Having introduced Colin in my previous newsletter, I thought it wise to prepare you for our latest newcomer on the managerial front!
Meet Dutch Marleen Koppen who joined us in November. She contributes tons of energy, the friendliest smile, and a breeze of goodwill. Marleen has already attended two Travel Markets and will be much involved in public and guest relations as well as dealing with the ever growing email traffic coming in to Ndutu. Of course I could go ahead and give a more detailed profile, but thought it better to just show her boots this time, to point readers in the right direction!!
Actually, Marleen had barely landed in Ndutu when she left again to represent Ndutu at the Dutch Utrecht Travel Fair. Whilst in Holland, she had a rather lengthy, thin visitor come to see her and I decided to photograph it knocking in vain on her back door!
One of the most exciting events to witness is the first rain after such a prolonged dry season. And invariably each year, I miss these early storms because of going to Holland when the old-fashioned “short” rains start. Well! This year was very different. For once, I was lucky to charter a flight back after my holiday with some friends. But was shocked on the approach to Ndutu to still see ash and the fallen trees and to realize that nothing much had happened since my departure for Holland in late October. In actual fact, as it turned out, the first big storm had fallen only the previous night! So, I picked up where I had left off and sure enough for a 2-week period ending just before Christmas, the heavens opened and a veritable “spring cleaning” took place!
For those interested in statistics: the first wildebeest was seen at the Lodge on December 15th! Rumour has it that the first wildebeest calf was spotted at the beginning of December, but not near Ndutu. Still, the calving was spread over a long period of time, and has only now just about come to an end. The sight of all those often highly-variable coloured calves frolicking, and keeping abreast with mum in full gallop across the plains fills one with delight. What a wonderful, rejuvenating sight! The air is filled with constant noise. Best described as a drone at a distance made by thousands and thousands of wildebeest grazing, gambolling, playing, chasing, sparring, rubbing bushes and earth with the bosses of their horns. In short, one is always so happy to have the clowns of Serengeti back on board, grazing peacefully in front and around the Lodge.
Christmas was here before we knew and somehow with the usual hectic last minute preparations, be it a bit of cement here and a lick of paint there, we always finish just in time! Our sewing fundi, Safari Slaa, is so amazingly versatile and can be seen in one day sewing the last cushion covers, a late staff uniform, then fixing a water pipe to a bathroom, only to end his day being the BBQ Chef for the Christmas suckling pig!
Our creative Workshop manager, Leonard, produced a masterful piece of home-made BBQ equipment which bears all the markings of his original and crafty talents. Apart from the 200 lts old fuel drums cut-in-half-regular affair, this year Leonard proceeded to use a bicycle chain and pedal, welded it on a stand with a pole for regular turning… Our request was to be able to roast two goats at a time so Leonard went ahead and produced this extraordinary contraption that can do two goats as well as being adjusted for height too!
Candlelit dinner on Christmas Eve was all the more special with a beautiful clear full moon rising in the East. All graced by our ambassadorial genets in the rafters who did not seem the least bit perturbed by either the Christmas tree or the trimmings. Both Christmas and New Year went very well and our only two traditional ‘buffet’ evenings produced great food and atmosphere.
We have a long-standing tradition of at least 15 years now to invite all flight members of the northern Tanzania based Flying Medical Service (FMS) to come and stay over New Year’s Eve. It’s a strictly non profit, volunteer organisation and they provide regular preventive, curative and health-related educational services. They also do medical emergencies evacuation flights so in the vast northern Tanzania bush areas their work covers a huge and often almost inaccessible area. Started by American Father, Pat Patten, in 1983; the remaining crew of pilots consist of Rebecca, Ezra and Father Jack. Their Arusha daily life – when not in the air – is rather frugal so we always try to lure them into the Lodge standards and thoroughly enjoy their company for two or three days.
So the New Year arrived, and, phew did High Season kick in! Not only the Lodge is constantly full, an ever increasing army of tented camps descends in the area. Having come and lived in the Ndutu area off and on since the early 1970’s, I have seen the changes over all these years. Although one is aware of the wonderful economic advantages the tourism boom is bringing Tanzania, the dark, destructive business side of “too much too quickly” has arrived. It will need very sound and careful management to ensure that the resources in this area will not go down-under environmentally. Already certain signs are on the wall. It is, of course, a universal problem but hopefully it will be tackled in time, and in a manner, that still safeguards both the human as well as the flora and fauna development.
Amidst the usual hubbub of January day to day high season, we were graced by a visit to the Lodge for lunch by the President of Tanzania! Of course we were delighted to be able to host Mr. Kikwete here. He is an ardent wildlife lover and knows the Parks very well and often visits the different places with his family! He was kind enough to pose with some of our staff for a photo and there were beaming smiles all afternoon after he had left!
