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Archive for the ‘Nature’ Category

Hippo Invasion, Dave the Birder and Lunch

Posted in African Safari, Birds, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 9, 2011| 4 Comments »

 “You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you’re finished, you’ll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird .. So let’s look at the bird and see what it’s doing – that’s what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.” Richard P. Feynman

Hippos in the Mara River -- Photo by Pat Bean

African Safari: Busy Morning

Our morning game drive with Joseph started off with a lion chase, always exciting. While I’m not exactly blood thirsty, I was rooting for the lion. The gazelle won, however, and lived to run another day. I wasn’t all that disappointed actually.

We saw our first mongoose, and over 50 hippos in the Mara River, just up a bit from where we made daily crossings to and from our tent lodge. Just how close they were to our camp we would learn later that night when several hippos left the swamp and were wandering through the tent area.

Kim snapped a photo of Dave Richards and me at the end of our bird-watching lunch. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

We were required to stay in the main lodge area, where we saw one of the guards caring a large rifle. It would be only the second gun, and the last one we saw while in Africa. Our lodge hosts said the animals were allowed to come and go and we were simply warned to stay out of their way.

Lunch, after our morning game drive, was a real treat this day. And not because of the excellent food. On checking in I had learned that the lodge had an expert ornithologist on staff and that he was sometimes available for a guided bird tour.

Sadly he was all booked up during our stay, but he had agreed to have lunch with us this day.

My copy of Dave Richard's book.

He was Dave Richards, author of “A photographic Guide to Birds of East Africa.,” which of course I had bought at the lodge’s small gift shop and studied the night before. As promised, he joined us for lunch.

Dave was a small, gray-haired older man who quickly put us at ease. He had great charisma. At one time he had been a safari guide who specialized in birds. He said he tired of that because too many people just wanted to tick off birds.

As a number ticker on this trip, I later told Kim that long-time birders always seem to distain bird listers, but that’s always after they have their achieved their own lengthy lists. Besides, I said, there’s a difference between tickers who are only interested in seeing new birds, and true birders who also enjoy looking at the same birds over and over, even sparrows. I count myself among the latter.

In fact, at this point in our safari, I was as excited to recognize a bird I had seen earlier as I was to find a new one – well almost.

Ross' turaco -- Wikipedia photo

Meanwhile, our pleasant lunch was frequently interrupted as Dave would spot a special bird in the trees or swamp around us, and he and I would go off to look. Kim, who continued her lunch, snapped a few pictures of the two of us with our binoculars pointed up one tree or another.

Our luncheon bird sightings included white-faced whistling ducks, white-browed robin (which sat on a tree right next to our table), spectacled weaver, an da Ross’s turaco.

I had seen one of Richards’ photos of this latter bird in the gift shop earlier. They are truly a magnificent sight. Ours here at the lodge was way up in a tree and without Dave’s help I’m sure I would never have spotted it.

All in all it was one of the best lunches I’ve ever not eaten.

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Tiny Airports, Tents Again and Wart Hogs

Posted in African Safari, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 6, 2011| 3 Comments »

Above Photo: Masai Mara sunset, Wikipedia

How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof! In such places … it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make – leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone – we all dwell in a house of one room – the world with the firmament for its roof.” – John Muir

Me playing John Wayne in "Hatari" at the Ambolseli Air Strip. Also pictures is Jackson, a member of the Maasai tribe who was nearing the end of his five-year apprenticeship to be a guide. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

African Safari: Little Governor’s Lodge

After breakfast, Emanuel drove us the Amboseli Airport, a dirt landing strip with only a sign announcing its purpose, where we were to catch an 8:30 a.m. flight back to Nairobi’s small Wilson Airport.

In reminiscence of John Wayne in “Hatari,” I sat on the fender seat of the Land Rover and drank my coffee while we waited for the small plane to arrive. It was late.

The flight was a replay of the informal flight we had taken to Tanzania on our first full day in Africa, and was repeated again on the connecting flight we took from Nairobi on to the Masai Mara National Reserve, which is the northern end of Serengeti National Park.

Kim on board for the boat ride across the Mara River to get to Little Governor's Lodge. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Our small plane landed on a dirt strip within sight of zebra and giraffes. The smallest airport I had landed in up to this point had been a dirt strip in Smiley, Idaho, but then there had been a small town across the road.

A wart hog visits our tent at Little Governor's. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Here, at the Amboseli airport, there was nothing but wilderness and wildlife. I loved it.

From the airport it was a just a short distance to Little Governor’s Lodge, another tent camp and one where we would sleep for the next four nights. 

