Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park: Boldly going to the final frontier
All my travelling life, I’ve waited for somebody to say that. Travel is so generic, so packaged and marketed these days that you can spend years saving and searching for genuinely off-the-beaten track experiences. And this one really did make me feel like Captain Kirk.
OK, a bushwhacking Captain Kirk — but an explorer of the outer-reaches nevertheless.
At the time, we were sitting under a tree in Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park, one of the remotest pockets of wildlife in East Africa. The afternoon light was softening, and our grizzled guide was about to drive us out into the wilderness. Shortly afterwards, he noticed shadows skulking amidst the scrub, and we eased down a dirt track, pulling up alongside several African elephants.
The animals took a defensive formation. My stomach lurched. At the heart of the group were two young calves. But our guide gently urged us to relax. The animals watched, assessed the threat, and eventually let their guard down. They went back about their business, lumping their trunks around, breaking branches, cooling their bodies with enormous ears.
It was an extraordinary moment. And it was the first of many.
A half-hour later, tracks were spotted on the roadway. “We’re coming to lions, so please keep your extremities within the outline of the vehicle,” we were warned. And sure enough, two lolling females came into view, bellies swollen from a recent feed, sunning themselves under the tree.
The lionesses perked up, fixing us with amber eyes. Again, my stomach flipped. Again came the guide’s soothing voice, and again the animals’ realisation that this jeep-load of sweaty white tourists was not a threat. They rolled onto their backs like big pussycats.
The final frontier indeed — right here on Planet Earth.
Safari is at once an escape from the real world, I think, and an immersion in it. For what could be more real than coming face to face with lions and elephants? You’re on holiday, sure, but seeing these majestic animals in their natural environment can be pretty humbling, too.
That’s what makes the evening meals, the fireside chats, the stories swapped after long game drives such a memorable part of the experience. Everybody has their stolen moments to relate — their lion cub’s yawn, their leopard kill, or their close shave with an irritable elephant.
My favourite was the story about a wealthy American couple on a private walking safari. Landing into the wilderness, they brought their own plane, wine supplies and monogrammed safari shirts. None of which were particularly useful, needless to say, when they were confronted by a lion.
As the animal charged, the couple were told to stand still. Obeying deeper instincts, however, they bolted for the nearest tree. Their guide stood his ground, succeeded in facing down the animal, and went to the tree to regroup. He found the husband hiding in the tree’s branches, his wife cowering at the bottom, with a footprint firmly embedded in her starched safari shirt.
She ordered the plane by satellite phone. They have since divorced.
Africa can do that to you; the endless wilderness, the sense of complete remove from your comfort zone, can be overwhelming, but it can also be beautiful. Nothing is quite so big, and quite so beautiful as a star-speckled African sky. That’s another reason why a good guide is essential on safari. A disinterested guide can turn a long game-drive into a stultifying boring one. But an enthusiastic and well-educated guide can open your eyes forever to Africa’s kaleidoscopic diversity. At Ruaha, mine was Andrew ‘Molly’ Molinaro. It was from him I learned that elephants mourn their dead. He told me hippos were the most dangerous animals in the bush (“they look at you like you owe them money”) and he explained to me the intricacies of a termite mound. The Big Five (elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, leopard) may be the most famous of Africa’s animals, but there are hundreds of other species to see. Giraffes, known as the “supermodels of the bush”; impala (Africa’s “fast food”); baboons, zebra, wildebeest, crocodiles, warthog, meerkat… and that’s not even starting on the birdlife.
Nor do you have to see them all from the back of a jeep. I took some bush walks in Tanzania and loved the opportunity to touch, feel and smell the evidence of wildlife. Sure, the waivers and warnings (“if you run, you will be chased”) can be intimidating, but the chance to feel the prick of an acacia thorn, identify hippo poo, prod termite mounds, and track animals was amazing.
The most obvious question when it comes to safari, is where to go?
From this distance, it’s hard to tell your Krugers from your Kenyas. As a general rule of thumb, however, Kruger National Park can be done at most price points. Winter months are dry in this part of South Africa, but summer plumps out the vegetation and could offer the chance to see more newborn wildlife. A full day’s safari costs around €260 per day for a vehicle seating eight.
Kenya not only offers the expanse of the Masai Mara, but several smaller parks, including one situated bizarrely close to the city of Nairobi (kws.org). Over 400 species have been recorded in a park just 7km from the capital, with various forest, plains and river habitats hiding away black rhino, lion, leopard, cheetah, elands and hyena.
Other possibilities include Botswana, notoriously expensive thanks to its high-end accommodation and poor road infrastructure. Or you could go even further off the beaten track to emerging destinations like Mozambique, Namibia or Madagascar — the African Galapagos, with some 80% of fauna and flora unique to the island.
Safaris can be done on the cheap (relatively speaking, of course), but as with so much in life, you get what you pay for. That’s why they make such a good honeymoon or once-in-a-lifetime trip. It can be quite dispiriting to find a leopard surrounded by 15 other jeeps, for example, but mind-blowing to stumble across one on your own. Essentially, that’s the difference between Ruaha National Park, driven into by roughly 30 people a day, or the Serengeti, driven into by up to 3,000.
Even if it means putting the final frontier on the long finger for a few years, saving up to splash out on the best guides, parks and safari camps will make all the difference to your holiday.
For more on Africa Day, see africaday.ie.
It sounds obvious, but it’s best to go on safari when the animals are easy to find. Hot, dry weather sees lighter vegetation, plus it draws animals towards dwindling water supplies. As a general rule, July to October delivers this kind of climate in East Africa.
Begin by figuring out your budget. A good tour operator will know what fits your price, and what’s available during your travel window. One of the best I’ve worked with is Andre Migliarina of GoHop.ie (01-2412389). He knows his product inside out, and cares about his customers. Sounds cheesy, but call him up, and you’ll see what I mean.
July to October sees the annual wildebeest migration on Kenya’s Masai Mara plains, with plenty of feasting predators along for the ride. Sunway.ie has return flights plus transfers, six nights accommodation, guides and entrance fees from €2,329pp.
For off-the-beaten-track luxury in Tanzania, UK operator Cazenove + Loyd (cazloyd.com) has three nights in Ruaha, three nights in the similarly remote Selous Game Reserve, and three nights at the luxury Indian Ocean resort of Ras Kutani from £3,652/€4,318pp.
Joe Walsh (joewalshtours.ie) has an 18-day overland safari travelling from Jo’burg to Cape Town (Sept-Nov 2012), with stops at Kruger National Park, the Cape Wine route, Table Mountain and other South African must-sees from €2,185pp.
Bring spare memory cards and batteries for your camera. The last thing you want is to spot a leopard when your SD card is full. Binoculars can also be a good investment.
Certain vaccinations may be necessary for your safari holiday, and you may need to take anti-malarial medications. Vaccination courses can take time to complete, so check what you need several months before travel. See the Tropical Medical Bureau (tmb.ie) for more.
You’ll need visas for travel in most African countries. These are generally available for a fee upon arrival ($50 or so), but again, check in advance to be sure.
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