Kenya & Tanzania 2022

 

Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar

We spent much of September 2022 traveling to Kenya & Tanzania, including the island of Zanzibar. 

This is a photo of the Gang at Bong Rock. This site has been used for many centuries, first by Bantu, then by Maasai. The stone has a musical quality, brought out by hitting it with a stone. It was used for ceremonies and for communication to call the tribes together. 

Claire at a bead workshop. 

This is our first close-up sighting of a jackal. 

Rare sighting of a serval. 

ADA - another damn antelope. We saw several species of antelope in various locations--including Thompsons Gazelle, Grants Gazelle, Impala, Eland. 

Antelope just hanging out. 

Hidden behind the remains of this carcass is a jackal. 

We saw many of these tall boys roaming around. 

African buffalo milling about. 

This guy seemed interested in us. They are not even tempered, so we were glad he only looked. 

Eating. 

We constantly saw Maasai herding their cattle. This is their main currency--wealth is determined by how many cattle you own. 

Our digs at one of the camps. When the mosquito netting was close to the edge of the bed, it interfered with turning over and the nightly trips to the "happy room." Fortunately, we saw no mosquitos on the trip. 

Antelope at a gallop. 

A big guy crossing our path. Once, we had a mother stop and glare at us--a warning to keep our distance from the herd and the calves. 

We had trouble getting close to birds. I am not willing to carry a big telephoto camera, so I often have to settle for this. 

Gideon, our Trip Leader & Guide in the Maasai Mara. This includes the area of the Serengeti in Kenya. He informed us that he is looking for a second wife, at the request of his first. She is tired of too many chores. 

Fred, one of our local driver-guides. We loved this guy. 

Sauntering serval. 

The birds in Africa are numerous and amazing. But they don't like to pose for long unless you are far removed from them. 

A Kori bustard--no, that's not a typo. This is the largest flying bird in Africa. 

A lioness out for a stroll. 

Fires are deliberately set to burn off tall grass and allow for a new crop to come in. If the grass were permitted to grow untended, it would change the patterns or habits of preditor and prey, since tall grass obscures their view of the savanna. 

The fire has died down and preditors are seeking their pre-cooked meals.

A hyena--not currently laughing. 

Hippos doing what they do best. They do come out to forage at night, when it is cool. 

We never got to see a. ny crocodiles up close and personal. They often hang out with hippos. 

Another tall boy. 

A Toyota Land Cruiser against the setting sun. These seemed to be the vehicle of choice in Eastern Africa--probably they are cheaper than Land Rovers. 

Our balloon ride over the Maasai Mara. It was an extremely enjoyable, though expensive, experience--from loading up into a horizontal basket (for older folks like moi) to the slightly rough landing. The only disappointment was that it was difficult to really see the animals due to our altitude. The breakfast afterward was lovely--including mimosas, scrambled eggs and coffee. 

Leo at his lunch. We were fortunate to encounter this on our way to breakfast after our lovely balloon ride. 

Am I done yet? 

Mama, waiting her turn at lunch. 

A small herd making its way to water. 

Junior, following along. 

A highlight of the trip. These water filters are specially created to purify the water in rural Africa. An NGO provides these throughout the area. 

Dessert!

There are many lovely and or interesting trees in Africa. This is one. 

This is a termite mound--not a modern art project. The tall chimney is used to cool off the mound. These are found everywhere!

We spent a long time at this pool, watching the changes of animals. There were giraffe, zebra, elephants and baboon. 

More big guys. 

A baboon. We saw a number of these in our travels. As we were leaving the Serengeti, we stopped to process out at the gate. We left our Cruiser top open. The moment we stopped a baboon jumped up onto the roof bounced down to grab food from the floor of the cab and leaped back out again, almost before we knew what happened. Claire had the presence of mind to leap out and open a door to provide an exit for our intruder. Our guide keep advising us to remain calm. Once our baboon left, another one replaced him, navigating quickly to the front seat and grabbing food. This one climbed over Sarah and bumped into me on the way in. Fortunately, all we lost was our composure and a little food. Clearly, these guys are not afraid of people. What struck me most about this encounter, once the shock of the intrusion was over, was how fast they could move! When moving about on the ground, they are normally extremely slow. 

