Southern/East African Trip 2019

Days 43 & 44 - 21st & 22nd July 2019 The South African couple that told us about Migombani also told us about Rocky Bay Resort and Campsite in Busisi, on the shores of Lake Victoria.  We had originally planned to stay at the Yacht Club in Mwanza, but decided to push through and take the ferry to Busisi and overnight at Rocky Bay. Joanne getting off the ferry - the vehicles are behind the buses Well, when we arrived, we were sold on this little piece of paradise!!  The campsite wasn't ready yet, so we got a great little chalet for $30 per night.   The owners are South African, so it's like being home from home 😊.  Last night we enjoyed a brilliantly cooked piece steak with chips and veg, and tonight the owners are making an oxtail 'potjie' which we have been invited to share (where are you Frans and Petro???) The rocks remind us of the Seychelles - huge and absolutely beautiful.  Just about everything, particularly the restaurant and swimming po

Days 37 to 42 - 15th to 20th July 2019 We passed a few Masaai villages on route to Serengeti.  The Serengeti proved to be everything we dreamed it would be - other than the VERY bad roads, cold showers and atrocious ablution blocks in the public campsites. Because we could only get 2 nights in Kogatende special campsite number 7 and the rest would be public campsites, we decided that we would have one night in Dik Dik , one night in Lobo and then push north to Kogatende which is on the Mara River, then back to Dik Dik for a night, before the last night at Ndabaka. Between the Gate and Dik Dik there were huge herds of Thompson's and Grant's Gazelle, the occasional elephant, some resident wildebeest and zebra, and quite a few lion. A highlight on our way north to Kogatende was a cheetah sat on an anthill, and just hundreds and thousands of wildebeest. We met the ranger at the Kogatende Air Strip - a very friendly guy.  We asked him where we find SCS 7.  He sai

Day 35 & 36 - 13th & 14th July 2019 We arrived at the crater at 12h00 so that we would have enough time to get from Simba Campsite in Ngorongoro to the Serengeti National Park on the morning that we leave.  Park fees are strictly for a 24 hour period, so if you are late to exit you need to pay for an additional day. Simba Campsite is on the rim of the crater, and for the first time since entering Tanzania temperatures dropped drastically! A pic taken from the crater rim It was freezing cold up on the rim and also during the descent into the crater the next morning.  Once we had reached the crater floor it warmed up nicely. The crater was teeming with wildlife. Spotting a Golden Jackal was also a first for us. We were extremely grateful that the men had arranged a game guide for the trip into the crater.  We would have got horribly lost, I'm sure, and would never have found the picnic spot for lunch.  The biggest advantage was that we could all take ph

From Tarangire we made our way to Manayara National Park via Mto Wa Mbo (meaning river of mosquitoes).  Because our washing had piled up, we decided to stay in Endabash public campsite in the park for only one night, and two outside of the park to get our clothes washed and dried. A beautiful lake with bird life in abundance - who would have thought that you'd capture spoon bills, pelicans and yellow billed storks in the same photograph?  There was also a large number of stilts and, in the distance, hundreds of flamingo's.  Just stunning. Manyara is supposed to be renown for its 'tree lions'.  We did see lion, but like most, fast asleep on the ground.  Other than lion, we spotted a beautiful pair of Klipspringers and some Impala. There was also a large number of butterflies throughout the park which took my fancy 😃. That evening at Endabash we met a game guide who was taking a young German couple around, who said that we should have rather entered the pa

Day 30 & 31 – 8 th & 9 th Jully 2019 The trip from Arusha to Tarangire was absolutely facinating.  Being Masaai territory, you expected only to see the Masaai tending their herds.  But our journey co-incided with a special cattle market in the Mgagau area.  It is here where people come and buy and sell cattle, goats and sheep for either for butcheries, milking and farming. Mgagau Cattle Market  And, of course, some Masaai are too lazy to walk their goat to the market! A Masaai taking his goat to market Tarangire National Park thus far has been the best National Park we have ever visited.   Not a large variety of game, but massive herds of zebra, buffalo, elephant and giraffe.   Also, huge prides of lion. Upon arrival at the gate, the large number of tour operated vehicles was overwhelming.  This is possibly forerunner of what we can expect in the Serengeti earlier next week. Tour Operator's vehicles for Tarangire We wanted special camps

Day 28 & 29 – 6 th & 7 th Jully 2019 We left Same (the town just outside Mkomazi NP) early morning for Urusha.   We planned to make our bookings for Serengeti at the TANAPA Head Office and to do some shopping in this up-market supermarket other travellers had told us about.    It was a Saturday and we thought that  the TANAPA Head Office would close at 13h00 - no such luck, they only operate from Mondays to Fridays.  As they say in Tanzania, “Hakuna Matata”.  We were told that we don’t have to book Serengeti, be it for public or special campsites, at the offices as one could now do it at the gate.  (Wrong!) The traffic in Arusha was horrendous.   Motorbikes are a law unto themselves and the taxi’s don’t differ much from those back home in terms of road rules! We eventually arrived at the supermarket, stocked up on fresh veg and some meat, and enjoyed a 500ml tub of Dairymaid ice cream on route to Meru Mbega Lodge, our digs for the next two nights. Meru Mbega L

