The Explorer Newsletter June-October 2010

Migration location:End of Green season Although the rains have lessened, we are still enjoying relatively green grassy plains and an abundance of splintered sub groups of Wildebeest, loath to leave the relative sanctuary of the Alamana Reserve.

Yesterday as we 'ran with the gazelles' from Ngorongoro to the Alamana, the plains were still dotted with the last remaining herds, rear marking the main groups that have already headed towards the central Serengeti at the start of their cyclic journey.

For those that have not been privileged to make this journey across the rolling Serengeti plains-off track and unrestricted-it is one of the most beautiful drives we make. Thomson gazelles condition themselves as our vehicles lope from vista to vista, unfolding the magnificence of the endless Serengeti. During the full day spent exploring this area of the short grass plains, we came across not one other vehicle! Our picnic lunch, under an acacia tree afforded views out towards Oldonyo Lengai, with Giraffe, Eland and Wildebeest moving across our view and the late afternoon sun, at the end of our day, highlighted the beauty of the Alamana.

The crew mentioned that the main herds of wildebeest resident in The Alamana Reserve all season, had moved off and that few head remained, however, next morning as I woke to lion calling, there was an underlying white noise of stampeding hooves and bleating, which could only be large numbers of wildebeest. Unprepared for the colossal numbers surrounding camp; we game drove amongst back-to-back wildebeest and their young for over 4 hours!

Our next camp in the central Serengeti is highlighted as prime location for witnessing this wildlife spectacle at this time of year-but with the Alamana freedom to drive where ever and the exclusivity of being the only guests in over 300 square kilometers, there seems little the Serengeti can offer at this point in terms of migrating herds!

Please click on this link for more information on the Alamana Reserve-Exclusive to Wildlife Explorer:

http://www.wildlife-explorer.com/pages/destinations/alamana.php

Migration location:End of Dry season
Crossing backwards and forwards on the Mara River bordering Tanzania and Kenya. As ever at this time of year our Luxury Mobile Tented Camp heads to the north of the Serengeti National Park to witness the Great Migration as it waits impatiently for the rains to start on the short grass plains of the central Serengeti. This year Kenya had unseasonal rains that kept elements of the Migration across the border, however large concentrations remained on the Tanzanian side reluctant to make the river crossing into the Masai Mara, keeping the prides of hungry Lions fed as the herds meandered backwards and forwards foraging for ever diminishing grasses.

Looking from a birds eye view, a lush green expanse of newly greened grassland around the Little Governors area provided enough good grazing for thousands and thousands of Wildebeest and Zebra, whilst to the south, across the border close to our mobile camp, the grasslands teemed with the remaining mass of hundreds of thousands of herd animals.

Whether in Tanzania at this time of year, or across the border in the Mara, the end of the dry season is an amazing time to witness the true extent, excitement and predator/prey relationship occurring on the plains of East Africa. Please click on this link for more information on the Luxury Mobile Tented Camps-Exclusive to Wildlife Explorer:

http://www.wildlife-explorer.com/pages/camps/mobile.php

255 Uncharted
A couple of years ago, I had a request to look into putting an Egypt trip together. Having visited this country a couple of times and being fascinated by the history of ancient Egypt, the idea kindled away for some time before I could get reliable recommendations for a suitable adventure.

September and October 2011 see the first safari into Egypt for a small group of fellow adventurers.

The Pharoic Period is dated from around 3150 BC, when Lower and Upper Egypt became a unified state and it is this period in Ancient Egyptian history that I have concentrated on for the first 'Uncharted' Egyptian safari. Knowing full well that Egypt is renowned for potentially being a difficult country to journey in, I kept the change of locations to a minimum but with maximum access to the most important sites.

The First Residence in Cairo-a Four Seasons hotel gives luxurious accommodations and easy access to the Pyramids, Citadel and museums plus the Khan-el-Khalil bazaar, accompanied by a private guide.

Exploration along the Nile River is from the comfort of a converted steam ship built for the Egyptian Royal Navy in 1918 but subsequently bought by King Farouk as a private Nile cruiser. Some 63 metres in length the ship has been restored as a 5 star vessel comprising 24 passenger cabins, 8 of which are suites-we have reserved all 8 suites for our use. Luxor, the Valley of the Kings, Kom Ombo and Abu Simbel are all included during this Nile adventure. Please click on the link below for dates and further information:

http://www.wildlife-explorer.com/pages/wexp/255uncharted.php

Community and education
As many of you know, I seldom guide small groups, preferring the camaraderie and game viewing possibilities associated with a 2 or 3 vehicle safari. However, when Antoinette and Shawn Addison decided to fund the building of a new classroom and the purchase of much needed schoolbooks for the Arash Masai School I quickly offered to help with the transport arrangements.

Antoinette mentioned in one e.mail that they would also be up for a little adventure delivering the supplies and wouldn't mind me deciding on the route less travelled to get there-a potentially dangerous decision given my sense of humour and love of off the beaten track road systems!

