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    • soleson
      @ricmiles@ice@AtravelynnIf you could pick one month and one camp to stay in around the Ndutu area, when and where would it be?  I have Kenya (Amboseli, Ol Pejeta, and Mara conservancies) lined up for next fall but am thinking of going back to Tanzania again next time.  I have never been there in the green season and would like to give it a try.  Thanks.
    • ice
      I am pretty sure that unless you are willing to pay 2.000 USD per person per night and more in a private concession in Botswana (and most likely still will have to share your vehicle with others) nowhere else in Africa you will have better chances of seeing as much as much predator action as around Ndutu, it's as simple as that. For me personally, there are quite a few other reasons, but that is the main one.
    • John M.
      Sometimes you can be lucky and get the story in one shot. Publishers love economical material    
    • Atravelynn
      @icecan certainly answer for himself but I will mention that I saw people in Ndutu that I had seen before and a couple of us carried on conversations from previous visits.  Sort of like a reunion.  I was told that there were Ndutu regulars who could be seen year after year.  The area is just bursting with new life during green season and there is a vitality and excitement that goes along with that.  Very good time for cheetah cubs and hunting cheetah and cheetah cubs learning to hunt, as you saw.  In fact part of your title hints at the attraction: "Calving Season" & "Predator Action."  I have thought to myself that when the time comes that I cannot travel as extensively as I have had the good fortune to do in the past, I'd just do annual trips to Ndutu in green season, for however long I could manage.
    • Atravelynn
      Thank you. Any comments on these dates which is near the start of peak season I believe vs. later in the season?
    • Atravelynn
      The rock art is truly stunning and your desert photo art with the arches, pinnacles, pools, and framed camels is stunning as well.  The coup, staged or not, had to be disconcerting news.  Glad you were all fine.
    • inyathi
      @Zarek CockarThanks,   Great to see, photos of both familiar and unfamiliar places, nice to have seen camels right in the Guelta d'Archei, and that croc is really quite big, whatever they eat, they must be able to get enough of it, but I suppose they are quite old, I am glad you saw one, as it still seems quite amazing that there are crocs in such a place, it was slightly hard to imagine back in 2022. The Guelta de Bachikele looks like a really beautiful place and I hope those trees should ensure there are a few birds in there. Very envious of the Fennec, can't wait too see what you saw in OROA, and if that will make me envious too, not that I can complain about what I saw there.     Meant to add to my last post, that whilst the US was not openly involved, they were giving behind the scenes help to Chad and France, and were watching events in northern Chad very keenly, they struck a deal with the Chadian government and few years after the French attack on Ouadi Doum, in 1988 they Launched Operation Mount Hope III, the US military flew two huge transport planes to Chad, containing a couple of Chinook helicopters and special Forces soldiers, the stripped down choppers then flew the troops up to Ouadi Doum, to pick up one of Libya's Russian Mil Mi-25 Hind helicopter gunships, that was remarkably still intact, the Libyan Airforce had on Soviet instructions, tried but failed to destroy it, and the Americans, were desperate to get their hands on it, as they had never examined one up close, they took the rotors off it and slung it under one of the Chinooks, whilst US and French troops stood guard, although Chad had recaptured the base in 87, there were still Libyan forces nearby, but they didn't show up, they then flew back to NDJ, at one point through a sandstorm, with the Hind slung underneath a Chinook, put in in one of their big transports and took it back to the US. After being thoroughly examined and then used for training, it is apparently now in the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, Alabama. The model used by the USSR was called the Mi-24, when exported it was called Mi-25, the Soviets used the Mi-24 Hind to devastating effect in their war in Afghanistan, and had the Cold War turned hot, then US and NATO troops would have faced being attacked by them, but of course, the Cold War ended only a few years later, and getting hold of Hinds then became really quite easy. This ugly beast has featured in quite a few Hollywood movies, most recently I would think in Top Gun Maverick.   
    • TonyQ
      @Zarek Cockara truly amazing place
    • ricmiles
      @iceWhat an outstanding work to support the future of these lions. Very inspiring. I wish it was possible to gather this level of information for other areas as well.    What is it that brings you back to Ndutu over and over again? 
    • ice
      these are most likely the very first pictures of those Team Tano males - back in Oct 2022 my guide and I were the ones who first reported them to KopeLion. Note how dry the grass was  
    • ice
      well, I wouldn't say that. In fact, regular visitors like me as well as KopeLion are happy that those five arrived 1 1/2 years ago. Before that, the dominating male coalitions often only lasted a year which led to a lot of infanticide. Now a lot of cubs have survived that critical last dry season. On the other hand, as you can see on the whiteboard, another coalition of five (nomad) male lions have shown up. For now, they only every once in a while enter the territory of Team Tano, but who knows what happens next?    Nevertheless, I wouldn't mind if Team Tano stayed a while longer and thus ensure that their prides grow. 
