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Some notes to share
about the Sherry Steele Safari, TANZANIA – 2011.
We consider each of you who have
gone on Safari with us to be very special. Sherry or I can mention
one of your names and both of us can immediately recall special
images and stories about your being with us. The Safari Alumni now
numbers 56 people. We thought you might enjoy these notes about our
recent trip.
We once again had a great group
of people. Six Texans, four from CA, and two each from AK, CO, NV
and OH. Ten of these people have travelled together before, having
become acquainted due to living in the same vacation condo project
in Hawaii. Bill and Carolyn Quillen from the San Angelo, TX area
joined us for a second safari. Carolyn took a portable (battery
operated) printer, which was quite a hit as it brought great joy at
the orphanage, the Maasai village and Susan’s school as she and Bill
printed out their pictures on the spot.
Some of the significant
differences versus past trips were: The normal Safari was extended
one day to permit a day trip to the village of Kili and the base of
Mt Kilmanjaro, which was very interesting; and we stayed in two
different bush camps in the Serengeti.
The group did not climb Kikoti
Rock for our “sundowner”, but instead traveled a mile or two from
the camp to a covered pavilion overlooking the vastness of the area
just outside the Tarangarie. The amazing view was like the one from
the top of Kikoti Rock, without the arduous climb.
You will all remember hearing
about the Good Hope Orphanage’s requirement for the children to
carry buckets of water from the Usa River (a mile away from the
orphanage), on a daily basis and how muddy the water looked in their
big plastic storage tank. They now have a well on the property and
FRESH WATER. Yea! Their next major upgrade is to bring in
electricity. They are in the process of gathering information about
cost.
Our trip to Jay’s Paradise on
Lake Victoria found school teacher Susan looking pretty, and her
school doing well. It worked out that we were there on a Sunday
(how did that happen?), so school was out. Susan asked for
volunteers to come in and help greet us. About 20 kids were present
and they were bright eyed, with big smiles and in good voice as they
sang for us. We had an opportunity to take about 45 minutes to
visit the village “Witch Doctor”, which was interesting. We
delivered $550. to Susan which was so generously donated by “Safari
‘09” travelers. One great story was that Susan had recently been
given $400. by a group of German visitors. She used it to buy two
sewing machines to set up a business for two village women who
committed to making uniforms for the school children.
The group’s first two days was
phenomenal compared to any past safari. The first day began with a
stunning view of snow capped Mt Kilmanjaro in brilliant sunshine.
It was Chuck’s fourth trip and first time to clearly see the
mountain. Our game drive through the Taranageri, known for abundant
elephant close ups, produced some special surprises. Two vehicles
got to see a female elephant give birth. Just as their vehicle
pulled up, her water broke and down dropped the baby! The “nudging
ceremony” followed in which each of the elephant family members
introduced themselves to the new arrival. Even our guides were in
awe, having never witnessed such a scene. Unfortunately, the Park
rules call for all vehicles to be out of the park before sunset, so
the guides had to move on before anyone got to see the baby get to
its feet. Both Sherry and I were in the two vehicles that had
passed the area (and missed the birth), as we hustled to get out of
the park before sunset. Darn!
Second day surprises included
close up “cat sightings” in the Taranageri?? We saw a female
Cheetah with two grown cubs, a Leopard in a tree near the trail, a
second Leopard with a Hyena (mortal enemies, as you know) resting
near the base of a tree, just six feet or so apart. The guides had
no explanation as to how this setting could take place. Finally,
Sherry’s vehicle captured several shots of a leopard cub streaking
down the road in front of the truck.
Our first Bush Camp in the
Serengeti was near a dry river with a resident pride of lions.
While awaiting lunch, one of our travelers using binoculars spotted
a male Lion on the other side of the river bed. Our afternoon game
drive found a total of eight lions that milled around our vehicles
for the better part of an hour. We heard Lion roars all night. So
close!! The next morning, that area was again our first stop and
produced some of the best Lion photo opportunities of any past trip.
Other items of note: Only one
traveler went on the balloon ride. The Oldavai Gorge lecture was
more abbreviated; the Crater was its usual highlight of the trip –
punctuated by no less than 40 female elephants in the forest area,
some so close they rubbed against the vehicles. In the past, the
only elephant sightings in the crater were old bulls. The Black
Rhino population in the crater is growing and we had several nice
sightings, the most notable of which was at the edge of the forest
area where a single Rhino was taking a leisure stroll within forty
yards of our trucks.
For those who purchased
Tanzanite in the past, the price at Arusha’s Cultural Center is now
around $1400/carat. The Cultural Center has now formally opened its
Museum of African Art and Heritage. It is 30,000 square feet and is
adjacent to the Center. Its design was inspired by New York’s
Guggenheim Museum.
The food was once again
terrific. The rains had not yet started and the Serengeti was
abnormally dry. The massive herds were not Wildebeest as in the
past, but seemingly thousands of Zebra were around us. The
Wildebeest that we did see were for the most part without babies.
We were told that the Wildebeest mothers can postpone giving birth
for as much as a full month as they await the rains to come.
We were expecting the same four
guides that we had in 2009, Shaukat, Renatis, J4, and Godson, but
upon arrival found that Renatis had been ill and would not be
joining us. In his place was Allan who was a real delight. Like
Godson, Allan was born in a Maasai village, but had left the culture
early. Sherry and I stayed on for two days following the Safari,
spending both nights back at Kikoti Camp, with Shaukat and his son
as our guides. On our final day we had a chance to visit for a
short time with Renatis. He had been hospitalized with diabetes,
and is now doing much better. They have him working in the
company’s motor pool where he helps take care of the vehicles. It
could be that his days working as a guide are over, which makes him
very sad.
We have put the wheels in motion
to return to Tanzania in February 2013. We also have feelers out to
perhaps take a group to Botswana to see the Okavango Delta and the
Kalahari. This will be an exploratory safari to experience an area
Sherry has long yearned to see.
Best wishes to all.
Please stay in touch, we love hearing from you.
New Works
Upcoming shows
We have made some changes
to our show schedule,
please check the SHOWS page to see where we will be exhibiting.
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