Tanzania Wildlife Safari - Serengeti and Singita

When Will suggested that I should head back to Tanzania in November 2007 to visit a few lodges in the Serengeti I was glad to be going back to my old stomping ground. He then mentioned; ‘may be it would be a good idea to check out the Singita Grumeti Reserves whilst you’re there’. I couldn’t agree more knowing that Singita ran the fabulous Ebony Lodge in the Sabi Sands Reserve, South Africa as well as a clutch of other distinguished lodges. I knew I might be in for a real treat.

Upon arriving in Arusha I headed for the Arusha Coffee Lodge, a delightful place set in, as its name suggests, the grounds of a coffee plantation (Tanzania’s largest) and conveniently close to the Arusha airstrip. After a restful night’s sleep in their luxuriant plantation cottage I set out to catch my early morning flight to the Sasakwa airstrip, right in the heart of the Singita Grumeti Reserves.

Now the Singita Grumeti Reserves are located adjacent to the famed Western Corridor of the Serengeti National Park. Bordering the Serengeti the Grumeti Reserves encompass and extensive area of ‘unrivalled wilderness’. For once the marketing blurb does not do it justice. This area also forms part of the celebrated migration route, which is traveled by hundreds of thousands of gallivanting wildebeest and zebra every year.

My flight from Arusha took me north for a brief touch down at the Klein’s Camp airstrip and then leaving the Lobo Hills behind flying right across the northern sector of the Serengeti National Park. It was here, or there about, that I got my first glimpse of what at first appeared to be a ribbon like procession of ants on the ground below. It was only after starring in awe for a few moments did it dawn that what was unfolding below was the wonder that is the annual migration as the herds headed south again. Just a taste of things to come.

After touching down at the Sasakwa airstrip I was picked up my guide and host, Abdulluah. We then set off game viewing on the way to Sabora Tented Camp, one of the three luxurious lodges that Singita have created and manage in the Grumeti Reserves. Sabora is like no other tented camp I know or have stayed at. This was my first brush with luxury for a man of ‘canvas and camp beds’. Situated in the heart the grass plains, Sabora and its 6 tents are discreetly dotted over a slight rise with a few scattered acacias to provide shade. Guests can gaze ‘cheetah’ like over the surrounding plains and marvel at the wildlife about them.

The tents themselves are paired with a library and sitting room in between them. The interiors are fitted out in regal campaign style of the early 1900’s with wooden campaign furniture, tribal rugs, scatter cushions and adorned with antique curios. Imagine Edward and Mrs. Simpson on safari and you are just about there. There’s a viewing deck with your own spotting scope (in fact all the Singita lodges provide guests with a Swarovski scope to use – no expense spared!) and there are day beds nestled under shady acacias. My personal favorites for flamboyant luxury were the discreetly screen out-door showers and the tennis court that, judging by its appearance, was more often used by the zebra as a dust bath.

For my first evenings game drive we set out on to the plains to see what we could find. The beauty of the Singita Game Reserves is that off road driving is permitted to get that bit closer to any ‘significant’ sightings. So within a few minutes (OK x10) I was just a few metres away from 2 young male lions relaxing in the evening sunlight. After leisurely watching them for a while Abdulluah decided it was time to head off in a different direction. I was curious as to why our next stop was in the middle of the plains with not much about. As he jumped out of our open-sided 4x4 my curiosity turned to concern. After rummaging in the back of the vehicle for a moment he promptly returned to setup a minibar, on a fold-down table complete with maasai tablecloth. What a way to end the day, with a cool beer in one hand and a bag of nibbles in the other.
After a mornings game drive to see a hyenas den that pulsated with action, youngsters squabbling over the remains of a ‘Tommy’ kill, I set off with Abdullah to my second night’s stop at Sasakwa Lodge. Like a laird over looking its realm, Sasakwa Lodge is perched on top of Sasakwa Hill commanding fine views over the plains below. The grand central manor house hosts the dinning room, drawing room and bar, billiards room, garden room and a games room for the kids which is conveniently tucked away. Wide verandahs give way to sweeping lawns and an infinity swimming pool. Any one for a game of croquet! With 7 suites, well cottages for those used to more compact abodes, that range in size from 1-4 bedrooms and all offer a sitting room, dressing room, fires to keep any chill at bay and your own plunge pool overlooking the plains. A long with tennis courts, a gymnasium, equestrian centre and archery; Sasakwa is a very grand and stylish country club located in the heart of the wilderness, as the lions roaring at night will certainly remind you. Quite surreal!

