The remarkable Chole village

One of the highlights of many guests’ stays at Chole Mjini Lodge is a wander through Chole village.  Even though the island is only 500m by 800m there is plenty of opportunity to get lost in the island’s many winding paths so we always recommend to get one of our English speaking guides and they can also acquaint you with Swahili life, and more likely than not introduce you to their mother, show you their house and meet their friends on the way – this also ensures there’s a cultural engagement; an exchange of ideas which both the guide and guests enjoy.
 
The best time to amble through the village is in the morning, before it gets too hot and while there’s plenty of community activity.  There’s so much to see a tour can take anything from an hour to four!  Not only are guests able to visit 2000 roosting fruit bats at Popo Park, a bat sanctuary developed by the villagers to protect this endangered animal, but also hear about the history of the island and walk through the ruins from the days of the Mashatiri Arabs as well as visit the boat yard, where they build bespoke dhows with no power tools or even measuring tapes – its fascinating to watch this age-old tradition and talk to the fundis.  There is also the wonderful work achieved by the Chole Mjini Trust Fund – the Primary School, Chole Hospital, Adult Learning Centre and my favourite project the Kindergarten.  When you arrive at the Kindergarten you are welcomed with open arms…in fact 60 open arms…wonderful happy faces smile up at you, and you are able to see the real benefit of the project – allowing these children not only to receive one nutritious meal a day and checked for childhood diseases but also learn that education can be fun and teaching the Montessori principles from such a young age ensures when they get to Primary School they are ready to learn.  As a Chole Women’s Society project the initiative was also designed to allow the women on Chole some much needed time off from motherhood and even develop their own sources of revenue.
 
As well as the good work done by the Chole Mjini Trust Fund, all Chole Mjini Lodge guests pay $10 per person per night which is donated to the village, in 2011 that was just under $12,000.  Guests frequently hear of the charitable work done on Chole before they arrive and kindly bring pencils, pens, colouring books, educational aids and toys for the village – which is received with great appreciation.  And here is a photo of such a guest – Lygery with her new Chole friends, the photo was taken by Yiannis Orfandis.  We cannot thank guests enough for this kindness and especially considering the 15kg weight limit on aircraft in Tanzania it means even more.  Lygery & Yiannis also took the opportunity to send me photos of their stay, I print these photos out and give them to the people – Choleans love having their photo taken – so I encourage as many guests as possible to do this.
 
Chole is a wonderful community which offers a fascinating insight into Swahili life – we had a guest stay recently who we called “Nick The Lost” because every day he would wander into the village and inevitably get lost but everyday he made another new friend who helped him find his way back to the Lodge – I think that says it all!

(Photos by: Yiannis Orfandis)

Narina Trogon couple spotted at Kisampa

A beautiful Mr. and Mrs. Narina Trogon spotted from one of our stunning open aired showers at Kisampa. Narina Trogon Apaloderma narina is just one of almost 40 trogon species that inhabit forested regions of the world, and unfortunately Africa is poorly represented by this particularly beautiful family of birds with only 3 representatives. Both sexes have vivid, gingery green upperpart plumage. The tail feathers have a metallic blue-green gloss. The male especially, has bright amaranth red underside plumage and bare, green gape and eye flanges. The female has brown face and chest plumage, blue skin orbiting the eyes and duller red plumage below.

Narina Trogons are essentially large forest leaf-gleaners that feed mainly on invertebrates and to a lesser extent on small vertebrates. A high percentage of prey brought to nests are smooth-skinned caterpillars from the moth, and not butterfly family. Their hunting strategy is to perch in the mid-canopy and scan the nearby leaves and branches for prey, which apart from caterpillars may include spiders, dragonflies, moths, preying mantises, cicadas and small dwarf chameleons.  They make a very distinctive noise when they chit chat and call to one another.

What a wonderful view to start your day with!

