Arusha National Park: Trip VIII

Black and white colobus monkeys in a tree

We've taken several trips to nearby Arusha National Park (Trip I, Trip II, Trip III, Trip IV, Trip V, Trip VI, Trip VII) but we have never gone during this time of the year (dry season). It's even more interesting this year because the short rains that usually come at the end of the calendar year never arrived so the area around us is quite dry. We were curious to see what the park had to offer.

Immediately when we arrived we realized the park was very dry. The bird life that was usually abundant at the gate was absent and we didn't see the usual concentration of wildlife. We first made our way up Mt. Meru but halfway up we realized the forest was extremely quiet and decided to go back down and head to the lakes. At the lakes we saw the wildlife was concentrated there with buffalo relaxing under the trees and giraffes grazing by the waterside. We'd never seen so much wildlife at the lakes and it was quite nice to see them so close.

We finished the day up at Ngurudoto which was a treat due to a large amount of swifts and martens flying around. It's so cool to see them from an elevated position because they appear to be at eye level and they whiz by your head so close you can hear the wind created from their flight. We also got to see two Lanner Falcons displaying and hunting, one of which flew right by us!

Overall the trip was nice albeit a little slow. The aesthetics of the park couldn't compare to when it is lush and green but the flipside of that is the wildlife was more concentrated and visible. It is always cool to see places here in different seasons.

Ana enjoying the forest

Checking out some birds on the lake

One of my favorites, a Grey-crowned Crane

Waterbuck

A Black-headed Heron with a mouthful

Picnic spot with a view of Mt. Meru

Lake Jipe: Trip III

Ana on the water

We have gone to Lake Jipe twice before (Trip I, Trip II) but each time we had spent so much time bird watching on the road there that we arrived too late to go on the lake. We decided this weekend that we would do some "bush camping" though we knew the trip would be highly exploratory, aka, we were ready for a huge success or massive failure.

As usual we enjoyed some bird watching on the way to the lake. At around 2pm we stopped for lunch at the point where we previously had cut down towards the northern end of the lake. We agreed that we would continue further south and try to get towards the southern end. After lunch it was quite hot and the landscape was sparse and hot. We managed to cut across to some small villages on the southern end of the lake but our further explorations only brought us to sketchy roads and impassable terrain. We decided to return to the nearest village and try to get on the lake.

The entire western side of Lake Jipe is covered with reeds. In some places it extends 100m out and as a result it's hard to actually see the lake when you are on the western side. Along the shore the local people have dug out small channels to navigate out to the main lake. While we were checking out one of these canals, a young guy came back in from a fishing excursion. We asked him if he would take us out and he agreed that he and his friend would take us out to the lake but we couldn't go too far because of the wind. The price was right so we hopped in and set off.

Slowly pushing through the canal with reeds hanging over us was an amazing experience. Kingfishers and other birds zipped in and out of the reeds. It seemed to go on for quite some time before we finally made our way to the open water. The young guy (couldn't have been older than 17) explained that across the lake was Tsavo National Park in Kenya so in the evenings there are several animals that come to drink but it was too far to go now. He said there were hippos and crocs at the southern end but he was hesitant to go.

On our way back we stopped on a small stand of reeds to rest. Another fisherman was coming back from the lake and he chided the young guys for not taking us further. I am assuming the young guys had never taken foreigners out and even worse they were probably already out on the lake all day so they were tired. I certainly didn't want to be the one to push them past what they were comfortable with amongst crocs and hippos!

We got off the lake around 5pm and drove another 15 minutes or so down the shore. There was no evidence of settlements and we found a quiet spot and set up our tent. The soil was like black clay and there were sections where you couldn't get close to the lake without sinking. We even saw two cows that were submerged and likely stuck until they died. It was pretty brutal to see as one was somewhat normal looking, just stuck, while the other was mistaken as dead if not for the faint breathing we detected.

I was really paranoid about the soil because although it is not the rainy season, if by chance we got a freak rain there would be no way we could get out of the soil. But I was highly committed to this spot and the worst thing that would happen is that we'd have to wait all day till it dried up. So we settled in, started a fire, cooked dinner, and enjoyed the amazing panorama of stars.

