Ruaha and Zanzibar - September / October 2014

[FlyTraveler]

@@FlyTraveler This thread moves fast! Just started and it's already on page 3. Well-deserved, too. It's always a pleasure to see your aerial shots. I agree that baobabs + acacias is about as good as it gets. Particularly like the LBR shot as well as the photos of the community.

 

Thanks, @@Marks! I don't have such a good quality telephoto lens, as the mid-range zoom lens that I use for the aerials, so... I do lots of aerials :)

[Atravelynn]

Warthog and Alphonce, a combo to be noted and remembered!

 

You really put the golden light to good use for not only scenery, but that lilac breasted roller, thanks to Alphonce's willingness to leave early and not linger over breakfast and to your mother's beanbag stitching skills.

 

Super start!

Edited October 16, 2014 by Atravelynn

[Peter Connan]

Although I don't read here too often (very hectic at work at the moment), it is a great TR!

 

Just a word on shooting JPEG+RAW: I found that in certain circumstances (probably dependent on the jpeg conversion settings) there can be quite a large difference in exposure between the RAw and the JPEG version. The problem with this is that what you see on the screen (and thus what you base your decisions on) is the JPEG version...

[FlyTraveler]

Although I don't read here too often (very hectic at work at the moment), it is a great TR!

 

Just a word on shooting JPEG+RAW: I found that in certain circumstances (probably dependent on the jpeg conversion settings) there can be quite a large difference in exposure between the RAw and the JPEG version. The problem with this is that what you see on the screen (and thus what you base your decisions on) is the JPEG version...

 

Thanks @@Peter Connan!

 

At this point I do not worry about exposure very much. As far, as I shoot RAW files, I can always correct it later on during post processing. I would only overexpose by 0.7 or 1.0 steps when shooting sunrises or sunset directly against the sun. I have also programmed one of the buttons in front of the camera to switch from matrix metering to spot metering mode and would use that when the most important part of the frame receives very different amount of light than the rest of the frame.

[FlyTraveler]

Sept. 30, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

Continuing with some more photos of the same pride of lions. After a while they started moving one by one towards a new spot under a sausage tree, right next to the riverbed. Some of the pride members snoozed again while others watched a group of elephants in the riverbed:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed with the pride for about an hour, than decided to move on, it was obvious that the lions did not plan to hunt any time soon.

 

 

 

Next I tried my luck with a few shots on running impalas:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2014 by FlyTraveler

[FlyTraveler]

Sept. 30, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

After the running impalas we saw a male ostrich, which looked sexually excited (the color of the neck was pinkish, the Masai guides in Selankay, Kenya told us last year that this was an indication for such a condition). The female must have been nearby:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mdonya Old River Camp vehicle and an elephant scull. You can see the tin can on the back, which they use for burning elephant dung against tsetse flies:

 

 

Dust and zebras:

 

 

Couldn't resist shooting the same type of scenery over and over:

 

 

 

Elephants under the shade of acacia trees. The one down is just resting on the ground, it's not dead:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Masai giraffe on the opposite bank of the river:

Edited October 17, 2014 by FlyTraveler

[FlyTraveler]

Sept. 30, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

It's time for some more birds.

 

 

Black-headed heron in Ruaha river:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little bee-eater:

 

 

 

Ruaha Hornbill (Tockus ruahae) are recognized as separate subspecies in 2002:

 

 

 

Von der Decken's hornbill (Tockus deckeni):

 

 

Elephants in the riverbed:

 

 

 

[TonyQ]

@@FlyTraveler

You make Ruaha look very appealing!

[FlyTraveler]

@@FlyTraveler

You make Ruaha look very appealing!

 

Thanks, @@TonyQ! Ruaha is very appealing without me having to do anything about it... I wish I could go back some day, perhaps during the rainy season when it is all green and fresh.

[Safaridude]

No stops for coffee…. I love it. I agree with you @@FlyTraveler on that.

