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Here are some extracts from the very entertaining diary
that Andrew & Nicola Cornick wrote during their safari!
10th January - Arusha
On arrival in Nairobi, we transferred from the airport through
town to the opulent Norfolk Hotel. We whiled away a pleasant
few hours on the veranda watching the world go by. During
our subsequent journey down to Arusha, we passed through lots
of little settlements along the way, each one had several
“hotels” which were called names like “Mama Joy’s”. This sat
well with the “Happiness Photography Centre”, but less comfortably
with a place advertising “butchery and guest services”! We
finished the day off with a delicious meal at the lodge, which
we were probably too tired to fully appreciate.
11th January - Tarangire
Now I know how the Brontes and Jane Austen felt writing by
moonlight, candlelight and hurricane lamp - although I don’t
believe that they ever went on safari. Anyway, if someone
said they were going to camp in the middle of Whipsnade I’d
have said that they were barking – but this is much, much
more…mad. No light, except the aforementioned lamp, no fences,
no big gun…just us and a few hundred predators!
Richard and Janice delivered the trusty Land Rover this morning
and were full of useful tips and information. We headed into
Arusha for some supplies - a bustling place full of vehicles
and people. Out of town, it was a very good road through verdant
countryside – it’s supposed to be the short, dry season but
things have become confused. It rained on the journey and
there was some spectacular thunder and lightning plus a flat
rainbow. Is it flat because we’re nearer the equator?
We stopped on the way to buy some charcoal for our fire,
had lunch at the gate of Tarangire National Park then drove
slowly to our campsite, admiring the baobab trees and game
on the way. Nicola splashed the Land Rover through some impressive
puddles. We found our campsite and set up next to a herd of
impala. It is very tranquil here beneath the trees – just
them and us (I hope!). Our campfire meal is almost ready.
This is the life!
12th January - Tarangire
Our first night in the bush passed off uneventfully, thank
goodness. There are lots of elephants making their way south
through the park. We watched one having a bath in the river.
When it finished it turned around for another go…we both felt
very envious. Yes, we're very dirty!
As well as impala, three more species of mammal visited
the camp today: dik dik, black-faced vervet monkey and ground
squirrel. We saw some elephants heading our way but they turned
south, fortunately! We stopped for a break at a fantastic
picnic site overlooking the river. It was very hot and there
was nothing for it but to doze in the shade. Our eagle eyes
came up trumps on our afternoon drive; a pride of lions lazing
by the river.
13th January - Tarangire
We are very proud that we’re still cleaning our teeth even
though the rest of us is filthy!
We went on a different game drive, crossing a very thin bridge
and seeing some excellent birds including Kori Bustard and
two Secretary Birds. We also saw several new antelope and
some good raptors. The southern bridge across the river was
under water. We have tackled faster flowing water in Iceland,
but neither of us was willing to wade across the crocodile
infested river to check its depth. We saw hundreds of elephants
on the way back, majestically eating, crossing the road, wallowing
in the mud and generally looking annoyed at being disturbed
by tourists!
14th January - Gibbs Farm
We both slept soundly for the first time last night. We are
obviously getting used to being in the bush. Surprising, as
last night was quite “active”. We had two more mammals in
the camp; a wild cat and a genet. We thought we had been scrupulously
careful about leaving food lying around but the genet managed
to sniff out a few morsels around the hurricane lamp whilst
we sat in the vehicle reading. It really was a beautiful looking
animal.
After a bit of a lie-in we made an impressively swift exit
from camp. Tent down, Land Rover packed, tea drunk, sugar
puffs eaten in an hour. We stopped at the ranger station on
the way out. The ranger seemed particularly pleased that we
had spent three days in his park and had enjoyed it so much.
He even started a new book of comments so that we could record
our thoughts. Despite its close location to the other big
parks in the north it doesn’t seem to get that many visitors,
which suited us fine. We loved it!
The road up to Ngorongoro was as bad as Safari Drive had
said. It was being “repaired” in several parts but didn’t
look much better. Having mentally set ourselves the prospect
of 77kms of this road it was particularly pleasing to discover
that the map was wrong and it was only 37kms to Mto Wa Mbu.
Mto Wa Mbu was a nice place with a very impressive tree full
of pelicans in the main street. We decided to head straight
up to Gibbs Farm and enjoy an afternoon of luxury promised
in the itinerary…we were not disappointed.
We munched our way through delicious salads, quiches and
bread before adjourning for the afternoon. The promised shower
was magnificent; we both resorted to a double scrubbing with
soap and shampoo. We really enjoyed our R&R, the luxury
of dozens of people waiting on you, serving tea, cleaning
out cool boxes and cooking fantastic meals. But now the clean
sheets and soft bed beckon us to a night of uninterrupted
sleep…except for the falling avocados on the roof!