The night was incredibly peaceful and one of the quietest places I've ever been in. There were some random wind storms but for the most part it was as still and quiet as you could possibly imagine. There weren't any night birds nor were there any birds calling at dawn. Only some bee-eaters and swallows came in after sunrise and some distant waterbirds in the reeds.

On our way out we stopped by the same canal as the day before. We met an older and more experienced fisherman and asked him if he would be willing to take us out. He agreed and we set out again! This time the lake was much calmer and we managed to go to the southern end. We got to see a few groups of hippos as well as some nice birds. It was very cool to see the lake with the Pare Mountains on one side and the dry flat Tsavo plain on the other. It also helped that it was a bit cloudy and not too hot.

On our way back to Moshi we decided to take the scenic route through the mountains instead of driving along the northern end. The road didn't show up on the maps and we just kind of followed our noses until we finally reached the familiar road in the mountains. It was a very rocky and steep climb, in fact it was the first time we've had to use our four wheel drive for an incline (we've used it plenty for mud). It was fun to do and we look forward to our next Lake Jipe boating excursion.

As soon as there is rain, this turns to clay. 

Proud fisherman showing his catch. He insisted I take his picture. 

Hippos!

A pack of the small fish is 2,000 tsh, while the big ones are 1,000 tsh

This is from the shore of the lake so you can see how dry it gets immediately surrounding the lake. 

View of the lake (far left) from the mountains. 

International Water Bird Count: Nyumba ya Mungu and TPC

Hard at work!

This past weekend Wetlands International organized a waterbird count all over the world. The idea is to get a snapshot of the waterbird population worldwide at the same time each year. Last year they had 143 countries participate and this year in Tanzania we had 18 teams from all around the country that agreed to do counts at various sites. There is an "authority" on birds in Tanzania and he coordinated all the possible birders in the area and somehow Ana and I became the organizers of our area and decided to do Nyumba ya Mungu and TPC.

Our team consisted of a Mauritian who had been here for 16 years, a British woman who had lived her whole life in Tanzania, and then the British woman's 14 year old niece and Tanzanian mountain guide from her hotel. We had met the British woman before but the others we only met the week before during a planning meeting. It was kind of funny because Ana was the only one of us that was knowledgeable enough to do an accurate count of all the birds so as a result she did a lot of the heavy lifting.

We didn't want it to be this super serious event and since only Ana and I had done counting before, we knew it was going to be difficult for the others. The first day at Nyumba ya Mungu was a bit tough because we saw a lot of birds (over 1,500 from 40+ species) which required concentration and a systematic approach. We felt bad because the others were possibly a bit tired and they were certainly hot. Still, the day was quite successful and we saw some cool birds as well as enjoyed each others company.

The next day we went to TPC and it was much more relaxed. Ana spent a lot of time with the others teaching them the small differences between 'waders' and quizzing them as we moved along. We were also thrilled to discover some new spots at TPC. There are a few reservoirs that are scattered along the property and if they are low they are full of birds. It was a busy morning but we were happy to finish by lunch and beat the heat. It was also a pretty exhausting two days with our eyeballs needing a good rest!

These guys needed to borrow a jack...I was MORE than happy to lend it!

One of the funnier things that happened was one our way back from Nyumba ya Mungu. We passed a dala dala that had driven off the road and was obviously in rough shape. We stopped to ask if they needed help and they asked to borrow our jack. Considering that I had recently been the recipient of this kindness, I was more than happy to help!

Booted Eagle. 

Black-tailed Godwit

West Kilimanjaro: Drive to Mt. Meru

Looking north from Mt. Meru. 

This past weekend we were feeling a little exhausted from our travel heavy December. We also had a bunch of stuff to do around the house and as a result, we weren't particularly motivated to go anywhere. I thought it was a good weekend to do something different and I've lately been fixated on this idea of "filling in the map", i.e. exploring every random area within an hour or two proximity.

One of the areas we've wanted to explore is the area between Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru. These two volcanic mountains are only 70 kilometers (43 mi) apart, with a vast dry plain between them. We had passed through part of this area during the "Big Bird Day" last year but thought it would be cool to pass from east to west.

