what Mwagusi in the Ruaha had to offer.  As we arrived at the airstrip, we saw a family of giraffe – the baby was only about a week old and still had the umbilicus attached – it was so cute. 

A one hour forty minute flight later and we arrived at Msembe airstrip, to be met by Sampson our guide, and Vincent our driver.  It was quite a long drive to the camp along a straight, dusty track.  There wasn’t much to see and we were starting to feel a bit disappointed as it wasn’t what we’d expected.  However, everything changed as we got closer to the river – we could see a number of elephants and giraffes in the distance.  This was going to be good!  Shortly after this, we spied a female cheetah with three cubs which were about two months old – so exciting!   After spending some time observing them, Sampson said that we had a good chance of seeing a leopard as he’d heard there was one in the area so we drove on until we saw a few vehicles stopped at the foot of a tree.  And so we saw our first leopard!!

 
We had really hoped we would be lucky enough to see one but thought it was unlikely as they are very reclusive, secretive animals – but there it was, performing beautifully for us!  Then we saw the cheetahs again – it was all beginning to feel a bit surreal by this time and we were feeling a bit bemused as we arrived at Mwagusi Safari Camp. 

We were greeted by Adrian and Connie, the managers, and shown to our banda.  This was fabulous – we had the end one with a huge verandah looking out onto the dry river bed.

Lovely big bed, some nice furniture and a very strange bathroom with towel rails made from tree branches!  A giraffe was grazing on the other side of the river bed and baboons were bouncing around.  What a perfect location – so peaceful and quiet and not a human in sight!

 
Back to the restaurant for lunch with Adrian and a very nice man called Kirk who was at Mwagusi for his 13^th visit – what a recommendation.  He was a very quietly-spoken Canadian who was passionate about photography and wildlilfe – just our sort of person!  There was just Kirk, Adrian and us for lunch which was very nice as I’d had visions of sharing the table with all of the other guests.  Lunch was supposed to be at 1pm but it was all very relaxed and the various drives all ended at different times, so a buffet was  always provided and there was never any rush.

The afternoon game drive was amazing – we saw two young male lions who were a bit scary – one of them was known as Mr Grumpy and it wasn’t hard to see why as he made eye contact with Tony and gave a huge roar!

 

 

And then we saw the female cheetah again in the river bed.  Sampson said she was thinking about hunting and that we would come back later.  We went off to see a herd of buffalo and saw some jackals too - and then we had an incredible experience with the cheetahs again.  She had hidden her cubs whilst she went hunting (she hadn’t killed for several days and they were looking very thin so it was important that she made a kill that day – I just didn’t want to witness it!)  She started stalking a herd of impala and finally rushed at them, but there was a lot of vegetation between her and them and they managed to escape.  Only just though, as one impala had become separated from the herd and was limping quite badly.  (I worried about it all night!) The cheetah returned to the river bed, breathing heavily (they can only run at speed in short bursts and she was exhausted). 

 

 

One by one, her cubs joined her, licking her mouth and snuggling up to her in between playing and bouncing around.  The weird thing was that there was another vehicle there, and it contained the couple who had been in front of us on the international flight!  We had actually seen them a couple of times before when we were in Selous, but it seemed odd to see them in Ruaha too.  Imagine our surprise when we were collected for dinner that evening and there they were again! 

We were led to a camp fire in the river bed where there were just five chairs – for Adrian the manager, Kirk the American, this other couple (Colin and Jenny) and us.  We wondered where the other guests were, and Adrian said they were around their own camp fires.  It was a great system and worked really well – in fact we spent each night with just Colin & Jenny, and on one night with another young couple (Kate and Jo) who were there on a belated honeymoon.  The after-dinner conversation quickly degenerated into hysteria as we talked about trampolining elephants and honey badgers with catapults (sorry, you had to be there!!)  I felt quite sorry for the guard who escorted us back to our bandas!

Tuesday

We awoke to a cold, cold morning!  Such a contrast to Selous which was warm all the time.  Blankets were required (by me!) in those early hours, especially as we were lucky again to have open-sided vehicles. Within minutes of the drive starting (at 6.30 am!) we saw two hyenas and a couple of jackals. 

They were demolishing the remains of a buffalo kill and were a bit anxious to get back to their dens before day broke properly.

We stopped for breakfast just as the sun was beginning to warm things up and we started shedding blankets, fleeces and rolling sleeves up.  This was more like it!

The day’s sightings included a herd of buffalo, vervet monkeys (so cute!), a brown snake eagle, a very well-fed male cheetah, rock hyrax, and some mongeese (mongooses?)