15th January - Ngorongoro Crater
The Ngorongoro Crater Area is very beautiful indeed, a bit
like Scotland but on a vaster scale and with game. We called
at the ranger post to collect our guide, Donatus, then headed
to another special campsite. We left our cook, Yusuf, setting
up camp and went out for a walk, soon spotting a herd of giraffe
grazing nearby. Unfortunately Nicola waited until we were
at the furthest point from the camp then decided to become
spectacularly unwell. The boys only managed to get her back
to camp through a mixture of patience and motivational lying:
“Not far to go now…Only another 5 minutes!” The Land Rover
was called into action again, and Andrew came to rescue his
beloved. Nicola’s only memory of the evening was simultaneous
eruptions at both ends, which unfortunately took place in
front of the guide, the cook, two Maasai warriors and the
village elder.
16th January - Ngorongoro Crater
Nicola decided to take it easy in camp whilst Andrew did
some birding with Donatus. Donatus is a font of knowledge
on birds, animals and local culture. We saw some giraffe along
with lots of little birds; easily overlooked when you are
driving along in the Land Rover. He seemed to enjoy watching
and identifying the birds with a fellow enthusiast; he was
particularly pleased when I found a Yellow-Throated Longclaw;
a new bird for him.
Back at camp Nicola was well on the road to recovery and
had been chatting to “Dorrup”, the Maasai village elder. His
standing in the village meant he had a few trappings of status,
a golfing umbrella, wellingtons and a digital watch. We learnt
about Maasai culture, the central role the cows and grazing
play in the day to day life, the uneasy relationship they
have with the park authorities who in the Serengeti don’t
allow them to graze on their traditional lands but in Ngorongoro
they do. The difference according to Donatus is that the Serengeti
is a National Park and is run primarily for the animals, whereas
Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area is run with both wildlife
and local culture in mind.
17th January - Ngorongoro Crater
What an amazing day it has been. The scenery on its own would
be stunning enough, with the massive crater walls and the
mist hanging in the acacia trees but then there were the huge
numbers of animals and birds. We saw so many new animals -
buffalo, wildebeest, hartebeest, loads of other antelope,
one with an hour old fawn, warthogs with two week old hoglets…but
the highlights were two cheetah who were apparently brothers
and were just visible bedding down in the long grass for their
afternoon nap. Of the 13 rhino in the crater we saw seven.
We also had two close encounters with lion. On the first occasion
we came across three bachelor brothers lounging around. One
of them had stretched out right next to a Land Rover to get
a bit of shade! We ate our lunch while the lion slept a foot
away, no doubt contemplating its own dinner. Later we came
across four cubs and two lionesses also lying around in the
sun. The cubs were very cute, fighting and tumbling over each
other to get to the milk, and then lying stretched out next
to their mother.
What a fantastic day. We arrived back 11 hours later to take
a ceremonial farewell from Dorrup before tumbling into our
tent exhausted.
18th January - Ngorongoro Crater
After a disturbed night we decided to check into the Wildlife
Lodge early for a bit of R&R. They were very helpful and
had a room ready for us by 9.30am. The lodge is wonderful
and has the best view from a room I think have ever seen.
You can see the whole of the crater stretched out before you.
We picked out rhino, elephant, ostrich and herds of wildebeest
with the scope.
We headed off to the park HQ for another bout of bureaucracy!
However it was all very simple, particularly when Donatus
appeared and vouched for our good character! Not for the first
time this holiday we have been greeted with concerned looks
of confusion as to why we are not with a group - we are obviously
almost unique in driving ourselves around! We had the Land
Rover washed today and now we don’t recognise it! When we
drove off there was a big ring of mud surrounding the space
where we had been.
19th January - Ngorongoro Crater
It poured with rain in the night and it was so nice to be
in a warm, dry bed listening to it! We were up early again
to join the dawn watchers on the lodge terrace and saw the
sun rise above the Crater. An amazing sight. We set off for
another day’s excellent game viewing in the Crater, collecting
Donatus on the way. The flamingos on the lake were particularly
beautiful, a haze of pink against the water. We saw a new
animal today, golden jackal, lots of them, plus some cubs,
which were very sweet. Once again our Land Rover became a
lion magnet with four of them holding us to ransom by sheltering
from the sun in our shadow.
It poured with rain again after lunch and we watched the
hippos lying in the water with their mouths open to catch
the rain. After that we bounced and slithered around as the
roads became progressively more wet, slippery and submerged.
