Tree-climbing Lions

Tree climbing lion

After our incredible experience with the gorillas, we returned to Lake Bunyonyi for another day before leaving for Queen Victoria National Park further north in Uganda. This park is known for its tree-climbing Lions. After speaking to locals and reading many a blog, we chose a different mountain pass through the rainforest to the one we drove to Bwindi to see the gorillas. We were in awe at the scenery on this pass and stopped many times to take photographs. The road on this pass had been carved out of the side of the mountain. The trees formed a natural canopy over the road. On the one side we had the mountain towering over us, and on the other side the mountain dropped away severely, but still covered with enormous trees and lush rainforest vegetation. In most places the road was so narrow that only one vehicle could be negotiated at a time. it would have been nearly impossible to reverse our trailer and caravan down this pass! Vehicles that had the misfortune of leaving the road involuntary, would most probably not have been able to be recovered. This beautiful mountain pass climbed up to over 2800m. It was an exciting but dangerous, impassable pass, in rainy conditions. Our Angels were looking after us! A decision was made not to return via this route due to inceasing rain and resultant landslides. This was later confirmed by locals from the area. Be it may, we were glad to have driven this wonderful mountain pass. 

The narrow road on the pass

  Outside of the National Parks the mountains had been cultivated in terraces up to 2000m and more. These were mostly covered by tea plantations and the farms of local inhabitants. These subsistant farmers grew bananas, maize, and various other traditional crops. Farms could only be reached by foot, by either climbing up or down the mountain. Because of the steep slopes, large terraces had to be cut out of the mountain to enable a family to build a house. This is all done by hand! As in the rest of Africa, the women and children appear to do the work! When we reached QVNP it was already late afternoon. At the entrance we were informed that it would cost us R4500 per day to enter and camp inside the Park. The lady at reception was helpful and informed us of accommodation a few kilometers outside the park where we could camp. As we left to investigate the possibilities, it started raining.  We ended up ' @on the river Ishasa'. Being the only visitors we were able to negotiated a full board and lodging price which sounded better and better as the rain got worse! We were very comfortable in our lodgings on stilts overlooking the river. The next day all 4 of us got into Steve's cruiser (a $50 saving by using one vehicle) and went looking for the famous Tree-Climbing Lions. We were surprised to find large herds of buffalo in this area. And yes, we did find 2 tree-climbing Lions (and they were in two separate trees!). There is much speculation why the lions in this park climb the trees. It could be because it's cooler high up in the trees or to get away from tsetse flies and mosquitos. They do look very comfortable and safe in their elevated positions. A ranger later informed us that we were lucky to have seen the lions, as there had not been a sighting for 2 weeks! We also saw hundreds of Topis (an antelope similar to our Red Hartebeest). Monkeys and birds that we have never encountered before, and which you only find in Uganda, continued to surprise us.

Tree climbing lion

  The second day we drove through the QVNP to the Equator in Uganda (and took pictures to prove that we were there!) It poured with rain and we were both elated and sad. From this point on we were turning around, heading South again - homeward bound to our beloved South Africa. Two familiar figures drove pass us on our way back to our lodgings. We turned around and caught up with them. It was Helen and Jimmy from The UK, touring through Africa on their motor bikes. We met them at Lake Bunyonyi. They also went over that treacherous pass and had some bad luck with punctures! We exchanged hugs, wished them Bon voyage and a safe journey. We have met amazing people while travelling through Africa. This couple had (understandably) limited packing space, and their lodgings every night is a thin little tent. At one stage their tent was ripped, trashed and completely fouled by baboons. Jimmy seems to be very good with a needle and thread. Maybe we'll meet again….......

Helen And Jimmy

 

