Shardlows Highs

USA Part 1, New York, New York

Around this time last year, my oldest son announced that his wedding was going to be in New England in October 2019, so the family set about organising our trip.

First stop was New York. We had a good flight, as we booked early and got seats with heaps of leg room.

A minibus took us to near our Airbnb, where we dropped our bags at a Bagbnb – brilliant idea, saved us lugging them around until we could check in.

So, free from luggage, but a bit weary, we strolled over to Central Park.

Robin

feeding the squirrels

a turtle

We fed the squirrels and saw American robins and Blue Jays, and stopped for Bagels.

Revived a little, we then headed back and checked into our apartment, before setting off for an evening wander.

Times Square

Time Square and leftover pizza

We found a great Italian restaurant, Pasta Lovers, for great pasta, salad and pizza, and taking our leftovers, we paid a quick visit to see Times Square, which was along the same street to our Airbnb, then headed back for some rest.

The next morning we decided on a good American breakfast of pancakes, yummm.

Its healthy, it has fruit!

Breakfast

Some sights along our walks, I love the small old buildings huddled between huge skyscrapers.

We then caught the subway to the 911 memorial, where we were awed by the beautiful and touching memorial.

911 Memorial Plaza

so many names

World Trade Center

Rainbow in the waterfall

The white rose is placed in the name of a person on their birthday

A white rose is placed in the names of each person on their birthday

World Trade Center

The entrance to the World Trade center.

This image would have reflected the twin towers, a very sobering thought.

The day was very warm, around 30°C, and muggy, so we decided to take the Staten Island ferry for some fresh air, while Pete and Jess visited the Museum.

So we walked down to Battery Park, and caught the ferry to Staten and back.

View of the Staten ferry Port

Looking back to NY

Statue of Liberty

Looking back to NY

Can’t miss a good yacht in front of Ellis Island in front of Ellis Il

and another yacht

Some great views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, then just off the ferry, run round and back on for the return journey.

Back at Battery Park, we spotted some Monarch butterflies in the gardens.

After a cool beer, we set off back towards the 911 museum.

The museum is a startling timeline of events that day, something that our internet world allows in amazing detail now, but it is also very personal, showing glimpses of the lives affected that day.

After a sobering and thought invoking visit, we decided to take a short section of the High Line, an old raised rail line that was converted to walkway and garden after it had fallen into dis-repair, despite our feet hurting from all of our walking. A lovely patch of greenery above the city..

There were also sights and art work to be seen from this raised walkway.

Not sure I would like those balconies

We had booked tickets for the Rockerfeller Top of the Rock the previous day, so we caught the subway there for our sunset trip.

This is set at the top of the Comcast building, allowing you to walk around the top 2 stages of the roof. We did this trip rather than the Empire State building, as our tour book suggested it was quieter, less queues, and good views of Central Park. We were not disappointed, but some bad weather was closing in, removing the views as the sun set.

In the rain, we walked back to the apartment.

Thursday was forecast to rain all day, and with blisters on our feet, we decided to visit the American Museum of Natural History, catching the subway directly there. These mosaics are along the subway tunnel to the Museum entrance.

The museum is huge, so we started with dinosaurs,

and then some human history to follow

To end the day, we dined at West Side Steak House, for some delicious steaks, then we had tickets for The Jersey Boys Show, at New World Stages, an underground theatre with 5 stages.

The show was incredible, and we left singing Four Seasons songs…. Sherry, Sherry baby ♪♪♪ which were to be the sound track for the rest of our American trip, back soon…

Scotland NC500 and more, Week 2

We went into Dunbar the next morning, and I love the place

I trust you have read the first part of this blog Scotland NC500 and more, week 1, and you pick up our trip as we leave Inverewe gardens.

Our Saturday night was spent at Ullapool. where the site is right next to the town, on the shoreline. There is a walk down to the shore where the Puils had a great time running through the dunes.

The views from the site are spectacular, especially under the clear blue skies.

We ate fish and chips on the shore in the sunshine.

