May 2010 : Grumeti Reserves, Tanzania

The volcano is located in Northern Tanzania, about an hour’s flight from Singita Grumeti Reserves and is part of the volcanic system of the Great Rift Valley in Eastern Africa. A special thanks to Guide Adas Anthony for providing so many fantastic shots of the majestic volcano and surrounding lakes, craters and scenic splendor.

Many miles away fresh ash plumes were being pushed about 5, 5 km into the air from the Eyjafjallajokull Glacier in Iceland; preventing many flights from taking off and landing in Europe. Travelers around the world were affected by the eruption, consequently creating the highest level of air travel disruption since the Second World War. A small party staying at Sabora Tented Camp decided to take advantage of being stranded with us and ventured on a fantastic day trip in a helicopter to a few of Tanzania’s most spectacular natural wonders.

Pictured here is Embagai Crater in the foreground with Ol Doinyo behind.  Pictured to the right,  the chopper on the ridge of the Crater

Lengai is unique among active volcanoes in that it produces natrocarbonatite lava; it emerges at a fairly low temperature of around 510°C. It erupted in 1883, 1904, 1910, 1913, 1915 and more recently in 2007. This volcanic activity, caused earth tremors across Kenya and Tanzania, the strongest measured at 6.0 on the Richter scale. The volcano erupted on September 04th 2007, sending a plume of ash and steam at least 18 km downwind and covering the north and west flanks in fresh lava flows. The eruption continued intermittently and by the end of February 2008 had gathered strength and a major outburst took place on March 05th.

The temperature of the lava is so low that the molten lava appears black in the sunlight, rather than the red flow of most lava. The sodium and potassium carbonate minerals of the volcano are unstable at the earth’s surface and susceptible to rapid weathering; quickly turn from black to grey in colour. The resulting volcanic landscape is different from any other in the world. After leaving the slopes of Lengai the chopper ascends to the beautiful shores of Lake Natron, the salt lake bordering Kenya. The lake is fed by the Ewaso Ng’iro River and mineral rich hot springs.

The lake is very shallow and after evaporation the water has very high levels of salt and other minerals. The surrounding country is very dry and temperatures in the lake reach up to 50°C and depending on rainfall, alkalinity levels are extremely high. The colour of the lake is very characteristic of those with very high evaporation rates, and as this process occurs, salinity levels increase to a point that salt loving microorganisms begin to thrive. These include some cyanobacteria.

These are tiny bacteria that grow in the water and make their own food by photosynthesis. The red pigment in the bacteria produce the deep red colours of the lake. The high water temperature and salt concentration of the lake does not support much wildlife. However it is an important habitat for Lesser Flamingoes.

This is an area where two and a half million of the endangered species breed each year. As the salinity increases, so does the bacteria giving the lake the opportunity to support more flamingo nests. The flocks gather along the shoreline and feed on the spirulina (blue green algae with red pigments). After a long day in the chopper, Adas was then out on a short drive where he came across two adult Impala ewes and their fawns alarm calling at something in the tall grass. He explained to his guests that it must either be a feline predator, most probably a Leopard, or possibly a large snake. What followed was fascinating display of strength and agility, as they watched in awe as an adult python caught a young fawn and proceeded to crush and then swallow the youngster.

This beautiful herd of approximately 120 Elephant has provided special viewing around Sabora and the western corridor plains for most of the month. With the grasses being so tall, where better to find predators, and a special thanks to Horst Klemm for these wonderful shots of a very relaxed young male Leopard in a tree off the Rahu Drainage Line near Sabora. We were also very fortunate to catch a glimpse of Limpopo in his enclosure. Colourful ground dwelling Usambiro Barbets (Trachyphonus usambiro) gather on a termite mound, endemic to this area with a restricted range of about 150 square kilometers.

Pictured here are Helmeted Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) adults and chicks in tow. Numbers increased dramatically after the long rains. Distinctly spotted game birds of the bush, they are highly gregarious, foraging, chasing and dust bathing together. They often assist the guides locating prey by responding to danger with a loud and far carrying rattling and trill call.

A fairly rare sight in the daylight at Singita Grumeti Reserves, a Flap necked Chameleon raising his occipital flaps and opening his mouth to expose the
red–orange lining. Topi have once again featured prominently on the grasslands; their adaption to living on the floodplains appears to be relatively recent as their feet are only slightly modified for walking in soft soils. Toward the end of the month, smatterings of the Great Wildebeest Migration came through onto the concession east of Robanda in the far south eastern sections of Ikorongo.

Rain continues to fall and it will be an interesting year to see in what density, and for how long the wildebeest stay on the reserve. The herds of resident wildlife have for most part moved off the Nyasirori areas and onto the Nyati and Sabora plains, herds of Elephant are a constant around the Grumeti River areas and predators move with the plains game, so all in all, quality sightings at Singita Grumeti Reserves.