Post Safari Retreat

If you're after a tropical retreat, then Chole Mjini's thatched tree-houses – elevated between jungle and beach – are the perfect place to play Tarzan and Jane. High up in the ancient Baobab trees that line the shores of Chole island – which is just off the larger Mafia island and south of the Tanzanian capital, Dar Es Salaam – the rooms here are reached via sandy walkways, wooden platforms and ladders, and contain giant King size beds where you are lulled to sleep by the sound of the sea and awoken (hopefully not too early) by birdsong. There's no electricity or mobile phone reception here, so it's a real back-to-Eden experience. All the tree-houses are sea-facing and some even feature a separate elevated room with 360-degree views out over the water.  The resort is dedicated to responsible tourism, so there's a feel-good factor here that goes deeper than diving with whales and snorkelling with turtles – but you can totally do that too. 

http://www.beachtomato.com/42869/best-beach-holiday-africa-post-safari/

Lucky's first birthday!

We are very happy to report that Kisampa's little red duiker - Lucky - has miraculously survived and it has now been a year since he was rescued from being killed by a baboon at our camp.  The little sweetheart was in a bad state and to be honest....we really did not think he would make it! After two days of struggling he finally drank some milk from a syringe given my Sarah.

And since that day our little "pet" has been growing up strong....and look at him now with his stunning pair of horns and shine coat!  Healthy as can be!  Lucky is free and lives out in the wild but comes into camp each morning for some cuddling and milk and I think company.  He likes hanging out in our pavillion as we all have breakfast.

Last bit of news.....and we shall keep you all posted.... is that Lucky has a friend.... or can we even hope that it might be a girl friend???

YOGA MAGAZINE - October 2011

 

Yoge retreat at relaxing Kisampa

During the last weekend on September Kisampa was the host of its first yoga retreat.  The goal was to spend three days to unwind, rediscover one’s self and to detox with healthy food and yoga asanas.  The weekend was filled with lots of yoga, meditation and pranayama along with meditative bush walks, relaxation, and an opportunity to fully emerge into nature. The mornings focussed on the asanas part of the practice going through the ashtanga sequence with specific adjustments and groundings, while the afternoons were spent in a softer practice concentrating on meditation and specific pranayama exercises.  When in Kisampa you are like no where else in the world and find your pace slowing down dramatically and your mind finds ultimate relaxation as the body falls in tune with the wild surroundings. Kisampa is the perfect camp to come and relax and find your deep inner self as there is no disturbance from any kind and only the soothing sounds of wildlife.

The retreat was lead by Oriane, an ashtanga instructor born in France but currently working and living in Nairobi, Kenya.  Oriane studied law at university, then marketing and finance in Lyon, France. After completing her master degree she left France for Italy, then New York and finally China where she studied Mandarin and worked in garment productions around Asia (China, Taiwan and Hong Kong). She then headed to Sri Lanka and started a production business there. After some years she met her man and married him! From then on she followed to Africa starting with Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and eventually Kenya. She first discovered yoga when living in Sri Lanka and developed her own practice while living in Malawi and Zambia. She discovered ashtanga vinyasa yoga when she just arrived in Tanzania and never looked back! Since then she has been practicing daily first the physical part with the asanas and then started to include pranayama and meditation. She has now been practicing yoga for over 12 years and ashtanga for a full intensive 8. She has been teaching it for 7 years along with organising yoga retreats and safaris.

Ashtanga vinyasa yoga is characterized by the practice of a series of yoga poses without stopping and accompanied by vinyasa or riding the breath in order to flow from one pose to another. It is a vigorous exercise that physically and mentally challenges you in order to help you connect to your inner power. Poses are done in a fast pace, and each pose is held for the required five breaths. This practice can increase your physical endurance and ability to focus on any task for a long time without breaking your concentration.

Idyllic Kitutia

Picnic lunch, fish bbq, sandbar and a little light snorkelling were what we were after so Driska and Henk from Holland, Prue from Australia and I embarked on our day trip to Kitutia.  Located outside the bay we sailed for over an hour, past Mafia, Jibondo and a host of small islands in search of paradise and paradise is what we found.  As the reef breakers came into view so did this wonderful snow white sandbar surrounded by azure and turquoise seas – as we approached we were in silence – drinking in this piece of heaven.  While putting up the shade and starting the bbq I suddenly saw this huge form rising up from the water – alerting my island friends – we gazed in amazement as humpback whales were breaching, blowing and catapulting themselves out of the water, barely 1km from the sandbar…Prue even said “I hope we’re snorkelling the other side!”.
 