Ullapool Broomfield Camp site

Loch Broom

The road from here goes inland, and is more moors, but when you reach Loch Assynt you find Ardvreck Castle.

Can there be a more typical ruin? And with a waterfall across the road for added interest.

The coast road then follows a B road around the next part, and rejoins the A road near Unapool. For the past few days we had been kept company by drivers following the ‘Knights of the Islands 2019’ road trip, with their vehicles all over 20 years old.

We met some on various site and view points.

Finally we reached the North Coast, and stayed at Sango Sands, again, right on the coast, with a walk down to the beach.

This had to be my favourite beach, with wild waves crashing on looming rock, and 2 crazy beasts dashing around like loons.

No wonder the van is full of sand! But I declared this our Happy Place and would happily have stayed all day/week.

After a morning bacon buttie, and another visit to the beach, we took the short trip to a nearby beach where enterprising souls had set up a Zip wire across the bay.

We had to have a go!

A girl zipping across before us

The landing site

It was a peaceful glide, enjoying the views across the bay.

Adrenaline fix over, we continued along the top of Scotland, with wilder scenery but still many great beaches.

Our site for the night was Thurso, but as we had made good time, we headed first for John O’Groats, a tacky touristy place with a quaint harbour, for ice cream, and Signpost selfies.

Then we continued to the real top of Scotland, to Duncansby head, with its lighthouse, and true end of the country feel.

There were many people looking out for Dolphins and whales, but we didn’t see any. However, 2 Orca were spotted from the ferry here the very next day.

Thurso Bay site was yet another shore site, this time with steep cliffs down to the beach, and a short walk into town. We also found that the nearby Lidl was open on a Sunday evening, so restocked our cupboards.

From here, everything goes downhill, or South anyway.

The coastline down the east of Scotland Highlands is more about the fishing industry, with Herring harbours and fish farms.

One delight was Dunrobin Castle, this one is not a ruin, but a fairytale castle.

The road crosses some spectacular bridges, and the scenery changes constantly. However, drizzle was starting to arrive after a quick visit to Inverness.

Our next 2 nights were in Glenmore near Aviemore. I was expecting a small quiet site in the Forest, as this is run by Camping in the Forest, a joint venture between Forestry Commision and the Camping and Caravanning Club, but this was the largest site we visited,and we were close to a shop and bar. It was also raining, and our pitch was a puddle. The site was quiet and the staff very friendly and helpful.

To cheer us up, we spotted a red squirrel a few feet from the van, but he scuttered off before I could grab my camera.

Determined not to let this weather stop us, we cooked a hearty meal onboard Connie, and the next morning the rain stopped for long enough for us to walk around the Loch, and after lunch at the non-dog friendly visitor centre, we walked up to the green loch, An Lochan Uaine, despite the shower that turned into rain.

A quick visit into Aviemore before we set off, and the weather brightened as we headed south.

We crossed the new Forth bridge, but panels along the bridge prevented any reasonable photos.

In bright warm sunlight we reached Dunbar. The site is high on hills past the town, with great views across. We quickly emptied the wet awning and dogs beds, towels etc. out onto the bank and with a stiff breeze, soon had everything dry again, while a skylark sang away just above our heads.

The site has its own small castle

and a walk from the back of the site takes you to the lighthouse.

As the site was not in town, we went into Dunbar the next morning, and I love the place.

It has a great little castle, very cleverly upgraded with information and gardens, and a small amphitheater where they hold concerts, a working harbour, and other interesting shops and buildings.

Next stop was St Abbs, with the intention of another lighthouse visit, but we decided against the walk round, and just visited the harbour and shops instead.

2 Puli waiting for us outside the visitor centre

Lunch at the cafe near the car park, and off on the road again.

We followed the coast road down past the wonderful Northumberland castle of Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh and Alnwick, and views across to the Farne Islands and Holy island. A leg stretch and run on Seahouses beach refreshed us all.

view across to the farne Islands

Our last night was at a small working farm site in Gibside, Rowlands Gill, with views across the green farmland, and horses and sheep in the nearby fields.

