Africa! – Arrival

This time I do remember boarding the Boeing 707 of Kenya Airways at Fiumicino airport, as it was like moving into another dimension. All passengers seemed exotic to me and there was an African crew! After dinner I read and re-read all the documents I was given in order to impress the people I would be working with. At dawn, the plane started to lose altitude and I was very excited when I saw an incredible green lake in the desert. The pilot explained that it was Lake Turkana and that we were close to landing in Nairobi.

The first area of Kenya I saw: Lake Turkana. The picture was taken a few years later during a safari there.

The first area of Kenya I saw: Lake Turkana or the “Jade Sea”. The picture was taken a few years later during a safari there.

Then I felt it. It was a light stitch of pain in my lower abdomen. I dismissed it at first as the consequence of lake Turkana´s beauty on my system, but when it repeated itself I knew that not only were the passengers on board colorful and exotic but also the food bacteria belonging to that category. As we had less than an hour until landing, I decided that I was going to manage by focusing my mind on my surroundings. In any case, the pre-landing queue for the plane’s toilet was such that I had no options left.

By the time we landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport I only had one thing in my mind: finding a toilet! I learnt that it is called choo in Kiswahili. This was my first and very necessary brush with the language. My obligatory gut-related pause took its time. When I was able to emerge, I was relieved all the passengers were already gone. Although it did not seem like it to me, it had taken quite a while! Luckily there were still immigration officers waiting and I entered Kenya after a careful and thorough examination of my exotic Uruguayan passport. Only my suitcase remained on the conveyor belt.

It was early morning in Nairobi when I left the airport building and started looking for the airport bus, as advised by my FAO colleagues in Rome, who were aware of the need to save my limited fellowship resources and my own meager capital. I looked up and down the front of the airport and found it empty. No FAO reception committee despite the information forwarded about my arrival! Eventually I found a bus and made my way slowly towards it. My suitcase was heavy and my cabin luggage probably heavier and its strap was cutting into my shoulder! Be aware that I packed for a two and a half year journey as I was well aware that I did not have the funds to return to Uruguay until the end of the fellowship.

I entered the empty bus (with my luggage as there was no haul), chose a seat near the front and prepared myself for a long wait. I was feeling good and looking forward to the future. My gut seemed settled by now. In those days there were no cell phones so I could not call anyone and I was on my own. I was about to have a catnap as I lacked sleep when movement between the trees caught my eye. My first impression was that I was dreaming but I was actually seeing the long spotted neck, at the end of which was the head of a giraffe that was busy browsing on a yellow-bark acacia just 10 metres away from the bus. Amazed, I discovered another one and, after my eye got used to it, about fifteen more animals, all sailing slowly across the airport parking area in search of fresh acacia shoots. They were very relaxed and, as the first rays of sunlight bathed their faces, I saw the most beautiful eyelashes ever created.

One of the giraffes browsing at the airport!

The sputtering and vibration of of the bus’ diesel engine interrupted my giraffe-induced rapture and forced me to focus on holding on. I considered myself very lucky to be the sole passenger on the bus. A choo stop has its advantages I thought… My joy was short-lived. To my surprise, the bus stopped a few blocks from the airport to pick up passengers. “This cannot be”, I thought, “the airport bus goes to the centre of town and it should not pick people up on the road!” Despite my mental opposition, the stops continued at regular intervals and the bus started to fill up. This was clearly no airport bus but a normal city bus, part of the Kenya Bus Services known as KBS buses and I had no idea of its route or destination! Now I also realized why it was so cheap! To put it mildly, I had a minor panic attack! But, as there was nothing I could do, I accepted my fate and waited for the outcome of my wrong choice.

I now need to elaborate on the concept of a full bus. In the countries I had lived in until then, a bus is full and stops picking up passengers when all seats are occupied and standing people are not able to move. Not in Kenya. I witnessed a new definition of bus “fullness”. The bus did not skip a single stop and people kept getting in, first to occupy the seats –I counted four bodies in mine in addition to myself. Throughout the bus, bodies filled all available spaces, maximizing every possible centimeter with unbelievable precision, as if accomplished by professional packers. First I lost physical contact with my luggage and soon afterwards I also lost visual contact. I regretted their likely loss with a sense of emptiness and not a little despair but what could I do? My immediate attention was focused on more vital activities: getting sufficient breathing air to be able to reach the final destination. Luckily, my earlier gut incident was still not showing signs of returning. At least something is going well; I though, while trying to position my nose in an air pocket between a shoulder and a face. I smiled but the face did not! Its eyes were closed in a sound sleep!

The passengers included primary and secondary students, mothers with babies, workers, police and even a Maasai warrior in full regalia trying to avoid impaling passengers with his spear and simi (long double edged knife). Despite the mass of bodies and apparent discomfort, laughter was frequent and this would continue during all the time I spent in Africa. Although I was looked at as an unusual passenger, I did not feel threatened or uncomfortable. Body odour mingled with the smell of baby talc, stale mothers’ milk, fresh fruit and exotic spices.

When I was starting to feel that my choice of bus may have been my last, I felt a slight slackening of bodies after one of the stops and then, gradually, the bus began to expel people and finally stopped at the end of its route. To my amazement, my bags were still there and seemingly intact! All doors opened and out went the few remaining passengers and I remained, like at the start of the journey, on my own. I asked the driver where we were and I seem to recall that he mentioned Eastleigh, a suburb of Nairobi, very far from my destination in the centre of town.

I am not sure what prompted the next act and it remains as another mystery of my lucky life in Africa. The Driver, clearly seeing the desolation showing in my face, asked where I was going. I explained to him that the Serena Hotel in the centre of Nairobi was my ultimate destination. “You are too far from there my friend”, he said. And then added, “this area is not safe as there are too many shiftas!” (rebels, outlaws) to end with a “you do not see wazungu (white people) walking here and there are no taxis either” This left me speechless and I was desperately trying to figure out my next move -clearly quasi suicidal- when the bus doors closed and it moved again

Before I could protest for him to let me leave it, he grinned and said: “I will take you there!” He said it twice as I asked him to repeat it for fear of having misheard him. So I was the sole passenger on a trip that ended when the bus entered the offloading area of the Serena Hotel where the doors were opened and I descended to the amazed look of the concierges! That was a gesture of human solidarity that not only moved me but started to prepare me for what I would find repeatedly in Africa.

He departed with a wave and I entered the Serena. My sense of elation evaporated the moment I learnt the prices of a room and decided that this was not for me and went back to the street. This is not a good or common thing to do when you are carrying the amount of luggage I was, but, as I did not know this then, my saving obsession got the best of me. It was even more unexpected for a mzungu (white person) to walk around carrying bags in the streets of Nairobi.

I began to ask people on the street for a cheap place to sleep that night and, as is normal in most of Africa, someone offered to accompany me to precisely such a place! Needless to say, my idea and the one of my Good Samaritan were quite different! After walking to two possible places, we parted amicably. Luckily, there was another passerby who took me to a hostel nearby that seemed clean so I settled for it, left my bags and went for an afternoon stroll to find my bearings and get my first feel for the place. (Note added on 8/10/14: The hostel was the C.P.K., now the Anglican Church of Kenya Guest House located in Bishop’s Road, off Ngong Road. The Guest House was used to accommodate missionaries from up country missions. See: http://www.ackguesthouses.or.ke/nairobi/index.html).

I returned to the hostel at dusk, very tired and ready for dinner and bed. The day had been long. Dinner was a modest affair served on a communal table. As I was very hungry I helped myself to an abundant helping of the only available dish: a meat stew that did not look too bad and there was also rice to go with it. I am a fast eater and this time I did not wait and got on with the job.

