Adventures with Julia

 

December 6, 2018

It was another beautiful day.  We leave our fine Mwiba Lodge digs and say good bye to the lodge staff at 7:30.    At the Mwiba airstrip we had a short wait for the Cessna Caravan and then said good bye to Godson, who had been a super driver/guide.

In only 25 minutes we arrive at Sabora Camp in the Grumeti Reserve.  This is our last camp to be with Brad and he is most excited about showing us the reserve and what it has to offer.

Our new vehicle was a land rover and our new driver/guide was a man named Kim.

Not even 5 minutes away from the airstrip, we encountered the remains of a young zebra up in a tree. Kim thought he had seen a leopard, but all we found were the remains.  Kim told us it had been killed the night before, probably by a leopard.  We were off to a good start.  In the same area were vervet monkeys, 2 mousebirds, a Caqui Frankolin, tawny eagles and a brown parrot in a sausage tree, our first parrot of this trip.  Several dwarf mongoose, the smallest of their kind ran in front of us on the road.  The terrain is rolling savannah, which is a combination of plains and woodlands.  So, the animal sightings are more in the open. It was easy to see the many wildebeest, buffalo, topi, eland, zebra, impala, and hyaena.

Along the road into camp we almost ran over a leopard tortoise.

Kim picked it up for a photo and then set it off the road.

We soon realize we are seeing part of the wildebeest migration with hundreds of them walking in single file into the savannah.

Many are already here and more are coming.  Quite a spectacular sight. Grumeti Reserve is about 10 years ahead of Mwiba in terms of animal conservation and development.   Grumeti Reserve consists of 350,000 acres at an average elevation of 4100 feet and is available for only 100 guests at any one time.  Game viewing is spectacular with very few vehicles competing for position.  The birds are good too.

At last we arrive at our tented camp and are assigned #8 out of 9 tents. Only half the tents are occupied. The place has a colonial, big game hunter, Ernest Hemingway feel.  The décor is overdone, but charming.

Lunch is served outdoors on the large wooden deck that extends out from the dining room, lounge and bar.  My cold soup and salad were delicious.

After lunch we planned to hang out on our tent deck, but a big wind and rain storm drove us indoors and the staff came and closed all the tent flaps. By 4:30 the storm had passed and we went out on a game drive.  All the usual animals were out and about plus a few new sightings: A large Black-chested Snake eagle; a white-headed vulture; and a pair of large, colorful Bateleleur eagles with short tails.  They soar beautifully, hardly ever flapping their wings and they mate for life.  My kind of bird.

A pair of Bateleur eagles.

Shortly we find 2 full lionesses asleep near another lion that looked very sick and injured.  Nearly 20 hyeana were hanging around.  They seemed to be waiting for the lion to die.  Also wandering around the savannah in our eyesight, were giraffe, baboons, wart hogs and several lions walking along nonchalantly.  At some point we gave up counting both hyaenas and lions.  We saw no cheetah in this reserve, but did see 3 leopard.

The wildebeest were scattered over the savannah in large numbers.  There are approximately 1.5M wildebeest that are constantly on the move from one grassy place to another.  Currently they are slowly traveling west and south into the Serengeti Plains.  Over cocktails that evening, we learned from the head of the anti-poaching program in Tanzania that the average number of animals poached each year is between 80-120,000.  Although the anti-poaching teams are slowly reducing those numbers,  they do not seriously impact the wildebeest, unless some other calamity, like a drought, happens.  The anti-poaching teams capture poachers and give them paying jobs to find and remove animal snares.  This practice has helped reduce poaching quite a bit, but not completely.

From our dinner table we could just make out 7 lions lounging on the grass about 300 feet away.  Eventually, darkness blotted them out of sight.

December 7, 2018

We are out at 6:20 to take advantage of the early light.  First thing we see is 2 subadult male lion walking along.  Soon they stop in a bushy area, lay down and are out of sight.

In another area near camp, we spot two other lions feeding on a Wildebeest carcass.  Other lions have already walked away.  We watch as they tear at the meat on the rib bones.  There is plenty left, but it is hard for them to get at it.  Eventually one quits and walks away.  The other stays with it a while longer, while the vultures and hyeana slowly gather around.  Once the last lion has finally abandoned the carcass, the crowd moves in. A dozen hyaena tear into the remains and pull it all apart.  As each one gets hold of a piece, it runs off with it to eat in peace.  Several of them fight over the larger pieces, while the vultures pick up the bits that drop on the ground.  In 10 minutes there was nothing left at the sight except some blood stains.  Even the head got dragged away.  I laughed at the hyaena that ran off with the tail waving behind.

Looking for more action, we drive through huge herds of scattered wildebeest and zebra.  Brad told us that wildebeest have an 8 month gestation and time their babies for early March so they have time to grow before the migration in September-October. They have the capacity to hold off the birth for up to 29 days in case their timing is not correct.   Wildebeest numbers will generally increase by a third each spring.

In a large low shrub, we come upon a hyeana den.  There were over 20 animals hanging around the place.  We figure we have seen close to 200 hyaena on this trip so far.  Quite a record for us.

Slowly we drive up a hill for a 360 degree view of the reserve and have breakfast– fresh OJ, bacon/egg/cheese sandwiches and sweet rolls–on the front of the vehicle.  We can see the savannah filling up with wildebeest as though the migration is about to begin.