From there it was a walk on Seaham beach, where I had stiff competition for my sea glass collecting, but still managed a few very pretty items. Ian said most people on the beach had their heads down.

Further research says this is one of the worlds best sea glass beaches, as a glass factory used to sit at the top of the cliff and multicoloured waste scraps were thrown away into the sea. I didn’t find any of these wonderful, prices, but I will return to this beach whenever I can.

And then through the Yorkshire moors and home. Two happy sunwashed humans and 2 sandy happy tired Pulik, with loads of great memories and many photos.

One thing I failed to mention is that at almost every site and pit stop we heard cuckoos calling, and skylarks were everywhere.

But we must start planning our next trip with Connie already, once we have removed the sand from inside Connie and the dead flies from the windscreen.

Scotland NC500 and more, week 1

We found one of the most incredible beaches, almost deserted

With the weather forecast for Scotland looking warm and sunny, yes, that’s right, we decided to make our desired trip to Scotland in May, when the midges are not yet in their thousands.

So we sat down and planned a route, as since the North Coast Road has been turned into a must-do drive, the campsites can be busy.

After spending our first night at Lytham St Annes for a family visit, our next site was Hoddom castle a beautiful site near Lockerbie, set in the grounds of the castle, and with facilities inside the castle. It was special to take a shower inside a castle.

doorway at Repentance Tower

View from tower looking down at castle and site

the tower

the castle

pods

hobbit pods

bridge over the river

where the Salmon go

woodland walk

under the castle arch

view from the field behind

the river

There are also lovely walks around, including up to Repentance Tower, and along the river. They also have cute pods if you don’t have your own accommodation.

After a lovely quiet night and a morning walk along the river we set off north, stopping briefly at Lochmaben Castle, very much a ruin, and most of it closed off due to crumbling masonry.

Lochmaben Castle

Rita getting delusions of grandeur

This part of the journey took us past Glasgow on mainly motorways, but there were still lovely sights to see.

Our next night was spent near Oban at a site set within a walled garden. You can walk down to the loch shore, but there is a Fish farm factory alongside. However from the back of the site there is the delightful balcadine walk through the woods, with fascinating iron railing down steps to an enchanting chasm.

Wrought iron gate looking through walls to site

Rita posing

sun dropping through the trees

the chasm pool

ooh, that looks a bit scarey

The shore near the site

tree growing in fence post

From here we stopped in Fort William, a fairly drab town, for some supplies, then detoured a little off our track to visit Fort Augustus and the bottom of Loch Ness.

While the town is small and mainly filled with tourists, it is charming and the locks on the canal are worth a walk up, and then walk down to Loch Ness. Of course, everywhere we go Reggie and Rita create a stir.

We set off on the A87, enjoying the mountains and lochs, and crossed the bridge to the Isle of Skye. However, we didn’t find Skye as enchanting or picturesque as other places, and our site, though lochside, was a bit bleak, but did provide a colourful sunset and a bright start to Thursday .

Our next stop was Applecross, the the faithful among you will travel the famous Bealach na Ba road, with hairpin bends and steep hills, but we decided Connie was a bit big for the road, so we took the alternate road up to Sheildaig.

En route we stopped by a loch for lunch, and I walked down with the Puli to the lochside, started taking photos, when 3 deer appeared and calmly walked towards us.

The road from here becomes single lane, but with plenty of passing places. The road is popular with not only campervans, but motorcyclists and flash cars, but was not too busy to enjoy the drive.

Shortly before arriving in Applecross, as we were early, we stopped at a small car park, and found one of the most incredible beaches, almost deserted, with a vast stretch of clean soft sand.

The pulis has a wonderful time, and we even caught a glimpse of a seal in the bay.

the perfect beach for hide and seek

Rita came for a paddle

shaking off after a paddle

The site at Applecross had been in a list of top 10 site on NC500, but as they were building a new shower block, the existing facilities were very poor, with insufficient showers, and the field we were on did not have much view. Hopefully this will improve later this year.

