Category: Denell Falk

Day 17: Our last day in Africa

Tonight, is the last night. We have been in Africa for three weeks, and have seen a million strange and wonderful things. We have been bounced around in a Land Cruiser for a thousand kilometres, been on several different small aircraft with varying degrees of comfort, stayed in eight different beautiful lodges and ate way too much fabulous food. I’m tired and sore. Stiff from the travel, stinging from more than a few Tse Tse fly bites and sick and tired of wearing the same few clothes (laundered along the way).

But nowhere near ready to leave. Just now I heard a hyena calling in the night. On the drive to tonight’s lodge we saw lions and a black rhino, ostriches, and so much game I can’t process it all. We are in a lodge at Nairobi National Park. Forty minutes drive to the airport, through a nature preserve in an 870 square km urban park. Before the flight we will do one last game drive, and see a thousand wonderful sights and probably take a couple hundred more photos. I can see and hear airplanes taking off. Can see the bright lights of the city just over the hill that obscures the modern world from the natural cornucopia we have been feeding from. I don’t want to leave. Kwaheri and asante sano. Goodbye and thank you very much.

We WILL be back!

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Walking Safari

Driving on a safari is truly a wonderful experience. There is so much to see and our western sensibilities make us want to do it all. But, as with the rest of life, the rush to get it all means we have to give up something. The give-up is the seemingly never-ending parade of animals. The take-up is in the fine detail. When going on safari the cure is to ensure you pre-book a walking safari, and book you must. Most places you will go are in national parks, and, with lions, Cape buffalo and other nasty critters you need a very experienced guide. Not all guides can conduct a walking safari, and they have to be accredited, licensed, knowledgeable and armed for your safety.

Now that I have scared off the less adventurous, we can begin.

Be prepared to walk five steps and look at tracks, two more steps give a lecture on termites, or a particular bird. Single file you carefully walk through the bush. Perhaps on a hippo path, maybe just through the grass but always aware of where you put your feet (the thorn bushes are CRAZY) and where the guide is. You do see animals, and try not to scare them. Try to get within 50 meters of some warthogs without them high tailing it away. The guide will keep you far away from a nasty looking Cape buffalo. See the birds, and reptiles, and grasses and trees and your entire viewpoint of the safari experience is changed and enhanced.
I went on three walking safaris this time around and was privileged to see three entirely different worlds. In central Serengeti we saw the detail of the bush through the eyes of a seasoned tracker. In the south Serengeti with an endangered tribe of hunter gatherers, and again with a safari guide. Each ended with the satisfaction of having learned something new and exciting. In the case of the last group, we ended our safari with the surprise of brunch in a treehouse. Ok we are not entirely roughing it here, after all, this is a Civilized Adventure.

P.S. Don’t forget the bug spray.

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Days 14 to 16: Our extension to Mwiba Lodge – Southern Serengeti

What an incredible experience. We went on a two hour walk with one of the last tribes of hunter/gatherers left in East Africa, and I had no idea what to expect. National Geographic can only show so much and then you need to experience for yourself. We drove for a little over an hour in the Mwiba Conservation area to a meeting place. Because they go wherever there is food the Habzabe people are not super easy to find, but the guide who went out before us did indeed find a group of eight.

Smiling, happy, and kind of jokesters, the group greeted us warmly, and THEY SPOKE CLICKY!! Ok. Thats not what it is called but that’s exactly what it sounds like.

Our guide could communicate with them and we started to follow them through the bush. The oldest of the women showed us, this plant was good for the stomach, that one for birth control. These plants had eatable tubers. They found a tree with African killer bees and went right to work building a fire with sticks and chopping a hole in the tree. Bees were all around the two guys and they never got stung. The fire took two or three minutes to start and soon the smoke had driven the bees away. The man opening the hole had his arm in a beehive right up to his shoulder pulling out honeycomb. All eight shared the honey and they offered us a taste. So good. And just like that they put the fire out and were on the move.