Back down the hill, we find a herd of topi, a few eland, a Black-shouldered Kite, a juvenile hawk eagle, a hyaena lolling in the mud,  a tawny eagle, a couple of leopard tortoises and one elephant.  We spent some time with the elephant and finally headed back to camp to relax.  We skipped lunch.  We are eating way too much food.

 

I decided not to go on the late afternoon drive.  However, within half an hour, I got a call that the boys were headed back to get me because they had seen a leopard and did not want me to miss it.  Very thoughtful of them.  I bolted for my things and the door.  Got to the carpark just as they pulled in.  Off we went.

The leopard was well camouflaged in a bushy tree.  With help, I could finally make it out.  The boys had poked around the nearby bushes and found the kill.  Brad was sure the leopard would come down to get the kill before dark. So we parked in a viewing spot and settled in to wait.  Literally, just as the sun had finished setting, the female leopard came out of the tree, sat in the tall grass near the tree and did not move.  It was almost totally dark when she walked into the bush where her kill was stashed.  We could no longer see anything, but we could hear her munching on the bones of the animal. We listened awhile and finally drove away.  Brad was disappointed we did not see her haul the animal up the tree.  We agreed to come back in the morning for another look.

Dinner was served under the stars.  No animals nearby.

December 8, 2018

At 6:20 we head back to see the leopard, about a mile away.  She was back in the tree.   The kill was not to be found.  Guess she ate it all or something else finished it off.

We drove further into the Savannah and realized we were in the middle of a full on migration of thousands of wildebeest heading south in long lines.  Their numbers had been building every day since before we arrived in the Grumeti Reserve and now there are so many, they are moving out toward the Serengeti.  Wow!  We had not expected to see any part of the migration on this trip.  The scene was awesome, overwhelming and humbling.  Hard to put it into words.  However, Mark was succinct: “It was a shitload of animals.”    We watched from different vantage points for a long time, then headed to camp for breakfast at 10:30.   So many things happen in such a short time.  No wonder we are exhausted by the end of each day.

Breakfast was served out in the savannah, under a tree near a watering hole.  Nice setting. While eating, we observed zebra, wort hog, wildebeest, a grey heron and a Lilac-breasted Roller. What more entertainment can a person want.

Back in our tent, until the afternoon game drive at 4:30pm, we wrote and read.  Another wind and rain storm came through and really cooled the air.  This one was serious and I stayed in all afternoon working.  Mark and Brad sat in the bar, drank margaritas and smoked cigars.  We were all happy.  I joined them for dinner at 7:30.

December 9, 2018

Our last day in the Grumeti Reserve was full of excitement, even more than the previous days had been.  The first thing we saw was a hyaena kill.  No lion involved.  There were at least 30 animals around, but most of them were full and sitting on the side.  There was very left left of the wildebeest when we arrived.  We soon tired of watching and looked for other sights.  More lions.

We happened upon a tower of giraffe.  They are so pretty as they amble along slowly and munch on leaves.  Then we wandered into another bunch of sleeping lions called the Butantam Pride.  There were 6 males and 2 females, all young adults.  We got some photos, but nothing memorable.  Have we seen too many?  Hmmm  Of more interest to me, was a White-headed buffalo Weaver.  We had seen several of these pretty birds, but had difficulty photographing them.  This was our best shot.  Then Mark spotted a Woodland Kingfisher.  That topped the weaver for looks.

We went to the Sasakwa Lodge on top of a hill for breakfast.  Brad had made reservations.  It is quite a fancy formal-feeling facility.  We were glad to be staying in our tent next to the animals rather than high above them.

After lunch we drove back down the hill into the Savannah and found …… more lion.  At last we saw one we wanted to photograph, a lion up in a tree.  We have seen tree climbing lions in Uganda, but this was still a surprise.  Mark said this lion made 20 sightings for this day alone.

This was our day for animals in trees.  Late in the afternoon, we found another leopard deep in a tree and impossible to photograph.

Our last dinner with Brad was indoors as it was pouring rain outside.  In the Library, where the staff seated us, was a bat flying about.  Brad grabbed three pith helmets and gallantly put them on us rather than drive the bat out.  We had one more of many good laughs.

The rain kept up all night. It was lovely to hear it.  I worked late and was still up when lions started calling loudly.  I could see nothing, but the sound made me feel like they were right outside the tent flap.  Feeling safe, I enjoyed the sounds.  They finally stopped and I went to bed.

December 10, 2018

There was still a light rain and fog in the morning.  We had a late breakfast at 8:30 and then drove in the open Land Cruiser in the rain to the airstrip for our scheduled flights to Seronera, Zanzibar, Dar Es Salaam and Johannesburg.  Along the roadside, we passed about 40 elephant walking and feeding.  This was the largest group of pachyderms we have seen on this whole trip, but, unfortunately, we had no time to take photos.  Too bad.

We parted ways with Brad at  the Dar Es Salaam airport.  He was an excellent guide and had become a good friend.  Once he was out of sight, we missed him immediately.

In Johannesburg, we were met by a handler who got us through customs, immigration and baggage claim in a flash.  Then he walked us to the Intercontinental Hotel, adjacent to the terminal.  We checked in, grabbed a bite for dinner and went to bed.  It was 9pm locally, but 10pm in Tanzania.

Mark has been keeping a log of creatures seen and he commented over dinner that we have seen 64 bird species and 44 mammals so far on this trip.  I wonder what we will see next, as I drift off to sleep.