 

 

 

We were driving along what we named ‘Elephant Road’ when we came across a small group of elephant (surprisingly!!) – the matriarch, a tiny baby, an older youngster and a young male.  He decided that it was his job to protect his herd and kept mock-charging us – posturing and stamping, with his trunk in the air and trying to look intimidating!  Mum elephant was gently calling him, telling him not to worry and that we weren’t a threat but he was in macho mode and not prepared to give up.  It was hard not to laugh at him but, actually, he deserved some respect and I am sure he will make a very fine bull elephant in time.

 

 

As the sun was beginning to set, we saw a pride of lions with a kill.  This  was the Bushbuck Pride and when we arrived, they were quarrelling over the remains of a buffalo.

 
One of the females had been injured by another buffalo during the kill and had the most enormous wound down one of her back legs.  She was limping and obviously in pain, but Sampson reassured us that she would quickly recover.  There was a fair bit of roaring and posturing and one of the males was quite possessive about the remains, but in the end he wandered off for a poo and peace was restored! 

 

The evening was spent again around the campfire – in a different location from yesterday evening and just Adrian, Colin and Jenny again but great fun was had by all.  We learnt that all their staff are from the surrounding villages – they are started off in the kitchens or workshops and, if they show an aptitude for guiding, they are given every opportunity to learn ‘the trade’.  Sampson later told us that he had started working in the kitchen but, after two years, had progressed to trainee guide and from there to a ‘proper’ guide ten years ago.  All the guides have on-site lessons every afternoon and share their experience and things they have learnt with each other, whilst using reference books all the time.  In fact, Sampson had a rucksack full of books, which he pulled out at regular intervals to show us various things, whether it was animal tracks, poo, photos of birds which we only saw at a distance, differences between the males and females of various species etc etc.  His enthusiasm was obvious and his knowledge vast, and we have the deepest admiration for him – and gratitude for teaching us so much.

Wednesday

Sampson had decided that we would try to find the Bushbuck Pride again and was pretty sure that they would be down by the river drinking.  Sure enough, he directed Vincent to the exact spot (I’m certain he is a magician).

 

We found ourselves surrounded by semi-comatose lions who looked very peaceful when, all of a sudden, one of the males gave a gentle roar, followed by a louder one and a louder one still.  Then another male joined in, then another and another until the whole pride was roaring at the tops of their voices.  They were only establishing their territory but it was absolutely deafening and awe-inspiring, and certainly brought a feeling of primeval fear to us causing our hearts to beat quite a lot faster!  This was one of the most amazing experiences of our safari and one I will remember for a very long time.  I was so taken up with the moment that my camera stayed in my lap, so no photos!  When things had calmed down, a few of the lions wandered off to the water’s edge for a good drink and we left them to their day’s activities.

We were still reeling from this fantastic experience, when Sampson noticed a cloud of dust far off in the distance.  We headed towards it and, as we watched, a herd of 300 or so buffalo slowly hove into view – at first they were just dots on the horizon but slowly, so slowly, they came towards us until they were right in front of us – and then they stopped. 

I was put in mind of an army of Zulu warriors and I found it quite intimidating though, in actual fact, they were more scared of us than we were of them.  They were on their way to the river to drink so we left them in peace and later saw them in the water. 

Later that morning, we saw hippos, and male impala fighting – locking horns and chasing each other – that was quite an incredible experience as they look such peaceable animals.

Apparently, a male impala is only head of his herd for a few short weeks before being ousted by a fitter one.  He then has to go off on his own, or with a group of males in a similar situation, to regain his strength before he can challenge another male and take over his herd.  It all sounds very exhausting!    Sampson had heard that there was a group of lions some way off so we went to see if we could find them.  Sure enough, our miracle worker found a small group of them lazing around amongst an outcrop of huge rocks but, as they were fast asleep and showed no signs of moving, we left them to it!  Apparently, they were part of the Zebra Pride.  One of the interesting thing about lions is that each pride specialises in a particular prey – this one speaks for itself! 

In the afternoon, Sampson took us off on a trip over the mountains.  It was a bit of a disappointing drive as the animals became fewer and farther between.  The views were great but we wanted to see furry things!  Eventually, we ended up at a branch of the river where he had hoped to see a family of lions, but all we saw was a water buck!  I think Sampson was disappointed that we didn’t much enjoy the drive, but not as disappointed as we were though in retrospect we should have just enjoyed the scenery.  I think it was very much on our minds that our time in Ruaha was limited and we wanted to make the absolute most of it.  

After dinner that night (another campfire in a different part of the river bed) we returned to our banda and quickly fell asleep as usual (these safaris are really exhausting!).  In the early hours, we both awoke to the sound of something rustling outside our banda.  Then I saw the outline of an elephant moving past – very close to the wall of the tent – and could hear lots of chomping and munching.  With no lights, it was a bit scary having such a huge animal so close and then it started leaning against the roof which begun to creak and groan.  Tony leapt out of bed and whispered, rather panicky, ‘Tris, we need a plan’  so I quickly grabbed my pyjamas and put them on!!  If I was going to be trampled by an elephant, I wanted to look decent!!  Eventually, the elephant and its companion moved away and peace was restored, though it took us a while to get to sleep again!

