Prior to Paul and Louise’s departure in mid-late August, there was a flurry of friends and well wishers that visited Ndutu to say goodbye. Amongst them, Sarah, Sultana, Anne and Laura formed a unique and memorable foursome as they represent 4 generations of “cheetah chicks”! They are all to do with the successful Cheetah project that has run now for so many years in the Serengeti! After requests in the Lodge for guests to record their cheetah sightings, they have managed to get many more pictures and that has helped the project greatly. Recently, Laura has joined as Anne will be leaving after a three-year stint. A photo session was in place amidst the farewell party!
So finally, late August saw the departure of the “Whites” after 10 years of working at Ndutu! It was a memorable and somewhat sad day, and apart from missing Paul and Louise a lot, it took everybody days to get used to little Emily not being around any longer! 
We miss her cheerful and active little presence very much! Having signed for 2 years initially and then staying for 10, Louise and Paul have done such a wonderful job at Ndutu and we now wish them all the very best with their new life in England.
Of course, since then we have been in touch on the phone and are happy to hear that the family arrived safely in the UK and are now somewhat settled in their cottage in Exmoor.
Colin arrived a month prior to Paul and Louise’s leaving. That was ideal for the necessary overlap and to get the hang of things, but his “take-over” went so smoothly and his professional knowledge of the business so evident that we can count our lucky stars he has come to Ndutu!
In a short time before the departure of Paul, Louise and Emily a large (northern) part of Tanzania and even Kenya and Uganda were rocked by a series – called a swarm – of quite powerful earthquakes. These ranged from 4.5 to 6 on the Richter scale and occurred through July and August. Needless to say the building cracks have reappeared thanks to all these quakes and have added, I suppose, some charm to the place!!
Over all these years at Ndutu, Paul has tried every trick to beat the cracks in our floors and walls, but situated where we are, right along the great Rift and near Oldonyo Lengai, there is not much hope you can beat this one!
Speaking of which of course the eruptions of Lengai are the talk of the town!
They started more or less after the series of quakes, and off and on the volcano is spewing ash high up into the air, a dramatic and awe inspiring sight! Situated as we are roughly 120 km away, on most clear early mornings, before the sunrise, we can watch the huge ash clouds towering over the haze in the distance. With its base below the Rift, the top of Lengai is visible from the Lodge and better still, from the Meadow vantage point overlooking the lake.
In view of the ongoing eruptions, the government has advised all the resident pastoralist Maasai to move out of the immediate area with their cattle.
Recently, I was lucky enough to go on a 2-day trip to the foothills of Mosonik, the extinct volcano facing Lengai along the Rift wall.
The mountain pours out smoke and ash intermittingly, but more, it seems during the night and early mornings. The view from the edge of the Rift is so impressive! And it is very strange to drive up to the semi permanent huts of the Maasai, devoid of life and standing empty and stark with the smoking mountain in the background.
Not all the Maasai have left the area and there are some small herds of cattle left. Apparently the ash that descends on the grassy plains once ingested is fatal to cattle and one Maasai we encountered told us that cattle are having problems.
On the days we were there the ash clouds seem to follow the Rift rather than spreading over the Salei plains. Our journey there was magical as we visited during the full moon night and to see that huge towering and alive mountain so nearby was an unforgettable experience!
No one knows how long Lengai will continue to huff and puff and whether something bigger is in the make…. It is a case of Inch Allah!
This is the time of year when all the ‘non human residents’ of Ndutu move closer and closer to the Lodge’s premises. Within the immediate radius of the Lodge we have at least 16 dikdiks, so many hares we can’t count them, and a twenty-odd herd of impala now not only raids the area in front of and behind the rooms for fallen acacia pods, but also comes to steal the water from the birdbath! Around 06.15 in the morning, the lovebirds arrive in droves to drink and early rising guests have truly been amazed at the sheer numbers descending from the big acacia on front of our dining room to drink!
On top of these, the diurnal Arvicanthis mice have had a huge population increase this year and are everywhere. Highways well-trodden by hundreds of mice feet snake from one grass and bush cover to another. Their hunger knows no boundaries and a lot of the aloes are attacked ‘from below the belt’, the roots eaten and the plant left to die!!
Being the gardener around here, I have had to admit defeat! Anything remotely of nibble and leaf substance is beyond help this time of the year!
Paul’s remark to me for many years always was: “Aadje, if you plant and offer a salad bowl, the animals will eat”!!! He is right, of course!!
Lake Ndutu normally dries out in late July-August, but after the El Nino December-January rains, it was filled to the brim and for once we have a lake to look at now. Not only that, but thousands of flamingos and shorebirds to admire! The soda soup must be just nicely spiced and keen birders and photographers have the best chance to observe and photograph both the Greater and Lesser flamingo! Of late some young birds are seen, and it was interesting to see some Lessers start trying to make nests near the shoreline! These are spectacular early mornings and the sunrise over the lake is magical!
Lake Masek, though full too, has not had a lot of flamingo visitors, but there the hippos and the crocodile in residence keep everybody on their toes…
End of September 2007 will remain associated with the all permeating smell of smoke. One week after a huge bushfire, I could still smell ash and cinders in our houses; and, believe it or not, there are still a few massive tree trunks smouldering three weeks later! Literally nothing is left of most of the big trees that burnt down, and sadly a huge number of old large Acacias and Balanites trees have perished in this time.
It is a great pity that the Authorities do not have any early burning strategy in the area. The environmental impact of these late fires is enormous, let alone the danger to the residents, campers and the Lodge. Luckily we do an early fire break every year, but the flames this time were more than impressive near the Lodge!
Many, many small creatures could not hide or flee in time and there are numerous whitened tortoise shells that are evidence of the tremendous heat that this-too late, too-uncontrolled bushfire produced. Birds and mice have been found roasted in the plains as well.
In the days following the burn, we could see disorientated small creatures wandering around on the blackened soil everywhere! Worst hit seem to be the steinbucks, dikdiks, hares and mice, as without cover they have nowhere to hide when they try and forage. In turn, birds of prey are having a field day, as rodents are easy pickings!
‘One’s man’s meat is another man’s poison’, and in this case, the rather disastrous impact of this fire has proved to be a windfall for all species of cats! After the fire, they have been seen everywhere and spotted a long way away out in the open, hunting and travelling. Two mornings ago I went out to Caracal Plateau and before 07.00 hrs, I had seen 2 wildcats, one wildcat female with 5 half grown kittens and three servals!
Early yesterday early I found a serval with three young kittens near the small marsh and seven lions lazing in the sun overlooking the swamp.
Owen, Amanda and David, form the BBC team that is here again filming. The other day they recorded between 06.00 and 07.30 hrs three striped hyenas, a leopard, a caracal, three servals and a cheetah with kittens, so catwise, guests are very lucky now!
Now let’s now keep our fingers crossed that the rains won’t be late this year and that at least a few early thunderstorms may settle the ash and dust…. Initially, the rains normally come from the south east and we already have heard the rumbles of several storms brewing over and near Twin Hills.
So we hope soon the dust will be settled and the heat (33 in the shade!) will come down. Nature nurtures and nature heals and one thing is for sure: after all these bushfires, the first rains in the Ndutu area will soon cover the plains and woodlands with fresh new growth, and welcome the herds coming down from the north once more in that never-ending migratory and dynamic wandering, rejuvenating pattern!
Aadje
October 2007