For dinner we walked down into Applecross and had a delicious meal at The Junction, where they allowed the dogs upstairs, and there was a great view across the shore to Skye.

As we had 2 nights here, on Friday we took the walk to Applecross walled garden and beyond, a lovely walk with forest, rivers, hills, and the sweet gardens where we also stopped for lunch and both had Haggis and Cheese melts – mmm.

Applecross house

Deer

Muckle Coo!!!!

On our way there we met 10 red deer, just standing by the public footpath that goes along the roadside. They didn’t care about Reggie barking at them, and just stood grazing and watching us pass within a few metres of them.

Showing how close people were passing the deer

On Saturday, after revisiting the wonderful beach just up the road to gather more sand into the van, we swapped driver and set off towards Ullapool, passing many pretty fishing towns and lochs.

One pit-stop was to Inverewe Gardens, a lovely sub tropical garden, kept warm by the Gulf Stream. The azaleas were in bloom, and the lovely handkerchief tree.

Wrought iron gateway

Walk along the terraces

Inverewe house

Handkerchief tree

Candelabra primulas

Azaleas

Office with a view to die for

Luckily, the weather had stayed warm and sunny, reaching 22 degrees some days, and not too many midges had found us.

Stay tuned for week 2, as we head further North and around the top of Scotland.

Safari of a different kind

if you get a chance, go

Last weekend we released our inner child, and went to Twycross Zoo for the Lego Safari.

There were over 70 Lego models scattered through the zoo, each had a sign saying how many bricks they took, and how much time. I need more bricks!

Lion

Lion cubs

Monkey

Hyena

another hyena

baby pandas

As you would expect, there were real animals too.

and lots for Lego – this safari is travelling round the country, so if you get a chance, go to visit it.

And still more

Upnor Castle

Quirky windows and doors caught my attention

While in Kent, we took a short trip up the Medway to visit Upton Castle.

This is an Elizabethan Artillery fort, to protect the Navy docks further up river.

Between the car park and the castle is the delightful village of Upnor, which demanded I take photos. I hope the residents don’t mind.

We then entered the castle, which the Dutch Navy raided in 1667, as Rochester and the Medway became the main harbour for Royal Navy ships during Henry VIII’s reign..

It overlooks the Medway and is solidly built.

There is the usual tourist paraphanalia, and you can even get married in the Arsenal.

As usual, old and quirky windows and doors caught my attention, plus the spiral staircase from one of the towers

Lots of views from the ramparts. Those wooden spikes look pretty fierce.

Quaint Canterbury

totally enchanted

Canterbury castle

St Mildreds Church

Alms houses

Canterbury tales

During our visit to Kent, we had a day visit into Canterbury, where neither of us had ever visited, and were totally enchanted.

The city is full of interesting old buildings and castles, and of course the cathedral.

We started off near the castle, which is now a ruin.

Canterbury castle

and then walked past the Anglo-Saxon stone St Mildred’s Church

St Mildreds Church

and on into the city centre.

Everywhere you look there are lovely buildings, sometimes marred by the modern signs that are hard to avoid.

Alms houses

We had lunch in wonderful Alice and the Hatter cafe, where even the plates had an Alice in Wonderland theme, and you could have you Un-birthday party here.

There were towers and arches all around.

and old churches and official buildings galore

This window display caught my eye

and after we had found a wonderful board game shop in the King’s Mile, we saw this incredible wonky bookshop (shame about all of the notices in the windows).

We decided not to enter the cathedral, but were disappointed that you couldn’t even enter the grounds, or barely see the Cathedral without paying a rather high fee, so my only photos are taken from a distance, and carefully taken to avoid the scaffolding everywhere.

We carried on walking where our feet took us and came to the river, and a serene walk along it through a park.

In the park was the tree with the widest girth I have ever seen, and a cute little cottage

and I will finish off with some more lovely buildings, a couple of huge lanterns, and an old sign about a bridge.

If you are ever down in Kent, make the time to visit Canterbury, you wont regret it.

