Classic African Scene

Classic African scene at Lake Masek in Tanzania.   This was taken on the way to the "tented" campground.   The elephant had just taken a mud bath.

Baraza Resort and Spa, Zanzibar

From Nairobi we flew to Zanzibar and stayed at the Baraza Resort and Spa.   The resort is about an hours drive across the country from the airport.  The beach was great, the service, and food superb.    There is a coral reef the length of the beach with numerous tide pools to explore when the tide goes out, complete with tropical fish, sea urchins, crabs, etc.   This clip was shot and produced entirely from an iPad 2 from my lounge chair on the beach.

Departure

 The morning started fairly low key...we got up around 7:30, showered, packed and had breakfast.   Bags were out by 9:00 and off for a short game drive, before the short flight to Arusha from a bush airstrip.
The game drive turned up the usual giraffe, exotic birds, gazelle, etc. and we were about to head to the airstrip when our driver got some great news on the radio.   We rush over to his location and drive right up to a tree that is shading a female cheetah and 4 cubs.   They are very cute and fuzzy and was a great end to a fabulous trip.

On the way to the airstrip we come across a truck stuck in the mud from last night's heavy rain.   Various discussions ensue amongst the drivers, and after some aborted pushing, checking that the wheels are in 4WD, the tactic that works is to have one of trucks push it a bit and he gets out of the mud.   Just another day in East Africa.

It was very interesting boarding the flight, no gate, no security, no tower, just put your luggage in the hold, and get on.   The pilot taxies down the strip, turns around and guns it and we're airborne for Ashura.   We land in Ashura and a bus takes us to the KIA Lodge which is right outside the Kilmanjaro airport.   We check into our rooms and find there is no electricity, but the hot shower is great and we make a quick change of clothes.

A quick Safari beer and we're off to the airport for the flight to Nairobi and hopefully onto to London and Boston.   The airport is where I finally find a Tanzania flag for the collection.  We get to Nairoboi and the usual chaos of passport control, immigration, etc. is in full tilt.   One of party is grilled on all sorts of arcane topics; "What was the truck company you used?".   After processing her, he says "you're my last customer, have a nice flight."   Wah?   There are a few people queing up behind us trying to get out of the country and wondering what's next?   Turns out its a shift change and his replacement shows up and processes everyone thru.   On to security for xraying the bags for the first of many xrays.

We get to Nairobi and unfortunatey have to go thru customs, get our bags, exit the terminal, find terminal 1 and reenter the terminal, xray the bags twice more, etc.   The lounges are cleverly hidden throughout the terminal, with poor signage, if any.   British Airways is tucked away on the 5th floor via a secret staircase and elevator.

Lake Masek - Serengeti National Park

After a long drive from the crater we arrive at the Lake Masek tented camp.   To call these "tents", is an understatement.   The tents are very large and airy, built up on a platform.   They have flush toilets and attached outdoor showers.   All the tents look out onto Lake Masek.   Since there is no fence, they insist on escorts at night to and from the tents.    The escorts are masai warriors, complete with native dress and spears.  The sounds of elephants and hippos assured us that this was a good rule.   We're pretty sure one night an elephant came by and rubbed against the tent.
The sunsets and sunrises are fantastic.   The routine is to get up reasonably earlier, have breakfast and head out on a game drive, then back to the lodge for lunch.   A little rest and relaxation and sometimes a brief lecture from our cat expert, Dr. Amy Dickman, and then off for a late afternoon game drive to be back at the lodge for drinks and dinner.   Not a bad routine.
We were not able to find the migrating wildebeest herd, which is not unusual, but did see a lot of elephant, lions, zebra, buffalo, gazelle, bat eared foxes. eagles, vultures, flamingos, etc., etc.   The light is great in the early mornings and late afternoons, so we were snapping away at a good clip.   (The editing when we get back will be something else.)

The Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge and Crater

 The lodge sits on the rim of a collapsed volcano and has fantastic views of the crater floor, home to buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, the endangered black rhino, elephants, cheetah, leopard, lion, gazelle and harte beest.  The lodge sits 7,800 feet above sea level.   The usual facilities information sheet includes "after dark we often have visits from the buffalos and very occasionally, the elephant, therefore we strongly recommend that you are escorted to your room in the evenings."

The government only allowed a handful of permits to build on the crater rim and this is one of them.   There is nothing to see but the crater and the jungle which is spectacular.  There are no other buildings etc. to be seen for miles.  Our guide informs us that they plan to control the number of people that visit each day by steadily raising the price of admission to the park.  So far they have continued to raise the price and attendance has continued to rise.   There is always a traffic jam at the gate first thing in the morning.   Everyone has to be out by 6:00PM.   There is no night tourism and there are armed rangers looking for poachers.

We have seen a variety of wildlife in a very short time.   Our lion sightings have been outstanding.  (See prior post on "First Kill").   Also, seeing the black rhinos was great as they are rare.  Overall, its easy to see the popularity of the park, given that you can see all this wildlife in one contained area.

