Dry season is really starting to bite now. All the wildebeest and zebra have long since departed although small groups of eland can still be seen. The purple flowered cordifolia plants have now dried out. Elephants walking line astern on their way to water look like big ships passing though a sea of brown. From now on, until the first rains start in Nov/December there is a risk of bush fires sweeping though the area. All our fire breaks are in place to protect the lodge if such fires do start. The cordifolia will give a bush fire a lot of extra fuel, so we have to be alert at this time of year.
The lions have been very exciting recently. The Marsh pride can be seen most days lounging in the shade of an acacia tree around one of the two Marshes. They killed a big buffalo bull recently by the pool in the Big Marsh. They have also been seen on eland kills, warthogs and even a white tailed mongoose which they only played with and didn’t eat.
Guests are always commenting that one of the 3 big male lions in the Marsh pride has a bad leg. He does have a lot of trouble keeping up with the others but he has been like this for a long time, maybe a year or more? He must scavenge off the other lion’s kills but he seems to still be an important member of the pride. 
I watched him as he sat together with the other two magnificent males while having a grooming session the other evening. His presence, scent marking and his combined roaring with the other two must help ward off other strange male lions. Having said that, other males have been seen lately in their territory, so we will have to wait and see what might happen.
The Masek pride is also just as visible this month. They also killed a buffalo bull by the lake and two days ago guests watched them as the successfully stalked and killed a warthog. It’s this pride from Lake Masek that we hear roaring in the night. Maasai herdsmen have been seen at Masek this month. They will now stay here until the first rain falls later on in the year, before returning to the short grass plains in the East. The lions and Maasai don’t get along very well, so from now on the lions will probably become more nocturnal.
The sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular. The reddish orange sun looks stunning above the acacia trees and, judging by the amount of photographers clicking away, I’m not the only one awed by this spectacle each day. Although the sunrise is beautiful from the lodge, my favourite place to see it, is along the shores of the Lake Masek where the sun lights up the flamingoes and changes the colour of the water.
There are lots of hippos at Masek. Someone counted 27 including many baby hippos. There is so much water in the lakes I doubt if they will dry out this year. We’ve now confirmed the presence of two crocodiles, when one was seen at either end of the lake on the same afternoon. Elephants drink daily from eastern end where there is a little pool of water that is fresher than the lake itself. You need luck to see elephants because once they’ve had their fill of the brown chocolate water they head back into the woodlands and out of sight.
Mr DT, the notorious bull elephant has again broken into the campers’ well near Lake Ndutu. When the camping companies repaired it last year, claiming it to be elephant proof, I had my doubts. We have a love/hate relationship with DT because he does tend to cause destruction when he comes to the Lodge. Most of the time I love him but I’m not so sure about the night watchmen, I don’t think he’s very popular with them after many sleepless nights trying to persuade him not to push the trees down between our guest rooms. I always record his visits in my note book whenever he comes to the Lodge and this week we’ve had our 300th sighting of him. We toasted him good health around the camp fire with a good whisky that night while hyenas called in the distance.
DT with his trunk in the well
Spotted hyenas have made a den right beside the track to the ranger post. The three small pups are very cute and can be seen most days early in the morning or in the late evening. Hyenas may look a bit beaten up when they are old with their chewed up ears and faded coats but baby hyenas are without doubt the cutest of all animals. Male ostriches are in breeding plumage at the moment. They have bright red necks and legs at this time and can be often heard calling. Their call is a deep booming sound which is not unlike the roars of lions in the distance. Guests patrolling the Big Marsh for lions found three pythons in one of the pools there. They could easily be seen for several days, not moving at all, which was a treat as we don’t often see them.
Without doubt the elephants are my favourite animals. So I’m hoping to get in plenty of elephant watching this month because it will be my last at Ndutu. After 10 years of living and managing the Lodge here at Ndutu, Louise and I are leaving. It’s been a great 10 years but now we have little Emily who is16 months old to think about. It’s not always practical to live in the bush with a young one and we cannot give the Lodge a hundred percent any more, so we are returning to the UK.
Colin McConnell an old friend of ours who has worked in tourism in East Africa for many years will be taking over from us. We will be leaving Ndutu in very capable hands and we wish him luck in the coming seasons. The only problem with Colin is that he prefers lions and leopards to elephants. On our evening games drives I’m trying my best to convert him but even when I do point out an elephant to him he always seem to looking up in the trees for a glimpse of leopard.
I loaded the Land Rover up with a flask of tea and a monstrous pile of sandwiches this morning and drove out at first light. I had the most amazing breakfast on the shores of Lake Ndutu. It was the most perfect morning you can imagine, there was even a shade tree over the track and a stunning view across the lake with countless flamingoes. But the two leopards, a mother and a large cub made it perfect. Hiding in the grass at first and later jumping and stalking mice was a sight not to be forgotten; the cub also briefly chased a hare, which added to the excitement. Days like this, I think I must be mad to leave one of the most beautiful places on earth. Serengeti does that to you and there’s no cure, you just have to keep coming back.
Paul,
Ndutu
August 2007.
