28th October - Lake Manyara to the Serengeti, Tanzania

Today our safari really begins, but before we headed out we had time to enjoy the sunrise picking out the Ngorongoro Highlands that encircle the lake to the west of the Rift Valley.  As the light increased it was rather grey but gradually the sun broke through behind us turning the clouds above the highlands into a fiery scene. 

While the majestic Baobab trees beneath, stand to welcome in a new day.

As we watched the sunrise the tapping in the bathroom started once again, and this time I was prepared better to capture what was going on.

The Variable Sunbird too was back, but still not wanting to be accessible to the camera.

And just as we were to leave for Breakfast another Barbet appeared, this time a Black-throated Barbet, again a strange name as the marking are definitely brown.

This stretch of the Rift Valley that separates Arusha from the Ngorongoro Highlands  supports a chain of shallow mineral rich lakes the three largest of which, Eyasi, Natron and Manyara all attain an area of 50 square kilometres or greater when full.  Lake Manyara is the most accessible of these.  The lakes are alkaline and support a large population of Flamingo as we saw last night, but with the water levels still very low getting to see them will not be easy..

The National Park protects the lakes north western shore.  Manyara is know for the birds and has recorded over 400 species, however I doubt that we will see too many today, but I am hoping to be able to get up close to some of the waterbirds and raptors, this game drive probably being more about the birds than the animals.  The reserve is relatively small at 330 square kilometres, and two thirds of that is taken up by the waters of the lake.  The accessible portion of the reserve is dominated by open grassland on the floodplain and acacia scrub woodland that runs along the rocky escarpment on the western side.

We checked in at the reserve entrance and pushed the roof off and set off at first through the tropical forest and acacia scrub.  Within a few metres we had encountered out first animals, a troop of Olive Baboons.

They were spread out along the road side and in the surrounding trees.  There is always an air of passing inquisitiveness as they watch us as we watch them

The young baby baboons are black to start with, and their coast turn the more familiar colour as they get older.  This little one had strayed away from its mother and appeared to be shocked at the number of vehicles watching it!  One, two, three, four, five!

Maybe it was safer to be with Mum?

They are still there Mum!

It then became a little more adventurous, picking up some husk to nibble on by the side of the road.

Its always difficult when you set off on the first game drive to understand how your guide and driver will interact with you.  In many cases you see the trucks and jeeps driving around with the passengers sitting in their seats waiting to have things pointed out.  Helen and I don't work like that, we like to be looking, which brings up the conundrum of should you call out everything you see, and what will be the driver's reaction be.

First off I noticed a shape in a tree on the side of the escarpment, I knew it was a big bird and called for a stop.  It turns out it was a Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, one of the larger hornbill species we would see.

A little further on Helen called for a smaller bird, this time a Striped Kingfisher

By now I felt that Hassam our guide realised that we would be interested in everything, and that we could help find things, you feel this but you never know, and it was early in the drives.  The interaction though with Hassam though was becoming better and both were getting to know each other.

The trucks ahead of slowed, brake lights glaring in the distance.  As we approached we could see Black-faced Vervet monkeys by the side of the road and up in the trees.  Several were engaged in grooming, this one looking like he was just about putting up with it

Others were interested in us, climbing down to watch us watching them again.

The Vervet monkeys are famous for the colour of the a particular part of the male's anatomy, his testicles which in the adult are a vibrant blue.  I chose not to embarrass the monkey by taking any pictures!

The rack then wound out of the forest and onto the open floodplain, distant Zebra and Impala could be seen, but our first close encounter was with a skeleton of a Cape Buffalo, a sign of the wildness of the area and not just a collection of animals.

Around the pools of water and the side of the track were Blacksmith Plovers.  These are a common plover of the open areas, and like the Bulbul, after this there will not be any more photographs of them.

We turned off the plains and along a road that followed a river.  As we cam around a corner I noticed a Southern Ground Hornbill by the side of the road and called for a stop.  As I took this photograph I could make out the smell of a dead body.  Unknown to me was that beneath Hassam and Helen there was a Zebra carcass by the side of the road and the smell was getting worse.  I was told to hurry and we immediately moved on!

These Hornbills can walk up to 30 kilometres in a day in search for food, they are mostly carnivourous, and were here probably scavenging the zebra carcass.  They are the largest species of Hornbill in the world, the males have the red throat patch while the female is a violet blue.

We moved away quickly and continued alongside the river.  Hassam was looking for Kingfisher but without any luck so we turned around and came back the same way, but quickly came across a band of Banded Mongoose, the mongoose getting its name from the bands visible on its back.

Social animals they were moving quickly through the undergrowth, exploring the dead trunks and leaves for any opportunity for food.

Earlier as we were driving through the open grassland we had seen in the distance a group fo vultures presumably at the remains of another carcass.  Coming off the river road we were able to get closer to be able to identify them.

