2005 news & pictures from our finest East African Safaris

Tribal Textiles

Tribal Textiles is a business that works with local village people to produce fabric designs which link their cultures and western fashion. Visit www.tribaltextiles.co.zm to view some of the designs from Swahili Coast to Maasai to African Wildlife.

Ker & Downey – photographic safaris

Well its finally happened, Ker & Downey Tanzania now has exclusive rights to use several game reserves for photographic safaris. Luxury tented camps have been put up in a couple of these areas and I will be doing the first of these safaris in February next year.

Of particular interest is Maswa Game Reserve in February and March when the famous wildebeest migration of the Serengeti comes through the area. This means that you can see the migration in absolute privacy, no minibuses and no other tourists except your small camp of max ten people. It also means you have the freedom to walk among the animals and have meals in the bush. This is a first and must be one of the most amazing safari experiences available.

The Maasai in the Lake Natron area

Another wonderful opportunity is to do exclusive safaris into the wild and remote Lake Natron area where you can have exclusive use of a 3000 square kilometer concession. It is a wonderful place to add a cultural side to your safari. The Maasai live in the area and through having worked with them for several years I have access to and insights into their way of living. An anthropologist is consulted to ensure sensitive interaction with the Maasai. Plans are now afoot to get this anthropologist to possibly accompany certain safaris.

Lesser Kudu, horse riding safaris and flamingos

The Natron area is also fantastic for seeing lesser known arid and desert wildlife like the Fringe Eared Oryx, Lesser Kudu and Gerenuk; this in addition to the ‘normal’ stuff. One can also climb the active volcano Oldonyo Lengai. Horse riding is also available across the arid plains and up the other extinct volcano Gelai. The concession also borders the eastern side of lake Natron which is normally pink with thousands of flamingos.

Highlights of the last season

Since I was twelve years old and my mother bought me a famous, out of print book by Captain Charles Pitman called “Snakes of Uganda”, it has been a dream of mine to see a Storms Water Cobra. These amazing cobras are in fact not true cobras but are large and spread a hood. Well this dream came true with the Vickerys in Mahale on the chimp safari. We went snorkeling one afternoon near a rocky promontory in Lake Tanganyika. On one particularly short of breath dive I saw a water cobra gliding among the many cyclids but could just not hold my breath long enough. I shot to the surface with a gasp but by the time I had recovered and gone down again, he had disappeared. The next day, through begging and cajoling, I manipulated the whole party to go back snorkeling to the same spot again. Very soon I found the cobra again, he was coming out of the tumbling rocks that drop into the big deep blue water. I was able to swim just above him for at least five minutes as he swept slowly in among the rocks and fish. Finally he came up onto the shore and rested his head on a rock out of the water.

Another of the many remarkable safari happenings happened with the Carlsons in Ruaha. We were on the edge of the Ruaha river watching a herd of elephants about 100 yards away. One family group of about 10 animals moved off about 50 yards led by an obvious matriarch. She picked up the bottom jawbone from an old elephant carcass and hel it in her trunk for a couple of minutes. She then put it on the ground and gently rubbed first one foot then the other over the top of it. All the time she kept the other smaller elephants away from it. Once she was done, she stepped back and the rest of her extended family came to touch and rub the jawbone. This went on for about 10 minutes. Finally the whole group stood absolutely still in a tight huddle for a couple of minutes around the bones, then moved on business as usual. Explain that one – mourning? Paying respects to the dead? Curiosity?