WOW!!!! I am not sure where to start!!! This morning we left Bilila at 5:45 am and headed directly back to central Serengeti to see if we could see some more leopards. On the way we passed giraffe, wildebeest, Thomson gazelles, hippos, warthogs, baboon, hartebeest and hyena. At 7:05 our guide (who is excellent, of course) spotted a leopard sitting at the base of a tree about 75 feet away. We were watching it intently, when it lay down. Then we saw a leopard sitting at the base of the tree and thought, there must be 2 leopards. Indeed there were!! As we were watching along came a hyena sniffing the bottom of the tree where the leopards had just been, The 2 leopards seemed to be surrounding the hyena and possibly going after it. Just as they got within a few feet the hyena escaped. We stayed for 1.5 hours before any other vehicles approached. During that time they were playing and chasing each other rolling around just like house cats. It was so much fun to watch.

We finally left and went about 1/2 mile and came across 1 more leopard with a kill in the tree. Just behind that leopard was a cheetah with a kill as well. The cheetah was being harassed by 2 jackals trying to steal her food. At 9:12 am we were at a lioness right next to the road lying in a dead tree. At 9:25 we were at a mother cheetah with 2 cubs!!!! We continued out to Masaai Kopjes and saw reedbuck, dik dik, more jackals and more giraffe. We decided to return to Bilila to enjoy the afternoon since our morning had been so jam packed with super sightings!! On the way we encountered one group of 23 giraffe crossing the road, 46 elephants and another group of 12 giraffe, a very large herd of wildebeest migrating, hartebeest, zebra and more Tommies!! WHAT a day!!! Final count so far – 37 lions, 7 cheetah & 5 leopards!!! (And I ran into my good friend Phillip who is the restaurant manager at Bilila!!!) Now after a super lunch of prawns tempura, I am writing this blog post!!

Oct 5th – evening at Migration camp – we had a special treat of a mother genet cat and her baby right next to us while we sat around the bon fire – the baby was so small and so cute- an experience -I will not forget!!!

Oct 6th – After a wonderful breakfast we departed Migration Camp and headed towards central Serengeti. We saw baboon, warthogs, wildebeest, hartebeest, ostrich, zebra, topi and then came across 4 lioness, some cape buffalo, grants gazelle, jackals, secretary birds, hyrax, giraffe, monitor lizard with a small baby monitor lizard, impala, hyena, elephants, and at 11:04 we were at our first leopard with a kill in the tree. It was about 30 feet from the road but quite well hidden. At 12:07 we were at a 2nd leopard, which was a baby. Some jackals, waterbuck, 14 Elephants and about 200 cape buffalo and then 9 lions rounded out our game drive for the day.

I ran into two old friends along the way, whom I have known for 14 years, Ellieta was at the Seronera airport (he is now assistant manager at Kirawira) and Vincent was at the gas station (he is manager at Mbuzi Mawe) it is always good to see my local friends!!!!Who always make me feel very welcome and right at home!!! I also ran into Nickson and Peter who used to work with ADS. To top off the day I had one of the best massages ever at the spa here at Bilila. I highly recommend their treatments!!! A fabulous dinner and then early to bed!!!

Tomorrow we will have a nice breakfast at Bilila and then drive up to Grumeti Game reserve where we will be staying at Sabora. I am excited to return once again at one of my most favorite places to relax. I will try to update you again from there.

I am having difficulty uploading photos, so please bear with me. Asante Sana!!!

We left Bushtops yesterday and headed south towards Migration Camp. Right away we came across 4 lions, 9 elephants, girraffe, buffalo, warthogs and thomson gazell. By 11 am we were at a cheetah which was beautiful. Many Eland, Klipspringer and banded mongoose were also spotted. Two more cheetah, 6 more lions, hartebeest, ostrich and hippos rounded out our game drive. We arrived at Migration camp just before the sky opened up and we had a heavy rain shower and lightning which was a wonderful way to end the day. It is so amazing at how green everything is when it is supposed to be the DRY season and everything is supposed to be dry and dusty.