For the first 10 seconds the mouthful of meat behaved like any tough and seriously overcooked piece of Uruguayan beef. After that fleeting evaluation passed, a number of things started to happen, all new to me until then. In what I thought a miracle of chemistry, the half-chewed meat suddenly caught fire in my mouth and, hoping to be unnoticed but trying to smile –an impossible task while suffering third degree burns- I spat it out. “Uhmm very grrood” I muttered while looking for the nearest source of water and wondering about whether my vocal chords were still there. While my mouth and surrounding areas were being cauterized, I felt the hair on my head and neck rise, accompanied by copious sweating of my eyelids, something that hitherto had never taken place! As I had never cried with the outside of my eyes, I was clearly concerned but managed to wipe the sweaty tears and gulped a glass of water in a rush. I could not distract myself from focusing on the status of my already castigated pyloric region and hoped that would withstand this added and novel punishment.

Trying to appear normal and having recovered some of my speech function I muttered another positive comment about the food while I waited for the water to calm things down under the clearly amused look of my African table mates, too polite to laugh openly at my rather comic status. Thankfully, in nature all comes to an end, and to my relief the burning eased and slowly the affected organs started to respond again. I also learnt that I had just experienced my first encounter with a beef curry of the “mild” variety.

I was sure that I had locked my room to go for dinner so I was surprised and concerned when I found it open. “The only thing that I need now is a thief” I thought and walked in prepared to defend my meager possessions. To my surprise, my lamp was on and a man was lying on my bed! Confused but very tired I said good night and went to sleep in another place only to spot, among the clothes of my roommate a white priest collar. It all fell in place as I became aware that my cheap hostel find was a religious place were church personnel posted in the field coming to do business in Nairobi. So it is that, surrounded by sanctity, I had a very good night’s sleep and did not hear anyone else entering the room although it was full when I woke up to face another day. Clearly they were quite angelical in their movement.

The gardens at the Fairview Hotel.

The following morning, after a curry-free breakfast and happy to learn that all my body parts had healed, I managed to make contact with the local FAO office. Clearly unaware of my gut-rot related delay in arriving to the lobby, they were very concerned that I did not turn up at the airport and thought that I had missed my flight. They also gave me the address of the Fairview hotel where I should have been and the contacts of my future boss, a Scot with whom I met later the same morning.

But that is the beginning of another story!

Caput Mundi

Roman Forum.

It was July 1979. I was getting ready to travel to Armidale in Australia to join a team of scientists working on internal parasites of sheep to study for a PhD. My medical clearance, visa application and travel bookings for September were all advanced. I had been in Uruguay for a few months after getting an MSc in animal parasitology at the University of North Wales, UK and the PhD opportunity was the logical next step in my mind. I was very excited and looking forward to the challenge.

That is why the message from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Montevideo informing me of the arrival of an urgent Foodagram (FAO telegrams then) addressed to me was a jolt. It was not unexpected, as months back while ending my studies -and still in the UK- I had applied to an FAO Andre Mayer Fellowship to study ticks in Africa. However, it was inopportune!

I returned the call as soon as I could and they confirmed that they were trying to contact me urgently. As there were no faxes or e-mail attachments in those days, we agreed that they could send the -still unopened- telegramme to me by the local bus. I arrived the following day and I read it with some trepidation. It said:

URGENT STOP TO MR. J. DE CASTRO, TEL CARMELO 567, C/O FAO URUGUAY STOP PLEASED TO OFFER AN ANDRE MAYER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP STOP YOU WILL TRAVEL TO KENYA AND JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR INSECT PHYSIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY TO STUDY THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TICKS ON CATTLE STOP MORE INFORMATION FOLLOWS BY POUCH STOP URGENTLY REPLY TO MS. IRENE FIELD, FELLOWSHIPS DIVISION STOP KIND REGARDS STOP EDOUARD SAOUMA, FAO DG

After digesting the contents of the telegram and its potential implications, I contacted FAO in Montevideo again and we agreed that we would wait for the information that would come by pouch. It was easier said than done and I immediately started to think on the decision I needed to take as, although Australia was attractive, Africa -being totally exotic- possessed a strong allure.

Some days passed and, in view of the absence of news, I continued with the Australia arrangements, just in case.

A couple of weeks later, however, I got an envelope with the promised information and the written offer that awaited an urgent response. Through the enclosed documents I learnt that Professor Andre Mayer had been Chairman of the FAO Executive Committee in the early days of the organization and left a donation to FAO for young scientists to conduct research projects in relevant development issues. I also learnt that I was going to be based at Rusinga island and joining a team of tick and tick-borne disease experts in Kenya. Images of an Indian Ocean island with palm trees came to mind!

My interest in animals led to me becoming a veterinarian and what little information about the African continent that was available did nothing to discourage my interest. During my childhood my mother -a devout catholic- subscribed to “El Africanito”, a monthly publication from the work of the Catholic Church in Africa. I used to read this every month. Later on, the series “Daktari” with Clarence the cross-eyed lion and the movie “Hatari” with John Wayne were fascinating to me.

Later in life and while already working as a veterinarian, I read a publication on African cattle in the Hoechst Veterinary Blue Book which highlighted the enormous numbers of cattle per veterinarian in Africa as compared with Latin America and other continents. More recently, my appetite had been further wetted by hearing my lecturers in the UK talk of tsetse flies and ticks and related travel tales.

This was my opportunity! However, I was committed to Australia. After a lot of thought and not much sleep I took the bus to Montevideo to find out more from FAO Representative in person. By the time I left his office I had made up my mind and chosen Kenya and, although unaware of it then, our lives would change in a way we could not imagine.

Luckily, the Australians were very pragmatic and they gracefully allowed me to unravel my Australian attachment so that I could accept FAO´s offer. The greatest opposition to the decision came -probably justifiably- from family and friends as it was going against “the norm”. I still remember the reply from an old friend when I told him that I was going to Kenya. “Julio, you are crazy” and then added “You will leave your carcass in Africa!” What reply could I give to what seemed like common sense?

The identity of Rusinga island remained a mystery. The available atlas we checked failed to locate it and it was finally a geography professor who informed me of its location in Lake Victoria, a rather large body of water I had not taken into account until then.

Part of Rusinga Island seen from Mbita Point.

I sent my acceptance and it was agreed that I would travel alone as I needed to pass through Rome for briefing on my way to Nairobi to join the work team. The plan was for my wife to join me later in Nairobi when I already had a clear idea of what it all meant and had gotten my bearings!

I do not remember my departure from Uruguay to Rome, perhaps I was too worried and nervous, or may be my memory fails me now! I do not remember what airline I traveled with or how the trip was. I do recall arriving in Rome and getting to the Lancelot hotel where, by virtue of sharing the dinner table, met other FAO and World Food Programme colleagues that spoke about the wonders of Kenya.

The Trevi Fountain in the 80s. I did throw a coin then and returned!

I also remember being stunned by Rome’s beauty and being paralyzed in fear of its traffic. The walk to FAO from the Lancelot was memorable as there are a number of monuments nearby such as the Coliseum, the Arch of Titus but also some potentially lethal traffic traps in at least three places. The experience of witnessing a visitor trying to cross the street remains vivid in my mind. Stopping at a red light I noticed a tourist by my side talking to his wife in German. He was obviously agitated seeing that the Italian pedestrians continued to cross the street despite the red light. He waited patiently for the light to change to green and then he stepped onto the pavement. The moment he did so, a car running a red light zoomed past him at very close quarters and he lunged backwards, totally dumbfounded. He was still there, totally lost when I moved on. Welcome to Rome, I thought!

