1st Wild Africa Bush
Safaris
since 1981
with Jim Brett
exclusively for 10 to 12 persons max
2012
Depart Newark Liberty Airport on the evening flight to
Amsterdam arriving Tuesday morning. Following a short
lay-over continuing on aboard KLM Royal Dutch Airline over
Europe and North Africa. Arrival at Kilimanjaro
Int'l Airport in Tanzania late evening. Proceed
through TZ Customs, transfer to the Mountain Village Lodge
for check in and overnight.
Situated in the flowered gardens of a former coffee farm
house and surrounded by a lush forest on the slopes of Mount
Meru relax with morning coffee or tea overlooking Lake Duluti.
Breakfast buffet is offered in the dining room. We
will check out after breakfast and depart for Arusha Town
30 minutes south of Mountain Village. We meet our
Tanzanian drivers and after a short stop at ShopRite Market
we'll continue in our specially designed Toyota Land
Cruisers for Tarangire National Park some two hours south. We'll return for hot showers, cocktails
fireside and a candle-lit dinner with fine South African
wines.
Pre-dawn wakeup with hot coffee, tea or chocolate precedes
breakfast at camp or alfresco in the park. This, a unique
landscape of highland thornbush, dotted with massive Baobab
trees, very large elephant herds and all the plain's game
and predators experienced in other equatorial grassland
thornbush landscapes. Tarangire's bird-life is extraordinary
with a propensity of birds of prey. The Tarangire River.
Our Land Cruisers are equipped with electrical connectors
above each seat for charging photographic equipment. There
is a cooler in each vehicle for unlimited ice cold bottled
water on each gamedrive.
Wakeup calls. Depart camp with Alfresco breakfast
picnic basket with fresh fruit, toast, jams, peanut butter,
hot coffee, tea or chocolate. We head south and west
for Selali Swamp to search this vast pristine wetland for
freshwater waterbirds and ducks, tree-climbing pythons,
Cape buffalo, a per-chance leopard. It was here last
year one of the teens on our trip spotted seven wild dogs
a complete surprise for me and our drivers since none had
been seen here in so many years. Back to camp for
hot lunch, a rest and out again at 5:00 for late day game
drive.
Travel the long distance (5 hours) Tarangire to Mto Wa
Mbu Village and onward to Engaruka and Lake Natron.
Overnight at Ngare Sero Natron permanent tented camp.
Lunch with picnic basket at camp. Visit to Ngare Sero
Footprints Project and back to camp for hot dinner and drinks.
Our special camp is on the shore of Lake Natron which
is home to the largest Lesser Flamingo colony in the world....some
one million + birds and situated in shadow of Oldoinyo Lengai,
Tanzania only active volcano.
Following early breakfast walk from camp to Natron to
view the Lesser Flamingos before returning to camp for departure
driving north along the Gregory Rift Wall and the rugged
climb to the top of the rift to Sonjo and Malambo Villages.
Picnic lunch at Olkarian Special Camp with time for a rest
before leaving for Ang'ata Kiti Plain for sundowners.
Depart Olkarian Special Camp with
Eli Labuku, Maasai Guide for hike into Gorge.
We may encounter Maasai boys herding their cattle through
the gorge for water. Olkarian is known for its strange
echos and vocal reverberations off the cliff-sides.
Not necessary to keep up with the more physical hikers as
a there is only one way in and out. We will return
to Olkarian Camp for sundowners and cold drinks. We’ll
walk from camp to the top of a knoll facing Oldoinyo Lengai--The
Mountain of God. In the dark sky we’ll point
out the Southern Cross and familiar constellations here
at the end of the Milky Way Galaxy. Early to bed for
tomorrow we will attempt to reach Nasera Rock in the Lemuta
Hills. The Lemuta Hills one of the most stunning landscapes
in all of Africa.
We could almost guarantee that one would not encounter
a single other vehicle out on game drives in the surrounding
area. This is the last remaining 'true' wilderness experience
left in the Serengeti where one can still roam the famous
Serengeti plains like an ancient explorer. The nearest lodge
(Ndutu Lodge) is about 2-hours to the southwest. Off road
driving, walking safaris and 'authentic' Maasai cultural
tours are conducted in the remote area around Camp.
