Selous and Zanzibar in november

Friday, November 13th

Overnight at Slipway Hotel, Dar Es Salaam

Perhaps even more than during our Ruaha trip in 2014, I wondered why Matoke Tours brought us to Slipway for just one night. The drive takes at least 45 minutes, but our driver had taken 2 hours just before… Could there really be no other alternatives without having to pay double? Moreover, the room itself left much to be desired: 1 bottle of water, 1 towel, a musty smell, barely hot water for showering, a noisy kind of air conditioning, a party in the courtyard, no food, and no drinks when we wanted to consume something. Breakfast was officially available from 6:30 am, but that’s exactly when the taxi came to pick us up again for the airport. Fortunately, we had good Wi-Fi, so we received the first news of the attacks in Paris on Saturday morning.

Saturday, November 14th

Drive from the airstrip

We departed from the regional airport in Dar Es Salaam under a dark cloud cover. But all in all, we had a flawless flight. On the way to the camp, we encountered plenty of animals: lots of giraffes, an elephant spraying mud, three sleeping lions, a duiker, and various birds. However, there was no abundance of birds of prey, and that would remain the case for the rest of our stay in Selous. A stark contrast to the vast numbers of raptors we saw in Ruaha National Park the previous year.

Arrival at the camp

We were warmly welcomed at the camp by Shaun and Milly, who had taken over the management since the start of the new season in May. Before this, they had run a lodge in South Luangwa for 9 years. There were relatively few tourists present, likely due to traveling during the short rains season. However, the presidential elections and the fear of Ebola, especially among American tourists, also played a role. The latter concern was completely unfounded since Ebola only occurs in West Africa, thousands of kilometers away from Tanzania and had been under control.

The tourists who were there usually stayed for just one night. We noticed many travelers who had bought last-minute packages to Zanzibar, possibly because Lake Manze and Coastal Aviation are owned by the same company. This wasn’t a problem for us as experienced safari-goers, but we were glad to have a jeep to ourselves…

One thing we noticed was the drying up of Lake Manze. This fact would lead to some extraordinary sightings in the coming days. Travelers coming from Ruaha also reported that it had rained heavily there in recent weeks, making it greener than Selous at this time of the year, which was quite unusual.

Boat Trip

Lake Manze itself was too dry for boat safaris, so we had to go to another nearby lake near the Siwandu camp. Initially, the boat safari was a bit dull as we had to move very slowly due to the strong wind creating waves. Later, we saw many crocodiles and hippos, as well as elephants and, of course, African fish eagles. We had to stay quite far from the shore in the shallow water, making it difficult to capture bee-eaters and kingfishers with our camera. The trip ended with a funny spectacle featuring a group of small vervet monkeys.

Dinner

After a refreshing outdoor shower with a view of an elephant just 10 meters away, we went to the main tent where we enjoyed a cool gin and tonic and planned our program for the next day with Shaun, the manager.

Dinner was traditionally held outdoors, between two campfires to keep the wild animals at a distance. It was a necessary precaution because there were many animals around. For instance, when we walked from our tent to the main tent, accompanied by a Maasai guard, we spotted a hyena in the darkness. It’s incredible how they are available 24/7 to ensure the safety of all guests.

Sunday, November 15th

Full day game drive.

