The Explorer
November 2002
News from the Bush!
These past few weeks have been mostly taken up with reconnaissance safaris and photo shoots of the Wilderness camps, so straying from the normal format of the Newsletter I have given you one of my journal extracts to wet your appetites! I hope you find it interesting?
Wilderness Camps!
Journal extract: 31st September 2002.
We left Osunyai at 0700 hrs for the short drive to the airstrip taking off as the bright sunlight breached the mountains of Kilimanjaro and Meru casting shadows across the parched plains of the Masai Steppe.
Lounge Dining Tent at Osunyai
This would be the first time that I would have been able to turn prose into actual fact, as our own Osunyai would be combined with Mahale on Lake Tanganyika and Chada in Katavi.
Several days walking along sand rivers searching out the old bull elephants of Osunyai had loosened up my office bound legs in preparation for the short flight to Mahale and Katavi in the far western reaches of Tanzania.
Normally the flight would have routed through Tabora for re-fuelling but this morning we were flying ‘first class’ in a Cessna 208, the Caravan of the east African skies! The Ugala Game Reserve disappeared beneath us as we neared the glittering waters of Lake Tanganyika.
Too much time had passed since last setting foot on the azure watered edges of this incredible lake so the dramatic approach flying low over the fishing villages and out across the lake before banking south and then east for the landing at Mahale airstrip rekindled distant memories.
With our own outfitting we have strived to create an experience as far removed from the ‘normal’ philosophy of safari outfitting as possible so the combination of Osunyai and The Ngaroi with Mahale and Katavi was a natural evolution to an outstanding product.
With the exception of the short drive this morning to the airstrip I had opted to use the vehicle only as a means for picking up and dropping off between walks, this morning would continue with the same approach only before I could start walking again I would need to board Roland and Zoe Purcell’s Dhow for the short 8 mile journey to their camp.
Welcomed with an ice cold beer, I sat on comfortable mattresses on the deck of the traditional Dhow staring out
at the Mountains of Mahale wondering what the next few hours, days, would create?
Mountain Gorillas had always fascinated me but I had never viewed the Mahale Chimps, so with mounting excitement the minutes
slowly drifted by.
An hour and a half later the eccentric Mess Tent of the main Mahale Camp came into view. Built directly onto the
white sand beach the Mahale Mess centres ones senses and welcomes one into a world not quite usual!
My limited time in Mahale gave me the opportunity to drop off my bags in the white canvassed sleeping tent and board the Dhow once again for the short sail to the start point for trekking to the Chimps.
Today I was in luck as the main Chimp group were just a short half hour walk through bamboo.
I hadn’t known what to expect of Chimp behaviour despite being quite familiar with Mountain Gorillas and their social grouping so the adrenalin rush from my first sighting of 3 full grown animals lazing beneath the bamboo canopy quickly increased as an eruption of squeals, cries and screams, tearing of bamboo limbs and slapping of hands on the ground announced the displeasure one of the adult male Chimps felt toward a subordinate in the nearby foliage.
The pursuing hour rushed by as my guide and I manoeuvred through the undergrowth anticipating Chimp movements as they moved higher into the Mahale Mountains, the photographs got better and better as they normally do on safari!
If there were comparisons to be made between Mountain Gorilla watching and Chimp watching I would have to say that whilst the two social groupings vary tremendously in their activities the excitement seeing wild Chimps is equal to that of wild Mountain Gorillas.
Mahale surprised and excited me in such an unexpected way that the rest of my stay was spent with such a stupid grin on my face that I knew the combination of Osunyai/The Ngaroi and the Mahale Mountains would feature steadily in our outfitting!
The journey to Katavi to be continued next month.
News from Olerai
Half term for Hannah and Jamie seemed to come around a wee bit too fast this year! So having returned from Osunyai on the Friday morning it was answer e-mails, sign cheques and pack the car for the 7-hour journey to Pembe Abwe on the Indian Ocean.
For some years we have maintained a Robinson Crusoe type home on the white sand beaches of Pembe Abwe creating a comfortable holiday environment for the children and adults alike to fine tune our water sports abilities or rather try to fine-tune our abilities!
Last summer our good friends Bruce, Amy, Beaux and Sloan Babcock from Salt Lake City joined us after their safari, which gave us the opportunity to repay some hospitality! This time Sven Banham, Jo’s cousin plus Hannah’s good friend Sarah came along to fill all the beds again.
Both Hannah and Jamie continue to excel at water skiing, mono-ing, dropping skis and generally showing what great water babies they are! Hunter, since being able to walk has had an uncontrollable fascination for the Zodiac and its engine so whenever there was a free moment in his busy schedule he happily climbed aboard and ‘brummed’ the hours away!
At the end of a fine week, tanned, tired but rested we headed for home having spent some wonderful quality time together.
Marianne and her family opted for the spice isle of Zanzibar for a well-earned break enjoying the coastal Swahili
cuisine and famed hospitality. The southern tip of Zanzibar has the best habituated school of Dolphins to be seen anywhere
along the coast so the whole family spent time swimming from the local Ngalawas, whilst the Dolphins, curious as ever
sped in and out of snorkeling range!
The Ngaroi season is almost upon us so within a few weeks the camp will be heading towards the Serengeti borders and we’ll
all be pulling our weight to have things set up for the months ahead.
As usual a warm welcome is extended to all of our returning friends safariing with us again this season and a very warm ‘Karibu’ to our new guests exploring Tanzania for the first time!
With warm wishes,
Gary.
