The Elephant Charge

On our recent trip to Lake Manyara National Park, we had our closest and scariest encounter with an elephant. I'll preface this by saying that we've had several elephant encounters (over 20?) over the course of our time here, and Ana being a wildlife biologist is pretty informed on animal behavior in general, so we're not just total idiots going out in the wild (or so I'd like to think). I'll start by saying our initial elephant encounters have all encouraged the romantic idea that elephants are majestic and awe inspiring. There is a particular national park here, Tarangire National Park, that is full of very tame elephants that can get right up next to your car. The first couple times we saw elephants here was at that park and I think it instilled a false sense of security in us.

Recently we've had a few elephant interactions with elephants that have had a bit more experience with humans, ie. raiding their crops or under pressure from poachers. Now, elephants are very smart and they also have very sharp memories. An elephant that lazes around in a national park all day will obviously be a bit different than one that raids maize at night and gets chased by angry villagers.

So the first tense interaction was a couple months ago at Arusha National Park, located near the big city of Arusha. It was the first time we had seen elephants in the park and also the first time we had elephants run from us. We approached an elephant on the road and as soon as it smelled us (they have poor eyesight but great smell) it let out a startled bellow, flapped its ears, and turned around to hide  in the bush. We backed up a good distance and I got on top of our car and I got a good view of two elephants hidden among the trees with one using its trunk like a periscope to smell if we were gone or not. They were obviously uncomfortable and it felt weird to have caused them to panic.

The next tense interaction was at Tarangire National Park but on the border of the park and non-park land. It was also during the time when elephants give birth so there were loads of tiny baby elephants, barely visible because they hide between their two larger parents. This interaction was pretty startling because we approached a large group of elephants and one immediately started to square up with us and kind of sway from side to side while tip-toeing backwards. It trumpeted out and I hit reverse as fast as I possibly could. It truly felt like a warning and luckily we had enough distance between us so we backed up and let them pass. An elephant trumpeting is likely pretty cool in a controlled environment, but when it's coming from an elephant squared up with you and your vehicle staring you in the eye, it is scary as all hell. So the lesson learned was to be careful with animals on the border of the national parks as well as be careful when the babies are super tiny.

At this point I should mention that I also went to a national park in October when I went to Uganda. I stayed at a hotel in the middle of the park and early the next morning I took a taxi about an hour to the main road in order to catch a bus. The driver I was with was petrified when we ran into a group of elephants as he said they were quite hostile and had flipped over a car full of Indians the week before. We had actually stopped to take a picture and when we turned off the engine we heard a slow leak of a flat tire and pandemonium ensued as we tried to change the tire before the elephants moved in on us (they were grazing towards us). That's a wholenother story but just some more context...

During our recent visit to Lake Manyara National Park by around 3pm we had visited the last place we wanted to check out. I was in great spirits and feeling good about driving the 1 1/2 hours out of the park at a reasonable pace. Ana and I were both a little tired (we safari HARD) but in general we were in good spirits. As we pulled onto the main road we saw a single elephant eating some grass, about 10m from our car. We had only seen two other elephants that day and they were hidden among some trees, so we took some time to observe it. I always love hearing the crunching of leaves, grunting, and breathing of the huge animal. It's amazing to just sit there and watch them and I found myself having one of those idyllic deep appreciation for nature moments. This state of mind was quickly shattered by the shaking of a tree about 10m to the side of us, and a half-jogging elephant with his penis erect and his ears out. I've watched a bunch of Youtube videos and it was something like this video at :30. I had turned off the car and I decided that if this thing really was charging, our top speed in reverse wouldn't be fast enough to outrun it and we were at a funny angle whereby I thought we had more space to pass on its side but it felt like we were almost charging head on with it. I instinctively turned on the car and gunned it, aiming for the right side of where the elephant was coming. I figured we were slightly more agile than him and by the time he would turn and try to get us, we'd have passed. Turns out that when we were just about passing maybe 8m from him, he got startled and retreated back lightly. When we pulled in front of him and around a small bend, we saw over a dozen other elephants, many males with their penises erect and the commotion causing them to all bellow and move around all agitated. I basically booked it as fast as I could, scanning the trees for any that might pop out.

We later learned these elephants were in "musth" which is a hormonal phase where they basically get all horny and juiced up. We likely encountered a younger male that probably couldn't compete with older males so he was looking to take out some dominance on us (or more likely, just display this). All the animal behavior literature we read says elephants more than often do "demonstration charges" but all equally emphasize that it's never certain that it's not the real thing. One of our ecology books says "Signs of uncertainty and ambivalence preceding charge, especially displacement activities, are indications of a demonstration charge rather than a real charge--but don't count on it!".

We learned the lesson to be much more mindful of where other elephants are and what their condition is when we are in a wooded or bushy area. I talked to a few of my friends that run safari companies and they all emphasized to never turn the car off around elephants and rhinos that you are unfamiliar with. Consider this experience a lesson learned!!!

Lake Manyara National Park: Trip II

Ana taking in the views of flamingos. 