To get to the lodge complex, which was on an island surrounded by the Mara River and a swamp, we,took a boat powered by two staff members and a rope, to get across the river. Once across, we were met by a big-stick armed guard who escorted us the quarter-mile to camp.

Other stick-armed guards took us from the main, open air lodge buildings, to our tent, which in any sense of the word was much more than that. It included a large, tiled open shower and a front porch on which we could sit and watch animals across the swamp.

At closer range were wart hogs that roamed the tent complex. Our favorite of these was a mom with a tiny young one. The pair came right up to our porch. What fun, especially after we were told they were harmless.

Wart hogs were funny animals. We often saw them running full speed through the grass with their tails stuck straight up in the air. Then suddenly they would stop, as if they forgot where they were going.

Such behavior assured that they were often the entrée on a lion’s menu.

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Elephants, Hippos, Storks and Snakes

Posted in African Safari, Birds, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 3, 2011| 9 Comments »

 “We all have our time machines. Some take us back. They’re called memories. Some take us forward. They’re called dreams.” – Jeremy Irons

Elephants on the move in Amboseli -- Photo by Pat Bean

African Safari: Amboselli

The next morning we were up early for breakfast, served family style in open air tent, and eagerly ready for a day in Amboseli National Park, which was about an hour away from our Porini camp. Our driver was Emanuel, whom I was delighted to discover was more interested in birds than Bilal. I never once had to ask him to stop when one was in sight.

Emanuel, our driver/guide for Amboseli. He was a real birder. Yea! -- Photo by Pat Bean

In fact, even before we left the camp he had pointed out a blue-naped mousebird that I had missed seeing. I knew then it was going to be a great day, like every other day I’d so far spent in Africa.

We were accompanied in the Land Rover by a husband and wife couple, whom I barely remember except that they were pleasant. Kim remembered, when I asked, that he had a lot of expensive cameras and was heavily into photography.

The other person who also accompanied us was Jackson, who was nearing the end of a five-year internship to become a guide. Jackson was a Maasai, and would be one of the very first of his tribe to become a guide.

From a distance hippos looked like big gray rocks, especially since sometimes only their backs were visible in the sunken swamps that dotted the Amboseli landscape. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

While it was an hour’s drive to the park from our Porini camp site, there was plenty to see along the way, including two, then three, cheetahs stalking a gerenuk, which escaped all of them once the pursuit race began.

Our first sighting in the park was a large herd of female elephants migrating across the landscape with a lot of young ones in tow. Following behind was one huge male with a huge desire to sire yet another one.

Amboseli is a Maasai word for salty dust, and refers to the volcanic ash from past Mount Kilmanjaro eruptions. Snow melt flowing down into the landscape here from the mountain makes it an excellent habitat for wildlife, and rarely were we out of sight of the four-legged and winged creatures that call Amboseli home.

Saddle-billed stork catching a fish -- Wikipedia photo

Looking across the savannah, we often saw what at first glance were big gray rocks. In reality they were hippos lazing in the swamp areas of the park. 

Among our more fun bird-watching experiences was watching a saddle-backed stork fight with a snake. The stork won.

We also saw an African jacana walking on lily pads, a jewel colored malachite kingfisher and a squacco heron, which looked an awfully lot like our American bittern.

 Lots of memories were made this day.

Bird Log of new lifers: Lizard buzzard, red-billed hornbill, August 28, 2007,  during the drive to Porini; crested francolin, blue-naped mousebird, crested bustard, black-faced sandgrouse, Fischer’s starling, plain-backed pipit, Fischer’s sparrow -lark, grassland pipit, saddle-billed stork, long-toed plover, common greenshank, malachite kingfisher, African jacana, squacco heron, eastern pale chanting goshawk, pied kingfisher. August 29, 2011, Amboseli National Park. We also saw a sandwich tern, which is a common bird along the Texas Gulf Coast.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Broken

Posted in Favorite Hikes, Nature, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , , on August 1, 2011| 6 Comments »

“Work like you don’t need the money, love like your heart has never been broken, and dance like no one is watching.” — Aurora Greenway.

Broken Water

Zion National Park, Emerald Pools hike, lower falls. -- Photo by Pat Bean

 I couldn’t  find anything in my photo files that fit the theme “broken.” Then I came across this photo of water falling over the edge of a cliff and it reminded me of broken glass.

Is my entry into the contest quite lame or brilliant. I can’t decide, but would love to know your opinion.