Expect fine china, crisp linens and gourmet meals to be
served by the flicker of candle lamps and a billion stars
overhead. Spacious sleeping tents, en suite bathrooms and
a comfortable bed round out the tented accommodations. Bask
in the radiance of an authentic wilderness, where civilization
seems a million miles away. It just doesn't get any better
than this!
Upon approach one can begin to make out the details of
the Lemuta Hills - the rocky crags, the sparkling granite,
the gnarled bonsai trees rooted stubbornly in the rocky
soil. One can make out more hills in the distance now -
rising from the flatness of the plains, gently sloping upwards
in smoky blue folds of ancient volcanic soil that immortalize
the memory of the great lava flows that erupted here millions
of years ago. Go a little further and you'll find
the giant monolith of Nasera Rock - a towering mountain
of solid stone that ascends from a fold in a valley of sleepy
hills, as grand and odd and mysterious as it is beautiful.
It is no wonder this area is considered sacred, and to this
day Nasera Rock holds great spiritual significance to the
Maasai people that call this isolated area their homeland.
You may visit an authentic Maasai village or walk in the
company of a warrior. The beautiful valley of Ang'ata Ilkarian cuts
through the Gol Mountains and opens up to the Salei Plains;
this area beckons to hear the footfall of any adventure
enthusiast interested in an off the beaten path safari.
The open plain around Lemuta is a destination in itself
for the Great Migration, a place where the great herds take
pause on their annual pilgrimage. The volcanic ash that
once settled over the area formed a shallow dust pan where
tree roots cannot gain a foothold, which is the reason for
the stark treeless landscape. There is safety for the great
herds here in the open spaces where approaching predators
can easily be spotted at a distance. The top soil here is
also rich in volcanic nutrients; add rainfall to this ashy
mixture already basking in sunshine and instantly lush savannah
grasses burst forth in emerald splendor.
As mentioned previously these nutrient rich grasses are
the main reason this area is a crucial stop-over point for
the Great Migration. During the green season the migratory
wildebeest and zebra pour over the open plains and devour
the abundant grasses like a giant lawnmower. This feast
of fresh grass fuels the mass calving of Wildebeest that
occurs once a year, loading the cows' milk with nutrition.
Here the calves are able to develop and grow enough to have
a fair shot at surviving the continuation of the endless
quest for more food and water in the harder months to come.
This area is also home to a few of the last remaining
wild dogs in East Africa. A few lucky clients have been
able to witness their antics in person.
Travel southwest to Lagarja for four days camping in the
heart the Serengeti Ecosystem. Siringet -- Maasai for The
Endless Place. We cannot plan specifics; this will be a
time of wandering. A time of exploding the nooks and crannies
of the Moru Mountains and Kopjes, shorelines of Masek, Ndutu
and Lagarja Lakes. Spending post-campfire nights looking
into the heavenly skies where the Milky Way meets the end
of its galaxy. We plan each day during breakfast. Our days
have gone on way to quickly and we will need to maximize
the remaining hours in Tanzania. We have yet to visit the
masiff of the Ngorongoro Caldera this sunken volcano which
at one time rivaled Kilamanjaro. We'll do it with great
aplomb and more than enough anxiety in contemplation of
our time left.
“add with thanks Paul Oliver Safaris and the brilliant words in describing Nasera and Lemuta”
Moving on to Ngorongoro Crater passing by Oldupai Gorge
on our way. If all goes as planned we will be camping
on the rim of Ngorongoro in the Acacia Lehi Forest.
This is a uniquely bold landscape just at the edge.
Elephants roam the campsite; a Maasai askari guards the
place all night. Stay up late a hear the leopard ‘coughing’ well into the night. Stay up late if you dare.
We will depart the morning of 1 February Wednesday for
lunch at Mountain Village and evening flight to Europe and
onward.
Excitedly yours,
Jim
610-756-4486 Reply
|