 

Funny to see that Mdonya vehicle is burning elephant dung. I learned of that technique (which works quite well) from Nanzhila Plains Camp in Kafue, Zambia in 2009. I was at Mdonya in 2010 and told them about it. It brings a smile on my face to think that I may have had a hand in it.

 

Great to see the Ruaha River with a good level of water in it.

[FlyTraveler]

Sept. 30, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

Alphonce found a second pride of lions for this morning drive consisting of an adult male and two females, the other pride members must have been nearby. The male's face was heavily covered with flies and he was badly trying to scratch himself:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lion then shook his head violently in an attempt to get rid of the files:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, we had only one more close encounter with an adult male lion (actually two of them) during this trip - the very last sighting on the last game drive before we left for the airstrip. We saw adult males on several occasions (once a mating couple), but either the angle of viewing was not comfortable or they were too far and the lack of ability for off-road driving in the park certainly didn't help.

[FlyTraveler]

No stops for coffee…. I love it. I agree with you @@FlyTraveler on that.

 

Funny to see that Mdonya vehicle is burning elephant dung. I learned of that technique (which works quite well) from Nanzhila Plains Camp in Kafue, Zambia in 2009. I was at Mdonya in 2010 and told them about it. It brings a smile on my face to think that I may have had a hand in it.

 

Great to see the Ruaha River with a good level of water in it.

 

 

No stops for anything other than wildlife sightings, actually We could stay at a sighting for as long, as we wished. And no other guests in the vehicle to complain about it. Due to very hot and dry air this time of the year, we would rarely urinate despite of the large quantity of water consumed, so almost no stops for marking territory, either. The heat didn't bother me during the game drives at all. The only place we felt discomfort was in the cottage between the game drives, I would just walk around waring only underwear and take 2-3 showers while backing up photos on the laptop. I was surprised by the strong winds we got up the hill during the night and which cooled down the air to pleasant levels.

 

It's great to see that Mdonya Old River Camp are following your advice about the burning elephant dung for four years now. I think that I've seen other photos of their vehicles with tin cans attached to the spare wheels on the back.

Edited October 18, 2014 by FlyTraveler

[michael-ibk]

 

 

we would rarely urinate

 

Well, I asked for details, and you are certainly delivering.

[FlyTraveler]

 

we would rarely urinate

 

Well, I asked for details, and you are certainly delivering.

 

 

I will stop up to here (with those type of details)

Edited October 18, 2014 by FlyTraveler

[graceland]

@@FlyTraveler

 

Been away and catching up! You certainly captured Ruaha delectably (is that a word; I felt it when look at the pics ) Only a year later I had forgotten how beautiful Ruaha could be and the amount of (sleeping) lions and (eating) elies. I always worry when I see one lying down; I know they are resting; but still fear something has happened.

 

You can get a bit closer if you get out and walk

 

As always, love your aerials. I attempted a few but deleted them; just not that good.

 

Great reporting!

[FlyTraveler]

Sept. 30, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

Thanks @@graceland, I embarrassed myself badly with my aerial photos when forgot to increase the shutter speed of my camera before taking off from Ruaha, the same when shooting a leopard jumping down a sausage tree two days earlier... more on that when I get to these points in the report.

 

 

A few more images of the adult male lion I showed you above:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candelabra tree (Euphorbia candelabrum) with baobab trees in the background:

 

 

Close ups of a female Masai giraffe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Soukous]

Nice TR @@FlyTraveler

Just looking at the flies on that male lion makes me twitch

[FlyTraveler]

Nice TR @@FlyTraveler

Just looking at the flies on that male lion makes me twitch

 

Thanks for the good words, @@Soukous! The poor lion kept his eyes closed most of the time because of the flies.

[FlyTraveler]

Sept. 30, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

Another close up of the female Masai giraffe:

 

 

 

Male Masai giraffe in the acacia tree forest on Ruaha River Drive:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Male impala watching a group of Banded mongoose and a warthog:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few scenery shots, the last one being the Ruaha riverbed:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Marks]

Another batch of great sightings. Those flies are really something. I think my favorite this time would be the impala with mongooses - kind of a fun combination.

