Southern/East African Trip 2019

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