A great safari in the quiet season

If you are planning a safari to Tanzania-Kenya around April May, most people will advice against the idea. this is mainly because being a rain season, there may not be much to see, coupled with the challenges of getting stuck in the bush.

however, recently embarked on one such trip, and what could have been boring, turned out to be one great safari of the season. My guests, Kym Illman (owner of Perth-based audio production company Messages On Hold Australia: http://messagesonhold.com.au) and his family planned their trip for this period. Seeing how much rain we had, i reluctantly agreed to guide them. however, on the very first days of our trip things turned out great and warmed up our hearts. the trip took us to Ngorongoro crater, Ndutu area, Central Serengeti, Masai Mara and Naboisho conservancy. Kym who is a serious photographer, introduced me to new photography techniques. I am now a better photographer, and i promised to beat him in our photography competition on his return trip!

The highlights of our trip were Elephants at Ngorongoro crater (one really gave us a scare by charging from the back of our vehicle) the other highlight was a sighting of 11 lions on one tree near Seronera. the lions had been feeding on a buffalo then all went up the tree after feeding. we stayed here till they started coming down the tree one after the other. We left when the last lion came down. when we came back the next day, we were hoping to see them up the tree again, but we had only 2 go up and the rest came walking past the tree and all headed to lay on a big rock!

our other excitement was seeing this Cheetahs stalk and chases wildebeests on Ndutu plains. the dust and confusion in the herds made it difficult for us to take any decent pictures, except for a video camera we had left running on its own, capturing an amazing footage. Leopard sightings were great too. i must say, on this trip we saw lions almost every day. I was also amazed at the number of elephants we saw in Central Serengeti and the Mara. i will not forget the Giraffes we saw at Naboisho conservancy while staying at Naboisho camp. there was a herd of 35 giraffes walking across the plains. At first we were complaining of lack of light as it was approaching sunset and the sun was behind some clouds. However, our patience paid off when we finally had a streak of light coming through, illuminating our subjects in the most stunning evening light. From then on, we just clicked away!. The trip in the end turned out to be one of my best. Everywhere we went, we were almost the only guests in the camps/lodges and on game drive, leaving us to enjoy the sightings all on our own.

 This Elephant bull with largest tusks gave us a scare at the Crater

 The presence of  big herds of Elephants was quite a sighting

 A great cultural experience to top it up

 Zebras run through the woods at Ndutu area

 We often had stunning sunrises as seen here near L. Masek

 A Male Leopard we found feeding on an Impala up this tree in the Mara

 A sub-adult cheetah looks out from a vantage point

 Wildebeests running after a chase by cheetahs in Ndutu area

 A male lion on Naboisho conservancy

 Lions in tree in Serengeti- there were 11 of them!

 Giraffes on Naboisho conservancy

 More Giraffes

 Looking down the crater floor at Ngorongoro near Seneto decent

Great photographic opportunities through the trip

Trailing the migration South- With lemala camps

I recently embarked on a trip to trail the migration down south. Although the trip (organized by Vintage Africa) took me to L. Manyara, Ngorongoro, and Ewanjan in Serengeti, our highlight came when we stayed at Lemala Camp Ndutu. Vintage Africa’s Sister company, Grumeti Expeditions, runs  Lemala camps, a collection of luxurious camps in Tanzania close to finest game viewing locations, and are all about positioning you at the right location and time so that you can capture the best wildlife action in Tanzania.

Ndutu area was the location of the wildebeests at the time of my visit. Although i had missed the mass birth of the calves by a couple of weeks, it was amazing to see hundreds of calves accompanying their mothers on the plains, always on the move.

The area where most herds were was a place locally know as Makao (Swahili for residence). It is indeed a wildebeests residence. I must admit i have never seen so many wildebeests as i saw around this place. This became the highlight of my trip.although i took lots of pictures, I have now come to agree with a friend who came on safari with me, and in the end said “No picture can really tell what i have seen”, it is only in my mind!

The wildebeest however, are still in South Serengeti which is unusual. Normally they would be in Seronera area, central Serengeti by this time. I believe this is due to the amount of rain we have had since the beginning of the year. There is a lot of grass on the plains as well as fresh water that has collected in pools across the plains. This may make them stay a bit longer than usual. Their migration out of here every year is due to the hard water(soda), but now with more fresh water they may stay longer.

 A wildebeest crosses a small stream in Ndutu area

 Wildebeests with calves in Ndutu area

 Elephants at Ngorongoro Crater. we saw these while staying at Lemala Ngorongoro

 Wildebeests on the plains in Makao

 A lioness in tree in Serengeti

 A subadult lion emulates mum and goes up a tree too

 Lepoard cubs on tree at Lugga ya 16: Seronera valley