Uganda & Mountain Gorillas

The staff at Tunza Beach in Mwanza was sad to see us leave. We were also sad to leave this beautiful place and friendly people, and it took a while to say our good-byes. We had driven the road down the coastline of Lake Victoria the previous day to find out more about the location and cost of the ferry. We hit the morning traffic as there is only one road into and out of Mwanza. Together with police road blocks and numerous people on motorbikes, bicycles as well as pedestrians, the going was slow.  At Usagara we turned towards the lake. Two ferries were working at the same time. As one ferry loaded its 'cargo', the other one is docking on the opposite side of the lake. We did not wait too long for our turn. Smaller cars were loaded first, then larger vehicles and trailers, and then buses and trucks, all squashed in like sardines in a tin. Passengers are asked to leave the vehicle before its parked, as the passenger door sometimes cannot be opened because the cars are so close together! After the vehicles, motorbikes and bicycles are driven aboard and passengers are let on by foot. " 'n Hele gedoente", as Rosalind would say. The ferry had an upper deck where passengers could  sit for the short 20 minute ride to Busisi. By the time we left the ferry at Busisi, we realized that Bukoba would be too far to reach in one day. We found accommodation (camping) at The Old German Fort in Biharamulo. Ros and Theo discovered a 'milk spill' in their trailer and started a big clean-up. Although black clouds were forming above, promising us a thunderstorm and downpour, we quickly set up camp and started a fire. While we were braaiing, we were visited by two owls: a mommy and her baby. It was wonderful to watch the interaction between them. The little one was crying for food, and the mother looked like she was trying to coach it into flying and becoming independent. The next morning we left early and had a beautiful drive on tarred road through the Biharamulo Game Reserve. The last mountain pass before Bukoba was under construction, and we had a steep climb over the pass. The road took us all the way up the western side of Lake Victoria. The camping accommodation, facilities and security  at Bukoba was totally unacceptable, as were many other so-called 'hotels'. We made a decision to go to the 'most expensive' hotel in Bukoba. It seems that hotels award themselves a star rating and hotel descriptions are thumb sucked and beautifully embellished. We had driven about 500 km (10 hours of driving!) and we were tired. The Victorious Perch Hotel ticked all the right boxes. Both accommodation and food was affordable. Jacob, the manager did his utmost to make us comfortable. Tilapia (freshly fished from Lake Victoria) was on the menu and everyone was happy. The next morning we left after breakfast and drove for a while on a tarred road. It looked like Tracks-for-Africa clients had never driven this road. We were aiming for the Tanzanian border at Kikagati. At one stage the maps just showed us that there was no road to said border post. We persevered and basically 'made our own tracks' towards the border. The last pass we crossed before the border was spectacular, despite being 'littered' with small villages. The going was slow, to say the least. At the Tanzanian border we were helped quickly and efficiently, but the gentleman on the Ugandan side was ill equipped to process the information and after 3 hours our nerves were frazzled. Eventually we entered Uganda. We still had about 150 km to drive, but the roads were horrendous. When we hit the tar road towards Kabale it was already dark. Steve and I decided to book into a hotel in Kabale as we had to refuel, draw money and buy food in town the next day. Ros and Theo pushed on in the dark to Lake Bunyonyi.  Lake Bunyonyi is definitely one of the most beautiful places we had visited on our trip. It was lush and green and the resort  was well laid out and maintained. It had a restaurant, bar, catered for boat trips and food was well priced. I mentioned earlier that we had now entered Uganda's rainy season. We ate most evenings in the restauran at Bunyonyi, as we were drenched in thunder storms almost every evening. We could also organize our Gorilla trekking into Bwindi Impenitrable Rain Forest from Bunyonyi's office.  Thursday morning at 05h00 the four of us drove with Theo's Cruiser to Bwindi for the start of out Trek. Conditions were misty with poor visibility, but we made good time and arrived at the starting point with an hour to spare. Bwindi is high up in the rainforests and incredibly beautiful. More 'Gorilla Trekkers' arrived. At our briefing we were advised to rent a porter. After being briefed we were divided into 3 groups. Each group would visit a different family of gorillas in different parts of the forest. Our group of 7 'Trekkers' were chosen to find the Oruzogo Group - a family of 17 members, with three silverbacks, many females and plenty babies! Our terrain was the steep rainforests of Bwindi. We drove higher up into the mountains and then had to walk up the rest of the way. At a certain point we had to start trekking down the steep hills of the rainforest. The ground was slippery, mushy and wet. After about an hour we were told that the trackers that went out at 07h00 that morning, had found the gorillas - they were very close.  Our first sightings of the Mountain Gorillas were astounding! They were so high up into the trees that they looked like small Chimpanzees. Slowly and graciously they climbed down the trees - they were magnificent! I did not expect them to be so close! They sat down as close as 3 m from us, foraging, eating, burping (and farting loudly!) There were 3 Silverbacks in the Oruzogo group, each with their own ranking. Each of them had a different personality. No 1 Silverback had this Enormous Personality, large, overpowering, and rather grumpy looking. I found myself mesmerized by him, and forgot that I was not suppose to look him straight in the eyes. He started leaning towards me with a fierce look and I had to humble myself before him if I did not want to be chastised by an attack. The no 3 Silverback (actually still a Blackback!) was a real performer! If we moved away from him, he would get up, pull down a tree and break it to show off his strength, then casually strip the leaves from the bark, eating and looking at us askance. One of the visitors became too enthusiastic and came too close to a mother and her baby. The next moment the mommy gorillas exploded into a ferocious 'attack', coming to a halt 1 m from the frightened lady. Everyone were holding their breaths and Steve held his ground (he was standing next to this lady!) (Some people had to change their underpants after this incident!)

Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi

  There are only 880 Mountain Gorillas left in the world. They are critically endangered and can be found in 2 small populations: in the Virunga Volcanos of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, houses 400 of these gorillas. In Bwindi, gorillas move about 1 km per day, depending on the availability of food.  Gorillas are vegetarians. Their diet consists of leaves, stems and fruits. They climb as high as 20 m to get to fruit! They eat for several hours, then go to sleep. Gorillas are exposed to humans for only one hour per day.  Our one hour went past far too quickly! Being with gorillas are like swimming with dolphins - you are adrenalin charged and euphoric for hours afterwards. It was well worth the time and money visiting the Mountain Gorilas of Bwindi.   

Serengeti

The morning we left Kilimanjaro, 'The Lady lifted her skirt' for us and we could actually see the top op Kilimanjaro! Accommodation was our next concern. The Sundown Carnival Hotel, only 10 km outside Arusha, looked like a perfect place to stay. We had lovely rooms, breakfast, as well as a magnificent view of Mt Meru. On the 21st September we were picked up by Leopard Safaris in a Landcruiser Safari Vehicle (a spacious 8 seater). These vehicles are designed with a roof that can be raised to enable 360 degree game viewing and photography. Basil would be our driver and guide for the next 5 days. The distance to the Serengeti was about 300 km. We entered The Ngorogoro Conservation Area first and got a breathtaking view of the Ngorogoro Crator! One has to drive through the Ngorogoro Conservancy to get to the Serengeti. The Maasai has the right to live and farm with their cattle and sheep in this area, and while we were driving we saw Zebra and Giraffe 'mixed' with cattle, goat, sheep and even camels! We entered a second 'gate' to the Serengeti. While we took photographs and do what tourists do, Basil was standing in line to get the necessary permits and approvals. The road into the Serengeti was taxing, to say the least.  This is the only North-South road for hundreds of kilometers. It us used by, not only visitors to the Serengeti, but also supply vehicles such as petrol tankers, trucks and buses which transport locals to villages to the north of the Serengeti. The condition of the road explained why our Safari vehicle carried a main leaf spring! We had been warned beforehand of the condition of the roads, and were very happy that we had decided not to drive into the Serengeti with our own vehicles!   

Mt Meru from our balcony at Carnival Hotel

  As it were late in the afternoon, we had decided to go directly to our Lodge. This proved difficult as we came upon a number of lions, including a magnificent male. By the time we reached the Lodge we had a tally of 7 lions! We arrived at the Lodge at 18h45, with just enough time to book in and wash up, before we had to go to dinner. It was a long day, but we were on a high! The Serengeti Sopa Lodge is built on a hill, and all 73 rooms face the Serengeti Plains. The Lodge is furnished in African style and colours. After dinner at night we enjoyed African singing and dancing.  

Serengeti Sopa Lodge

  Basil urged us to get going as early as possible the second morning, and he covered about 150 km of the Serengeti plains. The Serengeti surprised us time and again: 3 leopards (eating, sleeping on ground, and up in a tree) 20+ lions, and the hi-light of the day: a kill by a cheetah. We first spotted her and her 4 cubs under a tree. After a while she left her cubs (they were so obedient - just sitting upright watching their mommy moving cautiously towards 4 Thompsons Gazelles). It was incredible to watch her skill. With a sudden burst of speed and accuracy she hit her prey in a cloud of dust. The Cubs just waited until their mom was sure it was safe. When she called them, they ran towards her. While they ate, she kept looking out for possible danger. It is amazing that a cheetah could keep 4 cubs alive with so many predators around! Apart from the predators, we also saw hundreds of buffalo, zebra, Thomsons - and Grants Gazelle, elephant, hippo, giraffe and Impala. On our way back to the lodge we stopped numerous times to watch hyenas coming out of their dens. It was getting late and we only got back to the lodge at 19h00.  We had been in the road for 11 hours! The next day was a repeat of the first (except for the kill). We were lucky to have such a skilled driver and guide. Basil did his utmost to get us to a sighting. The Serengeti Plains are vast, and the guides are in contact with each other. Many tourist would come back from their drives and complain that they saw only Impala and Zebra. Over 3 days we saw more than 40 lions, numerous leopards and  cheetahs, as well as hyenas. (Isn't it funny that tourists only count predators........) of course we saw everything else except for the rhino and wild dogs. Elephants are still our favourite animal, and we had plenty encounters with them. The fourth day we moved to the Wilderness Lodge on the rim of the Ngorogoro Crator. We had good sightings on our drive in the Crator. When you stand on the rim of the Crator and look down, it is almost impossible to imagine that there are animals and water down there. Our trip to the Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crator came to an end as we left the area on the 5th day.

