TANSANIA 2024:  THE BUSH & BEACH ADVENTURE

Imagine Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, the migration of thousands of  wildebeest, Ngorongoro, Stonetown on Zanzibar… there are so many spectacular things to see here, World Heritage sites, and we’ve never been there ! And all the lovely beers they have… High time we went !

DAY 1: LAND OF 1000 BAOBABS

We start our safari at Nimali Tarangire in the Randolins Wildlife Management Area. This place is amazing, there are so many baobabs. Maybe not thousands but hundreds for sure, the landscape is dotted with them, and they are big, with circumferences of 4-5m and more. Our driver/guide is Jimmy who is our sunshine on a cloudy day, friendly, helpful, always smiling, full of knowledge and a great driver. I believe we got the best guides at every camp we were. Sometimes it helps being a photographer ! We pass zebra, gnu, giraffe, buffalo and elephants just driving to the lodge.

The lodge is great, the lounge amazing and the room/tent superb, the bed is so big it can easily fit  a family of four, the bathroom is gigantic. After a lovely lunch, well to be honest, almost during lunch, we rush off to the hide as one group of zebras is replaced by the next, and then the elephants show up. You have a great view from the dining area or the pool deck, but we get into the hide to get really close to these gentle giants.

It gets real funny when they start to let in fresh water, the elephants push and shove to get to the fresh water, at times there are 6 or 7 trunks competing for the best water flow. And all that 1-2m in front of me. Had to be careful an elephant didn’t step on my lens when I held the camera out. 

All to soon it is 3pm and we leave for the game drive which is okay but for today nothing beats the hide spectacle. We stop at an amazing spot for sundowners, and watch the sun set behind the baobabs. The only negative thing here is the tse tse flies. They don’t really bother me, but they love Jürg, he has about 50 big red flares all over his body. Bloodthirsty buggers. We end the evening at the fire, watching the amazing star filled sky, not a cloud in sight and thousands of stars shine above.

DAY 2: TARANGIRE N.P. 

This is not really my morning. The sky is a dull grey, no texture just bland, the one photographers hate.  It is rather cold as we leave at 7am for the park and takes about 90min to get to the gate on a very bumpy road, and we see nothing. We actually don’t see a thing until after lunch at 1:30pm, the only highlight being a dik dik couple, the tiniest of antelopes, they are maybe 20-30cm high, they are simply adorable. But right beside the lunch spot was a leopard sighting. So when Jimmy asked leopard or lunch, we decided to do the leopard first. He was far away, lying flat on a branch, head away from us. No good, let’s go for lunch. 

After lunch it got much better. The leopard was gone and we continued along the marshlands, it is amazingly green in the otherwise very dry, brown and yellow landscape, such a great contrast. We get elephant families splashing in the water, obviously having a great time. We photograph mongoose at the waterside and a giraffe with a lovely green background. At the end of the marsh is a burnt piece of land, totally flat, and right smack in the middle a group of 14 lions on a buffalo kill. On the way back we don’t see much more but the sun is finally out, there are hardly any tse tse flies, we’ve got nice shots on the camera and  the way back is shorter und much less bumpy. 

Back in camp we have a very short time to quickly download, then we leave for the surprise, a bush sundowner under a big acacia. The’ve put oil lamps and flower pots on the tree and the sunset plays along as we enjoy our G&T’s and some snacks.

DAY 3: NGORONGORO

We leave and shake hands with all the team, this was such a lovely place to stay. We get a new driver, Justin and a new, (well, rather old) but different car. You need a closed vehicle to enter Ngorongoro crater. Whatever you do, don’t stop for souvenirs at a place called Safari Land near Manyara, it’s a total ripp-off, overpriced by at least 300%. The landscape changes and reminds us of Uganda, very lush and green and more and more rainforest-like. Around 11am we reach the gate, now the paperwork starts, get a permit, bloody expensive, get it stamped, show it at the gate, finally we enter. 

Incredible, I expected a crater to be something dry and barren, but we are driving at over 2000m altitude through rainforests and even have fog. It takes about an hour to get to the descent point on a very bad road, I mean really a crappy road (can compete with a bad Madagascar road) and our driver seems to think hitting every pothole around is normal. He never follows the tracks but sort of drives in the middle hitting each and every one of them. African massage at its best.

We stop at a viewpoint where we can see the whole crater, it is huge and flat, at the one end a large lake, and the inside walls are as I expected rather barren, just grass and some shrubs. Such a difference to the rim which is rainforest at its best.