Once inside FAO I had a triumphant feeling and I thought “I am in the world’s cathedral of agricultural knowledge and it is offering me something, well done!” At that time, young and ambitious, I thought I touched the sky with my hands and I even took my picture behind a desk to show my “importance” to family and friends. The people I met and their quality, both human and technical, immediately brought me back to my humble situation of a young person at the very beginning of his career and I focused on my work as it was obvious that I had lots to learn!

At FAO, thinking that I had made it… I was to return to work to this office in the 90s! The telephone had changed by then!

My FAO colleagues prepared me technically but they also gave me lots of well-meaning advice: do not try to do too much, at ICIPE you will have a good boss, everything on ticks and tick-borne diseases is happening in Nairobi now, it is an expensive place but there is an airport bus to town and cheap hotels, be careful with malaria on the coast. These are some of the ones I still remember. After one week, I was ready to travel.

FAO Headquarters from the Palatine Forum.

FAO Headquarters from the Palatine Hill.

Next: AFRICA! – Arrival

Quite an ape…

Following on the issue of monkeys, I offer you this “interesting” article that glided down from another book! Just imagine the situation!

Source: Times of Zambia, Monday, December 14, 1992.

Monkeys!

A female Black and White Colobus and baby. They are not a problem!

I always tell people who visit us in Africa to read a vey small and little known book called “A window onto Wilderness”, a jewel of a book that compiles reports from East African rangers and wardens giving you a feeling for the way things were over 50 years ago. Why do I mention this? Because what we see while on safari is just a peep into that “wilderness window” that then closes, but only for us! The events that we were lucky to witness still go on after we are gone. The same tusker that was feeding on Apple ring Acacia pods while we were in Mana Pools will still be there today while I write these lines, feeding on the pods that have fallen since our departure! Hence the fundamental importance of caring for these fragile ecosystems with all our might and the rather “over-used” cliché of “leave only our footprints behind”.

Wild animals only get close to humans seeking some benefit. Old lone buffalo bulls find hang around camps to gain protection from predators, carnivores take advantage of livestock and scavengers are after the rubbish pits.

Monkeys, both Baboons (Papio sp.) and vervets, (Chlorocebus sp.) have rather well developed brains and great agility, a good combination. Their lives are spent in the African bush (both trees and ground) where they feed on various types of food, being omnivorous like us. The proximity to humans offers them easier pickings so they raid crops and food. Coming back to the start of this post, we enter into the “monkey window” every time we go to stay at a wild place. They are ready and waiting for us!

It does not matter how many times you have been in the bush or how often you remind yourself to be aware of monkeys, they always catch you by surprise as they are –unbeknownst by us- stalking you for the first opportunity! This is what happened to us on our recent trip to Kruger, despite our extensive bush experience. While we were unpacking the car, a vervet took our powder milk and spilled it all around our lodge!

Vervet monkeys grooming.

Although entertaining and endearing, monkeys are wild animals and therefore potentially dangerous. I recall my wife walking alone in Mzima Springs (Tsavo West National Park, Kenya) in the mid eighties when a few vervets started threatening her and, when she showed her surprise mixed with fear, they became more vicious until the game rangers chased them off. It was a bad experience that she still remembers.

Vervet monkey eating what it should!

In addition to monkeys being daring, humans are stupid! I belong to the latter bracket… There is a place in Nairobi National Park, Kenya where you can leave the car and walk along the Athi river to watch the hippos and other game. It is a welcome chance to stretch your legs. The first time I visited the place it was mid morning and I was carrying a few bananas for our later lunch. Not for long… The moment I left the car I felt a pull and the bananas were gone! When I regained my wits, a male vervet was up a fever tree looking at me while holding all the bananas (I think it had a smile on its face!). A similar event happened to a good friend of ours (also a relative!) that lost her wallet in a similar manner and had to endure a “rain” of its contents and collect them carefully… “Please throw my VISA card now, Good, now my drivers license, good…’ and so on until all the contents and the wallet itself were scattered throughout the hotel garden!

Young baboons keeping an eye on humans…

More dramatic was a similar incident -involving me of course- that happened at the Man Eaters petrol station, on the way to Mombasa from Nairobi. In that area yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) are found, thinner and leaner than their cousins the olive baboons (Papio anubis). They walk freely about the station. We stopped to re-fuel and I got out of the car to open the petrol cap without thinking that I had a packet of crisps in my hand. Again, before I became aware of it, a baboon (almost as large as me) confronted me and helped itself to my crisps. I resisted to no avail and I am convinced that in the scuffle that followed, it slapped me so that I would learn to surrender them quickly next time! Although funny now, it was rather scary at the time it happened!

On another occasion, the saying ‘like father like son’ comes to mind, unfortunately for my son. For the first time in my children’s 8 and 9 year old lives, their mother had gone on a trip to Rome and left them with me in Harare. This was apparently quite a traumatic experience for them, and although she was only gone for a fortnight, her absence was felt profoundly by all. Their older cousin, who stayed with us for a year was also with us, but thankfully faring better than the two monsters. After a week of countless tearful episodes and desperation on my part, I thought to distract them from their mother’s absence by taking them to the nearby Haka Park. Although not an animal ‘hotspot’ Haka park is a nice break from the nearby city and permits walking and climbing.

So I packed the three in the car along with a picnic lunch and headed to the park, where we whiled away the morning in tear-free style. When lunch time came around, we decided on a suitable picnic spot with a cement table and benches and settled down to eat. My daughter and I munched happily on our sandwiches while my nephew wandered about in his usual style and my son decided to sit at the next table over. As he appeared content as well, I left him to his own devices and continued to satisfy my hunger and keep an eye on the much more likely problem starter, my nephew. He was very much like a monkey himself with his affinity for trees and innate ability to climb almost anything (to my wife’s horror).

As lunch continued, my attention was drawn away from my son, probably by my much more talkative and bossy daughter, until suddenly we all heard an outraged howl. We turned in time to see my son having his sandwich snatched by a cute-looking vervet monkey, who then proceeded to sit in front of him and munch on my son’s former lunch. After an attempt to regain control of his lunch, which ended almost before it began with the monkey baring its teeth and chittering angrily (to our great amusement) my son proceeded to grab the remaining sandwiches and lock himself in the car. From the safety of the car he peered out of the window angrily (at us or at the monkey, I am not sure) while he proceeded to eat another sandwich in a monkey-free zone. Needless to say he endured quite a bit of teasing on our way home thanks to his assumption that the monkey was only after his company when it approached him!

Makgadigadi Bot kumaga camp jc asleep 99 small

My son recovering from his duties as “monkey-chaser” at a camping site.

Baboons can be destructive as well, something I have also experienced and witnessed. My first hand experience happened when we were camping at Amboseli National Park in Kenya. I closed the sliding door of our VW kombi only to discover that a baboon was inside! Finding itself locked up it panicked and went “bananas” jumping all over the car and screaming its head off. Thankfully it was a young animal so it did not defecate and urinate as much as a fully grown animal would have done! It is sometimes amazing to see what can take place in a few seconds as I opened the door as fast as I could! It took long to clear the mess… Similar to the occasion when we camped at the fig tree camp in Lake Bogoria under a troop of baboons that made sleeping very difficult as they kept waking up throughout the night and screaming as if attacked by a leopard!!! They also pelted us with muck!!!

However, baboons can be even more destructive, something we learned while camping at Serondela in the Chobe National Park in Botswana. Our neighbours were clearly European tourists, judging by the neatness of their campsite. All items had a place and it was a stark contrast with our disorder! We came back in the evening and found the couple -we later learnt that they were Germans- looking at a heap of canvas and nylon where their tent had been before the baboons smelled the food that they had left inside. From then on, they slept in the car!

