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Nature is truly amazing! This months' newsletter is going to track just a short 72hr period! Martin and Kirsten Windle arrived in Ruaha for their first safari experience as part of an exciting and "adventurous" honeymoon! The first thing to greet them just before the aeroplane settled down on the runway was a herd of elephant sheltering under some Acacia trees alongside the strip. Moms and their young waiting out the heat of the midday sun, flapping their ears and just resting in the sweltering temperatures. After settling in and a spot of lunch, we headed out on the afternoon drive. The first thing I noticed was the excitement and absolute marvel with which Martin and Kirsten absorbed every little detail and sighting! From tiny little Red-cheeked Cordon Blues to a massive giraffe bull delicately feeding on the new Combretum blossoms. They were like two anxious children! What a privilege to be able to share the splendours of nature with such appreciative people! Too often guests arrive with preconceived expectations, which regularly are unrealistic. Stopping for every little movement and sound, investigating and identifying, we didn't make progress as far as distance is concerned. In fact we barely reached the Mwagusi River, which is only 5km from camp! There, on some granite rocks jutting out into the sandy course covered with elephant and lion spoor (tracks), we sat and enjoyed an ice-cold Kilimanjaro beer. The sunset was spectacular with some Real fan palms silhouetting against a crimson sky. Despite no other big-game sightings, we had a very satisfying drive as it's not always about the animals, but that of breaking out of the urban-mode and appreciating the natural pace of things out in ageless country. That night, as with all the others, the lions and hyaenas made their presence known with roars and distant whines. In the morning we decided to take a gamble and set out to find the Mwayembe spring. As I have never been there due to the rainy season during my previous visit rendering the roads impassable, we knew we were in for some excitement and maybe even adventure… Now "adventure" I claimed, is what transpires when things don't go according to plan…
All excited we pushed on and approaching an area that was clearly greener than the surroundings, we suspected the spring was close, and we were right. Rounding a turn we gazed upon an open glade with green grass and visibly moister. Settling under the deep shade of a huge Acacia tree afforded us a panoramic view of the spring. Surprisingly there were not many animals and a bit disappointing. With Martin and Kirsten's enthusiasm in birds and the smaller things time quickly flew past and before we knew it, 2 hours went by! Other vehicles from various camps arrived and departed but yet we remained. By now impala, giraffe, baboon, warthog and zebra all started appearing out of the "woodwork" to come and slake their thirst. It was approaching midday and the heat intense, though where we were sitting it was very pleasant. The interaction between the various members of the same species was entertaining as well as some inter-specific interaction. The zebra were quite nervous to come and drink, but once the giraffe started, they felt comfortable enough to join in. The baboon troop obviously had dissension in the ranks and some serious vocalisation and chases provided amusement. At one point I was feeling guilty that we are just sitting at a spring looking at general species instead of trying to find the more spectacular species like lions, elephants and buffalo. As a guide you always shoulder the pressure of wanting to showcase the best nature has to offer in as short a space of time possible. Seeing Martin and Kirsten's bemusement with all the activity in front of us I realised that they are having a good time and it would be spoiling to drive off now. Going back to the basics of animal observation, I then suggested that we stay for another while so as to capitalise on the opportunity of eles and others coming to drink in the heat of the day, with gusto they agreed and we stayed put.
The whole episode just emphasised the realisation that as humans we can drive around trying to "create" sightings and although sometimes lucky, ultimately by exercising patience and respect one is most often rewarded with more profound spectacles. As we were about to turn onto our little camp-track, another vehicle approached from the front also en route to their camp. We exchanged info and they told us that a cheetah had been spotted just further down the track! I radioed the camp again to let them know to keep lunch warm! Nature definitely works on a schedule of her own!