Another gate at the descent point, another stamp, finally we descend. The weather is as yesterday absolutely lousy, grey, overcast, no colors no contrast. There are a few buffalo, zebra and Thompsons gazelles grazing, otherwise it looks flat and empty. We drive to the lakeshore, not a flamingo to be seen, damn. Justin says they’ve spotted a rhino, so we go see. As with yesterdays cheetah, this was again one for the binoculars only, and even with them it wasn’t clear which side was the front, you can imagine my excitement level was at below zero. Not one halfway acceptable photo taken here, I am very disappointed. Okay we are  here for only half a day, but I had expected much more. I wouldn’t do this again. After lunch we decide we’ve had it, and start our ascent, together with a dozen other jeeps. Tonight we stay at the Tloma Lodge, a plantation house in the middle of a forest, surrounded by a coffee plantations. It is so lovely, a big contrast with yesterdays savannah, this is totally different, not as luxurious but really nice. The room is big and the four poster bed looks comfortable. We first hit the shower, then go for G&T’s.

DAY 4: MANYARA AND SERENGETI CENTRAL

Before we fly at 11:30 Justin drives us to the Lake Manyara N.P. Paperwork at the gate as usual, then finally we get going. Shit, this is a jungle, a rainforest like we had at the rim, there could be an elephant 10m beside the road and you won’t see it, because the greenery is so dense. We will be lucky if we see anything at all. There is no way to get to the lake shore, so no flamingo sighting either, (they are not here at the moment anyway). Forget the „lion in the tree“ photo here, I don’t know how they managed to get that photo and promote the park for it, there is a chance of maybe 1% to see that. There are 1000 times more trees than lions here, and you can’t leave the road. The park itself is lovely, very green, little streams to cross, some small open spaces, lovely trees, just wildlife is a bit hard to find (to put it mildly). 

By 10:30 we are at the Manyara airfield, a dirt strip in the middle of nowhere. better take off because it is on the edge of the escarpment, once the runway is finished there is a huge drop ! There is a little departure lounge and small planes coming and going. Ours is a little late so I hit the shops and get Jürg two more bracelets before we finally leave. A 12-seater Cessna gets us to Seronera in about 45min where we are picked up by the Nimali Central guys, Francis the guide and Mohammed the driver, really good guides once again !  The scenery is again totally different, immense flat plains, partly burned and very black, with acacia’s, sausage trees and desert date. Rare rock formations called kopjes dot the landscape, and a few hills with woodlands are in the distance.

The lodge is so very beautiful ! The lounge is amazing, as is the dining area. Our room is as big as my house, an outside shower, a bathroom you can live in, and beautifully decorated where ever you go. Wow ! Now I know why this was so bloody expensive, I expected to be in tents…. This is very, very luxurious. Lets pray the game drives are as fabulous as the lodge is ! 

The guys try hard, but the Serengeti has 15’000 km2 (1/3 the size of Switzerland), try find something in that space. We photograph Thomsons far away, a stray ostrich far away, a black jackal, you’ve guessed it, far away. Nothing remotely interesting or close enough, and the weather is, as before grey, overcast, cold and very bad for photography. After 6pm when the light is totally gone we find a lion family under a tree, dead flat and no intent of moving, but then a lovely small family group of elephants with about five little ones right  beside the road. Just watching them makes my day. It is so nice to just sit and watch.

DAY 5: SERENGETI EAST

We leave at 7am as usual. Then drive, drive, drive. It is cold and very windy, I mean like 4-5 Beaufort, we are almost blown off the jeep ! We see a herd of elephants chase off yesterdays lions at a waterhole, so we don’t really get any good lion shots, too bad, so we move on. The further east we go the flatter and emptier it gets, no more trees, no more kopjes, just short yellow grass as far as the eye can see. We see a few elephants on the horizon and try to get in front of them for the head on shot, doesn’t really work, wildlife never walks where you hope they will, but at last something is moving. Then another message: male lions, we go and see, there are 2 lions and 14 cars, a bit further on is a cheetah, we’ll do that first. 

The cheetah is binoculars only and in high grasses, no chance to get a reasonable photo in, so we go back to the lions. There are not 2 but 3 of them. Quite nice, but even better when they get up and start moving. We get Mohammed to move before everyone else does, so we can get ahead of them. That works halfway okay, he seems to think we want to stay beside them, but no, we want the head on shot. Doesn’t really work out that well, they are walking slightly upwards and shooting from above makes them look a lot less impressive. Great sighting anyway. 

