We left the Farmhouse outside Karatu and after a two hour journey retracing the route we had taken =several days earlier we passed the entrance to Lake Manyara in the town of Mto wa Mbu, and then turned right where previously we had turned on the road from Arusha. Within an hour we were in the car park at the main entrance to the Tarangire National Park, and we had the rest of the day's game drive ahead of us.
While Hassam left to sort out the park permits I used the services. Coming back I noticed some activity around the trucks. Black-faced Vervet Monkeys were on the prowl and I immediately thought of Helen. Monkeys and Helen don't mix. When I reached our vehicle I could see her sitting in the truck with the windows closed. I thought all was well, but on getting in I could see water everywhere. Apparently one tried to get in on her side, and as she struggled to close the window another was coming in through my side. In her desperation to stop it getting in she threw a bottle of water at it which did the trick and she had time to close the window. We just had to mop up the water while one of the protagonists sat on the road outside.
As you leave the main gate you are immediately struck by the number of massive mature bulbous Baobab trees all around you. These massive trees line the slopes tha ultimately line the slopes of the Tarangire river valley.
The Baobab consists of a fibrous wood and is a wonderful source of water during the dry season. The trees we were seeing today were coming into leaf as the dry season was ending and the rains returning.
They really look spectacular at the time of year as they come into full leaf.
Gone are the open plains of both the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater and we were experiencing more trees of the semi arid Acacia as well as the Baobabs. Zebra could be seen using plenty of the trees for shade as we approached mid day. For the first time we could see Oxpeckers on Zebra, specifically the Yellow-billed Oxpecker
Here one is clinging on to the thigh of the Zebra, the animal must feel the claws on the birds feet as it moves across the skin, the benefits though must outweigh the annoyance.
Hassam picked out a Nile Monitor Lizard crossing the track towards a small pool.
This is the longest lizard in Africa. It is an excellent swimmer hence the retreat to the pool. It can be distinguished from a crocodile in the water by its snake like sideways writhing motion. It frequently catches fish under water.
We were taking the northern circuit through the park that would take us along several loops around the Tarangire river. We were passing through acacia scrub and came across a group of Giraffe.
The Giraffe, like the Zebra were being attended to by more Yellow-billed Oxpecker.
Giraffe are collectively known as a "tower" when they are standing, and they gather in associations of females and their young. Older males tend to be on their own, while younger males will roam in bachelor groups.
Sexing Giraffes is quite easy, and the focus can be on the horns. These "horns" are known as ossicones and are fused to the skull. In the female like here the horns are feathered while in a male they are flat topped
As we left the Giraffe I called to stop fr a hornbill sitting in a bush and had a partial view of Von Der Decken's Hornbill. The bird is named after Baron Claus Von Der Decken who was the fist European explorer to attempt a Kilimanjaro ascent, he failed.
We then had another of those radio moments and we were off. The tracks here are a little better than the Serengeti, but we experienced a bumpy ride. As we approached a group of land cruisers we could see a large gathering of Elephants of a selection of sizes.
The attraction was a muddy pool, and a few of the young elephants were having a wonderful time.
The older ones standing by watching.
To the right there was another group want to use the pool, and thee ones that were using the water slowly came out of the water and walked away with the rest of the herd to the left.
The new arrivals then moved in for a drink.
Things then became a little chaotic as the young ones wanted to make the most of the water in what was the warmest part of the day.
Elephants have the longest gestation period of up to two years and can chose to postpone delivery for a few week if the environmental conditions are not conducive. Once born the baby is looked after by the herd, but the bond between mother and calf is exceptional and the are rarely separated. The young are extremely playful and siblings will play together.
This group of elephants appeared to be extremely desperate to get into the water, the youngsters throwing themselves into the water.
Very quickly the older elephants started to move away, but one youngster was not having any of it.
Most of the elephants started to walk towards the other herd and shade, this youngster though went straight back towards the water and mud.
And proceeded to throw its self back into the mud much to what seemed to be the annoyance of his older herd members.
The rest were walking away and you could almost hear them saying "right we are off now, are you coming?" It wasn't, there was still plenty of mud to roll around in.
One older elephant then return and the youngster got to its feet and obeyed.
