Archive for September, 2009
How many shots do we need?
Posted by jimheck in Advice, Health, Planning Travel on September 25, 2009
From FrankLFriedreick@ Q. Do we have to get a lot of shots to go on safari? A. No, but your doctor might think so. Here’s what I mean. The only shot that any of the governments of sub-Sahara Africa might require is a vaccination against yellow fever, and then only in certain cases and with [...]
Maasai Rebellion?!
Posted by jimheck in Community Based Tourism, Mara, Politics, Serengeti on September 24, 2009
A continuing struggle in the private game reserves of the Mara/Serengeti border area has been exacerbated by the drought and economic downturn and may turn violent. A number of private reserves in the Loliondo area, which lies on the eastern border of the Serengeti and southern border of the Mara, risk growing civil disruption by [...]
Aberdare Done!
Kenya’s Aberdare National Park is now encircled by an electric fence, protecting a precious 300 sq. miles of unique habitat in a sign of the future. The reason for the Aberdare fence, and the 20-year story of actually building, are both wonderful stories in their own right. First, the reason. The rectangular national park which [...]
5-Bell Alarm
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Serengeti on September 21, 2009
The Serengeti development project received a pledge of $350 million, today, from an institution that doesn’t exist. Tanzania’s Daily Star newspaper reported today that a “FINANCIAL institution headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland had pledged to [sic] realise 350 million US Dollars (about 500 bn/-) to finance the construction of an international airport in Serengeti District.” The [...]
SERENGETI ALARM
Posted by jimheck in Corruption, Serengeti on September 17, 2009
The Serengeti ecosystem is being compromised by a corrupt Tanzanian government and greedy businessmen representing themselves as conservationists. An international airport may be built in the Serengeti; a modern highway may connect the Mara with Grumeti; and ten more lodges and hotels might all be built, without any real public discourse or environmental analysis, and [...]
Mara Magic
Our three days in the Maasai Mara enjoyed incredible game viewing that amazed even me, and proved that the Mara – despite its congestion – is a phenomenal way to end a safari. Except for the much shorter December holidays, this is the end of the heaviest booked season in the Mara. American families had [...]
Tarangire Zebra?!
Our experience in Tarangire with elephants was nothing short of fantastic. But Tarangire is morphing: there’s much more, now, than just ele. Our two days with the Cleveland Zoo safari in Tarangire probably encountered as many as 800 elephants. On our second day alone we counted upwards of 500, and it was extremely exciting. Ele [...]
Wild Intervention
Posted by jimheck in Tarangire, Wildlife Management on September 5, 2009
The Cleveland Zoo supports an important elephant researcher in Tarangire, Charles Foley, and we visited him in his camp in Tarangire. Foley is an independent researcher who has worked in Tarangire for 16 years. He is among a handful of north-of-southern-Africa researchers with an impressive knowledge of how elephants effect and interact with their ecosystem. [...]
Delightful Gibb’s
Posted by jimheck in Planning Travel, Safari Lodges on September 3, 2009
It’s so damn hard to tell people they can interrupt game viewing to do other wonderful things in Africa. And when I succeed by having them stay at Gibb’s Farm, it’s something they never forget. It wasn’t hard to get the Cleveland Zoo to dedicate two of its safari days to Gibb’s Farm, because director, [...]
Crater Surprise
Posted by jimheck in Big Game, Ngorongoro Crater on September 2, 2009
It’s dryer than normal, and this is the driest time of the dry season. Normally, there would be around 4000 animals in the crater. Was I surprised! The Cleveland Zoo safari went from the Serengeti to Ngorongoro, via Olduvai Gorge and Shifting Sands. We had two game drives in the crater, and they were absolutely [...]