Camp life: Our home

Our home consists of a large safari tent under a grass thatched roof, locally called a "banda". We've got a brick wall, a vestige of a previous manager that was, believe it or not, scared of wildlife entering her tent! Our camp has a garage, a kitchen, and about 10 other bandas scattered about. They are spaced nicely so each tent has some privacy but not so far that walking to visit a neighbor is a chore. We also have a small building housing a pit toilet and a bathing area.

We absolutely love our banda. People are often surprised to hear that we live in a tent but for us it's big enough for all our possessions and affords us the opportunity to basically be outside all day. We have a small veranda with a couch and a table which is where we spend the majority of our time. It is absolutely a treat to be outside 24/7 and I feel in tune with the sunrise and sunset. We wake up with the birds in the morning and frequently go to sleep with the sounds of hyenas calling and lions roaring in the distance.

Our camp is located on the outskirts of a small village and our neighbors are quite far, mainly all of them pastoralists with cows and goats. They frequently pass through our camp to graze, as does the wildlife. We've seen kudu, dikdik, and leopard, along with a host of smaller mammals. While not quite completely wild, it is certainly wild enough!

View from the side. 

Our veranda. 

View from behind. 

Another view of our seating area, with bananas on full display. 

Inside. 

Inside from another angle. 

Ruaha National Park: Jabali Ridge

Relaxation.

Jabali Ridge is the newest and the most luxurious lodge in Ruaha National Park. Nestled between large boulders and baobabs overlooking the Mwagusi River, the lodge offers a beautiful view of the surrounding area and is tastefully done without sacrificing any luxury. Staff is attentive yet not overbearing, the meals are delicious and varied, and the overall feel of the camp is relaxing. Each room is almost completely open and designed to carry the breezes through. Each room has a small outdoor seating area as well as a hammock looking over the landscape.

There are plenty of common areas, most notably the pool, a library and a small souvenir shop. Hyraxes and lizards scurry about the boulders in the day and Freckled Nightjars hunt insects at night. The guides are extremely well trained and intimate with the landscape. They conduct walking safaris for up close and personal looks at the wildlife as well as traditional game drives by vehicle.

If one is looking for the highest end experience in Ruaha, look no further than Jabali Ridge!

View from the room 

Bathroom

A nice porch attached to the room

View on the way down to the room

The pool. 

Ruaha National Park: After the first rains

Elephants are so happy eating grass

After the dry season, we have a period of short rains in December and January. These rains bring out the leaves on the trees and grass on the ground. The herbivores have the luxury of multiple water sources and begin to graze areas far and wide. Carnivores, easily seen in the dry season by the permanent water sources, also fan out in attempt to catch prey. So although the wildlife viewing is more difficult, the general environment is lush and welcoming. People who visit this time of year would not believe how dry it can get and vice versa. There are parts of the park that are seriously unrecognizable for us depending on the season and many roads become unpassable due to the mud.

The rivers aren't yet fully flowing, the grasses aren't yet too high, and the roads aren't totally waterlogged. It's a real unique time to visit the park although it can be hit and miss if you catch a rainy day. It's tons of fun to see the herbivores eating their fill and one can be surprised at lions slinking in the grasses. 

The Mwagusi river, dry for much of the year, has started flowing

Lake Nanja: Trip III

Beautiful landscape

The last place we visited on our trip north was Lake Nanja. We had visited twice before (Trip I, Trip II) but hadn't visited in the wet season. We were greeted with a sublime landscape of fresh grasses and flowers. We parked our car not too far in the mud and then walked around the western side of the lake. We met a few groups of Maasai taking their cattle to drink and saw some interesting waterbirds. We tried to drive around the south end but we were met with an impassable road so had to turn back before our long drive to Dodoma.

You can see our car, tiny in the bottom right. I climbed an escarpment for the photo. 

Shambala Swamp: Trip III

Eerie setting

During our time up north we were late to discover Shambala Swamp, a vast wetlands about 45 minutes south of the Kilimanjaro Airport, halfway between Arusha and Moshi. As we had only visited twice (Trip II) before we were excited to visit again and try to drive a loop from the airport to Arusha town.

The swamp is notable for having large stands of dead trees on the northern part of the swamp, giving it an eerie vibe. The swamp is full of bird life and also full of fisherman. We were surprised to see several temporary villages along the coast. We had seen a few in our previous visits but they had multiplied significantly. They looked rundown with temporary shelters made from tarps and plastic. They had a real strange feel of a temporary fishing village though the residents were very friendly towards us. They certainly had plenty of fish with several buckets full and small fish smoking operations.

We enjoyed the drive down the eastern side of the swamp and also met several Maasai that lived in the area. It was an interesting combination of pastoralists and fisherman with still plenty of swamp uninhabited. It was somewhat alarming at how many more fishing villages there were and we thought about the way it may affect the birdlife in the area. It's always a delicate balance of economic activity and conservation activities and my concern was that the area was completely unmanaged.

We ended up finding the road around the south end of the swamp and looped back around to Arusha. The road was wild at times and had us doubting since there were no tire tracks for large stretches. It required us to cross a dried river bed that put our four wheel to the test; always fun! The area is highly recommended for anyone wanting to get off the beaten track

Shambala Swamp viewed from the southern end. 

Cow going for a drink

Fishermans boats. 

Nyumba ya Mungu: Trip XVIII

Ana checking the bird book with the Blue Mountains in the background

Nyumba ya Mungu is one of our favorite places to visit in Tanzania (Trip XVII). This is a result of a view factors, mainly the uniqueness of the landscape and the proximity to where we lived in Moshi. The continually fluctuating water levels means the wetlands at the north of the reservoir constantly change. The reservoir had received a significant amount of water meaning that it wasn't as picturesque as usual with muddied water.

We were happy it was a cloudy day. On a clear day the landscape is stunning but stifling. With some cloud cover we were able to walk around the wetlands in the north and check out the fisherman and birdlife in the area. The last time we had visited there was a ban on fishing in the area but we inquired with local fisherman and it appears the ban has been lifted.

We left Moshi at 6am in order to reach early and leave early. We ended up getting back to Moshi around 1pm, perfect timing to grab a nice lunch after a hard day out!

Checking the water for birds...

Fishermen are ready...

West Kilimanjaro Farmstead: Trip V

Mt. Meru far off

The farmstead on west Kilimanjaro is not only an amazing visit for the vistas of Mt. Meru and the plains between Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro, but also because it has amazing farm fresh food. We've enjoyed our previous visits (Trip IV) and looked forward to camping again on the property. We've experienced two different variations of their camping facilities and we were pleasantly surprised to see they had improved their tourist facilities. The farm is first and foremost a working farm but they have a few cottages and an old farm house that people can rent. They cater towards families with loads of activities and they recently built a specific camping area. It has showers, toilets, and level soft ground to put a tent.

We noticed a bunch of small things that showed that they were gearing up for more tourists. Several separate seating areas were created, one with a fireplace, and a communal firepit was built and lit at night. They had some informational posters about the wildlife and signs indicating where certain arm activities and hikes were located. We were very impressed and hopeful that more people from Moshi and Arusha visit since it is one of our favorite spots to relax at!

Getting the fire ready for the evening.