That left two teenagers who were probably young males still tolerated by the herd. The two were engaged in a fighting contest, using their trunks to wrestle each other.
Once this behaviour becomes too boisterous the young males are "invited" to leave the herd. They will live in bachelor herds for 5 to 10 years. During this period they learn the ways of a mature bull before entering a life of near solitude.
With the elephants moving away we decided to move on, heading back to the area we had just come from. The trees lined the track, but beyond the trees we could see open grass and through them we could see a group of Ostriches gathered under an acacia for shade. These were probably immature birds as just off to the right was an adult male.
There were more Baobabs to attract attention.
We came across a closer view of a Von Der Decken's Hornbill.
These birds are slow moving and appear rather clumsy as they move through the undergrowth and acacia thickets. They feed on a variety of fruit and invertebrates, plus some small reptiles. Von Der Decken's is the only African hornbill not to have spots on the wings.
In the tree nearby close to the track was a Red-billed Hornbill. here you can see the slightly smaller bill and the speckled white spots on the wings.
On the ground another weaver, this time a Red-billed Buffalo Weaver.
Moving on I called again for a stop, a male Waterbuck laying on the ground in the shade under a tree.
This was the first male we had seen. This is my favourite antelope, I love the white markings on the head and around the neck. It also has white markings on its hind, unfortunately we can't see them here. This a portrait of a very impressive antelope.
We pulled in to a picnic spot on a bluff overlooking the Tarangire river. There were tables laid out around the view point, but Hassam warned us of the monkeys and baboons and after the earlier experience we decided to have lunch in the cruiser. I went for a quick walk around the site, the view was quite spectacular. A lone elephants starts the climb up the valley slope after crossing the river
The semi-arid acacia landscape shows well here.
Walking back Ashy Starlings had replaced the Superb Starlings, found in the Serengeti area, as the dominant starling at picnic sites.
As we left the picnic area we came across a herd of Waterbuck crossing the track in front of us. The herd consisted of young and females. We were able to see the lovely white markings on the hind quarters.
Their full name is the Defassa Waterbuck. Defassa is known as a sub species, the other is the Common Waterbuck. Where their ranges overlap, they will interbreed which is why they are considered as just one species. The Defassa Waterbuck has wide patches on either side of the rump, while the Common Waterbuck just has a ring. Either way it does look like they have sat on a paint rimmed toilet seat.
They are a large robust shaggy coated antelope. The brown-grey coats emits an oily secretion from the sweat glands which acts as a water repellent. Despite its name, the Waterbuck is not actually aquatic. Rather, they are frequently found in the vicinity of rivers and lakes. They will often venture into the water to escape predators.
There is a kindness in the look and probably enhanced by the shaggy look of the coat. Like many of the antelope, the inside of the ears are patterned, I can't find any reasonable explanation for this.
The group of Waterbuck made their way through the undergrowth. We continued on, coming across a solitary bull Giraffe by the side of the road. Here you can see the flat topped horns of the male animal
Coming down the slope we came across another gathering of Waterbuck, this time including several males.
At seven to nine months, males are driven from their
maternal family and join up with a bachelor herd. These groups have a distinct
social hierarchy based on size and strength, and contests are frequent. Around six
to seven years old the males become territorial, defending them against mature
rivals with posturing and fights. These territories are maintained throughout
the year, but a male is generally overthrown before he reaches ten years of
age.
Waterbuck are sedentary animals preferring not to migrate
or move great distances, so territories are usually held year round. Like some
other antelopes, the male does not mark his territory with dung or urine; his
presence and smell are sufficient.
These are the antelope I was most looking forward to seeing on this trip and I haven't been disappointed saving it until the end.
You can see the long reddish mane on the back of the animal, this is the main (!) hair of the animal and as a result it has difficulty regulating temperature. They cope with this by huddling close on cold mornings and wallowing in mud and water during the heat of the day.
So could our Warthog resist the lure of the pool? Clearly not!
A group of Warthogs is known as a sounder and often consists of related sows and piglets. The males are mostly solitary, seeking out the females when they come into season. This male after its quick bath was back on its feet with a nice coating of mud.
