29th – Lake Manyara

It was pouring down last night and when waking up it was pouring down. According to some of the others it hadn’t been raining throughout the entire night but it still meant that it was damp when coming outside in the morning. The plan was to meet up for breakfast at 0700 and leave at 0745, but as the breakfast wasn’t ready until 0715 meant that the morning schedule got pushed. No worries, though as we still had a couple of hours drive before arriving at our camp; Twiga Camp. Once again flashbacks to 4½ years ago.

We visited the local village with 120+ different tribes. We had a tour seeing how they lived, tasted banana beer (still horrible – sorry; still not to my taste) and fermented banana wine (not bad at all, actually, it was a bit like cider). We finished with lunch before being picked up and drove to Lake Manyara NP to do our first game drive. We saw large amounts of monkeys (baboons, blue- and vervet monkeys), buffalos far away, a few giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and not much else. Still a good drive, the amount of monkeys made up for the lack of cats.

Back in the camp we had dinner and afterwards we ended up in the bar. Tomorrow we will visit another Maasai village before driving 4-5 hours to Serengeti where we will have a short drive before arriving at our new camp in the early evening. Breakfast at 0700.

One of many irrigation channels going through the fields at the village.

Banana beer tasted just as I remember it. 

When they do the laundry they do it all.

Blue monkeys.

More blue monkeys.

Young baboon.

European roller.

Vervet monkey.

Egyptian goose.

Another very young baboon.

Zebra keeping an eye out.

This was just a small part of many large groups of baboons we encountered.

28th – Transfer to Arusha

Skipped breakfast this morning due to last night and at 0730 we were southbound towards the Tanzanian border. Having driven a couple of hours we arrived and after a slow moving queue to get our departure stamps on the Kenyan side we walked across to the Tanzanian side. Here, fir the first time ever, I had to show my vaccination card to confirm that I had had my yellow fever shot before getting my Tanzanian visa which was handled surprisingly fast.

At around 1230 we arrived at the Outlook Lodge in Arusha, our place to stay until leaving for our drives tomorrow. It was the same place as back in 2010 and it brought back memories. Nothing had really changed since then.

We had lunch and shortly after two guys of the remaining 4 of the group also arrived. Getting the share my room (and therefore also tent) now. We had a walk into Arusha but concluded that unless you enjoy being hassled by street vendors and other similar entities who don’t accept no for an answer, Arusha is not a very interesting city. As I said; nothing has really changed since my last visit.

As planned we had our meeting at 1800 where we got to meet everyone, and after dinner we relaxed at the bar and got to see an acrobatics show before crashing. And, if I’m not mistaken, that could also be classified under the “nothing had really changed”-column.

Tomorrow we will be departing at 0745 to visit a village and do a drive in Lake Manyara NP.

27th – Return to Nairobi

Before getting back to Nairobi we had an early drive, leaving camp at around 0700. This night had been quite calm; our first night we could hear hyenas close by and the dogs and the Maasai village going absolutely bonkers as a result.

Nothing special happened on the drive, only noteworthy was that we saw 3 lions eating the remains of what looked like a small cow (Maasais often take their herds inside the park for them to graze – as a result they lose one or two now and then).

We left the park at 1030 and at around 1600 we were back at the hotel and said our goodbyes.

At 1800 we met up with out next guide, Moses, who gave us an overview of how our next couple of days would look like. The group will be bigger than now, but not very. For dinner we went to restaurant Carnivore, a repeated success from last year.

Tomorrow we will depart at 0730 and expect to arrive at the hotel in Arusha at around 1300-1400 for lunch. I will likely be skipping breakfast, dinner was… filling.

With a mane like that he must be using a conditioner.

Buffalo with yellow-billed oxpeckers.

These three lions were found eating the leftovers of what could have been a small cow.

The crunching sounds were fascinating.

Grey flycatcher.

Violet-eared waxbill (or common grenadier).

26th – Masai Mara

As game drives go there was nothing out of the ordinary today. Morning went as planned, we left at 0800 and entered the park 15 minutes later.

We drove around until leaving at around 1630, only interrupted by a break on a hill and lunch under a tree after driving off a wildebeest. Apparently this is pretty normal procedure; looking around you could see several lonely trees being occupied by safari vehicles with tourists having their lunch. Shade is a rare commodity on the otherwise open savannah.