    • Galana
      Butiama and some Culture for a change.   Today was a spare day built in to the itinerary in case of problems in arranging the Boat trip. It was not needed so as this area was new to us we all opted for a walk in the forest. The whole town is very ‘green’ in layout but even here certain areas are kept as open space and forests. The walk was fun but one could literally no see the wood for the trees so photography was limited. We did see the only Red-winged Starlings of the trip so excuse the relapse to birds which was not the intention.   In the Forest there was a small clearing in which some sort of monument had been placed. As I ‘know a bit about planes’ I was curious as to the model displayed on it.. Others familiar with warbirds will recognise the simple austere lines of a Russian built MIG 21 as did I. What on earth is that doing here? I could not read the inscription but recognised the military titles and the date 1978. I made enquiries and was told that during the Tanzanian-Ugandan war that overthrew Idi Amin both sides operated Mig 21s and one Tanzanian Air Force Mig had radio problems and got lost returning from a raid into Uganda. Sadly he strayed over Butiama which was very well guarded, for reasons that will become clear below, and got shot down by his own side. An early example of ‘Friendly fire’ or ‘Blue on blue’ as it is called. Certainly understandable when both sides operated the same type of plane and the defenders have only seconds to identify whether the incoming fast jet is “friend or foe”.   The crew did not survive and this is their Monument.   This sad tale leads me on to our other excursion which is strangely linked and is the reason why Butiama was so well guarded despite being in a fairly remote and rural part of Tanzania. It was the birthplace and home to the local chief of the Zanaki Tribe whose wife produced a son on 13th April 1922 who went on to become one of the most respected African Politicians of the last Century if not ever. The local chief had the nickname ‘Caterpillar’ which in Zanaki is ‘Nyerere’ and the boy was Kambarage Nyerere. Following his baptism in 1942 he took his saint’s name ‘Julius’ and it is by that name he became well known. He went on to become the country’s first Chief Minister in 1961 as the move to the Nation’s full Independence progressed. He became President a year after Independence when Tanganyika became a Republic. He was much loved by his people and respected throughout the world despite some of his policies that resulted in wrecking the country’s economic progress. He earned the soubriquet ‘Mwalimu’ (Teacher) for his leadership. Unlike many other newly independent nations, Tanganyika, later Tanzania, never fell victim to tribalism and this is often attributed to his pronouncement that his people were Tanzanians first after which tribal loyalties came second and village politics third. It is also worth noting that he is one of the few of the new breed of Presidents to step down when ready voluntarily and with honour in 1985. He gradually withdrew from mainstream politics and returned the family home in Butiama where work was progressing on a new modern house. He died in England on 14th October1999 after an illness and his body returned to Tanzania and eventually buried at the family home in Butiama.   The family ‘compound’ and grounds are open to the public and we paid a visit in the afternoon. I don’t normally ‘do’ famous homes but was happy to make an exception out of my love for Tanzania and her people. Here are a few photographs which I hope you will enjoy as much as I did taking them.  Respectfully greeted. The old chief's palace where Kambarage saw the light of day still stands. Whilst he deplored monuments many of course exist.   The location where the flame of liberty still burns (although it was currently on loan in Dodoma at the time of our visit.)   Emmy poses by the Flame.   Its a great view from there over the rural countryside. Rocks mean Rock Hyrax.   We paid a brief visit into the new house that was finished in 1999 just weeks before Mwalimu's death. His tomb is carefully and beautifully maintained. He converted to Catholicism in 1942 following the death of his Father. This all too short History and culture report is now over and normal service and reporting will continue tomorrow when we commence our long drive back to Kigali.