After a much needed meal post our marathon 7hr morning drive, we had a bit of a siesta. Meeting an hour later we headed out again to see if we could find the cheetah and establish whether she succeeded in getting lunch as she looked rather thin. With no luck in locating the cheetah we viewed an ele family drinking and moving off to go and feed. As the sun was setting on another stunning day, we drove along the Mwagusi and found a spot in the sand where we had a sun-downer and talked about the days happenings! The next morning we took a packed lunch as we were heading out on a full-day drive to the Ruaha and Mwagusi confluence. A trip along the Mwagusi provided us with our first sighting of the diminutive Kirk's Dik-Dik. The smallest antelope in Ruaha at about 5kg they frequent thickets where they browse on forbs and shrubs as well as pods and flowers. In the same spot there were also two White-browed Robin-Chats calling in melodious synchrony which is one of my favourite calls! Secretive thicket-dwellers we were lucky to see one of them hopping around whilst proclaiming its territory.
Once they were all done and re-ascended the bank we proceeded further along only to encounter a small herd of eles standing in the shade of large sausage trees. There were tiny little calves of about a few months old only. They were quite relaxed as we approached them very sensitively. After about 15min of watching them there was a sudden change in their behaviour as they became agitated and grouped together and started mobilising. Slightly confused because the wind was in our favour and the fact that they were relaxed with our presence, we noticed the cause of their unsettling. Another group of 8 eles came running at full tilt towards the river and across the rear of our view. Something must have upset them and they were heading straight for thick cover and nothing was going to stop them. The group we were watching, now also highly mobile, joined them in the passing and sheltering the youngsters from our view passed within meters of the rear of the vehicle and disappeared into the cover. Silence fell and the only remaining evidence of their presence was a cloud of dust. Again if we just had a quick look and continued along, we would have missed the interesting, and exciting, interaction… A short track taking us to the edge of the water revealed a few hippos laying half exposed on the sandbank and a goliath heron busy fishing. The new and unexpected sightings just keep pouring in… With time running along very speedily, we made an attempt to reach the confluence before it got too late. Alas, en route we spotted a single lioness walking across to the right heading along a game path towards the river. As there was no road going there we let her be and made for the viewing point at the confluence. I didn't want to have lunch at the confluence as it is a public area and I don't like sharing so we pushed on across the Mwagusi and into uncharted territory for me as these areas were inaccessible during my previous time here. Now if you can remember what my definition of "adventure" is, it is here where it started… The plan was to find a nice shady spot along the Mwagusi and have a tasty picnic lunch at about 1230. A big shady sausage or fig tree would suffice… The track lead in seemingly the correct direction and as we ended up on the edge of a river-bed I was happily looking for a tree. Not finding anything really suitable, we pushed a bit further and further. With the changing landscape and undulating hills replacing the relatively flat flood-plains along the river, we realised that we are not where we thought we were. With every passing mile the road deteriorated to regular patches where low-range and diff-lock was required to pass the obstacles. Trees across the road, badly washed gullies and steep rocky slopes meant we were really off the beaten track! We were having an Adventure!!!! The plan that was is no more. Heat and tsetse flies vying for our exposed skin and no sight of the track heading back towards the river. Now it is way past 1230 and we are starting to get hungry, but with no shade available we thought it wise to just push through. Once on the top of a hill I stopped and made the suggestion we compensate for not having lunch yet, with an ice-cold beer. The decision was unanimous! Another 60min of winding, challenging track and we finally ended up along the Mwagusi again and settled under a perfectly shady sausage-tree and had lunch about 2 hours later than planned! It was a sumptuous meal followed by a short siesta on some blankets. Arriving back at camp just before sunset we had drinks in front of the dining tent and celebrated with some champagne. Dinner was under a star-filled sky and drifting off to the sounds of the night we felt replete.
The 2 hours flew past as we explored the Ruaha river drive and had numerous sightings of elephant, zebra and everything else. Martin even managed to get his much sought-after shot of a lilac-breasted roller in flight!!! Also a huge baobab tree which has been gouged by eles to leave a massive gaping hole straight through the centre… The plane arrived and off Martin and Kirsten went to Katavi National Park and a continuation of their adventure… I really had an amazing time and was reminded that nature is incredibly generous to those who expect nothing, appreciate everything and have patience… May this example help you to prepare for your next adventure… See you out there!
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En route to the springs we encountered a
single elephant cow and her 5-year old calf.