The hilltop felt familiar with good reason; it was the same place as where we had lunch last year.

Other than that things went more or less as planned; several of the usual stuff, no leopards or rhinos, but cheetahs. All in all not a bad day.

Coming back in camp Monika (the other tourist) & Patsie went to visit the Maasai camp while I stayed behind. When they returned they had invited themselves including me to a naming ceremony that was to start at 1900. Arriving we found out that the actual naming wouldn’t start until after 2100 so after a bit of talking with the locals we returned to camp and had dinner (which was as planned; we had not planned to stay there for much longer than half an hour).

Tomorrow we will have an early morning drive leaving at 0700 before returning to Nairobi, and in the evening we will meet with our guide for the next leg of the trip.

Bare-faced go-away-bird.

Zebra with foal.

White-back vultures.

The lion and jackal look like friends going for a walk. In reality they both wanted access to a carcass and they were constantly eyeing each other to make sure the other didn't get too close while taking a bite.

Lappet-faced vultures.

Cheetahs taking a nap in the shade.

Lioness.

Hildebrandt's starling. Quite a few of these showed up during our lunch break.

Black-backed jackal.

Banded mongoose with pup.

25th – Leaving Nairobi

We left the hotel at 0730 sharp and after fighting our way through the slow morning commuter traffic we were on our way at a steady pace to our camp near Masai Mara. At around 1230 I suddenly recognized a school on the right – the school we visited last year when I came to Masai Mara for the first time. Instead of continuing up to Sopa Lodge we instead made a turn to the left, and 5-10 minutes bumpy ride later on an almost non-existing road we arrived at our camp site. 15-20 established tents with each two beds, and we were the only ones there!

We had lunch short after our arrival and at 1600 we went on our first drive in the park. On the 2:30 long (short) drive we managed to see the usual animals (warthogs, impalas, gazelles etc.), but also giraffes, elephants, buffalos and lions. Yes, less than 3 hours of game drive and we are already 3/5.

We also met a couple of other cars parked with the passengers focused on something nearby. Apparently they were looking at/had spotted a cheetah, but no matter how they explained its location were we able to locate it.

Back at camp we had dinner, a quick shower (the shower did have warm water, and even more so as it wasn’t possible to turn down the temperature!) and the generator stopped giving light at around 2100.

Tomorrow we’ll be having breakfast at 0730 before we have a full day of driving in the park until 1600. The other passenger has never been doing a safari before so she is obviously in 7^th heaven these days. When coming back the plan seems to be to visit the nearby Maasai village. Something that I’ll probably decline as it is the same I visited last year among others. And honestly; have you seen one you have seen most of them – especially if you are returning to one previously seen.

Wildebeest.

Thomson's gazelle.

Giraffe.

Vulturine guineafowl.

Secretary bird.

First lion sighting.

All lions carry around their own small teddy bears.

Sunset over the Masai Mara.

23rd–24th - Departure to Kenya

Leaving Copenhagen at around 1700 with only a couple of hours in Amsterdam meant that I arrived in Nairobi at 0700 the following day (2 hours time difference). Getting through immigration this time was a breeze compared to last time; fill out forms and only queue a few minutes before being taken care of which was quickly done. Nothing like last time’s almost half an hours’ wait and tedious handling of my papers.

Waiting for your luggage you always get that nervous twitch when you see several bags 5-7 times without having seen your own – but finally mine showed up and I left for the waiting G Adventures coordinator waiting for me at the pick-up area.

The traffic was normal for a weekday which meant that even when leaving the airport at around 0800 we didn’t arrive at the hotel until almost 0930, even if the trip could have been done in less than half an hour without much traffic. A lot of standstill. It had been raining the last couple of days which had brought the temperatures down a bit; barely 20 degrees when arriving and just above the rest of the day. Far from as hot as what I had prepared myself for, but it was actually very comfortable. This also meant that even without A/C the car drive to the hotel was quite pleasant.

When arriving at the hotel I quickly checked in before we left again – this time to go to a local elephant sanctuary which is only open to the public at 1100-1200. Despite a small detour to pick up some water we arrived a bit early and after a short wait we were herded to a roped enclosure. During the one hour we were presented for two different groups of elephants; one with 8-20 months olds and the second they were between 20 months and 3½ years old. They take animals that have been abandoned by the family for any reason (rejection, poaching, etc.) and let them grow up here where they are taught elephant-stuff before releasing them when they have become adults. They said if an animal has been released and afterwards gets injured or has a calf that is sick they remember the place and return to be taken care of, after which they leave again.  Because of this they have a very high survival rate of released animals.