    • Zarek Cockar
      From Ouadi Doum, we took off and flew for about an hour south east towards Fada.  The flat dune desert slowly transformed to rocky outcrops on our right with the endless Ennedi plateau, a huge, eroding sandstone massif on our left. Once on the ground in Fada, a new crew met us and whisked us off for a 2 hour drive south towards our campsite near the village of Archei. First stop, the shelled out remains of some Libyan BMP-1 light tanks from the Battle of Fada in the 1987 “Toyota War”. I won’t go into too much detail here, but as a quick summary, Gaddafi invaded Chad. The then Chadian president, Hissene Habre and his general Hassan Djamous, gathered their troops, threw them onto a bunch of Toyota Land Cruisers with anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, and mounted machine guns, and sent them up to Kalait, just south of Ennedi.  From there they advanced to Fada, knocked out 92 T-55 Tanks, 33 BMP-1s, killed almost 800 enemy soldiers, and captured another 81.  Only 18 Chadian soldiers were killed and 3 Toyotas destroyed.  Cheesy but necessary   The pillars of Ouimina  Eventually we reached ‘Derde Camp’, named after the Toubou “chief” or political leader, where we could settle in and relax for the evening. For the next 4 days, we explored the southern end of Ennedi, visiting beautiful rock formations, canyons, and caves with ancient rock art. Most of the rock art in the south is more recent, dating back 4-5,000 years, though there are a few older examples. Derde Camp   Looking over the Guelta d'Archei Guelta d'Archei   One of three West African Crocodiles (Crocodylus suchus) living in the cool spring waters of the Guelta d'Archei. Remnants of a wetter time in the Sahara, likely when a much more extensive Lake Chad was fed by rivers flowing in from the northeast.    L'elephant.  I doubt I need to explain why it's called that.   A Barbary Falcon (Falco pelegrinoides) at dusk over l'Elephant   Cows, camels (and their riders), dogs, women, children all meet at Manda Gueli Cave.   Looking out from Manda Gueli Cave Typical scenery walking from one cave to another Guelta de Bachikele. Not as famous as the Guelta d'Archei, but no less beautiful.    Camels walking out of the tree-lined Bachikele. After days of driving around stark desert, seeing this much greenery and water was wonderful   Arc de Djoulia, just outside Bachikele   Le bouteille de vin (the wine bottle)   Five-arch Rock or Le Table   Le Champignons (the mushrooms)   The entrance to Oyo Labyrinth   Chigeou - a great spot for a sundowner. A large dune rises up between the pinnacles   Hot sweet chai and cold beers for sundowner drinks at Chigeou   Lunch under an arch at the pinnacles of Aywayke (Abeike)   More Abeike Pinnacles   Abeike   Most evenings we would arrive back at camp after dark, and one night a few of us went out for a night drive. Through the days and nights, we slowly built up a good list of birds and mammals, including Patas Monkey, Olive Baboon, Dorcas Gazelle, Rock Hyrax, Lesser Egyptian Jerboa, Pale Fox, Fennec Fox, Striped Ground Squirrel, Cape Hare, and Crested Porcupine. Always on the lookout for tracks, I was happy to find Striped Hyena tracks in a few places, but we never actually saw the animal. African Parks has recently reintroduced 10 Addax into this area, but I was unsure where they’d be, and we knew we’d be seeing them in Ouadi Rime Ouadi Achim, so it wasn’t a big priority here. I’ve always wanted to see Aoudad/Barbary Sheep here, but I’ve never been lucky.  I believe the Tibesti Mountains in northwestern Chad provide a better opportunity for this species. A Fennec Fox runs away from the road   A Long Fringe-fingered Lizard (Acanthodactylus longipes)   Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena) Track in Oyo Labyrinth   Finally, we began to drive north to Bichagara, which has some special rock art. Along the way, we visited a number of interesting sites, including the Awayeke (Abeike) columns and an ancient stone-age village. Before we could get to Bichagara, we’d have to stop in Fada for food, fuel, and some repairs.  This took the crew a couple of hours, while the rest of us made use of the cell signal and intermittent internet access.  It seems while we’d been gallivanting around the desert, N’djamena had been thrown into disarray by an attempted coup (some say staged), and the consequential raid on the opposition’s house and the death of the opposition leader.  Soon, internet was shut off, and we were back to being disconnected from the rest of the world.  Which was fine. The desert was quiet and calm, and none of us worried too deeply about it (the same can’t be said of our loved ones back home). Sunset over our camp outside Fada. A peaceful evening despite what was going on in N'djamena at the time   We made it to Bichagara the next day, and began slowly making our way south again, past some more magnificent arches, caves, and paintings, including the “Skylight Arch” or Gaora Halagana. Yours truly in a T-55 tank just north of Fada   Unique rock art at Bichagara   We hadn't seen these concentric square shapes anywhere else. This was 40 km west of Fada on our way south. I intend to send many of my cave art photos to the Trust for African Rock Art (TARA) to ask about the significance of certain shapes and themes. Skylight Arch. One final night on the southeastern reaches of the Ennedi, and we began to move further south to our next destination, Ouadi Rime Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve. The approach into Bachikele
    • wilddog
      Lovely contrast. The latter image is very atmospheric
    • Zarek Cockar
      Thanks for this!       Thanks @inyathifor this great little piece of history.  Adds another dimension to the place. 
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