I never want to take our proximity to world-class nature areas for granted, so this weekend we made the big trip to Lake Manyara (Trip I). While possible to do in a weekend, it does require a big effort driving. We left Moshi at 5pm on Friday and arrived to a small town just outside the park at around 830pm. We had actually planned to stop earlier and stay somewhere a half hour away but the guesthouse we like was uncharacteristically full. We did stop there and check and after hearing it was booked we decided we might as well eat dinner before heading on. Luckily the town outside the park has about a million guesthouses so we chose a decent one and went to sleep.

In the morning we had a nice breakfast of chapati, fried egg, and coffee. We checked into the park at 8am and began exploring the park. One of the cool things about Manarya is that it contains multiple ecological zones due to its skinny north/south orientation and the fact that it is neatly tucked between the massive Lake Manyara and the towering and escarpment of the Great Rift. You can always see one or both of these features from where you are in the park.

When you first start you weave through a jungle-like groundwater forest, which is a stark contrast to the grassland and dry acacia that dominates the landscape on the drive to the park. The landscape then breaks open into grassland bordering the lake, and a nice little road network allows you to drive through some puddles and flooded areas to reach a viewing platform.

The actual lake isn't so easy to view from the northern part of the park, but as bird watchers there is more than enough to keep us busy. The landscape is also impressive no matter what direction you are facing. We spent 2-3 hours in the first bit of the park just enjoying the birds and buffalo and wildebeest roaming about.

We then headed south through the acacia woodland, though there wasn't much to see as the heat of the day came on. We wanted to reach the mid-way point of the park where there is a campsite and accessible roads to the shoreline. Most of the lake shore is a strange contrast to the swamp north as it's dry with cracked mud and a very desolate looking feel.

When we reached the campsite we were absolutely enamored by the landscape. It felt a bit like Lake Natron to us and the distance and isolation felt massive. We could see thousands of flamingos and hear their incessant chatter as they fed. The sky felt huge, the lake endless, and the escarpment towered over us on one sid; it was truly a beautiful area and moment!

We thought our adventure was over as we planned to drive straight out of the park. But on our way back we saw a lone elephant a few meters from our car. What happened next was the closest and scariest elephant encounter we've had!

Zebras taking a stroll. 

Flashflood river bed. 

Calm lake. 

The lake with the rift valley is a very impressive sight. 

Elephant doing its thing. 

Nyumba ya Mungu: Trip XVII

Beautiful reflection!

We took a rare Sunday trip to Nyumba ya Mungu this weekend (Trip I, II, III, IV, V & VI, VII, Trip VIII, Trip IX, Trip X, Trip XI, Trip XII, Trip XIII, Trip IV, Trip XV, Trip XVI). Ana had to spend last week in Dar es Salaam for work so she was dying to get outdoors for a bit. We also figured the water level may be low again, which is prime for exploring and bird watching.

We left town around 9am, which was decent though a bit late. I was worried that we'd run ourselves ragged and be exhausted on Monday (this has happened several time before) but we managed to have a fairly well paced day. We usually stop at a river on the way to do some birding but we bypassed it this trip in order to reach the lake earlier. We had some nice birding on the way there and noted that the big pools of water that had formed on the road had dried up in the month since we visited.

When we arrived at the lake it was the lowest we had ever seen. This afforded us the unique opportunity to venture far out into the mud flats that had recently dried up. We accessed areas that are typically full of water and reeds so it was a pretty unique experience.

The water had also cleared up since our last visit and offered us the "classic" Nyumba ya Mungu reflective water. The area was very quiet so we had a few hours to ourselves to just enjoy the open space and calm water. We even brought an umbrella to give us some shade, which proved very effective in prolonging our time out on the lake! I'm a bit desperate to get back on the lake before it gets too much water since it's usually impossible to walk along the edge (it is typically a massive swamp). We'll see if the rain holds off!

Masaai going for his cows. 

Very dry shoreline.  

Ana is well protected against the sun. 

Crossing the rier. 

Blue Mountains

Taking a break to take in the view. 

We finally got around to exploring the nearby "Blue Mountains" located south of Moshi. We often pass these mountains on the way to Nyumba ya Mungu but for the majority of the year they are brown and dry with no visible roads or hiking paths. The mountains are also more like hills so there doesn't appear to be any ecological difference in the surrounding habitat; in a sense we always assumed it was just a 'wilder' (less impacted by grazing animals) and steeper version of the surroundings.

Since I had to work Saturday and we didn't have a bigger trip lined up, we decided it'd be a perfect day to get up early and head out towards the mountains. We knew that we'd likely have a better chance of getting deeper in the mountains with a motorcycle but we then lost the shade the car can offer so we best to head out as early as possible. Although I haven't painted quite the most exciting picture, it'd been quite some time since we did a motorcycle exploration and we were both looking forward to a new place.

