Showing posts with label Tarangire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tarangire. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Videos - Tarangire, Central Serengeti
Here is a collection of videos ranging from ultra-short to short duration, from about 10 seconds to maybe just over a minute. Most of the videos were shot standing up in the 4x4 while the vehicle was moving. While the left hand clutched at any kind of support available, like the prop of the pop-up roof or the grill in front, the right hand tightly hung on to the camera. The vehicle meanwhile went its merry way, bouncing along on tracks that ranged from dusty to gravel like to rocky.
The vehicle randomly went up and down, left and right, and composed an infinite number of permutations in between. We were so intent on enjoying the proceedings fully that on one occasion in the Serengeti, one of us went tumbling down and fell on the other. There were no injuries and breakages. All for a good cause.
Many of the videos are jerky. A few clips were taken sitting down, sticking the camera out of the window.
For those who have not traveled to Tanzania, I hope the short clips gives you a reasonably good sneak preview. For the experts, it may bring back memories. Please overlook the quality, and enjoy the ride, sights and sounds!
The names in the frame attempt to convey the context of the videos.
Junior plays a spot of soccer with the boys at the public campsite in Tarangire. We were the only guests, so it felt extremely special that evening. Armed rangers showed up a little while later to keep us company.
We had just been attacked by a mob of Tse-tse flies. It appeared that the Ostrich had also suffered a similar experience.
Thousands of Quelea birds fly up, around and down in unison.
Hundreds of Buffalo at the Swala Swamp in Southern Tarangire appeared to be interested in our welfare.
The drive from the Ngorongoro Crater viewpoint on the western side to Naabi Hill in Serengeti was about two hours. The cold and the fog gradually gave way to the sun peeping out from behind the clouds, lighting up the meadows where domestic cattle grazed with Wildebeest, Zeebra and an occasional giraffe. The road got winding and bumpier as we headed north towards the plains of Serengeti.
After a hour or so, the road stayed bumpy, got dusty and very straight most of the way.
A Lioness was stalking a herd of Zebra near a watering hole one evening at sunset. She was part of a pride of maybe 10 Lions, Lionesses and Cubs. Many mouths to feed!
The Zebra were in an extreme state of panic. They could sense the presence of a Lion. The Lion was actually hiding in the grass about 100 metres away waiting for the opportune moment.
The Zebras ran back and forth. They wanted a drink, at the same time were panic stricken.
All the Zebras safely retreated into the plains in a cloud of dust, away from the watering hole. A few members of the pride had branched off towards the plains away from the watering hole a little while ago. We left the scene and headed to Nyani Campsite wondering whether the Lions' plans would work that night.
Junior had work to do. He had to set up the camera and tripod, to capture a few glimpses of the Serengeti sky at night.
Thank you for watching! The next set of videos covers sights and sounds in Central Serengeti, Western Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Natron. After that, we head back to Arusha.
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Related posts in this series:
Namanga Border Crossing
The Gentle Giants of Tarangire
Tarangire revisited
Endless Serengeti Plains
Migrating herds, Crocodiles and Vultures at Kirawira
Big Cats of Central Serengeti
Camping under African skies
Flamingos at Empakai Crater Lake
Ngorongoro Crater - Wildlife, Maasais and Flowers
Campsite food and Nyama Choma in Mto Wa Mbu
From green to gray, the stark beauty of Lake Natron
Videos - Tarangire, Central Serengeti
Videos - Central Serengeti, Western Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Natron
Two nights in Arusha-=-=-=-=
Monday, May 19, 2014
Tarangire revisited
Big cats and other inhabitants
We were in Tarangire, a renowned Ellie Park. We sighted Ellies again all over the park the next day, as well. This post is for the relatively smaller animals, as well as birds. One of our early sightings was a family of four Cheetahs behind and perched up an anthill, surveying the surroundings.
They decided to clamber down soon, cross the road and head to another anthill a greater distance away on the other side.