This morning we were pleased to be greeted by a genet cat in the lobby right before our early morning departure for game drive. Right away we spotted 2 big male lions moving quickly as they were searching for an apparent intruder into their teritory. About 50 feet from the car the lead male started roaring from the depths of his soul….the sound filled every crevice of my body and soul and will remain in my memory forever. You could see his breath as he expelled every roar, trying to be convincing to the intruder, that the territory belonged to him and the intruder should go away!!! It was more amazing than what I could have imagined!! Had our game drive ended at that point it was more than enough. We continued on the lobo game loop for a while and saw 11 more lions, elephants, cape buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, reedbuck, baboon, waterbuck, dik dik, and many birds and other wildlife as well. Back to the lodge for lunch, bush update and some relaxation.  Another thunder storm can be heard in the not so far distance and soon we will be treated to another light show from nature!!! Tomorrow we head to Bilila in the Central Serengeti. Enjoy!!!

 

Last night it rained cats & dogs, so this morning everything was green and lush. We left at 6 am this morning after a super sunrise and a light breakfast and we headed to the Mara river to possibly catch a river crossing. Along the way we saw many animals, topi, wildbeest, zebra, giraffe, ververt monkey, varieties of birds, hippos, crocks. We stopped and set up our table along side the Mara River to enjoy the scenery and also a full breakfast. After Breakfast we continued with our game drive and were fortunate to see a couple of crossings. The zebra crossed and the wildbeest followed, skirting the crocs who were just waiting for them to do so. Fortunately for the zebra and wildbeests the crocs did not seem to be too hungry and everyone crossed successfully. After crossing, some decided to cross again and go back over to the side of the river, from which they had just come. Again, fate was on their side and all made it. (My pictures are too high resolution to upload from my good camera on the bush internet connection, but I hope you enjoy the low resolution from my not so good, other camera.) More pictures to follow upon my return from the bush!!

We returned to Bushtops for a late lunch and some relaxation. Lunch was delightful and in fact, I took some photos of our appetizers and dessert but I ate my fish and chips before I remembered to take some photos. So sorry!!

I have just landed in the Serengeti and had a wonderful game drive today. We saw allot of wildlife today in our short game drive including wildbeests, zebra, giraffe, hippos, crocs, impala, reedbuck, elephants, warthogs, mongoose, vultures and assorted other animals. We were excited to arrive some what early at Bushtops Tented Camp so we could experience all that they offer including complimentary massage, beverages and first class service!! I hope to be able to keep you updated along the way!! until then….. all the best, mama simba!!

 

Most of us know that the stripe pattern of a zebra is much like our fingerprints – no two are alike and even the left side is different from the right.

Different species also have distinctly different stripe patterns, in other words you can tell their “nationality”; if you see a zebra with a grid iron pattern on its rump and stripes all the way down it’s legs, you’ll be in Angola, Namibia or South Africa looking at the Mountain Zebra, spot one with very narrow stripes and an apparent bull’s eye on its rump and you’ll be looking at the massive Grevy’s Zebra in the arid areas of Ethiopia, Somalia or Kenya. While on safari with ADS in Tanzania, you’ll see the Burchell’s Zebra. This zebra has shadow stripes which run between the black stripes on its torso. Interestingly the completeness and boldness of its stripe pattern decreases as you move further south from the equator.

I’ve periodically watched a large group of zebra explode from a water hole in a cloud of dust, only to later re-group into individual families and trot off into the sunset. How do they find each other when they all seem to look exactly the same-at least to us anyway? Incredibly in addition to their smell, zebra are able to recognize other individuals based on their stripe pattern. The question is how can we possibly know this strange fact?

The stripe pattern of a mare is such a critical component of a newborn foal being able to imprint on its mother, that they mare will shield the youngster from other zebras for the first few hours of its life so it cannot imprint on the “wrong zebra”. It is thought that the particular stripe pattern on the face (between the eyes and nose) and shoulder are the most important. 

When you’re on safari with ADS and are looking at these striped beauties, sooner or later you’re bound to wonder Hmmmm “are they black with white stripes or white with black stripe”. Curious? Keep an eye open for my next posting which also includes a fascinating fact about a zebra’s built-in air-conditioning system.

We are recovering at home today from our whirlwind tour of Tanzania. It was an absolutely wonderful experience for both Shawn and me. From the time our plane touched down in Tanzania to the time we were taken back to the airport, out trip was fantastic! It is more than obvious that Africa Dream Safaris provides the highest level of customer service available for trips like this, as we felt always that we were 110% taken care of, and that we were always safe and in the hands of people we could trust and who cared about our experience.

