Ngorongoro Conservation Area: Ndutu

Cheetah just chilling in the sun.

The northern part of Ngorongoro Conservation Area adjacent to Serengeti National Park is called Ndutu. It was my first time to this area and due to the time of the year, it was absolutely epic, likely the top wildlife experience I've ever had.

The landscape is similar to the plains of southern Serengeti though the presence of Lake Ndutu and adjacent woodland provides a unique habitat. This time of the year the wildebeests and other ungulates have made their way down to the emerging grasses and apparently they will give birth to their offspring in February. This means there is also an increase of predators and carnage and as the area is famous for, an extremely dense population of wildlife.

We spent a few days viewing some of the most amazing wildlife I have ever imagined. We followed a family of lions from the woodland to the shores of the lake, watching them jump over small pools and young cubs playing with each other. We saw a dead zebra getting foraged by hyenas and vultures. We had the extreme luck of seeing two honey badgers foraging. Our early morning game drive allowed for us to see a trail of wildebeests crossing the lake, certainly a NatGeo type moment. But the crown jewel of the safari was watching a solitary male lion take down zebra. We saw the lion eye the zebra and crouch in the familiar feline hunting position. The minutes passed and everyone was on the edge of their seat when suddenly he charged and took down the zebra, clasping his jaws around the neck of the zebra. You could hear bones crunching, zebra gasps, and low grunts of the lion. Unbelievable!!!

After such a long safari (7 days) it was incredible for most of the highlights to come towards the end. We are happy that we have the interest of birds or else I would say that after the luck we had, it wouldn't be necessary to go on another safari again!

A lion couple.

Family of lions lounging.

Chameleon outside my room.

Wildebeests crossing a lake in the morning light.

Not my photo but total carnage.

Here is the aftermath of the lion hunt.

Family of lions.

Solitary male lion.

A cheetah taking a snack of a young impala.

Ngorongoro Crater Trip III

Ana enjoying the view of the crater.

This was my third trip to Ngorongoro Crater (Trip I, Trip II un-blogged). This trip was especially fantastic because the short rains had made the crater green and lush giving it a completely different feel than my previous visits. The crater remains indisputably the most unique and beautiful place in Tanzania that I've visited. The view from above on the rim is breathtaking and the feel when you're in the crater floor gives an almost mythical aura. The second time I went is when my brother came and he did not have time for a proper safari. I said if there is one place you need to go, it's the crater!

Aside from it being particularly green, we had amazing luck with animals, particularly with the rhinos. Tanzania only has black-rhinos, and compared to other safari destinations like South Africa, it was quite a small threatened population (overall critically endangered). The area in the crater and the number of rhinos is so small there is a precise count of 26. During my previous trips I had spotted one from a very far distance, in fact we spent most of the time convincing ourselves that buffalo were rhinos. Well, during this trip we had great luck with a rhino crossing the road about two car lengths ahead of us. There were several other vehicles but everyone held a collective silence in awe. Even our guide said he had never been so close!

Crater landscape.

Some lions right outside our car.

The crater looked inviting.

Rhino in the sunlight.

View from halfway up the rim.

Serengeti National Park Trip II

Lions in a tree.

My second time to Serengeti National Park (Trip I) was completely different than my first trip due to the fact that this trip was after a bit of rain, while my previous trip was during the end of the dry season. We were also able to spend a few days there instead of a quick in and out.

As usual, Serengeti National Park and its endless plains were a real treat to spend a few days in. And it is a good thing that I am satisfied with the landscape alone because due to the rain pattern, the park was a bit sparse in wildlife. Around the central area of the park there were some lions and giraffes, though the ungulates (buffalo, zebra, etc) were quite sparse. We did get to visit one of the hippo pools which, true to its name, was loaded with hippos.

Our accommodation was a pretty cool set up at a temporary camp in the middle of the park. It consisted of a main camp with about 10 smaller tents on the periphery. It was pretty cool to hear hyenas and other creatures of the night lurking around at night (though some in our group were less enthused) and you could even hear them scratching against the tents! The major drawback of the place was that you couldn't walk anywhere outside the camp. Unlike many people think, the real risk is buffalo as there is a very low likelihood that you'll be eaten by a lion or leopard. I love to get out and walk, so being contained in a very small area was a bit frustrating, though this is my biggest "complaint" with traditional safaris.

I still would one day love to go through the north of the Serengeti but as I'm learning, it all depends on the time of the year as the landscape and wildlife are constantly changing with the rains.

Our campsite where we spent two nights.

The plains of the great Serengeti!

Hippo pool, with more hippos than I've ever seen in my life.

Plains with characteristic rock formations. Lion King style.

Lonely croc with his mouth open, waiting for an unsuspecting young animal to crawl in.

You want grass? Serengeti has grass.

Coffee tour on slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro

All the stages from plant to bean to cup.

My family recently came to visit and one of the activities I booked for us was a coffee tour. I was initially hesitant since many operators offer a coffee tour/waterfull excursion, which is really just passing through someone's house who happens to grow coffee in an area near to a popular waterfall. However, one of my favorite cafes in Moshi, the Union Cafe, is basically an income generating company for the Kilimanjaro Native Co-operative Union. They have an announcement offering coffee tours and since I enjoy their organization so much I figured it was worth trying.

