Squack Evans

Rwanda & Botswana, June 2011

2012-01-30T14:49:00.000+03:00

This was a pretty short safari but we took in a lot and had an amazing experience: three days in Rwanda, trekking the mountain gorillas, a total of two treks, one with the Agasha group and the other with the Kwitonda group.

Both groups have large numbers of individuals and both also have good number of babies which provides interesting interactions all the time. The Kwitonda group has some very interesting dynamics with 3 silverbacks at the moment, which also provides for some exciting viewing.
We managed on both days to get very close to the gorillas, on one occasion we were boxed in to the thick vegetation with a youngster sitting very close by watching with interest our attempts to maintain the required 7 metre distance.

We then flew south to Botswana, with 3 nights on Chiefs Island at Mombo camp. I hadn't been into the camp for a while, in fact my last time there was when we were sent in to help with the new camp construction.

It was good to be back and also good to see how much the area had changed with such high water. The flood was the highest it had been for many years and as such we had some restrictions as to the areas we could access. We only saw one of the resident lion prides; although we heard some of the others.

Despite our best efforts, we failed to find a leopard but enjoyed a very new born elephant, it was still pink behind the ears and very fluffy! The last remaining wild dog in the Mombo area put on a great show with her surrogate pack of black-backed jackals. It was amazing to witness this very unusual behaviour, and also to see it first hand after hearing and reading all about it.

Another highlight, on our last evening after a rather long afternoon searching for leopard, was an Aardwolf, not something you see everyday and certainly hardly ever get a chance to get a picture of...

Our flight out was very early in the morning; and while departures are not my favourite, it was stunning with the dawn light and the dust from the prop-wash.

Zambia & Tanzania, June 2011

2012-01-26T19:35:00.000+03:00

This trip was inspired by a conversation high in the Himalayas, a discussion developed comparing Niagara and Victoria Falls. Deborah decided she had to check out Vic Falls for herself!

Water levels on the Zambezi were the highest they had been for many years, needless to say we got soaked when we went in to see the falls but fortunately on the second day the wind was a little different which allowed us to see more of the spectacular drop. The verdict: it was close but I think Vic Falls won out!

White-water rafting was closed due to water levels but there was plenty to be had on the bridge by way of gorge swings and bungee jumps to satisfy the adrenaline.

After a night spent with my family in Lusaka, and checking out how 2 million rose stems are produced every week we set off for the Lower Zambezi.

The high water levels restricted a little our game drives but we still saw incredible game, great leopard, lion, elephant as well as all the usual suspects, and a blissful afternoon Tiger fishing; not great with the dirty water but Deborah landed the only fish of the day!

Starting our safari in Tanzania on the night of a full lunar eclipse, we made our way from Arusha leisurely north. Starting with an afternoon in Manyara National park with some amazing close up views of elephant.

Overnighting in the wonderful Plantation lodge and taking in the Ngorongoro Crater the following day. Onward to the Serengeti, we found some amazing 'rock star' lions perched on the kopjies in central Serengeti on the way to our mobile set up in the Western Corridor specially to catch up with the migration; scores of wildebeest and zebra with the cacophony of noise that goes with the wildebeest at this time of year; rutting season.

A balloon flight, bush breakfasts and on to the northern Serengeti for the last few days of our safari.

What a pleasure to arrive there and experience untrammeled Africa without the crowds! Out of season is definitely the way to travel these days. Leopard, lion and cheetah in our time here not to mention wonderful vistas of seas of grass with zebra and topi navigating their way across the plains.

Sudan Camel Trek, January 2011

2011-02-25T13:58:00.001+03:00

Sudan; what to think when someone tells you that they are planning a trip there? Madness? Folly? Reckless? Images of gun toting militias riding on camels or horses spring to mind; news stories of genocide, kidnap, and many other atrocities are all thoughts crossing ones mind.

Sudan is a big country, about 2.5 million square kilometers; or just shy of a million square miles…. As with all news the bad stuff sells and they neglect to tell you that the trouble is confined to small areas of the country; small being a relative term here as Darfur and Kordofan alone are about the size of Tanzania.

We arrived in Khartoum on the last day of the South's referendum to secede; there was no way of knowing that anything of any import was going on in the south. The people were extremely friendly and welcoming and I felt safer in Khartoum than I do in Nairobi!

Our camel trek started just outside a town called Metemma on the west bank of the Nile, some 4 hours drive north of the capital. We were basically following in reverse the route that the Gordon Relief column followed in 1895.
Over the next 10 days we walked and rode through some incredibly diverse terrain; ranging from Acacia scrub in sandy soils, very typical Sahelian vegetation by all accounts, through to rocky pavement like reg desert and beautiful rolling sand dune fields, almost erg-like desert.

We camped at the Abu Klea wells, site of a major battle for the control of the wells, and the only place where the British Square was actually breached. The British won the day, and today there is a monument on the site of the battle as well as many graves of the fallen soldiers. We found cartridge cases on the battle site as well and we saw the stone walls put up by the British for their overnight defences before the battle.

We also spent a night at Jakdul Wells; the British used these rainwater cisterns as a base about midway across the Bayuda Desert. They were here for some days and one can still see the fortified 'sangars' that they built on the high ground surrounding the wells. These stone forts commanded the approaches to the wells and would have made it a very difficult proposition for anyone to dislodge them from this vital water supply.

From Jakdul we headed back into rocky desert with rolling hills, covering an average of nearly 30 kilometers a day walking and riding. The longest day was a 45 km trek; we walked into camp at the end of the day by the light of the waning full moon; spectacular experience.

We passed a well where our jerry cans were filled by local nomads, using a pulley, a donkey, rope and leather water skins to reach the water some 70 metres down.

This for me was one of the highlights of the trip, along with the military history of the two sites mentioned above.

The last day of walking we ended next to an irrigation canal so were able to have a refreshing wash and swim; although surprisingly the water was decidedly bracing. On the return drive to Khartoum we spent the night camped at the base of a huge sand dune near the Meroe Pyramids.

We spent the following morning walking around the pyramids followed by a stop at the 'Lion Temple' before finally ending in Khartoum.

The diversity of historical peoples and civilizations in Sudan was eye-opening and this trip was worth a whole lot more than just a simple desert trek.

Our last day was spent in Khartoum, we enjoyed the Friday evening ritual of the 'Whirling Dervishes', a religious sect of Islamic Sufism; it was an incredible scene, and overall we found the North Sudanese people we met and interacted with to be amazingly friendly, polite and welcoming.

Andasibe National Park, Madagascar

2010-10-20T11:32:00.001+03:00

Phelsuma sp. Gecko

Andasibe is a small national park about 3 hours east Antanarivo famous mainly for the Indri, Madagascar's largest lemur. On arrival in Tana we headed straight out to Andasibe stopping for a brief lunch at a Chinese restaurant where we sampled Min Sao for the first time and saw the first endemic bird species; the Souimanga Sunbird.

The drive was through very pretty hills, very windy and lots of hairpin bends and of course lots of traffic; so pretty hair-raising!

Indri breakfast

Once we reached the park we set out on a night walk along the road, we managed to pick up a few frog species like the Boophis sp. seen in the first post along with a huge Leaf tailed Gecko and Parson's Chameleon. Mouse lemurs were fairly plentiful as well as a few other lemurs that were pretty high up in the trees and difficult to get clear views of.

Next morning we started off with breakfast; or rather Mirjam did and I was out looking at birds; Mirjam refused to budge without something to eat!

Indri

As you walk down the road to the park entrance you can hear the Indris calling; this morning calling is often referred to as 'the song of the Indri'. It is an incredibly haunting sound and something I think can be most likened to the sounds recorded of whale song. An incredible sound! The Indris themselves are really fascinating and we spent a long time with them; that said photography was some of the most difficult ever for me; the combination of low light and craning your neck up into the trees makes for pretty difficult conditions and by the end of the day one's neck and shoulders are protesting!

Blue Coua

Birdlife was prolific and we picked up a number of Madagascar rainforest endemics, the Blue Coua were the stars but we saw over 30 other species in our short stay as well as a couple of other lemur species like the Golden Sifaka.

Golden Sifaka

The forest itself was beautiful with a couple of lovely lakes and lots of small streams running through the park, we even got to see a Giraffe-necked Weevil although it was too quick to catch a photo!

We set off back for Tana just before lunch and had an interesting drive back through the terraced rice fields to the capital.

Madagascar, finally!

2010-10-01T16:13:00.000+03:00

Finally, after a false start a few years ago when we decided that Madagascar shortly after a coup was not such a wise idea, we began planning another trip. We soon discovered though that elections were supposedly imminent according to the BBC website. Not many people we spoke to in Madagascar were aware of them! We decided to just go ahead and hope for the best. It turned out to be the best thing!

We started in Andasibe National Park and over a 12 day period worked our way south through Antananarivo (Tana), Ranomafana, Andringitra, Isalo and on to the coast just north of Tulear. It was a great first taste of the island and involved a substantial amount of driving; it looks like just a wee little island on the map but the place is huge! More pictures to follow over the next few days.... culling through over 2,000 photographs is a time consuming process!

Phenomenal Serengeti!

2010-09-03T14:37:00.000+03:00

The Serengeti this year has proven to be phenomenal; we spent a week with a lovely Chicago family exploring the northern and western reaches of the area.

We started in Kleins just outside the park on the north-eastern boundary, the idea being to have a great Maasai experience before the wildlife spectacle of the migration.