20th January - Olduvai Gorge
The crater looked particularly impressive this morning, full
of cloud like a boiling cauldron. First stop today was Olduvai
Gorge, world famous for the remains of early man found there
by Louie and Mary Leakey. We looked around the excellent visitors’
centre and learnt all about our ancestors living in the gorge
two million years ago. The most amazing thing was a set of
footprints left by a man and a small horse that walked across
a drift of volcanic ash.
As we crossed the Olduvai Gorge and went down onto the Serengeti
Plain we were greeted by countless numbers of wildebeest and
zebra. The migration is currently passing through this area
and is a sight to behold. We went to the Lake Ndutu ranger
post for directions to the Bweha campsite. The ranger was
a jolly fellow who said the campsite was lovely and had loads
of lions. We thought he was joking, however as we turned up
the track leading to our camping spot we saw two lionesses
and two cubs lounging under a tree…500m on we found the camping
“area”.
I’m not sure which is worse - seeing lions so close to camp
or not seeing them but knowing they are around! We chose a
good spot away from any obvious cover for lions and got on
with our well-practised camp routine, pitched the tent, built
the fire and cooked supper before night fall. The rangers
came to check up on us as we sipped our cocoa by the fire.
The sky is very black and the stars are out. The only sign
of mankind visible to us is a satellite passing across the
sky. How strange, from two million year old Olduvai footprints
to orbiting satellites.
21st January - Lake Ndutu
It was a suspiciously quiet night in camp. We were enjoying
a beautiful sunrise when the boys arrived on their morning
round of the campers…they hadn’t lost anyone overnight, yet!
There is no doubt that being in a lodge removes you one-step
from the wild, whereas extreme camping brings it rather close.
We went off on a game drive across the plains. The flat land
appears to shimmer with the heat and the occasional hill seems
to float above the ground. We spent some time watching the
zebra today. After lunch we went to have a look at Lake Ndutu.
This is mostly dry but has some water in the middle into which
thousands of flamingos had huddled. We were sitting in the
middle of the dry lake when a huge tropical thunderstorm threatened
to turn it back into a wet lake in a very short time. The
road back to camp provided some challenging driving, so slippery
and muddy had it become. Despite another storm we managed
to get the fire going and the tea cooked.
22nd January - Lake Ndutu
Today we visited Gol Kopjes, an area of short grassland with
kopje dotted around. At the first kopje we found a pride of
lions lazing around on the rocks, looking out onto their territory
very imperiously. As we came to the crest of a small hill
we were greeted with amazing views of the migrating herds.
As far as the eye could see the land was covered with animals.
We counted 30 topi, a rare antelope and later saw a very well
stuffed lioness and a cub wandering off with a haunch of topi.
To add to the excitement the hyenas arrived, but were swiftly
chased off.
After five hours of game-viewing we decided to head for camp.
We passed the kopje where we had previously seen the lions…and
then we got a puncture. We quickly assembled the jack, the
spanner and the wrench and began to undo the wheel nuts. As
we put pressure on the dirt encrusted wheel nuts the wrench
started to bend to an unusable 60 degree angle…and then the
first lion appeared. We tried various methods to bend the
wrench back but to no avail. We decided to wait for another
vehicle to pass by and borrow their wrench, so we waited…then
a second lion appeared. Eventually a Land Rover appeared with
a wrench the size of a baseball bat! No messing about now,
wheel changed in 10 minutes and happily on our way. Back at
camp we lit the fire without any kerosene or any matches -
the hot embers from the previous blaze were enough to get
it going in minutes. We decided to celebrate our final nights
camping with a special meal:
Green Chicken Curry with herb baked sweet
potatoes and Coriander Couscous
~
Accompanied by Australian Shiraz
~
Followed by tinned peaches
After a shaky first few nights we are now disappointed that
our camping is over. Being here for several weeks has given
us the chance to take our time, establish a routine and generally
have a good time. And finally the thousands of migratory white
storks are returning over our heads to their roost on the
lake…magic.
23rd January - Serengeti
We packed up the tent in the rain and bade farewell to our
friendly rangers. Now that the extreme camping is over we
are a bit disappointed that we didn’t have any lions actually
by the tent. All the rain had made the track to Naabi Hill
particularly nasty. The Land Rover danced around alarmingly
despite doing zero mph. At Naabi Hill we once more plunged
back into the bureaucracy nightmare of permits and passes
and how many days and where had we been etc! We went for a
small walk to the top of Naabi Hill to take a last look at
the southern plain. What a magnificent view.
We finally rolled through the camp gates at Migration Camp
and were welcomed by smiling staff offering us a cold drink.
From extreme camping to extreme luxury – an ensuite tent with
white sheets. We were given a briefing on our arrival here.