The places you arranged for us to stay and the itinerary you suggested for the dry season was perfect. I would not have changed a thing! When talking with other people there who were on safari trips with other companies, it was readily apparent that we were being managed much more efficiently, and that our level of experience while on safari was much better than anyone else we spoke with. I also noticed many other people struggling in their “pop-up” vehicles to see wildlife or get photos, so I was very happy we had the roll-top safari vehicle that ADS always uses.

Our driver certainly made our trip very enjoyable and productive each day. He is a wonderful, caring, intelligent, thoughtful and obviously very experienced safari guide. I almost couldn’t believe how lucky we were to get a person like him to be our guide! He kept us “on track” every day and made sure that we filled our days with new discoveries and experiences, and worked hard each day for us to be sure we would see all of the animals “up close”, as well as learn about the local ecosystems. He filled our days with amazing encounters of all kinds, including the “big 5” and a river crossing, and also filled our minds with new information. I didn’t realize I could learn so much from one person in a little more than 8 days! We came to adore him before we left and felt that we had truly made a good friend. We would probably like to send him a small gift sometime in the next several weeks, if you could tell me where to send it.

I must also thank you for your correspondence sent to us prior to our trip and all of the information you sent to help us with planning and packing. We had everything we needed for a perfect safari and thankfully did not pack too much! Your advice regarding the travel issues, clothing to take, and what supplies we would need (and not need) while there were “spot on.” I must say one of the best tidbits of advice was taking a multiple outlet cord for plugging in our chargers. I bought a small travel version for about $10 to take along, and it made it much easier to keep everything charged up at the places that had limited generator time and limited outlets. (that should be a “must take” on your list)

We very much enjoyed every tent camp and every lodge we stayed in while there, but the “shining star” was the Swala camp. We also very much enjoyed the location and food at the Buffalo camp. The private luxury camping was also a highlight. We received extremely good service everywhere we stayed, (we have no complaints!) and I almost always ended up tipping a little more because we really felt that everyone was going the extra mile for us to make our stay comfortable and enjoyable.

I would make sure that you encourage all of your clients to do the Private Luxury camping, because we enjoyed those nights of seclusion with the Hyenas howling and the wildlife all around us so much!  (one hyena came to sniff around our tent and howl us to sleep both nights. It was really great!)

Two other things that we enjoyed very much were the Safari walk at the Buffalo Camp (very interactive and educational!) and the Maasai Village visit. I had read in your last e-mail that some people had reported having bad experiences while visiting the Maasai villages, but that was not the case for us. Our guide encouraged us to consider the village visit, and he took us to a remote village close to the Buffalo Camp. The Maasai people there were warm and inviting, and really went out of their way to spend alot of time interacting with us, including teaching us about their culture and way of life, and dancing and singing for us. The Maasai Warriors threw spears and we took video of them. When we showed them pictures and video on our cameras they were very excited and they laughed while watching each other.

Before we knew it, we had them playing with our cameras and they took a lot of neat photos of each other, of us, and of the village that we will always treasure. The close interaction with these young men that were friendly and joyous was heart warming. Nobody “pressured” us to buy anything. Our guide told us before going there that the women did sell beaded work, and that they would set some things out for us to look at and purchase if we liked. They had quite a bit to choose from! Shawn did buy several pieces of beautiful jewelry there, but again we did not feel that we had to purchase anything. I tipped our Maasai village guide, who spoke perfect English, as suggested in your ADS guide, but after I left I felt maybe I should have given him more to maybe help out their small village a little.

It was a really positive experience for us, and we left feeling that we had really made a rare cultural connection with the people of this small village. I’m glad we had the opportunity to understand them as individuals and their Maasai culture better, and I hope they could see we were not there only as “tourists,” as many visitors probably are.

Again, we appreciate your help and all of the ADS staff for making this the most wonderful vacation experience ever for us. Going there has truly changed us, and the time there will be unforgettable in years to come. We are already thinking about possibly going back sometime in the future during the rainy season to see the difference and learn a little more about Tanzania.

ASANTE SANA from both of us!!

Mark and Shawn Pitts
Frederick, Maryland
September 2011