For my next day’s game drive I opted to go in search of the rather rare and definitely elusive Patas Monkey (Erythrocebus patas). Abdullah and I set off on to the plains northeast of Sasakwa, area fragmented by Whistling Thorn (Acacia drepanolobium) the preferred habitat of these fascinating monkeys. They are also known as the military, Hussar or Sergeant-Major monkeys due to their facial whiskers and erect posture. Some have also described them as the superlative monkey, as ‘just about everything about them is bigger, faster and defies adjectives’. It is reputedly the worlds fastest primate, running at speeds of up to 55 kph on the tips of its fingers (digitigrady, rather than on the palms of its hands, palmi-grady). They live fast and die young with research from Kenya suggesting that females are sexually mature at the age of 3 years and, on average, die at the age of 4 years surviving just long enough to produce only two offspring. Although widespread across Africa they are relatively scarce in Tanzania. Despite all our efforts to find them I never even caught a glimpse of them. Nevertheless our efforts were not in vain as we were rewarded with witnessing well over 1000 wildebeest gallop past us across the plains and through the Whistling Thorns. Listening to the sound of their gnu grunts and drumming hooves was a barrage on my senses.

To end my time in the Singita Grumeti Reserves I stayed at the Faru Faru Lodge, its name derived from the Kswahili word for rhino. Faru Faru is built on a gently sloping hill overlooking a waterhole and the Grumeti river. When building the lodge its creators discovered the ruins of a small stone built settlement. Incorporating these elements in to some of the main lodge this idea was also incorporated into the style of its canvas and reed tented suites! All 6 of its spacious suites mix urban and safari chic based on the concept of a 1950’s botanist who discovers an ancient human settlement and sets up camp. Light and airy the suites are fitted out with white-washed wood and metal furnishings along with sketch books and colouring pens, just in case you feel inspired. A remote controlled full length window opens out to give delightful views of the river area below. Imagine sitting in bed watching a herd of elephants wander past your window or, my highlight, taking a shower outside as waterbuck pass by. Guests also have the opportunity to go on guided walking safaris in the Grumeti River area, just another added bonus.

Visiting the Singita Grumeti Reserves was a real pleasure and I was pleasantly surprised. Yes the lodges are fantastic, the ultimate in safari indulgence were the ever attentive staff make every effort to make your stay a very special one. In a very genteel way every guest is a VIP. This aside, what struck me most was the quality of the wildlife viewing. When the Grumeti Reserves concessions were first leased in 2002, the game population was seriously depleted, largely as a result of poor wildlife management. The Grumeti Fund, the non-profit arm of the Grumeti Reserves lodge management has achieved much in this area and I can testify that the game sightings that I saw in my short time there were much, much better than I had expected. All the usual suspects of the Serengeti eco-system can be seen in healthy numbers but the real bonus is that you have the feeling of having the plains and bush to your self (game drives are carefully coordinated to ensure that vehicles setting out from the lodges don’t just tail each other). Being the only vehicle at a fresh zebra kill was a treat in deed.

After my stay in the Grumeti Reserves, I was off to the Serengeti. I caught a flight for the short hop to the central Seronera area, were I would base myself. This is where my hard work was to start! I had a list of lodges and tented camps to see as long as my arm and the vastness of the Serengeti to cover in a few short days. It seemed as if I was to cover all the four points of the compass rose as I headed from Kleins Camp to Migration Camp, to the Grumeti River Camp, to Serena Lodge and to Ndutu Wildlife Lodge to name just a few. As I roomed across the Serengeti, with my guide and driver Godbless, I was once again struck by the sheer diversity of the Serengeti and how you can visit this amazing national park again and again and each time encounter something new and exciting. Every corner of its varying terrain and its ever changing seasons are able to offer a different safari experience.

In my view the Serengeti is a year round destination its just a matter of knowing what to expect and where to go. OK April and May can be a wash out! – although in 2007 by all accounts it just kept on raining after the so called ‘short rains’ in Nov/Dec and continued right on through from January until April time. To make the most of your time in the Serengeti should at least visit a couple of different areas to get the feel for this remarkable national park.

In the south, bordering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area are the short-grass plains. This area comes into its own in the ‘green season’ from January to March, just after the short rains (Nov/Dec). This is when the vast herds of wildebeest and zebra gather on the rich and fertile grasslands to feast on a crop of lush fresh growth. This is also when the wildebeest synchronize their birthing and up to 8000 wildebeest calves are born very morning during a 3 week spell in February. At this time of year Ndutu Lodge is an ideal base to set in to the short-grass plains.

Moving northwards you come to the long-grass plains with its kopjes scattered over the otherwise featureless expanse. With evocative names such as Simba, Gol and Moru kopjes, these rounded rocky outcrops are prominent island habits that provide convenient lookout posts for resident cheetah, lion and leopard, as well as a place to rest-up during the day. At the start of the dry season in May or June the long-grass plains become the assembling point for the great trek north of the migrating herds. Huge columns of wildebeest will gather and in single file to head north through the woodlands of the northern and western Serengeti and on to the Maasai Mara. The long-grass plains are also one of the best places to see cheetah particularly around the Gol kopjes area. This area is well serviced by a number of semi-nomadic camps and its also within stricking distance of the central Seronera region, so there are no shortage of quality lodges and camps to stay at; including the Serengeti Safari Camp, the Serena Lodge, the Serengeti Wilderness and a host of others.

