After three days  our little group is starting to settle in to the routines of life on the move in South Tanzania.  Today we have a bit of a drive up in to the highlands to the town of Iringa and from there to Ruaha National Park. It’s a beautiful drive, we stop at some nice spots on the way and make Iringa in good time for lunch at the Neema cafe and a little time to explore.

After lunch we head downhill, into increasingly wild and empty country – and finally arrive at Ruaha where we spend the next three nights.

Ruaha is a wilderness the size of a small country; we explore a small part of it – how can I condense our adventures into a few lines? Not really possible – here are just some bits and pieces .

It is an odd time of the year, the dry season is at it’s peak but the first rains are arriving (on our first evening Shachar, Rotem and I are standing outside our rooms at the Ruaha Cottages when a bolt of lightning hits the ground a few yards away from us!).  Migrating birds are arriving from the north and life is stirring in the ground: masses of insects are hatching (and invading our rooms) and we see 4 snakes in one day – very unusual.

All this makes for an unpredictable situation – it’s not like the Elephants are here, the Buffaloes there etc.  There are very few other tourists around so the guides mobile phone information network is not so busy.  So it’s really a magical mystery tour as we set off with Modest on our game drives and anything can happen. Indeed, the wildlife takes some finding but it is well worth it and we linger long over Elephants drinking out of the wells they have dug in the sandy riverbed, Lions, giraffes, Kudus and more…

For our second day in Ruaha I have arranged something different: what they call a “walking safari”.  Game drives are undoubtedly the best way to cover ground, find animals and get close to them. But I have a theory ( well it’s more than a theory, it’s my experience) that you really get to know a place through your feet. One isn’t allowed to just go for a walk in a National Park (you might be trampled by an Elephant, mauled by a Lion or not pay anybody anything) so we are escorted and guided by two very charming armed rangers as we make our way slowly along the (almost) dry bed of the Great Ruaha River.

I am reminded of so many walks with family and friends; a very familiar situation. Usually there aren’t Hippos and Crocodiles around, still…

I have been noticing more and more migrant birds every day – the onset of the rains is bringing them south from wherever they have been hanging around. Now as we sit and eat our packed breakfast beside some flowering Baobabs I spot a party of small Falcons hunting along the riverbank. At first I think they may be Lesser Kestrels – a common migratory species, but when they get closer I see they are dark grey, the males and females quite differently coloured, like Red-footed Falcons but different…. I know what they are but it takes me almost half an hour to remember the name (I can’t let it go) – Amur Falcons! This is an extraordinary bird: they breed in South-East Siberia and Northern China, migrate across Asia to India, then cross the Arabian Sea to East Africa where they head South to S.Africa. There route back North is unknown. And here they are exactly on schedule! Totally made my day (though it has been pretty good already).

I could go on and on like this, day after day, just slowly strolling along. But it is getting hot and our walk comes to an end as we reach the dusty track by a bridge over the river; the rangers, who have been carefully looking out for Dangerous Animals, relax and only Shachar’s sharp eyes stop us walking straight into a large Hippo lurking in the bushes by the roadside!  We make a detour, meet up with Modest in the car and return to the cottages for lunch.

In the afternoon we go for our last game drive. Modest is obsessed with finding a Leopard (we haven’t seen one) and cruises past likely spots, anxiously scanning trees and rocks; we are not so bothered. There are a lot of animals around, seems they have come out of hiding now the thunderstorms have passed, and there’s plenty to see.

Towards evening we come across a herd of Elephants in a sandy riverbed. They are just hanging out, digging a bit in the sand for water, a peaceful   quiet scene. We stop and watch them for a while; and then Modest quietly opens his door and gets out , we follow , just standing next to the car. We are not any closer than before, but it’s different standing on the ground. Like it is just you and the Elephants. Nobody says anything for a long time….  then we hear a car approaching and all get quickly back in (not supposed to do this). A lovely finale for our time in this truly wild place.

Next morning we head back to Iringa. On the way out of the park there is a moment of excitement as modest picks up some very fresh Cheetah tracks on the sandy road.  We scan the bush all around but we are just a bit late to see this rare carnivore. Instead we take pictures of the carved Leopard at the gate and head off, stopping at a Maasai homestead and visiting Modest’s parents at Tungamalenga village.

I had planned a rather leisurely afternoon – a traditional lunch  in Tungamalenga and then some shopping and sightseeing in Iringa – but our afternoon flight to Dar  tomorrow has been cancelled and we will have to leave in the morning. So tomorrow’s visit to Isimila stone age site and gorge will have to be today which makes everything a bit more rushed.

Still we fit it all in, have a bit of a walk around the town with Modest’s cousin Sam and make it to the stone age site in time to be caught in a torrential downpour. Myself and the older (more sensible?) members of the party opted out of the longer walk through the dramatic gorge; we wander around the eroded gully picking up Paleolithic hand axes until the first drops send us to the cover of the nearby WC. The others appear about half an hour later soaked to the bone but delighted with their little escapade. I run to the car and get my umbrella and Sam helps shepherd everyone to the safety of the little museum, whereupon (of course) it soon stops raining. Good fun had by all.

That’s almost it. Next day early birds do a little shopping in town; we make some awful group photos at the Gentle Hills Hotel  before leaving for our short flight to Dar es Salaam. There we settle in to the comfort of  the seaside luxury/kitsch Swahili coast stylish Kunduchi Beach Hotel. Claudia, Monique and I will be leaving early in the morning for the final part of this adventure. The others have another day here before flying home (flights got changed). The sand is white, the Indian Ocean deep blue;  The coconut palms sway in the wind and the restaurant get my order wrong . I love Africa.