During our last adventure together trekking for Gorillas in Rwanda, Shawn and Antoinette both showed an interest in more hiking and so Oldonyoi Lengai was also added into the itinerary.

Having loaded up with textbooks we headed into Tarangire National Park for a short elephant encounter, which did not disappoint. Rather than open up our seasonal Osunyai Wilderness Camp, we stayed with our good friends Jon and Annette Simonson at the Tarangire Safari Lodge. The tented lodge overlooks the Tarangire River and is a wonderful location for game viewing in the north of this still seldom visited national park. During our afternoon drive, we witnessed mating leopards as mentioned in the previous newsletter and more cow calf elephant groups and bulls than we could shake a stick at.

Eager to get on with our journey, we set off the next morning to drive on a seldom-used mud track that skirts along the southern end of Lake Manyara national park and then ascends the Rift Valley to the Mbulu escarpment and the town of Karatu. Few vehicles use this road and almost zero tourism, which was the basis for my choice of route to get from Tarangire to the Plantation Lodge where hopefully we would be spending the night.

The journey started well along the newly graded main artery that is being constructed between Arusha and the capital city of Dodoma, however, as soon as we turned off onto the small track, water crossings became more frequent, parts of the road were washed away and the going slowed considerably.

Shawn is an American six and a half foot plus giant whilst Antoinette is a petite French belle. Teamed together they have tandem cycled across the United States twice and competed successfully-all be it incongruously on many other cycling events both in the USA and abroad. Picture a tandem with a giant and a pea and you start to get an idea of this pair!

Rivers forded, villages negotiated we started to climb out of the swamp lands and up towards the Mbulu highlands, with vistas as great as any route we normally travel along. At one point, the road eroded away necessitating some major road works if we were to pass. Pictures included of the French road building team in fine fettle!

Fresh avocado purchased from a small girl on the side of the road and a cold beer after we cruised through Mbulu was part of our lunch before arriving at the Plantation Lodge for afternoon tea. I had hoped that this route could be included on my other safaris, but until the repairs are made to the damaged sections of road we will have to wait before subjecting other guests to the 'adventure' this route lends.

The remainder of the safari to deliver the educational supplies involved aborted routes through the Ngorongoro Highlands, stormy weather and subjecting Antoinette to an awful lot of teasing!

But back to the main reason this safari took place.

Both Shawn and Antoinette were touched by the learning in adversity that many Tanzanian children have no respite from. Aided by Lois Blalock from the Hodari Foundation and my main man-Godfrey Mbise, the delivery of school supplies marked a significant improvement to the children of the Arash community-evident by the smiles of the students in the attached photos. In addition to the above, Lois suggested that they pay a visit to a small community between Arusha and Longido that had a very rudimentary educational structure, which perhaps could be an alternative focus for development in the future. Immediately, Shawn and Antoinette's generosity kicked in as they agreed to fund the building of a classroom.

Click on the link below to see what Wildlife Explorer, the Hodari Foundation and our guests can achieve, with direct involvement in educational scholarships for communities

http://www.wildlife-explorer.com/pages/wexp/community.php

News from Kellybeare and the bush:
Well………….. après Easter and the Icelandic volcano sure messed things up! Easter with the family was fantastic, lots of shared experiences, great diving, sailing and water skiing from the house at Pembe Abwe, as well as fun times with Hannah and Zac at their camp and in Tarangire National Park.

Starting the online check-in process, British Airways and KLM both reported cancelled flights with no news of re-booking possibilities or a likely solution to the delays, which affected the whole of northern Europe!

It took 5 days before either of the airlines answered their telephones, which for a control freak like me was frustrating to say the least, regardless of how tied the hands of the airlines were. There had to have been a better solution? Luckily our good friend Sally Blackwell who runs Terminal 5 at Heathrow was able to lend some insight and keep us up to date with progress, whilst Richard and Janice here in Arusha graciously opened their home to the Strand 'hourd'! At least we were not stuck in an airport.

Unfortunately, the delays resulted in my usual marketing and riding trip to the USA being delayed and perhaps more importantly, extremely reduced time back at Kellybeare. After 3 months away from the family I was looking forward to the short break at home which was not to be.

The quick turnaround through the UK and flight to San Francisco came all too quickly, however as soon as I parked the rental car at Jackson Camp, saddled my horse and returned to the comfort of my western saddle, the stress just peeled away!

Rancheros Visitadores is an organisation that I have been privileged to belong to now for the past 8 years, having initially been invited on to this historic ride as a directors guest and subsequently invited to the rite of passage as a Maverick in 2004. The organisation has a lot of lore attached to it and not a small amount of untoward press, however a finer group of people you will not find, all bonded by a common interest in horsemanship and the great outdoors.

The link below is a short vignette of this years opening blessing of the ride at the Santa Ynez Mission:

http://www.youtube.com/user/troubatour

With warm wishes, Gary & Jo and all of us at Wildlife Explorer.

Next Newsletter:Oldonyoi Lengai-the climb from hell!, News from the Bush and change of location for Osunyai