It was a collection of Ruppell's and White-backed Vultures.

We were heading now towards the lake, in the distance was a bank of what looked like reeds, but these were much taller and coarser than the reeds we know at home.  The area around the track was flooded and covered with floating water plants.  In amongst the water pools were several waders, herons and egrets.  

We stopped for an African Jacana wading delicately around the pools and over the vegetation.

Once stopped it was a case of scanning the area for other water birds.  I found a distant pair of Little Stints, too far away for a decent photograph.  Closer in a Marsh Sandpiper.  Similar to a Greenshank, but slightly smaller and with an finer needle like bill.

There were plenty of Black-winged Stilts about.  These graceful waders a delight to see at any time.

I then noticed a creamy heron, and then quickly realised that they were all around us.  I had missed the Squacco Heron in the south of England this year so this was a very welcome, a life tick and some great views of this striking heron.

The name Squacco has derived from the name "Sguacco" the name given to it by Francis Willughby in the seventeenth century and is believed to have derived from the local Italian description of the call.

Breeding in southern Europe it migrates to Africa for the winter months.

Normally a secretive bird creeping through the reeds and scrub around the pools Black Crakes are apparently difficult to see, but here they were readily visible feeding on the surface of the vegetation.

This was another lifer for me, and we even had the delight of seeing them feed young.  This are very similar to the young of Water Rail, little puff balls of feathers, the adult delicately passing insects while they were hidden in the reeds.

There was plenty of activity and I scanned around the open water.  In the trees at the back of the marsh was a huge roost of Black-crowned Night Herons.

While Cape Buffalo lay in the water, quite happy doing nothing but slowly chewing.  This gives some idea of the variation in depth of the pools and how the vegetation masks the amount of water.

Here a Cattle Egret uses the buffalo as a watch point for any opportunity.

Another wader, this time a Long-toed Plover, another life tick.

Another bird I managed to miss this year back home in Hampshire was the Glossy Ibis, several trips to Fishlake Meadows in the spring failed to deliver the bird, but here they were walking alongside the truck.

It gave the opportunity to really appreciate the mixture of petrol like colours that give the Ibis its name.

Yellow-billed Storks and African Spoonbills were distant but instantly recognisable.

Egyptian Geese were everywhere so it was nice to finally find a group of different duck.  These are White-faced Whistling Duck.

Our driver stopped to point out a Long-tailed Cormorant which was yet another life tick.

And in the same tree was a Green Wood-hoopoe.

I am old enough to remember the excitement of sitting down to watch Disney Time a special compilation show of Disney clips from cartoons and films that would be shown on Bank Holidays.  The one chance to see those magical characters in the days before video and DVD, let alone YouTube!  

As well as the cartoons there would always be a clip from a True Life nature film, and one I recall was from the short film "Water Birds".  In this film there was a sequence of a Black Egret hunting in a comical manner.  The egret would stalk through the water, and every so often shield the water with its wings, creating an umbrella over the water.  The reason for this being to reduce the glare and to help catch the prey.  The action is comical, and something along the lines of "daytime - nighttime" as the egret folds and unfolds its wings.

As we moved into an open part of the freshwater pools we came across a Black Egret doing exactly this.  I have never seen one before so it was equally pleasing, my one regret that we didn't video it.  The sequence goes like this.

It was magical to watch and all the memories of sitting down with my parents to watch the magic of Disney Time came flooding back.

We found it hard to turn away from the display so here is one more view, you can just see the yellow feet which like those of the Little Egret must help in attracting prey in the darkness created.

Further on a Wood Sandpiper.

While another Glossy Ibis showed of the beauty of its plumage.

Cape Buffalo are often incorrectly called Water Buffalo.  Water Buffalo are found in Asia, the Cape Buffalo's liking for water though the main reason for the mistake.  Here a classic scene of a bull Cape Buffalo standing within the marsh.

As we moved out of the freshwater pools and into more dryer open grassland we came across more Olive Baboons, this youngster opting to ride rather than walk.

There were also small groups of Plains Zebra that allowed for portrait opportunities.

We were heading for the best place to be able to see the Lake, although it was still going to be a long way off. and I was warned that there would not be any opportunity for good views of the flamingo flock.

We passed a Ruppell's Vulture perched at the top of tree.  Named in honour of Eduard Rüppell, a 19th-century German explorer, collector, and zoologist, Rüppell's Vulture or Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture as it is also known, is considered to be the highest-flying bird, with confirmed evidence of a flight at an altitude of 11,300 m (37,000 ft) above sea level.  The birds have a specialized variant of the haemoglobin alphaD subunit; this protein has a great affinity for oxygen, which allows the species to absorb oxygen efficiently despite the low partial pressure in the upper troposphere.

