Steppes In Africa; One Letter at a Time- E is for: Even MORE Animals, Except by Foot! (6/8) & F is for: Fourteen Birds and a Very Fine Dinner (6/9)

[Steppesister]

What an outrageously Glorious sunrise! Stunning view from your patio!

Your accommodations look amazing! You are truly an adventurer! I cannot believe you drove yourself...on the wrong side of the road, no less! Good for you! That park seems cool, what wonderful animals and your pics are amazing!

I think you might enjoy a few of the upcoming photos, if you enjoyed that one.

It was such a cozy guesthouse! I'd definitely stay there again and highly recommend!

I'm sure hoping the next national park I go to nets some better photos.

 

[Steppesister]

F is for: Fourteen Birds and a Very Fine Dinner​

I arrived at Momella Lake at 1:00. The original plan was to stop for lunch in the village of Momella, but time was my enemy in seeing all I’d planned. Instead “lunch” was a half a packet of cashews that I’d grabbed off the overseas flight. Breakfast was huge and pretty much held me til dinner.

The hope in visiting Small Momella Lake was to see the 2 species of African Flamingos- Lesser and Greater. When I arrived, there was one other party with their guide having their boxed lunch on one of the viewing platforms. It is only at these little picnic areas that you are allowed to get out of your car for animal viewing.

​

Aside from them, it was quiet, and while there were no flamingos as I’d hoped, I enjoyed many other birds to add to my list. Feel free to scroll if you’re not into birds. They are HORRIBLE photos from WAY too far away with my lens. But at this point, my only goal was to add my Life List. (After the birds, I’ll pick it up with the rest of the story.)

• African Sacred Ibis

​

• Black-crowned Night Heron

​

• Northern Fiscal

​

• Blacksmith Lapwing

​

• Moutached Grass Warbler

​

• Little Grebe

​

• Reed Cormorant

​

• Yellow Bishop

​

• Ruppell’s Vulture (A blurry image that I cropped out- I had a TON of sightings of new-to-me-birds on this trip but was unable to get photos of all. I did however, add them to my Life List so they get a mention.)

• Great Crowned Crane (I discovered these first at DISNEY!!! If you've eaten at Sanaa, you may have seen them strutting around the window tables.)

​

These are added to the from the last chapter:

Red-billed Oxpecker

Cattle Egret

Little Bee-eater

Yellow-breasted Apalis

I was able to get a decent photo of another of the park's butterflies too. If you've ever tried to get pix of butterflies, especially wild ones and not those in a hothouse, you'll know how hard it is!! They are FAST!!!

(The Caper White Butterfly)​

From the lake, it seemed a bit of a slow slog back, retracing the same road that took me to it. There weren’t many animals I spotted; I’m sure many had taken cover as the rain had started up again and kept on until I got back to the airport to drop off the car.

Except for the baboons. They are everywhere. All the time.

At the Arusha Gate (where you enter and exit the park from the south) I did see another cute little antelope species. This was the only one of these I’d see on my trip, so another lucky spotting. This little Bushbuck seemed right at home in the Headquarters parking lot. Boing, boing, boing….

​

The car was scheduled to be returned to the airport at 6:00 and I was there right on the dot, or nearly so. By the time I’d left the park, my phone was down to a paltry 20%, and I limped into the airport with it down to about 6%. (Navigation burns a lot of juice!) I was VERY nervous that I’d not be able to communicate with the rental agent to coordinate the pick-up. For some super weird reason, the cords I’d brought and the charging block combination with those cords was simply NOT working to start a charge. UGH!!! I was seriously freaking out that my phone has broken somehow and that, my friends, can be trip-breaking. Or at least throw a MAJOR crimp in things!!

I very quickly made a What’sApp call to the rental guy and he said he is still on his way and would be there shortly. I also called the same driver who’d taken me to the airport that morning and let him know I was ready to be picked up to be taken back to the guesthouse.

As a point of discussion: Beware of the rental car scam across Tanzania. They rent you the car empty and you will have to fill up as you set out for any driving. Of COURSE you are going to fill the tank as you just don’t know distances or that particular car’s fuel needs/efficiency. Any extra you return the car with is money you’ve thrown away...

...like I did when I returned it with ¾ of a tank.

And another odd procedure they practice at the airport: Every car that enters the airport property is inspected with a big mirror on a long handle. Basically, they walk around the perimeter of the car looking at the undercarriage, presumably looking for explosives…? I’ve never seen this before and to be truthful was a bit unnerving. Is there a precedent for need?