Within five minutes of landing we had found a huge male leopard ensconced in a tree, and on closer inspection we found a pride of 4 lion feeding on a zebra carcass about 30 yards from his tree!

We found a further 6 lions in two groups on the way into the lodge and only got in around 9 o'clock after some spectacular viewing. The next few days we enjoyed more game viewing; more lion and lots of plains game and some elephant herds, and a great afternoon and evening with the Maasai followed by a spectacular electrical storm.

By day four of the trip we had seen a leopard a day; and all amazing sightings with great light. On our first morning in Kogatende we only had a brief wait on the banks of the Mara River, and witnessed a herd of some 25,000 wildebeest crossing; they chose a bad spot to leave the river and in the first few minutes of the crossing we witnessed some 40 - 50 wildebeest drown before they found a better place to get out. After an hour of watching we returned to our breakfast that we had hastily abandoned as the crossing started.

Our last stop was Grumeti Reserves for a bit of pampering; the spa was well used and we also managed to fit in an early morning balloon flight which was phenomenal, and to cap off our previous experiences we had a female cheetah kill a Thomson's Gazelle right in front of the car; again after waiting only a short time.

It became more and more difficult as the days went by to convince the family that these things don't happen every day on safari!

Our final day was one of smoke and fire; sadly there was a huge bushfire which burnt it's way across the reserve, consuming some 30,000 acres or more of grazing. We moved out of the lodge we were in in order to escape the smoke as the fire came right up to the lodge itself. We spent our las night gazing across the plains at the beautiful if sad picture of jumping flames and glowing skies in the distance. What an action packed 8 days!

Crocs and Wildebeest in the Mara.

2010-08-15T13:00:00.003+03:00

Had a fantastic few days in the Mara, managed to get a crossing without having to wait for hours! We arrived and literally it started to happen, we were also fortunate in that there were only a few other cars so it was great. Spent most of time in the Mara walking but had the last few days out looking for game in the Triangle; amazing stuff considering the time we had.

There were two crocs at the crossing, one of which made multiple attempts to grab a wildebeest without success, and then a monster who simply swam up to the poor bull above and grabbed him. the strength was amazing and the wildebeest was bodily thrown about by the croc; check out the splash!

The final splash before the croc dragged him under.... poor thing, not a nice way to go.

Finally we had a wonderful evening with a pride of 3 lionesses and 3 cubs along with a very lazy male, this lioness looked beautiful in the sea of grass.

Amboseli again

2010-08-14T19:30:00.003+03:00

A few more pictures from our few days in Amboseli, the elephant really did impress. It was fantastic to see such a relaxed elephant population and these guys passed us in the cars at about 20 yards distance.

Finally a few giraffe to show that it wasn't just elephant in Amboseli! Despite the terrible drought there last year and fears that the entire ecosystem had collapsed we had very good viewing and were seeing hundreds of wildebeest and zebra which had appeared to be the species hardest hit.

Amboseli: Elephant a highlight!

2010-08-08T18:48:00.001+03:00

After getting back from Rwanda we went straight out to Amboseli in Kenya, elephants really stole the show! We had a number of herds over a 100 in number out on the lake bed enjoying the grasses out there. Not sure what the grass was but they certainly seemed to enjoy it. I haven't had such amazing elephant viewing for a very long time!

Being out of the National Park we had the freedom to do a bit more, and we spent most mornings out on the lake bed with the elephant herds. We lay next to the car to get some great low down angles as they walked past.

Virunga Gorillas

2010-08-08T14:11:00.000+03:00

Gorilla viewing this time in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park was once again fantastic. The first day we were allocated the Sabyinyo group, after a 2 hour hike we arrived with them and they were all high up in the bamboo off the ground feeding. After some time of very obscured views however they all came down and relaxed in the deep shade of the bamboo. We had great views but the photography was challenging. Bumping up the ISO to 1600 meant very grainy shots so decided to shoot black and white only. I was quite impressed with the results, although the hour went by all too quickly.

The second day were allocated the Hilwa group, and after a very short walk of only about 30 minutes total we came on them feeding at the bottom of a valley. The first 10 minutes were very frustrating with very few views all through thick foliage, however they soon moved up the slope and into an open area under the bamboo. It was very dark once again and I stuck to black and white for the second day running.

The rest of the hour was some of the most amazing gorilla viewing I have ever had. There are a number of youngsters in the group and they were full of mischief, one grabbed my leg and had to be shooed off by the ranger, and they constantly were trying to get closer to us which meant lots of maneuvering to keep our distance.

At one stage it seemed one of the females took offense at the constant shuffling the ranger had us doing and gave a short run at us to intimidate us. We also had the youngsters rough and tumble wrestling, youngsters swinging and spinning on the vines and even a female making sexual advances at the silverback who sadly didn't take advantage while we were there! Great day out and to top it off they all moved out into bright sunlight for the last 5 minutes of our allocated hour.

A Tribute to Blur

2010-07-12T15:13:00.003+03:00

Found these two pictures of a leopard cruising on a night drive also while archiving! We were in the Lower Zambezi in Zambia and over the course of 8 days at Old Mondoro saw more leopard than lion. Not a common thing to be able to say at all!

Anyway I love the blur and the feeling of movement and urgency that they evoke. The light on the second image was a bit bright; can be a bit difficult predicting what the spotlight handler is going to do, but I have to say I rather like the effect!

Will try to post a few more blurred images as and when I find them, it is a bit of a hit and miss procedure I find but occasionally you get a good one.

Ostrich fighting

2010-07-12T13:25:00.000+03:00

Doing some work archiving photos, amazing what you find! These two male ostrich in Tarangire were going at each other hammer and tongs. They looked really ridiculous, much like you would expect two extremely drunk brawlers to look, however the damage they inflicted on each other was impressive. The male on the right emerged the victor, but went off with a gaping hole in his belly. The things men do for girls.....!

The Good Safari Guide 2010

2010-06-29T13:43:00.001+03:00

This news is a little out of date but anyway! Some kind soul nominated Richard and I in the Best Camp Guide category for The Map's Edge - which is a great honour. Many thanks to those of you who took the time to support the nomination!

Home again!

2010-06-07T16:25:00.003+03:00

Just got back from 2 months of travelling, 3 weeks in Nepal trekking to Everest Base Camp; Germany visiting Mirjams's family and some safari friends; and a long weekend on the Kenya/Tanzania border near Lake Magadi participating in the Rhino Charge.

Off on safari on Saturday morning to Laikipia, will be spending 5 days in Borana Lodge, really looking forward to getting out in the bush again, hopefully we'll see lots of exciting stuff!

Uganda Part IV

2010-04-13T13:53:00.005+03:00

We set off along the road which heads first west and then south along Lake Albert, we had a stop in Butiaba to look for the SS Robert Coryndon; a steamship named after the governor of Uganda (1918-22) who also happens to be cousin George’s great grandfather! We found it on the end of a long peninsula, it was sunk in heavy floods in 1962 alongside all other boats in the harbour. It looked as if the port was once a thriving and happening place, today it is not much more than a fishing village with a lot of ruins of what once must have been a pretty little town.

After our little stopover we continued along what is a beautiful stretch of road back up the rift escarpment and on through Budongo forest and thence to Kampala, and finally Jinja for the night.

We had the first night rain of the trip and the following morning a few intrepid members leaped off the tower bungee jump above the Nile before we set off for Kenya again. All in all a great trip and a very interesting first taste of Uganda; I am itching to go back and see more, who would like to join me??!

Uganda Part III

2010-04-13T13:28:00.006+03:00

After a night with our friend on the tea estate and a brief return to Fort Portal we headed north toward Hoima and another tea estate where we had arranged to spend the night. We spotted 2 chimps crossing the road in one of the small forested patches we passed through; only a fleeting glimpse but great to see all the same. We also saw a Grey-cheeked Mangabey, another first for me! After a pleasant night we headed north again through Masinde and on to Kanyiyo-Pabidi Forest and Murchison Falls National Park.

We had dinner at the Kanyiyo-Pabidi tourist site; unfortunately they don’t allow camping there anymore so after that we pressed on to the Top of the Falls Campsite arriving long after dark. What a beautiful spot as we discovered the next day!

We went down to the Falls proper and hiked down to the bottom and tried our luck catching a Nile Perch.

Our luck was somewhere else and after a few hours we gave up and headed downstream to Paraa for lunch and a quick trip across the ferry over the Nile for a game drive in the area between the Victoria Nile and the Albert Nile. What an afternoon!!

Despite our shortage of time we saw some great stuff; Rothschild’s Giraffe, Oribi, Kob, Jackson’s Hartebeest, Defassa Waterbuck, Patas Monkey and a huge herd of Buffalo as well as Elephant.

Not all bad for an hours game drive! The area is reminiscent of the Mara; rolling hills but with some beautiful Palms as well and I definitely want to get back there and spend more time exploring.

We spent the night at a campsite outside the park and the next day headed out early for Jinja for our last night in the country.

Uganda Part II

2010-04-11T21:18:00.006+03:00

Leaving the Semliki Game Reserve you climb up and around the foothills of the Ruwenzori Mountains, also called the Mountains of the Moon. It is a beautiful drive and a little terrifying; the local buses come screaming down the hill and when they reach a blind corner simply use their horn to warn anyone coming the opposite direction to get out the way!

The views were amazing; sadly not as good as they would be on a clear day. We arrived in the evening and set up camp in the National Park campsite and arranged to have a long walk to the Semliki River on the Congo border the following day.

We started the walk by going down to see the Sempaya Hot springs, a very primeval sight indeed. It was very dry whilst were there and our guide suggested we would be better off walking to the river from Kirimia Village.