Beauty in Bleakness

I love the contrast of nature with industry

In October, in total contrast to our safari, we also spent a family week in a static caravan at Allhallows, on the south side of the River Thames estuary.

This would not win any awards for being picturesque, but the industrial and muddy views proved photogenic.

The holiday was for family to walk the dogs, and relax and play board games together, and this venue fitted the bill nicely, even if we had to shower the dogs several times from the Thames mud.

looking back towards the caravan park

from the hills behind the park over the Thames looking towards Southend on Sea

view across the Thames

Oyster catchers

We saw many sea birds including white herons, and managed to capture a sky lark in flight after listening to its beautiful song from up high.

One of our walks took us along the Medway estuary, with views of the oil refinery beyond. I love the contrast of nature with industry.

Of course, the 3 dogs enjoyed the walks – standing guard maybe?

And it got a bit windy – here is Reggie styling a side parting.Much of the landscape here was created as part of the Thames flood management program, but from the state of the memorial raised to celebrate that, I’m not sure how much I trust them to work, as it is now at a jaunty angle.

We also came across some old concrete bunkers from the wars, that once served to keep the Thames safe from invasion.

Ian didn’t help me in getting some moody shots of the angular structure, but I won eventually.

I can see you

I can still see you

at last

I realised after that I could have had more fun with next these shots, but this was the best I managed.

One benefit of being next to the Thames was that the long but narrow pebbly beach was littered with sea glass, so I just had to employ the family to assist in the collection.

We didn’t make much use of the facilities of the camp site, and no-one would join Rita for a funny family photo

While in Kent. we also visited Upton Castle and Canterbury, so keep watching

Tanzanian Safari Part 3 – Zanzibar

The red colobus monkey is endemic to Zanzibar

We left our camp by the Selous park, for the short drive to an airstrip just inside the Park. Our plane was early!

Here, our jeep drove right up along a small 13 seater plane, and we joined the other 8 people already on board. No passport or security checks, just clamber on board. One spare seat was the co-pilots seat, and Robert was only too pleased to take that one.

He did a very good job of keeping us safe, and we took off from the grass airstrip (making sure there were no wildlife on there first) and enjoyed the views over Tanzania and Dar es Salaam and the coast as we flew over.

Dar Es Salaam

Coast by Dar es Salaam

We then had a taxi ride to our first hotel, the Zanzibari, at Nungwi, near the northern tip of Zanzibar. The surrounding area was quite poor and untidy, so it felt a bit odd to go through the gate with security guards into the hotel and be met by beautiful grounds next to a white beach .

The Zanzibari Hotel pool

The Zanzibari Hotel beachfront

This one is on Zoopla

The Zanzibari Hotel beachfront

The dining room bar was a full sized dhow, including sails, and the grounds were full of flowers, our room was in the Bougainvillea wing.

View from the pool

The bar

fishermen

After a wander around the grounds, we had a lovely 5 course meal, accompanied by a local drum and dance band.

The next day we were scheduled to have a walking tour of the fishing village and see them making the dhows, but we saw a leaflet for a trip to Zanzibar’s Jozani Nature Reserve and a butterfly center, and the hotel were happy for us to change.

We set off in the same taxi with Robert, Ann and Amanda opted for the village trip, for a 90 minute trip down Zanzibar. One noticeable difference from the mainland is that Zanzibar has banned the use of thin plastic bags, and so there is far less litter around.

The butterfly centre was set up by a Scottish man, who arranged for farmers in Zanzibar to farm butterflies, and send the chrysalises to the centre, where they are used to hatch for the centre, or sent to Butterfly houses around the world, giving the farmers a good source of income.

We were shown various life stages of the butterflies, then visited a large mesh arena full of them flying around.

Chrysalises in the hatching cabinet

Chrysalises

lizard

Next we travelled on to the reserve, where we hoped to see some endangered monkeys.

Once we had listened to our guide explain about the reserve, we walked across the car-park, and met some Sykes monkeys climbing above us, then saw the rare red colobus monkeys.