The sighting of a Lioness that appeared snug up a tree was likely a rare sight. We were there a long time, and the Lioness appeared most content to stay up there. An interesting drama was being played out below. A Baby Ellie got scent of the Lioness and kept frantically running around in circles, trumpeting away, unable to figure out where the Lion scent was coming from.
Another Lion sighting was that of a pride of about four adults and two cubs who were busy devouring two Warthog carcasses. The sounds they were making were clearly audible, loud snorts and groans. The grass was slightly tall, so we could not get a clear view. I have a video that I will snip and upload soon in a separate post for videos.
Our big cat sighting in Tarangire can be summarized as follows:
Three Lion sightings, all different. First, a solitary Lioness perched up in a tree with the baby Ellie going crazy running around in circles, trumpeting, right under the tree. Second, a pride of about six adults and cubs busy devouring two Warthog carcasses, making horrific snorting and cracking noises. Very loud noises, emanating from the grass. Our third Lion sighting was a glorious sight in the slanting warm rays of the sun, a Lion basking in a sea of green grass in a royal pose, slightly far away.
Tarangire also showed us one Cheetah sighting split across the road with a total of about six cats.
One Leopard sighting, it was all over in a flash. Amos sighted a Leopard up a tree, but as we approached, the cat jumped down, hid in the grass with the head visible, then quietly bounded away gracefully in a flash. What an impressive sight that was, too quick for us to aim and shoot!
Yellow Necked Spurfowl.
White Browed Coucal.
Bataleur by the river.
Southern Ground Hornbill.
Lilac Breasted Roller.
Woodland Kingfisher.
Barefaced Go-Away Bird (a Turaco).
Helmeted Guineafowl.
Von der Decken's Hornbill.
A green-coloured Chameloen crosses the track, belonging to the Flap-necked species. Not much chance of a camouflage here!
Vervet Monkey.
African Hoopoe.
Favourite position during Game drives, useful to absorb the sights, catch the little creatures along the way, and grab a few shaky pictures and videos. Can't ask the driver to stop at each corner, can you?
Sights like the grand old Baobab trees.
We took a trip far down South to the Silale Swamp area. It was quiet, ours was the only vehicle for kilometres around.
White-headed Buffalo Weaver.
Superb Starling.
Lunch time at Silale Swamp. Moses packed picnic boxes for us everyday since we would typically be out from dawn to dusk.
Hundreds of Buffalo in the distance.
A large herd stops for a minute to take a closer look at us.
Elephants walk by in single file along the swampy areas.
The Silale Swamp area was wonderfully remote, wild and quiet. It was just us. Well, that's what we thought.
A bunch of Open Billed Stork (African Openbill) looked on. But they were not the only creatures around. We would find out shortly. In a slightly painful manner!
Hordes of Tse-Tse Flies took a liking to us, in a small way to Amos and me, but in a significantly larger way to Junior. Poor fellow, he got pestered and bitten for over an hour as we sped back to safer havens towards the northern part of the park. A short spell of rain helped ease the situation. The hordes of Flies stopped chasing us. The photo of a Fly in the 4x4 is in memory of our Tse-Tse Fly encounter.
Junior is relaxed once again, and resumes his usual photography business, with the Park bathed in the warm light of the afternoon sun.
It's time to head back to camp once again as the sun prepares to retire.
Common Ostrich seem quite relaxed. The last Lion sighting we had encountered was about half an hour ago, quite far to photograph.
The rays of the setting sun catch a large group of Common Ostrich as the birds strut around.
A troop of Baboons appear to be on their way home, as well.
Acacia trees lit up golden during sunset.
Early morning black coffee in the small public campsite was a wonderful feeling, with the cool air and skies gently lighting up.
A Verreaux's Eagle Owl keeps watch as we head out for our 6 AM game drive, while it is still semi-dark. Also known as the GIant Eagle Owl or Milky Eagle Owl, it is Africa's largest and the world's third heaviest owl.