Day 26 & 27 – 4 th and 5 th July 2019 Our next treat was the Mkomazi National Park, not particularly known for its animals other than the Geranook (a long-necked buck), but definitely its birds.  Here we hoped to see the Vulturine Guinea Fowl.  There was an abundance of African Orange-bellied Parrots and White-bellied Go-Away-Birds from the moment we entered the park. White-bellied Go-Away-Bird   We did some serious 4 x 4’ing on some of the routes, but it was totally enjoyable.   We thought we had escaped the Tsetse flies in Zambia, but alas, here there were areas totally infested - and of course one of those happened to be where I had to get out of the vehicle to see whether the road was passable.  Needless to say, we were being bitten like crazy by those that got into the car when I opened the door.  Just look at the size of these buggers catching a ride on the bonnet of the vehicle! Tsetse flies on the car, just waiting for us to open a window!    

Day 24 & 25 – 2 nd & 3 rd July 2019 We had been told that the East Usambara Mountain range was magical, and now it was time to see so for ourselves. Our plans had been to stay at Emau Hill, but once we had made the 30 km journey up the mountain, we had decided that we were going no further!  From the town at the base of the mountain, the first thirteen km’s were not too bad, but it took us at least two hours to do the last 17 km’s.   It was one of the hairiest road trips I have ever taken – ten thousand times worse than Sani Pass from Himeville to Lesotho (for those of you who can relate)! The people at Amani, like every Tanzanian we had come across, were ever so welcoming.   As we were the only campers there, they suggested that we camp at the Resthouse area.   This was a double bonus as we could use electricity as well as the bathroom of one of the cottages; and all the birding trails start at the Resthouse.  We were ready to do some serious birdin

Peponi is really off the beaten track, and for a resort, terribly unspoilt.   We were pleasantly surprised that the campsites had electricity.  We did nothing other than relax for the three days! Peponi Beach When the tide was low, like Zanizibar’s East Coast, the water ebbs for miles. We enjoyed huge bon fires after dinner at the campsite and also bought a big fish (we think a yellow tail) and a much smaller bottom feeder which sort of looks like a grunter, off a local fisherman.  They were prepared on the braai with lovely roasted vegetables and sweet potatoes that we had bought along the road.  Delicious! As there were only 4 vehicles camping, we got to meet the other two couples – the first a young couple from north London, Gabby and Fred, who were on a six-month belated honeymoon that started in Sri Lanka, followed by India and now Africa for the remaining 4 months.  They joined us around the camp fire one evening. The second couple were South Africans from

Day 21 – 29 th June 2019 We headed back to Iringa and from there traversed the Udzungwa Mountains toward Mikumi.   Although we were in a long train of trucks, doing not even 10km’s per hour, the drive was spectacular!    Baboons were dotted all along the pass, running besides the trucks begging for food.   Clearly, they are regularly fed by truckers.   This is really sad, as quite a few of the baboons are killed by vehicles because of this.   No sooner were we through the pass when we encountered the baobab forest at Mbuyeni.   T he Morogoro Province must have the largest concentration of baobabs in the world! We arrived at Tan Swiss around 16h00.   One of the Lodge Staff offered to go into Mikumi with Peter to show him where to shop for the supplies we needed.   After a very disappointing dinner at the Lodge, we retired to bed as we had a very long journey ahead of us the next day to Peponi Beach Resort, situated between Pangani and Tanga on the north coast of Tan

Day 19 & 20 – 27 th & 28 th June 2019 Our first taste of a Tanzanian National Park: We weren’t expecting to see much game with Ruaha being the biggest Park in Tanzania, but were proven wrong!    We saw all the usual animals, including Thompson’s gazelle and the Waterbuck without the ring around its bum (we don’t know the name of it) – both which were firsts for us – and a pride of lion who had just finished devouring their morning meal and had given it over to the Lappet-faced Vultures.  There was also a large concentration of giraffe, which certainly look different to the giraffe we get back home. Giraffe Thompson's Gazelle The bird life was much more prolific than in Zambia and we got to see 4 newbies -Tanzanian Red-Billed Hornbill, Superb Starling, White Crowned Lapwing and the Bare-faced Go Away bird.    Bare-Faced Go-Away-Bird Tanzanian Red-Billed Hornbill  Superb Starling We ha

D ay 17 – 25 th June 2019 We had expected an 8 hour trip to Kisolanza Old Farmhouse just south of Iringa, but were pleasantly surprised by the new road all the way to Mafinga, which shortened the trip by four hours!   We were really mindful about the speed limits and stuck to them like glue, but were stopped just before Mafinga for allegedly speeding – doing 61km’s in a 50km zone.   We were adamant that we were not speeding, but after almost an hour, ended up paying Ts 10 000 on the spot fine payment – no receipt. We enjoyed a magnificent supper at Kisolanza – spinach soup, followed by rump steak, fresh vegies and Irish potatoes, with strawberries and ice cream for dessert. Day 18 – 26 th June 2019 The morning was spent at Isimila Stone Age site – the walk through the pillared gorge was absolutely incredible. A couple of hours were spent in Iringa getting phone cards, drawing money and buying meat and groceries. The road to Ruaha National Park was not that