Sauti za Busara: Trip III

The main stage, early Thursday night before the big weekend crowd

What more can I say about Sauti za Busara that I haven't already said before? (Trip I, Trip II) I am fortunate to have visited the festival twice previously, once with my brother, and once with my wife. This year I decided to go solo which offered a new perspective and experience. I consider myself a fairly outgoing individual and the opportunity to meet people from all over the world was an exciting prospect. And no matter how much I hype up this event, it did not disappoint!

I absolutely loved the crowd. I felt this year there were more Tanzanians than in the past though the crowd still had plenty of foreigners. The foreigners tended to come early while the locals filed in later in the evening. Living in rural Tanzania it can be a shock to the system to see so many cosmopolitan Dar es Salaam residents and then even more so the Kenyan and South Africans. They bring a style and vibe that is not found in Iringa Region! I had two "groups" that became friendly with during the festival and I'd often spend time dancing and chatting with them. One was a German women, that had lived in Lamu for a few years but has now moved back to Germany. She had met a young French woman that was traveling for a month and we all seemed to spontaneously find each other each night. The other group was a group of four black South Africans from Johannesburg all very stylish. They were all young artists and designers and we enjoyed talking about South Africa and Tanzania. Of course I floated around the crowd and established a kind of "head nod greeting rapport" with loads of others. A young Tanzanian footballer from Dar es Salaam, an artist from Burundi, a half Algerian/American expat teaching in Nairobi, the drummer from the Moroccan band, and many others!

My favorite pic that I took from the fest encapsulating the cultural exchange that I love. I had a hip and stylish South African in front of me grooving to the South African band. Her hairstyle, dress, and general style are very different than what one might find in Zanzibar. A young girl had come with her mother and sat down to watch the music. I saw the young girl scanning the crowd people watching, soaking in the different cultures and behaviors. I think it's amazing to have a respectful exposure and welcoming of different cultures to the island and this is no more apparent than the early public outdoor shows!

The music was, as expected, fresh, professional, and diverse. There were bands that were obviously refined from years of heavy touring, sharp and tight with an international sound. Then there would be a band with homemade instruments that just exuded and fed off energy. There would be unique songs written in funky time signatures or jazzy progressions followed by a band that played continuous throughout their set likely a product of a rough structure and a whole lot of improv. As is my tradition, each night I sat down and rated the band as well as wrote a brief description of the music, often struggling with the words to describe some of the more eclectic groups. Sauti za Busara emphasizes that they do not bring in big headlining bands, rather they focus on up and coming talents and lesser heard of artists. It's one of the most exciting things for me about the fest; I am ready for four days of music from bands I've never heard of!

The festival organizers did a fantastic job of moving everything along smoothly and on time. I've seen improvements over the years in festival organization and sound quality. I was happy to see more sponsors this year, always a good sign for the festival. I can't speak highly enough about this festival and I'm already looking forward to next year!!!

Outdoor stage

The amphitheater stage 

View from outside the Old Fort

Video above: Every day there were two performances conducted in the public area outside the main festival grounds. There was always a huge crowd of young men, very hyped up and having a good time. During one of the performances there was a particularly animated young man that danced up on the speakers with outlandish dance moves. The festival organizers saw him and said, "what the heck, let's get that guy on stage!". They invited him up and he fed off the crowd like no other.

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...