There are two villages at the base of the mountains and a power line with huge transmission towers run parallel to the mountains. This allowed us to take the "power line road' and choose a few promising roads to cut up into the mountains. The recent area had left the usually dry and dusty area quite green with emerging grasses, baobab trees full of leaves, and a dramatically different feel than during the dry season. We enjoyed the scenery but truthfully most of my attention was on the road, which actually was more like a dried river bed. It was some of the most challenging dry road driving that I've done, with thick sand, assorted boulders and sharp rocks. Worst of all, the thin road was lined with extremely thorny and sharp acacia trees, which meant that if I veered off the road I'd be instantly impaled (okay, a bit dramatic, but I'd have some serious scratches). I'm ashamed to say that we even fell once on a particularly rough climb which hurts my pride more than anything since we a go at such a slow speed that injury is unlikely.

The first road we took was adventurous but led nowhere. It did provide some great views looking down on TPC and then Moshi in the background, and I'm sure if it was clear Mt. Kilimanjaro would have been stunning. We headed back down and tried another road that seemed to be a bit more like a formal road, albeit it had no tracks from other vehicles. This foreshadowed the road turning into a proper dried river bed and it soon became unpassable due to the incline and treefalls. We decided to head back home but bookmarked the riverbed for a possible hiking spot to the top.  

Although we didn't necessarily reach the top of the mountain, we succeeded in having a good time exploring, scouting a possible additional hiking trip, AND getting back to Moshi for lunch. Beating the heat is half the battle in this environment and we're usually too excited looking for birds or exploring a new trail that it's hard for us to turn back when it's early. However, on a Sunday it's good to turn back early to ensure we are not exhausted for Monday at work!

Ana taking in the view

View ont he way up. 

Lake Duluti: Trip VI

Cormorants dry their feathers on the logs

We wanted to get out on a hike today and we thought it would be fun to go out to Lake Duluti (Trip I, Trip II, Trip III, Trip IV, Trip V). It takes about an hour and half to drive there so it's a bit of a drive but totally worth it. The walk around the lake surrounded by forest gives you the illusion that you're out in the depths of nature. In reality there are small villages all around but the crater walls shield you from the surrounding noise.

Today we got there early so that we could leave with enough time to eat lunch at a spot we like on the way to Moshi. It did not disrupt our pace at all and we still had an excellent time doing our usual walk along the crater rim and then around the lake. One thing we were surprised about was the addition of a few more seating areas on the trail around the lake. Some cement benches had been constructed and the surrounding areas cleared out which gave for a more inviting view of the lake and Mt. Meru. It's good to see them investing in the trail and surroundings, the same can't be said for a lot of parks here!

Classic Lake Duluti picnic shot. Unfortunately today, we did not bring a picnic. 

An old water station that you pass by on the hike. 

Classic trail shot. 

Mt. Meru hiding in the background. 

Gloomy skies. 

Shambala Swamp

Swamp with dead trees

This past January I had to travel to a distant government headquarters about four hours southwest of where I live. It was a very uneventful trip (hence I didn't even blog about it here) but I did see something that caught my eye on the return trip; a big swamp. On my return trip I gave someone a ride and they had commented that the swamp was dry for the first time that they could remember. At the time we were experiencing very dry times and the absence of typical "short rains" in December. I decided that when the rains returned, it might be a cool place to check out.

Well, the rains returned last week and when thinking of what to do this weekend, the swamp came straight to mind. Satellite images like Google Earth have their value but in rural areas here it's impossible to tell what roads are for animals, motorcycles, or cars. Thus, at a point we just have to rely on what information we can see from the road and asking local advice. Since I had seen the swamp from the road, I thought we could probably just find our way to the edge of it, despite any clearly marked roads on satellite images.

We left around 8am and it took us around 2 1/2 hours to reach a point where we could see the swamp. The road we had thought to take toward the swamp ended up being a dried river bed, not a road. We hadn't noticed any clear looking roads on the way and instead of backtracking I thought, what the heck, lets follow the river bed as far as we can get. It was true off-roading and I kept a steady eye on the clouds since a heavy rain and flash flood would certainly be unwelcome. We finally made it to a more defined road (relative to!) right on the edge of the swamp and celebrated.

We spent the rest of the day going down the swamp and checking at various points to hike out to see the swamp edge or chase birds in the surrounding acacia scrub. The rains had brought on the green foliage and the area had a higher density of larger trees than compared to the acacia habitats we usually frequent. There were very few people that mostly came from very small villages closer to the main road. They shared that the swamp was indeed dry this year and the water only recently has arrived. They said it wasn't worth it to fish yet but they could fetch water and their cattle enjoyed grazing the marsh.

One very strange feature of the northern end of the swamp was the presence of many dead trees. There was a kind of 10m buffer that contained dried and eery looking dead trees. We asked the locals and they said the trees, "like water, but not too much water. And those trees have too much water", which touche, is a reasonable explanation.

We decided the swamp was likely a great place to do some bush camping, especially after the rains subside a bit. We're not sure how the rains drain into the swamp from above and for sure we don't want to find ourselves getting swept in the swamp in our tent! We'll continue to take trips to explore all the sides that we can and we're pretty happy to have found a new spot to explore.

Totally creepy area, but I loved the vibe. 

View of Mt. Meru. 

View south. 

Mt. Meru in the background.