Coming through immigration at Kilimanjaro we were met by our guide Hassam Saidi Mmbaga who took us to our first lodge, the Arusha Safari Lodge just outside of the city of Arusha. Here we would have time to rest and relax after what was a very tiring trip before setting off at lunchtime the next day for Lake Manyara.
But first an introduction to Tanzania, for once maybe not such a car crash in setting up an African country
In the late 19th century, Germany conquered the regions that
are now Tanzania (minus Zanzibar) and incorporated them into German East
Africa (GEA). At the end of World
War One, Britain was awarded all of GEA on 7 May 1919, despite objections from Belgium.
Britain and Belgium then negotiated the
Anglo-Belgian agreement of 30 May 1919 whereby Britain ceded the north-western
GEA provinces of Ruanda and Urundi to Belgium.
The Treaty
of Versailles was signed on 28 July 1919, although the treaty did not take
effect until 10 January 1920. On that date, the GEA was transferred officially
to Britain, Belgium, and Portugal (gained additional land for Mozambique). On that date, "Tanganyika" became
the name of the British territory.
British rule came to an end on 9 December 1961, After
the Zanzibar Revolution overthrew the Arab dynasty in neighbouring Zanzibar, which
had become independent in 1963, the archipelago merged with mainland Tanganyika
on 26 April 1964. On 29 October of the
same year, the country was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania
("Tan" comes from Tanganyika and "Zan" from Zanzibar).
Following Tanganyika's independence and unification with
Zanzibar leading to the state of Tanzania, There was a need to construct a
national identity for the citizens of the new country. To achieve this, a
programme was undertaken which is now regarded as one of the most successful
cases of ethnic repression and identity transformation in Africa. With over 130 languages spoken within its
territory, Tanzania is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Africa.
Despite this obstacle, ethnic divisions remained rare in Tanzania when compared
to the rest of the continent, notably its immediate neighbour, Kenya.
Furthermore, since its independence, Tanzania has displayed more political
stability than most African countries, particularly due to these ethnic
repression methods.
Arusha is the third largest city in Tanzania, as we drove to our lodge I could see a large mountain, which I assumed was Kilimanjaro, but was told no, that is behind us and covered in cloud. What I was looking at was Mount Meru, Africa's fifth largest mountain at 4,566 metres. Meru dominates the skyline around Arusha. The city itself is seen very much as the safari capital of Tanzania, as it acts as the gateway for visitors arriving through Kilimanjaro Airport. While we didn't stay in the Arusha driving through it it was typical of the busy and dirty African cities, markets everywhere, traffic, but at the same time mixing with colonial building and streets lined with the Jacaranda trees that were coming into their beautiful purple blossom,
We took a short cut down a dirt road through muddy puddles and finally arrived at the lodge, a beautiful thatched colonial building with a towering Jacaranda tree above it.
After the formal process of checking in and settling into our room it was time to make the most of the rest of the day to explore the surroundings. How better to start than by sitting outside, drinking a well earned beer while watching the Sunbirds in the trees around the patio area.
Here a female Amethyst Sunbird.
The brightly coloured Variable Sunbird, here the male. Not the best of shots as the birds were distant, and mobile
The Variable Sunbird is a fairly common resident breeder in equatorial Africa. The adult male has a glossy green head, throat and nape, and a maroon breast band. In most subspecies, the belly of the male is yellow, but in a few it is orange or white. The female has grey-brown upper-parts and yellowish underparts, and an obvious pale supercilium. The eclipse male is like the female, but shows some green, especially on the throat.
And the Scarlet-chested Sunbird.
The adult males are dark black with a bright fluorescent red chest, unfortunately we did not see any adults, and had to make do with these immature males that show a slight amount of red feathers on the chest.
A pair of Bronze Mannikins were nesting in the palm close to where we were sitting, a gregarious bird often found in large flocks around fields and open grassland
The Jacaranda dominated the skyline above us, while the grass below was littered with the fallen petals providing a purple carpet.
As the light began to fade I walked around the grounds, on the track leading into the lodge a Common Drongo sat surveying the area looking for the chance to take an insect that came into view.