Sykes Monkey

Baby Sykes monkey

Sykes monkey

Mangrove

Red colubus monkey

One even sat at eye level for some amazing photographs.

Red colobus monkey

the mangrove boardwalk

Red colobus monkey

The red colobus monkey is endemic to Zanzibar, and has a population of around 1000, so it was rather special to get such a good look at them in the wild.

We had a walk around the rain forest and then a short drive to the mangrove swamps, with the guide explaining about the environment and wildlife.

After the drive back to our hotel, we enjoyed a swim and relax before another delicious meal.

Our last day took us in the taxi back to Zanzibar city, and our last hotel, the Dhow Palace, in the Stone Town area. Stone town was a medieval town, and many old building remain, including a fort. We had a walking tour and also visited the food market where we bought some spices.

Market stalls in Stone Town

House of Wonders – closed for renovation

Amphi theatre

Fort

Stone town is also famous for its carved doors, though a lot are fairly modern now.

Our guide took us the the Anglican church that stands where the slave market used to be, and has a very good museum showing the history of slavery in Zanzibar.

We had a chance to explore the hotel after the tour – its a very interesting building with wonderful features.

The swimming pool is in the centre of the hotel

Stained glass

the history of the Dhow Palace Hotel

Steps down to pool

Our shower!

swimming pool taken from roof terrace at night

Sadly, this was the end of our trip, as our plane to Nairobi left at 02:00 the next morning.

I hope you have enjoyed the blogs and photos as much as we enjoyed the trip.

Tanzanian Safari part 2 – Selous

After our trip to Serengeti in my last blog, we then travelled to the Selous Park for the next part of our trip. This started with the 150km drive back to Mwanza, a flight to Dar es Salaam, minibus to Dar train station (a wreck of a place) and onto the train to Kisaki. This train actually travels twice a week all the way to Kapiri Mposhi, in Zambia, and takes 2 days.

Our trip should have been a 4 hour trip, but mechanical problems added 2 hours to the trip, so we arrived late at night, tired and hungry.

A quick drive to Sable Mountain Lodge, and dinner, and bed was all we could manage.

Due to the remote location, and the bandas are spread out, a guard with gun had to escort us to our banda.

Next morning, we woke with the dawn, and opened the curtain (no door) to the front of our banda, and WOW!

The bath was outside on a high balcony with the most incredible view

the outdoor bath

our bed

The view from the bath

After a later start we set off for a game drive in the Selous Park.

Mother and baby baboon

Baboon

Baboon school?

Entrance to Selous Game Reserve

Warthog

Mongooses? Mongeese?

Run away, run away

Red Colobus Monkey

Baboons and warthog

Muddy warthog

Elephant

Umbrella tree

We were met by a troop of baboons as we entered the park, and continued to see many animals on our drive.

And lots of birds:

Tawny eagle

Red BilledHornbill

Ground Hornbill

Flying white headed vulture

Grey Go-away Bird

Long-tailed Fiscal

Flying white headed vulture

Hoopoe

dead tree

African Fish Eagle

African Pied Wagtail

Lapwing

Sacred Ibis

African Jakana

Ibis standing on Hippos

Fish Eagle

Giant Kingfisher

Spoonbill

Flight of Glossy Ibis

We stopped for lunch by a large lake, and then took a boat trip amongst the hippos and crocodiles.

Croc

This flying fish leapt into out boat

Mother and baby Hippo

Hippo attacking a crocodile

We were warned about flying fish, and sure enough, one tried 3 times, and eventually leapt into our boat. We saw mother and baby hippos on the banks and lots of crocs.

We then had a quick look at the ‘Bush Rover’ Land Rover Tent, which another couple we met in camp were staying in here overnight. The spiral stairs lead to a bedroom with balcony.

This must be rather exciting, but noisy at night with all of the wildlife.

Fed and watered, we set off driving again, and were lucky enough to meet some kudu, which are normally very shy, plus many more animals and birds.

kudu

Kudu

Eventually, worn out from our ‘African massage’ of a drive, and nearing park closing time, we speedily drove back to camp.