Thursday

Soon after we set off, Sampson became very excited as he spotted an ardwolf – a very rare animal. In the dawn light, neither Tony nor I actually saw it, but it was good to know it was actually there!  Soon after, we saw our first dik-dik – such a pretty animal, very small and fragile with enormous eyes.

Then Sampson’s ears pricked up and he told us to listen – and we heard, in the far distance, a lion roaring.  Sampson unerringly directed Vincent towards where he thought the sound came from and finally identified a tree under which he was sure the lion would be.  Sure enough, as we approached the tree, a male lion came towards us, roaring gently.

Sampson said that he had obviously lost his pride and was calling for them.  He (the lion!) found a spot where one of the female members of the pride had peed, had a quick roll in it and continued on his way, calling all the time and flopping down every so often for a rest.   He didn’t seem particularly concerned and Sampson was sure he would find them before too long.  We continued on our way and were lucky enough to see a group of 6 male lions (not part of the pride), including two older ones (one of whom Sampson said the guides had named ‘Golden Boy’ and he certainly was a magnificent beast) who ambled past us quite unconcerned.  They were on a mission of some sort, and it was great to watch them heading off to whatever they had planned.
 

Later, we were delighted to see the female cheetah and her cubs again – and very pleased to see them looking well-fed (especially as I hadn’t had to witness the kill!)  They were resting in the shade and she was quite unfazed by us gawping at them, though the cubs did retreat into a bush at one time, though they were too nosey to stay there for long!

 

We went on our way and things just got better and better.  We were in a beautiful area at the top of a valley which was full of giraffe, kudu and elephants.  Sampson had heard that there was a lioness with cubs in the vicinity, and with his usual excellent instinct, he directed Vincent off in a particular direction......and then, from around a bush, we saw two lionesses approaching, followed by three adorable, two-months-old cubs trotting happily along.

The lionesses were in hunting mode and Sampson told us that this particular pair hunted giraffe.  The mother was a bit hesitant and seemed reluctant to leave the cubs behind and, while she was dithering, a group of elephants approached.  She definitely wasn’t happy and told the cubs to hide, which they did – so obedient!  She was very cautious and it was obvious that she had decided to stay while the other lioness went off hunting.  Sampson said it was a gamble as it would be difficult for one lion to bring down a giraffe on her own and they were obviously hungry, but Mum had her babies to think about.  She remained alert though, and was watching her sister’s progress down into the valley while keeping a careful eye on the elephants!  Eventually, they wandered off and she called her cubs out of hiding.  They were mewling and complaining that they were hungry and tried to suckle from her but, to begin with, she told them off and refused to feed them.  Eventually, however, and to our great delight, she lay down in front of the landrover and allowed all three to suckle.

One of them kept slapping his massive paw on the head of his sibling – they are very competitive for food and it is unusual for all of them to survive infancy – but this one certainly intended to do that!  But we didn’t want to think about that.  After they’d had a good guzzle, she arose and started to descend to the valley floor, with the cubs bouncing after her and she slowly disappeared from sight.  What an experience for us though! 

 

We continued our drive and saw even more elephants, including a small group – mum, tiny baby and an older baby, and a cute little dik-dik. 

And then, just as the sun was setting, we saw a serval!  We followed it for a short distance, but it was very shy and we couldn’t get anywhere close.

 

By the time we arrived back in camp, we were reeling with all we’d seen that day and it hadn’t finished yet!  As our guard led us towards our banda, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and whispered to us to back up.  An enormous elephant was on the path between us and our door and showed no sign of moving.  We weren’t about to argue with it, so we crept around the other side of the banda and had to hop (well, I can’t hop, so it was more of a clamber!) over the side wall of the verandah! 

 

Later that evening, as we were sitting by the camp fire, we could hear him trumpeting.  He’d been making a bit of a nuisance of himself recently, hanging around the camp and invading the food store!  I can think of worse pests!  I can’t actually remember when we returned for lunch today – we saw so much that it’s difficult to think that we actually had time!  But I do remember spending a few minutes on our verandah and watching elephants digging holes in the river bed to get to the water below, and the baboons and zebra following afterwards and making use of those holes.

This wasn’t the first time we’d seen this, but I still find it amazing – how do they know the water is there??  Talking of the verandah, we really didn’t have much time to make use of it which was a bit of a shame – and the hammock remained unused!  However, we did see rock hyrax, giraffe, zebra, ground squirrels, warthog and baboons plus some colourful birds on the bird bath - and elephant of course; all of which really is pretty incredible.