We hurried to catch up in the medium heavy bush and came upon them at a kopje where they had cornered and whacked a rock hyrax with a stick. Lunch. And they were gone again. This time through heavier bush. They spread out and you could hear them communicating with a series of whistles. A slightly more urgent series of whistles and everyone congregated around a tree with another hive. Another fire was started and I was asked to give it a try. I got some smoke but didn’t want to hold them up so they took over and were done in a minute. More smoke, more holes, more honey. And then they threw the hyrax on the fire, cooked and shared it around, and in a couple of minutes were done. The fire was out and we were on the move looking for water.

It was starting to get hot, and it was time to part. We had been walking for the better part of two hours through all kinds of bush and they had brought us to within a hundred meters of our vehicle.

For me this was such a rare honour. The Mwiba Conservancy allows these people to hunt and gather as they have done since the beginning of time. The area where they can do this is shrinking however, and its not clear how long they will be able to continue their traditional way of life. I am extremely grateful I was able to experience this adventure firsthand before this dying culture is lost forever.

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Day 13: Last day on safari

Today our group splits up. Half are going on to Rwanda, a quarter are back home to Canada, and 4 of us are going on to the south Serengeti. Before we leave however, one last game drive brings a pride of 10 lions. There were several cubs in the pride and cooler weather just before evening had them playing and wrestling. Magic. As light started to fade, we drove to a hilltop to be welcomed with a sundowner to finish the trip.

Those going to Rwanda are going gorilla and/ or chimpanzees trekking. Those headed to Canada find the start of winter, and the rest are looking to slow down and enjoy a more relaxed pace for a few days. I know its a tough life but being on Safari is not a “feet-up” kind of holiday. Generally, you are up before the dawn and on the road to get to the location of the day before the nocturnal world disappears. The day ends quite early, normally before 10 pm, but you are outside pretty much all day long, tiring as that can be. I’m looking forward to a walking safari, a night drive and a slower pace without the long distances. The herds are smaller and so is the terrain.

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Day 11: Hot air ballooning in the Serengeti

Ticking an item off the bucket list.

It’s so iconic it is almost cliché. A hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti at sunrise, is so much better than you could possibly imagine.

The 4 am wake up call was not as magical as you think, and the bleary-eyed scramble to get ready for 5 am take off was somewhere between tragic and comical. An hour of bumping along something between a disorganized set of ruts and an invisible track through the predawn light brings us to a balloon being filled on the ground.

We get a pre-flight briefing, get loaded into the basket, the balloon fills, and we take off. No wind as we slowly rise, barely clearing the treetops. The pilot explains what is happening as we rise and descend over hills and trees. In a few minutes we are over the Mara River and a favourable air current has us following a straight stretch of the river. The pilot descends below the height of the riverbanks, and we are just a few meters above the water. Crocodiles and hippos are easily seen as we float lazily upriver. The river bends and we rise up. From the air, herds of wildebeest make their appearance as do elephants, zebra, warthogs, antelope, and the beauty of the Serengeti fills our senses. We rise way up, and the view is spectacular.

In the distance, those of our group that didn’t make this trip are on a game drive. The guides have positioned themselves so we will overfly them. The pilot descends so low we are only a couple of meters above the roof of the trucks, and we are taking photos of people taking our photo. Good natured banter back and forth for the seconds it takes, and we are past them and rising once again. The flight continues for another half hour and the pilot expertly places us about 100 meters from a table set with our champagne breakfast.

As the saying goes…. You got to try this.

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Day 7: On route to the Serengeti!

We drove from Ngorongoro camp along the rim of the crater a little more than halfway around, and then on to Serengeti National Park. We stopped along the way at Oldevai Gorge but more on that later. 

Roads in the part of the world are charitably classified as “highways” or bush roads. The highway was a less bumpy version of no road at all. Many of the bigger rocks were pushed out of the way, leaving a washboard that beat you around the inside of the Land Cruiser. The bush roads were smoother in that you couldn’t go as fast, but if you aren’t careful, you can tap the side of your head a couple of times on the window. On the other hand, we saw lions and cheetah hanging out in the shade right beside the road, and photos from a distance of 10 to one hundred feet are very common. 