We drove there and started walking through some incredible lowland rainforest, firstly it was some secondary regrowth; our guide told us the area was logged during the Amin era, however it soon changed to the most pristine and ancient forest. Birds were plentiful but incredibly frustrating as actually seeing the bird is a challenge; they were all calling but remained well hidden! I did however manage to pick up about 10 species that I had never seen before. The butterfly front was more successful and they notched up a considerable number considering the dry conditions.

We reached the river after 12 and a half kilometers of hiking and had lunch and a cuppa, we chatted to the local fishermen and had a wistful look across the river at the Congo.
It looks like fascinating forest and is basically part of the Ituri forest system, which stretches all the way to the Congo River. We also managed to get a glimpse of what I thought were Alexander’s Cusimanse; a social type of forest mongoose. After a quick bite we set off on the return hike, making a total of 25 km for the day; the guidebook tells us you should do this hike in 2 – 4 days; it would have been nice to have the time to do that! Next time!

Once back at the car we hot footed back to Fort Portal and beyond to a friend who had agreed to put us up for the night, hot showers….. bliss!

Uganda Part I

2010-04-10T19:15:00.003+03:00

In February of this year I had a pretty quiet time as far as safaris go so I jumped at the opportunity to head up to Uganda with 3 of my cousins and another friend of theirs. Two of my cousins (Warren & Matt) are really interested in butterflies and have an impressive collection, whilst the third cousin (George) is really interested in plants and their medicinal properties. I knew there would be plenty of time for me to look at birds and anything else I fancied. We set off from Nakuru in Kenya early and arrived in Jinja on the Nile in time for lunch.

We set off through Kampala and a thunderstorm aiming to get to Fort Portal near the western border of Uganda. Just my luck: my turn in the back of the pick up just in time for the rain to start! We got to Fort Portal in time for a tough beef stew and ugali, then set off to look for a campsite Warren and Matt had used a few years before set on the edge of Lake Nkuruba; one of a series of crater lakes just to the south of Fort Portal. We spent rather a lot of time looking and never found the site they had used; instead we settled on another little community campsite that was very pleasant and very basic.

The next morning we set of for the Semliki Valley, stopping first in Semliki Game reserve on the southern edge of Lake Albert. Lovely little park, sadly a lot of the area we drove through had been burnt, but we still saw some good game and my first (of many) Uganda Kob. Also saw Abyssinian Ground Hornbill for the first time. Sadly it was very windy and hazy so the butterflies were not in abundance and the views, which everyone raves about, were obscured. After reaching lake Albert we decided the butterflies would be better in Semliki National Park and headed in that direction for the night.

Ethiopia, January 2010

2010-04-10T11:05:00.005+03:00

Spent a few weeks in Ethiopia beginning of this year, having a look around and doing a bit of stuff completely out of line with my normal work. Got to see some very interesting parts of the country, which are not on any tourist route. Sadly wasn’t able to take many pictures; those I did are aerial from the plane out of Addis.

Spent the last few days in Addis and saw some great birds; a large number of Ethiopian endemics in a small piece of wetland near the airport including dozens of Roget’s Rail. Again, sadly no pictures, as was worried about breaking out the camera so close to the airport.

I was very impressed with Ethiopia and the Ethiopians; whilst parts of Addis are reminiscent of its communist past with some pretty ugly block buildings, there are many wonderful roadside cafes and restaurants, which produce some amazing food. Looking forward to going back and exploring more of the National Parks!

Update for 2010

2010-04-07T17:37:00.002+03:00

With all the best intentions in the world I have still not managed to keep this space updated and interesting! I had thought I would have plenty of time considering I haven't been out on safari for a bit. However things have a way of catching up and all in all the last few months I have been incredibly busy one way or another. Between spending Christmas and New Year with my family in Zambia, a couple of weeks in Ethiopia, fly fishing in the Aberdares, 10 days in Uganda, 4 weddings, and a funeral (that is no joke), and finally a blissful week at the Kenya coast doing nothing very much there has been not a lot of time to do other things! Will write up a few posts and try to get them uploaded over the next few weeks before the next flurry of activity.

Elephant Charge 2009, Zambia

2009-11-25T15:42:00.004+03:00

Some people might wonder we 'safari types' get up to in our spare time or on holiday! Besides the predictable "bus-mans' holiday" where we go on safari (one of the benefits of doing a job you really love!) we do have a lot of fun doing other things.

At the end of my last safari on Zambia I extended my stay in the country to catch up with family and as luck would have it my brothers team on the Elephant Charge had a vacancy which I was lucky enough to fill!
The Elephant Charge is based on the Kenyan event called the Rhino Charge and is a car rally with a difference. You have a number of hours to visit a series of checkpoints and it is the shortest distance that wins the day rather than the shortest time!

Maps and co-ordinates for the checkpoints are given to teams the night before the event and you have to plot the shortest route taking into account the terrain, and of course you actually have to complete it the next day!
Fun was had by all, the course was pretty tough with some huge hills to run up and down, lots of digging and pushing and of course winching too!

Our car had a few issues; I guess that is to be expected when you only start to get it ready three days before the event! We used a standard 1971 Landrover Lightweight with the only modifications being a nice winch; roll cage and some more comfortable Land Rover Tdi seats; only 2 members of the crew got to enjoy that though; my brother Rich, driving and Zane, the navigator. They had to make some excuse about how terribly hot it was in the front to make us all feel better about running and bouncing about in the back!Honestly though they did a sterling job!

We discovered that the float level in the carburetor was set wrong so every time we had a bit of tilt to the left or right the engine cut out; not really what you want on a steep slope as we discovered! We lost out rear brakes after the second checkpoint to a large stump and that added a bit more interest in case there wasn't enough!

By the end of 7 hot and dusty hours we managed to complete the course and when the result came out we found we had done pretty well: we took the shortest distance prize as well as one of the Tsetse lines, and came second in the other Tsetse line and the Gauntlet.
The charge is a fun event and is also a very important fundraising event for charities in Zambia; this year all proceeds went to Children in the Wilderness and the local community who hosted the event.
The Kenyan Rhino Charge event raises money to build a fence around the Aberdare National Park.
To find out more about the Elephant Charge and to see photos and the routes taken by all the teams click here.

None of these pictures are mine; some are from the official event photographer; I hope she will forgive me for posting some of them here; and others are from family and friends.

White Rhino, Meru

2009-11-23T15:54:00.003+03:00

We spent 4 nights in Meru National Park in Kenya at the end of a safari this season. It was a rather unexpected destination as we had planned to visit Kidepo in Uganda instead; then due to immigration issues we changed that to Shaba; as the time approached it was decided that the drought had adversely impacted Shaba and the game viewing there, so we ended up going to Meru.

What a great surprise; we had fantastic viewing there; good lion, elephant, buffalo, fantastic Lesser Kudu and Gerenuk.
We also confirmed the fact that getting up early really does pay off; we saw 2 Black Rhino having a territorial dispute as well as 7 White Rhino; very close up.

Lobelia again!

2009-08-15T21:45:00.004+03:00

Here is that Lobelia again; this time in colour. I am off on safari tomorrow morning; so after this flurry of postings you won't be seeing anything new for a few weeks. Back at the end of the month and hopefully will have some good images and tales to share then. Beside the Mara will also be going up north to a camp called Sarara which is a stunning spot, and lastly will be in Meru for a few days too. Till then: Enjoy!

Tarangire Impala

2009-08-15T21:38:00.005+03:00

Impala are usually animals that we drive past without paying much attention to. Sadly we see them so often in many parks that after the first few days of a safari we tend to ignore them in the quest for looking for the more exciting species. They are however the 'perfect' antelope and are truly some of the most beautiful animals that you will see on safari. So in a tribute to Impala: here are some images taken with lovely backlight in Tarangire at sunset.

Kilimanjaro flora

2009-08-14T16:48:00.004+03:00

The flora on all of East Africa's mountains is pretty unique and special. Having a decent camera along allowed me to spend a little more time looking at and enjoying it. This is a close up of a Lobelia deckenii, endemic to East Africa's mountains. The rosettes of leaves close over the core at night and secrete a slimy water solution that freezes. The water below the top layer of ice never freezes and so the sensitive leaf bud is protected from sub-zero temperatures. Each rosette flowers only once before dying and is replaced by another rosette. They are most commonly found between 3,300mt and 4,200mt.

50 & Climbing... Kilimanjaro!

2009-08-14T13:04:00.006+03:00

It's been a while since I posted anything on Kilimanjaro: between bad weather on some climbs which didn't allow for any decent photo's and forgetting a memory card for my small point and shoot I have struggled a bit to put enough pictures together! This time however I decided to take my SLR with which was great fun if a bit heavy!

I climbed with 5 lovely ladies, the trip was to celebrate a 50th birthday. Everyone was very fit and very game, we spent 7 nights on the mountain, and ascended the Western Breach which is pretty challenging. Everyone however was up to the challenge and successfully made the summit without any major altitude issues.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous for the entire climb; not a drop of rain for the whole time out, sunshine was a daily event and that really helps you truly enjoy what the mountain has to offer. We had a series of spectacular sunsets as evidenced here, and likewise sunrise was also a great show.

The Western breach has been reopened as a route to the summit for some time, and as far as a more exclusive experience goes it can't be beaten. We spent the first four nights on the mountain having seen only two other small groups, on day 5 we joined the busy Machame route for a brief spell as we approached Lava Tower and we were suddenly part of an endless stream of climbers and porters making their way to Barranco. Fortunately once we reached Arrow Glacier we were the only people again, and had the entire Western breach to ourselves on summit day!