The last anecdote worth telling also took place in Kenya in the mid eighties at Meru National Park. Again, on arrival and while unloading our cars of the food needed for the three-day stay, our butter was taken, together with most of our tomatoes, although we managed to rescue a few that were scattered in the bush around the campsite. As these were damaged and already “touched” by the thieves, a lady friend and my wife decided to lay a deadly trap for the culprits, using the recovered tomatoes. The idea was to fill them with chili and black pepper and leave them out for the taking. This process demanded more work, skill and care than the preparation of our dinner, as the fruits needed to be hollowed and then stuffed with the deadly paste (oil was used to join the ingredients). Once the three or four tomatoes were ready, they were put in full view of the vervets while we watched, waiting for their response and hoping for them to learn a good lesson for the future! They took them almost instantly but what followed was not what was expected! The cautious thieves, after tasting them with the tips of their tongue, detected the trap and, immediately took all tomatoes to the nearby river, washed them carefully and shared them with their friends, to the anger of the female humans…

Although humorous, this account should serve as a lesson: animals are wild and must not be fed. It does not matter if they look cute and or entertaining, do not feed them. By so doing you are awarding them a death sentence as they will eventually need to be destroyed because they become too brave!

Swiss-Uruguayan Easter Safari Rally – Kenya, 16th to 20th April 1987.

Coming out of a riverbed: Have you put the four-wheel drive on?

The rally in a few words…

Programme

16^th of April : Nairobi – Meru town
17^th of April : Meru town – Shaba National Reserve
18^th of April : Shaba National Reserve
19^th of April : Shaba National Reserve – Matthews range – Samburu National Reserve
20^th of April : Samburu National Reserve – Nairobi

Participants

Land Rover – Uruguayan team (4WD[1], the pilot and X-ray[2], wife and co-pilot)
Isuzu Trooper – Swiss team (ScoutSpirit[3], pilot and PinkShade[4], partner and co-pilot)

Reporting

PinkShade, to serve you (although not very used to that job and not trained in English at all!)

Results

Both teams excellent, both “ex-aequo” at every leg, despite major technical and mechanical problems.
No real brake down (nervous ones, I mean!), no flat tires and no accidents (Thank God!)
Cars and skills were tested through all types of weather, on all kinds of tracks, marshy or dry.

The rally in detail…

Thursday, 16th of April – Getting in the mood!

Our departure took place in Nairobi at 2.00 PM roughly. Unexpectedly, everybody from the town was along our way to greet us and enjoy our way through! Our success was huge and tremendously exciting. At around 3.00 PM we met a few cars driven by “amateurs” coming our way at high speed. All the cars were numbered, full of stickers and very noisy. It was a kind of a funny race, which looked like a pale copy of ours. We gave way very politely, full of respect for the beginnerswe thought that they were showing off a bit too much[5]. Anyway, the atmosphere was light and happy: the weather was perfect, hot and sunny. The roads, either tarmac or dirt, were dry. The coffee bushes were all in blossom, which gave a marvellous scent to the air. No better conditions were expected for a very enthusiastic and fair rally.

One of the “real” Safari Rally car: It looks more like a rally than like a safari!

We reached the town of Meru without any trouble, but well after dusk. Towards the end of the journey the Land Rover got a bit weak and it just managed to climb up to the “Pig and Whistle”, our stopping place for the first night. Once our luggage was in the cottages, we met at the terrace. But the noise of the Safari Rally going through Meru while we were having a lazy late drink (7.30 PM) made us feel tense! And so we slid to the annoying question: Is the Land Rover all right? Will it be ok tomorrow? The usually optimistic 4WD was dubious and the usually pessimistic ScoutSpirit showed -as usual- calm and detachment! Morality: one’s very deep characteristics can change depending on who or what is the subject of the problem! Later, the meal, excellent but overwhelming, helped us to forget about any possible doubts and the best plan was to ensure a good night to everybody!

Our quiet room at the Pig & Whistle Hotel in Meru (built around 1930): A good night for a good rally’s leg.

Friday, 17th of April – Bivouacking in the bush!

We got up at 8.00 AM, a GORGEOUS[6] sunshine greeting us at the doorstep. Things stayed all right until the end of breakfast. But then, the Land Rover gave us bad news: It was tired, exhausted, no more power and wouldn’t say why. Kindly, the manager of the hotel proposed his mechanic. Good news, the fundi kwa gari[7] (the cars’ specialist = the mechanic!) was trained on Land Rovers. This was our luck in misfortune. The man came and gave his diagnostic: “Burnt cylinder head gasket”, something not nice to hear in that GORGEOUS morning when everything was just starting. It was 10.00 AM and he said that he could repair it for 1.00 PM. Doubtful but hopeful, 4WD and ScoutSpirit went with him and both cars to his garage.

Meanwhile, X-ray and I had a good “seed-collecting-time” while inspecting trees and various plants in the garden: Custard-apple trees, fig-trees, coral-trees, African tulip-trees, a sort of climbing cucumber, frangipani, etc. At 1.30 PM or so, men and cars came back, ready for another brilliant -if somehow delayed- start! We thanked the manager heartily, filled the tanks up and bought the newspapers. We left Meru after a light picnic. It would have been nice to have driven eastwards to Meru National Park, the only place in Kenya at that time which hosted white rhinos (introduced). This is also where Elsa, the very famous lioness raised by Joy Adamson, was buried. But, in view of the mechanical delay, we kept that itinerary for another possible safari and headed to the north, to Shaba National Reserve. By that time, I discovered that we were going to a place we had no map of! The Swiss part of me thought “well, we are really looking for adventure”. I understood later why it was not that adventurous: Shaba is a very small national reserve and there is only one main track through it! I was then ready to follow happily, not that I really had the choice but that I was much relieved not to go to the “outback” without enough training.

Samburu’s manayatta (family settlement with huts and traditional spiny fence): Somewhere on the way to Isiolo.

After Isiolo, we passed Samburu National Reserve and Buffalo Springs National Reserve on the left hand-side and turned to the right near a military camp. With Shaba National Reserve, these three national reserves make a well protected area, famous for its “northern dry-country” game, such as reticulated giraffes, Somali ostriches, Grevy zebras, gerenuks, oryx, kudus (both greater and lesser) and so on. From that point on, the semi-desertic landscape appeared and it was truly marvellous, well I would say GORGEOUS! We were -however- driving into temporary rivers because it had just been raining heavily (April is the start of the rainy season in Kenya but heavy rain is not expected in the northern part!). With rays of sunshine on the spurting water, the scenery was “not bad” at all. I had great fun trying to get a picture of the Land Rover surrounded by water, the sun shining through. As it was following ours, I was twisting myself out of the window, trying to stay inside despite the many bumps.

A group of camels: Under the unusual strong shower of that day…

Sparkling water under sunshine: well-tried but the picture doesn’t really render the full atmosphere.

We eventually arrived at the gate of Shaba National Reserve. Built in the middle of that totally wild land, at the edge of that national reserve, the office was yellow, I mean completely yellow. Not even a frame or a nail was of another colour! When we got in, we saw that inside, it was yellow too, of course! We found a man waiting as If he was just expecting us to come at that time precisely! Nevertheless, I wonder how many persons he may see in a week, except for his few companions?

