TANZANIA 2010: February Safari

I returned to the glorious wildlife-rich countries of Kenya and Tanzania in February with a wonderful small group of friends from the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC), and joined Ben in leading another outstanding safari.

Over the course of the 22 day trip, 13 were spent in Tanzania exploring the Northern Circuit, from the temperate montane forests of Arusha National Park to the endless plains of the Serengeti. For the remainder of our trip we worked our way eastwards towards the Kenyan coast, beginning in the Tsavo’s and ending up at coastal woodlands of Arabuko-Sokoke. Everyone agreed that one could have stayed longer at each location – the friendly people, wealth of wildlife, beautiful landscape and wonderful lodgings make each place unique.

With the exception of a shower here-and-there, we could not have asked for more pleasant weather or temperatures throughout the trip. Following the failure of the long rains (April-June) and a year of drought, most of the region had received the much-needed short seasonal rains (Nov-Dec), and it was nice to these areas lush and green. Sadly the exception was the Kenyan Coast, where they were teased in November with a little rainfall, only to suffer in the following months.

The trip concluded with a very respectable total of 526 species, over 80 butterflies (identifiable thanks to digital photos!), 16 reptiles, and least we forget the other major reason why East Africa is such a delight, 61 mammals. There were also a few unidentified rodents, bats and frogs that got away!