25.11.2019 Lake Manyara
It had rained and rained through the night and we were worried whether we would be able to go on a game drive at all in the morning . Miraculously the rains stopped. Just in time for us .
Breakfast :
We went out after having a nice breakfast and Hussein drove us on the forest road towards the escarpment in search of fauna and some flora . This time the weather had relented enough for birds to go out foraging , gathering best material and singing . .Soon we were spotting birds in the branches on large trees in the forest and in the bushes fairly close to our lodge .
We drove around a bend to see more Ground hornbills . These birds seem to be thriving in Lake Manyara . Apparently Lake Manyara used to have rhinos too which were hunted down and made extinct in these parts .
Parts of the reserve was now no longer accessible because of the rains . The streams were now in full spate and made the jungle roads impassable but made an impressive sight roaring down. What was a mere trickle yesterday and has now swollen to a formidable fast flowing rivers.
We ventured again by the lakeshore . We walked down to the Lake , well aware that the Lions had walked this very same area in front of us last night . As we watched the Flamingoes in the lake with awe , I noticed that Hussein was up-to something on the bridge . He had his phone resting upright on his cap , and was doing something which we could not figure out . We thought he was saying his prayers .
When we asked him , he said that he was recording a hip hop song ! When we asked him whether we could watch his spiel , he bashfully condescended to do so .
He then proceeded to rap out a song with all the gestures of an accomplished hip hop artist !
Turns out that he and his twin brother Hassan formed a crew and that they would later add a backing track in a studio . On been asked what the song meant , he said it carried a social message about how young people should take care of their society and not just party and have a good time !
Everybody young in this world have aspirations to do better and he was dreaming of been a hip hop artist rather than been a guide !
Hussain
We continued with our journey and stopped again at the place where we had seen the zebra kill . Not a single sign of it but plenty of lion footprints .
The rain had caused all the streams, in this part of the forest , to overflow their banks . In fact the forest had got divided into two as at a particular place, for the main river , now in full throated flood mode , had overflown the bridge .
It was flowing fast ,m, muddy with washed down soil and floating tree branches . It looked dangerous . We inspected the turbulent stream closely . It was flowing well above the low bridge and we decided that it would be foolhardy to try and cross the river .
In spite of that , there were still couple of Hadada Ibises with a beautiful green sheen on their wings , grubbing around the stream and five hippos who had decided that today was the day to enjoy a fast flowing stream . The dense forest brush and the trees towards the escarpment , remained upright with their leaves glistening in the rain.
Suddenly a crash of Buffaloes , jumped out into the empty road in front of us . What looked like a forest bereft of animals , was suddenly teeming with them . The Buffaloes looked at us meanly and with evil intent , daring us to step down . The massive horns on the huge skulls of some of the old daga bulls looked are something to behold . The buffalo is an unpredictable creature , hiding itself in thick brush , revisiting after pretending to run away , with an penchant for attacking people on foot . Only a pride of lions will take on a solitary bull . Suddenly as they had appeared they vanished back into the thick brush.
Further down a group of Waterbuck appeared . These fairly large antelopes are handsome creatures , with almost silvery fur and a mouse like face , often to be found near water sources .
The wiki entry on Waterbuck reads :Experienced hunters have discovered that it is the skin and hair of the Waterbuck that give off an unpleasant oily smell which affects the meat. As long as you ensure that the outside of the skin and hair do not come into contact with the meat during the skinning process, the meat is indeed edible and even tasty.
Apparently lions are not deterred by such dainty considerations !
After watching more Herbivores we came back to our lodge for a quiet lunch at the lodge and then went out around 1630 hours once again back tot he forest .
While we were watching the animals and birds ,we suddenly got word that one of the vehicles had broken down . Hussein said that since he had a rope in the car and he was the closest , he was going to go and help the stuck car .
We agreed and in a few minutes we turned a corner around the lake shore to be met with an utter surprise !
Abdullah had set up a full scale bar with snacks in place besides the shoreline with a great view of the lake , hippos and gazelles grazing in a distance . As Hussein put it ‘ A surprise is better than a promise ‘ .
We were greeted with many a Karibu Sana and settled down to a couple of sundowners . It was lovely and after a long day , very welcome .
G&T’s preparer by Abdullah
Watching the flamingoes in a distance , a black backed jackal walked around hungrily , ‘Poombas ‘ with their families doing what Poombas do , hippos prepared to do their evening pilgrimage to their feeding grounds , and a couple of buffaloes looked at us in with disdain.
It was a nice evening .
We finished up and came back to the lodge as darkness descended into the forest .
The dinner had been set up alfresco in the sandy arena before the barbecue , oven and tandoor set up .
We celebrated our last night in Lake Manyara , with a lovely meal of tandoori chicken , lamb kofta and pilaf .
We went to sleep to the gentle pitter- latter of rain and dreams of pink flamingoes and hippos dancing by the lake shore !
Travels with Huvi et Tufan 