The Drongos will sit on prominent perches looking for a passing meal. They take advantage of any situation, and are often seen around fires where the smoke will drive the flying insects out/
As with all countries within the tropics the sun set just after 6.00 PM. We had a little drama as the electricity supply to our lodge was lost, but finally it returned, and after negotiating a shower we had dinner and an early night after what had been a very long and tiring day.
In the morning we were up early and had a good breakfast. We had the time until lunch to ourselves so we just lazed at first around our lodge. I became fascinated by the antics of a few ants on the door. Focusing on them threw some wonderful background colours.
At the back of our lodge there was a dense area of bushes along with tall trees. Speckled Mousebirds could be seen creeping through the bushes and hanging from the branches like Long-tailed Tits, although they are about three times the size of them.
There were more Black-faced Munia feeding on the ground along with this Red-billed Firefinch that flew to the Banana trees, this is a female.
I stood watching the activity around the bushes from the safety of the lodge veranda, there were a lot of insects around the bushes due to the damp ground. A flock of about half a dozen Brown-breasted Barbets. Strange that the breast is seen as the feature and not the brilliant red head.
I then went for a walk around the grounds once again, walking around the back of the main building, as I climbed steps I thought it was strange it made me out of breath, but then I realised we were about 1500 metres above sea level.
I came across a Common Bulbul, and took the obligatory photograph, there won't be any more.
In the bushes there were sunbirds once again. Here a good view of a male Variable Sunbird if not obscured by the branches.
Then a new bird, a Yellow-breasted Apalis, a common resident of woodland and gardens, a member of the cisticola family, the males of the northern range of the species have a black spot or bar on the yellow breast.
The Brown-breasted Barbets were about in the trees, and showing a little closer. Here you can see the brown breast, is it more dominant than the red head?
There were plenty of calls from within the trees, but despite my efforts to locate the owners they remained hidden and unidentifiable. I then decided to turn my attention to the butterflies that were about the gardens. Large yellow Swallowtails and Blue Swallowtails were present, but as is typical with his family of butterflies they didn't stop and just kept circling the garden as if to just annoy me.
One butterfly that did stop was this lovely Blue Pansy, a type of "admiral" which gets its name for the bright blue spot on the upper wing.
Unfortunately a rather worn individual.
Another worn individual, this time the Garden Commodore, as the name suggests a common garden visitor.
Here a yellow-banded Acraea. They are on the wing all year round but are commoner in the warmer months of summer.
Walking around the lawns small butterflies were disturbed from the grass and they would set of dueling with each other. It took some patience as it was difficult to see them before they took off, and being so small could completely disappear. However I did manage to get one when it landed. Difficult to identify beyond being a blue butterfly similar in size to our small blue, however the upper parts are the same colour as the underneath.
There had been soaring Maribou Storks throughout the morning, not surprising as there were housing settlements dotted around and they are major scavengers and regularly turn up in urban areas around rubbish tips.
A call from above us though was not a stork, and turned out to belong to an Auger Buzzard.
After the formal process of checking in and settling into our room it was time to make the most of the rest of the day to explore the surroundings. How better to start than by sitting outside, drinking a well earned beer while watching the Sunbirds in the trees around the patio area.
Here a female Amethyst Sunbird.
They are commonly found in well-watered habitats and
undertake seasonal movements to visit flowering woodlands. The demise of some
woodlands has impacted their numbers locally, but their range has also expanded
along with the spread of wooded gardens.
The brightly coloured Variable Sunbird, here the male. Not the best of shots as the birds were distant, and mobile
The Variable Sunbird is a fairly common resident breeder in equatorial Africa. The adult male has a glossy green head, throat and nape, and a maroon breast band. In most subspecies, the belly of the male is yellow, but in a few it is orange or white. The female has grey-brown upper-parts and yellowish underparts, and an obvious pale supercilium. The eclipse male is like the female, but shows some green, especially on the throat.
And the Scarlet-chested Sunbird.
The adult males are dark black with a bright fluorescent red chest, unfortunately we did not see any adults, and had to make do with these immature males that show a slight amount of red feathers on the chest.
A pair of Bronze Mannikins were nesting in the palm close to where we were sitting, a gregarious bird often found in large flocks around fields and open grassland
As the light began to fade I walked around the grounds, on the track leading into the lodge a Common Drongo sat surveying the area looking for the chance to take an insect that came into view.