These are large vultures, noticeably outsizing the closely related white-backed vulture, with which they often occur in the wild.  Both genders look alike: mottled brown or black overall with a whitish-brown underbelly and thin, dirty-white fluff covering the head and neck. The base of the neck has a white collar, the eye is yellow or amber, the crop patch deep brown. The head does not have feathers. This is an adaptation that occurred because of the Rüppell vulture's tendency to stick its head inside of its prey when eating. Without the adaptation, feeding would become extremely messy.

We stopped by a small stream that had both Wood Sandpiper and a Ruff feeding along the edge of the water.  Both flew off, the Ruff deciding to linger longer.

An immature Saddle-billed Stork stood motionless on the dry ground.  At this stage of life they lack the colourful bill that gives the birds its name.

While another immature bird was close by, an African Fish Eagle perched at the top of an Acacia tree.

Bizarrely, as they was no real grazing on the flood plain, there were one or two Wildebeest wandering across the floodplain, I can only assume the freshwater in the stream had been the attraction.

In the picture the Wildebeest is joined by Maribou storks and another Ruppell's Vulture.

Looking out towards the lake far off in the distance there was the pink sheen once again, but this time with a little more definition, but hardly sufficient to identify the two species of Flamingo present.  There are both Greater and Lesser, but as far as I could see they were just flamingos due to the pink colour..

In the foreground are both African and Pink-backed Pelicans.

Cape Buffalo were also lying out on the flats with a background of pink.

Then the Pelicans all took off, a huge effort at first, then once up they show how true masters of the air they are, gliding and soaring as they passed over us.

Before gaining height and drifting away over the distant reed beds.

Zebra walked in from the left hand side disturbing the Saddle billed Stork that flew or walked into the scrub.

I love any opportunity to get in close on the Zebra to extract as much opportunity from the beautiful markings.

The departure of the Pelicans saw some different activity in the flamingos in the distance and the closer storks and gulls, then they all went up in a blizzard of pink and white.  At first with no indication of why, but then a dark shape appeared heading out towards the melee, and all became clear, an African Fish Eagle, this time an adult bird.

The melee began to die down, and the eagle appeared on the ground a little way off, and was immediately joined by the immature bird, from the acacia tree, begging in front of the adult.

As the flamings settled back don on the distant lake the Zebra set off across the river and then with a slow walk across the open plain with the hills of the Highland escarpment in the background.

It was a case of wait and see what happens, don't rush off when it goes quiet, something we would learn to our advantage later in the trip.  The adult African Fish Eagle then took off, circled around and then headed directly over our heads, giving superb views.

While on our left hand side, the immature stork having disappeared when the zebra arrived was replaced by a very smart adult bird, probably the parent, strolling out of the scrub.

Named after the yellow "saddle" that sits on the top of the bill, the Saddle-billed Stork is the tallest stork in the world, but not the heaviest, that honour goes to the Jaribou and Great Adjutant from Asia and the Maribou Stork found in Africa.

The legs are black with red bands at the joints, and while females are slightly smaller than the males, the sex can be determined by the colour of the eyes, the female having yellow eyes, the males as we find here having dark, black eyes.

The immature storks will remain with the parents for up to 18 months, or until breeding commences once again for the adults.

We finally left the site, heading back into the scrub and forest.  A particular bird calling stopped us, and I could make out a very colourful bird about the size of a Blackbird moving through the branches.  Finally it came into the open sufficiently enough to get a record shot of what is an Orange-breasted Bush Strike.

Time was moving on, and I am sure that Hassam was conscious of the long drive we had ahead of us to the Serengeti in the afternoon.  But as we approached the main gate we came across one of the animal specialties of the park and one that I was hoping to see, the Blue or Syke's Monkey.

This is one of the most variable of Africa's monkeys with several dozen races recognised.  The coat is uniformally a dark blue grey broken by a white throat.

They have this kind of mournful look, as if the weight of the world is on their shoulders.

They live in troops of up to ten individuals and will interact with others such as the vervets and baboons, in fact all the literature said we might come across them as we enter the park along with the baboons.

There were a few smaller individuals in the trees behind this one, but they did not give good views.  We waited but they started to move through and away so we decided to head for the gate.

After two stops for convenience and lunch we were on our way to the Serengeti.  Immediately west of Lake Manyara the road switchbacks up a spectacular stretch of the Rift Valley Escarpment giving view of the pink dominated flamingo flocks on the lake.  At the top we entered into an area of rich fertile fields and slopes of the crater Highlands.  The area is protected through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) which is a vast reserve area where differently the iconic Maasai people are allowed to live alongside a diversity of wildlife to Lions and game through to the forest birds.  Before reaching the NCA Lodware gate we passed through the town of Karatu at around 1,500 metres altitude.