The picture above is of the breach from Arrow Glacier camp, not something for the faint-hearted! It is a beautiful climb and is described as an "exhilirating scramble"... needless to say there are some steep drop offs and ledges which as we went up in the dark could not be seen except by moonlight; some may say that was a blessing!

We reached the crater rim around 8 in the morning to be greeted by wonderful sunshine and a great view across the floor to Furtwangler Glacier and the Crater camp. The glacier has in recent years split into two parts; an indicator of changing climate patterns. The floor of the crater and up on to the ash cone was blanketed with a thin film of ice which was beautiful in the morning light.

We reached Uhuru Peak around 10, once again we were the only people there. After a short time getting pictures and thinking about the mornings' challenging climb up the breach we set off on the downward journey via Barafu to Millenium Camp. A highlight on the descent through Barafu was a huge Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture coasting up and down the valley.

Selous Walking Safari

2009-08-13T12:30:00.000+03:00

Having finished a great trip in both the northern circuit of Tanzania and the Selous I met another family in the Selous for a 4 day walk. We started at Sand Rivers and headed north to our first camp on Lake Tagalala. The following day we had a fantastic encounter with an elephant cow herd, followed shortly by a pride of 9 lions along the lake shore. After a brief dip in the hot springs we went on to another campsite on the lake for the night.

Having had a longer walking day we had a short game drive in the evening and had great views of Niassa Wildebeest. North of the Rufiji River apparently only 10% of the population have a white blaze on the muzzle seen above. South of the river this figure apparently stands at 90%!

Giraffe in the Selous are common. On the second day we had another brief drive in the evening and saw a large herd along with a big herd of buffalo.

On the final day we had a steady procession of elephant coming to drink from holes they dug in the dry river bed we were camped on. Walking is a wonderful way to experience Africa; gets the adrenaline levels up and allows you to see those things you so often miss from the vehicle.

It's been a while....

2009-08-12T15:07:00.006+03:00

It really has a been a while since I last posted! I have had a wonderful time out in the bush, having been a on a number of safaris back to back since the end of June. Between a safari with a group from Texas, a walking safari in Selous, a Kilimanjaro climb and a short safari in the Maasai Mara, it has been a busy few months!

Ngorongoro was great; a bunch of lions, including a very handsome male, and some lovely light shining through holes in the cloud cover on the herds of wildebeest and zebra.

The Serengeti was very special, because of late rains in the western corridor the migration was late arriving in the northern Serengeti. The grass was long and we worked hard to find cheetah, eventually having success on our last morning with a mother and 4 cubs which successfully brought down two Thomson's Gazelle inside of 15 minutes!

The Selous was as ever very special. Being such a wonderful wilderness it is very close to my heart, we had a great time fishing on the Rufiji; a few Tiger fish in the bag were a welcome bit of excitement, and we had a special night fly camping on Lake Tagalala, not to mention denning wild dogs!

Lechwe, Busanga Plains, Kafue

2009-05-22T20:17:00.003+03:00

Early on our last morning on the Busanga Plains we headed out for a last ditch attempt to find Sitatunga. It had rained the night before and we were treated to a beautiful scene of mist on the plains with a herd of Lechwe grazing as the sun rose, hopefully I will get around to posting a few more of the scene! Oh and we did see that Sitatunga too! My first ever!

Carmine Bee-eaters, North Luangwa

2009-05-21T19:22:00.004+03:00

Amazing walking, lion, elephant and buffalo on foot numerous times; North Luangwa was a winner. We were the only people in the whole park; this has to count among those last great wilderness areas left on the continent.
This breeding colony of Southern Carmine Bee-eaters was just down the river from camp, and provided a vivid splash of colour for photography.

Lower Zambezi Elephant

2009-05-20T20:25:00.001+03:00

This great bull climbed up a termite mound and fed on a Tamarind tree right in front us and then came off right past the vehicle giving us great close up opportunities.

Lower Zambezi Elephant

2009-05-20T18:38:00.003+03:00

Two weeks in Zambia last year in October were sublime. Unbelievable game in Kafue, North Luangwa and the Lower Zambezi. Elephant in the Lower Zambezi were particularly good (so were the Tigerfish!!) and hopefully will have a more images to share here over the next few weeks.... or make that months!

Lake Turkana 2008

2009-05-10T14:28:00.002+03:00

Spent a wonderful week with friends and family at Lake Turkana and surrounds. We returned home via the south end of the lake and over the barrier and found a group of very friendly Turkana ladies near our campsite. We gave them some medicine and food and managed to get permission to take a few shots while they were there.

Rwanda Gorillas

2008-08-19T12:41:00.004+03:00

This girl had just woken from a snooze. She watched me with frank curiosity, wiping her eyes and picking her nose!

Rwanda Gorillas

2008-08-18T17:27:00.013+03:00

Here are the first of a few images on the gorillas in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park!

Had a wonderful time in Rwanda! We stayed on the edge of the Volcanoes National Park. Tracking Mountain Gorillas early in the morning was fantastic. There is so much recognition when you look into their eyes, really an amazing privilege!

The National parks department in Rwanda (ORTPN) are pretty well organised and after arrival and registration at the park headquarters you get a chance to have a cup of tea or coffee (very civilised!) before being split up into different groups according to hiking ability.

We were allocated to the Hilwa group and after about a 20 minute drive we began our hike; 40 minutes or so to the park boundary through fields and settlement before we came to the stone wall demarcating the boundary. We had a further hour or so of walking, we managed to see... or rather hear a buffalo crashing into the bush at close quarters as we disturbed him on the path. Once in closer proximity to the gorillas we ditched any unnecessary equipment and proceeded down into a deep valley with almost vertical sides. We came on their night nests first and then came on an adult female with a youngster; words can't quite explain the feeling when you first see a Mountain Gorilla in the wild but it was incredible.

The female we saw first was suffering from a respiratory complaint as were a few others in the group; possibly an infection that had crossed the human/gorilla boundary. It seems that there had been a few groups suffering from this particular infection and we bumped into Magdelena, one of the vets who monitor the Gorilla's health; and who used to manage Greystoke Camp in Mahale; so was able to get a lot of extra info both on the gorilla's health and in general.

The hour allocated flies past and we managed to get some awesome views, and watched the youngsters playing, and had a wonderful view of numerous adults including the Silverback who finally consented to look at us after spending most of the hour snoozing!

Leopard, Piaya

2008-07-01T19:44:00.005+03:00

Once again, on the guide training session, we passed this leopardess with one of the groups I was training; fantastic sighting at about 10 in the morning. She hung around long enough for me to get a series of fantastic pictures. This one of my favourites of the sequence.
She was about 15 yards off the road and about 10 feet up in the tree.

Aardvark in Piaya

2008-07-01T18:58:00.002+03:00

While on guide training in Piaya, just east of Serengeti we came on this wonderful Aardvark just as it was getting dark. Seems he was seen a few times last season as he is easily recognizable by his floppy right ear! We were able to watch him for about 15 minutes as it was getting dark. Unfortunately the majority of photos were a little blurred as there was very little light; as you can see this is a bit soft as well.

Katavi Wilderness Mobile Camp

2008-01-07T18:53:00.000+03:00

I had the fortune this season to be involved in the set up and the first trips of a Wilderness Mobile Camp in Katavi in western Tanzania. The concept behind the product is to have a true wilderness experience, away from the madding crowds. Now although Chada camp itself is hardly a slouch when it comes to remoteness, in recent years its popularity has grown hugely. Consequently the number of people going there has increased substantially.

So with this in mind WMC came into being, game being less of an ultimate focus than getting away and exploring new territory.

For the first season we had one big 12 day safari for which we had planned 3 moves for the light camp as well as 3 days in Chada camp in relative luxury, as well as a shot of ‘in your face’ wildlife.

The first site I chose was on the north eastern corner of Katisunga floodplain, about 4 km off the nearest road and with a beautiful vista toward the sunset across the plain. When we were looking for the site we found a pride of at least 12 lion in the site, and a herd of buffalo bulls at the water just out front. The other benefit we discovered from this site was a lioness which had 3 1 month old cubs as well as the rest of the pride which included 2 magnificent males and another 3 very playful 3 month old cubs. Many an afternoon was spent watching them at a nearby waterhole.

From that camp we moved across to Lake Katavi, through an area I had intended to use as a base to explore the western side of Katisunga as well as Lake Katavi. It will definitely be on the list of campsites next year as it truly was a most stunning area. In one afternoon we had contact with numerous small groups of elephant, a huge male lion in the river bed as well as a herd of 400 + buffalo; not to mention all the other usual suspects!

Lake Katavi itself was incredible, huge numbers of game; buffalo, zebra, reedbuck, waterbuck, hippo, giraffe all in large quantities as well as topi and roan. The campsite was a winner but unfortunately with development to the western side of the park it will become busier and with the layout of the roads there we will ditch the site in favour of the site at Kapirula mentioned above.

The final site we used with WMC was in the north eastern sector of the park set up on the edge of a small floodplain. This is my favourite place in the park and I cannot explain quite how it makes me feel every time I go back there. My biggest worry about this area is that maybe someone else might realise how good it really is…. In this vein I am not mentioning any place names. I will also continue to tell anyone that asks that the tsetse flies are awful, game is sparse and generally it isn’t a great area; which isn’t really a lie if, like the unimaginative hordes one sticks to the roads and doesn’t explore!!

