It doesn't get any more real than hearing hippos snorting in the night as they pass close to your pillow, not to mention the giddy sense of anticipation of just what you might see, writes ROSITA BOLAND
‘BUT YOU’RE not going on a real safari, are you?” is what someone said rhetorically to me just before I left for a safari-centered tour in Tanzania. I didn’t know what she meant by that, but I found myself thinking back to the comment when I stepped out of our eight-seater plane at Selous Game Reserve and stared down the dirt runway at the herd of elephants crossing there.
I’m not sure what kind of safari my friend had in mind – or indeed, what era in history her image of a safari was located in – but I don’t think it gets any more real than hearing hippos snorting in the night as they pass close to your pillow.
Prior to going to Tanzania, I’d never been on a safari holiday of any kind. My expectations were vague, but gleeful. All I knew is that there would definitely be animals somewhere; animals of the kind that temporarily turn adults into children again – elephants, giraffe, lion, zebra, hippo – because probably the last time they’ve had a good look at them was in a storybook.
Ruaha National Park in the southwest of Tanzania is a two-hour flight with Coastal Aviation from Dar Es Salaam, the capital. The description of “park” doesn’t really do justice to Ruaha, though, because this “park” is the size of Switzerland. And the camp of Jongomero, which has only eight tents, and where we started the safari and stayed for two nights, is 70km from its closest neighbour. As we flew in, my face pressed against the window, I couldn’t stop shouting out with excitement. We could see two hippos sunbathing on a sandbank – wildlife before we even landed!
Jongomero is superbly remote, set on the shores of a dry riverbank, that floods once a year. When you're there, you really are gloriously far away from everything and everyone. The only other people you're going to see are those staying and working at the camp. However, if you'd been at Jongomero in July, you'd also have seen Brian O'Driscoll and his new wife, Amy Huberman, who honeymooned there. (On our press trip, the man from the Daily Expresshad their tent.)
AH, THE TENTS. Before arriving, I was as vague about what a safari tent meant as I was on what composed a safari. Jongomero is one of three luxury camps owned by Selous Safari Company. Jongomero and Selous are safari camps, and Ras Kutani is by the ocean south of Dar Es Salaam, a resort where people usually go to relax after safari. My beautiful tent at Jongomero was the size of a cottage, with canvas and mosquito netting for walls, furniture made from the wood of a reclaimed boat, and a solar-powered shower. The tents are scattered throughout the property, and once it’s dark, camp policy is to provide an escort (usually armed), as you walk to and from them.
Why the escort? There be, if not quite dragons, beasts that can kill you in the bush, and lots of them are never far away. Many African animals hunt for food at night, and you don’t want to end up either being part of their menu, or, for the vegetarian animals, such as hippos, killed by sheer angry weight when you get in their way.
Game drives are the core activity of every safari camp, taking place early in the morning before the heat of the day, or at 4pm, two hours before sundown. We piled into the Land Rover at 4pm for our first drive, listening to instructions not to stand up when inside: sadly, an upright human, due to centuries of hunting, is interpreted by game as a threat.
At most camps, guides will radio each other once they find something interesting, but the happy truth is that you never know what you’re going to see. This unpredictability might frustrate some people who’ve paid a lot of money for the experience, but it’s a reminder of the fact that you’re trying to spot animals that are wild, and not their zoo-dwelling counterparts. You would have to be extremely unlucky to go on safari and not see at least some of the game species you’re hoping to find, but if you’re totally set on seeing something in particular, don’t spoil it for yourself by not enjoying what you do actually see.
On my first game drive, we saw a pair of jackals, elephants taking a sand bath, giraffe including their young, a herd of some 300 buffalo, the tiny antelope-like creatures called Kirk’s Dikdik – “when you’re born the size of a sandwich, you don’t get much sleep”, our amazing guide, camp manager Andrew “Molly” Molinaro remarked sagely – baboons, zebra, impala, and mongoose. I can only describe the experience as surreal. If there hadn’t been quite so many pesky little flies, my mouth would have been permanently open.
As the rapid and dramatic African sunset began, Molly stopped the vehicle, got out, and before any of us knew what he was doing, had magicked up a bar from a coolbox and a folding table. In the river below us, were some 18 hippos. That’s one gin and tonic sundowner I’ll never forget.