We stop for lunch under one of the rare acacia’s here. They set up a table and chairs and so much food ! A glass of wine and we are ready to continue. Cheetah but even further west, what he heck let’s go see. The cheetah is there with the remains of a kill, and hiding under one of the jeeps is her cub, about 1 year old. The car moves and the poor thing stands there, looking around for a new place to hide, it is more or less surrounded by jeeps.

We quickly do a few shots and leave. Now the long ride back, 2 hrs of bumpy road and tons of dust. Going west we have the wind in our backs, so every time somebody passes, (as before), but now also every time we slow down or we stop, we are caught in a cloud of dust. At least there are no flies here. As once again we stop when some idiot overtakes us at great speed, I suddenly see something dark right beside us in the grass. It is a huge martial eagle which has just killed a baby Thomson gazelle and is tugging away at the meat. Wow, this bird so close ! It is an amazing sighting. As 4 more cars join in, we move on.

At 6 they take us to the top of the hill for sundowners. Just Jürg and me and about 5 staff, plus our driver Mohammed and guide Francis. The view is great, the drinks are plentiful and we absolutely love it sitting on a carpet at a real fire. After that dinner and then off to bed, I am so tired. 

DAY 6: SERENGETI NORTH

We are dropped at the airport at 8am but the incoming flight is delayed, so we have to wait for these passengers and only leave at 10. It is a short flight and not too bumpy either. At Kogatende we are welcomed by a young man and after some drinks we get going to our new home for the next 3 night, the Lemala Kuria Hills Lodge. This is the most luxurious one, we even have a private plunge pool. The room is sensational, the bathroom beats everything until now and the view is amazing, we look out over the hilly landscape and there are already 100 gnu right down in the valley in front of us. You hear the cow-like bellowing sound of the herds from the deck. 

At 4pm we head to the lounge for our first game drive here, starting at 4:30 only, so late ! We are on the jeep with driver /guide Robert and 3 Australians which are really good company. We drive around in the area around the lodge, it is cool, lots of trees, rocks, tons of places for wildlife to hide. I would say prime leopard territory. We leave the road, no it is a trail… ok, it is a trail, and it leads us to the lions, a mating couple. Goody, we’ll have action every 15-30min. Which we do get. First some shots of them lying around, then they move right towards us, super ! They lie down again and soon after start the act. It is a quicky, and over in 15sec, plus they turned their backs to us, too bad. Would love to get that one head on. We move on so others can see.

Then suddenly around the corner, on top of a big rock, a leopard ! Soon after we get there she gets up and moves away, only to relax on the backside of the rock, perfectly positioned at eye level, brilliant. It is rapidly getting darker and my ISO is over the roof, but will fix that on the computer, the sighting is great, especially when she moves about, gets up and walks away. All the jeeps (only about 5) follow. Soon she disappears but not after marking her territory on the back wheel of one of the jeeps. Drinks with the Aussies then dinner and off to the room, must download the lions and leopards. Brilliant start !

DAY 7: THE CROSSING

Today is the day, we hope to find a crossing. Leave at 6am and take a bush breakfast with us. There are 11 crossing points, 0 to 5 to the west of the airstrip, 6 to 10 are more upstream to the east. We end up at Nr. 0, where more and more wildebeest gather, Robert thinks there must be several thousands ! So now the waiting game starts. Us and more and more others. We wait quite a distance back from the river so as not to stress the wildebeest, all jeeps lined up ready to speed to the river as soon as the first ones start to cross, competing for the prime spot. I believe, once again, we have a really good and experienced driver, so no worries there. Bugger, I really have to pee, I wait and wait, but I really have to go…. so we leave the line, I do my business, we then have breakfast in the car, positioned a little bit back from the line. Luckily we didn’t miss anything. Two hours of waiting, the herd moves right, then left, some leave, other join, left again, right again… we wait another hour. At first there were only 4-5 jeeps, by 11am there must be over 50.

Robert gets a call a bit upstream at crossing Nr. 1 there is an actual crossing. So everybody speeds in that direction, all jeeps close together, there is so much dust I can hardly see, and I am wearing sunglasses. Robert somehow is in full control. We get there but it isn’t really a crossing, there are a few wildebeest on a rocky little island which can’t decide if they want to go further or not, eventually they go back to the mainland and we leave. 

Just as we are deciding where to go now, the first jeeps start speeding to spot Nr. 0 again, now they really are crossing ! So the race starts again, we eat more dust than before, this time Robert leaves the road near spot Nr. 0, does a little extra loop, but without others and we end up in the first line, prime photo spot ! This is amazing ! I pray the photos turn out alright and I didn’t mess up, but just watching was sensational. The jeep behind us can’t see, so we allow them to climb over into our jeep. More people do that, that’s nice. 