The Western Corridor is the long arm of the Serengeti that stretches out towards Lake Victoria. This is an area of open plains, ranges of hills, patches of woodland and the Grumeti River which runs along the length of this corridor. The remote and secluded area is good for game viewing all year but between May and June the Western Corridor plays host to vast herd of wildebeest and zebra as they graze their way northwards on their annual migration. It is the famed crossing of the Grumeti River as the wildebeest run the gauntlet of snapping crocodiles that draws many people to the area. Sadly most are disappointed and don’t get to see this spectacle because the timing of any crossing is hugely unpredictable. This is no reason not to visit the Western Corridor as there is resident game all year round and a number of very good lodges to stay at, including the Grumeti River Camp, Kirawira Camp, Mbalageti and a host of other tented camps.

My stay in the Serengeti, was made very comfortable and the long hours on the road bearable by being able to return each night to the welcoming Serengeti Wilderness Camp. This ‘seasonal’ camp located in the heart of the Serengeti National Park is not pretentious but is a classic tented camp that offers simple comforts and pleasures. What more do you need than a comfy bed with fresh linen and a hot bush-shower to rinse away the Serengeti dust - I think I may have a thing about showers! To recount my adventures with the Godbless, Rajon and the other camp crew around the glowing embers of the fire was a delightful way to finish my Serengeti odyssey.

My thanks to Abdullah, Bjorn, Russel, Michelle, Steve, Olly, Godbless, Rajon, Alain and all staff at the Singita Grumeti Reserve Lodges and the Serengeti Wilderness Camp for making my stay in the Serengeti such an enjoyable one.