 

 

 

Friday

Our last full day and we were feeling very sad at the prospect of leaving this wonderful place.  I tried to put it out of my mind but we absolutely wanted to make the most of every single moment.  The first thing we saw was a dead hippo floating beside the bank, with vultures squatting alongside, but the hide was too tough for their beaks so they were waiting for hyena to come along and open up the carcass for them.  We left them to it and then we saw a huge, live hippo strolling through the grassland on its way back to the water after a night foraging.  It was quite an impressive beast, but I find them rather peculiar animals and I certainly wouldn’t want to get too close to one!

 

As we continued, we saw the hugest male elephant who wasn’t too impressed to see us, followed by another serval who very successfully evaded us (!!), a dik-dik and some Grant’s Gazelle.  We had a quick glimpse of a banded mongoose (quite a large animal), and came to a spot alongside the river where we saw a bushbuck.  Smaller than I expected, and very pretty.  It had that worried, cautious look that all these small deery-type animals have all the time – hardly surprising really as they are so close to the bottom of the food chain.  A troop of baboons was playing alongside and, as always, they were very entertaining.  As was a huge elephant – the matriarch.  She took exception to us driving down ‘her’ track and charged us from the side (my side!), ears flapping and trumpeting at the top of her voice.  She was so close to us that I almost caught the blast of her breath! 

 

Back for lunch, and we heard that Colin and Jenny had seen two leopard cubs that morning!  Unknown to us, Justin, their guide, had rung Sampson to tell him, but we were miles away on the other side of the park and we were really disappointed not to have seen them.  Off again for our evening game drive, and although we hadn’t said anything, we really hoped that we were headed for the leopard cubs.  And eventually Sampson found them!  There they were, up separate trees whilst Mum had gone hunting and we spent a very happy hour or so watching them snoozing, stretching, snoozing some more and eventually moving further down the branch to catch the last rays of the evening sun.

 

It was such a wonderful experience, and a fitting end to our last proper drive.  Back to camp, and our last supper.  A sad moment.

Saturday

We were up early, packing before breakfast, but I had a heavy heart.  We were quite happy to be going home, but so, so sad that this amazing trip was at an end.  It had been agreed that, after breakfast, we would go out out on a last little game drive, culminating with our arrival at the airstrip.  It was great to have this last opportunity, but tempered with the thought that our luggage was in the vehicle with us.  Ah well! 

 

As we left the banda for the last time, there were two elephants on the path just in front of us – I’m sure they had come to say goodbye!  We sidled around the walls and behind the next banda and I don’t think they even saw us go.  It was quite an uneventful drive, though there were loads of the usual suspects – giraffe, impala etc.  And then we saw a lone, male cheetah with an impala kill.  He stayed quite hidden with it in the long grass, but eventually he strolled off to a nearby bush in the shade.

 

Cheetah often have their kill stolen from them by lion, which can cause them serious damage, so they tend to feed for a while, back off and then go back for more when they know the coast is clear.  We left him to it and were tracking a lion after Sampson spotted its footprints, but were unable to find it.  However, we ended up at the river bed and sat and watched a large herd of elephant digging for water, playing and giving themselves a sand shower.

They looked so peaceful and benign, with babies of all sizes and ages, and it was with a big sigh that we left them to head towards the airstrip. When we arrived there, however, there was no sign of the plane so Vincent drove slowly  around the tracks one last time and we wondered if the herd of elephants which were on their way to drink, would actually be on the runway when the plane arrived!  And then it did, and we all piled onto it for the two-hour flight back to Dar es Salaam, after our reluctant farewells to Sampson and Vincent. 

 

Back in Dar and into a car for the journey to our hotel, and I got the hump because the driver wanted to give us a scenic tour of Dar – the last thing I wanted to see was the fish market and the government buildings.  I just wanted to see another elephant! And then the next morning, it was back to the airport  and the usual faffing about trying to get out of the country, which certainly helps you to begin re-joining the real world.  Except that we had been in the real world all the time - just a very different one from our own and, as I write this, I think of life going on in Selous and Ruaha as it always does day after day.  The only difference is that we aren't there to see it.    

So there you have it – the most wonderful, uplifting, exciting experience of our lives.  We have fallen in love with Tanzania – as well as the wonderful wildlife, the scenery is absolutely beautiful with mountains and valleys, from lush green spaces to sparse grassland, interspersed with rivers despite it being the dry season.  Ruaha in particular is stunning with a very diverse landscape.  Half of our minds are still in Tanzania, and we both find ourselves day-dreaming about it all.  The memories will last us a lifetime and bring many a smile to our faces.  We feel privileged to have seen so many of those glorious wild animals and to have learnt – from Sampson (and Mashaka at Selous) – so much about them.  Our lives have certainly been enriched by the experience – and we can’t wait to return to Ruaha.

 

A few more photos to finish off

If anyone is a glutton for punishment, and wants to see more of my Tanzanian photos, you can view them here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/trissysviewpoint/