Travelogue 2

 Our early morning drive to the Lake Manyara airstrip was uneventful and flight check-in very straight forward. There were 12 of us on the Grand Caravan flight - no spare seats - so I was sitting behind the pilot but luckily most left at our first stop on the way so there was a bit more room. We had to make a wide loop on our way in to the second stop so the ground crew could clear the herd of Giraffe off the runway.

We were met at Kogatende by Edgar - our guide for the next 4 days - and had an interesting 2 hour game drive along the Mara river on our way to the Kaskaz Mara Tented camp. 

Secretary Bird

Hippo and Nile Croc

Nellie!

Most of the staff were waiting as we arrived to sing us a welcome and then showed us to our tent before lunch.

Our evening drive took us over to the San River - the border with the Masai Mara - where we saw a wide range of animals including Elephant, Giraffe and Hyena before coming on the Kaskaz Pride - three female lioness with 6 cubs - sleeping on the side of a creek. We were later than planned on the way back but managed to get in before the 19.00 curfew - just in time for a drink before dinner.

After three full days of game drives -  with a few details still to follow - we were seen off the premises by another group of camp staff singing us farewell as we headed back to the airport. Our leisurely drive still allowed us to see a group of Hyena finishing off their nighttime kill with a variety of vultures and a couple of Silver-backed Jackals waiting their turn. Along with more huge herds of Wildebeest; a large herd of Zebra with a new-born calf which was attracting the unsuccessful attention of a couple of Hyena; a Lioness who had found a vantage point on a grassy knoll; a tower of Giraffe; 

and a large group of Hippo in the Mara River with a couple of attendant crocs.

We boarded our Auric Airways Grand Caravan at Kogatende - enroute to Seronera (20 mins) and onward to Zanzibar (2 hrs) with a flight that was almost full. However at Seronera we disembarked three passengers but collected the 'Golightly family' of 4. It was a big of a giveaway when the ground crew started removing seats to allow them access - but Mother, Father, Son and Daughter must have weighed at least 1000lbs between them - they all needed seatbealt extensions.  As we headed down the runway I noticed that we had used substantially more takeoff room than our four previous flights!

However we landed safely in Zanzibar, met our driver and headed for the beach - as the Golightly's loaded themselves onboard a 20 seater coach!