Tanzania was a dust bowl just before our safari started in mid December 2009.

At Lake Manyara, it looked like we would soon be able to walk accross the lake!

Then overnight it rained, and the following evening the lake was full of flamingos!

Later, in the Serengeti, we could see the grassless plain just before it was hit by intense showers. As the first deluge of raindrops hit the ground, a powdery cloud of dust would rise up, a bit like when a puffball mushroom bursts spreading its spores.

And did we get rain! Literally while we were in the Serengeti Plains, we saw it transform in a matter of days from this dusty wasteland into lush, most, and in some places boggy, fields of bounty!

This meant that the hazy horizons became crystal clear, enabling us to see for miles, and whenever we wanted some entertainment we could always look up into the sky and see changing dramatic cloud formations.

Justin

Filed under: Justin Bell, Serengeti, Tanzania | No Comments »

On a recent safari to Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe, I was pleased to see that the park lived up to its reputation of having one of the largest concentrations of elephant on the African Continent.

We witnessed elephants going about their daily activities in almost every way – feeding, drinking, playing, wallowing in the mud and just hanging around.

We were also blessed with great sightings of the seldom seen sable antelope and the even rarer roan antelope.

Dave

Filed under: Dave Christensen, Zimbabwe | No Comments »

Large predators always have an ability to evoke primaeval feelings of fear, respect and intrigue.

Under the cloak of darkness there are wars driven by competition, that are largely a mystery to us diurnal animals. Whatever the circumstances, seeing these animals, or hearing them call at night, stirs something within us that leaves us in awe and always hungering for more.

On a recent safari in the Zambezi Valley we were spoiled with sightings of some of Africa’s most powerful predators.

On one occasion we encountered a clan of thirty-one hyaena’s being held off a kill by a big male lion.

On another occasion we found two lionesses and their three cubs tucking into a kudu cow.

On different occasions during the safari we encountered a pack of twenty-one wild dogs, consisting of twelve adults and nine puppies. One of the dogs had a large bite-sized chunk out of his flank… probably a testimony to a skirmish with hyaenas.

Dave

Filed under: Dave Christensen, Major predators, Zimbabwe | No Comments »