We took the highway to Boma N'gombe and then headed north towards Sanya Juu. At some point we took a rough dirt road heading west. This road was extremely dry and devoid of much life (see pics below. It was also at this time that it was getting pretty warm so I think that we were both thinking, "Well, places off the map are off of it for a reason...". One cool part was that we could see both Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro though the cloud cover quickly covered both.

We eventually reached to the eastern side of Mt. Meru and we could peek into Arusha National Park. There seemed to be a network of small streams that were fed from Mt. Meru and the dotted Masaai bomas were replaced with more permanent intensive agriculture. We passed through a few different villages before we entered into another dry plain on the north side of Mt. Meru. We did see a couple of cool looking dried riverbeds and since we were a bit higher than the surroundings there were also some pretty nice vistas looking north.

At about 2pm we reached the highway running north/south from Arusha up to the border of Kenya. Although our energy was low, I couldn't resist the call of the unpaved road and suggested that we drive 5-10km north and then cut back on a different dirt road that I thought would lead us back to Sanya Juu. We both knew it was probably not the right choice given our energy and the lack of sites, but we headed north anyway.

Perhaps luckily, our back tire burst as soon as we got on the highway. We pulled over to assess the damage and a local guy on a motorcycle stopped to help us out. We couldn't get the bolts off the tire with our cross wrench and eventually the cross wrench snapped in half after we were jumping on it trying to get the bolts to move. We flagged down a safari vehicle that happened to be full of locals as well. They lent us their lug wrench and we quickly removed the bolts. However, when we went for our jack we realized our jack was also broken! We had last gotten a flat tire in May 2016 and although we had our challenges with it, we thought it would work fine. Well, the car that we had stopped only had a massive jack that they claimed would not work for our car so they flagged down the next passing car. This just happened to be a dala dala, or local mini-bus, which was packed with people. The driver was very helpful and quickly helped us to remove the tire as I apologized to all the passengers for wasting their time. I thought how it must look from an outsider perspective; two foreigners take three seperate groups of transport (motorcycle, safari car, dala dala) to help them change a tire. I imagine I would not be too kind in my judgement of them!

This is the western side of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It's very cool to watch it quickly rise from sea level. 

Mt. Meru from the plains. 

A funky spikey tree. 

Dried up river photo op!

Dust storm!!

Kindoroko Forest: Trip XI

Ana hiking through the bush

We decided to ring in the new year with a trip to one of our favorite spots, Kindoroko Forest. We have been many times before (Part I,Part II,Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VIII , Part IX, Part X) and this trip was a pretty "normal" trip with us set on hiking the peak and not so much exploring the many paths. 

We started off at around 10am mainly due to the fact that we had received some rain the night before so the morning was cloudy and moist. As we made our way up to the forest it was evident that the area was having some rain which we were told would last until about now, and then begin again in February. As usual the wet and gloomy climate suited the forest very well and I kept remarking how incredible the place felt. 

We have found a pretty nice loop that goes up to the peak which ascends a steep and overgrown trail while descending down a longer though less steep trail. With plenty of birding stops and lunch on the top it takes about five hours. I think if one were only hiking it wouldn't take more than three. The loop is also cool in that it takes you around different faces of the mountains so the forest varies based on the elevation and the orientation of the slope. My favorite part is by far the ascending trail towards the top as it is lush with moss and lichen hanging off lianas and trees. We were unlucky in that the peak was extremely windy, though the clouds moving through quickly was a pretty cool sight. There were also surprising views out to Lake Jipe given the fact that it seemed so cloudy while hiking in the forest.

The new year was very tame in Usangi though to be fair we did not go out and were both asleep by 10:30. I was expecting to wake up to some noise or fireworks but perhaps I was too tired to be disturbed in my sleep (Ana didn't hear anything either). It was also pretty cool to mark the year since my family came and visited, nearly to the day since we took them on January 2nd to climb the peak. Good memories!

Lunch at the peak

Lots of lichen!

Can you see Ana among the vegetation?