On the way back to the vehicle the G coordinator (who had joined me in) pointed out an enclosure several high fences in; there was one of “their” rhinos. Apparently they have two; one is completely blind and therefore can’t survive in the wild (which was the one I saw) and another that comes and goes as it pleases (which wasn’t there at the time).

So basically within 5 hours of arriving I have already seen 2 of the big 5 – though some might call it cheating due to the circumstances, which I might be inclined to agree with.

Back at the hotel I had lunch and the afternoon was spent of having a much needed shower from the flight and otherwise coping with me not sleeping on the plane. Luckily they have decent wireless so time was relatively easy killed.

At 1800 there was the usual meet-and-great with the guide and the rest of the group. One would be arriving on a later flight which left me alone with the guide, Patsie. Yup – the first part of the trip, in Kenya, will be a small group. It’s off-season so we shouldn’t expect to see many other tourists in the park. Suddenly it feels a bit more exclusive.

The trip consists of two separate trips; one for the part in Kenya and a second for the part where we go to and drive around in Tanzania. Coming back to Nairobi from Masai Mara we will be picked up by our next guide and meet with the rest of the group when we arrive in Tanzania. On arrival we will also have a meeting there similar to the one here – it will be interesting to see how big that group turns out to be.

Anyway; departure tomorrow morning at 0730 and a long drive to the park; with the recent showers and heavy traffic there is no knowing the state of the roads where we are going.

On my previous trip was, as I mentioned, the purchase of my buff. This trip was something a bit different; I had considered it for some time due to the many long flights but never gotten around to it due to the relatively high price. But making the decision a couple of days before departure I went and bought a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. Sitting in the plane and listening to the constant engine noise it was amazing turning on the headphones and turning the noise into a faint hum. Voices were greatly muffled and a baby crying behind me sounded as if it was far away. What an amazing product.

The young elephants learn how to cover themselves in dust.

Being fed is the best time of the day!

Small fella just enjoying himself.

Their rhino trying to sneak a peak.

A new confirmation

I do not believe that it has gone past anyone’s attention that my trips have been revolving around either wildlife watching or mountain climbing/trekking. Having worked out so well for me until now there is no reason for changing that for now. I have actually for some time now had the new destination relatively high on my wish list, mainly (well, solely) due to the potential for unique wildlife, especially the local primate population.

So next up: Borneo.

If everything goes as intended, I will be meeting up with Elaine with whom I have been travelling together with before in Nepal and Romania.

17^th – 18^th of July

Flight from Copenhagen, via Singapore, to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia located in the northern part of Borneo. This part (state) of Malaysia is called Sabah.

19^th – 21^st of July

Bonus climb! We will be starting out with climbing Mt. Kinabalu, the tallest point between the Himalayas and New Guinea. We will be taking the bus to the base of the mountain before spending the next couple of days ascending and descending. We start at 1866m, the night spent on the mountain is in a hut at around 3272m and the summit is at 4095m. While you should never underestimate a mountain no matter how small, I expect this to be a relaxing climb as opposed to some of my previous endeavours.

22^nd – 23^rd of July

From Mt. Kinabalu we will be transferred to Kinabatangan River, the longest river in Sabah. The river cuts through the jungle so time will be spent on doing walks along trails and travelling by boat, looking at the varied wildlife. With any luck elephants, wild boars, otters and orangutans can be spotted.

24^th of July

From the river we will drive to Sepilok Orangutan Centre where it’s possible to see the famed primate up close. Apart from the orangutans there will be a plethora of other wildlife, too, including macaques.

25^th of July

Today we will sail to Selingan Turtle Island Park where we will have free time for to explore, snorkel or just relax throughout the day. As the name implies there is a fairly large population of turtles on the island, and if possible we will see rangers handling hatched baby turtles and maybe even releasing them into the open sea.

26^th of July

Transfer back to Kota Kinabalu by flight and spending the remainder of the day on exploring the city.

27^th – 28^th of July

Going back home, same route as before.