The next morning, as I started getting up, I heard noises above our tent in the banda, and as I went (outside the tent, but under the roof) to the toilet, a bushbaby (galago) ran across the top of the wall!

Sadly, he didn’t stay for a photo shot.

It was another early start, setting back out for a dawn game drive before breakfast.

We saw a lot of zebra, impala and giraffe, and a tree full of black and white colobus monkeys.

black and white colobus monkeys

Giraffe

Zebra crossing

Brown snake eagle

Brown headed parrot

Bee eater

Vervet monkey

Back to camp for breakfast and a lazy morning, then after lunch we set out for a visit to a nearby Masai village, but first we walked down to the tree-house that overlooks the watering hole the camp built, but no wildlife was around. The watering hole takes the water from the camps swimming pool every 3 days, which is drawn fresh from a spring and contains no chemicals.

On route we came across 4 male elephants bathing in a mud hole they had dug right next to the road.

Elephant bath time

Time to go

Mud, mud, glorious mud

The Masai village was interesting. The chief had 3 wives, the second of which is a teacher in their school, and she has insisted he have a brick built house (with solar panel and satellite dish), but other villagers still live in mud and coconut leaf huts.

They showed us the trees they grow and explained their medicinal uses, and then laid out goods they had made for us to buy. The Masai always wear their traditional clothing and the men are allowed to carry their knives in public – we saw a lot of Masai security guards on our later travel.

Masai chief

Masai children

Fence around cattle – they say this confuses lions and keeps them out

a traditional masai hut

Masai goods

Masai baby

We called in at the train station and village where we had arrived, people were waiting for the return train, as they only run twice a week, and it was running several hours late.

On the road back to the camp, we stopped to see some hornbills, when Mbasha noticed a tree full of black and white colobus monkeys, who then leapt from the trees.

Black and White Colobus Monkey

The following morning we had a dawn walking safari, again with an armed guard. Nothing was at the watering hole, but we saw warthog, about 20 water buffalo, and other quick sightings. We also saw some bones from an elephant that was poached for its tusks a few years earlier, and footprints from civet cats, hyena and lions, all only a couple of hundred metres from our lodges.

We walked back uphill to join the river that runs below our camp.

Elephant jaw bone

Bee-eaters

Sadly this was the end of our time in Selous, as we prepared to set off for Zanzibar – keep watching for the next installment.

But not before one last bit of excitement. We were sat in the back of the jeep, and I dropped a water bottle. Mbasha started turning around to pick it up, and stopped, so Ian said he would jump down and fetch it, when Mbasha shouted NO!.

There was a black mamba on the side of the road.

A lucky escape, and we carried on to Zanzibar.

Tanzanian Serengeti

Thompson gazelles, impala, wildebeest, water buffalo, eland…

Grab your passport, camera and anti malaria tablets, we’re off to Tanzania for the next adventure.

As Ian and I have significant birthdays this year and next, we finally booked a safari trip to Tanzania. As part of my presents, I bought a nice new camera, a Nikon D7200, and some decent lenses, and boy! I’m so glad I did.

Our entry to Tanzania was Mwanza airport, a shabby dis-organised affair, and then we were met by our guide, Mbasha, from Explore! and met the rest of our party, Robert, Ann and Amanda, and set off along the road to our first camp. This was a 2 hour drive, and the road is lined almost all of the way with stalls and huts selling assorted produce. If Britain is a nation of shopkeepers, Tanzania is a nation of stall holders.

Our Banda at Little Okavango Camp

Weaver bird nests in the camp

A weaver bird nest

We arrived at the camp, which is set at the edge of the marshes on the Speke Bay in Lake Victoria.

Our accommodation was a tented banda, one of 5, with a comfortable bed, set under trees full of weaver bird nests.

As we had all had a long day, we chilled out in the camp, started some bird watching and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Ian spotted a monitor lizard enjoying a frog for lunch.

Pied kingfisher

Monitor lizard enjoying a frog

Cordon Bleu

The next morning we were up before sunrise for coffee, then set off to visit a local fishing village for the morning market.

