Monthly Archives: January 2019

Traversing the Great Ruaha

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On our third day in Ruaha we decided drive along the Great Ruaha river. From our Mwagusi river camp it took us about 45 minutes to get down to the Great Ruaha river travelling through diverse landscapes.

“Make the rest of your life the best of your life.”~ Unknown

Driving down to the Great Ruaha river along the Mwagusi we found a pair of leopard cubs we had seen two days before. The smallest cub was the most cautious and was still high up in a tree, obviously a busy night before.

“The beauty of Ruaha lies in its vast and unspoilt wilderness. It is natural and wild, the way it should be. It fills your senses so you feel alive. ~ Mike Haworth

First light down near the Great Ruaha river. A female giraffe and her calf were quietly going about their business. They were still very wary of all the sights and sounds around them from the night before, a time when they could lose their advantage.

As you will see in the Maasai Mara and Serengeti, the balloons are busy first thing in the morning. Those wanting to go ballooning needed to get up around 4h30 to get transport to a suitable launch site. The cool temperatures early in the morning provide the perfect temperature differential to get the balloons easily airborne. They normally fly for about an hour and a half before the ground temperatures rise and it gets too hot.

In the early morning it is easy to discern where the balloons are, even if you cannot see them because their burners make a loud roaring sound, unmistakable in the bush! Once they are fired up and the balloon is rising, all is quiet. In the very early morning, the burners create a glow inside the balloon which lights up, creating another worldly sight.

Once down and adventuring along the Great Ruaha river we were looking for a pride of four lionesses which we heard had cubs. When we found them, the lions were out in the open and clearly very hungry. A few impala wandered past on the far sand bank which created some excitement because we thought a hunt was about to begin, but the opportunity evaporated. As soon as lionesses saw their potential prey they went into stealth mode, but the impala never came close enough for a successful attack.

While the lion hunt was unfolding we were visited by a pair of spur-winged lapwings. Red eyes, but wide awake!

This image of one of the four lionesses showed the muscular strength in her legs.

Our wanderings were always eclectic. One minute we were watching lions, the next minute we heard squawks from a nearby tree and there was a juvenile grey kestrel calling for attention and food.

Wildlife seem, better than humans, to understand the need for their offspring to learn to fend for themselves. They progressively wean them off the support, and they teach them all they need to know until they are fully functioning – natural wisdom and respect for the next generation!!!

A panorama of the Great Ruaha river from close to the picnic site at the confluence of the Great Ruaha river and the Mwagusi rivers.

Part of the reason why the three lionesses above the bank were so interested as the small group of impala rams wandered by, was that a female was in the river bed, but could she not see the impala.

One of the aspects about lions which always impresses me is when the opportunity for a hunt is either missed or just disappeared, there never seems to be any recriminations. Instead they reinforce their bonds with each other by head rubbing and licking each other.

By the time we had moved on from the lionesses, it was late morning and starting to get hot and the light was bright with strong contrast. Time to switch gear to high key images. We found a small family herd of Plains zebra on their way down to the river to drink. I liked the baobabs in the background.

“Strip out the colour and see the tones and detail.”~ Mike Haworth

In Ruaha you really get a sense of space – feel you can breathe deeply!

Later that afternoon we found our lionesses again, few kilometres down river. They were still on the look out for a meal which made us wonder how the cubs were getting on. By this time it must have been at least a day since they last saw the cubs.

“Everyone is willing to eat but few are willing to hunt!”

A portrait of one of the lionesses in the fading light of the afternoon. She was lying on the top of the nearest bank of the Great Ruaha river.

For me I can see the strength and wisdom in her face. She is clearly very hungry but alert, patient and not wasting energy.

The evening skies were darkened by storm clouds. The temperature was still warm, so it was balmy. This is a wonderful time to be in the bush when all your senses are enlivened.

” There are no lines in nature, only areas of colour, one against another.”~ Edouard Manet

For a while we thought we were going to get wet, but the clouds dissipated, casting a mood over the landscape.

“I prefer living in colour.”~ David Hackney

By now it was getting dark and we needed to make our way back to camp which was still some distance away. When you are sitting in the game vehicle you almost have to pinch yourself because your are bathed in the beauty and light in this vast expanse.

When we got back to camp it was dark. After a quick freshen up we all gathered for dinner. This time it was in a different part of the river below the camp. The bonfire was blazing and the paraffin lamps were all around like fairy lights shining on the white river sand. Who said there wasn’t heaven on earth?

“The goal of life is to make your heart beat match the beat of of the universe, to match your nature with nature.”~ Joseph Campbell

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Wandering along the Mwagusi river

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This is the second post from our trip to Ruaha, Tanzania’s second largest National Park after Selous. It is located in the centre of Tanzania and is a photographic gem which is still not well known.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”~Mary Oliver

There are two main rivers flowing through Ruaha, the Great Ruaha river and the Mwagusi river. At this time of the year, mid-November, the Mwagusi river course, although dry, was a particularly beautiful and productive part of the park.