Mahale Chimpanzee Safari

Tanzania is blessed with an abundance of wildlife and host of national parks that draws visitors from around the globe to marvel at its spectacular showcase of living creatures. Visitors are spoilt for choice with evocative names such as the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, Selous, Ruaha and so on. Yet on its western boundary there is an enchanting range of forested hills that descend down to the 600km ribbon of water, known as Lake Tangyika. The Mahale Mountains are a spectacular backdrop to the lake but aside from their imposing beauty it is home, like its fabled sister park Gombe Stream, to some truly remarkable beings and our closest relatives the chimpanzees.Back in November 2007 I had, much to Will’s envy, the pleasure of paying a visit to this out of the way corner of Tanzania which only receives a few keen visitors every year who come to see its habituated chimpanzees. As I would later reflect Mahale National Park is, in my view at least, a castaway paradise with the ultimate wildlife experience – close encounters of the ape kind (but I would say that!) Why more visitors don’t strike out this way I can’t fathom but for now for those lucky few who do it is a paradise to share with our cousins the chimpanzees of Mahale.My journey to Mahale started by boarding a Cessna Caravan at the Arusha airstrip. As we trundled down the bare earth runway and left the towering peak of Mount Meru behind I was Mahale bound but as I soon discovered from the pilot by a rather curious route. First stop Kleins Camp in the Northern Serengeti, then it was down to Tabora (central Tanzania) to refuel, next stop Katavi before finally heading northwest again for Lake Tanganyika and the Mahale Mountains National Park. No wonder it took 5 hours but I was travelling in the ‘green season’ when there are only a handful of travellers and it makes sense for charter flights to combine as many pick-ups and drop-offs as they can. Normally it’s a straight flight there with an exciting bush landing at Katavi to break the journey.My first glimpse of the Mahale Range was through broken cloud and I hardly had time to admire its green cloaked mountains before we started our descent to an unseen airstrip. As Lake Tanganiyka loomed ever larger directly in front of us we swooped over a few shambas (small farm holdings) before touching down just short of the shoreline. There had obviously been a recent down pour as the airstrip was somewhat water logged, so for a moment I thought I might end up having an early bath!My home for the next few days was to be Nomad’s intriguingly named ‘Greystoke’ Camp. After a warm welcome by some of the camp crew we set off by dhow on the final leg of this odyssey. Gliding over the clear waters of Lake Tangayika we headed south along its eastern shore, the dark forested and mysterious shoreline of the incongruously named Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) peering on the not so distant horizon to the west. Passing the last village before the park a silver sheen carpeted its beach in patches. As I wondered what on earth it was Kabeth, our guide, explained that it was the sardine-sized fish locally known as Daga that the villagers had left out to dry. More like rot, by the smell of it, in this hot and humid air. Cruising ever southwards as I gazed in awe at the lush green hills that rose to jutting peaks (which I gather in the dry season take on more brown hues) I got a sense of why ‘Greystoke’ was so named. As after rounding a headland the camps grand and exotic castaway lodge came in to view. Then I was reminded of childhood memories of a certain British film, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel Tarzan of the Apes. Well that’s my theory anyway.The Greystoke Camp is a barefoot luxury lodge perched on a white sandy beach with its curious dhow-wood bandas stretched in amongst the tree line. With the forested slopes of the Mahale Mountains rising behind it and Lake Tanganyika stretching out in front words can not really convey the magic and enchantment of the place. You just have to be there. There are other options for a very comfortable stay in the area but Greystoke does offer an easy going and very special castaway experience with the added bonus of being able to see Mahale’s famed chimpanzees.Mahale is about 200km south of Gombe the world renowned site of Jane Goodall’s groundbreaking research in to chimpanzees. Not long after she started her research at Gombe Prof. Toshisada Nishida from the Kyoto University in Japan came in 1965 to study the chimpanzees of Mahale. His legacy is the habituated and much researched (still on-going) group of eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii - recently re-classified as Pan t. marungensis).There are estimated to be over 1000 chimpanzees living wild in Mahale but it is the habituated ‘M group’ of almost 60 individual chimps that visitors have the privilege of coming to see. Each day the lucky few set out in the morning to trek and find the roving chimps. Guided in by experienced trackers who set out beforehand you will hear them long before you see them. I certainly did. Hearing their hoots, screams, grunts and other vocalisations quickens your pace and the chase is one of eager excitement. I was fortunate to track them twice during my stay in Mahale and my second encounter was an experience I will cherish forever.My first sighting of the day was of Orion a 16 year old adult male wandering by himself before he selected a suitable tree to swiftly shimmy up. Sitting on a branch surrounded by lush vegetation he selected a croquet ball size fruit known locally as Isakama (Myrianthus arboreus). This was obviously a prised treat that he nosily munched on using his hands, teeth, lips, and feet to get at the juicy flesh underneath its pineapple like skin. After watching him for a while Sefu my guide tugged on my arm and said we should hurry to another part of the forest as he had just received news on the radio of a large gathering of chimps. As we scurried off to I could hear their ‘pant hoots’ and shrieks, tantalisingly close. Suddenly as we came to a small village green of a crossroad in the forest; there calmly grooming each other was a small knot of 3 chimpanzees.Pimu, Chritstina and Fanana who were soon joined by Alofu, Kalunde and Primus.As I watched in awe, Sefu quietly gave me a commentary on the names, status, relationships and characters of each of the chimps gathered before us. Pimu was the current alpha male. A brutish dictator by all accounts and he looked the part with a menacing and brooding look. Fanana was a previous alpha male who had recently return to the M community after a period of enforced exile. Christina a middle aged female was in oestrous and the cause of this gathering of powerful males. As I soon learnt Christina had been a favourite companion for Alofu, so was there still a special relationship between them? Although Alofu had been recently deposed as the alpha male by Pimu, he didn’t seem to submit to his authority in the customary manner by pant-hooting when they meet. Then in to the scene strolls Kalunde ‘The King-Maker’; always at the centre of chimpanzee politics and looking every bit the mandarin who is said to be ‘sharply intelligent, immoral but very successful’ in his Machiavellian style of making and break contenders and holders of the alpha male throne. Just sitting in the wings was Primus the young (only 16 years old) and popular (with other members of the M community) contender to the top spot. This calm and collected youngster didn’t even flinch when Pimu, in an outburst of rage, thrashed about the bushes threatening all around. Pimu’s display of raw aggression was certainly enough to trigger my flee response as I tried to remind myself that staying put and then backing away slowly was meant to be the best response! My time with the chimps of Mahale was over all too quickly but it was like being part of the audience for a trilling and dramatic TV Soap Opera, which left you longing to witness the next episode.There is a serious side to tracking the chimpanzees with strict rules and guidelines that visitors must follow. They have been devised to solely protect the chimpanzees, since the greatest threat to their health and existence is us! No more than 6 visitors are allowed to be in the vicinity of a group of chimpanzees at any onetime (a maximum of 3 groups of 6 people set out in to the forest in search of the chimps each day). The time spent with the chimps is also strictly limited to 1 hour, to minimise the impact on their normal daily behaviour. Visitors are also meant to keep at least 10 metres away from the chimps but seeing as the chimpanzees have previously been followed very closely (often in touching distance) this more difficult to adhere to. Yet it is this infringement of the 10m rule (a combination of researchers and visitors desire to get closer as well as the curious and confident nature the chimps themselves, especially young males) that potentially poses the greatest threat to their existence.Recent research has indicated that a series of increasingly frequent outbreaks of diseases in the chimp populations in both Gombe and Mahale may be the result of disease transmission between humans and the chimps. In June 2006 a respiratory disease affected the Mahale chimps and 13 died due to the disease which, most probably, came from people. These out breaks have tended to occur in June/July at the height of the visitor season it is believed that such outbreaks resulted in the M chimpanzee community decreasing from over 100 in 1988 to only 52 in 2006.Thankfully the park authorities in conjunction with the safari camps in Mahale are far more vigilant about human to chimp disease transmissions. As a result, along with more rigorous enforcement of the chimp viewing rules, visitors now have to wear face masks when they are near to the chimpanzees. Having donned my mask when I was trekking I hardly noticed it apart from my glasses steaming up every now and then – the excitement of it all! A small price to pay in my mind. I was also very encouraged to see that all the park guides, rangers and researchers were also all wearing masks. Hopefully such a simple precaution can help to ensure the survival of our forest cousins. The number of M group members is now back up to due to several recent births.My time in Mahale was brief but it really was a truly memorable experience. Aside from my close encounters with the chimps; Greystoke was a delightful place to unwind and relax. I even managed to squeeze in some snorkelling, kayaking and a spot of fishing. The thrill of reeling in your own catch of the day, even if it was just a tiddler which the camp crew then used to catch the big’uns, just added to the castaway feel. As I tasted our freshly catch kuhay (a local fish delicacy) prepared as the most delightful sashimi I had tasted I vowed to return.My heartfelt thanks must go to all the good people of Greystoke Camp and Mahale for such a memorable stay. In particular I would like to thank Doug, Magdalene, Jules, Safu (Safe), Kabeth and all the camp crew at Greystoke.Asante sana