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Ghostly Orbs Stare, Then Slide Away Into the Night

Posted in African Safari, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , on July 29, 2011| 2 Comments »

“If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I’ll bet they’d live a bit differently.” – Bill Watterson

Kim in a Maasai robe ready for our nighttime safari -- Photo by Pat bean

African Safari: Beneath the Stars

For our night-time drive, one of our Maasai guides sat on the front fender of the car with a spotlight to provide us an opportunity to see a few animals that are rarely seen during daylight hours.

It was a completely different experience from our earlier wildlife viewing. For one thing, there were 10 of us squeezed into the Land Rover and Kim and I couldn’t hop around from side to side as we were used to doing in our drives with Bilal.

So if an animal wasn’t on your side of the vehicle, given the darkness, you might not see it. Some animals froze when they were spotlighted but others quickly disappeared into the bush. We spotted many more glowing eyes than glimpses of entire animals.

Bat-eared fox -- Wikipedia photo

Even so, I was amazed at what we saw. My list included bat-eared fox, genet, large winged bat, steenbok, dik-dik, white-tailed mongoose, spring hare, bushbaby, kangaroo rat and a few zebra and impala wandering around in the dark.

I might have seen a few more things but the birder guy along for the ride and myself talked birds for much of the trip. We both admitted being frustrated with not being able to identify a lot of what we had seen.

 After awhile, however, I decided enough of that and began watching the sides of the roads intently for what I could see right now and possibly identify.

The warm lights of the Treetops Lodge was a welcome sight.

I truly don’t believe in what ifs, and here I was wallowing in it.

It was cool, with a clear sky painted with brilliant white sparks of light. I decided just being outdoors in an African landscape in the dark, with its sweet, earthy smells and background music of rustling animals and insect chirps, was as rewarding as any animals we happened to see.

After our hour-long drive in the dark, preceded by a very long day of exciting wildlife viewing in a bouncing vehicle, I must admit, however, that the warm lights of our lodge was a welcome sight.

I was eager to go to sleep among our suite’s tree branches.

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Tree House Accommodations Fulfill a Dream

Posted in African Safari, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , on July 27, 2011| 4 Comments »

 “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” J. Lubbock

Kim and I on the deck of our tree-house suite drinking cognac and watching the sun go down. -- Photo taken with a timer by Kim Perrin

African Safari

I’ve always dreamed of living in a tree house, and have drooled over the Swiss Family Robinson’s home up among the branches many times. . Tonight a tiny taste of that dream would come true.

After a grand afternoon of game watching in Tarangire National Park, including our scary face off with a concerned mama elephant, followed by a long ride over one of the roughest roads you can imagine, we arrived at the Tarangire Treetops Lodge about 30 kilometers away. .

One of the tree-house suites for guests at the Tarangire Treetops Lodge.

A guide escorted us to our accommodations, which we accessed by a ladder up through a trap door. He said he would be back later to escort us down to dinner.

We immediately saw that our tree house home for the night was a lot bigger and grander than the ones dads build for their children in the backyard.

Our large room was airy with a long deck on one side that overlooked a wildlife viewing area. The room came complete with a shower, fluffy white robes and a set up of cognac and glasses on a small table before two deck chairs. .

Tarangire sunset -- Photo by Kim Perrin

We took advantage of all three, in that order, the latter as we watched yet another of Africa’s colorful sunsets before being escorted back to the main lodge for dinner.

This would be our last night with Bilal, and he reluctantly joined us for one pre-dinner Coke before hurrying off. We had tried to get him to have dinner with us several times, but it seems there were rules about guides and clients associating except during our wildlife drives together.

Meanwhile, so entranced had we been with our accommodations, and perhaps the cognac, that we had dressed for dinner, forgetting that we had planned to go on a night wildlife drive.

So we raced back to change into something more appropriate for the adventure, arriving back at the lodge just as dinner was being served on an outdoor patio. As it turned out we weren’t the only ones who had forgotten the night ride was supposed to begin immediately after dinner.

I wondered if the other forgetful couple had also taken advantage of the cognac hospitality. The wait for them to change, however, was pleasantly filled by conversation with our fellow tourists who would all squeeze into an open Land Rover with us for the night’s drive.

One of the guys was an avid birder like myself. What a relief it was, for both of us, to finally have someone who appreciated the finer points of whether a bird’s supercilium was white or brown and whether it had two or three wing bars.

But finally everyone was gathered, and dressed in warm Maasai robes provided by the lodge to ward of the night chill, and we were off for our first African night safari.

Tune in tomorrow for the “rest of the story,’ as columnist Paul Harvey was always so fond of saying.