Collecting water from the lake

the fish market

fishermen getting set to leave

bright boats

a sail boat leaving

Marabou Stork, these are always found at rubbish tips and markets

cattle pen

The fishermen are out on the lake through the night, with lamps to attract the fish, and then return at dawn to sell their fish. Even if they are married, their fish are sold to the highest buyer among the women, who then sell on smaller bundles of the fish to local people and traders. Most of the catch are whitebait, but also some lungfish, catfish and their favourite, tilapia. The small fish are either cooked in a stew, or dried.

The fishermen have an assortment of boat, some with sails, a few with motors and the rest rowing boats, all painted bright colours.

We returned to camp for a lazy afternoon, then set off in a handmade canoe for a trip along the canals cut into the reeds by the fishermen.

the flash of a kingfisher diving

flyucathcer

grey flycathcer

a fisherman wading in the canal to remove a large branch blocking our way

the canal

reeds along the canal

White crowned shrike

Malachite kingfisher

Lots of birds to see, as we paddled between the reed and papyrus.

As the sun set back at camp a pair of grey crowned cranes settled in nearby trees.

grey crowned cranes

Our sleep was again disturbed by the sound of nearby farmers scaring elephants from their plots with whistles and shouting, but we never saw the elephants around.

On Wednesday, we were again up at dawn for breakfast, then set off in the jeep to Serengeti Park.

Gate to Serengeti Park

Wildebeest

Gate to Serengeti Park

Helmeted Guinea Fowl

We saw lots of animals and birds, including Thompson gazelles, impala, wildebeest, water buffalo, eland, topi, Hippo, crocodiles, tortoise, baboon, Vervet monkey, giraffe, zebra, warthog, dwarf mongoose, banded mongoose, black backed jackal, hyena and a hare.

Baboon

Male Impala

Wildebeest

Vervet (or blue-balled) monkey

Impala

Giraffe

Hyena

Black-backed jackals

Impala

This giraffe was standing in the road as we turned a corner

and stretch!

Topi

Crocodile

young zebra

Baboon

baby hippo

Topi

Hare

Eland

Thompson gazelle

We also saw many many beautiful birds, and decided that as they are all so colourful, they are names for any monochrome part they might have, so a kingfisher with bright turquoise wings is called a grey headed kingfisher.

Yellow Throated longclaw

Double-banded courser

barbets

Silver bird

Crowned Plover

White Rumped Shrike

Ostrich

Barbet

White crowned shrike

Glossy starling

White crowned shrike

Lilac breasted Roller

African Wattled Lapwing

Glossy starling

Long crested eagle

Lilac breasted Roller

Secretary Bird

Our luckiest siting was as we watched Hippos from a bridge over a watering hole, and Amanda noticed a leopard resting on the bank the other side of the jeep. It crept away once we had seen it, but not before i got a quick shot of it.

As we travelled on, we came into a large open area with a clear watering hole, full of all types of animal, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, impala etc, plus storks, cranes and geese.

As time was passing we set off back for camp, saying we were still missing a few animals, like Lion, Rhino and Cheetah, but as we approached the gate, I spotted a female lion and 2 cubs by the road. We quickly stopped the jeep and reversed, but she took the cubs into the bush. However Mbasha noticed a young male lion hiding in the bushes.

So we left the park happy, and returned to camp just before a thunderstorm.

Next morning we set off after coffee for a boat trip on the Lake.

Shrike

net fishermen hauling in their drag net

Pied kingfisher

tern

Fisherman on lake

Squacco Heron

Children fetching water

Papyrus

Pied kingfisher

White-throated Bee-eater

swift

a very distant photo of flamingos

Our brunch was served at the top of the lookout tower, with a view to the camp and across the Serengeti Park in the distance.

An afternoon walk gave more bird watching opportunity before the dark clouds and rainbow sent us back to camp for our last dinner in this camp, ready for our travel to the Selous Park. Back soon for that adventure.

White-throated Bee-eater

Rainbow over the reserve

Dragonfly