Scribbles and Photos

Mama & Baby (Tanzania) On two occasions I've had the rare -- but oh so wonderful -- experience of being on safari with no other folks sharing the safari vehicle.  This may not sound like such a big deal so first let me explain the best and the worst of strangers in closed spaces. The best of stranger safari companions come from Australia.  I've experienced this ilk twice -- once at Chief's Camp in Botswana (more about those folks in a bit) and once at Serengeti under Canvas  in Tanzania last year.  Julia (my niece) and I had just landed at a bush airstrip where we shared cookies and cakes while waiting for our Aussie jeep mates.  Trevor, Louise, and Liz arrived and we were off to the camp in a burst of dust.  Given the prevalence of rather large guns at the airstrip (something about the government picking up taxes?!?!), I was quite glad to get going.  We chatted amiably as our driver took the leisurely route back to the camp.  Treating ...

Turning the Corner (Southern Serengeti Under Canvas) What I learned on the way to seeing the "great migration" is that it's more than getting safely across t he Mara River. That's just one point in a big and endless movement of herds that varies only in its timing from year to year. In a nutshell, the herds are following the rains -- it takes a lot of new grass to feed the approximately 1.5 million wildebeests. Along the way, they are eating, having babies, fighting amongst each other, eating, making love, and falling prey to predators. Those are all facts about wildebeest an d the migration -- for those with an appetite for such facts, they are easily found elsewhere on the Web. As for me, I've written about how I return to Africa time and again in Unexpected . Truth be told, I was hoping that this trip -- my third -- would get the dark continent out of my blood, leaving space for all those other adventures on other continents. A Rare Sighting of...

In just about six weeks, I’m going to Tanzania. The trip – which has been planned for some months now – is all about the African bush. This will be my 3rd trip to Africa and it is to be the first trip where I did not get sidetracked by other things – like culture, beautiful oceans, or history. As planned, my niece Julia and I are starting out in a mobile tented camp ( Serengeti under Canvas). The camp moves around the Serengeti with the goal of bringing guests within reach of great Wildebeast migration. The great unknown of the trip is that there is no guarantee that we will see herds here on the Serengheti or in one of the other camps. The wildebeast were early this year on their journey – passing across the plains in August as they trudged along on the vast circle that is the essence of the migration. We may see them here on the plains or we may see them up in Klein’s Camp or we may not see them at all. Regardless, this tented camp is to be my Isak Dineson moment – in a tent, unde...