December 2, 2018
We are back on the Namiri Plains in the southeast section of the Serengeti plains. There are six sections and they are each huge. We are just a speck in the vastness. At this moment, we are tracking another cheetah, named Campari, and her three 6-month old cubs, 2 boys and a girl. So, I am back at the computer while we wait and watch.
Passing through Karatu village on way to Seranera Airport
Our story picks up on November 30. We left the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge about 8am and drove an hour and 20 minutes to the Manyara Airport. We stopped at the gate to the park to check out and then had to drive slowly as we passed through Karatu village, where there were many cops watching for speeders.
The flight from Manyara Airstrip to Seranera Airport in the heart of the Serengeti Plains was about 35 minutes. Our next driver, whose name is “Good Luck”, and a Toyota Land Cruiser were waiting for us. Off we went into the southeastern Serengeti Plains, known as Namiri Plains, looking for game while generally heading for our accommodations, the Namiri Planes Camp. This area is known as an “ecotone”, the divide between two habitats, where woodlands meet open plains. The elevation is approximately 5,200 feet. The weather is cool, breezy and slightly overcast. Perfect light for game viewing.
A singular acacia tree in the Namiri Planes
Right away Brad is naming creatures we spot: the very distinctive, and pretty, buffalo weaver bird , which has a large white spot on each wing and an orange rump; a klipspringer, which is a small antelope covered in thick brown fur, who lives in harsh rocky environments; a pair of light brown dik-dik, who are the smallest antelope in the Serengeti, always appear in pairs and mate for life; steenbok, another smallish antelope who also mates for life and are a tanish brown. (sorry we missed these photo shots)
Grey-breasted Spur Fowl. Saw a lot of these cute, skittish birds.
As we drive through the dry, knee high grasses, we pass areas of acacia woodland and open areas with occasional granite outcrops, called “koptjies”, that are each uniquely distinctive and vital dens for breeding cats. They are all named and used as identifying landmarks.
A Steppe Eagle migrates to the plains from Mongolia.
The zebra alerted us to the cheetah they were all staring at.
We were homing in on a family of 20 elephant, when we noticed a dazzle of zebra staring intently in one direction. We followed their gaze and our eyes came to rest on a cheetah under a tree in the shade. She was clearly pregnant. This was our first sighting of a cheetah on this trip, but, happily, not for long.
After a short time, we left her and drove over to the elephants and hung out with them as they munched on some green grass.
From there we drove about 20 minutes before we spotted our second cheetah of the day, a male drinking water at an small oasis in the dry arid plains. The oasis was surrounded by multiple species, unable to take advantage of the water due to the presence of the cheetah.
Another short drive and we saw three hyaenas laying under a bush. Soon after, we spotted a coalition of 2 cheetah brothers resting in the shade of a lone tree in the open plains.
A coalition of two cheetah brothers parked in the shade carefully eyeing the 13 lions very close by at a watering hole.
While watching them, I followed their gaze and was surprised to see a large pride of lion laying in a sandy drainage with a bit of fresh water. Walter drove us over to them and we counted 13 lion. Good Luck said they were the Kibumbu Pride composed of 3 males, 7 females and 6 subadults.
It was not long before one of them got up to drink and soon all of them followed suit. They appeared quite full and very relaxed. We enjoyed the sighting.
It is amazing to see so many animals in the open, where the endless grass appears to be devoid of animal life. We saw reedbok, another small antelope, hartebeest, large, quick running, light tanned antelope, many Helmeted Guineafowl and three, Spotted Hyaena running through the grass. We are, sadly, unable to get good photos of everything.
A Helmeted Guineafowl pecking around in the grass. They rarely fly, but run very fast.
Can hardly keep it all in my mind. Out in the open we could not help but see wart hogs running here and there, and thousands of gazelle, both Tommy’s and Grant’s, casually walking about and feeding.
Good Luck stopped by a koptjie for us to have lunch. He spread out the food on the front of the vehicle and we all ate heartily in spite of the wind that had picked up enough to make us take shelter on the leeward side of the land cruiser. It was 2:15 when we finished.
Slowly we headed back to camp. The only new animal we saw was ostrich – one male and 4 female. As we drove back, Brad told us that Serengit is the Masaai word for endless plains, from which the Serengeti derives its name. The plains are 6,564 square miles and truly do seem endless.
As we pulled into the woodland camp, the sun was just beginning to set. I was thrilled at the site of several giraffe browsing on the nearby trees.