As with every park and area in Tanzania there is paperwork and permits, and this had to be shown at the Lodware gate to the NCA.  This means us stopping and Hassam going to the office to get another piece of paper that is then handed in as we pass through the gate.  The whole process happens in reverse when we leave.

Leaving the gate we started to climb, tackling switchback roads once again.  The climb continued through forested roads until we passed an opening that gave the first glimpse of the crater below.  It was vast, but we didn't stop we continued on to a peak height of around 2,600 metres before dropping down the far side of the crater rim, with vast plains ahead of us.  The name Serengeti derives from the Maasai word that means "endless plains".

The original National park as mapped in 1951 included what is now the NCA.  However when the Maasai residents realised that they were faced with forceful eviction they protested and eventually a compromise was reached and the NCA was split off, and the Maasai were allowed to live there and graze their cattle there, but not within the area of the national park.  As we drove on towards the Serengeti while still in the NCA we saw Zebra and gazelle grazing alongside cows, donkeys and goats.

As proof that the animals were wandering freely we came across a group of three giraffes walking slowly alongside the road.

Having entered the boundary of the park it was a while before we reached the formal gate to address the paperwork.  This is the Naabi Hill gate, and as we sat waiting for the Tanzanian bureaucracy to complete we contemplated the wide plains beyond the gate.

Finally leaving the gate we encountered a lady walking down the main track.  Hassam stopped to politely advise her that she should not walk here.  A little further down the road and we came across a Secretary Bird close to the side of the track.  This bird is a real mixture, long legs like a stork, and a beak like an eagle.  It is in fact a 1.5 metre tall raptor that stalks snakes and reptiles through the grasslands, catching them with its long slender legs and using the same legs and feet to stamp them to death in a dance..

There are various myths about how the bird got is name.  Some say it is due to the feathers in the crest that look like quill pens used by Victorian secretaries, while another is down to the very pale top and dark black like trousers or skirt.  It is more likely though that the name comes from the corruption of the Arabic word "saqr-et-tair" which means hunting bird.

The skies were darkening all around us, and we could see distant rain.  A little further on we came across another raptor on the top of an acacia bush.  These were a couple of Tawny Eagles, an adult and immature bird.

They sit at the top of the bushes and trees to scan the open space for any opportunity.  Tawny eagle can be confused with the Steppe Eagle, however in the Steppe the yellow gape under the eye extends well beyond the eye here as you can see the gape stops under the eye.

It was now becoming very dull, and we were expecting rain.  It didn't stop me looking, and I called out for what I thought was a male Montagu's Harrier over the open field, but as i watched it I could see I had found my first ever Pallid Harrier.  

The two are very similar, and females and immatures are much harder to identify, but the males have a much cleaner upper parts with black only at the tips of the primaries, in the Montagu's a black line also runs along the upper wing.

A lone Spotted Hyena in the longer grass was watching us as we stopped to watch it.

Looking around the weather was closing in across the plains.

The tracks we were now taking were becoming a lot more rutted and in places these were flooded with deep puddles.  Our progress through the park had been slow but now it was becoming even slower as we negotiated the ruts and tracks and muddy areas.  The time was also moving on and the concern was now could we reach our camp before it got dark.

As a result it was time to stop calling for things seen along the way, but we did stop for a partially hidden pride of lions laying under a series of acacia.

There would, I hoped be much better views.

I also could pass up an immature Martial Eagle tearing into the remains of its prey on a tree bough.

The Martial Eagle is the largest of the African Eagles and probably the most powerful, being capable of knocking a man of its feet.  They are a part of the Booted Eagle family, having feathered tarsus (booted).

The eyes were piercing when it turned to look directly at me, and this is just an immature bird.  The immature plumage differs in not having the dark brown head, neck and chest.

We were not sure if Hassam was lost or looking for anything in particular.  We stopped at one crossroads while he considered this with Thomson's Gazelles around us.

A very pretty and graceful little antelope of the open plains.  It is the only antelope to have a broad black stripe don the flanks.

The males also have a smart set of horns.

We were on the move again and made our way through more muddy tracks and puddles before arriving in the gathering gloom at the Kati Kati Tented Camp.  After our introduction we were informed that dinner was at 7.30 and as there were only bucket showers we should have one now while there was still some light.

We went to the tent, which, despite the fact the frame was made of steel pipe, was just canvas.  We then had a situation where one of the staff called to us from the outside about water temperature and pressure of shower, and had we finished.  How I managed to shave I don't know, but I did.  After that it was off to the mess tent for a beer and dinner, and then after that we retired to spend a night listening to Lions roaring, Zebra and Wildebeest calling and lots of other calls and noises that we were probably better off not knowing about.

Tomorrow a full day in the Serengeti.