“Along the dry river bed the wildlife gathers seeking life giving water. Be careful not to slaunter. The scene is benign and picturesque but the situation deadly. For tawny killers lie in ambush camouflaged in the grass and sand.”~ Mike Haworth

It was early in the morning on our second day, and we were driving along the Mwagusi river which for most sections was just sand. Early in the morning it is still too cool for raptors to look for thermals to get elevation so they can search for productive hunting areas. This tawny eagle was perched quietly, patiently surveying the area from the bough of a large fallen tree. It was dead quiet, the colours soft and the scene serene.

A bough to change the perspective!!

We found many giraffe on our travels around the park. This mature male was enjoying himself foraging in the tree and his long tongue was grabbing all the most nutritious buds and leaves. Other than the overall size, the ossicones are what distinguishes the male and female from one another. The female giraffe has tufts of hair on the top of her horns, while the males are bald on top, mainly due to fighting. Some males develop calcium deposits on top of their heads, which creates the  illusion of the him having a third horn. The extra weight helps in the head bashing competitions.

The bush is full of surprises. Driving along the river’s edge we found this beehive in the fold of the trunk of a fig tree. You can see the layers of honeycomb. There intriguing realisation is that the wild is bountiful but everything comes at a price.

This pair of yellow baboons were “chilling” in a warm glow of the early morning sun. The lady of the house looked like she had had a busy night!

There is much bird life along the Mwagusi river even though the water was patchy. This little bee-eater was very busy hawking insects around 9h30 in the morning. Needless to say it was warm around 37 degrees centigrade.

Along the river is a bounty of Lala palms. The yellow baboons love playing on them and they serve as a quick escape route from most predators.

At the top of one of the Lala palms was a grey kestrel surveying the surrounding scene.

I like all birds but a have a penchant for raptors, born from my schooldays. We disturbed this grey kestrel which was perched on a palm frond. This kestrel is grey all over with yellow legs and feet and a yellow eye ring and cere.

We found several agamas, all red-headed rock agamas with their colourful bodies and red head displaying to nearby females.

Along the Mwagusi river we were expecting to see lions. Of course, usually the only time we see the lions doing anything is first thing in the morning or at dusk. We were not travelling around the park at night when they are most active. Needless to say this pride of females was lounging on the cool sand of the river bed when we found them. When I see them sleeping like this it makes me wonder what they were doing the night before?! It was only when a few giraffe came down to drink did they pay any attention to their surroundings. There is always one lioness awake and looking around while the others are resting.

These giraffe caught the lions’ attention but nothing came of it. Giraffe appear to be very deliberate animals. They actively use their height to assess their surroundings.

I liked the texture and colour contrast between this red-headed rock agama and the tree bark. Little gems in the bush!

A red-necked spurfowl rumaging around in the underground for nibbles.

A crested francolin rumaging in old elephant dung for seeds.

It was late afternoon and we found a big male leopard in a figtree sprawled out on a large horizontal bough. Not too far away in the same tree we saw this bush hyrax who put its head out of a hollowed out knot in the tree to see what was going on. Needless to say with a leopard close by this hyrax was not going anywhere.

The camp’s logo on the side of our game vehicle – impressive.

Back at camp, while we were downloading our images, we were visited by this collared palm-thrush.

Later that afternoon, further down the river we found several giraffe drinking at one of the few pools of open water. It is clear that the water table is not too far below the surface of the sand even this late in the dry season.

“Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.” ~Rabindranath Tagore

A simple scene crossing a broad sand river bed. Not so fast, there is nothing simple about it. There was a multitude of life. Elephants to the left and giraffe to the right. In front of us were a small group of Black faced sandgrouse. Along the edge of the water were hammerkops and sandpipers. And in the impressions in the sand, were printed all the tales of the night’s events.

In winter, the Tamboti tree gets red leaves so I was intrigued to see the Tamarind tree does the same at the end of the dry season.

For the life of me I can not remember the name of this tree which blossomed in late spring. It was a beautiful contrast to the surrounding area. Our guide, Justin told me the name but I cannot remember it.

One of the characteristics of Ruaha is its groves of baobab trees. This creates a magical environment for a myriad of wildlife.

One of the iconic images we were trying to get was a leopard lying in the fork of one of the branches of a baobab. We never found one but did find this male leopard in a well-leafed figtree.

“Whatever you do, look and be quiet. There is much to see. There is even more to understand.”~ Mike Haworth

A large adult male leopard lying comfortably sprawled out on the bough of a large figtree. He was in deep shade and high enough to catch any passing breeze to keep him cool. We spent around an hour waiting for him to come down which we knew he would do as the sun set.

Wildlife photography always has an element of chance in it. We were waiting for this male leopard to descend from the tree but it was getting darker and darker and our camera’s shutter speeds were falling despite pushing up our ISOs. Eventually it got to a point where we were not going to get a pin sharp image of this male if he moved. Sure enough as it was getting dark he got up and began to walk down the bough of the figtree. By now there was no option but to play with slow shutter speeds. We hoped he would descend the tree trunk on our side but he decided to go down the other side of the trunk. So is the way of wildlife photography!