Finally, we are introduced to the camp staff, given the camp rules and taken to our tent, Tembo (“elephant” in Swalhili). Having accumulated a ton of dust in our open, three-tiered vehicle, we were most ready to have showers and relax. Am very thankful that we have not been hot while in Namiri Planes. Each tent has a 100 liter hot water supply, created by a dedicated solar panel, a flush toilet and a sink with cold water. The tent is very spacious and comfortable. We are happy campers.
Our tent, Tembo (Swahili for elephant), in Namiri Camp.
Dinner was served family style at 7:30, preceded by a cocktail party around a large camp fire. We enjoyed the ambiance and comradery of the other 13 guests and were most happy to fall into bed after dinner.
December 1, 2018
According to Mark and Brad, hyaena were whooping near camp during the night. I slept through it blissfully. When animals are not sounding, the place is exceedingly quiet.
Coffee and 2 biscuits and we are in the vehicle and on our way at 6:15am. We have a new driver, Walter, who is very accommodating and friendly.
Outside camp we immediately saw one of my favorite large antelope, the topi. It is two toned in colors of milk and dark chocolate. According to Mark the colors are more like capuccino and Espresso, with the espresso on the shoulders and rump and the cappuccino everywhere else. The long tail is dark brown to black with a tassel at the end. We see several during our time in the Serengeti, but not in large numbers.
We follow a fellow camp guest, the professional photographer, Mark Mol, to the site he is watching and discover the most handsome male lion I have ever seen sitting on a rock koptjie looking away west with the wind at his back. Beautiful.
Bob Jr is a magnificent 7 year old in his prime.
Soon he stands, stretches, walks off the rock and heads into the grassy plains. We learn his name is Bob Junior. He is 7 years old and the son of a lion that was even more grand according to Walter. His father’s name was Bob Marley, for the dread locks that formed in his mane, and he lived to be 16, a very unusual age for a male lion. We follow for a long time, until it becomes clear he was not interested in hunting, only relaxing. He is the head of the Semetu Pride, which currently consists of himself, 2 female and 4 subadults.
Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, the boys in our vehicle spot 2 lion laying in lion-colored grass. We drive up to them for a close look. They are two lionesses, one of which is collared. We hung around a few minutes and drove off for more interesting opportunities.
A pair of lions we came across in the grass.
I spot something in the grass next to the vehicle and think it looks like a bird with an egg. The boys laugh long and hard. On closer inspection is turns out to be a Scrub Hare with a white bunny tail. Its only camouflage is its coloration. It perfectly matched the color of the grass around it. It was a good sighting….. I thought.
A Scrub Hare. Brad renamed it the” head wing bird” and does not stop teasing me about it. It is rather funny.
It is clear that I cannot see anything in the distance without help. Fortunately, I am with three eagle eyed men who don’t miss a lick.
We come upon another coalition of 2 cheetah brothers and follow them as they hunt slowly after a herd of gazelle. Very patiently we watch and wait a good distance away so as not to interfere with their hunt. Fortunately for me, Brad loans me his computer and I take the opportunity to write for about an hour and a half. At some point, a hyaena ambles by and the cheetah give up. They do not want to catch an animal, only to have it stolen by the hyaena. It has been another cool, windy, dusty day……nicely productive for me.
The cheetah mom, Sezia, watching out for her family
On our way back to camp, already late for lunch, we decide to have a look in the woodlands and come upon Sezia, a mother cheetah with her three male cubs. There had been a forth cub, a female, but she had been killed by a hyaena. We enjoyed watching them play and eventually peeled off and went to camp for a very late lunch—3:10pm. Being very dusty again, we quit for the day, cleaned up and relaxed.
Am very frustrated with problems getting photos into the blog. Brad and Mark tried helping me with the patience they had developed watching the cheetah hunt. I went to bed with the problems unsolved. Uge.
When I woke up this morning, December 2, 2018, and checked the computer, the photo problems seemed to resolve themselves. Brad and Mark both reminded me it was a weak internet issue no one could solve until the signal improved. It is actually amazing we have internet at all in the middle of these endless, unpeopled planes.
Out again at 6:15am, we were soon in the woodland area and locked on with the female cheetah, Sezia, and her three cubs. We watched them play for quite awhile. At 5 months of age, they are very curious, playful and not very obedient. Hard for a mother to keep her brood in check when she needs them to be quiet while she hunts. Brad told us to notice the back of their ears, which are black and quite visible. The cubs can follow their mom easily and she can spot them as well. Nice feature.
We left those 4 cheetah and shortly came upon another 4, a female named Campari, her two male cubs and one female. Compari has much darker coloration than Sezia and is quite pretty. Her cubs are a month older than Sezia’s brood and slightly more attentive and watchful. They are starting to participate in the hunting process. We watch them until we get a call from the professional photographer’s car, that he has seen a lion kill a wort hog. He was too late to get a good photo of the kill, but waited for us to show up so we could find the sight.
A lion takes shelter under a tree and chows down on a wart hog.
We arrived to a very placid scene with a lioness relaxing under a shade tree with a dead wart hog next to her. She was still panting from exertion. After about 20 minutes she began to open the hog to get to the protein rich vital organs. Once she had consumed them, she began the slower process of chewing the bones and the meat. Another 20 minutes and we left her to enjoy her meal without an audience.
Back we drove to where we last saw Compari. The boys found her quickly and we settled down to wait for her to make a move. I pulled out my computer and did some writing. We spent over 4 hours watching her attempt to hunt. Twice we actually saw her give chase, to no avail.
Compari slinks through the grass in the direction of her cubs.
One time she was stalking a mother gazelle and her fawn. We saw the gazelle actually nursing her fawn, but Compari did not see the baby. The gazelle lured Compari away and when Compari gave chase, there was enough distance between them that Compari could not catch her. Meanwhile, the fawn stayed hidden in the grass. 2 points for the gazelle and 0 for the cheetah. We were so intent on staying with Compari that we ordered lunch to be brought to us, having consumed our box breakfasts hours before.
Walter, Brad and me in our Namiri Planes vehicle watching Compari hunt.
As we sit there in the late afternoon, I put the computer down and enjoyed the warm breeze, the clear, clean sky, the mountains 40-50 miles in the distance, the scattered cumulous clouds all around, the vast grasslands bending with the breeze, the woodlands intruding into the horizon. It is a wonderland too big to hold. I asked for comments from the boys and heard the following:
Mark: The greatest vastness you can imagine, does not nearly encompass reality.
Brad: “Africa in its rawest form, as we witness the struggle for life”.
Walter Bachubila: If you go east, or go west, the Serengeti is the best.
Walter’s story: He was born in northwest Tanzania near the Ugandan border. Is married with a 4 year old boy and a 1 year old girl and has been a driver/guide for several years.
We watched Compari recover from failed attempts and finally, in the setting sun, she turned back toward the spot she had left her cubs. We followed and heard her make chirping calls for them. Eventually they called in return and she found them. We were surprised that there was no welcome greeting. She walked right passed them and they fell in line behind. Eventually she climbed onto a termite mound and collapsed. They stayed close, but did not play. We wondered if they were all distressed that there was no dinner.
We turned for camp in the darkening twilight and got back just passed 7pm. We had been out for 13 hours, mostly watching cats. Having spent the whole day sitting, we were not exactly tired, but were happy to get out of the vehicle, clean up and have a scotch. We all felt privileged to have spent a day in the life of a cheetah family in the Namiri Plains.
December 3, 2018
We say good bye to the Namiri Camp staff
It is the end of our stay at Namiri Camp. We wave good bye to the staff and pull away at 7:15am intending to do a casual game drive on the way to the airport. About 10 minutes out of camp we see Campari trotting up a grass slope in the direction of a herd of gazelle. She leaves her cubs behind and proceed alone. We are hooked and follow her up the hill as a distance. We are all excited as this time there is a lot of tall grass for her to remain under cover. One gazelle remained at attention for quite awhile but eventually relaxed. The herd appeared totally at ease. Campari inched along in the deep grass. Finally committed, she charged. We held our breath as she homed in on one gazelle, tripped it and latched onto its throat. Soon it was lifeless.
Compari finally gets a gazelle after 4 days of failed attempts.
The whole event took about a minute. I watched the scene with my binoculars and let out a big yelp when I could see that she had succeeded. What an exciting experience after having spent a whole fruitless day with her. We drove up close to have a good look, then, feeling completely satisfied, we drove on to the airport. Brad was concerned that the vultures and hyaenas would get to the scene before her cubs had time to get there and eat, but for the moment, Compari could feed herself. We leave her in peace.
Adventures with Julia 