The small public campsite we stayed in was right inside Tarangire Park. The first camp, Roika Tented Camp, was situated outside the Park, separated by the Tarangire River with ankle deep water. So, we could have strolled across the river into the Park! We had in fact seen Ellies, Impalas and Gazelles in the area surrounding the Camp the previous evening. Good reason to have a team of Maasai people escort us as we walked from our cooking and eating area back to the room. More on this in another post....
Maasai villages dot the areas near the park. Adults and children escort their cattle as they graze around the Park. Little children often stand and wave, perhaps hoping for small goodies from visitors passing by.
Life goes on in the Maasai villages just outside the Park. We noticed a School and a Church.
Several typical homes. Only a road separates the Park from the Villages in the area.
Over the duration of our travel in Tanzania, I would realize with a sense of shock and awe about the relationship between the Maasai people, the wildlife and the environment. They form a strong ecosystem. The Maasais and the wildlife respect each other. There appears to be a magical bond and understanding between them. The Maasai people and wildlife live very close to each other, understand each each, respect each other and coexist. I guess this has been the way of life for generations. Learning this was one of the greatest 'A-ha' moments of my Tanzania experience..!!
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Please click below for posts in this series:
Namanga Border Crossing
The Gentle Giants of Tarangire
Tarangire revisited
Endless Serengeti Plains
Migrating herds, Crocodiles and Vultures at Kirawira
Big Cats of Central Serengeti
Camping under African skies
Flamingos at Empakai Crater Lake
Ngorongoro Crater - Wildlife, Maasais and Flowers
Campsite food and Nyama Choma in Mto Wa Mbu
From green to gray, the stark beauty of Lake Natron
Videos - Tarangire, Central Serengeti
Videos - Central Serengeti, Western Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Natron
Two nights in Arusha
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Sunday, May 18, 2014
Gentle giants of Tarangire
Our first night in Tanzania at the Outpost Lodge in Arusha was punctuated by very familiar sounds of the Indian night, that of a bunch of street dogs barking away. I thought that we should get to hear some sterner nocturnal sounds over the next two weeks or so. Amos our driver-guide and Moses our cook-help showed up right on time in the morning. The morning was cool, and there were a few clouds in the sky. The 4x4 Land Cruiser was already packed with things we would need during our trip - tents, folding table and chairs, stove, pots, pans, crockery, cutlery, cooking oil, vegetables, bread, eggs, coffee, cocoa, drinking chocolate, honey, jam, bread spread, food mixes, spices, ketchup, chilly sauce, many bottles of water, a refrigerator with more water and meats. We added our large and small backpacks to the gear inside, and were all set to leave. It was 07:30 AM in the morning, May 18, 2014.
The ride to Tarangire would take close to 2.5 hours.
The highways were almost, and pleasantly so, traffic free.
On the way we were stopped by police who checked documents and the basic health of the vehicle: high beam, low beam, turn signals, brake lights, windshield wipers, emergency glow triangle, first aid kit, as well as vehicle documents, driving license and wildlife park documents. We stopped at a little store to buy a few more things, and more bottles of water. It was already feeling different from our Kenyan experience a year ago. In Kenya, we had lived in a bubble, travelling from the airport to the rest room in a designated curio store to national park to the rest room in the next designated curio store, and so on. While today, we casually stopped by the highway, and were wandering around little stores saying hello to people walking by.
Most of the drive from Arusha to Tarangire is on well paved roads. Just the last stretch is on dirt tracks. We passed several Maasai villages, grazing cattle or cattle in search of grass, and fields growing a lot of corn. We turned off and headed to Roika Tented Camp near the Tarangire River to drop off our bags, tents, bedding and the rest of the cooking and food stuff. Though ours was a basic Camping trip, Safari Multiways had slipped in two nights of sleeping on 'hard beds' under sturdy roofs that measured larger than 2 metres x 2 metres. It turned out that Roika was an unfenced camp, like the public campsites we would be pitching our tents in. What fun..!!
At Tarangire Park, we were greeted by a giant Baobab tree, a characteristic of the park. The usual procedures were done in about 15 minutes: fee payment, a few photographs, trip to the restroom and a general wander around.
