Day Three - Adventure

A more accurate title for this post would be A lot of waiting and some Adventure – but who wants to read that post?

I woke around 1:30am to the sound of heavy, heavy rain pummeling the canvas and I can personally attest that it continued for a solid 5 hours since, after lying awake listening for 30 minutes, I gave up on sleep, made tea then wrote the previous blog post amongst other things until dawn when finally the downpour eased.

My flight to Saskwa (Grumeti Reserves) was scheduled on Auric Air at 10:50am so I packed up, ate breakfast, said my goodbyes to all the wonderful staff, wrote in the guest book, filled in the guest card, contributed to the tip box and we were driving out of camp at 8am.

Driving through the fresh rain-washed morning, through fields of morning glory and the promise of an exciting day - about 10 minutes from camp we came upon another Lemala car stopped up ahead. Rounding the corner it became evident why they were sitting there – up ahead the river was flooded – fast flowing, deep and swollen with the rains coming all the way from Ngorongoro there was no way to cross it. 

Quite a commotion and discussion ensued; the other vehicle was full of camp staff heading for home on leave (including my vivacious waitress Christina) and everyone had an opinion.

Shida kubwa, maji mengi sana

Barnabas laid a rock at the waters edge to monitor the level and then there was nothing for it but to wait for it to drop; maybe a couple of hours and it would be passable. Labda  badai. So back to camp and some time spent in the office contacting Auric Air and Singita to let them know the situation and see what could be arranged. Goodluck was fantastic and proactive and the Lemala office in Arusha was on the case also. Auric’s schedule was too tight for them to wait for me so to plan B.

Plan B – once across the river (fingers crossed) Barnabas would drive me to Ikoma Gate where a Singita car would meet us – honestly I’m not really sure why this had not been my plan in the first place!

So now just to wait for the river to drop.

Talking to Goodluck I found that this was an unprecedented event – the sustained extreme heavy rain overnight had covered a massive area stretching from the Ngorongoro Highlands all across southern, eastern, central Serengeti and reaching as far as the western corridor and reports were coming in of multiple other rivers in flood and impassable stretches of land. This was the first time that this river on the exit road from Nanyukie had been a problem.

Barnabas along with the other guides and some camp staff went back out to monitor the river and scout out any other possible passing place. The radio was busy with updates as morning stretched into lunchtime. The river was not dropping enough but there was a glimmer of hope that the exploration crew had found a possible way overland to another crossing that was likely to be an easier option ….. standing by ….standing by….. I was starting to settle into the idea that I may be staying another night at Nanyukie.

Then the call came that they had found a way through to the other crossing and that Baranabas was already heading back to collect me. There was a crazy urgency in the air – we were working against time since now it was close to 4pm and we would need to get to the gate before dark. Barnabas swooped in, I was almost launched into the vehicle and we swooshed away from camp in a shower of Kwaheris and Good Luck Ellies.

Just outside we cut across land to rendezvous with the other vehicle and then went in convoy with two guys from the other car jumping in and out to help navigate the difficult ground – honestly it felt like a cross between the wild west and a military coup.

About 30 minutes later we reached the other road and then a little further came upon a now familiar sight of vehicles stopped in the road. This time a camp landrover (from another camp), a water truck and a couple of other local vehicles and now us. We walked to inspect the river ….. wide and fast flowing – with little white-caps in places. 

Much discussion again between all gathered on the riverbank. At this point it’s all starting to feel quite farcical and hilarious and the collection of guys had such a great energy I was really quite enjoying it whatever the outcome.

After much arm waving and gesturing it was decided that 2 brave (or fool-hardy) volunteers would wade out to test the depth and scout the position of the concrete track that lay under the water. One of them dropped his trousers and waded in wearing his orange boxer shorts and wellies – just amazing. They held hands and slowly moved forward testing the ground and steadying themselves against the current and at times feeling with their hands what lay underfoot all the while with encouragement and instructions being shouted from the crew safe on land!

Verdict : passable!!

So Barnabas and I led the charge – ok technically Barnabas led and I sat behind giving encouragement. Less than a minute of engine revving and expert driving and we were across. The water came to around half-way up the doors. As we stopped to unlock the drive-lock on the wheels a convoy of the other vehicles followed and passed us with much cheering, waving and general celebration. Way more exciting than the original boring plan for the day.

Then a fast (but legal) dash to Fort Ikoma Gate as the day disappeared and my eyes drooped and head bobbed in sleep to startle back awake, another flooded river but with a much simpler work-around and we made it a little before 7pm. Lovely Godson from Singita was waiting; a hug and a million thank-yous for Barnabas and we swept away into the oncoming night air.

About an hour of conversation getting to know Godson, my guide for the next 3 days, and we arrived at Singita Faru Faru Lodge to a warm welcome from Sinter and the lodge staff and a very welcome (and I think deserved) gin and tonic. Without the energy to change and return I ate dinner and then to my room and bed!!

Many thanks to all the staff at Lemala Nanyukie and in the Arusha office for going above and beyond to get me where I was supposed to be. It’s very humbling to think of the number of people who worked all day to find a way for us to cross the river and of course wonderful Baranabas who was also supposed to head home to his wife and 2 young daughters after dropping me at the airport. I hope they all make it home safe tomorrow.

A huge shout-out and big love to the Tanzanian people in general for being so resourceful and optimistic in the face of a challenge and doing it all with a smile and a laugh ❤❤❤.

Also worth noting that Lemala are working with TANAPA to find an alternate access for the camp to avoid this type of issue in the future.