Overseas Travel - A Primate Safari - Borneo

By James Fair - BBC Wildlife Magazine

Hey, it’s the monkeys...

The proboscis monkey has a big nose, an even bigger belly and a huge survival problem. James Fair travels to the world’s third largest island to find out whether primates could help to conserve its precious forests.

Most people have played that game where they fantasise about what animal they would like to be reincarnated as. Ooh, a dolphin, perhaps, splishing and splashing around in a coral atoll somewhere in the Caribbean; or a tiger – grrr! – sleeping all day and padding through a gilded forest as evening falls.
Well, having recently returned from Sabah, the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo, I can definitely cross one species off my list of future bodies to inhabit – the proboscis monkey.
Everything is stacked against it. First, nobody would call the proboscis monkey a beautiful animal. The male’s nose resembles a pair of testicles, and while the females are nasally compact in comparison, I knew as soon as I saw one that she reminded me of something, but I wasn’t sure what. On the third day, I twigged – it was the childcatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. And the term ‘pot-bellied’ does not do justice to the size of their stomachs.
I’m sure proboscis monkeys are beautiful to each other, but it’s still something to consider when assessing your options, and anyway, there’s more. Their diet consists of nothing but leaves. Occasionally, they’re allowed a piece of fruit, but it must be an unripe, unsweet, tasteless piece of fruit. The odd seed is OK, but give a proboscis too many carbs and it swells up like an erupting volcano, overheats and dies.
Still, proboscis monkeys don’t know what they are missing, fruit-wise, so maybe this isn’t such a big deal either. No – the absolute clincher was something I read while relaxing in the library of the Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge one evening. In Proboscis Monkeys of Borneo, Elizabeth Bennett explains that the species lives in social groups, normally comprising females, their babies and juveniles, and one male. The
male stays at the centre of his harem, follows the females wherever they go and has sex with any that are receptive. Simple enough, you’d think. But no...
“The young proboscis monkeys frequently pull hard on the male’s upper leg, screaming all the while,” Bennett writes, “but a more successful tactic is to lean over the amorous couple from the front and try to tweak the male’s nose.” It is when I read stuff like this that I begin to doubt the theory of evolution. Just how interfering in the adults’ sex lives contributes to the survival of the species is beyond me.
That said, there’s something far more worrying about coming back as a proboscis monkey than the prospect of eating nothing but leaves and having your oversized hooter yanked every time you indulge in a bit of rumpy-pumpy, and that’s having no forest left in which to live. The island of Borneo, the species’ only home, is one of the powerhouses of the palm oil revolution, and its rainforest is being logged as fast as tubs of margarine, bars of soap and bottles of shampoo disappear off supermarket shelves.

KINABATANGAN JOURNEY
My journey through Sabah started when I left Sepilok Nature Reserve and its orangutan rehabilitation centre (not my thing, but go there if you have to see orangutans) for Sim Sim Water Village, a collection of dwellings and businesses built on a pier on the outskirts of Sandakan. From here, I travelled by boat along the coast and up the Kinabatangan (‘kin-a-bat-ang-an’) River on the way to the heart of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.
Much of the forest flanking the river has been logged at some point. Tall, spindly trees, signs of secondary growth, predominate, and from time to time I could see that behind the green wall there was nothing but grassy scrubland. At one point, I even passed a palm oil plantation. Two people I met who’d taken the road from Sandakan told me that what they’d seen was worse – just miles and miles of uninterrupted palm trees. I like to think that tourism could slow down the rate of conversion, but it’s far from proven.
Despite this gloomy prognosis, I can report that the wildlife around the Kinabatangan River merits your eco-dollars. Travelling upriver, I saw five orangutans, several groups of proboscis monkeys and some pygmy Asian elephants. One large male orangutan, 50 foot up a tree and with the look of a teenager contemplating the prospect of an evening in with his parents, let me gawp at him for 10 minutes before climbing halfway down the trunk and escaping into the tangled forest interior. I’d assumed I wouldn’t see any wild orangutans, so that was a real bonus.
The wildlife was even more prolific around the Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge. I saw no more orangutans, but there were proboscis monkeys almost everywhere I went, plus plenty of long-tailed macaques, several groups of silvered leaf monkeys and a palm civet. I even witnessed a fight between two large water monitors, dribbling as they grappled in the undergrowth.