On our first full-fledged safari day, we opted for a full-day game drive. This meant breakfast at 7 AM and departure at 7:30 AM. Waking up wasn’t too difficult for us, as we had been wide awake since 4:30 AM due to all the sounds around us. It’s incredibly beautiful to be awakened by wild animals and the rising sun. So, off we went on our first game drive. Our guide, Samwel, and driver, Kamkumba, were waiting for us to make it an unforgettable day. Our first sighting was a young African fish eagle, but it quickly lost our interest when our driver received a call from a friendly camp, informing us that a leopard had been spotted in a tree with a lion waiting for it below. Spectacle guaranteed. Fortunately, this event was not too far from us, just across the lake where we were. The leopard provided us with some beautiful photos, but after about fifteen minutes, it saw an opportunity to climb down from the tree and evade the lion. The lion had a different priority: keeping vultures away from its prey, a buffalo it had just killed. This wasn’t an easy task as there were about 40 vultures and 6 marabou storks gathering rapidly. However, this lioness wasn’t particularly hungry; she simply wanted to assert her dominance. For us, it was a captivating spectacle between the lion and the vultures. The drying lake turned out to be an ideal location for spotting animals. Due to the drought, many wild animals found themselves stuck in a sort of muddy quagmire. This provided us with astonishing images of hippos completely submerged in the mud, surrounded by catfish struggling to survive. It was perfect prey for the marabou storks, which had to contend with African fish eagles. In the background, we spotted a hyena laying down an impala, and in short, we were never short of things to see. One consequence of this was that we had to recharge our video camera after just a few hours. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because near our camp, we came across a freshly killed impala fawn. Most likely, this was killed by three bateleur eagles. The poor creature was eventually skillfully devoured by a white-backed vulture, a palm-nut vulture, and one of the three gymnogene eagles. It was a sad sight as just 20 meters away, we heard a mourning impala mother calling for her fawn.

By this time, it was already past noon, and we had our bush lunch. Samwel and Kamkumba set up a camping table for us with a deliciously prepared hot lunch. Unfortunately, it started raining a bit, but that didn’t dampen the mood. After lunch, we continued our adventure and came across three impalas also stuck in the mud. Kamkumba suggested we help these animals out of their precarious situation, and we didn’t hesitate for a second. In pouring rain, we put on our rain jackets and walked over to the mud pool. It quickly became evident that it wasn’t a good idea to simply grab them by the horns and pull them out! Samwel quickly sank into the foul-smelling muck up to his knees. Kamkumba then pulled out a tow rope from the jeep, and after several attempts, we miraculously managed to pull two out of the three impalas from the mud. Unfortunately, we couldn’t reach the third one; it was just too far away for the rope to reach.

After our heroic act, we continued on to spot the black and white colobus monkeys and, with a bit of luck, the carmine bee-eater. Finding the first was a success after extensive searching, but the bee-eater didn’t show itself easily. However, we found the Böhm’s bee-eater easier in this area. A little further away, a martial eagle and a lappet-faced vulture perched together in a tree. Eventually, we decided to return to Lake Manze. Upon arriving, we saw the same leopard for the second time.

Once again, we enjoyed a delightful dinner, this time not under the open sky but under the tent at the base lodge due to the threatening rain. However, we had some unexpected company: three elephants shaking palm trees to gather seeds or fruits. It was quite impressive because it seemed like they might uproot the trees at any moment.

Monday, November 16th

Early game drive.

Today, we opted for an early start, which meant getting up at 6 AM and being in the jeep by 6:30 AM for an early game drive. One downside: when we woke up, we immediately noticed a dark cloud cover, which didn’t bode well. Nevertheless, we set out and hoped that the weather would improve. We immediately encountered a herd of over 40 elephants, which was quite exceptional given the significant elephant poaching that has been taking place in Selous in recent years. The elephant population has decreased by over 70%. Among the elephants, there were several calves, including one that was barely a month old and never strayed a meter from its mother.

On our way to the Manze pride, a group of lions we had spotted the previous day, the heavens opened up. This was a bit annoying for us, but even more so for the lions, as they despise drizzle. There wasn’t much action to see, so we started our bush breakfast. We had the option to return to camp because of the heavy rain, but we chose the second option, having breakfast in a rest hut and hoping we wouldn’t get washed away.

Meanwhile, the roads had become impassable, which resulted in a call from the camp to check if everything was okay. Fortunately, the jeep could be fully sealed with canvas, so it wasn’t too bad. For the tourists, at least… :-). Kamkumba had to drive carefully, and the wild animals sought shelter from the heavy rains. We immediately noticed how quickly numerous insects emerged from the ground. These insects would keep us company more often in the following days. Upon arriving at camp, we were greeted with a delicious lunch, and we were able to relax in our tent as the sky gradually cleared. Elephants and giraffes kept us company outside our tent. Around 4 PM, we were back in our jeep. In a short time, a considerable amount of water had flowed back towards Lake Manze, allowing certain animals to escape from the mud. We witnessed a beautiful sunset surrounded by numerous hippos and fishing African fish eagles.