Tarangire is also home to several relatively tiny Banded Mongoose. They greet visitors near the entrance of the park.
We rarely needed help in spotting the Gentle Giants for which Tarangire is well known. They were everywhere. We noticed many, many baby elephants, as well.
Ellies large and small crossed the drive path, sampled the foliage and happily pulled out clumps of grass. The pleasant smell of freshly cut leaves was in the air as the Ellies pulled clumps of grass out. Little ellies walked close to or peered out shyly from behind the elders in the group.
The elders kept a watchful eye out for intruders.
Typical sights of Tarangire unfolded, the thick-trunked giants of the tree kind, and slightly tall grass in May, just after the rains. The air felt cool and fresh.
Two elephants were busy with a sparring session. This went on for several hours.
Being Tanzania, we expected rough tracks, so this bumpy experience was all great fun. We got bounced around, up and down, left and right, and all sorts of combinations. Most of the time it was very hard to get a good photograph when the vehicle was moving. This scenario would get repeated over the duration of our travel.
One thing we recommend you not try to do in Tarangire is to count elephants. The giants, medium ones and little ones are just about everywhere. One can only gaze in awe as the gentle giants walk by barely paying any attention. Most of the time, that is.
This Ellie looked back almost shyly to check our moves. At least, I hoped it was a shy look.
Occasionally, groups of Ellies passed by very close. Sometimes they were ahead of us. Sometimes they came up from behind as we waited in silence. This group was actually within trunk-shaking distance. The leader kept sniffing and appeared not to be too comfortable. I froze for about a minute. The group decided to take pity on us, ignored us and passed by, going along their busy way. Hup.. two.. three.. four....
Very often, elders seemed to herd the babies as soon as we came in sight.
A large Baobab tree with the Weaver bird nests.
As we went along our game drives, we got panoramic views of the River and Valley from way high. We often saw groups of Ellies and Giraffes by the water, as well.
Time for a quick lunch at a Picnic spot overlooking the Tarangire River. This Vervet Monkey crouched, all set for a quick attack.
The targets of the attack were the Picnic boxes that we had left unguarded. I needed to shout, jump and run towards the bench in my attempt to scare him off.
This is the bug cleaning ritual.
View of the River below.
Yet another type of Gentle Giant, the GIraffe, certainly gentler. They keep a close look from up there.
And generally run away, their strides are long and graceful.
A look back, to make sure that the humans are not following them.
Some clouds remain in May, there was very little rain, though, maybe 5 minutes or so.
A Waterbuck looks back suspiciously.
A male Impala keeps an eye on the rest of the herd.
While the herd keeps a close watch on our movements.
The Tarangire River winds through sections of Tarangire Park.
Junior made effective use of the 70mm - 300mm zoom lens.
Baobab trees are beautifully lit up in the late afternoon.
A little Ellie tries to catch up with rest of the herd. We heard trumpeting a few times, very shrill, an indication to just stay quiet.
It's been a very full day. And it's time to head to the small Campsite that would be our home that night.
Let me mention an interesting conversation with Amos, our driver-guide. We had told the Safari Multiways team that we had been on a 6-day safari in Kenya the previous year, and this had inspired us to plan a trip to Tanzania. Amos asked us just as we had entered Tarangire: "So how many Lions did you see in Kenya?". We thought a bit, counted, then told him, wondering what his response would be. To which Amos' response was: "You mean you could count?".
Junior and I looked at each other and wondered what we were in for!
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Please click below for posts in this series:
Namanga Border Crossing
The Gentle Giants of Tarangire
Tarangire revisited
Endless Serengeti Plains
Migrating herds, Crocodiles and Vultures at Kirawira
Big Cats of Central Serengeti
Camping under African skies
Flamingos at Empakai Crater Lake
Ngorongoro Crater - Wildlife, Maasais and Flowers
Campsite food and Nyama Choma in Mto Wa Mbu
From green to gray, the stark beauty of Lake Natron
Videos - Tarangire, Central Serengeti
Videos - Central Serengeti, Western Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Natron
Two nights in Arusha
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