So within 5km of our campsite we have Acacia woodland, Palm forest, Miombo woodland, (both high and low altitude) Riverine woodland, Groundwater Forest, Open grassland, flooded sedge swamp, large reed beds, and acacia and combretum collinum scrub. All this means we have the most amazing variety and incredible walking. We found a mud wallow which held in excess of 100 hippo, not even the park authorities knew about it!

The one thing missing here unfortunately is elephant, and I can only attribute it to poaching pressure in the past. We did notice a substantial relaxation of all game as time went on and we spent more hours walking and driving in the area. By the end of the final trip we were regularly walking to within 30 yards of big buffalo herds, and the animals were allowing us to get relatively close in the vehicle.

Lion sightings on every trip, a leopard, two sable sightings, roan, as well as the best bushpig sighting I have ever had. We spent 5 minutes or more with a young boar who came to within 5 yards of us on a walk up the escarpment.

Herds of buffalo like 100 years ago: on our last evening out we saw a number of groups congregating on a floodplain which I estimated to be in excess of 4000 animals.

Amazing birds, some good forest species, and on a trip with a butterfly expert up the escarpment we found a huge wealth of different species, including some beautiful forest species.

All in all, this area takes a place among my favourite favourites; my Quality Street so to speak! The camp is back in Katavi from June 2008, and I hope that I will be able to spend more time down there, the first booking is in already for October next year; roll on.

Lionesses and wildebeest kill, Serengeti

2007-08-07T21:39:00.001+03:00

On a recent trip to the Serengeti we were fortunate enough to witness these two lionesses bring down a wildebeest bull. Once the wildebeest realised there was no escape he put up a brave fight, although to no avail, he was no match for the lionesses. This picture gives you some idea of just how close we can get to the action when conditions are right!

Lioness Pair, Northern Serengeti

2007-08-07T21:39:00.000+03:00

Mt. Kilimanjaro, January 2007

2007-03-18T16:42:00.001+03:00

Kilimanjaro was first immortalised by Hemmingway and today it still attracts huge numbers of aspirant climbers hoping to make it to the summit of the highest peak on the continent.
Sadly, while it is a wonderfully beautiful mountain with an amazing diversity of vegetation zones as you ascend, it is, arguably, becoming oversubscribed, and the amount of trash left on the mountain is a frightening sight. Aggressive management initiatives need to be put in place and offenders littering this incredibly fragile ecosystem need to be handed stiff fines and operators abusing the regulations banned from the mountain.

All that having been said however, it is still one of the most amazing life experiences to be have had the privilege of hiking up to the summit.

Our climb up Kili followed the Lemosho glades route, one of the longer routes, but probably one of the routes with the highest summit success rates due to the extra time taken to acclimatise to the altitude. We started in Arusha National Park with a day for an acclimatisation walk and all the final equipment checks, after which we checked in to the Kilimanjaro Park Gate and began our first hike just after a packed lunch. The first day took in some wonderful mature forest with amazing flowers, birdlife and lots of elephant sign too! We ended the day in Forest Camp at 2650mt (8694ft), quite a small campsite which we were sharing with two other small groups, arriving at around six in the evening, after about 4 hours of hiking.

The second day found us leaving the forest zone after about an hour of walking and entering the heather, lots of beautiful Protea, and a lucky sighting of a Scarlet tufted Malachite Sunbird, which is confined to the alpine moorland of Africa’s mountains. We had a wonderful lunch on the trail; it is amazing how much food one can put away up there! The afternoon brought some more great views, and by the end of seven hours walking we were into the Moorland zone and Shira 1 camp at 3610mt (11842ft). A much bigger campsite and still only sharing with the other two groups, there is a beautiful waterfall and stream near the camp, and we had beautiful views of the peak of Kili in the evening, and a wonderful sunset. We saw the first of the ubiquitous Alpine Chats today, as well as Hunter’s Cisticola.

Day three was where we deviated from the normal route as the guests really wanted a shot at sleeping in the crater camp Justin decided that we needed to get a bit higher to check how everyone would cope with the increased altitude, so we did another long day, with lunch on the go, and after 8 hours of walking reached Moir Hut at 4200mt (13780ft) and the edge of the High Desert Zone. Beautiful views of the Lent group, the summit and of Mt Meru in the distance.

Day four was a long one, lunch near the base of the Lava Tower and a quick detour to climb to the top of the tower at 4600mt (15092ft) to get maximum benefit of the increase in altitude before we descended to Barranco camp at 3950mt (12960ft). Some snow on the Lava Tower, but most melted away already. The final descent into Barranco was beautiful with some magnificent Giant Senecio and Lobelia, and their attendant sunbirds. Arrived in camp just before dark after about 9 hours of walking, most people a little tired and footsore, Justin went off for a wash in the stream in the morning!

Day five started with the imposing Barranco wall, a pretty steep and relentless climb, with some 150 people on the trail at the same time; we joined the busier ‘Whiskey’ route yesterday. The amount of human waste on or near the trail has risen dramatically with the increase of climbers and their crews. We made Karanga valley for a late lunch after a long morning and pressed on immediately after lunch for a wonderful trek through the high desert to Barafu camp 4600mt (15092ft). Great views of the summit in the afternoon, and once we reached Barafu had a beautiful view across to Mawenzi as the sun was setting. A long day of hiking, about 7 hours all told. Barafu itself was quiet thankfully, although the campsite still smells like the urinal at boarding school.

Day six saw us on the trail by six for what is probably the most gruelling part of the climb; an altitude gain of over 4000ft, slowly is the word of the day, oxygen being a rare commodity up there! We had lunch just below Stella Point in the snow, and reached Stella by about 14h00.

General consensus was to summit and then proceed to the Crater camp for the night, so we proceeded on up to the ‘Roof of Africa’ 5896mt (19344ft). The entire group made it to the top and in fine if exhausted spirit, we spent about half an hour taking it all in and getting the required pictures, the peak was particularly beautiful with at least a foot or two of snow blanketing everything.

The descent down into the crater was pretty long and steep and with the snow banked in places thigh deep was quite taxing. Crater camp is an experience not easily forgotten, at 5790mt (18996ft) it is higher than Everest Base Camp! After such a long trek some members of the party were feeling pretty under the weather, but with nothing more than mild signs of altitude sickness. No one gets much sleep up there and periodic breathing while sleeping was my main bane along with a headache, although this was easily dealt with by taking a Paracetamol.

Day seven was a long trek down, most of us ‘skiing’ down the scree slope, amazingly easy going down compared to the upslope! Lunch in the Saddle and walked on down to camp at Horombo 3720mt (12205ft) back in the moorland after a good 7 hours walking. Justin had managed to get special permission to descend down the ‘Coca-cola’ route as it is less steep and less hard on the knees of those in our group.

Day eight was the final day on the mountain and we reached the road head and park HQ around three in the afternoon. Said goodbye to the crew, with lots of song and dance, and I dropped off in Usa River around six, and got home to the first shower in eight days!! Blissful!

Selous, Sand Rivers Relief, December 2006

2007-01-10T13:43:00.001+03:00

Spent two weeks in the Selous helping out with releif management at Sand Rivers. Had a great time, the weather was good on the whole, although it was pretty hot. We had only one day of rain which was torrential, but it did freshen everything up.... for a few minutes!
Plenty of huge thunderstorms in the vicinity, fantastic Wild dogs, had a pack of 17 very close to the camp which allowed us to escape and get a few pictures.

Also managed to get airborne with Fraser Smith who is working with the Selous Rhino Trust. He had seen his first rhino the day before from his Piper Cub, after more than 70 hours of flying time.... not withstanding all the time on the ground. It was a very exciting day, and it goes to show just how these isolated rhino have managed to survive. Fraser has also put in valuable information to the Wildlife Department on his flights where he has found poaching activities and poachers camps which have resulted in numerous arrests. His work is extremely valuable and should be supported where ever possible, click on the link above for more information.

Had a fantastic flight with Fraser, unfortunately no rhino, but lots of buffalo and elephant and some of the most wonderful scenery, Stieglers gorge from the air was especially memorable; best opportunities for aerial photography in a Piper Cub... no side window so no glass reflections, and the ability to fly so slowly and so low limits the blur remarkably.

Saw a few new species of bird which I had never seen before; Uluguru Violet-backed Sunbird, Dusky Turtle Dove and Mottled Spinetail. All in all a great trip down there and look forward to spending more time there sometime.

Maasai kids, Loliondo area, Tanzania

2007-01-09T17:17:00.000+03:00

These kids were using a cut down tree as a substitute horse... or donkey, and the poor kid below was looking longingly out of his classroom window; I can commiserate with him... I hated school too!

Shutterspeed Travel, Maasai Mara 2006

2006-09-17T11:47:00.000+03:00

Drove up to Nairobi and stayed with friends in town after an exhausting day, having started in Selous at 10 only managed to get to Nairobi about 10 in the evening.

Next day flew out to the Mara, and spent the day organising things around camp with Mike, left the camp in the evening to spend the night up at the Serian main camp, some hour and a half drive to the north. Great evening and returned the following day with the vehicle we are to use for the safari and the cook; most important ingredient of a happy camp!

Group arrived on time and we drove straight into the camp, great lunch and the camp itself fantastic, especially considering that we had to move the mess tent after a huge rainstorm had caused a river to run through the middle of it!

Evening drive a little wet with a shower of rain but we saw a pair of male lions and some great action with lion cubs playing on a wildebeest kill, unfortunately the light was not fantastic.