An interesting fact is that the original name in Swahili for the warthog is Ngiri. The success of Disney's Lion King animation though has seen them become widely known as Pumba which comes from the Swahili word mpumbavu which means idiot.
The one big difference in Tarangire is the fact that the trails wind constantly due to having the negotiate the trees. We drove up a hill that overlooked the river once again and slowed up alongside a few bushes. Beneath the bushes were four male Lions, all pretty much all spaced out as you can see.
I leave you to gather how we knew they were males. Apparently the male Lions do not have the flowing manes that we saw on the Lion in the Serengeti.
What did capture my attention was the size of the paws, quite formidable, and like a domestic cat retractable claws.
We left the Lions sleeping and wound our way down from the bluff and on a slope that led down to cross the river. In the long grass and under a bush there were more lions. They we well hidden, and again were not doing much.
There was some movement but nothing dramatic. We waited eyes trained on the grass in the hope that something would manifest.
Needless to say it didn't happen. We moved a little way down the slope, stopping when something was "noticed" sprawled out in a fallen tree. The something was a young lion cub.
It was warm, and the area is known for the Tsetse fly, the flies like the thorny acacia bushes. It is found throughout tropical Africa and is a parasitic insect feeding off the blood of other animals. It is well know for transmitting sleeping sickness in humans and is responsible for trypanosomiasis in animals. The flies bite the lions when they are lying around. Moving into the trees provides some breeze to cool and reduces the potential of the fly biting. Whether this youngster was trying to avoid the flies or just cooling wasn't clear, but the position it was in did not look comfortable, but it did appear to be sleeping
We sat and watched and waited, some of the Lions under the tree stood up and appeared to look around.
Again these appeared to be young lions, but there didn't seem to be anything to make them want to move.
Helen and I talked about moving on, Hassam though wanted to wait, just to see what would happen. Between watching the Lions I was entertained by the birds close by. A Yellow-necked Spurfowl, another new bird for the trip.
We had brief views of Little Bee-eater alongside the roads but no quality sightings. Two appeared hunting insects along a little gully, and would perch on the vegetation close by.
As ever stunning little birds that add a welcome splash of colour to the rather drab dryed out landscape.
The wait continued, the sun came out, the cub in the tree stirred, took the chance to look around.
Another truck arrived and the two guides were engaged in conversation, you hope about possible sightings, but it turns out it was the cost of mortgages! I looked across the river to the other side where a land cruiser was coming slowly down the hill. In front of them on the road were two Lionesses, and they were walking purposefully towards the river.
We watched as they came down, and started to cut across through the long grass. At this point I thought they were heading to the water for a drink.
But she cut across the sandy bank.
Followed by the other.
Then a slight rumbling call, and away to our right all pandemonium broke out. The lions that had been lying under the tree were up and racing towards the two Lionesses. In our rush to get down to the river to get the best views of them meeting I only managed two shots of all the lions rushing to meet the Lionesses, We also wondered what happened to the little cub in the tree, he came down but how? You can just see him at the top of this picture.
The main three intent on seeing what the Lionesses had.
And they all came together on the river flood plain, lots of contact nuzzling.
It is possible one of the returning Lioness regurgitated some food, there was a lot of interest on the ground around her.
Then following her as if to beg for more.
And something else appeared.
Two other cubs though were not with the main party and had taken their time to arrive, pausing to take a drink in the river.
It was great to be able to watch and witness the social interaction of the cats with each other, nuzzling up to each other, rubbing muzzles and following each other around.
And proceeded to drink quite an amount of water.
Then everyone was gathered together and as a group they started to head off through the long grass and up the slope away from the river. Everyone followed, we counted 14 in total. They were led by the adults through the grass. All the trucks were now frantically trying to turn around and follow. We were heading in the right direction, and once again had some really good views.
They stopped looking ahead. They seemed to be assessing the way forward, there seemed to be a problem.
There was a big problem, a herd of Elephants were close by and elephants and lions do not mix. The elephants were also very aware the lions were about and started to coral around the younger ones. There was lots of deep rumbling and plenty of ear flapping from the elephants.
The lions now had stopped completely and all the adult lionesses were watching the elephants as if to be assessing what the best approach would be. The lions had young and the elephants could do them some nasty damage, while the elephants too had young and their view at the moment was that the lions were a threat.