After a heavy rain: The dirt-road is flooded at many places…

We first went to visit the “ghost” tented-camp. It was a pathetic sight: Not GORGEOUS! The last drops of rain were dripping from the broken roof into our necks and the bright white toilet was shining in the deep green grass near a tree. But the camp may have been pleasant because it is right above the Ewaso Nyiro river[8] and has got springs and the shelter of big trees[9]. We decided then to go further and to find the other campsite. It was about 6.00 PM, we still had time, but not too much. As nothing like a signboard appeared (If you read the ninth footnote, you already know that without a signboard, there is no way to make sure that you have reached the campsite!), we thought that we had missed it. So we chose our own one in the middle of the bush: just the perfect place, away from animals’ tracks (we were mainly beware of hippos there), flat surface, two big trees, nice stones to hold the grid above the fireplace and water not far away. At the beginning, we didn’t notice the impressive quantity of very aggressive acacia thorns, so we thought that it was like paradise! Yes, if you forgot about the many punctures in your soles, it really was ideal.

The so-called “sleeping-room” was composed of a big tarpaulin and sheltered by a double flysheet, building one wall and the roof. It could sound strange but a car was part of it as we had only three poles to hold the stuff and the Land Rover was the fourth one… an interesting pole I must say. Other advantages of this architectural puzzle were that it supplied light and water and provided some handy space to prepare the meals and store. A few stones, a few logs and we got a big fire going. A few armchairs, a table and drinks and we were well settled. “Shouldn’t we stay two nights in this place? It is so GORGEOUS!” said 4WD and we were already agreeing “Yes, after all this work, it is not worth removing everything and starting again tomorrow… and would we find another spot like this?” First step towards settlement not to say laziness! We voluntarily postponed the decision to the following morning: “Let’s think about it tomorrow. Anyway, we will do as we will wish”.

We looked at the bedroom, so attractive with our four camp-beds, mattresses, pillows, sleeping-bags and mosquito-nets! We looked at the fire, its smoke chased by the wind towards the darkness. Happy us! The dinner, one of X-ray’s fantastic stews was bubbling on the fire and her famous “pineapple-pie” was also waiting for us as much as we were waiting for it with the memories of earlier occasions! We were having a good time and we were very much aware of it. A Scops owl called in the distance and we stared at the sky hoping to discover the announced full moon. We argued about the time of the moonrise and it eventually appeared (at 10.00 PM), shortly before we prepared for the night’s sleep. I must add here that the idea of bivouacking was a real excitement to ScoutSpirit and I as we never did it before… Having as unique protection a mosquito-net while you are deep asleep in a game reserve where lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, buffalos, hippos and hyenas may be roaring around is quite challenging… it gave a certain chill down our spines!

How to sleep in the bush: Bivouacking is nicer but a bit more scary than camping!

What a story to wash ourselves and get into bed! “Primo”: thorns all over the place, so don’t remove your shoes too early… “Secundo”: small instable bed, so keep your balance… “Tertio”: annoying mosquito-net to be wrapped around your mattress, so be patient and methodical… “Quarto”: dudus (pests or rather annoying insects) still coming into your “cell”, so start again from “Tertio”! “Something dreadful happened to me” shouted 4WD while collapsing in his bed, head lower than his feet! As an answer, we all laughed out loudly, getting rid of the tension that we accumulated during the operations. It was good that the well known and rather naughty practice of placing the remains of the meal under the bed of the “beginners” was not carried out. One can imagine the surprise of the “victims” the moment the hyenas tried to snatch the food from under their camp beds! Eventually we fall asleep and the day after…

Saturday, 18th of April – Getting soaked!

We woke up at 9.00 AM after a GORGEOUS night shared with nature and lit by a bright moonlight. We soon shared a “solid” breakfast before leaving for a game drive. The ladies were installed on the top of the Land Rover. ScoutSpirit was following just behind us with his car. We drove along the river, aiming for Penny’s falls. It was wild and beautiful. On our way, we passed some campsite (occupied!) and a sort of “kopje[10]”. Was this the campsite we aimed for the night before? ScoutSpirit, with whom we had lost sight of for a while, came back with a huge tortoise-shell which he found on the riverbank for us to see it. Soon before we reached the falls we forded a stream. When we looked back, we could see the Trooper diving into this narrow but quite deep stream that drains the marsh and forms the famous waterfalls further down! Fortunately, the car came out easily and we could reach the falls and leave the two vehicles under a big tree, shade being strongly recommended at this time of the day where the temperature can easily reach 40°C.

We had been told that here was where Joy Adamson lived for a period of her life. But there was no more building or sign of any settlement anymore to see around. Not being looked after, it certainly disappeared in the vegetation very quickly[11]. We climbed down a rough and steep slope heading for the Ewaso Nyiro river and discovered the magnificent falls with their dark red but transparent water from the marsh mixing up with the “white coffee” water from the main river: GORGEOUS again! On the sandy shore we had our lunch, roasting ourselves in the sun. After the picnic, 4WD and X-ray went walking a bit further and came on a few crocodiles… we set off for the cars quite rapidly!

Measuring about 40 cm length: The famous tortoise-shell that “polluted” part of the safari!

On the way back, the second crossing of the small river became a problem: The Trooper stopped in the middle of it, just in front of us, and the engine failed kabiza (totally… and total bad news!). Anyhow, after a while, we saw ScoutSpirit crawling inside and appearing finally out of the boot-door! Water was about the same level as the doorstep. Hands under water, he attached the towrope and 4WD’s car pulled the Trooper backwards a little bit but not much as the four wheel-drive was not on. At the second attempt the job was done. But the Trooper still refused to start as the engine was soaked. Soon we realized that the floor was flooded too so we started to pick up some drooling things and put them outside to dry under the sun. Then we had to remove the water from the carpets and absorb it as much as possible. To complete the task, we drove back, doors open and full heat on. The “ex-dry” tortoise shell, still with us, got quite wet again. It was stinking like hell![12]

In the marsh: It is a pleasure to get stuck -and unstuck- with such good adversaries in that rally!

Next event was the episode of the famous snake. It was spotted by us, the ladies sitting on the roof, whose shouting resulted in such sudden braking by our driver that we almost landed on the sand. Of course, we were rather glad to be still on the car’s roof, especially when 4WD took the beast and put it on the bonnet. A kind of panicked interrogation took place in our heads… what was he doing and what If the snake was poisonous? “Would you hold it for me to take a picture?” asked 4WD to his patient wife. We nearly fainted! Eventually, the roles were reversed, 4WD held it and X-ray took the shot. 4WD was very happy holding the snake. Just as we were about to leave the poor thing, ScoutSpirit arrived and we had another episode of the same magnitude! Afterwards, the reptile went under one of our tires and we felt sorry at the risk to squash it. So ScoutSpirit didn’t hesitate to put his bare hand under the tire to chase it away despite our warning screams! By that time we started to understand that the men where teasing us. Silly ones[13]! From then on the atmosphere went a little bit crazy. 4WD got bored to drive alone while we were talking happily on the roof! He then left the pilot’s seat and had a chat with us, nearly standing out of the car but still driving…

The very nice and small bark snake: At first we didn’t know it was supposedly harmless to man!

Then it was “mate time”. Mate is a South American beverage made out of a plant[14] that, once dried and crushed, is mixed with hot water in a calabash (also called mate) and drank through a sieving straw (bombilla). Every time the calabash is emptied by a drinker, it is filled with hot water again and passed to the next person of the group. This is a very social way of drinking that can be compared to our Swiss habit of eating melted cheese in the same pot for the whole table’s company, traditional and collective dish that we call “la fondue”. So you see, travelling with our Uruguayan friends, it was impossible to ignore that fantastic tradition, even on safari… as they also had to discover the famous fondue made with “El Molo” cheddar, dry papaya wine and vodka (all produced in Kenya), cooked on the fire in a famous Kisumu earth pot! But that took place in another safari and would be told about another time.