Karen Blixen Musuem

 We took a short ride over to the Karen Blixen museum this afternoon from the Giraffe Manor.   Karen was the Danish author of Out of Africa, which was made into a movie starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep.   We took a tour of the museum which was very interesting.   A couple of the rooms had costumes worn by Meryl and Redford.   I was surprised to learn that Karen was an accomplished painter as well as a well known author.   It turns out that the climate and land conditions in Kenya was not favorable to coffee production and lead to the decline of the operation.
The Danish government ended up buying the house and lands and built a school right next to the house per Karen's wishes.

First Kill on Safari

Our guide points out the lions

The lion starts to take notice of the wart hogs

 I'd assume everyone secretly wants to see a "kill" on safari; the circle of life and all that.   Our first trip to the crater floor we come across a male and female lion, totally spaced out flat on the plain.   The lioness was on her back with her feet in the air and male, looked like he was dead a few yards away.   We notice a family of war hogs trotting along nearby and we jokingly say "here comes dinner".  The male lazily puts his head up and looks over to the warthogs trotting in the wrong direction.

Meanwhile, the lioness looks like she's out for the count.   We have been watching the lions for about 1/2 hour.   I think nothing is going to happen, its too hot, and open a couple of sodas for Jean and I.   Just as we finish the sodas, the male seems to say "what the heck" and takes off for the wart hogs.   Instantly, the lioness springs into action and sprints off for the wart hogs as well, as if to say to the male, "relax, I'll take care of this".   The lioness easily runs down a small wart hog tailing the pack, and its all over in an instant.

The Wart Hogs

Now there is total bedlam with the various trucks in the area, who all converge on the lions.  The lioness is casually walking with the squealing wart hog to the brush with the male strolling along behind so they can eat in the shade.   They stroll right by our truck with barely a glance in our direction.  We have some video of the lions strolling by as well as action shots of them sprinting for the kill.

Ah the wonders of being on safari...

 Action sequence of the lion taking off for the wart hogs.

The chase is on.   Note the lion slacking off once the lioness takes over.

Short clip of the lioness walking off with the kill to eat in peace in the brush.   The male lion follows behind.

Plantation Lodge and Spa

We drive from Ashura to a national Park.   From the orientation, this is billed as a "taste" of what's to come on the rest of the tour.    There are 4 vehicles, all Toyota Land Cruisers.   The drill is to take whatever truck you'd like.   The staff handles the checked baggage from place to place, you take care of your carry on stuff, cameras, etc.

We roll along down a dirt road and look out for wildlife.   When something is interesting is found, out come the cameras, pop your head thru the roof and snap away.   We've seen elephant, gazelle, baboons, various, primates, giraffe, buffalo,  etc.  and this is late morning.   We get up at 6:30 the next morning and its amazing how much more wildlife there is an more active while its cooler.

The main roads are pretty good, but when you come to a small town they have numerous speed bumps, so the speed drops dramatically when you approach a town, village.   There is a fair amount of foot traffic on the roads, and bicycles.

Before dinner we take a hike up to the coffee trees in the hills.    The views are magnificent.   The fields are all plowed and waiting for the rains to plant winter wheat.

Ashura, Tanzania

 Ashura Coffee Lodge


We take the shuttle from the beach resort to Zanzibar International airport and catch our flight to Dar Salaam in Tanzania.   The flight is uneventful.   We've been told that the flight on to Kilimanjaro is the same plane in Zanzibar.   When we land in Kilimanjaro, I ask the flight attendant, "do we just stay on the plane?".    "Oh, no you have to get off here and go get a boarding pass, etc.   I'm done for the day and going home".   We get off the plane and a nice lady says, "Kilimanjaro?", why yes we think, and follow her.   We have to go thru security and have our carry on bags x-rayed, yet again, complete with taking our shoes, belts, watches, etc.
We cool out heels in the slightly up scale waiting area in Dar Salaam International Airport.   I browse the gift shop for a flag of Tanzania and as I exit get the evil eye from Jeanie, saying "the flight is leaving, what the %$#@ are you doing?".   We walk out on the tarmac and its the exact same plane we exited previously.

The flight goes well and am impressed that Safari beer is complimentary.   We land and proceed to the luggage claim area with some trepidation that our bags actually made it from Dar Salaam to Kilimanjaro.   The very first bag is Jeanie's....a good omen.   The other bags come along in good time and we exit to find the National Geographic representative to take us to the Ashura Coffee Lodge.   Of course, I can't see the guy from the sea of people holding signs; turns out its only the guy with a National Geographic hat just like the one I'm wearing, holding a sign and looking for us.

We do the usual thing with luggage, tipping the porters who really want to be tipped, despite the rules posted everywhere in the airport, and we're off to the lodge,   Its about a half hour drive on the main road that would take us all the way to Nairobi if we followed it.   We get to the lodge without incident, hit the pool, drinks all around and await the start of the Safari tomorrow.