INTO THE HEART OF BORNEO
In the late afternoons, the proboscis monkeys gathered near the water’s edge, having a last feed (yum, leaves again) before settling down for the night. Different groups sleep close to each other so that the females can size up other males – well, their noses at least – just in case they’re missing out on some top-class genes.
This, for me, was the best time of all – golden sunlight illuminating the lush green vegetation and the gingery-orange coats of the monkeys. In a reverie, I began to daydream that living among these peaceful animals wouldn’t be such a bad way to end up. I’d hoped to see one swimming – proboscis monkeys are good swimmers, I’d read, and have semi-webbed feet – and they sometimes paddle across the narrow rainforest tributaries rather than leap over them. Disappointingly, these monkeys didn’t even dip a toe in the water.
From Sukau, I travelled back down the Kinabatangan, flew to Kinabalu and then drove for about three hours to Borneo Proboscis River Lodge in the Klias Wetlands, a swampland of tannin-rich rivers, mangroves and palm trees.

Proboscis monkeys, long-tailed macaques and silvered leaf monkeys were just as numerous, but there were no orangutans.
By now, I’d had three days of watching primates, and my waking hours were starting to assume a routine that involved being out on the water from sunrise until 10 or 11am, and then again in the late afternoon. I could predict roughly how the proboscis monkeys would react when I saw them, too, and I knew that at least half of the time, the group would make a rapid exit into the forest interior the minute our boat turned up.
So, I had to be quick, either with binoculars or my camera. Following the monkeys’ progress through the canopy was hard enough, but getting decent shots was next to impossible – they were agile animals, moving around high above me in low light levels. Only when they had to jump from one tree to another did they come out into the open, and then they would make spectacular leaps, hurling themselves at nothing in particular from at least 20 metres above the ground.
In trouble again
My guide, Chris, was determined that I should get photographs of leaping monkeys, so while I kept my eye stuck to the viewfinder, he let me know where the group had got to and when an individual was preparing to jump.
“OK, James, he’s going, going, going,” he cried, as I swung the lens round to the area where I thought the monkey might be. “Jump! Jump! Jump!” Chris yelled as I pressed despairingly on the shutter. Occasionally, very occasionally, I captured a blurry arm or leg or a headless torso, but mostly, it was just empty space. “Don’t give up the day job,” I thought, as another leaping monkey action shot went begging.
There was one occasion when I had five minutes to prepare as a youngster hesitated over a leap that the rest of his group had already made. Four or five times, he rocked back and forth at the end of the branch before retreating to the safety of the main trunk, no doubt cursing the day he’d been born a proboscis monkey. It reminded me of the scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, where the two heroes are contemplating a leap into a deep river canyon. Perturbed, Sundance suddenly confesses that he can’t swim. “Swim?” exclaims Butch, “The fall will probably kill you!” Eventually, my own Sundance took the plunge, I missed it and Chris looked at me as if to say, “You didn’t fail again, did you?”
I spent the best part of a week watching monkeys – and mostly proboscis monkeys at that – but I never tired of it. My enduring memory is of the male sitting in the middle of his harem, shoulders hunched, peering from the depths of his green, green world with a mixture of fear and curiosity, silencing the chatter of excitable youngsters with a deep, growly bark that bore a passing resemblance to a didgeridoo.
Each night, I stayed out on the river until darkness fell, then returned to the lodge, enjoying the flickering, yellow-green lights of fireflies as the boat sped through the cooling night air. And I wondered, as I could not help wondering, just whether the proboscis monkeys of Borneo will still have a home when it’s my turn to be reborn with the world’s most remarkable nose.





Getting there
 My trip was organised by World Primate Safaris, which also organises tours to see mountain and lowland gorillas in Africa and lemurs in Madagascar. For further information % 0870 8509 092; www.worldprimatesafaris.com

 My return flight from Heathrow to Sandakan in Sabah, via Singapore, was with Malaysian Airways (www.malaysiaairlines.com). This journey emitted a gargantuan 8,800kg of carbon dioxide, more than eight times the annual emissions of the average Indian. It therefore cost a mammoth €177 to offset with atmosfair. www.atmosfair.de

Conservation
 WWF is active in Sabah, and partly due to its efforts, in 2005 the state government gazetted the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary – 26,000 hectares of riverine forest and floodplain.

 Sadly, being a fertile area, this is also an ideal location for palm oil plantations. You can find more information at www.wwf.org.my (click on ‘Forests’, then ‘Kinabatangan – Corridor of Life’).

What to take
 If you plan on taking photographs of primates, you will need at least a 300mm lens and a tripod. You will also need to shoot on a high ISO rating because of the low light levels.