The Drongos will sit on prominent perches looking for a passing meal. They take advantage of any situation, and are often seen around fires where the smoke will drive the flying insects out/
As with all countries within the tropics the sun set just after 6.00 PM. We had a little drama as the electricity supply to our lodge was lost, but finally it returned, and after negotiating a shower we had dinner and an early night after what had been a very long and tiring day.
In the morning we were up early and had a good breakfast. We had the time until lunch to ourselves so we just lazed at first around our lodge. I became fascinated by the antics of a few ants on the door. Focusing on them threw some wonderful background colours.
At the back of our lodge there was a dense area of bushes along with tall trees. Speckled Mousebirds could be seen creeping through the bushes and hanging from the branches like Long-tailed Tits, although they are about three times the size of them.
There were more Black-faced Munia feeding on the ground along with this Red-billed Firefinch that flew to the Banana trees, this is a female.
I stood watching the activity around the bushes from the safety of the lodge veranda, there were a lot of insects around the bushes due to the damp ground. A flock of about half a dozen Brown-breasted Barbets. Strange that the breast is seen as the feature and not the brilliant red head.
I then went for a walk around the grounds once again, walking around the back of the main building, as I climbed steps I thought it was strange it made me out of breath, but then I realised we were about 1500 metres above sea level.
I came across a Common Bulbul, and took the obligatory photograph, there won't be any more.
In the bushes there were sunbirds once again. Here a good view of a male Variable Sunbird if not obscured by the branches.
Then a new bird, a Yellow-breasted Apalis, a common resident of woodland and gardens, a member of the cisticola family, the males of the northern range of the species have a black spot or bar on the yellow breast.
The Brown-breasted Barbets were about in the trees, and showing a little closer. Here you can see the brown breast, is it more dominant than the red head?
There were plenty of calls from within the trees, but despite my efforts to locate the owners they remained hidden and unidentifiable. I then decided to turn my attention to the butterflies that were about the gardens. Large yellow Swallowtails and Blue Swallowtails were present, but as is typical with his family of butterflies they didn't stop and just kept circling the garden as if to just annoy me.
One butterfly that did stop was this lovely Blue Pansy, a type of "admiral" which gets its name for the bright blue spot on the upper wing.
Unfortunately a rather worn individual.
Another worn individual, this time the Garden Commodore, as the name suggests a common garden visitor.
Here a yellow-banded Acraea. They are on the wing all year round but are commoner in the warmer months of summer.
Walking around the lawns small butterflies were disturbed from the grass and they would set of dueling with each other. It took some patience as it was difficult to see them before they took off, and being so small could completely disappear. However I did manage to get one when it landed. Difficult to identify beyond being a blue butterfly similar in size to our small blue, however the upper parts are the same colour as the underneath.
There had been soaring Maribou Storks throughout the morning, not surprising as there were housing settlements dotted around and they are major scavengers and regularly turn up in urban areas around rubbish tips.
A call from above us though was not a stork, and turned out to belong to an Auger Buzzard.
The Augur Buzzard is common in open land and cultivated
areas, above 1000 metres of elevation. This is a large buzzard with short,
rounded tail and broad wings, with very broad secondaries. It is often seen
perched in the open, on rocks, mounds or trees. This species exhibits two
different plumages, with dark and normal morphs, the bird we had here was of
the normal or light phase.
The adult has dark grey, almost black upper-parts. The flight
feathers are black with pale grey bars mainly on secondaries. The tail is
rufous with faint dark grey bars. The
underparts in the normal morph are white, including the underwing-coverts, but
the carpal patch is black. The flight feathers are white with indistinct black
barring and broad black tips. Both sexes
have the same plumage but the female is slightly larger than the male.
It continued to call, and as it dropped lower as if searching for a suitable landing perch the feet were extended to slow it down.
That was the last activity around the gardens and we set off for lunch. After lunch we set off for the Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp. The journey took just over two hours, with us getting the chance to experience the bustle of Arusha. Leaving Arusha we drove through many villages and past fields being ploughed and prepared for seeding following the arrival of significant rain. Our stay at the Wildlife camp was to allow us to visit Lake Manyara National Park and we would be doing so the following day. The camp itself was just outside the town of Mto wa Mbu which means Mosquito River, not a good sign. We pulled off the main road and followed a track to the camp.
