Ropes hanging from the heaven!

Ropes have been hanging from the heaven as the rains came down on us during our Lekoli River exploration with Kingsley and his team. This is a good exercise before the last trek to the geo-center of Africa on their Heart of Africa Expedition.

Ricus & Kingsley walking up to Lango Bai

Lekoli River in Odzala NP, Northen Congo

Kingsley Holgate and the Heart of Africa Expedition Team at Odzala

Kingsley Holgate and his Heart of Africa Expedition Team have arrived at Mboko, Odzala National Park in the North of the Congo. Its great catching up with an old friend in this special place!

and then we find them!

And then, as we crawl into a small clearing in the undergrowth we find them. The big old silverback and a young male are enjoying a breakfast of fresh roots that they're digging out as a mother with a baby sit and stare at us and a few youngsters play around, swinging and hanging from the Tarzan ropes. https://www.facebook.com/indigenousafrica

Fifty shades of green

Searching for the great apes in the Congo Basin is the highlight of our forest safari in Central Africa. Here we got some fresh spoor and the tracker and guide went into stealth mode as we slowly made our way through the thick green wall of marantasy, always on the lookout as you scan through fifty shades of green for any sign of the gorillas. www.indigenousafrica.com

Go on safari because tourism pays for conservation!

My favourite sighting in the Selous! Unfortunately with dramatic declining numbers of ellies in Africa we all need to get involved if we want to make a difference and save these gentle giants from the hands of the poachers and ivory traders. If you are not directly involved in a specific conservation fund or project then all you have to do is to go on safari and choose a respectable operator who do their share in conservation. Go on safari because tourism pays for conservation!

Hatari, dugga boy ahead!

Dugga is the bantu word for mud or cement and is used to describe old Cape Buffalo bulls, who have been kicked out of the herd and spend their days hanging around the African pans and rolling in the mud to protect themselves from insects and the sun. They are notorious for being very dirty but also being excessively dangerous and volatile so we are always on alert for these Selous loners.

Selous’s impala

We had a wonderfully wet season in the Selous so far with strong and healthy looking impala that are full of energy and a joy to observe as they graze and play in the camp.

Northern Carmine Bee-eaters

It is just spectacular to witness a huge flock of Northern Carmine Bee-eaters homing in on a swarm of insects and giving you an aerial display like no other bird can. The insects have no chance as they get picked off one by one!

Ellies are awesome!

Spend some time following ellies on a walking safari or sometimes just relax around the pool, magical! It is such a shame that these beautiful and intelligent giants have such a hard time.

With a chirp chirp and a wiggle wiggle...

I love this photo of Pietro having a chat this morning with our resident bul-bul, white-browed sparrow-weavers and black-headed weavers. The white-browed sparrow-weavers and the bul bul brought their chicks to the reception this week. It is just a constant chirp chirp and wiggle wiggle as the big babies beg their parents for food. It is also a first time for me to observe the whole family of white-browed sparrow-weavers feeding the little chicks. They have two chicks out of a family of 13 adults and its awesome watching the adults lining up with food for the chicks!

What’s your favorite sound in the African bush?

An authentic African safari can only be complete when you sit around the bushfire, chatting about the day’s sightings and experiences and listening to the distinct ‘whoo-up’ of a hyena in the distance.

Hyenas are not our most favourite predator and definitely not the prettiest or most hygienic, but there is nothing cuter than a baby hyena with their curious expressions when they hear the ice clink-clink in a glass of G&T with a sunset in the background.

They are known as scavengers but are in actual fact very determined hunters, with lots and lots of stamina and they make my most favourite sound in Africa, their laugh is infectious and Pietro and I have giggled many a time with them!

Bagamoyo, beginning or the end?

I took this photo at Bagamoyo when we did our recent Swahili Coast Expedition. We have just visited the local fish market and bought some fresh supplies and were walking back to our camping site.

Bagamoyo have been a trading port for hundreds of years and also the gateway to East Africa for Victorian explorers like  Burton, Speke, Stanley and Grant. Unfortunately it was also the place that Livingstone’s body left Africa to be shipped via Zanzibar back to England (more about Bagamoyo and our expedition in our blog coming soon!).