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Baobab: A Tree Worthy of Its Legends

Posted in African Safari, Nature, tagged , , , , , , on July 27, 2011| 2 Comments »

Baobab: A Tree Worthy of Its Legends

With a top that looks like roots and a trunk that can serve as a house, the baobab trees in Tarangire National Park were worthy of our admiration. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

“The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “The Wisdom of the Sands.”

African Safari:

So often when you travel, you look around and see places and things that remind you of home. In Japan it was the same species of pigeons that commonly hang around public buildings in America. In Ecuador it was a river walk that took me to San Antonio.

But that never seemed to be the case in East Africa. From the chaotic streets of Nairobi to the tall termite mounds in the Serengeti, the landscape always seemed to hold strange, new and wonderful sights – and never anything that spoke of my native country.

It was a different world entirely, or so it seemed.

Among the more exotic African sights for Kim and I were the abundant baobab trees in Tarangire National Park.

Some call these the upside down trees because they look, especially during their long leafless period, like their roots are sticking up in the air. One African myth is that God was so displeased with the taste of its fruit that he turned the tree upside down.

Another legend has it that the baobab complained that it wanted to be taller, like the palm tree, and wanted flowers like the Flame tree, and then that it wanted tastier fruit like the fig tree. The constant whining soon upset the gods, and so they replanted it upside down to shut it up.

I don’t blame them. I don’t much like to listen to whiners myself.

An elephant approaches a huge old baobab tree during its brief time of leaves. -- Wikipedia photo

An elephant approaches a huge old baobab tree during its brief time of leaves. -- Wikipedia photo

In actuality, the baobab tree, which can grow to over 80 feet tall and live for thousands of years, grows and looks like it does to fit its often arid environment. It sheds its leaves quickly after they sprout to conserve water, and its huge trunk is its own water storage reservoir to help it survive the dry times.

These trees, at least to me, had a strange beauty about them, especially as we saw many different kinds of wildlife gathered beneath them for the shade they provided. And later I learned that both wildlife and humans sometimes make their homes in the tree’s hollow trunks.

What an amazing tree.

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Face Off With a Tarangire Mama Elephant

Posted in African Safari, Birds, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

It was peaceful watching this mom and young charges splashing in the water until ... -- Photo by Pat Bean

 ” We live in a world full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. ” – Irving Wallace

"Hey guy's! There's a hammerkop over there with the zebra." -- Photo by Pat Bean

African Safari: Holding Our Breaths

Our afternoon game drive with Bilal took place in Tarangire National Park, which is known for its elephants. The park , except during its rainy season, is mostly hot and dry. We missed the rainy season, and our August visit during Africa’s winter was made before the heat and dryness claimed the land.

The elephants, as almost all of the park’s wildlife did, made their way daily to the park’s only water source, the Tarangire River for which the park is named. Bilal knew exactly where to go and where to park for spectacular views of wildlife visiting the river.

One of the places was in the shade of a tree right next to a bank. On the far side of the river, we watched zebra and waterbuck peacefully drinking together. While we were watching a couple of giraffe joined them. It was fun to watch how they splayed their legs apart so as to be able to get low enough to drink.

Kim got this photo of a really big elephant that didn't scare us a bit. Perhaps because it was shot with her zoom lens. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

As I watched in awe, my eye was drawn to a bird at the feet of the zebras. It was a hammerkop, a strange looking bird with an elongated head. It was yet another lifer, which I excitedly pointed out to Kim and Bilal, both of whom failed to see birds when larger, more exotic, wildlife was in view.

On our side of the river were three elephants, a mom and two young ones. They were splashing in the water near were Bilal had parked the Land Rover. They looked like they were having so much fun that even I forgot to look at birds for awhile.

As we watched, the three began to climb out of the river beside our vehicle. As the young ones made their way up the bank, the mom got in front of our vehicle and engaged us in a stare off. She was close enough that she could have easily touched the hood of the vehicle with her trunk.

We could hear her snuffling as she glared intently into each of our eyes.

We can't say we weren't warned. -- Photo by kim Perrin

Kim and I, who were both standing up in the vehicle, stopped breathing we were so still. Bilal had his hand on the keys in the ignition but he didn’t move a muscle either. While this wasn’t the largest elephant we had seen, we all knew how fierce the protective mom could turn in an instant if she thought we were a danger to the young ones she had in tow.

After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only about two or three minutes she turned and led her charges off. All three of us took a big breath.

Bilal said he had been afraid if he started the vehicle to get us away, it would have caused her to charge.