We are not to be worried about walking back to the tent after
dinner, as a guide armed with a bow and arrow will escort
us. If we’re really lucky we’ll be taking dinner in the gardens
to give us a feel for eating in the bush. Try not to be too
superior, extreme campers!
24th January - Serengeti
Handing back the Land Rover has definitely been marked by
a big drop in adrenaline levels. After an excellent breakfast
we settled down in the open library to read, rest and be slothful.
We still managed to clock up another dozen new birds taking
the total to over 200 for the holiday. Another highlight that
dragged us out of our chairs as a hippo wandering through
the bush.
The camp is in a wonderful setting overlooking the Grumeti
River. It is staffed by a small army of people who cook, clean,
usher, welcome, provide umbrellas and sweep away rain. After
a delicious shepherds pie lunch on the terrace we set off
for a game drive with our driver “Obede”, short for obedience.
The rain had turned the tracks into muddy rivers. Obede and
the Land Rover obviously have more bottle or judgement than
me, as I would have turned back on several occasions. Anyway
we made it back to camp...just!
25th January - Serengeti
We went for our last official game drive this morning. There
were four lions sitting around on the road just outside camp,
two females and two males – one the older, dominant male and
the other a young upstart trying to muscle in. They took a
couple of impressive swipes at each other to an accompaniment
of much growling and roaring.
Lunch was followed by holiday slothfulness. It was another
fantastic meal, beautifully served, this time on the balcony
by the pool. We are so spoilt, it’s great. We dozed on the
sun loungers until it started to rain, after which we dozed
in our tent, dozed on our veranda… you get the idea!
26th January - Zanzibar
The constant rain had turned the road and the airstrip into
a river, there was fog and the plane wasn’t coming in. We
needed to head south to catch a plane from Seronera instead.
Obede got us to Seronera just in time and we were whisked
off to Arusha for a three hour wait for the plane to Zanzibar.
Arusha Terminal Shop had a wonderful selection of items for
the traveller, including a set of electric hair clippers and
the ever-handy “Step by Step Irish Cooking” and “Fabulous
Fete and Gift Ideas”! I do love little airports and airlines.
The captain of our Precision Air flight strolled in eating
a large bowl of popcorn and suggested we should go…an hour
early. One couple had left their luggage and gone off to find
something to eat – we didn’t see them again and hoped they
got a later flight!
So we set off for Zanzibar via Kilimanjaro and twelve hours
after setting off from the rain-soaked plains of the Serengeti,
we arrived at the sunny beaches of Matembwe.
27th January - Zanzibar
The diary? Well, I’m not sure I’ve got the energy! After
a splendid breakfast of pancakes and hibiscus juice we were
first on the beach. It was cloudy to begin with but the sun
soon shone through and it turned into a wonderful (and hot)
day. The rest of the day can be summed up as follows: paddle
in turquoise ocean; stroll along white sand beach; drink cocktail;
read book; eat delicious lunch; sleep; stroll along white
sand beach; swim in turquoise ocean; read book…Life can be
so hard.
This place has a reputation for making even the most compulsively
active people relax and it certainly works quickly! It is
difficult to see how anyone could criticise any aspect of
the place; rooms, food, service, view are all perfect.
28th – 30th January - Zanzibar
Our experience with the Land Rover led us to believe that
“low 1st” was the lowest gear you could shift into. Well I
think we may have found a lower one! Matembwe is an idyllic
place, everything is so relaxed. The food is particularly
good; very fish orientated as you would expect. Fortunately
Nicola has implemented one of her amended fish rules: “Fish
can be eaten if it was alive on the day it is eaten”. So she
has now had grilled emperor fish, flamed tuna steak and octopus
and coconut salad, all absolutely wonderful.
Another snorkelling trip and a constant stream of brightly
coloured sea life all around. Not just fish, but coral, starfish,
sea urchins, sea slugs, sea cucumbers all competing with each
other to be more showy and more brightly coloured. After a
couple of hours in our own tropical fish tank we headed back
to the lagoon for a dramatic landing. Our last meal at Matembwe
was another delicious fish feast. We ended the evening with
a moonlit stroll along the beach.
31st January - Depart Matembwe
We said farewell to Matembwe and set off to explore Stone
Town. We were a bit dubious about this because of the political
disturbances that had been taking place – people shot, curfews,
police, riots. However, we were assured that it was safe so
we left our luggage at the Serena Inn and set off to explore.
The town is full of a maze of tiny alleys, tiny curio shops,
stale smells, sour smells, people lying around in the sun…There
are chunks falling off all the gracious old buildings and
paint peeling. But it had a certain spicy charm.
It was time for a last cocktail before we set off to the airport.
Happy landings!
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