During dinner at the camp, we were treated to a sighting of a civet cat that briefly passed by.

Tuesday, November 17th

Full day game drive.

We had asked Shaun to depart earlier than usual for a full-day game drive. Normally, this starts after breakfast around 7:30 AM, but this often means the best light is already gone. So, we were in our jeep by 6:30 AM and decided to have breakfast a few hours later. After just 5 minutes, we hit the jackpot. The Manze pride was near our camp. The lionesses were heading our way, while the three cubs went the other way. It was probably a sign that they were gradually distancing themselves from the group. Shortly afterward, we continued our journey and encountered other lions. They had killed a buffalo, but they weren’t eating much. There was an abundance of prey animals, so they weren’t very hungry. However, there was action elsewhere as one of the males started mating with a lioness. Meanwhile, the cubs were playfully frolicking with each other. Two mating sessions later, we drove back to camp for breakfast. An hour later, we headed towards Beho Beho, an area where the density of wildlife is usually lower, but the chance of finding wild dogs is greater. Soon, we found ourselves in open plains known as Little Serengeti. A few hyenas scattered at the sound of the jeep, but the rest of the clan had taken refuge in a ditch. Along the way, we visited the grave of Frederick Selous, but as expected, there wasn’t much wildlife there. We devoured our bush lunch with a beautiful view of Lake Tagalala, and then we wanted to return to our mating lions. However, on the way, we saw vultures landing. It quickly became evident that they were waiting for hyenas to leave a bit of their impala behind. Most likely, it was killed by a leopard that had to flee from these scavengers. Within 5 minutes, the impala was completely consumed. Just before the sun disappeared, we were back with the lions, capturing their mating behavior in beautiful orange evening light, with a full rainbow behind us – plenty of opportunities for stunning photos.

Wednesday, November 18th

Through others in the camp, we learned that there was a buffalo carcass where many vultures had been feasting the day before. We went there, and indeed, there were many vultures. One lioness was lying nearby under a tree, roaring, but the bravest vultures dared to start eating. Suddenly, Samwel received a call from Boni, the bartender who was on his way to the village outside the park to stock up. Along the main road, he had seen African wild dogs lying under a tree. We didn’t hesitate for a second to drive there immediately, even though it was a fairly long journey of more than 25 kilometers. Boni wasn’t a guide, so he couldn’t say exactly where he had seen the dogs. We began scanning the area at the approximate location. After half an hour, we found these magnificent predators. It was a pack of 15, with 6 adults and 9 pups from the July litter. For Kamkumba, it was only the second time he had seen wild dogs this season, which indicates how lucky we were. Thanks to Boni for that call! There wasn’t much action to observe, but we were overjoyed to have found the dogs. Around 11:30 AM, we had to return to camp. This gave us some time for lunch, and at 2:00 PM, we had to head to the airstrip for our flight to Zanzibar.

Thursday, November 19th – Saturday, November 22nd

Upon arriving in Zanzibar, there appeared to be a misunderstanding between the hotel and Matoke Tours. This meant we had to wait for more than an hour until a taxi finally arrived. Fortunately, this happened just before it got completely dark. After about an hour’s drive, we arrived at Next Paradise in the northeast of Zanzibar. We were faced with high humidity, but there was no rain during our entire stay. We were both impressed by the beauty of this colorful island. We had a very nice, spacious room. In fact, this was a perfect way to end five “busy” days in the bush. Lounging, sunbathing, swimming, cycling, reading – in short, paradise on Earth. During a snorkeling excursion near our hotel, we were treated to a school of dolphins. Swimming among these animals was the highlight of our stay in Zanzibar.

On Saturday, on our way to the airport, we made a quick visit to Stone Town. We didn’t feel unsafe for a second, despite the negative travel advice from foreign affairs. There were concerns about potential unrest following issues with the recent election results. Fortunately, the island remained calm because tourism is its main source of income. If tourists stay away, they would be in big trouble.

The combination of safari and the pristine “Bounty beach” was a perfect match.

Stijn Cavens