Of course I inquire about internet access and it turns out its included, you just have to get a user id and password.   We are informed that the wireless works best in the bar area, not so great at the room.   This is indeed the case.   I also find out that two people cannot use the same id and password.   Of course, I get another id and password and the iPads are humming by the pool which has most excellent wifi reception.  I still can't seem to get pubishing working with http://home.comcast.net/~daveinafrica so I post whatever I have to date to http://jonesware.blogspot.com.   I also think its a good idea to tweet to #daveinafrica as well.   We'll see how all this social media actually works.

Zanzibar

Off to Zanzibar

After an excellent candle lit dinner our last night at Giraffe Manor, we got up early for our flight to Zanzibar.   I'm not sure what the connectivity option will be there, so it may be awhile before I can post anything, but the plan is to write something every day and post to the blog if and when we get connected again.   We may be back in the States before we can post anything.

Hobie Cat Sailing

The beach is fabulous, although when the tide goes out, its "out".  We rented a Hobie Cat for an hour.   There was a nice steady breeze going North to South.  According to the guy at the water club, the winds are steady and go North/South or South/North depending on the season.   We didn't submerge a hull or fly on "one banana", as the guy who rented it to us, eluded to.   We neglected to bring a watch so we had to communicate with the shore folks on exactly when we should bring the boat back.   Of course, we didn't discuss the hand signals ahead of time so it was dicey as to what "time's up" meant.

Sailing the Catamaran was pretty simple; no boom, no jib, etc.   Coming about was a little difficult in neogtiating the swells, but no big deal.  We sailed up and down the beach to no incident and arrived to cocktails on the beach.   I could get used to this for sure.

Reef Walk

Today I do a  "reef walk".   For a lot of reasons, its stongly recommended to wear the "reef shoes".   Although the walk out to the reef at low tide looks easy it really is fairy difficult to pick your way thru the coral.   There are numerous sea urchins that you don't want to step on with your bare feet.   The tide pools have the usual exotic tropical fish.   Its like snorkelling without the hazzle of fins etc,

It took a while to get out to the reef and I was pondering the time, since it would not be good to get caught out on the reef with the tide coming in.   I got a slight scrape on my leg from the coral, but managed to get out and back without incident.   To me it was one those things that I thought I'd regret if I didn't do it later.

Miscellaneous Resort Comments

The food and service has been excellent.   We're finding three full meals a day to be too much, so we're settling in to a full breakfast, not much for lunch, then a dinner.   Tonite there is a bonfire on the beach at 9:00.  Time to figure out night exposure on the Nikon.

The bonfire is a hoot.   They even supply marshmellows.   We chat with a few folks from the UK who have just come from safari and relate that it was "life changing experience".   We also get the full story on how one gets certified for scuba diving here. 

Stone Town

We booked a 1/2 day tour of Stone Town.   This is a recognized hertiage site and has had a colorful history with a variety of countries.   Originally settled by the Portuguese; the Germans, English and Americans, all had a part to play in Zanzibar's history.   Our first fun fact of the day from our guide is the fact that the residents of Zanzibar are taxed twice, once by the Zanzibar government and once by Tanzania's governmnet.   Needless to say, they're not happy about this and would prefer to be independent again.  

It takes about an hour to drive from the resort to Stone Town.   The scene that unfolds outside the van's windows as we rattle by, is somewhat hard to take from our own living experience.  The houses are all cider block with corrugated tin roofs, usually in some state of disrepair.   Most work is manual, with few machines in evidence anywhere.  

We toured the old palace of the sultan which has rooms that are still used for government functions.   Alot of the furniture is original and it's interesting to see the blend of the "old" and the "modern" in furniture tastes.   The musuem is somewhat shabby, but I find it interesting.

Our guide takes us thru the various alleys of the city, pointing out notable doors.   It seems that an elaborately carved door was the first thing to go up in a house.   The doors came from India, Pakistan, locally etc.   The city reminds me of Jeruselum, with all its cramped alleys and shops.

We also are shown the house Freddy Mercury of Queen fame, grew up in.   Who knew?   He lived here til he was around 5 or 7 and never returned.   There are numerous references to Freddy in the city.

We tour the spice markets and the usual chaos of a local marketplace ensues.   Jean buys some spices and I snap a few photos.   I find the open air fish market the most interesting and dubious as to whether I would eat anything I bought there.  I take a quick photo of the octopi.

We take a short break ar Africa House, which was originally the English club and is now a high end hotel.   Recently restored, I find the place fascinating and could well imagine sitting on the upper deck watching the sunset.   I order a Tusker beer and find out the name come from one of the founders being killed by an elephant.   The beer is pretty tame; about 4.2% alcohol.  The whole place sure looks like something out of a movie set, like Casablanca or an Indiana Jones flic.   I definitely take a few photos here.

Logistics

We depart the resort and head into the airport which is about an hour's drive.   At the airport general chaos ensues as we try to get ourselves and our bages to Kilmanjaro airport.   We manage to get boading passes for Dar Salamm, but that is it.   The bags are checked to Kilmanjaro.   There does seem to be a lot of xraying of the baggage.   Its zapped the security entrance then once again at the gate.   This is the full blown security check, twice: off with the shoes, off with the watch, belt, etc. and reassemble at the other side of the security gate.