We met at the cafe and took arranged transport up the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We made our way to a small village where we were welcomed with naturally, a cup of coffee. Our guide came and introduced himself as a small scale farmer from the area and we began our tour. Our guide was charismatic, knowledgeable and fun. Our first stop was to the selling area where the price per kilo was labeled on a chalk board and people were bringing bags to be weighed. I loved that we saw normal people in action as opposed to a staged setting.

We then made our way to a house and the guide explained they rotate who they have host the tour groups so everyone can benefit. He said they only have to have benches for people to sit, a mortar for demonstrations, and of course, must grow coffee. We then went to pick some fresh coffee and proceeded to follow all the steps until it was ground and mixed with hot water to produce the freshest cup of coffee I've ever had.

I can't say enough about how much I loved this coffee tour. Not only do you get to view a taste of village life on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the information given is very interesting and the hands on nature of the tour really makes it into an experience. I will recommend this trip to everyone that comes as a guest to Moshi, and even those whom reside here!

Weighing the bags of coffee.

Enjoying an explanation on the various stages of coffee.

Coffee left to be dried for days.

Finally, the roasting of the bean. Last step before grinding and drinking.

Zanzibar: Mangapwani Coral Cave and Slave Chambers

Note: I didn't have my camera so I lifted these from the internet.

We wanted to get off the beaten track a bit while in Zanzibar and since we rented a car we figured we could explore a bit. One of the places we read about was the Mangapwani Coral Cave and Slave Chambers. Located about 40 minutes north of Stonetown, the Coral Cave and Slave Chambers are located near to the coast and are basically across the road from each other.

We first went to the Coral Cave and found a few enterprising youth who stated they were guides. We paid a small fee and I wasn't a huge fan of their demeanor so we took flashlights provided and informed them we didn't really want a guided tour. They explained there were two ways to go in the cave; left, which didn't end and had low oxygen, and right, which led to some small pools and eventually the ocean.

The first path left was pretty cool as the light from the entrance faded and bats filled the ceiling. There was indeed low oxygen and we both felt ourselves gasping for air. I initially thought I was out of shape while my sister initially thought she was too scared.  I didn't realize she didn't like dark spaces (or bats) so we headed back up to the other side to check out the pools. Our stay was brief and unfortunately I don't thinks she was up to crawl through to the exit at the ocean but I was more than pleased since it's been quite some time since I was last in a cave.

Entrance to the cave. Note: I did not have my camera so these pictures were lifted from the internet.

Exit of the cave. Note: I did not have my camera so these pictures were lifted from the internet.

After the coral cave we crossed the street to the slave chambers. A young woman was ready to give us a tour which was brief but full of good information. We walked down to the slave chambers and then out to the ocean where we followed the path of slaves that were trafficked after abolition. The views of the ocean were beautiful and I was happy the two attractions were so close as it made the trip quite worthwhile.

Inside the slave chambers.

Getting all the information.

Walking out where they were met at the sea.

Zanzibar: Chumbe Island Coral Park

Pulling up to the island.

Chumbe Island is a small, privately owned island a few kilometers off the coast of Stonetown. Some background from the internet...In 1994, the island and its surrounding waters were declared the Chumbe Island Coral Park. The park is run by the nonprofit private organization Chumbe Island Coral Park, Ltd. (CHICOP), which conducts marine research and small amounts of eco-tourism on the island. The high quality of the reef is attributable to the fact that the island was within a military zone which limited human impact on the marine life.

I was really looking for some quality snorkeling in Zanzibar and although most places all over the island advertise it, I wanted a sure thing. I normally wouldn't have thought to take a snorkeling trip based out of Stonetown (lots of sea traffic around the port town) but after reading about Chumbe I thought it sounded great. I was also pleased that the organization didn't know if they could accompany us until a few days before as they want to keep the daily number of visitors down.

We met a group of about 6 people at a hotel outside of Stonetown and waded through the low tide to a boat. The boat trip was about an hour to the island where we disembarked and walked the full length of the island in the sand. I was impressed upon reaching the main office where tasteful construction allowed for a breezy and calm vibe. The staff were extremely welcoming and laid out the day's activities before escorting everyone to their rooms.

The day basically had three activities: a forest walk, snorkeling, and lunch. The forest walk was short though they said if you stayed overnight you could explore the entire island freely during the evening and morning. There is also apparently the biggest species of crab (coconut crab) that is nocturnal so best seen at night.

After the walk we boarded boats for snorkeling. The reef was very healthy with plenty of fish and the excursion was not rushed at all. In fact, we all chose to come back inside the boat after tiring ourselves out as opposed to being told it was time to come in. We then returned for an amazing seafood lunch!

There was ample time to relax before our boat left around 4:30PM. The main office had a wealth of information on conservation activities which were highly impressive. Their education program seems to be very effective and the property is well managed. Guests were sparse and it really gave the feel of a "private island". The activities were paced extremely well, always feeling like you had both the option to participate with enough free time to grab a drink or have a short walk in between. I am looking forward to returning to Chumbe for an overnight stay!

Walking to the boat in low tide.

Huge crab.

Starfish.

The boat to take us to the island.

Boat with supplies.

Walking to the island on low tide.

Rock and sea.

Nice little bay to swim in.

This fish tried to hide in the sand. Busted.

Cool looking coral.

Love this fish.

Some crazy kind of grouper fish.

Healthy coral.

Blue fish.

Spotty fish.

Very striped fish.

Shots from underwater.