Zanzibar (Tanzania) 2022, part 9 (Mikumi NP, Nungwi, Kendwa)
I found the afternoon tour of the Mikumi National Park in Tanzania just as interesting as the one before lunch. At the same time, I had the impression that driving around the park and looking for animals was too much for my companions, although I personally still enjoyed it with undiminished intensity. Admittedly, my companions would come alive if the driver/guide went on some alleged leopard search, but that was the end of it.
As for me, I was delighted to observe and take photos of the numerous baobabs that were seen by the roadside. They are truly magnificent trees.
And then the driver/guide took us to a place where apparently all the drivers/guides knew that a big python lived. It is the largest African snake, the Central African rock python (Python sebae), which can grow up to about 6 m in length. And indeed, when we got there, we could see that a python had already come out of its hiding spot and had crawled under a vehicle that had stopped there. It really was a long snake.
My companions were eager to see how the python would move from this position, but the driver/guide said that we should go to one more place first and then we would return.
That other place was the pond that serves as a watering hole and there we found elephants that not only came to drink some water in the afternoon, but also to bathe and roll in the mud.
Here we were again able to get out of the car and observe these magnificent animals from a slight elevation that serves as a lookout point. I was delighted beyond words!
The quenching of thirst started first.
And when the drinking of water was over, that’s when the creating of mud water using the trunk started.
The watering hole consequently turned into a wonderful mud spa.
A big baby then decided to start playing, so it climbed onto an older sibling.
And then the baby got tired...
Once the full treatment was over, the herd slowly started to get out of the pool.
Except for a couple of elephants, who decided that they didn’t drink enough water, so they went back. Be sure to watch the video where the indecisive elephant is especially cute.
Most of the herd did continue, however, towards a nearby “dry bath.”
Note the dust which an elephant throws over itself in the next photo. It is the mudding and this dust over it that serve to protect the skin of the elephants.
And as for the smaller group that drank the extra water, they were now going to join the rest of the herd.
Beautifully mudded, the elephants have now finished their afternoon “ritual” at the pond. All that remained was for the matriarch elephant to check the air and see if everything was okay and then the herd could leave the area of the pond.
I was absolutely delighted by this whole event and could not wipe the smile off my face.
I found it interesting that the rest of my small group skipped most of the elephant part. We all came here together, of course, and got out of the vehicle at the vantage point from which the elephants could be seen nicely. However, they very quickly told me that they would still like to go and see “how the python will get off the road,” so they asked me if I would too. Since the elephants were incomparably more interesting to me, an agreement was immediately reached that they would go to see the python again, and then they would come back for me. I was very happy to have the time to observe the elephants and as for the python... Well, I more or less knew how it would get leave the road – it would slither.
I watched the events around the watering hole a little longer and took photos, and when the group returned to pick me up, I was ready to continue with the tour of the Mikumi National Park.
In the photo below, buffaloes can be seen behind a tree on the left, while elephants can be seen in the distance behind a tree on the right.
After this we just drove around and around, supposedly still trying to spot the leopard. My enthusiasm did not diminish, but the fact is that there were fewer striking encounters with animals. I found the landscapes themselves very beautiful and when I spotted some animals in the distance, the driver/guide would kindly stop. I think that in this phase I was the only one interested in it.
The following video shows in a very nice way what an afternoon drive through the Mikumi National Park was like.
Since I saw that no one was interested in anything anymore (probably not even in the leopard), I asked the driver/guide if there was any elevation from which this plain could be seen and was close to us. He said there was and the group agreed to go there. In order to get to that elevation where there was also a clearing with a mediocre view, we had to leave the national park, cross a properly paved road with trucks and other vehicles, and then enter another part of the park. It was nothing spectacular.
But, as we were coming back, we passed again the entrance ramp leading to the part of the national park where the airstrip was. While we stopped there briefly, I spotted a curled-up pangolin, a type of animal some people call “walking pine cones.” As far as I have read, this is the most poached animal in Africa, because its scales are used in traditional medicine in China and Vietnam.
Here, however, we did not stay for long, as we were now rushing to catch the plane, which took off at exactly 5 in the afternoon.
Later that evening I returned to the hotel in the village of Nungwi in the north of Zanzibar, but before that we also passed by the Zanzibar House of Representatives, which I didn’t expect, so I wasn’t even ready to take photos. However, I think that my stories about the trip to Zanzibar should also show this detail.
The next day I didn’t have to wake up too early, but it was still a pleasure when I went to the terrace where there was a restaurant for breakfast while there was still hardly anyone on the beach. I had the impression that I could sit here for hours (and days) and look into the distance.
By the way, Nungwi is a small place, once a fishing village, located in the extreme northern part of the island of Zanzibar. It literally covers the northern “tip” of the island and practically extends along both the eastern and western sides. In the past, local sailboats were also built here, but today Nungwi is primarily one of the main tourist centres on the island. Along the beaches there are numerous resorts and hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and everything else that is needed in a popular tourist destination.
About 3-4 km south, on the western side of the island, there is another popular destination, Kendwa with its famous beach. This beach is really very beautiful and the difference between high and low tides is not too big, that is, it is not too noticeable due to the topography of the terrain (unlike the east coast of Unguja), so there are also numerous hotels, resorts, restaurants and other things here.
On this day, the agency through which I came to Zanzibar planned a “trip” to Kendwa. Actually, it meant that whoever wanted to could take a taxi and thus transfer to Kendwa where we were allowed to enter one of the hotels along the beach and use their sun loungers, restaurant and bar.
When we passed through the hotel complex, we were greeted by palm trees and just a few dozen metres farther away there was a wonderful beach with white and soft sand and wonderful turquoise water.
So, now... What can be said about a day spent on a beach?
Well, first I ran into the water to swim and it was a really wonderful experience, but I also occasionally walked around and took photos. Not only because I had my travel stories in mind, but also because the wonderful clear water truly inspired me.
And so, more or less, this was the pattern for the day. A little lying around on a sun lounger, enjoying food and beverages, a little swimming and a little photography. That’s how I remembered that I should take photos of the beach from the direction of the sea. Thus I waited for the early afternoon, so that the sun would illuminate the coast better.
There were various details around and I don’t know exactly what the woman in the next picture was doing (maybe she was cleaning her ears, or looking for lice, or was making a plait ...), but they are not really that important. The beauty of the details on the beach is what counts.
In my photos, it may seem as if the beach is almost deserted. That is not exactly true. Around the noon it is quite hot in Zanzibar and the sun is very strong, so many people seek shelter in the shade of palm trees or beach umbrellas. On the other hand, a number of local residents walk along the beach almost all day long offering various products and services or doing various acrobatics with rather unattractively loud music hoping to get some tip.
In between my own “activities” I mostly lounged in the shade and enjoyed looking around me casually.
But, occasionally, as I’ve mentioned, I also had to eat something. This day I decided to give myself a serious treat, so I happily had a small lobster for lunch.
I also did something I don’t usually do and that was to drink alcohol in the middle of the day. I was on vacation and this was a particularly lazy day, while I had my own sun lounger, so I didn’t worry about what would happen if I fell asleep.
I survived successfully and later in the afternoon, before returning to Nungwi, I walked alone along the beach again. In the photo below, various tourist facilities can be seen in the distance, more like an illustration of what it looks like in reality, but the next photo is also interesting because the sun can be seen on the right side, while all the way to the left is my shadow as if the sun is behind me. I found this very curious and apart from knowing that it’s a panorama that I took with my mobile phone, I actually don’t know how I managed to achieve this effect. Maybe it’s all because of those cocktails. Oh, yes... There were a couple of them.