Lions in Ngorogoro Crator

  On our way back to the Sundown Carnival Hotel where we left our vehicles and trailers, we stopped at Mtowambo Market to buy fresh produce. Markets in Tanzania are colourful, filled with fresh, red tomatoes, yellow bananas, green watermelons, cucumbers, garlic, ginger, pineapples, oranges, red and green peppers, and many other interesting fruits and vegetables that we did not know. We saw red bananas for the first time (apparently they are less sweet - a good alternative for diabetics!) Women are dressed in bright clothing with beautiful friendly smiles. It was a real treat to buy our produce from this market.  

Mtowambo Market

 

Mwanza - Lake Victoria

Although Arusha is a big and vibrant city, we entered it only when we had to. Traffic in African cities gave us a lesson in Patience, with a capital P! If you could forget that there was an urgency in getting somewhere, you could actually enjoy the hustle and bustle, the colours, the people and interactions. Getting through a city could easily take you an hour, unless you were there in peak traffic - then you could be 'sightseeing' for about 2 hours or more! We left Arusha, once again travelling towards the Serengeti, but this time veered to the West. Our aim: Mwanza, a town situated on Lake Victoria. We got as far as Nzeda, where we stayed overnight at The Forest Inn. We were slowly (albeit unwilling?) getting used to the African hospitality industry, and we would just 'go-with-the-flow' and enjoyed it! TUNZA BEACH RESORT at Mwanza, got some great reviews from both BRADT and Trip Advisor. It had a small stretch of beach, with Palm trees and big grassy areas, with colourful tables and chairs for day visitors. It also had a restaurant and bar area (called The Cocpit Bar). Lodging facilities were thatched 'rondavels' (2 single beds, table and chair in each) with bathroom en-suite. As the general bathroom facilities were being upgraded, we were offered a rondavel as our bathroom. This worked out well as there were many day visitors to Tunza that also used the campers bathrooms! We met a few 'lodgers' at Tunza, but we were the only campers. Agatha visited us before we had finished setting up camp and offered laundry services! GREAT!

Sunset at Tunza Beach - Lake Victoria

  One of the regular lodgers at Tunza was Eddie Wilson, a helicopter pilot from Centurion in Pretoria, South Africa! He was contracted by a mine in Tanzania. What an enthusiastic person! Theo and Steve chatted to him and the 4 of us were organized on a helicopter flight the next morning! What a great experience that was! Eddie showed us a hotel from the air - 'Good food' he said, and after our flight we ended up going to The Talapia Hotel for lunch.  Talapia is said to be one of Tanzania's best eating fish. Everyone agreed!  Every night we watched the fishermen with their boats and dhows go out to fish. When darkness decends, the whole horizon is lit up by the lights on the boats. Steve saw a boat-building yard not far from Tunza Beach and we visited it. He had great fun trying to talk to the locals (they spoke only Swahili), climbing into their boats and showing them pictures on his cellphone of fish that he had caught! While we were there, a few boats came in with fresh fish. Yes, of course! Steve bought a fish! (It was a Nile Perch)Then he took it back to Tunza's kitchen, filleted it himself, and I fried it for dinner that night.

Helicopter flight with Eddie

  Mwanza is also known as 'Rock City'. It has numerous 'koppies' of rock strewn all over the town. People just build their houses on top of the rocks! It was a sight to behold from the helicopter! We got really 'mellow' at Tunza Beach. We stayed for 5 days! By the way, Lake Victoria has crocodiles in it! We never swam, but the locals and a big group of school boys on an outing did! It was interesting to observe our fellow Africans coming and going at Tunza. (I am sure they went home and said the same about us!) The owner of Tunza Beach employs the services of a group of Maasai to tend to the security of the Resort. We felt safe even when 50 school boys descended on the small beach. If people came too close to our camp or started hanging around our cars, the Maasai (neatly dressed in traditional Maasai garb) just looked at them and pointed. Then without a word from either party, the culprits would move off. The morning we left Mwanza, we had our first rain! We were expecting the rain, knowing that it would start in October.  The road to Uganda was going to be long, and so we took a ferry across Lake Victoria to cut out a few hundred kilometers.