As we experienced it with great interest, mate is really good, social and somehow “sacred”! So much that we became very talkative for one hour non-stop! As dusk was coming closer, we hurried towards our “home-sweet-home”, still with doors wide open and full heat on for the Trooper to dry up. But we knew that it would take a few days to dry kabiza. We passed again by the beautiful rocks that we called “kopjes” and saw surprisingly no game at all. We came to the camp in the dark and under the rain which had spoiled our things: wet camp-beds, wet armchairs and worst, wet firewood! In spite of that, X-ray managed to light a pretty nice fire after we gathered some minute more-or-less dry twigs under some partly sheltered areas. Thus we could put our things around the fire in order to dry… It was time consuming. I was busy too with my belongings that had been soaked in the marsh-juice, so I kept waving them near the fire, in front of my dear friends who became sea-sick as a consequence!

By the time the meal was ready, everything was dry and we merrily started to eat our curry with poppadums: GORGEOUS for sure! The thought about “tomorrow” came again of course, but we sent it back as easily as the day before… not without bringing a few suppositions! Anyway, we quickly all disappeared under our mosquito nets after a quick wash. The moon came again, just raising at a quarter to 11.00 PM, nearly full, already shrank on one side, ‘cause of time passing by. The fire was special that night: Dry elephant-dung had been used because we thought that they might last longer than wood. So we could admire strange “squarish” pieces, very red, very luminous, with a particular scent, but not unpleasant, that we never had before…

The elephant skeleton: A vast open cemetery that brings up many reflexions as the tusks were missing…

Sunday, 19th of April – Heading north shortly!

Yes, the idea of using the elephant dung was brilliant. The fire was still hot with quite a few embers and started on easily, earlier on that morning, said ScoutSpirit (I can’t tell as I was fast asleep at that time). After breakfast, the decision was taken to try and reach the Matthews range for the night. So straight away, we entered a big spell of activity till 11.00 AM. A few pictures were taken on our departure: The tortoise-shell that was still around and an elephant skeleton that was lying a bit further along the track. The hide of the latter was still there also, stinking horridly but no need to look for the tusks… poachers’ business! At 12.00 AM, we reached the gate and drove on towards the north. We passed Archers’ Post and, later on, drove straight ahead as we left the road leading to Wamba on the left hand-side. We could admire the very nice alignment of the dirt road towards the big mountains of the Matthews range: a GORGEOUS view although it soon became very clouded! The way began to grow wilder as we had to cross big luggas (dry riverbeds, but don’t ask me where this word comes from) and very rocky and hilly places… but always there was a hut or a shamba (cultivated field or/and dwellings, usually wooden houses) to see nearby. It started to rain cats and dogs thus inflating the rivers very quickly, so we decided to go back south and join Samburu National Reserve by a shortcut rather than to continue for the Matthews. It is well-known that the mountains attract the clouds and means much more rain than on the plains…The roads were too flooded to our taste and mainly too risky for the cars… there was no point to get stuck there for the night!

Matthews mountains and corrugated iron dirt-road: Above a certain speed, you “fly” and it stops shaking!

Very heavy shower: Everything was under water in no time!

Flush-flooded roads: Everybody was testing the water’s depth and strength as to know whether to cross or not…

Once in Samburu, quite late in the afternoon, we did a quick game-drive and passed near the lodge, but on the opposite bank of the river, where they put some bait on a tree to attract leopards (although we don’t recommend this way of dealing with wild animals!). At the campsite (this time clearly announced by a board but nothing else revealing it!), everything was wet. But that was better than flooded! It was then time to set up the camp for the last night of that much appreciated Easter long week-end. Thank to the experts, it was done in no time… We were so busy that we forgot easily that the leopard didn’t come to the bait. Our menu, cooked on the fire, included fine spaghettis with a spicy egg and tomato sauce (Mediterranean way), delicious chapatis (Indian flat bread – the dough wouldn’t grow!) with butter, banana cream with plums, biscuits, tea, coffee… not bad as usual.

After that, the ladies talked until 2.00 AM. As the men were trying to have a rest, we decided to stop! In fact we woke them up at that very moment, because closing the bonnet of the Land Rover after disconnecting the light without any noise was impossible. The same happened with the doors. We started to laugh like mad and it was even noisier. We couldn’t stop. Even once in bed, we could hear each other laughing in our pillows. That went on and on for some time… “Oh shit” said 4WD, turning over in his camp-bed, most upset! But this didn’t help us to stop laughing, on the contrary…

Monday, 20th of April – Winning the rally!

Our Swiss-Uruguayan Easter Safari Rally had to be finished on that very day, in Nairobi. So we woke up at 7.30 AM and went quickly for a game-drive, the four of us in the same car, after a cup of tea and a piece of cake. Again, the ladies went on the Land Rover’s roof rack and, Good Lord, were still there at the end despite thorns and baboons menacing to jump on the roof near us! We haven’t seen much during that game-drive: a bunch of crocs, some hornbills and a few other birds, impalas, reticulated giraffes, oryx and baboons. That’s all! Nothing compared to other times in that area, not to speak about a safari in Ngorongoro’s crater or in Maasai Mara’s plains! But we weren’t there for watching animals, were we? Of course, we were there to win that bleedi rally… (just kidding!).

But, not joking anymore, the open view on the wide Ewaso Nyiro river, with its doum palms (Hyphaene thebaica) and acacias (Acacia elatior) was fully GORGEOUS. It looked somehow very exotic, almost like being near the Indian ocean! 4WD told us that, at the right season, the elephants and baboons or even other animals use to come here especially to eat the fermented fruits of the palm… After what they get drunk and you have to be careful not to be on their way! Up the banks, the umbrella thorn (another acacia) and the commiphora trees, also very thorny, are predominant. The latter produces a very nice scented resin (dried sap) which is used to make local incense or myrrh.

We came back to the campsite at around 11.00 AM and had a nice brunch. Then we packed up quickly (sigh) and went desperately for a swim at the neighbouring Buffalo Springs National Reserve, adjacent to Samburu’s. We found the springs crowded! A huge amount of school children were using the lovely basin where the main spring is collected and protected from the animals by a big circular stonewall. So we went for the “side-springs”, not to swim, which is not possible there, but to collect leeches instead of getting rid of our “miasmas” and accumulated safari dust.

A good swim in spring water (picture taken on a previous safari): That is what we missed on that last day!

We quit the spot at 2.00 PM (sigh again). Short after we passed the gate, at only 3.00 PM, the fan belt of the Land Rover jumped out! But the mechanics (4WD and ScoutSpirit), put it right in no time. It is so reassuring to have fundis around! Both cars then headed for Nanyuki and stopped for petrol there. Next stop and arrival in Nairobi was near the “Premier Club”. It was established that both teams were first “ex-aequo”. We congratulated each other heartily and admitted that our drivers were very well trained and the organisation perfect!

So when do we start again?

Landscape around the Ewaso Nyiro, nearby the Shaba campsite: Doum palms and red soil (laterite).

THE END

PinkShade

Footnotes

[1] 4WD (four-wheel drive): as he can make his way through everywhere and possibly through every situation. 4WD is an ancient nickname of the well-known today’s bushsnob!

[2] X-ray: as she has a very accurate view and the ability to spot before anybody any living creature miles around you in the bush!

[3] ScoutSpirit: as he is so calm and well organized that you could always count on him to provide what you did not bring or to have some spare place in his boot to host your things even If very heavily loaded!

[4] PinkShade: as she used to wear particular sunglasses that makes you see everything pinkish and also because she tried very hard to see the positive things although sometimes very anxious in that period of her life!

[5] You may have understood that they were the actual cars of the original African Safari Rally that took place at Easter in Kenya!