As we left Mzee to the job of cooking, we went off to the reef – sadly Kitutia was badly dynamited during the 90s but its slowly, ever so slowly, returning to form with some beautiful soft corals in a spectrum of colours from lime greens, yellows and pinks to blues and purples.  We even saw a turtle having a rest at the bottom, a scorpion fish, some stunning groupers and a rather shy black blotched porcupine fish.
 
As we returned to the sandy spit – Mzee had laid out a glorious lunch of fresh trevally fish, pasta salad, aubergine crisps, samosas and coconut, with the piece de resistance being a super lobster Prue had found in the village the day before.  All delicious but lazing under the awning sucking at lobster legs smothered in garlic and lemon butter was my highlight.  A quick coffee with freshly made doughnuts and brownies and we were on our return journey to Chole – with the sail up and hearing the lapping waves around Bibi na Babu’s hull was bliss – the sounds that just lull you into a sun-drenched doze…a truly peaceful, magical day for all four of us.

Volunteering in Matipwili

Lucy has come out to Kisampa from England for 8 weeks as part of her gap year. Her aim is to learn about Tanzania, life in the bush and life in a rural African village.  She is spending most of her time in Matipwili teaching the kids in the primary school computer technology. Jordan Satok donated 3 laptops to the primary school a little while back but they haven't been used as no one in the village really had any idea where to start. So Lucy has now been at Kisampa for almost 2 weeks and been going to the school and teaching 'Computer Technology' to Standard 5, 6 and 7 (the last three years of primary school). Before she came the kids had never actually seen a computer in real life but already now they are able to type formal letters, draw the Tanzanian flag, use the inbuilt calculator and create a pie chart or bar graph using Excel.  

Over the next week Lucy hopes to start adult computer classes in the village, for anyone who wants to learn but in particular for the teachers at the school so that after she leaves they are able continue the classes. Akida the librarian is really excited by the project and helps Lucy everyday in class alongside Omary or Kasim who come with her from Kisampa and look after her whilst she is in the village.  Lucy intends to present the idea of buying dongles for each of the computers so the village can get internet access and the tools to make the best use of it by the time she leaves to return to England.

Movie from Ruaha & Kigelia Camp - July 2011

Serengeti Mara Camp Movie Trailer

The Art in Finding New Species - Ruaha National Park

Birding in Ruaha National Park is extremely interesting and rewarding. Ruaha is located in south-central Tanzania, a location that until recently has been difficult and expensive to get to. Due to its vast size,  thanks to a massive extension to incorporate the Usangu wetlands,Ruaha has doubled from 10,200 to 20,220 sq.km. In addition to this, Ruaha is fortunate to be surrounded almost 360 degrees, by Game Reserves, plus west of these Reserves are yet more Forest Reserves, so the whole ecosystem, is a vast, virtually untouched, wilderness area of more than 45,000 sq. km. The remote areas are difficult to access particularly during the wet season, therefore, little ʻseriousʼ birding has been done in these seldom visited places. Rob and I are both artists, Rob a sculptor and I am a painter, and in our spare time we are avid birders. We have been extremely privileged to have lived in Ruaha National Park for 17 years, during that time Rob compiled the official, Annotated Park Bird list, which now stands at 572 species. We have managed to pull up some very interesting records, two of them new species. 

Whilst birding is good at all times the inclusion of migrant species would be from September to late May. There is only one rainy season, generally it begins in December and ends late March or mid April. During the rains the Park is very lush and green, with wonderful flowers and breeding birds, the Ruaha River looks superb too. In my view, April through to the end of June is an extremely beautiful time of year, especially for flowers and trees, though game viewing is not as rewarding as it is later in the dry season. From end of July the vegetation begins to dry, by September it looks very grey with little greenery, these drier months are however, a great time for game viewing. October and November tend to be very dry, and hot, but at all times Ruaha holds its own charm, and every season has its own particular magic. Most areas of the Park are accessible all year round, however, some of the more remote Miombo areas are difficult during the rainy season but are accessible from July to December.