Serengeti & Ngorogoro

The morning we left Kilimanjaro, 'The Lady lifted her skirt' for us and we could actually see the top op Kilimanjaro! Accommodation was our next concern. The Sundown Carnival Hotel, only 10 km outside Arusha, looked like a perfect place to stay. We had lovely rooms, breakfast, as well as a magnificent view of Mt Meru. On the 21st September we were picked up by Leopard Safaris in a Landcruiser Safari Vehicle (a spacious 8 seater). These vehicles are designed with a roof that can be raised to enable 360 degree game viewing and photography. Basil would be our driver and guide for the next 5 days. The distance to the Serengeti was about 300 km. We entered The Ngorogoro Conservation Area first and got a breathtaking view of the Ngorogoro Crator! One has to drive through the Ngorogoro Conservancy to get to the Serengeti. The Maasai has the right to live and farm with their cattle and sheep in this area, and while we were driving we saw Zebra and Giraffe 'mixed' with cattle, goat, sheep and even camels! We entered a second 'gate' to the Serengeti. While we took photographs and do what tourists do, Basil was standing in line to get the necessary permits and approvals. The road into the Serengeti was taxing, to say the least.  This is the only North-South road for hundreds of kilometers. It us used by, not only visitors to the Serengeti, but also supply vehicles such as petrol tankers, trucks and buses which transport locals to villages to the north of the Serengeti. The condition of the road explained why our Safari vehicle carried a main leaf spring! We had been warned beforehand of the condition of the roads, and were very happy that we had decided not to drive into the Serengeti with our own vehicles!    As it were late in the afternoon, we had decided to go directly to our Lodge. This proved difficult as we came upon a number of lions, including a magnificent male. By the time we reached the Lodge we had a tally of 7 lions! We arrived at the Lodge at 18h45, with just enough time to book in and wash up, before we had to go to dinner. It was a long day, but we were on a high! The Serengeti Sopa Lodge is built on a hill, and all 73 rooms face the Serengeti Plains. The Lodge is furnished in African style and colours. After dinner at night we enjoyed African singing and dancing.  

Serengeti Sopa Lodge

View of Serengeti from Lodge

  Basil urged us to get going as early as possible the second morning, and he covered about 150 km of the Serengeti plains. The Serengeti surprised us time and again: 3 leopards (eating, sleeping on ground, and up in a tree) 20+ lions, and the hi-light of the day: a kill by a cheetah. We first spotted her and her 4 cubs under a tree. After a while she left her cubs (they were so obedient - just sitting upright watching their mommy moving cautiously towards 4 Thompsons Gazelles). It was incredible to watch her skill. With a sudden burst of speed and accuracy she hit her prey in a cloud of dust. The Cubs just waited until their mom was sure it was safe. When she called them, they ran towards her. While they ate, she kept looking out for possible danger. It is amazing that a cheetah could keep 4 cubs alive with so many predators around! Apart from the predators, we also saw hundreds of buffalo, zebra, Thomsons - and Grants Gazelle, elephant, hippo, giraffe and Impala. On our way back to the lodge we stopped numerous times to watch hyenas coming out of their dens. It was getting late and we only got back to the lodge at 19h00.  We had been in the road for 11 hours!

2 Beautiful Males

The next day was a repeat of the first (except for the kill). We were lucky to have such a skilled driver and guide. Basil did his utmost to get us to a sighting. The Serengeti Plains are vast, and the guides are in contact with each other. Many tourist would come back from their drives and complain that they saw only Impala and Zebra. Over 3 days we saw more than 40 lions, numerous leopards and  cheetahs, as well as hyenas. (Isn't it funny that tourists only count predators........) of course we saw everything else except for rhino and wild dogs. Elephants are still our favourite animal, and we had plenty encounters with them. The fourth day we moved to the Wilderness Lodge on the rim of the Ngorogoro Crator. We had good sightings on our drive in the Crator. When you stand on the rim of the Crator and look down, it is almost impossible to imagine that there are animals and water down there. Our trip to the Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crator came to an end as we left the area on the 5th day. On our way back to the Sundown Carnival Hotel where we left our vehicles and trailers, we stopped at Mtowambo Market to buy fresh produce. Markets in Tanzania are colourful, filled with fresh, red tomatoes, yellow bananas, green watermelons, cucumbers, garlic, ginger, pineapples, oranges, red and green peppers, and many other interesting fruits and vegetables that we did not know. We saw red bananas for the first time (apparently they are less sweet - a good alternative for diabetics!) Women are dressed in bright clothing with beautiful friendly smiles. It was a real treat to buy our produce from this market.  

Mtowambo Market