Slowly they ambled along through some
granite boulders only to disappear into a
wooded gully. Not 1km further along the
same track I suddenly hit the brakes, nearly
sending my guests flying. "Lesser Kudu!"
I have wanted to get a sighting of a male and
there it was! Now darting across the open
towards thickets it abruptly stopped in its tracks, in a little gap and long enough to quickly snap a photo. Although very far off, the beauty of digital photography means that I now have a shot, albeit low quality, of a Lesser Kudu male!
They are much smaller and less common than their larger cousins the Greater Kudu and Ruaha is one of the only places where both occur.
Not 15min later there was a sudden scattering of the warthog and zebra to the left of the water! Immediately the baboons
started shouting and dashed towards the trees and scampered to
the tops! All the impala and giraffe also ran in a panic towards
the right, settling in to watch attentively!
As I tuned my binoculars to see what the commotion is all about, a lion appeared out of nowhere! Heading straight for the water at a trot. Then another and another…till there were 9 lions frantically drinking as if they haven't had water in days!
We were laughing in astonishment at how suddenly the whole
scene in front of us transformed! Like watching a National
Geographic or BBC documentary…
Gauging by the staccato movements and tail-swishing I could see they were agitated.
Hot and thirsty lions aren't happy lions. As they were drinking I
pointed out that once done they would be looking for some shade to cool and rest up for the day and we are parked in the deepest shade around. If we are lucky they will come and join us here under the tree… And as long as we remain still and don't make any sudden movements we could have an amazing sighting.
Lo and behold, 2 young males walk straight towards us and
continue to approach till flopping down only 5m from the
Landy! Wide-eyed with racing hearts we are flabbergasted at
our luck. I immediately radio the camp to let them know we
shall be late for breakfast… We ate some apples from the fruit
box to quieten our now rumbling tummies. The rest of the pride
settles more nervously 30m away under another shrub. Panting
with fervour the 2 males start cooling. They are visibly
extremely hot and uncomfortable. Cats generally suffer in hot
temperatures and prefer cooler times to be active. Their distended tummies are
also clear evidence that they fed recently and seeing that all are full, it must have been something rather large. We surmised that it could possibly have been a zebra. The reasoning behind the guess is based on the following assumed averages:
Adult lions require between 5-7kg of meat daily to survive, however they can consume up to 25% of their avg. 180kg bodyweight in a single sitting! It looked like these did…
There are 9 adult lions which amount to a possible 405kg consumption.
An adult zebra weighs in at about just less than that.
Obviously there are so many variables that one can never be certain but it's nice to speculate and create a plausible scenario. It's human to want to understand…
After spending about another 90min with the lions and
getting fantastic photographic opportunities, we decided
to leave them be and head back for breakfast which has
now turned into lunch…
We set off and were lucky enough to find the cheetah sitting on
a termite-mound! Once the other vehicle or two departed we
had the sighting to ourselves and spent another 60min with the
single cheetah. She posed for us as if a model. Some impala
started appearing out of the river and walked across her field of
view. We were so excited with the distinct possibility of her
making an attempt!
Alas, the impala strolled by and although from our perspective it looked like the ideal opportunity, she made no effort. This also served as a reminder that we may think we are clever and understand behaviour but reality proves otherwise…
We took a loop to link up with the Great Ruaha and in the process spotted some buffalo on their way down towards the river. A few elephants were also scattered across the Acacia studded area alongside the waterway. Once following the river we started seeing a great diversity of animals coming down for the much needed water. Impala, giraffe, zebra, kudu, baboons, warthog, waterbuck and numerous others. One species that warrants a special mention here is the largest of all the antelope. At about 150 times heavier than the dik-dik, the eland is a sight to behold.
A little further down-stream we encountered the herd of buff approaching the river. It looked like they were walking with intent so we decided to position ourselves at a likely spot where they would be able to access the riverbed and wait patiently. As before we were rewarded and they arrived at the exact spot. Hesitant at first and then as if the dam-wall broke they cascaded into the sandy bed and continued to the waters edge. Wading into the river they start drinking and almost visibly drain the river of precious liquid… What a sight!
