The Explorer
February/March 2006
News from the Bush!
January swept by in typical fashion. Anticipating rains that never came, we held our breaths for grass to green and the wildebeest to hold off dropping their calves, for a more conducive environment in which to secure a good chance of survival.
Sadly, as international media reported East Africa’s impending drought, the wildebeest calved, amidst conditions reminiscent of middle dry season, rather than the translucent emerald seas we expect for the calving stint.
In spite of the conditions, we never did see mass infant mortality amongst the migratory herds, although there were definitely calves falling by the trailside as the 2 million zebra and wildebeest continued to migrate from north to south, east to west, in search of nutrition.
The Maasai domestic cattle faired worse, with some bomas loosing hundreds of head of cattle, grazing ground side by side with the wildebeest.
Now, at the beginning of March, several hundred millimetres of rain behind us, the plains have been beautified to their usual state.
Lake Manyara - Newly evolving Eden??
It has always been customary for our safaris to incorporate Lake Manyara National Park at the beginning of our journeys into the Wilderness, providing a chance to get to know the vehicle layout, game viewing etiquette and camera operation.
The few hours that we dedicate to this small area of protection for the wild animals has always been regarded as somewhat of a lip service to the larger wildlife areas, however over the past months, Lake Manyara has provided awesome viewing, including great sightings of the elusive tree climbing lions, elephants close enough to prod with a monopod (if one was inclined!) and a plethora of other plains game and bird life.
So next time I raise an eyebrow to including the 270 square kilometres within an itinerary, remind me of the many splendid photographs that adorn my collection, shot within the confines of this rift valley shadow!
Migration Location?
Towards the end of January, we saw a split in the vast herds, half preferring to venture onwards south, pausing briefly at Ndutu, before continuing further to the Maswa boundary with the Serengeti National Park. This gave our Serengeti camp guests, prime game viewing as the main herd concentration settled for the grasses in the middle of the off road driving designated area, an area well known to all of our guides, and easily accessible directly from camp.
The second contingent seemed to decide that tent # 6 at the Alamana Wilderness Camp in The Ngaroi, was exactly the right sort of environment for several hundred thousand wayward wildebeest and Zebra to settle for a while! Peaceful sleep, temporarily a thing of the past, eluded most Alamana two legged residents as the grazing hoof stock seemed content to make the Alamana their domain for as long as the grass remained slightly green.
So long as the wildebeest were content with their environment, so we were content to have them near by, bringing with it a chorus of night noises, resplendent in its orchestral magnitude.
Cheetah, Lion, Hyena, mixing it up!
Behaviour, as our guests will relate to, is the fundamental difference between, those that treat safari the way we, as Wildlife Explorer Guides do and the ‘tourists’ as Godfrey likes to refer to the counting crowd that blast from one set of sleeping lions to another.
Having the time to sit and wait for interesting behaviour 90% of the time, results in extraordinary events.
We were fortunate, one morning; to come across a beautiful Cheetah in full early morning sunlight as it coursed through the Ndutu woodlands in search of a breakfast snack to start its day. As the increasingly tolerant animal allowed us to approach to within 30 feet, its attitude changed as a solitary lioness ambled, unconcerned, from the vast open plains towards where the Cheetah sat motionless monitoring the potential threat. Thrown into this evolving drama, we watched as another solitary enemy, a sizeable Haeyena loped through the Ndutu Acacia
As the drama unfolded, the Lion chased the Haeyena, both of which were subsequently chased by the Cheetah, who, rather than turning tale as would be normal text book stuff, continued with the chase of the two larger predators, until, the Lion realised that she was being pursued and turned to face off the Cheetah!
Great photo opportunities to say the least.
The Alamana Camp, The Ngaroi.
This season we have moved the camp a kilometre, into the amphitheatre kopjes to the south west of the old location. The new site provides us with new sleeping tent locations, an easier kitchen/service access to the newly built dining/lounge tent which has now been combined in one stepped platform facing west for the sunsets.
The new structure is as beautiful a tent as any and has met with universal approval from all of our guests this season.
New for this green season is the introduction of three triple tents to help facilitate the increasing number of requests for younger guests to sleep within the same tent as parents. A completely new design, the large canopy fly sheet and shade cover shadow an octagon shaped sleeping area with en-suite bathroom.
The new site provides a much more intimate feel without loosing the sense of remoteness that the old camp benefited from.
We look forward to welcoming new and old friends alike to experience the Wilderness at The Alamana Camp.
News from Olerai
Jo and I, had the pleasure of finishing our Christmas vacation by flying with our children and their Grand parents, to the Alamana for a brief safari as the migrating Zebra herds moved into the vicinity.
Its always a pleasure to have family out in the bush, experiencing what I hold so dearly, walking in amongst Zebra and their foals, sitting on top of my favourite Kopje as the sun settles over the Serengeti with a glass of chilled champagne and the cackle of a hyena in the distance, proof that this sort of theatre is not only for our guests, but an intrinsic part of why, as a family we hold dearly our life in Africa.
And lastly, life being so precious, we came upon a female Zebra on the edge of the short grass plains starting labour. Over a half hour period we watched spell bound as she gave birth to a beautiful foal that stumbled and tripped into its new life, watched on by wildebeest and zebra.
A magnificent moment.
And with that, greetings from us all and the end of our news from the bush.
With warm wishes,
Gary & Jo.