Kim and I had wanted to have an adventure when we came to Africa, and this day certainly provided one. But we were both irked that neither of us had taken a photo of the face off. I would remember that later during another close-up wildlife encounter

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Chaotic drive, happy discussion, bananas and mating baboons

Posted in African Safari, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 24, 2011| 4 Comments »

 “It’s pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness. Poverty and wealth have both failed.” – Frank McKinney “Kin” Hubbard 

Baboons were a frequent sight on the outskirts of towns. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

African Safari: Ngorongoro to Tarangire

 Our morning drive with Bilal took us on a paved road for a change. It seemed, what with no apparent traffic rules, more dangerous than driving among the lions and other wild beasts. Our destination was Tarangire National Park.

 On the way we passed an overloaded bus – I never saw one that wasn’t – with a rhino painted on its rear and the message: “More money, more problems.” It started another one of those enlightening conversations with Bilal. I mentioned that while so many of the Africans we had seen had so very little, they seemed happy.

 “Why do you say that,” he asked.

 “Because they seem so cheerful and always have big smiles on their faces,” I replied.

 “Just because they smile a lot doesn’t mean happiness,” he said. His words gave me a lot to think about, and has changed the way I look at people.

I think of bananas as coming from South America, but Tanzania, Kim and I learned, has its share, too. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

 A bit later, in one of the small towns we passed through, Bilal stopped and bought some bananas from a roadside business run by women. “I like to support the women,” he said, “because they are often mistreated by men.”

 The bananas were good, and Bilal’s words had yet again endeared him to Kim and I.

 Then our attention was drawn to a couple of baboons making it in the middle of the road. We all laughed.

As I’ve aged, I’ve begun to think of laughter as a great indicator of happiness, especially the ability to laugh at oneself. But even today, four years after my conversation with Bilal, his words about smiles and happiness not meaning the same thing still lingers with me.

A yellow-collared lovebird photographed in Tanzania. -- Wikipedia photo

We stopped for lunch at a small tented lodge, where I had time to do a bit of birdwatching. The morning turned up four new life birds, including a yellow-collared lovebird that kept us company while we ate in a rustic dining room open to the outdoors.

 Bilal then picked us up for an afternoon game drive in Tarangire National Park, where we would have our most frightening encounter with wildlife of our entire safari. Stay tuned and I’ll tell you all about it next.

Bird Log of New Lifers: White-naped raven, pygmy falcon, white-bellied canary, blue=spotted wood dove, yellow=collared lovebird, Aug. 27, 2007, drive from the Ngorongoro Crater to Tarangire National Park.

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Armed Hike to View the Olmoti Crater

Posted in African Safari, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on July 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.” – Susan Polis Schutz

Our hike up the escarpment started in tall grass. Adrian, with his rifle, poses for a picture with me before we begin. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

African Safari: A Pleasant Afternoon Walk

This afternoon’s wildlife drive included a hike, a rare opportunity for us to to truly to get close to Africa’s landscape. Bilal was not happy about it. He had to stay with the Land Rover, and he kept telling us we didn’t have to go if we didn’t want to go.

Kim and I suspected he was nervous about trusting his two ladies to another guide, this time one armed with a rifle. I also suspected – since the hike was uphill to the top of the Ngorongoro escarpment for a view of the smaller next door Olmoti Crater – that he didn’t believe this old “mama” could make it.

Kim in front of one of the big trees we passed on the way up. -- Photo by Pat Bean

While I was admittedly slow on the steeper sections, we made it to the top in 50 minutes, 10 minutes short of the hour allotted to get up there. As a veteran hiker, I subscribe to the philosophy of just putting one foot in front of the other until you reach your destination, and as always it worked. .

The hike took us through tall grass, which had me thinking about snakes, and then into a forest of giant trees. The trees were awesome. As was the view from the top. And my body enjoyed the exercise after several days of bouncing around in our metal beast.

Our guide, Adrian, who seemed quite pleased to have two women to guard, asked if we wanted to hike down into the crater. Both Kim and I were tempted but decided against it. Kim was worried that Bilal would be worried, but I was more worried about the climb back up.

The view from the top was spectacular. -- Photo by Kim Perrin

It only took us 30 minutes going back down, where Bilal had our chariot waiting for us – and a welcoming smile.

Then it was more sight-seeing of birds, monkeys, buffalo, zebras and other wildlife – but still no rhinos – on our drive back to the lodge for another delicious dinner and a night of restful sleep in our soft, mosquito-netted beds.

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