[6] You will see that “gorgeous”, pronounced with emphasis and a French/Spanish accent, sounded funny and it was adopted as THE word of this long week-end!

[7] Words in italics are Kiswahili terms that we adopted as we found them more expressive or poetical than ours.

[8] Staying near a river is a guarantee of good game spotting as many animals come to drink or bathe. The Ewaso Nyiro (brown river) is named after its quite dark water.

[9] Although these were the best and nearly sole qualities required for a campsite in almost any national park or reserve in Kenya. Yes, I know, coming from Switzerland where camping places have hot water, showers, washing machines, tumble-dryers, dishwashers, swimming pools, ping-pong tables, cooking places and very technical barbecue devices… it is always astonishing to come to a simple spot near a river and to be told proudly “this is the campsite, Madam” as you cannot tell the difference with the rest of the whole wild area!

[10] After the Afrikaans’ name given to rocky hills appearing like islands in the plains, i. g. in the Serengeti’s savannah. They could have their own ecosystems (plants, animals and interactions amongst them).

[11] Checking on internet nowadays (September 2014), it seems that a monument has been placed since then.

[12] The shell was handed over to the Reserve’s management on exit.

[13] The snake was an Eastern bark snake (Hemirhagerrhis nototaenia), mildly poisonous, unlikely to be harmful to man.

[14] Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is a cousin of our European holly (Ilex aquifolium), the latter being poisonous!

Christine, the booking wizard!

The booking office of the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority in Harare.

More important than the right preparations, adequate bookings are the key to a successful safari. There is nothing worse than arriving at your favourite place and finding that you are double booked or that you “are not on our list”.

Worse still is dealing with a booking office with staff that just do a routine job and are completely indifferent to the client across the counter and their expectations. Unfortunately, this occurs more frequently than necessary, and even efficiency does not compensate for it.

Luckily, people booking at the office of the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (PWMA) in Harare, Zimbabwe need not worry!

Christine is officially called a “Reservation Agent” but I would rename her as a “Reservation Friend”! With her team (Audrey, Peter and Catherin) she is always ready to assist and look -in the renowned large green accommodation books- for the place you wish, always with a smile, even when her telephone is constantly ringing and she is dealing with several issues at the same time.

This is the best campsite. I recommend it!

She knows about the facilities offered, condition of the roads and best times to visit. She also acts as a guide, recommending the best places available and not hesitating to tell you their drawbacks and or advantages.

This is not too good…

… a solution is found!

Married, a mother of two (boy of 28 and girl of 25) and recently a grandmother, Christina has been helping guests to get bookings to the wonderful places in Zimbabwe for the last 26 years. I would go as far as saying that she is the “face and voice” of the PWMA to the outside world.

Christine at work.

Today I was there booking several places for both 2014 and 2015 and had a chance to enjoy her sense of humour and efficiency so I thought I would document my experience in the blog for all to know that here you will find a service like no other!

Thank you Christine and, please, do not scare me by talking about retirement again!

Unraveling the tusker mystery

The sighting of the large tusker described in “A tusk task” was the subject of an intense exchange of messages between the bushsnob and the Emerging Tuskers Project (ETP) of the Letaba Elephant Hall of Kruger National Park.

I supplied the ETP with all the pictures and a video of the elephant. I also reviewed the approximate location of the site where the animal was observed and corrected it to the area around Shingwedzi Rest Camp. This was done after revising our route on the day of the sighting, based on bookings and pictures (both their contents and times taken).

The ETP then studied all available information and compared the unknown tusker with their elephant database and came to the following conclusion, communicated to me on 15 September 2014:

“Thank you very much for sending the additional images and narrowing down the location it did help considerably, I did receive all 11 (pictures).

In regards to your bull the answer is perhaps not one you were expecting but nonetheless very good news in that we have what appears to be a new tusker.

This bull is definitely not Mavalanga* as neither the ear markings from the left ear that are prominent nor is what I call the “donut”, the thickening on the middle of the trunk present. I have looked in detail at the ear markings and having compared them along with the shape of the ivory with all the possible bulls that we are currently monitoring as well as the known bulls and they do not match. The location and side images you provided eliminated my only other suspected bull, so the only feasible conclusion is a new bull.

Interestingly we received a second image from a guest who also suspected his sighting to be Mavalanga around the same time as your image was taken. We can see the ear markings clearly in this image so I am confident in my assessment.

It never ceases to fascinate me how these bulls can go for so long without being noticed especially with ivory this substantial, it also highlights the value of guest submissions to the project as this is how we learn about these wonderful bulls.

I have created a file for this bull and will definitely escalate him to the top of the list when the time for the naming review comes and hopefully at that time he will be confirmed as a new bull and named.

Kind Regards,

ETP”

Of course the bushsnob and his wife are both very excited to have contributed to the ETP by spotting such a remarkable tusker and, hopefully, they will be kept in the loop regarding the future naming of the tusker by the ETP.

* (see: http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/elephants/tuskers/emerging.php#mavalanga)

A frontal view.

Recently I was identifying a snake for a coming post and the following newspaper cutting from 25 years ago slid out of the snake book. I had totally forgotten it but, clearly, being “snake-related”, I kept it there for future reference! I did not only found the story amusing but I also liked the way the reporter covered!

The text is small but if you click on it you can magnify the picture and read it (even I could do it!).

As a matter of terminology, wananchi in KiSwahili means “citizens or people” and ugali is the cooked stiff white maize porridge (polenta-like), the staple diet in Kenya.

Waltzing in the wild

At the last minute after leaving Moremi Game Reserve, we decided to spend the night at Magkadigadi Pan National Park. We managed to get a last minute booking at Khumaga camp as we knew that animals -mainly zebra and wildebeest- were migrating through that area at the time. Additionally, we had been there in 1999 and we were curious to see it again as we had good memories of the place, particularly the games drives along the dry Boteti river where we often saw lions as well as a huge crocodile that used to live in a water pool that somehow survived the prevailing drought.

Makgadigadi Bot kumaga camp dry boteti 99 small

A view of the Boteti river in 1999.

A similar view to the above, but in 2014!

We noticed that things would be different when, after going through Khumaga town and just before arriving at the Boteti River, our GPS stewardess announced, “in 300 metres board the ferry”. “This machine is confused again” I said and there was general agreement in the car so we ignored her and continued driving. And then we saw a mighty river with very clean water and, surprise, surprise, a ferry parked at the end of the road, waiting for us! So we apologized to the GPS’ lady and approached the ferry.

While driving towards the water’s edge we remembered hearing, sometime ago, that the water was flowing again in the Boteti (later literature check up mentioned 2012 as the year that this happened). The view was totally different and new to us, suddenly making the idea of coming to Makgadikgadi National Park much more interesting! I am sure it was a great positive change for the wild animals (clearly also for the domestic stock as well!!!) that suffered water shortage for many years and their recovery must be on the way

Waiting to board the ferry at the “new” Boteti river.

After successfully getting the car on the ferry, under the expert guidance of the ferryman, we crossed the river in 15 minutes and arrived at the gate of the park, located on the other side of the river. We passed through the gate, drove a few km and, after seeing a large herd of zebra clearly returning from their afternoon drink in the river, we arrived at the campsite. The place was the same but now it was on the bank of a normal river, with water flowing and surrounded by green vegetation, a sharp contrast with our memories! It was a bitterly cold evening so we lit a good fire and were in bed early without seeing much!

Makgadigadi Bot safari 1 Khumaga 99 small

Our campsite in 1999.

The following morning, the coldest I remember while on safari, we decided to go for a game drive before departing for Francistown and Harare. This time the drive took us along the now green river banks rather than through its dry bottom and we could not help but express our admiration for nature for having recovered so fast from what earlier resembled a bone-dry place.