Without too much more waiting, both folks showed up; I took care of the last bit of business and was back to Katambuga House before too long. I immediately plugged the phone in to a wall outlet and was gleefully relieved to see it start to charge. Phew! Crisis averted.

By 6:40, I was snuggling up to this little beauty- the first of my many nightly pre-dinner cocktails. I cannot tell you what it was, except that it was delicious and perfect to sit and relax with before being seated on the patio. However, I had only finished about half before the server said that dinner was ready and showed me to the table. It was ok, it was only a few feet away and I could catch up on trip notes there just as well as on the couch just a few feet away.

​

I took a photo of the day’s menu and boy it sure did sound fantastic! Let’s take a look at how it turned out!

​

It was as delicious as it was beautiful! I’d once had a cauliflower panna cotta at V&A’s at Disney and it was outstanding. This was every bit as so. Just perfect. But it was far too much for lil ol’ me. I ate about half of the main course and most of the dessert.

​

It was late, I was still jet-lagging pretty hard and exhausted from the long travel, so I organized some things as best I could and called it a night. I would say my first “real” day in Tanzania was a resounding success. I saw the first of many majestic animals, enjoyed the friendliest hospitality found anywhere, and feasted on some wonderful food.

Up next… New and Exotic Adventures as I move on in my trip to Tanzania.

 

[zanzibar138]

I was super excited about getting up close and personal with some nature and was re-assured that an armed ranger would be with me the whole time- because yes, while there are no lions or leopards in this park, the Cape Buffalo can be extremely volatile and cranky and quite frankly at times deadly.

I was wondering... In Botswana, we were pretty much told to never get out of the vehicle. But there were lions, leopards, crocodiles, hippos and many, many elephants around. And thousands of buffalo lol!

Was the ranger armed with a tranquilizer gun or an actual gun? I'd hate to think of any animals copping a bullet because of the walking tours

My guide, Dilunga, had a smile that would light up a room. He was very friendly and knowledgeable and spent quite a bit of time sharing all kinds of information about the animals, their behavior, the landscape, the people and how they use the plants that we were seeing for medicine and food, and local culture.

All the wildlife guides I've ever had on my travels have been wonderful! They all seem to be very passionate about their jobs. You sure got some great sightings with him!

It wasn’t long before we came to our turnaround point- quite a lovely one at that! Napuru Falls is a lovely cascade and worth the short walk.

Beautiful! The whole landscape looks so lovely.

Just as the hike was nearing its end, the clouds lifted just enough for Mt. Meru’s peak to give us a glimpse.

Perfect timing!

I don’t know if his rifle was loaded but there was more than one occasion that he was rather flippant with its handling.

Oh gosh, I guess that answers my other question

This was my first reminder that on safari, you will see much, but not all.

I kind of like that aspect of it - it's what distinguishes it from a zoo. It makes any animal sightings you do have so much more special. Having said that, I was kind of devastated that I didn't see any lions on my safari. My ex-husband saw one on the very first game drive of our trip, which I missed because I'd come down with a nasty cold and couldn't drag my butt out of bed at 5am.

Distances are deceiving on safari mostly because of the numerous stops for animal viewing and the occasional roadblock.

As far as roadblocks go, I wouldn't complain too much What wonderful photos you got!

The original plan was to stop for lunch in the village of Momella, but time was my enemy in seeing all I’d planned.

Always seems to be the way.

They are HORRIBLE photos from WAY too far away with my lens.

You are very hard on yourself - I think you got some lovely bird photos!

Except for the baboons. They are everywhere. All the time.

If there's any guarantee on a safari, it's that you will see baboons

This little Bushbuck seemed right at home in the Headquarters parking lot.

Ooh, I didn't see any of them! Cute!

By the time I’d left the park, my phone was down to a paltry 20%, and I limped into the airport with it down to about 6%. (Navigation burns a lot of juice!) I was VERY nervous that I’d not be able to communicate with the rental agent to coordinate the pick-up.

Uh oh... it's amazing how much we've come to rely on our phones these days. I remember as recently as 2017 I didn't even bother to take my phone overseas with me! Now it's nearly as essential as your passport.

As a point of discussion: Beware of the rental car scam across Tanzania. They rent you the car empty and you will have to fill up as you set out for any driving.

As far as scams go, that's probably on the lower end of the scale. I'd be far more worried about car jackings or being pulled over by cops!

I immediately plugged the phone in to a wall outlet and was gleefully relieved to see it start to charge. Phew!

Phew indeed!

I would say my first “real” day in Tanzania was a resounding success.