Rain & the Garden of Eden with the Long Necked Leopard.

If anyone thinks that it rains in Britain then no one has experienced a downfall as I did in Tanzania. It didn't just rain, the heavens literally opened...



Leaving behind six inches of snow, I arrived at Dar's extremely hot and humid airport and hopped onto my light air transfer to Arusha. The sun was shining and far below me, East Africa looked green and beautiful. Six hours later our plane landed at Sasakwa airstrip in the Grumeti Private Reserves, North West of the Serengeti National Park.






This reserve is for the exclusive use of the clients of Singita Grumeti. Originally created as a private home of an American billionaire, it has now become a first class safari destination. My first stop was Sabora Tented Camp, a classic impression of a Hemingway experience (well not literally!) - old 1920's cars situated around the camp, old artefacts of every shape and size clutter the mess tents, your Gin & tonic is served in crystal glasses - need I say more. However, there was one addition. The tents are fully air conditioned, your own study area has a fully stocked mini bar and so on. Sabora is a mix of the old and the new.






On my first game drive I watched a cheetah stalk a herd of Thomson gazelle for an hour, until she finally made her move... she locked on to her selected gazelle and only missed out on dinner in the last few moments.






The next day I moved to Sasakwa Lodge. Perched on a hill with views over the vast Serengeti Plains for as far as the eye can see, this lodge is for those that appreciate Africa in style. An old colonial building with beautiful paintings filling each available wall, billiards room, study/bar with grand piano. All cottages are situated for the best view. The manicured lawns blend magically into the bush. My favourite part of my stay was the fully equipped equestrian centre with a fantastic collection of ex polo and event horses. The morning after I arrived, I was to ride among giraffe and ostrich on the plains, wind in hair gently reminding me why I love Africa so much.

The next highlight was to take the ever so long light air transfer down to the south west to Katavi National Park and a real bush camp: Chada Katavi. The camp is basic - literally just standard canvas tents, outdoor showers, mess tent, library tent and the vital campfire - but I loved its intimacy and rawness and felt it a real must for those that can bear the long flight.

Chada Katavi is best in the dry season between June and November. I did not have the luxury of choosing the best time to go and arrived after months of rain, so much so that the park was almost like the Okavango in appearance, a veritable Garden of Eden. The grass was long, to the extent that the buffalo were almost invisible, just their horns poking out of the reeds. Yet despite this my game viewing was fantastic and included a lioness and her cubs, a female leopard and cub with recent kill.




Unluckily, the heavens did open and it poured - we were flooded. The camp, the vehicles and the guides were all sodden, but despite this onslaught my spirits were not dampened and I still fell in love with Chada.









Following that I flew to Greystoke Mahale on the edge of Lake Tanganyika. Situated on a sandy beach at the base of the Mahale Mountains is the imposing looking eco lodge. Arriving by dhow makes it look all the more impressive as the main mess area seems to rise out of the forest. I cannot describe it in words but it definitely has the 'out of this world' factor!





The attraction at Greystokes is the habituated M group of Chimpanzees running wild in the Mahale Mountains, so your days are focused with trekking up in the forested mountains, viewing these fascinating primates. Running alongside this is the late afternoon dhow cruise with line-fishing (fishing is a must!) and the wonderfully relaxing beach and lake. Hippos and crocodiles are found further down the lake and during my stay you could see the constant lightning and storms from the Congo. The camp is not glamorous, but has a wonderful air of relaxation, fabulous food, rustic style and of course chimpanzees.

My trip was brief but fantastic. Limited time and the lack of AVGAS in Tanzania made for some long flights but every location made up for the long days in the air. Despite all the rain!

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