At 4pm we depart again. We see nothing, no lions, no leopard, until right in the end we find a lion family, 2 females and 5 cubs of about 6 months. We can only see three cubs high up on a rock, the one in best view very rarely lifts its head so we can take a photo, the other two are so well hidden by bush we can hardly see them. They don’t move much, so after an hour we head back home to a G&T and a lovely dinner.

DAY 8: CROSSING AGAIN

It rained in the western part (not at the lodge), so the roads are not as dusty as yesterday. After about an hour we reach crossing spot Nr. 1 and our jaws drop. The whole plains are black, filled with tens of thousands of wildebeest. They said yesterdays was the biggest crossing this year. Well, that was nothing compared to today, wow. It is almost like ants just crawling all over the place. There are so many, there is no way we could ever reach the river bank. 

Robert seems to think they will take a while until they decide to cross and there are also a lot of them at crossing Nr. 0, so we go check that one out. More and more of the silly animals are showing up here now, and the line is never ending. Just as we move back to take a pee (we learned from yesterday, better go early before all the jeeps show up) Robert shouts quick get in, get in, wrong timing once again ! And swoosh we are off to the riverbank, they are starting to cross ! 

Each crossing point spans 500m of riverbank or even  more, and they can cross anywhere, but there are certain spots they prefer. Our Robert is pretty good at predicting where. We are a bit more upstream than yesterday, and there are not as many jeeps here (yet). Maybe because at crossings Nr. 1 and 4 there are also huge herds congregating and people are waiting there. This is sensational, we even see a 5m crocodile snatch one of the wildebeest.

We move on to breakfast at a nice picnic spot. After that we check out all the crossing points. Nr 1 which was so incredibly full this morning is almost deserted, Nr 2 has a few, Nr 3 nothing, at Nr 4 we find some unwilling zebra and a few wildebeest, but they are so skittish and afraid to move we give up. Pity, there were some huge crocs waiting in the river.

It is our last drive this afternoon, so we get some new people, a couple from Brazil. They are not experienced as we are, but they have been at my favorite place Mala Mala, and are really nice people. We drive for ages and see nothing. Well, a handful of wildebeest, but that is easy there are so many, that is like spotting a tree in a forest. At almost 6pm we find a lonely male lion with a beautiful mane and shortly after the 2 females and 5 cubs we saw yesterday, on a kill ! The light is almost gone but we see them well, they are all fat and lazy with big fat bellies. The Brazilians go wild, they love it. At 6:30 we have to race back to camp. Park rules are you are back home by 7pm. We just make it, only 3min late. Lovely dinner then sleep, I am tired, but tomorrow we can sleep late, breakfast in the lodge only at 7:30.

DAY 9: TRANSFER DAY

Woken by a baboon family having fun on our tents roof. I believe they are using it as a slide, jumping down from a tree and sliding down, then climbing up again, a huge male one circles our deck. As soon as they hear the sound of the door being opened they run off. 

We leave the lodge at 8:30 for the airstrip. The first flight miraculously is rather on time but in Seronera and Arusha we have big delays and it is 5pm until we reach Zanzibar. Now only a 10min ride to Stonetown. Our hotel Emerson Spice is smack in the middle of the old town. Don’t know how I will find my way out without help, so many turns, small alleys, passing little shops and people doing everyday business. 

The hotel is amazing, an old merchants house from the late 1800’s now a hotel with 11 crazily decorated rooms by the late Mr. Emerson. We get Camille, very nice and big, with yellow window shades, billowing in the wind, the ceiling is at least 4m high, a bathtub in the room, the rest of the bathroom behind another yellow curtain and the best thing is the four poster bed which is about 1m high, honest sleeping level is at my waists hight. There is a little step on each side to get in which we do need, it is high, even for us and we are tall ! Must remember that when getting out in the night ! 

We shower, unpack, and already it is time to go for drinks, then dinner at the rooftop restaurant. The sunset was lovely, overlooking the roofs of Stonetown, at sunset one muezin after the other starts shouting from his minaret and all the different cries sound around us, not one is the same as the other. The first one in the morning will be at 5am, then at sunrise, around noon, sunset and around 8pm. Off too bed, I am so tired again. 