 I made sure I had these things wherever I went: a water bottle (it’s hot and you get thirsty quickly), a sunhat and suncream and a dry bag for all my camera gear in case of a sudden downpour.

 If you’re bothered by tiny wildlife that bites, take plenty of insect repellent, but I didn’t find mosquitoes a big problem.

Read on
 I enjoyed A Naturalist in Borneo by Robert W C Shelford, a book published posthumously at the beginning of the 20th century (Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195826345). Expensive to buy out in Borneo, it’s available on Amazon for as little as £10.

 Wild Borneo by Nick Garbutt and Cede Prudente (New Holland, ISBN 1845373782, £29.99) is also an interesting read.

Congo and Central African Republic Pioneering Trip

World Primate Safaris – Congo/CAR - A Pioneering Trip to Dzangha Bai, Bai Hokou and Mbeli Bai - Forest Elephants, lowland gorillas and pristine forests...

In September 2007 we decided to run a World Primate Safaris pioneering trip to the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. An area renowned for its rich diversity of fauna and flora and with the only habituated group of lowland gorillas we could not ignore it!

With a small group of 7 intrepid clients in tow I set off to the Republic of Congo and Brazzaville to start the trip. Arriving in Brazzaville (via Air France) I have to say I was completely surprised...a complete contrast to Kinshasa just over the river, Maya Maya Airport of Brazzaville was quiet and we had no problems clearing passport control and immigration. A quiet clean city with (for Africa!) fairly good roads.

The next morning we wake for a short flight northwards to Ouesso, a small mining town, and then continue onwards by motorised pirogue up the Dzangha River (7hrs) to the WCS Bomassa Research Camp where on the short drive in we see forest elephant and bongo!! A great start to the trip! The WCS Camp is a fairly basic but comfortable camp located in the forest along the banks of the Dzangha River...In the morning it becomes evident just how far we have come as two of our intrepid lady travellers wake up to a rather inquisitive forest elephant looking in at them through their bedroom window!

The next day is another long trip via motorised pirogue along the Dzangha River to the Dzangha-Sangha Forest Reserve. After a long day of travel on the River, crossing the border post from Congo into the Central African Republic, the simple comforts of Doli Lodge are extremely welcome. A terraced restaurant raised on stilts over the Dzangha River also hosts the bar to which all clients make a bee-line!

A lovely location set amidst the forest and the shores of the fast flowing Dzangha River (one of the main tributaries of the Congo River); simple stilted rooms with en suite bathrooms (with running water), double beds and terraces looking out over the river. Food is eaten in the riverside restaurant and is generally of a good standard with a mixture of western and local food including freshly caught fish from the river!

The next 4 days or so are spent exploring the surrounding area and bais to see what fauna and flora we can spot. The departure point for each of the activities listed below is from the WCS Research Camp at Bai Hokou which is approximately a 1.5hr drive from Doli Lodge in 4x4’s on a very bad forest track. I have taken the liberty of listing the activities individually below:

Bai Hokou Bai Walk: a stunning walk through a variety of bais in thick forest vegetation. Bais are forest clearings often with rivers running through them that host a variety of wildlife including buffalo, forest elephant, forest hog, lowland gorillas and much more. These animals visit the Bais in order to profit from the rich mineral content in the soils and, in particular the elephants, will excavate the ground in order to access these minerals; this excavation often sculpts the surrounding topography as trees are felled and often 4m deep cave systems are opened up!
A beautiful forest walk on which we were lucky enough to come across numerous elephants grazing in the Bais. I have to confess that even after numerous years of travelling and guiding in Africa this is one of the most stunning places that I have visited.

Dzangha Bai: accessed by wading through a small river and ankle deep elephant dung client would have been excused to wonder exactly what they were doing. 30mins later it became clear…walking into Dzangha Bai is a breathtaking experience; climbing up into the treeline hide/mirador a spectacular forest scene opens up before your eyes as literally hundreds of elephants are burrowing for minerals, excavating the forest floor, gurgling in the stream, playing and growling…
The mirador itself is comfortable with high back chairs for your comfort; an afternoon spent watching the elephants interacting and digging for minerals is really quite a spectacle and surprisingly turns out to probably be one of the highlights of the trip (for me!). Dzangha Bai on occasions is home to up to 120 elephants at any one time!