At Jongomero, weather permitting, you eat outside. We sat at a long candlelit table, but you can choose to eat at separate tables if you prefer. As expected from a top quality camp, both food and service was consistently excellent. Over us was a vivid canopy of stars, and all around were the unfamiliar and thrilling sounds of shuffling, snuffling, bellowing and roaring from the unseen creatures in the bush.
Just after dawn (and a wake-up coffee delivered to my tent), we were off on a walking safari. The drill is, wear neutral colours, be quiet, and walk in single file, bookended by armed guides. The pace is obviously slower, and the territory you cover far less, but a walking safari is all about the details. Molly is one of the most knowledgeable and enthuasiastic guides I’ve ever had, and he made the walk – and our games drives – very rich experiences.
On our walk, we examined tracks, including lion “three days old”; discovered the mysteries of life in a termite mould; learned to recognise which direction an elephant had been walking in (they scuff the onwards direction of the print); and correctly identified the dung of elephant, giraffe and impala. We also came across two actual elephants, which is an experience I’ve not previously had before breakfast – which was unexpectedly served up three hours into the walk under a shady tree, by staff who had driven out to meet us. There was a table, chairs, proper china, home-made pastries and a hot breakfast. Was that indulgence? Oh, hell, yes . . . and it was marvellous.
FROM JONGOMERO, we flew 90 minutes to Selous, one of the best-known safari parks in Tanzania (the Serengeti is its most famous). Selous has 13 tents, and there are other camps not far away, so it’s not the same experience of extreme remoteness.
However, it is the only camp in that area of the park that fronts a lake, so you consistently get to see game early and late when they come to drink. I looked out of my tent half an hour after arrival and saw a line of giraffes ambling by.
The tents here have the additional pleasure of screened outdoor showers alongside them so you can shower staring up at the stars, which is what I did before dinner. Like at Jongomero, the tables are located in different places for each meal: sometimes by the lovely pool, sometimes in the bush itself, and all of them by candlelight. Menus are rotated, so guests – God forbid – travelling between camps aren’t eating the same things two nights running (all meals are set menus).
At Selous, as well as game drives and walking safaris, you can also go on a boat safari. I went out on the water, and observed more crocodiles at close quarters than was good for my nerves, fish eagles, hippos, elephants drinking, and giraffe grazing. Again, it was a different kind of game-viewing experience, and one that totally complemented the other two.
While I was out on the boat, the others in the group saw seven lions eating a wildebeest. They returned with stories of the unnerving sound of crunching bones, and cameras full of images. Was I sorry to have missed it? For half a minute, I was very sorry indeed.
Then I thought about all the fabulous animals I had seen in the previous four days, and found myself marvelling again at how much we’d had seen in such a short time. Galloping zebra. Giraffe with their young. Warthogs. The rare and endangered African wild dogs – of which there are only 5,000 left in all of Africa. Hippo. Elephants while out on foot. Buffalo. Kudu. Impala. Jackals. Wildebeest.
So I didn't see any lion – but10 minutes before our final game drive finished, from where we were going directly to the landing strip, we saw our first and only leopard melting quietly into the bush, his tail the last of him to disappear. So I think, all told, I went on a "real safari".
Go there
Kenya Airways (kenya-airways.com) flies from Heathrow to Nairobi with onward connections to Dar Es Salaam. Prices from £597.97 (€684 ). Within Tanzania, Coastal Aviation (coastal.cc) connects with the Selous camps.
What it will cost to go on safari
Tanzania Odyssey (00-44-20-7471-8780, tanzaniaodyssey.com) offers bespoke itineraries. It is currently offering a nine-night safari and beach combination in Tanzania for €4,916 per person, valid for selected departures from October to March 2011.
The price includes scheduled flights from Dublin via Heathrow, internal transfers and accommodation on a full-board basis, with three nights at Jongomero camp, three nights at the Selous safari camp and three nights at beachside Ras Kutani.
Game viewing drives in open-sided 4x4 vehicles, concession and park entrance fees, taxes and surcharges are also included. Visas can be bought on arrival, and are $100 (dollar payment only) for holders of Irish passports.
- Rosita Boland was hosted by Selous Safari Company and stayed at Jongomero Camp, Selous Safari Camp and Ras Kutani. selous.com