In my last newsletter I mentioned the many ‘home dikdik’ we have at the moment. One small one in particular has become so habituated and we fear may have lost a parent. It is the sweetest little thing and nibbles close to the houses in the back of the Lodge. It also rests in the most unusual spots, under the solar panel, and under the bamboo pile next to the roofed car park next to the garage.
Totally habituated, it has become a bit of a mascot to all the staff by now! The only worry is the occasional familiar rasp of the leopard passing on patrol in the night and we keep our fingers crossed for its wisdom and wit to somehow stay away from this cunning, clever and beautiful predator!
One other very worth mentioning animal is the sighting on two different occasions of an aardvark during the day! I have only seen one once; and all these sightings come from the Three Two Tree area.
February has brought highlights and drama alike. Two different known cheetahs were reported dead and identified by the cheetah project members called in to investigate. It isn’t clear yet what the reasons are and vets are looking into the matter further.
Several known females in the Ndutu area have produced offspring and are prime targets for the numerous tour vehicles operating in the area. There is always the danger of interrupted hunting and feeding, especially so as cheetah do most of their hunting during the day. But it must be said that those funny hairstyle small cubs are irresistible and most of the Ndutu cheetahs are so relaxed anyway, and provide a constant much photographed highlight for hundreds of keen visitors and photographers alike!
The resident lion prides also have small cubs, but although some individuals are identified from time to time, the exact members and how many are here right now, is not known exactly. Enjoying the campfire before dinner at night, we hear their close and far away roar from time to time and at the same time count our lucky stars above!
Halfway in February there was a call for help (a very familiar request, I hasten to add). Could we come and pull out a tourist vehicle that had ventured too far on the Ndutu lake shore on a late afternoon drive. Colin agreed to help but it was getting dark and so the stranded guests were ferried to the Lodge by the second vehicle of the company and the guide of the group assured that we would deal with it first thing in the morning.
Mind you, that was the initial story. So, Leonard got up early and was on his way well before seven in the morning with the tractor and trailer routinely filled with all manner of utensils necessary to tackle the problem. Amongst other things, this includes 6 metal ‘sand mats’, a variety of wood pieces, jacks, ropes and cables. And thrown in at the end is always a huge amount of sheer determination and physical power.
The two lakes often ‘disentangle’ differently but share one common problem. Once well and truly “in”, pulling gets difficult as often the rescue vehicle often can’t get very close. Circumstances can be compared to joining, say, a considerable number of packets of butter (salted) together; and then trying to make a dinky toy move freely over the surface.
Around eight in the morning, many guests, Colin, Marleen and I were still at breakfast in the dining room overlooking Lake Ndutu. That is, till we actually spotted a little black dot in the middle of the lake! Binoculars came to the rescue, and as the unaware, rescued party of the previous evening was enjoying their bacon and eggs, we could from afar access the place of despair. Experience in these matters has also taught us to refrain from adding to the general confusion by more instructions, so for a while we left things to the determination of the driver and Leonard.
However by 11 o’clock, it was time to increase pressure, as it were. The binoculars had shown us that the tractor was nowhere near its victim, nor would it ever be unless Leonard lost it. Instead we ascertained that the vehicle had moved backwards some distance. So, we dispatched our land rover, with three staff and more wood and ropes; and a basket full of sweet tea and some food. It is truly a tribute to will power and strength that they got the thing out. You cannot pull but have to jack, dig, jack, dig and constantly move the sand mats onwards. It is horrible, dirty and exhausting work, because of the soda and the slipperiness…..
At lunchtime all vehicles and participants returned to the Lodge, covered in grey goo.
An hour later, during the quiet early afternoon period I decided to go out and have a look. It was mind boggling to see where the car tyre marks were heading for; or rather not, as they became invisible and disappeared eventually in the lake. It was clear that this was dedicated, determined driving as the tracks over a length of at least 300 meter never veered left or right. Straight through and across to the other side of Lake Ndutu remained the objective all along! Maybe the photos here may do it some justice?
By the way, all of you Ndutu fans: if you still have your Ndutu Map at home, as of February 16th, please cross out one of our oldest landmarks, Three Trees. It needs renaming: TWO TREES!! The last mighty nightly thunderstorm claimed one of the three Acacia sieberiana trees that for many years formed such a landmark in the western plains.
Last night for the first time since the rains started we were entertained by a concert from the waterhole. Only with very heavy downpours does the water fill up in the pool, arriving through ingenious canal systems with run-off water mostly from the airstrip.
Am not sure how much the Dutch ever had to do with this but in the coming dry season we will endeavour to clean out the pool a bit and reorganise the canal system!
However, even though we were not able to see the music-makers, we certainly heard them and marvelled at the variety of croaks, chirrs and tweets! For once, a free-for-all concert to hear and enjoy; and may the coming three wet season months bring us many more highlights to look forward to!
Aadje
February 2008