The Art in Finding New Species by Sue Stolberger & Robert Glen

Open body - Open mind - Open heart

 

Three days to unwind, rediscover yourself and detox with healthy food and Yoga Asanas.

We will do lots and lots of Yoga, Meditation and Pranayama but also go for meditative bush walks and canoeing all in the enchanting surroundings of Sadaani by the Wami River just over a couple of hours drive from Dar-es-Salaam.

In the morning we will focus on the Asanas part of the practice going through the Ashtanga sequence with specific adjustments and groundings, while the afternoon will see a much softer practice concentrating on Meditation and specific Pranayama exercises. 

Certified instructor Oriane Torode

The start of our second season at Serengeti Mara Camp brings in the lions...

"You know you are truly alive when you’re living among lions."   Karen Blixen

Last week I had the pleasure of spending time at our camp in the Lamai. This remarkable piece of the northern Serengeti is truly heaven!  Nestled amongst the vast plains of long grass only weeks before the arrival of this years wildebeest migration – our camp looks out onto the majestic Mara ecosystem.

The start to the season found me surrounded by lions. My first encounter of the week was an old male laying in the shade scratching his wounds….probably no too much of life left.  Not far from him all squashed under a small shade patch were 8 lionesses with their 6 cubs and also, one young male snoozing the day away. From time to time, an eye is opened and scans for trouble. Later in the afternoon a playful cub under a large tree and his nearby sibling resting in a cub-by-size line up to say farewell as I drive back towards Arusha and home. 

And just as you think its all over…. you look up to find an ever so mysterious lion looking at you from a tree! I think our best season ever is about to begin.

Anna Jonsson, Marketing Manager

Into Africa - KLM inflight magazine "Holland Herald" article

Two exhilarating hours away in a six-seat plane, and a million miles away scenically, is the Ruaha Game Reserve. There is nothing on the airstrip apart from a lone giraffe. No sleepy official, no hut, no customs check, no tarmac, no lights, no billboards, telegraph poles, signs or advertising. Driving along small dirt tracks to the reserve, there are stately, ancient baobabs everywhere, with their bark stripped back around the trunks.

 “It’s the elephants,” explains Mollel, the guide. “They eat the bark for moisture in the dry season.” This is a bleak, harsh, unforgiving landscape with occasional dashes of colour from ‘toothbrush trees’. Their bright red pods taste like pistachio nuts. It is hard to imagine this exploding rudely into colour after the rains. The baobabs are the oldest tree, many thousand years old, testimony to slow growing and prehistoric life. The first mention of the baobab is by Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan trader and historian, who wrote in 1353, “The trees are of a great age and size, a caravan can shelter under a single one of them, some have no branches or leaves, but the trunk gives enough shade to shelter many men; some have rotted inside, and rainwater has collected, as if it were a well.” I expect to see a dinosaur gently wandering amongst the branches.

 In reality, Ruaha is teeming with impala, duiker, and giant kudu with their huge ears. Giraffes and zebras work in coalition (zebras have an excellent sense of smell, giraffes excellent eyesight) as do baboons and impala: baboons shake the leaves of the high trees, impala stay below (again, good eyesight and smell). It’s all about survival and working together. I almost feel sorry for these animals: life is a neurotically tense experience.

No wildlife documentary can prepare you for the thud of your own heart as a matriarch elephant purposefully eyes you across open savannah. She is 20 metres away, her one-year-old baby snuggling up under chest and trunk, peeping out. The jeep wheels make unhelpful groaning sounds, as the tyres embed deeper and deeper into the sand of a completely dry river bed. “It’s fine, watch her ears” says Mollel. “She’s not angry, just curious.” Still, seven tonnes of mammal defending her offspring is something to be taken seriously.

For full article

Marine lady turns bush baby

When Rob Barbour asked me whether I wanted to spend a week at our camp in Ruaha there wasn’t a doubt in my mind – I had to go – I had heard so many wonderful stories about this untamed piece of Tanzania and even the name conjured up mystical wilderness with a whisper of danger.  So I left my island paradise of Chole Mjini and headed via Dar es Salaam to Msembe Airstrip.    The flight in itself was an absolute delight – after leaving the urban sites of Dar, vast green plains spread out below us, uncultivated and undisturbed, followed by rugged mountain ranges and finally the sight of the Great Ruaha River flowing across sand bars.  We dropped passengers off at Jongomero first and then the 10 minute flight to Msembe, following this great river, was a true Robert Redford / Dennis Finch-Hatton experience – seeing Africa from the sky – grazing treetops while scattering game from their shaded slumber - it was magical and a heavenly start to my week at the National Park.