DAY 10: STONETOWN

I don’t hear the cries and sleep until 8am, we have a nice breakfast on the roof and then get ready for our Stonetown tour. Our guide is Wiseman, and he knows a lot, about history, all the sultans, the wars of the Portuguese and British, about the slave trade. We walk through narrow alleys, passing dozens of little shops with amazing doors, no matter how small the shop, the doors are to die for ! We go to see the Hindu temple, pass the harbor, mosques, churches, palaces, most in a rather bad state, with crumbling walls, the paint and half the wood of the shutters missing and broken window panes. When we rest at a little square I photograph and old Mzee, love it. 

The House of Wonders, the first building to have electricity, an elevator and a telephone line has collapsed, it is being rebuilt. We see the Forodhani Gardens, the Fredy Mercury Museum, the old fort and the slave quarters. There is a museum on the slave trade which makes you feel really miserable by the time you come out, so sad. We end the tour after 3 hrs, and a lots of sweat on Jürgs behalf, at a beachfront restaurant suitingly called „The Beach House“, where we have a lovely lunch, it is so nice we decide to return for dinner. After that we walk back and only have to ask twice to find our way back to the hotel. Everybody is very helpful and friendly.

We dress up and walk, when the sun is gone even Jürg thinks the temperature is comfortable. Dinner is lovely and the walk back home is easy, we know the way now, it isn’t so hard at all. At the park the food stands are still there and once again we have to stay and listen to a chef explaining to us which lovely fish skewers he has, you pick, they barbecue them for you, and it is dead cheap. But sorry guys, our bellies are full ! 

DAY 11: TO THE BEACH

A lovely breakfast on the rooftop, then leave for our beachfront hotel in Nungwi, the party hotspot on the NW coast, the Z Hotel. I love it ! Not too big, great design, lovely decorations, friendly staff and according to their webpage the rooftop bar is amongst the 10 best in Africa. The pool is lovely as well, sort of an infinity pool with the beach and ocean behind. Bad luck, our first beach day and it is so cloudy I have to leave all my clothes on not to be cold. That soon changes as the sun comes out, the ocean turns three shades of blue brighter, darker blue in the back, turquoise and way up front a bright light blue. It is so beautiful here. As we walk to the water for our first dip in the Indian Ocean we are held up by locals, all „captains“ trying to sell us snorkeling trips and trips to the dolphins, sunset trips and more. That is for the young tourists, us, having sailed all over the world, we are a tiny bit spoiled and don’t like crowded boats or poor dolphins with 30 boats circling around them. So Tony is out of luck, as are all the other captains, we will just sit, relax, read, swim, eat and drink, and buy a couple of bracelets from all the Masai guys trying to sell you one.

DAY 12: BEACH AND BRAZILIANS

Breakfast at the Sexy Fish restaurant which is on poles jutting out over the beach, closer to the action and soon Tony walks by and waves up to us. Sorry, no boat trips ! The breakfast buffet is the biggest I’ve ever seen, they have all the usual  stuff plus meatballs, spring rolls, pizza, bruschetta, salads, all sorts of pastries, tons of fruits and then there’s a list to order from, yummy ! Beach time after that, a stroll to the small shops behind the hotel for distraction, swim, eat, sleep, read, drink.

Okay that is a bit boring so I grab the camera and try get some beach shots, of the horses that they have walking in the water, of the Masai guys selling bracelets or just strutting about, or playing football, of the beautiful beach and all the boats, good fun and they keep chatting me up. I buy a pair of flip flops and then photograph the shoe seller, Jürg is reading and I’m having a ball. 

Around 5pm our new Brazilian friends, our jeep mates from Lemala, arrive and we have drinks on the rooftop. Funny sometimes you meet people and have a polite conversation and never see them again, and other times, like now, you just can’t stop talking and laughing. They stay for dinner and we have a great evening. Boy that was fun. 

DAY 13: ONE MORE BEACH DAY

We have to leave at 7pm and intend to enjoy every last minute here. Lovely breakfast, great lunch a couple of Kilimanjaro beers, swim in the gorgeous ocean, and buy a painting and yet another bracelet from my new fan Simba, and two more pairs of flip flops, one for me, one for my sister. At least when he walks with me, the others leave me in peace. It is very touristy here and the beach sellers are quite pushy, but still it is fun and they don’t hassle you, I never felt threatened, they just never give up. A clean empty quiet beach would be so boring, nothing to watch or to laugh at.

 

One last Mai Tai at the rooftop and then it is time to go, taxi is waiting. 

Thank you all you lovely people of Tansania. I loved it here, in the bush, and on the beach.

For our favorite photo’s : go to gallery

Copyright 2024: Astrid Bluemel for bluemelphoto.ch