I saw the dung burning technique in photos also, when I was looking at Mdonya as a possible future destination...how's the smell? (Though I'm sure it's worth the tradeoff regardless.)

[FlyTraveler]

Another batch of great sightings. Those flies are really something. I think my favorite this time would be the impala with mongooses - kind of a fun combination.

I saw the dung burning technique in photos also, when I was looking at Mdonya as a possible future destination...how's the smell? (Though I'm sure it's worth the tradeoff regardless.)

 

Thanks for the good words @@Marks.

 

I just saw and photographed the Mdonya Old River Camp vehicle from a distance, you should ask @@Safaridude about the smell of burning elephant dung - he taught them how to use this technique four years ago.

[FlyTraveler]

Sept. 30, 2014. Ruaha National Park - exterior and interior view of TANAPA en-suite cottages in the Msembe area.

 

 

I remember looking for information and photos about the TANAPA government owned bandas and en-suite cottages and finding very, very little on the Internet. Therefore I am posting exterior and interior photos of the en-suite cottages and some comments. The main difference and decision maker for us between them and the bandas was the lack of en-suite toilet and shower in the latter. The other important difference is the location - the bandas are right at the river bank and presumably closer to wildlife (we did see giraffes in front of our cattage, as well) while the cottages are located on top of the hill, about kilometer and a half from the bandas and the river. The view from the cottages is a definite advantage.

 

Please, note that this is a low-budget option (50 US dollars p. p. p. n. for a cottage and 30 US dollars p. p. p. n. for a banda) and these accommodation do not offer neither the atmosphere and the glamour, not the gourmet food of a safari camp / lodge. The dining place - something between a restaurant and a canteen is just 25 meters away from the closest cottage and offers pretty much the same menu every day, both for lunch and for dinner - any combination of rice, noodles, ugali, chicken and sometimes beef. The price is right - 7,000 shillings per meal (about 5 US dollars). I found the food to be OK and didn't mind eating pretty much the same every day, in fact all needed.

 

There were about a dozen of cottages and we seemed to be the only people staying there (6 nights) with occasional guests for overnight. There would be some locals or visitors from abroad having beer or / and meal at the dining place once in a while. Once we met another Warthog Adventures vehicle (they also have an open-sided Land Rover) with tourists and another guide.

 

Exterior front view of a cottage - the panoramic windows are overlooking the river, the savannah with acacia trees and the mountain ranges:

 

 

Exterior side view of a cottages:





Exterior view of the back side, where the entrance is. As you can see each cottage is equipped with a solar electrical system, powerful enough to charge multiple camera batteries at the same time. I would charge the laptop when the generator was working - twice daily approximately for two hours each time:





The building with the dining room, shop (they sell different types of beers, liquor, souvenirs, spray against mosquito and other things), all at very reasonable prices. We had the choice of having our meals either outside (with a great view) or if it was too windy - inside, where they have a huge TV screen with satellite reception - a very important gadget for the staff, who spend long time at this remote location.

 

 

Each cottage has a separate bedroom with a large double bed with mosquito net, small desk and a chair, separate toilet and a shower (they even provide soap) and a separate toilet (they provide toilet paper):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is also a small sitting room (I have moved the coffee table next to the electrical plug - that was my working space for for backing up images and video files):

 

 

Both rooms feature panoramic windows with the same fabulous view:

 

 

Although, we would prefer a large Meru - style safari tent, we found this accommodation absolutely fine for the price paid.

I took also some photos of the bandas, located on the Ruaha river bank the very last day of our stay in the park, will post them when I get to this point of the trip.

Edited October 21, 2014 by FlyTraveler

[Safaridude]

@@FlyTraveler

 

The price is definitely right! And the rooms look fine!

[Game Warden]

@@FlyTraveler So you are looking at per couple, 100 US$ per night, per cottage - did you notice if there were any larger to accomodate families?

[TonyQ]

@@FlyTraveler

The cottages look good value at that price - with spectacular views. And you are there to see the wildlife!