My time at Kigelia camp was wonderful – I could wax lyrical about the atmosphere, the delightful simplicity of being a visitor in nature, the changing colours of the landscape but I feel I might lose you as readers so I’ll just tell you two of my highlights.  The first one came Day Two – it was mid-afternoon and I was in my tent when trumpeting and crashing shrubs sounded around me – I edged forward on the bed and peered through the canvas onto the sand river below and there were 3 adult elephants and the tiniest of babies grazing and digging for water in the sand.  Merely 30ft from my bed and I could have watched them for hours, especially the little one who was cavorting on the ground, playing with his trunk and obviously embarrassing his Mum…It was amazing to see these phenomenal creatures up close – a pure delight.

The other highlight I want to touch on and will always stay with me was a dawn game drive with our experienced guides, Raffa and Amos.  On my last day we woke up at 5.30am and filled the car with warm blankets and hot coffee, because by jove, in comparison to Chole it was freezing – I thought I was back in the UK again!  We saw so much during this solitary drive (we did not pass one other vehicle) - I could reel off a list of animals which would make any zoologist jealous; giraffes, including a large group of over forty with several babies, kudu, jackel, rollers, rock hyrax, giant buffalo, impala, huge herds of elephant, zebra, eagles, mongoose and two very sleepy lions who were merely 4ft away from the vehicle and I will never forget the gold of that lady’s eyes watching me.  But even through all those fantastic experiences, the one that will stick in my mind is when we stopped at the brow of the hill just as the sun, a ball of fire, rose in the tinted sky – wow – deep red – flooding light over this phenomenal vista – picture perfect with rolling hills, majestic baobabs, wispy grasses and tagalala trees with dikdiks scampering, giraffes nodding for leaves and me with a cup of coffee, under a blanket wondering how did life get this good.

Lyndsey Fair, Chole Mjini Lodge Manager

Volunteers at Kisampa

Early this June Kisampa was graced by the visit of three young Canadian volunteers: Amy Warm, Sam McDermott and Sammy Godfriedson.  There stay with us included volunteer sessions with pre- primary and primary kids in Matipwili and Kisampa. The three young ladies arrived here on Sunday 5th June with the intention to volunteer their skills as early learning professionals to the under six year olds in our community. Hannes and Bori introduced the ladies to the village elders and together they discussed the opportunities. The ladies then spent the next few days in the village with the 4 to 6 year olds at the primary school in Matipwili. As the primary school would close for the holidays on Friday 10th June, the ladies were invited to help honour the children from the primary school that had scored highest in the end of year school tests.

Amy, Sam and Sammy had brought with them an enormous amount of teaching supplies. Some of these items were offered to the best students of each class as an incentive to continue to do their best and study hard. The children were delighted to receive special gifts of pens and pencils, colouring books, crayons and much more.  The three volunteers will end their time at Kisampa by visiting Gongo village and the Gongo school and community, as well as visit the Mingogi settlement and more visits to Matipwili to sit with the children to play, learn and enjoy each other's company.

A tranquil start to the season at Chole Mjini Lodge

Chole Mjini Lodge in my mind is always the epicentre of calm and serenity – no cars, traffic, sirens, phones, electricity, radios, tvs; just you, a treehouse, blue skies and long sunny days…but for the last four days Chole has become even more harmonious.  We’ve been delighted to host Jo Fox’s Yoga Retreat.  During sunrise and sunset you can hear Jo’s dulcet tones whisper “now breathe in…and out” – it has been wonderful.  The sessions have taken place all over the Lodge – in the fig-lined ruins, on the balcony of the Red Herring facing the sunset and under a tamarind tree looking over the harbour.  Not only have the people of Chole been fascinated with these exercises (especially when they passed the Red Herring to see ten pairs of feet up in the air with no heads!) but our staff have also entered into the spirit of the retreat – to the extent where Jo offered Hassani, a waiter at the Lodge to join them.  Here is a photo of Hassani in his first ever yoga session – I am expecting him to be all zen-like for work tomorrow!