Next morning early rise and straight back to where we had seen the cubs, still there and still playing, great shots with wonderful light, followed by a cheetah with two cubs also playing, again very close views and good light too.

The next few days went by in a blur with more cheetah sightings, a total of 6 wildebeest crossings, all from different angles and three with the entire crossing to ourselves hidden away in a forgotten corner of the river. Longest we had was over an hour and still going when we left; Adam managed to get through 25GB of memory in a morning!! We witnessed a cheetah making a kill again pretty much to ourselves! Balloon flight, two nights up at the main Serian camp, a maasai village and then back to the fly camp on the junction of the Mara and Talek rivers for more great action packed photography.

Altogether a very successful trip as far as the photographers were concerned and I will let my pictures speak for some of what we managed to see.

Schubauer Safari, August 2006

2006-09-12T12:16:00.000+03:00

After a long day and a brief meet with Mirjam got to Kilimanjaro airport and met another wonderful group of people, guiding this time with Justin Bell and Ole Kirambai again. Drove to Arusha National Park and the Wilderness Africa private camp there. Spent the next 3 nights in the park, great Colobus and Blue monkey, good walking and a canoe trip.

Passed through Arusha on the way to Manyara, staying the night in Tree Lodge, not being a fan of the company that owns the lodge I was pleasantly surprised. Great game in Manyara as usual, fantastic elephant, really close up.

Crater Lodge next for two nights, think I have said it before; but way over the top for my taste, and again the guests we were with appreciated the more down to earth experience in the other camps.

Nice day in the crater, great lion, rhino, and a fantastic elephant in the picnic site, although it was rather ruined by the hordes of people rushing to get a photograph….

Justin and Ole drove up to Ololosokwan while I had the easy run on the plane from Manyara. Once again great walking in the Kliens area, nice chance to see the Maasai, and, most welcome, a huge male leopard killed an impala ram about 100 yards from the mess tent, and we had great views on a night drive after dinner. Drove across to Sayari in a reversal of the last safari, again, great lion on the wedge, but despite all our efforts to locate cheetah came up blank. Justin did and epic drive in the evening to continue the quest and ended up doing some pretty good 4 wheel drive work!

Managed to get a spectacular wildebeest crossing on the last morning and had to make a mad dash to catch the plane in time. 4 hours later in a Cessna 206 we touched down in Selous, this time staying in Sand Rivers. Great boating, fishing, flycamp and walking as well as a trip to the hot springs made a very pleasant change of pace from the previous 10 days. Flight back to Arusha via Zanzibar and on to the next trip!

Evers & Sherman Safari, August 2006

2006-09-09T17:29:00.000+03:00

Met guests at Kilimanjaro Airport and dropped them off for the night after going through plans for the following day. Left Arusha the following morning with a private charter via Kuro in Tarangire to meet up with Dave Christensen and the rest of the party for the Serengeti section of the trip.

Spent two fantastic nights in Sayari in the Northern Serengeti, thousands of wildebeest, a few tail ends of Mara river crossings, most notable being one 10 minutes after landing, beats waiting 5 hours like I usually do! Vulture action was phenomenal too but still waiting for that perfect picture of them coming to land.

Great cheetah kill on the first afternoon, on a young wildebeest, and heaps of lion, hyeana and two more cheetah on the Lamai Wedge.

Drove from Sayari across the Serengeti to Ololosokwan and the Wilderness Africa private camp there, again great time and a chance to show everyone a bit of Maasai culture and a local school, and a good chance to stretch the legs and walk. Great leopard in the Lobo area too, albeit brief!

After 3 nights there we caught a flight from Kliens to the Selous and stayed in Selous Safari Camp. Great spot and fantastic game too, good mating lion, as usual, and some of the most spectacular Croc viewings in ages, memorably my first skinny croc, huge old thing and decidedly spooky looking. Nice birding off the boats along the river bank and some very memorable elephant groups crossing the large stretches of water in the area. Dave the lucky bugger managed to find a group of wild dog too!

Fantastic group of people, lots of fun and great company. Flew out via Mafia and Zanzibar and then back to Arusha to meet the next group off the plane that evening.

Ngorongoro/Serengeti July 2006

2006-07-27T14:19:00.000+03:00

Just back from a whirlwind 5 day trip in Ngorongoro and Serengeti. Stayed two nights in the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, a very fancy up market place but is way over the top for my tastes and to my mind defeats the purpose of being out here. Fortunately the guests I was with recognised that it was rather over the top and seemed to really appreciate the more down to earth experience that our mobile camp in Wogakuria in the Northern Serengeti had to offer.

Game in the crater was, as usual, exceptional, although it is always slightly tarnished for me by the number of cars sharing the experience with you. The Wogakuria/ Kogatende area of the Serengeti though was exceptional, large numbers of wildebeest, we unfortunately missed a crossing after having waited for 2 and a half hours when a National Parks vehicle came screaming over the hill and into the middle of the massing herd which scattered it and put paid to any chance of witnessing the crossing that day. Great lion activity too, on the last night we had a good rain storm, and we found a scene of carnage the following morning, the lions had accounted for no less than 8 wildebeest in an area of about 1 sq kilometre. The vulture action was phenomenal and close!

Stacks of hyeana right up near the Kenya border, lots of elephant and other plains game, and after a brief shower a fantastic spectacle of 4 male Pennant-winged Nightjars with full streamers outside the camp hawking from a recent winged termite release.

African Skimmer at sunset

2006-07-19T17:53:00.000+03:00

A few pictures of African Skimmers, taken at sunset with very little light in the Selous. Was on a multi day walking safari with a family, and we had great Skimmer action on the last two evenings when we were camping on the shores of Lake Tagallala and on the Rufiji River.

The top two pictures we had a torch on the bird as it flew past so you can get a hint of the beautiful colouration of these birds. You can also see the blurred line of ripples behind the bird above as its' mandible dips below the surface to pick up food.

Aah, that beautiful light, nothing digitally enhanced that you can't do in the dark room either!

Ngorongoro lions

2006-07-18T17:03:00.000+03:00

A few of my favourite lion shots, not the conventional type of picture, but then again there are plenty of those around. I especially like the top image, two associated males had just returned from seeing off a young male who had made good his escape up a tree. They were obviously reaffirming the bond between them, and as it was early morning in the crater (the only way to go to avoid the masses of vehicles) light was an issue but a slow shutterspeed combined with their movement makes for a very powerful image in my eyes.
The bottom image was taken with strong backlight shortly after the top image and again slightly non-conventional but I like it!

Greystoke Mahale

2006-07-15T15:55:00.000+03:00

Mahale mountains, conjurs up images of deeply forested ravines, bubbling streams, high mountains and the crystal clear lake water of Tanganyika. It also conjurs the haunting sounds of chimps pan-hooting in the morning and the incredible feeling you have when you come around the corner of the path and see them for the first time, so human, and yet so not. It would not be a huge surprise to see a face peer over the edge of one of their sleepings nests and wave or wink, or for that matter tell us all to bugger off and stop disturbing his sleep!

Their behaviour is wonderful to watch, all the body language of humans but without the benefit of language, it truly is a privilege to be able to experience them at such close quarters as you can at Mahale. Thanks to over 40 years of study by Japanese researchers in this area the 'M' group have become so habituated to human presence they ignore you completely and go about their life as usual. Photography is, however, hugely difficult; the forest floor is well shaded and the light is rarely enough to get a good photograph. Flash photography is not allowed and is in fact one of the few things that really disturb the chimps. Patience and high film speeds are the best answer!

Katavi Fire fighting

2006-07-15T14:12:00.000+03:00

Chada, July 2005, the time of pyromaniacs, every year the bush goes up in flames as either the National Parks Department make 'controlled' burns or poachers set alight vast tracts of land in order to see the game they are hunting on moonlit nights. Every year sleepless nights for us as we watch the orange glow growing on the horizon and wonder if it will reach us or not.
This time however the fire was fast approaching from mid afternoon and we started our back burn to stop it before it got into Chada floodplain, a disaster for us as it would destroy huge amounts of grazing right in front of the camp and would threaten the camp itself.
The first wall of flame came out of the woodland and into the short grass and we only just contained it, everytime it looked like it was going to get away fortune smiled on us and the wind changed for just long enough for us to beat it out along the road. Singed leg hair and blisters were par for the course and by the next morning eyelashes were a rare commodity, but there were plenty of us who looked as if we had done 12 rounds with Mike Tyson!

We managed to get a secondary fire going along the road as well, and proceeded to burn over 10km of 'back burn' to contain the fire, a gruelling task taking over 12 hours with the entire camp crew bar one cook and one waiter who would look after the guests the following morning. It provided some wonderful photographic opportunities between the beating and thankfully the auto focus held up as the majority of these pictures were taken with streaming eyes and blurred vision.

The final burn was to close up behind the fire to contain it completely and a fresh breeze had got going and allowed me to get some spectacular 'Armaggedon' style pictures, the one above possibly the best picture I have ever taken.

Maasai dancing, Maasai Mara, Kenya

2006-07-07T17:28:00.000+03:00

Safari in the Maasai Mara at the end of a Leadership Safari, the local village put on a dance in the camp, a very lucky shot, hand held and using everyone elses camera flash to get the frozen effect with movement still in evidence.

Crocodile fishing, Katavi

2006-07-07T17:08:00.000+03:00

One of my favourite pictures, managed to get this off the bridge on the Katuma River in Katavi. Just as the sun was setting and the light was great, slow shutterspeed allowed me to blur the fast flowing water and as the croc was perfectly still he is still pin sharp.