Bai Hokou Gorilla Tracking: to track the only group of habituated group of lowland gorillas (although now there is another group), is a real privilege, and this is how our clients approached this whole experience and the whole trip. Due to recent interactions with a solitary silverback the habituated group had actually moved off further than usual…After 5 hours of hard tracking through thick jungle vegetation, swamps and streams we finally had a bit of luck…through the luscious vegetation we suddenly glimpse the black outline of what is unmistakably a gorilla; as we look around we slowly pick up other hairy shapes moving through the undergrowth. For the next hour we move through the forest in silence with the gorillas as they sunbathe, munch on green shoots and groom each other…
Even though sightings are not as clear as when tracking the mountain gorillas I would almost say that this was more of a thrill; some of the hardest tracking that I have done (at one stage you could have stumbled across 3 very sweaty tourists stripped down to their underwear due to being covered in ants!!), but also the most satisfying as so few people have had this opportunity and it is truly one of the most remote and beautiful corners of Africa. You are also privileged to be able to track in small groups as only 3 tourists track the gorillas at any one time. A fantastic experience with some great wildlife viewing opportunities, aside from the lowland gorillas as you walk through the various bais you also come across a variety of forest hog, sitatunga, forest elephant and a host of primates chattering through the treetops…

Traditional net hunting with the Ba’Aka Pygmies: as I read back through this I realise that each of these activities listed were highlights for me!! The net hunting with the pygmies was no different. Picking up the local hunters from their village we are accompanied for the next 30mins drive with some hauntingly beautiful singing as the pygmies sing their way to the hunt…With 20 hunters the noise is incredible, everyone is so excited about the impending hunt, women, men, everyone is involved and awaiting the chase.
Following the pygmies into the forest is a challenge in itself; obviously smaller than us they move swiftly through the forest setting their nets and then beating the undergrowth driving any small forest life towards the nets; on the first couple of attempts two duiker escape the nets. This is actually one of the most amusing moments in the forest as each and every one starts to blame the other for this mistake. On the last attempt success! A small porcupine is caught by one of the pregnant pygmy women and it is swiftly dispatched…separated into various parcels and wrapped in leaves it is divided equally between the hunters with nothing being left to waste…
Overall this was a fantastic experience and not intrusive which is what I had expected. The pygmies are happy to explain their local beliefs and remedies to you and interact with you in any way that they can; in fact it is almost as if you are the spectacle! An amazingly friendly tribe that has been looked down upon for years by other African tribes; accompanying them through the forest they go about their business as if you were not there and it is up to you to keep up with them…

Leaving Doli Lodge after 4 or 5 days we make our way back south and back into the Republic of Congo by motorised pirogue (don’t forget your sun cream and waterproofs as either way you either end up very sunburnt or very wet!). A night back at the WCS Bomassa Camp before our next excursion is welcome but also frustrating as we are keen to move on to Mbeli Bai and the lowland gorillas. A couple of members of our group have been waiting for this visit for a number of years and it is now only a few hours away!

The next morning we hop in the 4x4 and drive 40mins to the “jetty”. We are greeted by our friendly “punters” and make our way down to the waters edge and board our pirogues; this time there is no motor and we are only inches off the water as we are paddled through swamp like terrain with buttress roots towering above us. An absolutely stunning and unexpected pirogue trip into the middle of nowhere (there is no road access); 1.5hrs later we arrive at the boardwalk where we walk 15mins into Mbeli Bai Camp.

Mbeli Bai Camp: a simple camp set on a small hill surrounded by dense forest and wetlands. The communal area is fairly basic (much more basic than Doli Lodge) but acceptable. 4 small “stilted” double rooms are located approximately 20 metres around the camp in a semi circle, showers and long drop loos are separate from the rooms approximately 5 metres away. Washing facilities are simple but clean.
Due to the amazing remoteness of this camp silverback gorillas, forest elephants and much more forest life are seen in and around camp…we even had a silverback gorilla (Vincent) who visited us on the first morning which was quite a shock!!

Food throughout our stay was perfectly acceptable however due to the remoteness of the camp one must accept that it is difficult to have fresh produce on a daily basis. A mixture of tuna, sweetcorn, spam, etc was the main basis of lunches with spaghetti and sauces being a typical evening meal….although on our last night we were treated to fish, pizza and cake!

A welcome 40 minute walk along wooden boardwalks through the forest brings you to the famous Mbeli Bai. The viewing platform is comfortable with sun chairs and a mosquito netted area for sitting in to avoid the various sweat bees and mozzies! Tourists are lucky enough to spend approximately 3 full days here admiring the surrounding area and observing the various forest life that enters the Bai which includes forest buffalo, lowland gorillas, forest elephant, red river hog, crocodiles and otters.

Throughout our stay highlights included two occasions when our friendly silverback gorilla, Vincent, came and sat literally 20 metres from the viewing platform for approximately 2 hours; this of course provided some amazing photo and viewing opportunities. Frequent visits from forest elephants to bathe in the lake in the centre of the Bai and also families of lowland gorillas made this a magical experience. Grazing lowland gorillas only 30 metres from forest elephants bathing in fresh water provide an amazing spectacle as you sit back and relax observing them from the treeline…

After 3 or 4 days at Mbeli Bai we sadly make our way back to Bomassa and over the next 2 days travel southwards by pirogue, plane and 4x4 back to Brazzaville. A welcome return to western comforts at the Meridien Hotel but a sad return to the hustle and bustle of city life after one of the most memorable wildlife experiences of my career. A sumptuous dinner for the last night, in a restaurant looking out over the Congo River and the sparkling lights of Kinshasa on the far bank provide a fitting end to this safari.