OLDUVAI GORGE

One of the bonuses for driving between Ngorongoro and the central Serengeti was the stop at Olduvai Gorge. One of the oldest inhabited places on earth, the magnitude of the history of this place is astonishing. Fossil remnants of humans and protohumans go back 1.5 million years. The interpretive centre is brand new and most impressive. What caught my attention however, as we were getting ready to leave, was the view into the gorge. I saw two Masai standing on a rock outcrop. Much as their ancestors, and millennia of their ancestors did before them.

One feels quite insignificant.

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Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater!

Early Morning 

It’s 5 in the morning and the world is slowly starting to come to life. We are in a tented camp on the rim of the Ngorongoro crater. It is still dark and the only sound is birdsong. Soon the group will gather for a quick bite before getting in our Land Cruisers for the drive to the crater floor. This is one of those moments when you realize exactly where you are and what us about to occur. Everyone knows this place. When I was a kid I saw photos and THIS place was Africa to me.

Late Afternoon 

WOW!!!

That was like drinking from a firehose. Every type of African wildlife you can think of. Except giraffes. Herd after herd of zebra, wildebeest, and buffalo. Gazelles and antelope of every description. Rhinoceros were in the distance- shy like only a two ton beast can be. A few elephants dotted an immense landscape. The largest clan of hyenas I have ever seen lazing around a waterhole with hippopotamus looking like rocks in the hot, hot sun. And the star of the show-Lions!!! One person in our group counted 17 different animals. All of this encompassed by the towering crater walls. 

Evening

Everyone is weary but excited from the adventures of the day. We sit around the fire watching the bush TV and listening to men from the camp singing in Swahili before sitting down to a fabulous dinner that magically appeared from the tiny kitchen in our bush camp. We are blown away by our staff singing and dancing. I look around and everyone has the biggest smile I have ever seen.

What a day.

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Days 2 to 4 : Tarangire National Park

An African trip seemingly is on everyone’s bucket list. Safaris, travel to Egypt, South African wine tours. Whatever it is many people have a dream to travel there. Until you’ve been there, and then you need to go back. Is it the sights? Yes. Is it the sounds? Yes. Is it the heat? Oh yes. Is it the wildlife? Very much yes! But it’s the people that captivate. The crowds, the bustle, the smiles and the welcome you get from a truly grateful people. Yes there is poverty and you see it and it hurts, but you also see the indomitable spirt and it gives you hope. I’m back, and I’ve missed this place.

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Denell Falk is hosting her first group back to Africa!

Finally, finally, finally. At the airport on the first leg of our trip to Tanzania. Finally after more than a year and half of business shutdown, travel industry chaos, fighting insurance companies to restore client’s deposits, finally, our group is leaving today. Finally!!

One of the toughest things these last few days is trying to remember all the things that used to come naturally from a lifetime of travel. What to pack. Good thing we have lists. Last minute instructions. Good people in place. What have we forgotten? Good thing we have patience. 

Here we are. The plane is boarding. Butterflies, a thing long forgotten have come back and the anticipation is almost unbearable. Soon we leave and in a day we come again to Africa. Finally!

Travel in The Time of Covid 

You hear horror stories about travel lately. Air rage, lineups , botched reservations and canceled flights. We had none of that. 

Apart from booking the flights, which is so well handled by Civilized Adventures, the mechanics were easy. PCR tests were done by Amyn at The Medicine Shop on 37th St SW in Calgary. Sunday morning, 15 minutes and then home for breakfast. Results came in that evening. Negative as expected. More paperwork than pre Covid, but again, nothing unexpected.

Travel to the airport for 3 hours ahead of flight time. No lineups. Helpful KLM staff and a breeze through security. Hanging around the airport was a little sad with the closed shops and the lack of travel bustle, but a coffee or a beer can always be found. 

Schipol in Amsterdam was so much different. Not as hectic as before, and a few closed shops, but the flight boards were full and people in Europe are moving. A 3 hour wait and time to stretch our legs before the second of two eight hour flights. 

Kilimanjaro International Airport. One flight comes in. Two hours later waiting to get into Tanzania and I remember that I don’t like crowds. But airports are airports and our safari can finally begin.

Welcome to Africa.

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