Lions aside from humans are the only animal that will attempt attacks on elephants, and the elephants were not taking any risks, moving the young calves into the centre of a circle created by the adults.
The lions continued to edge forward watching the elephants. This though was not about attacking the elephant, this was about getting the pride past them without any risk to the young lions. As long as they could see the lions then they were safe to lead the pride on.
Slowly the lions edged forward two lionesses taking the lead.
they then led them through the grass and around to the left of the elephants following the course of the meandering river. As the youngster followed two lionesses were at the back making sure the pride stayed together.
We then lost them as they followed through the long grass heading down to the river. The elephants were aware of where they were and you could hear their rumblings of assurance to their herd members.
We decided to head up to a bluff overlooking the river. It seemed that the lion were heading that way and we would be able to see them. We were one of the first set off and pulled up behind another truck that was already there, I think though they were just watching the elephants and were unaware of the drama with the lion pride.
We picked up the lions and were now on the other side of the river and making their way under the cliff face of the bluff.
The elephants were now unconcerned about the lions and had moved down to the river, the young no doubt looking forward to a splash in the mud and water.
Thee was some debate about where the lions would go, I wrongly assumed they would not climb the cliff and would continue underneath the cliff and follow the meander of the river and head to an easier slope to climb a little way along this view.
We waited, but the time wasn't wasted, a Bare-faced Go Away Bird.
And a Grey-headed Kingfisher put in appearances all new birds for the trip.
My prediction for the lions best route was completely wrong, they actually climbed the cliff. The thought was the pride was being led back to the site of a kill. It was warm though and that has to have been a difficult climb by the smallest cubs, and all we could see was a gathering of lions in the shade.
Shortly after this photograph was taken they all flopped down out of sight.
It was a great bit of action, made all the more dramatic by the presence of the elephants, real wildlife programme stuff. To think we were more than prepared to give up when they were doing nothing but lie around on the ground an in the trees. Another day, another superb encounter, what a trip.
With the lions now back to resting we decided to move away time was getting on and we had a long drive to the overnight lodge. we turned from the bluff onto one of the main tracks and started the journey. But we didn't get far. Tarangire is know for its large population of elephants, and we came across a collection of many herds in an open area above the river. You could hear the rumbling and sound of chewing as we pulled up to watch.
There were several small elephants among them, its difficult to age them but they must have bee between one a two years old.
One came very close.
The elephants use their ears to cool them, seen from the back there is an impressive network of veins, and the ears are constantly flapped to ensure the blood flow is cooled.
This video gives some idea of the sounds around these massive beasts.
Elephant communication is very complex. When a female comes fertile she advertises this through emitting low frequency rumbles that can be heard by males many kilometres away.
Just as the network of veins in the ears are crucial in cooling the animal there is another impressive network of veins in the soles of their feet, and this enables communication, ultrasonic rumbles from other elephants being sensed by the feet.
As the elephants passed by us so close it was an opportunity for some close up portraits.
An adult females eye.
And a side of a young elephant.
You have to wonder what is going through that huge brain of theirs?
We left the elephants and continued along the track. Looking back there was up t six separate herds of well over 50 elephants behind us.
We stopped by the river where a bull elephant was walking on the other side of the bank. I was more interested in the Marsh Sandpiper in the shallow area of the river.
Another elephant close to the side of the road allowed some more experimentation with portraits.
The broad forehead indicating this is a male
And the flapping of the ears to cool in the afternoon warmth.
The next stop was for a Giraffe and more portrait opportunities as we were far to close for anything else.
Note the feathered horns, this is a female, probably called Audrey, she looks like an Audrey.
We followed a looped trail to avoid a lot of dust, and came across this large collection of Cape Buffalo on the side of a hill. This was to be our last game sighting of the trip.
All that was left now was to make our way to the Buringe Tented Camp at Lake Burunge. We will arrive late and would not get any chance to explore the property as we will be off early in the morning. We were left with some memories of the camp as it was probably their filtered water that upset our stomachs.
Tomorrow we start the journey home, it has been an incredible trip with some amazing sightings and experiences, Tanzania has really delivered and we were both glad that we had found a way to make this holiday work.
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