|
|
|
Picture Gallery (oldies) |
January 19, 2001 BATELEUR 2001 SAFARI NEWSLETTER FROM MICHAEL Dear Friends, Happy New Year and greetings. All is well here at home in Kenya and we are enjoying some brilliant sunny weather at the moment. We had some good rains a week ago due to a passing cyclone in Madagascar. Northern Tanzania has also had good rains. This is good news for the start of my year when I shall be spending some time in Serengeti. Quality of game viewing and predicting good safari itineraries is so dependant on weather patterns. Everywhere in our world places have their seasonal highlights. The rain in Serengeti will bring the wildebeest herds out onto the short grass plains and with that everything else! Last years safaris were all special for me and after enjoying them so much they run together. Fortunately because of a little addiction to photography the memories come flooding back when looking over my picture albums. My first trip of 2000 started in Western Serengeti. Travelling with Jeremy Porter and his family we left the Mara passing round Lake Victoria to Speke’s bay and entering Serengeti at Ndabaka. Rains had been light and the plains were mostly dry, but the Grumeti river with its giant crocodiles and schools of hippos were more concentrated than ever. The massing wildebeest herds we did not find and judged they were in the difficult to see woodland areas. Around the marshes and springs of the Ndutu area we did have some interesting sightings. We found some grand male lion and elephant specimens around Lake Masek. We explored much of the Olduvai Gorge depression and found some further unknown springs. In spite of the dryness in the area the situation was interesting to see and proved to me this place can be good anytime of year! A few weeks later I was back in Serengeti with Lee and Michelle Newman and friends.
This time our itinerary started from Amboseli going via Manyarra, Ngorongoro, Serengeti,
and the Mara. I like this route particularly In April I enjoyed a safari with Daryl Balfour and his group. In Samburu country we concentrated on photographing some northern species found in this area. Reticulated giraffe, Grevy zebra, Beisa oryx, elephant, Somali ostrich and gerenuck were plentiful. Later while in the Mara we happened on an age-old conflict. On a game drive we accidentally found two dead cows on the plains. One dead animal had a Maasai blanket covering it and the other lying out under the sun. We make tracks to leave this unexplained situation and immediately encountered a male black mained lion crouched nearby. Even more confused we examined the situation a little more carefully. We spot some movement under the smallest of shrubs next to the uncovered dead cow. Two young Maasai warriors no more than sixteen years old each armed with spears and swords were waiting for their ambush! Eventually they were intimidated by our presence and reluctantly left. The lion moved in and gorged himself on his kills. On another part of this trip we were back in Serengeti and took an evening drive around Lake Masek. Across the lake a herd of some hundred wildebeest were massing. We positioned ourselves to view the crossing and they started to swim. The first dozen made the crossing but were exhausted and a lioness suddenly appeared and easily pulled down one of them. The wildebeest scattered except for those still attempting the crossing. The sight of the lioness on the shoreline created panic amongst the swimmers and they started to drown like flies. I personally counted eighty dead wildebeest. In July I had the pleasure of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with Bill Brown and his family. We started our ascent on the Rongai route near Amboseli where we had camped for a few days previously. Once we were into the moorlands the weather was beautiful and sunny. An extra night was spent at tarn hut, a spectacular place beside Mt. Mawenzi. Here we spotted the relatively rare bearded vulture soaring around the peaks. The trail up to Gilliman’s point was as usual a crunch, but the views from Uhuru peak made up for it. The descent down via the Marangu route enabled us to see the other side of the mountain. During August old Africa hands George and Jean Perbix brought their large clan on a
great safari. We camped in three locations- Shaba, Mara, and Tsavo. All places turned up
trumps. Our experiences in Tsavo were particularly well rewarded. We had wonderful
sightings of large herds of elephant and buffalo. A pride of As the weather got drier through September safari experiences and sightings seemed to
get better. In the Mara with Dennis Behrens and his groups we had some very special
encounters. Two black rhinos on the plains one The bird shooting around Amboseli area got better. Being so dry there was very limited vegetation and patchy cover making the hunting ever more productive. Each year our Maasai guides and helpers get better at finding and rounding up the birds for us. Apart from the Amboseli location I enjoyed a very good shoot in Samburu district. Hunting along the Ewaso Nyiro River for Vulturine Guinea fowl and yellow neck was a nice change. Many times we came onto elephant while we were hunting on foot. Later on this bird shoot we visited an even more exotic location in the Chalbi desert. Here there are some remote springs that attract fantastic concentrations of sandgrouse. Bag limits were easily reached by all in some twenty-five minutes. The rest of the time we enjoyed seeing the different culture of pastoral camel raising people living in the area. December was a quiet month during which I spent much time in Malindi enjoying super beaches and deep-sea fishing. For now am looking forward to getting out again. Wishing everyone all the best. Michael Cheffings |
because
one is in almost continuous game country and you never backtrack. Manyara National Park
rewarded us well with tree climbing lions and super views of elephant and giraffe along
the lakeshore. In Serengeti the rain had been patchy and consequently the wildebeest were
in the green areas. On one of our drives we found poachers snares laid around a waterhole.
Too far from any official help we decided to take action ourselves and enjoyed tearing
them out and disposing of evidence in Lake Victoria. Later in the Mara reserve we
witnessed some rather special cheetah action. We had been watching the cat patrolling the
plains from some distance away while sitting on our vehicle roof tops and under a lonely
acacia tree enjoying coffee and biscuits. As if rehearsed and paid to do so the cheetah
ran down a Thompson’s gazelle nearby. She joined us with her little snack under the
tree as well.
fifteen lions improved our cat
score nicely. The children spent many hours riding the roof hatches and generally enjoying
the freedom and space that this extensive wilderness has to offer.
day,
two lion kills at a wildebeest river crossing, and spectacular concentrations of the
migration. With Daryl Balfour and the Ullman's we witnessed the best zebra and wildebeest
crossings on the Mara River that I have experienced. Then a lucky find of a mother leopard
and cub up an acacia tree.