The group have also had time between sessions to sample some of the many activities we offer including one of the first turtle hatchings of the season on Juani; a walk through the village which was made even more special by the Kindergarten, funded by the Chole Mjini Trust Fund, singing them a song; scuba diving and snorkelling in Chole Bay and lazing on the sandbar.  It’s been a wonderful beginning of the season and I hope Jo’s guests got as much out of their experience as Hassani!

Photos by: Francesca McKenna

Eco Yoga Retreat at Chole Mjini Lodge

Photographic School - Tanzania - 23-30 August 2011

Make sure to check out Epic Private Journeys exclusive photographic school coming up during this years great migration in the Serengeti.  Greg du Toit is a professional wildlife photographer and 8th generation African. Born in South Africa in 1977, he has lived and worked in four different African countries. From a young age, he has engaged the wilds of Africa, and there was never any doubt as to what he would do with his life. It was therefore no surprise that after completing his tertiary education in Nature Conservation, he went to live permanently in the African bush.

The first few years of his career were spent in Timbavati Game Reserve (South Africa), where he served an apprenticeship as a Wilderness Trails Guide. It was during these years that he set aside devoted time to study every aspect of the African bush, from identifying wild flowers and dung beetles through to stalking big game on foot. These skills later proved invaluable as he focused his attention on photography. Since those early days, he spent more than a decade living in and photographing some of Africa’s wildest, remotest and largest ecosystems. His photography and writing is however, much more than a career; it is a way for him to channel his passion for Africa and to share the beauty and awe of Africa’s wild places with others, hopefully contributing to their continued existence.

An excert from The Ecologist- Tanzania: can the country's booming eco-tourism sector ever be truly green?

From local participation to wildlife conservation, Tanzania’s green tourism projects show how responsible travellers and tour operators can improve lives and ecosystems - but there's still much to do.

Tourist trips to developing countries is increasing by six per cent per year. Twenty per cent of these new tourists go to Africa, with Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania scooping up the majority. So what’s driving the trend? The answer is eco-tourism. Ecotourism appeared as early as the 1960’s in Kenya, when hunters in search of game flocked to the savannas and forests, providing an economic reason for conservation. Since then, eco-tourism  - happily minus hunting - has become the fastest growing sub-sector of the tourist industry. With an annual growth rate of between 10 and 15 per cent worldwide, it’s no wonder that the travel industry regards it as a sort of wonder pill. But what exactly is eco-tourism and is it really as green as it’s supposed to be?

Some see eco-tourism as a marketing ploy. Others regard it as a genuine effort to imaginatively dispose of waste, employ and train local people, preserve the environment and support local communities. Obviously prominent sprinklers on the lawns of some of the big hotels in Dar-Es-Salaam are a bit of a giveaway, as are daily deliveries of imported strawberries and foie gras to luxury South African boltholes. Ironically, it is often the smaller, independent lodges who are best at involving local communities in macro tourist initiatives but they are also the ones who find it most difficult: long-term training, secure employment and monitoring whether profits really are ploughed back into their surrounding villages is expensive and labour intensive. Rob Barbour, of AfrikaAfrika runs four eco-camps in Tanzania. He’s one of a handful of travel operators here who uses his imagination, thinking broadly, laterally and holistically. Uniquely he employs a trained, local community co-ordinator and the salaries he pays are higher than normal. His challenges include involving locals in the development of the camps, reducing poaching with snares and encouraging work such as beekeeping. For him, eco-tourism has to include secure employment. He says: ‘Promotion of ethical working practices has to come from within.  It has to come from the top. It has to be done with communities in mind. Involving local communities is not a difficult thing to do. You have to build trust and the best way to do that is to always deliver on the things you say you are going to deliver on with no exceptions. Always keep the communication channels open to the community - tell them your issues and problems and ask them to do the same.’

Link to complete article written by Themi Mutch