After the formalities of checking in we were shown to our tent, it was at the furthest point away from the central dining and bar area, but probably had the best view looking out across the dried up plain of Lake Manyara.
Three lovely Baobab trees stood proudly on the edge of the lake. Baobabs are a genus of trees found in the tropical zone of Madagascar, African and Australia. There are nine species of Baobab, six of which are found in Madagascar. The trees found her in Tanzania are known as Adansonia digitata, they get the genus name of Adansonia from the French explorer Michael Adanson who first described the trees digitata.
Baobabs store water in the trunk (up to 120,000
litres or 32,000 US gallons) to endure harsh drought conditions. All occur in seasonally arid areas,
and are deciduous, shedding their leaves during the dry
season. The trees are completely useless to the indigenous people as they are no use as firewood due the fibrous and sponge like nature of the wood, and also because of the same reason hopeless for construction. However they do have other uses, the fruits as a source of vitamin C the taste being similar to that of a citrus sorbet. The leaves are cooked as vegetables and the seeds are a source of oil.
There water retention makes them a target for elephants during the dry season, and much of the trunk and bark is damaged and in placed hollowed out, or like this one tunneled straight through.
After settling in I went for a walk around the grounds, once again the well kept gardens were an attraction for butterflies. This a type of Salmon Arab butterfly
There were groups of Masked Weavers in the bushes. Here a female.
While in a line of small acacia scrub I found a colony of nests in various stages of construction being attended to by the males, and squabbling with each other
On the way back to the tent I stopped to watch this butterfly moving about in the grass away from the wind. Identification has proved quite problematical.
Back at the tent I was informed by Helen that I had missed a Variable Sunbird singing outside the veranda. As we stood waiting to see if it would return there was the noise of tapping. It was coming from the bathroom, and as I walked in to investigate I was confronted with this at the window.
A Red & Yellow Barbet was attacking the glass, or to be more accurate was attacking its reflection.
It is a very distinctive Barbet, about the size of a Great Spotted Woodpecker, and very aggressive with that substantial bill.
Finally it stopped and flew into the nearby bush, where it showed itself off in all its glory. A stunning bird.
Scanning out across the dried up lake you could just about make out a pink line where the water was. These were the thousands of Flamingos present on the lake. Hopefully we will get a closer view of both Greater and Lesser Flamingos tomorrow when we go into the park.
The Variable Sunbird did return, but did not sit still. I did though manage one record ofit as it made its way around the flowers on the bushes. Unlike the hummingbirds it uses the curved needle sharp bill to pierce the base of the flower head to get to the nectar.
It always amazes me how fast the sun sets in the tropics after 5.00pm. At first based on the behaviour in our part of the world the sun is still high and you think there is plenty of time, and then before you know it the sun is almost at the horizon. This evening dark skies to the south saw rain showers, which looked quite heavy over the lake.
But looking west the scene was much calmer and beautiful with a lovely golden light. This photo was taken by Helen on her phone. Incredible quality.
Gradually the sun sank lower sending long shadows and golden light across the dried up lake and highlighting the Baobabs.
While the storm clouds from the south advance northwards.
Tomorrow will be our first day of game driving and at last we can get to grips with some of the more familiar wildlife seen in Tanzania. First stop will be Lake Manyara National Park where we will spend the morning, and then the long drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and finally into the Serengeti. A long day ahead of us it was time for dinner, and then another early start in the morning.
But looking west the scene was much calmer and beautiful with a lovely golden light. This photo was taken by Helen on her phone. Incredible quality.
Gradually the sun sank lower sending long shadows and golden light across the dried up lake and highlighting the Baobabs.
While the storm clouds from the south advance northwards.
Tomorrow will be our first day of game driving and at last we can get to grips with some of the more familiar wildlife seen in Tanzania. First stop will be Lake Manyara National Park where we will spend the morning, and then the long drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and finally into the Serengeti. A long day ahead of us it was time for dinner, and then another early start in the morning.
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