“To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.” ~Henri Cartier-Bresson

That evening back at camp, we gathered down on the riverbed for dinner. The camp staff had created a bonfire and there were lamplights all around. It looked beautiful. The food was warmed on coals buried in the sand. The staff were so hospitable, the food was scrumptious and spiced with animated chatter about our days’ sightings. The evening was cool, the fire was crackling and there was a Scops owl serenading in the background – bliss!!

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Ruaha in isolated central Tanzania

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It must have been in 2014 that I saw the National Geographic wildlife video called Lion Battle Zone. This documentary focused on several different lion prides in Ruaha National Park in Tanzania. The lion-buffalo and lion-lion interaction caught my imagination. I was fascinated by the landscapes and scenery too. This became one of my want-to-go-to wild places.

” Jobs fill your pockets but adventures fill your soul.”~ Jaime Lyn

I told a number of people of my desire to go to Ruaha and what had spurred my imagination. Finally in 2018, Andrew Beck from Wild Eye put a trip together in November 2018 to spend seven days in Ruaha. This was a place with names like the Mwagusi river, the Great Ruaha river, the Njaa, Bushbuck and Baobab prides which caught my imagination. Reality can be much better than imagination in these situations.

After spending the night in Dar es Salaam (Dar) we took an almost two hour charter flight directly west of ‘Dar’ to Ruaha. This is the second largest National Park in Tanzania. It is much less travelled than Selous or Serengeti. For me this was one of its key attractions.

“Fill your life with adventures not things. Have stories to tell not things to show.”~Unknown

In 2017 there were an estimated just over 20,000 wild lions in 26 countries in Africa and their numbers were reported to be dropping precipitously. According to the Ruaha Carnivore project across the continent, Africa’s large carnivores are facing an uncertain future. Lions, cheetahs and African wild dogs have all disappeared from 80 – 90 percent of their original range. Both the lion and the cheetah are now classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, with as few as 23,000 and 10,000 individuals remaining in the wild respectively. While the African wild dogg is Endangered, with merely 6,600 estimated adults remaining.

Source: Safariline.net

Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park is a vital stronghold for these keystone species. The park holds over 10 percent of the world’s remaining lions, as well as the third largest population of African wild dogs. It is also home to one of just four large cheetah populations remaining in East Africa.

“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” ~Ernest Hemingway

We were fortunate to stay at the Mwagusi river camp. This was an authentic bush camp located on the banks of the Mwagusi river. The setting is idyllic and the camp is the perfect blend of isolated bush camp with superb food and wonderful hospitality. The next image is the view up the Mwagusi river from my banda. Mwagusi Camp’s rooms, known as bandas, are spacious tented rooms with a concrete floor encased within a large reed-and-thatch building – very comfortable way out in the bush.

In the area along the Mwagusi river close to camp there were groves of baobab trees. This for me was one of the iconic characteristics of Ruaha. In southern Africa we usually only see isolated baobabs, never large groves of them.

Although very dry, the landscapes and biomes were varied ranging from riverine forests, to groves of baobabs, to open grasslands like the Little Serengeti, to wide open rivers such as the Great Ruaha river. The Mwagusi river was lined with Sausage trees, Figtrees, IIala palms and Tamarind trees to name a few.

In our first afternoon in Ruaha we were fortunate to find two leopard cubs. One was very small and very shy and stayed deep in the bush around a small granite outcrop which made decent photography difficult. The second cub crossed the adjacent Mwagusi dry river bed and found a partially eaten bushbuck carcass.

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.”~Bill Bryson

The leopard cub was very wary and looked up at the slightest sound. The cub was feeding in a bed of dry autumnal coloured leaves which provided an interesting background.

We purposefully went to Ruaha in mid November which was the end of the dry season so that we would improve our chances of good predator sightings.

After spending an hour or so with the leopard cubs the light was fading so we made our way back toward camp. Our guide Justin told us that they had heard lions close to the camp the night before so there was a good chance we might find them resting close to camp along the river bed.

We found two adult females and one male in the twilight. The females were very affectionate toward one another. One was in season and the other not, so the male paid close attention to the female in season and rarely left her side.

“You know you are truly alive when you’re living among lions.”~Karen Blixen

This male was using the flehmen grimace where he stretched out his neck, curled back his upper lip exposing his front teeth drew the scent of his female across his Jacobson’s organ which is located above the roof of the mouth via a duct which exits just behind the front teeth.

The colour of the sky in the evening was sublime. In mid-November, the rain clouds were building for the big rains and everything in the bush was holding its breath for the onset of the rains after the dry season.

This was our introduction to Ruaha and our first afternoon in this wild place. So far it had met all my expectations and aligned with all my romantic notions of the the bush. It was going to be a good trip!

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.” T.E. Lawrence

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at is inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike