Safari in Tanzania

 

Mara River crossing. The number of animals was mind-boggling

 

As I was going through the pictures for this post, it occurred me that it will be more like a boring vacation slideshow than most of our posts (which are already pretty close). Not only are there a lot of pictures--because I had a hard time choosing, but who hasn't seen almost the same stuff in the zoo or when watching a nature documentary?

 

Two male lions in the Northern Serengeti (there were three males in this group)

So, I'm sorry if all these pictures seem a touch familiar. But much like the Grand Canyon, Eluru, and any full moon, some things are just much more impressive in person (and in blog posts, obviously). And nature and wildlife is our favorite.

African blood lilies

Here's a shot of our safari car in the Northern Serengeti. Note the low sides and lack of windows. If anything wanted to eat us, we would be easy pickings. Fortunately, the lions and other animals don't seem to see the people inside the vehicles as separate. Our guide said that they do sometimes jump on the hood or roof to get a better view of their prey.

Matt and I were in Tanzania in 2004, so we had been on safari here before. But this trip offered lots of new experiences: several river crossings with hordes of wildebeest and zebra, many more babies of every type, leopards galore, and kills. On our last trip (and this one too), we pretty much wouldn't shut up about wanting to see a kill. If you believe every guide we have ever talked to, it is very rare to see a hunt that results in a kill. So we felt very lucky this trip to see four (3 croc v wildebeest and one cheetah v. gazelle*).

The first set of lions we saw eating in Ngorongoro Crater. We missed this kill by a few hours but got a great view of the big pride eating their fill.

The jackals got their share.

The hyena also got his.

We saw three wildebeest babies taken by crocodiles during one of the river crossings. As one of our guides said, 'Wildebeest are not clever.' They took forever to work up the herd mentality to actually start crossing the river. But once they started, they kept crossing, even as their young were being taken out. It was fascinating, but after getting to know the wildebeest we felt kind of bad for them. When you've seen them nursing, playing and even chasing a butterfly around a field, it's hard not to become fond of the strange-looking creatures.

Wildebeest speeding across the river

Their nemesis: the crocodile

A crocodile surveying the all-you-can-eat buffet

Lots of splashing but no blood as the crocodile drowns its prey and shoves it underneath a rock

Just so you don't think we were just out for blood the whole time, here are a few other pictures of the wildlife. Tanzania does an incredible job of protecting its wildlife and the result is an unrivaled number of animals.

This is big excitement in lion watching. 2 of them actually have their heads up and AREN'T sleeping.

Baby water buck

Warthogs actually have warts (OK, not really--it's just mud)

Impala

Baby leopards

Kingfisher

Lion love

Baby cheetah and mom

Love the hippos

Hungry, hungry hippo

There were just so many animals

The fourth and final kill may need an asterisk, because a local bus pulled in front of us just as the kill happened. It was all the more annoying because half the bus's occupants were looking at us tourists and not the cheetah killing the gazelle, probably wondering what we were so annoyed about.

Locked and loaded

The kill (happening behind this *&%#! bus)

Gotcha--the gazelle was still wriggling

By the time of our visit, towards the end of the safari season, the predators were pretty well-fed. The lions and crocodiles were living the life but still didn't really make a dent in the huge prey populations. We were very fortunate to be able to see everything we saw. It was worth the 9-hour bus ride from Tanga to Arusha (and back) and do the kids really need to go to college anyway?

Seychelles to Tanzania

 

Our six-day passage from the Seychelles to Tanzania was bumpy and fast. The confused seas made most of the passage uncomfortable, punctuated too often by the big bangs of the waves slamming against Perry's underside. So we were very happy to see Zanzibar (birthplace of Freddie Mercury) on the horizon, even as we put another reef in the mainsail ahead of an imminent squall.

The local dhows are strangely fast

The anchorage off Stone Town was far from flat but was a welcome relief after the rough passage. After tossing away the partially desiccated baker's dozen of flying fish and the baby squid that had collected on our trampolines, we prepared to head to shore. We dragged the dinghy all the way up the beach (the three-plus meter tides were good motivation to fix our busted dinghy wheel--more on that later) and started the process of checking into the country and getting a SIM card.

 

Stone Town's doors are a point of pride

 

Stone Town is one of the handful of places that we had previously had the pleasure of visiting to while living on land. Usually, when returning to a location, it's been over fifteen years and some of the places are almost unrecognizable. The focus of our last visit to Tanzania 17 years ago was climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and going on safari. We had only stopped in Stone Town for a couple days (during Ramadan). This visit, we had time to more fully explore the narrow, ancient streets of what seems like a really big maze (and we are not the smartest rats). We would see the same landmarks over and over but have no real sense of how we got there until the third day or so.

 

St. Joseph's Cathedral

The number of locals trying to sell spices, knick-knacks or tours way outstrips the tourists, so by the end of a walk we ended up feeling a bit drained with all the 'No thank you's'. But the friendliness of Tanzanians is real even when not trying to sell you anything. As Matt replaced the axle and fixed the flat tire on our dingy wheel, a crowd of men gathered to 'help'. They meant well but ended up mostly being a distraction. For no apparent reason, one gentleman picked up a hammer from Matt's bag of tools and randomly started pounding on the axle until Matt asked him to stop.

A view of the maze from above

 

But without the help of some of the locals, we would have had a hell of a time getting a SIM card or finding the machine shop that helped us with the stubborn dinghy wheel. Google maps doesn't have an icon for "the guy on the corner selling possibly-preowned SIM cards to a non-local" or "the dude near the school who fixes bike flats for the kids".

Tanzania is much more affordable for us than the Seychelles and we have been able to enjoy eating out again. We were able to visit the Forodhani Gardens night market, which we missed the last time around because we enjoyed a fancy rooftop dinner and show. Street food is one of our favorite things and the eclectic mix of cultures and flavors makes this one of the best eating experiences we have had in awhile.

We're now in Tanga, near the northern limit of Tanzania, saying goodbye to some of our cruiser friends (who we hope to see again in South Africa) and getting ready for a safari.

Cruising the Seychelles

 

Baie Georgette - Our view after a long hike from Anse Lazio

Most of our time in the Seychelles has been spent on the main island of Mahé. These last few weeks we were finally able to get over to the other two 'big' islands: Praslin and La Digue.

Anse Lazio (in Baie Chevalier on Praslin)

Our sail to Baie Chevalier on Praslin took about 8 hours rather than the normal 4 hours because the normally ever-present wind had died for the day. We knew this but were eager to escape the waters near Eden Marina. So we hiked up our spinnaker and sailed verrrry slowly.

The view from 'Zimbabwe' (the local nickname for Grand Fond on Praslin)

It was nice to get back to what we think of as cruising, which involves anchoring in less crowded areas where we can explore (and fix the boat as needed). Praslin and La Digue, although chock full of tourists, did not disappoint. We found beaches with interesting surf and soft, white sand. There were stunning views and tortoises. We were again grateful to be able to spend the time to enjoy all this at a leisurely pace.

On the 'no this isn't just a permanent vacation' front, we're still doing school, laundry in a bucket and boat maintenance. Matt had to replace a seal in one of our water-maker pumps, re-bedded a trampoline eye-bolt, installed some of the boat parts I brought back with me, and has been chasing down the air that keeps building up in the port engine fuel lines (which makes itself known by shutting down the engine at inconvenient times).

We love the rocks in the Seychelles

Mark and Conrad have been enjoying the surf at Anse Lazio. It has made landing the dinghy a bit challenging at times and we did get a face full of water once. But at least we didn't suffer the fate of a recent charter boat passenger who had to be rushed to the hospital after the dinghy he was in flipped. The outboard engine prop sliced him open in a few places, but we heard that he was mostly okay after a number of stitches.

Ile Curieuse: This reminded us of Angkor Wat

Ile Curieuse is filled with tortoises

Up close and personal with a Coco de Mer nut

 

We only spent a couple nights at La Digue because the anchorage was rolly and uncomfortable (and there was no room to tie up inside the harbor). However, we were able to rent bicycles and see most of the island. We spent a long but fun day biking around the island, doing a walk from one beach to a couple others, and stopping for lunch at the first restaurant we have been to since the Maldives.

La Digue was as great as everyone said. It is a sleepier version of Mahé. The mostly car-less roads allowed us to re-hone our bike skills without being run over, though some of the hills were a challenge for our sea-level legs. Also, it's a good thing Matt used to spend his college summers fixing bikes because we had a couple of technical glitches with the rental bikes. Tourists with busted bikes must be a common sight around the island.

Local 'speed bump'

Where else can you find a tortoise in the middle of the road? Tortoises are not quite as common as pigeons in the Seychelles but there certainly is no shortage of the shelled reptiles. We hadn't been particularly afraid of them even though they come right up to you to look for food. But then we read about this apparently carnivorous tortoise.

Mark skirting a road tortoise - it takes a steady hand

We continue to be impressed by the friendliness of the Seychellois people and the beauty of the country. The cool nights and relative lack of mosquitos are a bonus too.

More rocks, this time on La Digue

Making the kids walk from one beach to see another beach

Green flash count: 1 (Matt, allegedly)

Around Seychelles

View of our anchorage at Praslin Island

This is a bit of a catch-up post, since it's been awhile (I was in the States for about a month visiting family).

 We made it to Praslin, which is one of the other "main" islands that we are allowed to go to in the Seychelles (there's a quirky mix of private/public/ and marine national park islands here, so you need to to do your research or else you can get turned away or hit with a pretty hefty visitor fee). It's nice to have clearer water after the Eden Island anchorage, which has very 'nutrient rich' (aka 'poopy') waters.

Little Big Ben is the best-known landmark in Victoria, the Capitol

 

And we escaped the long-stay inducing, flat water of Eden just in time, too. Perry's bottom needs a good scrubbing and it was time to make water again.

Jen on Longreach made these festive cupcakes. And she's an Aussie!

 

We had a July 4 celebration hosted on Perry with several other boats in the anchorage: Americans, Brits ('oppressors'), and Australians ('fellow oppressed'). Andrew on Sonrisa organized everything and everyone contributed. We had all the fixings: burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon, and salads and desserts. It was a fun time with friends and, as with all the best celebrations, everyone ate and drank too much.

Sauzier Waterfall

Before I left, we took a drive around Mahé (the main island) where we have spent most of our time in the Seychelles. Sauzier waterfall in Port Glaud is one of the sights that you need a car to reach.

While I was away, Matt did fun things like remove the generator injectors to have them serviced. Of course, things like that never go very smoothly and it took a couple days of effort to extract one stubborn injector. In the end, Matt prevailed and we now have a much cleaner-running generator. There was also a fuel selector valve that allowed air in the line and caused the port engine to die when Matt and the kids took Perry out to make water.  Oh, and the kitchen faucet that sprung a leak and was letting out our precious fresh water. The fun never stops around here.

There are more rainbows here than anywhere we've been. Which is just another way of saying that constant sprinkles (no, not the good cupcake kind) are a way of life here.

 

We visited SMAC Adventures for a really fun zip-lining outing. Rather than just one or two lines, you follow a progression of eight (I think?--I lost count!) lines down the hill. 'Coming in hot' might be one of their taglines and it was a little disconcerting at first because it wasn't clear what was going to stop you at the end of the line. Fortunately, they were well-designed to slow you down at the right time (helped at times by the crew creating friction by vigorously pulling the line up and down--I hope your arm isn't getting tired, dude).

Conrad of the jungle.

Does this harness make my butt look big?

Fun with used rubber gloves. He could not fit it over his head.

After Praslin, we will head over to La Digue. There are almost no cars on the island and everyone rides bikes everywhere. Everyone keeps telling us that we will love it, which is making me a little afraid that it won't live up to our expectations. There are benefits and drawbacks to visiting places where so many of your friends and other cruisers have already been.

In the meantime, we are cleaning the science-project of a boat bottom. It's been over 3 months since it was last done properly. The growth comes off relatively easily but was definitely slowing us down (our trip to Praslin averaged only 3 knots with the spinnaker, mostly because of the lack of wind, but our dirty bottom certainly didn't help). Our days right now are all cold water (80 degrees is cold for us), bitey shrimp, and complaining. But there's a nice beach and clean water at the other end of the rainbow (which means it's raining again... gotta run and close the hatches).