The road afforded us the chance to drive closer to the water in some areas and observe its prolific birdlife. We did not see many mammals, as they were probably grazing on the plains. The exception was a beautiful Greater Kudu bull with great horns.

Greater Kudu bull near the Boteti river.

The Greater Kudu bull.

It was during one of these river loops that we saw the marabou storks (Leptoptilos crumeniferus). There were a few hundred adult birds. The first impression was of a group of elegant men in suits with coat-tails at a gentlemen’s club, getting ready for a ball and waiting for the ladies! However, the ladies were already there, dressed like men!

The “waltzers” from far…

Marabou storks BotetiP1090803 cropped and small 1

They were well dressed… (Picture by Julio A. de Castro)

Marabous 2P1090806 marabou cropped and small 1

The orchestra Director. (Picture by Julio A. de Castro)

Showing off before finding a dancing partner? (Picture by Julio A. de Castro)

We saw a lot of interaction as birds were clearly courting and getting ready to nest. Apart from some birds trying their hand at various acrobatics and showing their superb flying and gliding skills, the more frequent activities were less spectacular. They consisted of offerings of grass to each other, accompanied by short jumps and beak clattering. The latter was a rather noisy activity, considering the size of their beaks!

After a long while observing their antics, a boat full of tourists approached and disturbed the birds, which flew away and landed again at a distance. However, the “magic” had been broken for us and we, unanimously, decided that it was time to get back to Zimbabwe while the bird spectacle was still fresh in our memories.

A video snapshot of the birds moving off. (Picture by Julio A. de Castro)

Moremi

We arrived at the South Gate Camp in Moremi Game Reserve after re-stocking fuel and food at Maun. At the gate we learnt that our 1999 map was outdated! So we bought an updated one as a new area of the reserve, the Black Pools, Mogogelo area adjacent to the camp, had been opened to the public after our map was printed! This was good news as other known places looked quite far from us.

The campsite followed the same general lines of Nxai Pan with similar anti elephant fields in place. Fortunately the only stinkbugs present were those coming out of our car and unfolded gear that lived rather ephemeral lives, being rapidly consumed by the various birds that were attracted to them; clearly birds without taste!

The area around the camp was drying up but there were still a number of roads that we could not cross so there was a lot of turning around and/or looking for alternative routes. This was further complicated by differences between our new map and the reality of the drives that got us “lost” a few times with the result that some time was wasted finding the right way. Often when this was finally found, it was still blocked by the water and not fordable! This served as a reminder that this was a real safari and not a smoothly presented wildlife TV or video!

As water was still rather plentiful, the animals were scattered around the area, particularly the elephants. We did not see many predators although we heard lions and hyenas every night. We also found five hyenas on our way Khwai camp. An interesting find were the abundant Southern Lechwe (Kobus leche), the first ones we had seen since our days in Zambia in the early nineties. This is an interesting antelope that is found in marshes feeding on aquatic vegetation and seeking refuge from predators by going into rather deep-water areas. There they have an advantage as the skin of their legs is greasy and repels water. This fact gives them an advantage as it prevents them from getting water logged, which would slow them down in case of a needed exit.

Birds and mammals provided some amusement at the almost empty campsite and luckily, this time it did not smell. We did have the expected evening visits by spotted hyenas but they kept a polite distance from our tents. A Lesser Bush baby (Galago senegalensis), a tiny mammal of about 35 cm (tail included) and weighing about 150g was also seen every night. First we would hear its ‘louder than life’ screeching and, shining the torch in its general direction, we would spot its comparatively enormous eyes! Even so it was tricky to see it as it was busy jumping between trees, achieving almost impossible leaps for such a miniature animal and behaving more like a furry frog or perhaps a winged insect!

Redbilled woodhoopoes (Phoeniculus purpureus), White Helmetshrikes (Prionops retzii) and several Hornbills species also provided us with hours of entertainment. Both the Redbilled (Tockus erythrorhynchus) and Southern Yellowbilled (T. leucomelas) hornbills were present; the latter were particularly daring. These birds gained movie notoriety after Alan Root produced his documentary of the female raising her chicks while locked inside her nest, fed by her mate. A few of them hung around our camp and one, clearly a narcissist, spent a long time in front of the car window, trying to chase himself away in a prolonged and futile territorial dispute (with himself) that had no possible outcome, except possibly cracking the glass!

The Yellowbilled hornbill chasing himself away…

The hornbills kept landing at our table and trying to snatch morsels from us during meal times. However, just to show that they were not human-dependent, at some stage a Red-billed hornbill caught a rather large centipede that became a coveted prize among several contenders. Finally it became the property of a Yellow-billed that proceeded to batter it out of existence and to swallow it, not without difficulty.

Visiting.

Yellowbilled hornbill bashing the centipede.

Our record of this area of Moremi will not be complete without mentioning that we were fortunate enough to see a group of Wattled cranes (Grus carunculatus). The Sassol Birds of Southern Africa guide describes these birds as “enormous”, rare, resident and endangered. I hasten to add that they were also shy and solitary, keeping their distance from other inhabitants of the swamps.

A solitary wattled crane.

The trip to Third Bridge did not offer anything special apart from two bridges (First and Second) made with trunks that enabled us to ford the various channels before arriving to the mythical Third Bridge. We also learnt that there is a Fourth bridge beyond the Third! There seems to be a bit of a lack of imagination in naming but there may be a reason -unknown to me- for this nomenclature. At some stage we were quietly watching a beautiful herd of Greater kudu when a car stopped next to ours and someone shouted “Hi, nice place but there are no ‘hanimals’!” And then as the now scared Kudu bolted he added, “Oh, there they were some!” We bit our tongues and did not tell him off as he deserved! Later on we found them buried in the sand, being helped by an angry tour operator who needed to extricate them in order to continue his own trip!

Crossing a bridge on the way to Third Bridge.

Bridges on the way to… Third Bridge.

While game watching we kept bumping into someone in a pickup with a very impressive camera array. We saw him (or rather his cameras) while watching the tree Cheetahs and later on while he was, in his own words, “getting the definitive picture of a roller”! We ended up talking to him and exchanged cards. Then we learnt that his name was Paul Souders and that he was 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year! Allow me to recommend his web site if you wish to see wonderful photographs at http://www.worldfoto.com/ and http://photoboy.com/2013/10/15/hudson-bay-canada-2/ where his winner picture can be found.

Our tent at the Third Bridge tented camp.

The sIgn from the Third Bridge tent. Do people really throw all this down the toilet?

On the second night, we were returning to our camp rather late and before crossing the Third bridge to get back to camp, we had to stop and queue as a group of about 10 painted dogs got there before us! As the water runs over most of the bridge, the dogs were hesitant to cross (we learnt later that there is a crocodile at the bridge).

Painted dogs at Third Bridge. It was a very poor picture taken with the car lights so I smudged it to try to be "artistic"...

Painted dogs at Third Bridge. A bad still from a video taken with the car lights so I smudged it to try to be “artistic”…

After several minutes of goings and comings and not without a few jolts and recoils, one dared to take the first leap into the water. Soon all others followed and rapidly vanished into the dusky bush so fast that a car that came a minute after us did not see anything! Such as the nature of a real safari, a few minutes or even seconds can make a difference between a memorable sight or just MMBA (Miles and Miles of B… Africa)!

Note: All pictures by Julio A. de Castro

	bushsnob on What on earth!? (29)
	bushsnob on Wet creatures’ day
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	bushsnob on Wet creatures’ day

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The rally in a few words…

The rally in detail…

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