Wildebeest Migration, Serengeti June 2006

2006-07-04T18:12:00.000+03:00

Had a very brief trip up to the Serengeti, 4 days in all, drove up through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and onto the Western Corridor of the Serengeti. Stayed in Nomads' Mobile Serengeti Safari Camp. Picked up three guests from Seronera the following day and had a great run around the Seronera area, albeit busy with other vehicles, we got away from it all by the evening and into Simiti special campsite. Seronera is always good for cats and other resident game, so we caught up with a lioness making an attempt on some Thomsons' Gazelle, three males and one more lioness doing the more sensible thing and lying up in the shade of a toppled Acacia. We managed to find a pair of cheetah tucked up under a bush and also doing what cats do best... napping!

Nights were phenomenally noisy, perhaps the equivalent of sitting on the bank of a pond with a million toads in full mating cry. After some time however the noise becomes very soporific and lends a hand to sleep. Next few days we weaved in among the throngs of wildebeest and other game in the vicinity. Unfortunately there was a distinct 'lack of cat' but the landscapes of wildebeest more than made up for it. The Grumeti river was reduced to pools and there were many impressive crocodile specimens lying on the banks of the pools. Great birding, I picked up 4 new species for me whilst there and a great sighting of a Madagascar Squacco Heron.

Nyasorori plains all the way down to the Grumeti river camp was thronged with yet more wildebeest, allowing plenty of great photo opportunities especially as the sun was setting. The majority of the Zebra numbers seemed to be concentrated in the Seronera area, and we saw thousands coming in to drink as we returned to the airstrip to drop the guests off.

Fantastic trip and hopefully I will hit some good crossings on my trip in August to the Mara with a specialist photography group.

Lake Rukwa - Quest for a Dugout Canoe

2006-07-01T14:15:00.000+03:00

Having left Chada rather late, traditional Evans time as usual, we set out in an attempt to reach Ndido Falls and Lake Rukwa, no guests with us, and hence very basic and lightweight camping gear, of course nothing waterproof, possibly a rather short sighted action considering it is November and the rains should in theory have started already!

After eventually finding the right road from Maji moto to the falls we started off fairly optimistic, however, 'road' in this instance is more like a .... well, a goat track, with endless offtakes and plenty of opportunities to go wrong. The local Sukuma tribe were less than enthusiastic to help with directions and if everyone was to be believed, well, there were Ndido Falls around every corner! With darkness fast on us we decided to call it quits and set up camp in the middle of nowhere to the sounds of thunder and some impressive lightning, not forgetting my constant cursing and scratching as we had run into some 'upupu' or Buffalo bean on the track, no amount of antihistimines come close to helping.

Next morning we gave up on the Ndido Falls and headed toward Lake Rukwa, the map indicated two fair sized roads heading straight to the lakeshore..... how wrong can you be!! Once again we were reduced to goat tracks and a bit of dead reckoning, and the unhelpful locals of course. Finally arrived around midday, and decided it was well worth all the heat and dust.

Lots of people, all very poor, thousands of cattle and waterbirds. Very simple reed and grass houses construted with Borassus palm frames littered the floodplain and fishing villages were dotted along the edge of lake. Edge of the lake here means the extent of the water at very high water levels. Dugout canoes and 'Ngalawa' boats littered the mud flats, all rather dodgy looking craft with cloth and mud used as caulking. Not my idea of fun when there are large numbers of crocodiles about. Local industry seems to be based entirely on fishing and cattle, nets suspended on sticks pushed into the mud in water about two feet deep and some 200metres offshore.

After a bite to eat and some tea tried to drive along the mud flats but very quickly realised that it was the fastest way of making sure we would have to walk home, as a very thin solid crust covered some very sticky and soft mud; very quickly threw everyone out to reduce weight and only then managed to get back to solid ground.

Back in the village we tried to bargain for a dugout canoe, the reason I was so keen to come here, I have this idea of a dugout canoe bookshelf .... don't ask ... One would have thought that in a society so poor as here they would be thronging to sell some stupid fellow a completely useless rotten canoe... not so, no one was prepared to allow us to load up any of the abandoned craft, much less to take money to allow us to do so, we eventually gave up and headed home. The dugout canoe quest continues.......

Chada Katavi December 2004

2006-06-30T17:37:00.000+03:00

What a completely different world to the desolate and dry place we left in November! Waking up in the morning after our arrival was like waking up in a different place. Green to rival the greenest pasture in

Ireland

, and mist on most mornings gives it all a rather surreal rainforest feel. The river had not quite started to flow by the time we got back but after a few more storms it is now flowing strongly. One can now understand how the area can support so many hippo and crocodile; it is a real paradise for them now.

The weather is very variable with storms coming up quickly but clearing off just as quickly, we rarely go too long without seeing the sun. Some of the storms are pretty impressive with some great electrical storms, sheer raw power, makes us feel very small.

The game viewing however has still been pretty awesome, lion getting a bit difficult to find but most people seeing some at least once during their stay. It appears that they spend a bit of time in the trees this time of year as we have seen many high up in the most unlikely looking of trees, big males too! It must be the flies or, possibly, the wet grass making things uncomfortable for them on the ground. We have also seen another very old male with one eye and lots of scars, looks to be a very battle weary old boy, although he was seen last season as well.

Hippo look to be very happy and it is such a contrast seeing them porpoising in the river, compared to the muddy cess pools of last month! We witnessed one young male licking and attempting to eat from a buffalo carcass in the river, although it seemed he didn’t quite know how to go about it, and eventually gave up.

The crocs are back into the swing of things and I now keep a very respectful distance from the river bank! We have seen a few croc hatchlings as well along the river normally with a large croc in close proximity. We received reports of a giraffe being taken whilst trying to cross the river near Ikuu. We watched a large croc keeping a very keen eye on a herd of buffalo that looked very worried about crossing, unfortunately nothing more came of it and the herd eventually crossed safely.

Wild Dog were seen this month too, very near the bridge, four adults and all the guests managed to see them. Unfortunately they moved on as only they can and haven’t been seen since.

Buffalo herds are beginning to amalgamate with a few over 400 strong being seen. Elephant too are moving in large herds some, in excess of 300, being seen on Katisunga and on Chada in front of the camp. They do however appear to be a bit skittish and one can rarely approach them closely.

Roan have been seen twice at the beginning the month but with the heavier rains that have fallen since, they seem to have moved off.

This has to be seen to be believed, the sheer contrast is astounding, and the beauty of the place is remarkable, not to mention the game viewing, I would say it easily rivals most other areas’ dry season viewing!

Chada Katavi October 2004

2006-06-30T15:09:00.000+03:00

Another month gone and things continue to get drier. The game appears to be hunkering down to get through this month and into the rains. Clouds are building but nothing ever seems to come of it except a few drops, the humidity is however rising steadily.

Wildlife sightings amazingly continue to get better with most animals concentrating along the Katuma between Ikuu and Katisunga. Lion action is as good as it gets, one couple witnessing 2 buffalo kills, a roan kill and a mating pair within sight of each other! One of our young trio of males was killed this month by a buffalo, looked to have got gored in the belly and died late in the afternoon, the other two have not been seen since.

Limpy has been in evidence near the airstrip and the Fig tree and is still looking fit and healthy although with rather pained eyes and no mane.

The Chada pride has been very quiet with very few sightings although the Katuma pride has more than made up for it, making numerous kills along the river, again, the preference is for buffalo, although a young hippo was taken as well. Blood and gore has not been in short supply.

Elephant activity has increased markedly especially at the seeps along the river and at Chem chem, with regular sightings of family groups up to 20. The cow with the broken ear cartilage and ear piercing has been a regular sighting and is remarkably placid allowing us to get very close. Floppy has been missing all month.

The hippo are still packed into the springs at Ikuu and Paradise and we were able to do a few overhead flights with a National Geographic photographer and got some great overhead views, they look distinctly like maggots in a bucket!

Crocs are still holed up along the river in caves and in amongst the shady trees along the bank, monitor lizards are taking a toll on their nests and broken egg shells are scattered about. The Crocs are starting to get more active, in particular on the more humid afternoons, and walking among them has elicited a few hisses and growls, they aren’t referred to as ‘Flat Dogs’ for nothing!

Walking has been mainly along the edge of Katisunga Plain, the river having become distinctly hairy with all the Hippo and Elephant in close proximity. Buffalo and elephant were regular sightings on the walk along with a few encounters with lion at Chem chem and the exit of Katisunga, enough to get the heart beating a bit to burn the excess calories earned at breakfast!

Fly camping also has been good, mainly at Chem chem and with plenty of nocturnal visits and noise from lion, hippo and elephant. Our last excursion was interrupted with a soft shower of rain, nothing to go home for but enough to warrant a poncho pulled over the net.

Season closes for November and the hope of good rain while we are out, the game would certainly appreciate it.

Chada Katavi September 2004

2006-04-13T15:46:00.000+03:00

Another month has flown by and things here in Katavi continue to get drier and hotter by the day. The game sightings have been phenomenal as usual and we have been witness to some fantastic action.

Lion activity has been busy as usual with many attempted hunts watched and also a fair few successful hunts, the prey of choice seems to be buffalo.

The Katuma River has been the major point of attraction for the game and it seems to be a bit like the local corner shop for the lions! They seem to be able to pick and choose what they prefer for dinner. Unfortunately one of the Katuma females was seen limping yesterday and would appear to have a sprain on her left front leg.

