The Explorer
September 2003
News from the Bush!

With the dry season in full swing, elephants everywhere and a fine wet season planned life, as it says on the hats, is Good!!

In the past few months I have been in the UK, France and latterly exploring the depths of Osunyai, Katavi, Mahale and The Ngaroi, surrounded at each location by the indigenous wildlife! Its been a wonderful three months but as with everything the great stuff has to make way for the essential stuff so here we are with the September Explorer.

Osunyai has to get a special mention, as the Elephants all season have been amazing! small family groups mostly taking advantage of the riverbed of Osunyai to visit, constantly excavating for water and making good use of the shade from the overhanging trees around camp.

This camp is rapidly becoming a wildlife haven located as close as it is to the Tarangire boundary. With that in mind the season has been extended to include a small part of November before the move to The Ngaroi, increasing the protection a seasonal camp can offer to the resident wildlife.

Pressures on the Elephant population are still as severe as ever so our small attempt to create a corridor for the Osunyai herds is obviously working.

Despite the camp having a fine occupancy rate this season the Elephants seemed un-perturbed by our presence and mostly co-existed with little alarm even when the Strand/Zelleke/Ashby families descended en-mass for a weekend away! Little Hunter Strand was the youngest child present and kept up with the best of them digging his way down into the riverbed for a mid-day wallow! His cousins and friends kept him company as the hole enlarged to a good size, however digging was interrupted by the arrival of a small family group of Elephants that had other plans for the easily accessed water!

Children one way - Elephants the other, with little hope of reaching an agreement for mutual usage!

We all kept a wary eye as the three family rabble of children climbed hastily back to the relative safety of the lounge tent to wait there turn in the depleted watering spot! Good to know we are still king of the jungle!

To more serious matters:

Unexplored Tanzania

This season saw the first of the Unexplored Tanzania safaris combining Osunyai, Katavi and Mahale National Parks with an extension to the Gorillas in Rwanda. The emphasis of the Unexplored is to combine and explore the more remote and exclusive wildlife areas in northern and western Tanzania with a primate bent to the end of the journey.

The combination worked well with all elements coming together splendidly!

The Unexplored will feature on the itinerary page of the web site.

www.wildlife-explorer.co.uk

Our good friend David Marsh has been hard at the re-construction of the web site, publishing new photos and up-dated descriptions for the camps and services across the Wildlife Explorer board with a fresh new layout, which hopefully you will all find easier to navigate.

Finally we can see the new camp photos reflected in the brochure that has been re-printed earlier this year as well as new descriptions and itineraries.

Please let us have your feedback regarding the new site, which will continue to be up-dated.

A letter from Phillip

Our guests visiting the Alamana Camp in The Ngaroi in May/June were treated to some wonderful tropical weather with downpours making the driving somewhat interesting! Luckily the game made up for the slippery driving conditions.

Cheetahs were seen nearly everyday and large breeding herds of Eland were resident on the plains at the back of camp. Nighttime roaring kept many of us sleeping lightly as the magnificent sound penetrated the night.

The light, made clear by the short rain storms made for good photography as we stalked for Eland, Hartebeest and Impala. The Hippo seemed happy with the increase of water along the Alamana.

It was at the hippo pool that we witnessed a little behavioural drama unfold a few feet from us as we watched from the bank above the pool as a hippo mother tried to introduce her new calf into the pod past an aggressive cow and dominant male. With much thrashing and grunting the attempt failed and as tactfully as possible the mother and calf backed away to try again later.

The presence of very healthy young lions along the korongos (river beds) has kept me on my toes as we walked The Ngaroi everyone sensing the tension as thick bush was avoided!

We spent many hours watching a Cheetah family that were being disciplined by the territorial male. They sat down and chirped like chicks in a nest every time he came close as he occasionally darted in to nip the mother or one of the almost fully-grown cubs. We also spotted at least two other cheetah families during game drives and walks.

Unfolding on the Lalaroi plains at the back of camp was a classic Cheetah hunt as a female chased towards a large heard of Tommy’s. As they ran across her line she joined the throng and singled out a young one that she gained on to within a metre before collapsing panting, totally exhausted by the exertion.

Whilst stalking eland on the northern edge of the woodland we heard elephant trumpeting in the distance. As we had not come across any sizeable numbers we abandoned the stalk and headed off in the open cruiser to find the largest herd recorded in The Ngaroi this season. Numbering over 160, there were some large bulls and many calves-a splendid sight in the early morning light.

There were large herds of buffalo on the western plains taking advantage of the lack of wildebeest that had moved east to the Ngorongoro plains. We found a calf struggling to break out of its birth sack and had to move away fast so as not to disturb the final stages of the birthing process.

Finishing the safari we ended up in Moru Kopjes where Lions with young cubs walked down the track beside the vehicle and an inquisitive young elephant that grabbed the HF antenna and gently pulled it until it slipped from her trunk and swung back with a thwap that made her ears stand on end!

News from Olerai

Greetings from sunny Olerai!

I have been out at The Ngaroi over the past week evaluating our seasonal campsite at the Alamana, looking at fire damage from the seasonal burnings of the Masai and generally having a good time! During the four days, the scorched grasslands and woodlands provided sightings of Lion, Leopard, Elephant and Cheetah as well as Buffalo, Giraffe and Eland plus a very nice Caracal on the fringe of the plains. The site itself has weathered very well with little to do before we move camp in November.

At home we are preparing for Hannah’s 15th birthday party taking place at the weekend! Hannah turned 15 today and has a long list of invitees for the Saturday bash! Jo and I will try and keep a low profile as the celebrations take place with a slightly quieter barbecue with friends at the other end of the garden!

On a less than celebratory note our thoughts and love go out to Emiko Stinson who suffered a severe head injury a little while ago and who is now recovering in hospital on the West Coast. Love from us all Emiko.

And to everyone else, stay well and thank you for all your support.

With warm wishes,

Gary & Jo.