Ceiling detail. 

Sunset amidst the clouds. 

Outside our porch in the morning. 

Birds on the lake. This one comes and goes with the rain and the dry season. 

Same lake, sans birds. 

Ombeni, our fantastic Trip Leader, relaxing in an abandoned canoe. 

Sunset in Africa. 

Outside our porch in the twilight. 

Women weavers along the roadside. 

Our contribution of a water filter to a village woman. Our group had 6 of these to distribute along our way. 

Claire sharing her video of the performance of the village women. 

The roof joinery in the Maasai village. 

Dick being congratulated by a villager after helping to restore the outside of a hut with mud and dung. 

The Maasai chief grooving out to the village music. 

A surprise performance by the village. 

A jumping highlight!

More performing. 

Village scene. 

Claire in fashionable neckware. 

Claire, Em and Chris. 

Village women singing. 

Ululation.

 

Game sport copycats!

Claire displaying bracelet samples. 

Typical African art at a roadside shop. 

Wooden sculptures at the roadside workshop. 

Bird hanging out at lunch. I hope he manages during the non-tourist season. 

Colorful lizard. 

Where's the bird?

I can see him clearly now. 

Antelope. 

More hippos. They cause more human deaths than any other African animal. Bad dispositions and fearsome jaws. 

Jackal wandering along the savanna, hidden by the grass. 

One of very few rodents we saw on our trip. The other was on the wall of our tent in one of the camps. 

Flirting ostriches. We saw them preening on several occasions; each time the male finally walked away. Are they endangered as a species? 

Sarah. 

Di and Dick in a relaxing moment. 

Our gang. 

Di interacting with the locals. 

Kid entertaining the tourists while Mama cooks. 

Typical rural village. 

Some workers still use single or double cow-power. 

My gang at a school visit. They loved seeing videos on my phone. They wanted me to sing to them; then they returned the favor. 

Cheetas are so elegant!

Caracal dispatching a Thompsons gazelle. 

Bird. 

The gang at rest. 

Claire in the midst of helping prepare lunch on a home visit. We brought an inflatable beach ball for the children. Fortunately, we had a patch; they needed it after about 30 minutes of play time. 

Ombeni helping stir the thick polenta. This was very hard work. 

Our infinity pool looking at the sunset. 

Claire at the deck in Zanzibar, our respite before returning home. Zanzibar was once the foremost spice and slave market of East Africa. 

Chuck on the deck at the end of the day. 

Beach at Zanibar. 

The bar--a popular hangout at the end of each day. 

Zanzibar again. 

Rare close-up of bird. 

Even better. 

An elephant died of natural causes and 18 lions came to feast! 

Typical African mosquito trap. 

• One of the controversial topics we had regarded the albinos in Africa. There are efforts to help and protect them, but there are still problems. A local witch doctor may instruct a supplicant to provide a body part of an albino in order to complete his "treatment."
• Another controversial topic was FGM--Femail Genital Mutilation. In the village we visited, the second wife of the chief, herself a subject of FGM, has convinced the chief that her daughters need not undergo this treatment. He agrees, but declares that no Maasai man will marry such a woman. Presumably, this means that she will have to marry outside the tribe. Incidentally, Maasai men may have up to four wives. 
• We did get to see the red Colobus monkey, endemic to Zanzibar. 
• We did get to "see" The Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black rhinoceros. Unfortunately, the rhinos were so far away that we only spotted them with binoculars. 
• We did snorkel and lunch at an island off the coast of Zanzibar. Sadly, I missed lunch due to motion sickness from the trip out. 
• We were pleased that the Indian Ocean is so warm. We're used to 51-degree Pacific Ocean temperatures in Northern California. We were simply able to comfortably wade right into the Indian Ocean. 
• Interesting factoid: The Indian Ocean does not really mix with the Atlantic where the two meet. It seems the Indian Ocean salt content is significantly higher. Or so I am told...

Hasta la vista, baby!