The Chada pride have been a bit more difficult to find and I saw them on a zebra kill at the beginning of the month, after which they disappeared for a bit. We saw them again mid month in the dry river bed looking miserable and filthy tempered as the sun gradually peaked and the shade in the lee of the bank got less and less. Eventually they were all stacked on top of each other in the last scrap of shade growling and spitting at each other and cursing whoever had the stupid idea to stay there!

Limpy was seen mid month in the pan area near the airstrip on a buffalo kill, and again on the 24^th near Katisunga plain, he was still looking pretty sleek, but still limping badly and his mane is now all but gone. He seems to be keeping a low profile and has not been seen since.

The Katisunga pride has been much more prevalent this month, they seem to be encroaching a little on the Katuma river, we witnessed a very brief encounter near the ranger post between two males, just a brief growl and run for cover, no flying fur! Discretion being the better part of valour…and all that.

Floppy has moved up river and I have only seen him once the whole month, we have however been seeing a cow elephant with a broken ear cartilage and a large circular hole in the other ear. She is very distinctive and seems to be the matriarch of a small family group of about 10 animals.

A group of big bulls has also been around regularly both on Chada plain near the camp and along the Katuma River, they include the three biggest tuskers I have seen in Katavi, not really that big but seem to be bigger than any others in the area.

The Hippo are even more confined now, Ikuu spring must be nearing a thousand animals and Ngorima/ paradise slightly more. They have given us some entertainment on fly camp with a lot of fighting and tusk clashing on the plain in front of Paradise, as well as one early morning visitor who came to check the toilet out, fortunately didn’t seem to like what he saw and turned on his heel and left in peace. There have been a few casualties this month too giving us some great Vulture, marabou and hyena sightings.

Crocs are still holed up along the river bank, all looking like they could do with a good course of dry skin cosmetics. It has been quite surreal to walk in the trees near the river and find 10-12 foot crocs tucked under every bush. They don’t seem too perturbed by our presence and allow us to get some great close up pictures.

There has been a good crop of baby animals born this month, the Topi seem to have dropped their calves early and there are a fair few zebra foals around too. Warthog piglets are in abundance and the lion appear to enjoy them too, and are accounting for a fair number, hmmm pork suckling…. Nice! Roan are being seen fairly regularly where the Katuma leaves Katisunga plain, and the only sable this month were seen from the plane as we flew down to Ruaha.

Walking has been as good as usual, with a few encounters with buffalo herds and elephant in the Albida woodland along the edge of Chada plain. Unfortunately the tsetse flies have meant we can’t walk in that area anymore, blood transfusions needed on return! We were very fortunate to walk onto a lovely male cheetah on Katisunga and got to within 20 metres of him and were able to get a good look at him before he caught our scent on the varying wind and let in a hurry, poor guy must have wondered how we got so close without picking us up, if they could blush, well he’d have been a good shade of beetroot!

Fly camping has again been wonderful with some great experiences, a pride of lion passed by the camp at about 3 in the morning and we were able to track them the following morning through the woodland for a couple of kilometres till they fanned out into the plain again.

We had a great evening of lion roaring on the 6^th, makes great dinner music under the stars! Once we went to bed a leopard started grunting nearby and on looking with a torch we picked up a beautiful male only about 30 metres from where we were sleeping. He marked his territory and wandered off with another few grunts into the grass. Fabulous stuff!

Rain clouds brewing now every afternoon, had a few beautifully clear mornings, all the dust and smoke having been blown away by the wind, and we even got another few millimetres of rain this month, great to cool off but it is definitely brewing for a big one soon, will be great to have some respite from the heat.

Till next month: may the sun keep shining in your corner of the earth.

Chada Katavi Dry Season 2004

2006-04-13T14:51:00.000+03:00

It seems that the season has only just begun and yet three months have already passed and we are over half way through the dry.

The season started of with a bang and we have been having wonderful sightings ever since. We have had regular sightings of the resident Chada lion pride, which started off the season with 5 adult lionesses and 6 cubs. Unfortunately we lost one of the young male cubs to what we can only assume was snakebite. We had some guests witness one of the lionesses actually feeding off his carcass.

We have also had resident since the first guests of the season a large male lion with broken leg. He has held his own against all odds since then against younger lions and starvation and to date is still looking in quite good condition. He is still unable to put any weight on the broken leg and we have christened him ‘Limpy’. We saw him yesterday with another large male lion whom we assume is his brother, and both were looking very well fed!

We have another large pride totalling 10 lions with cubs which are being seen fairly regularly along the Katuma River. They also are looking sleek and fat and are doing well with the abundant supply of buffalo and zebra in the area.

The Hippo population is now becoming more and more concentrated as the water dries up and we are seeing pods of up to 500-600 in the springs along the Katuma and about the same number in the pods in the Ngorima/ Paradise area. They are increasingly stressed and unpredictable, understandably so, I would if I was confined to the cess pools they inhabit! There seems to be an unsigned treaty between them and the crocodile population as far as segregation to separate pools and there are only a few integrated societies in the remaining pools.

The crocodiles are increasingly holed up in the caves along the river, with some holding hundreds of the reptiles, truly the stuff of nightmares! We occasionally see tracks of large crocs leading into the woodland where they are obviously finding refuge in thick shady bushes and Aardvark holes. About a month ago we were privileged enough to walk onto a 10 footer some distance from water.

The large buffalo herds seem to have split into smaller groups and have moved off the plain in front of camp into the wooded area near the Katuma and the pan area near the airstrip. We were seeing groups of up to a couple of thousand in the first few months of the season but with the water becoming scarcer here they have moved up river and split into smaller groups which are all scattered in close proximity to the river.

Elephant herds are regularly seen in the Albida woodland area near Ikuu and are also becoming more visible as they are forced more and more to use the dwindling water supply along the river. We have had a lone bull in camp on a number of occasions, he has a broken ear cartilage which causes him to have a floppy ear, and consequently he is known as ‘Floppy’.

Roan antelope are now being seen regularly during the course of the last two weeks, more evidence of the water situation. Rarely seen elsewhere in East Africa, Katavi is a prime spot to see them. Sable antelope too have been seen on a few occasions but are still fairly elusive.

The walking has been extremely good this season with numerous close encounters with large game. From a fantastic encounter with a large cow elephant on the river bank, who didn’t appreciate her drink being disturbed, to hippo taking refuge in the woodland areas as the water dries up. Fortunately slumber had got the better of him and we were able to beat a quiet if undignified retreat. Crocodile as well have been encountered deep in the woodland which always provides a bit of a surprise. I have seen a leopard on one occasion whilst walking in the pan area near the airstrip; he unfortunately left us with only a fleeting glimpse as he disappeared into the scrub.

Lion have been seen on a number of occasions whilst out walking but again only normally provide a fleeting glimpse and a growl of surprise as they head off in the opposite direction. We had an amusing (afterward) encounter with the resident large male last week, he was sleeping very peacefully under a large Tamarind tree with a young buffalo he had killed and dragged in from the plain. Convinced we were hot on the track of a leopard kill the Park Ranger almost trod on his tail as our concentration was focused in the trees, he was very rudely awakened and got as much a fright as we did! The colour of adrenaline is truly brown!

Fly camping has been very well received by a lot of our guests and we have had many lovely nights out under the stars with a glass of wine. Lion are often heard roaring close by and have provided a wonderful chorus for many hours during the night – not always welcome mind you! Hippo have also been regular visitors to the fly camps and must wonder what is going on when they approach the fire and lanterns, they usually give it a long hard look and then wander off in disgust.

We have been having fantastic weather and it has now really started to heat up, we were very fortunate to get five days of overcast weather and a bit of rain this last week, which was relief indeed, but only a temporary respite it seems, as today is back to warming drawer temperature, with a cool breeze mind you.

Anyway that is about it for the season to date, hope to be able to keep you all up to speed on the happenings here, or better still that you come to experience it yourself.

Squack Evans - Professional Safari Guide

2006-04-03T11:01:00.000+03:00

Squack was born and brought up on a large cattle ranch in south-eastern Zimbabwe, and it was here where he first began his chosen life in the African bush. Born into a family that has been in Africa for 4 generations, his great grandfather hunted for ivory from Northern Rhodesia to Kenya, and his grandfather, Jasper Evans, and the rest of the family have pioneered camel safaris and conservancy in Kenya for generations, it seems only natural for him to follow in their footsteps.

Educated at a remote boarding school in the bush of Zimbabwe the love affair with all things wild continued. After leaving school he worked in Kenya running camel assisted walking safaris for his uncle Simon Evans through the remote northern areas of the country and followed this with travel to Europe and Australia.

After sitting the first of the Zimbabwean professional guides examinations he took up guiding full time in Hwange National Park with Wilderness Safaris and continued his licensing examinations through till 2001 when the call of longer walking safaris beckoned and he returned to East Africa to run Sabuk lodge and Camel safaris once again. Based in Laikipia for two and a half years he guided many safaris in the area as well as trips to the Mara and elsewhere in Kenya.

Following the upheaval in Zimbabwe, his remaining family there moved across the border to Zambia and Squack took up a job in Game ranch management near them. After a year East Africa once again beckoned, this time running Chada Katavi for Nomad Tanzania, one of the most remote National Parks left today.

He ran Chada for the following 2 years and his professionalism, knowledge, and infectious enthusiasm became a major feature of the Chada experience, helping to really put it on the map as a stand alone western Tanzania destination. His particular love is walking safaris, where he enthrals guests with his attention to detail on all aspects of the bush.

Photo: Courtesy Benoit Wilhelmi