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I’m sharing my experience hunting in Northern Tanzania earlier this year, hoping it may provide useful tips or insights for others considering just such a trip. Over the last twenty five years, I’ve been fortunate enough to hunt six different concession areas in Northern Tanzania (whether they be game reserves or game conservation areas etc), which helps me provide both some context of what each area has to offer, as well as how they have changed over time. I planned one trip across two outfitters this year, which turned into two trips due to the weather. Rather than attempt to provide a day by day narrative (I’m doubtful I write well enough to keep that interesting), I’ll lean into some contextual and summary points, and more photographs.
By the numbers:
Late May - Short, five day hunt
Outfitter: Adam Clements
Area: Lake Natron East (north east)
PH: Blake Wilhelmi (exceptional PH)
Game hunted: Buffalo, Bushbuck
Game taken: none
Animals seen: Lesser kudu, Giraffe, Zebra, Wildebeest, Cheetah, Gerenuk, Eland, Imapala, Grants Gazelle, and frankly lots of Masai cattle, goats and donkeys.
Late November - Ten day hunt
Outfitter: Bushman Safaris Trackers
Area: Maswa Game Reserve
PH: Mike Fell
Game hunted: Buffalo, Bushbuck and what the bush provided
Game taken: Buffalo (x4), Bushbuck, Zebra, Topi, Warthog, Thompsons Gazelle
Animals seen: Literally hundreds of elephant bulls, lions and most everything else you see on a PBS documentary about the Serengeti
For a little context, I first hunted in Tanzania in 2000 with Wengert Windrose, hunting Kisigo/Muhesi in the south with Ian Lennox, and hunting Natron in the north with Rolf Trappe. It remains one of my very best trips.
Lake Natron is a fascinating place. The lake itself is a large, caustic soda lake with vibrant colors, ringed by sulfur springs and home to most of the world’s lesser flamingo population. On the west side is the great rift valley wall with a number slot canyon waterfalls, Oldonyo Lengai, an active volcano the Masai call the “mountain of God”, and the Serengeti further beyond that. The south side of the lake has fossilized footprints of both humans and eland they were tracking. How cool is that? To the north is Kenya.
In 2000, the Natron concession went all the way around the lake, and we focused on hunting the very best area within it, the top of Mount Gelai on the central east side. At just short of 10,000 feet, the top of Mount Gelai is a thickly vegetated cloud forest, teeming with bushbuck, and at the time, ample buffalo, a stark contrast to the plains below.
In 2020, I planned to return to Natron and the mountains of Nothern Tanzania, this time with my wife. Life intervened and I made the trip with a good friend. The east side with Mount Gelai was in private hands, so we hunted the west side and Longido with Michele Mantheakis.
A few photos from my 2020 trip:
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The area down low near the lake is dry, dramatic and generally has good numbers of gazelles, zebra and wildebeest.
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A view to the south, with the outer rim of Ngorongoro crater in the far distance.
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On the west side of the lake, the rift valley wall has slot canyons and waterfalls that are fun to “explore”.
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There are fossilized human footprints on the south side of the lake, with fossilized eland tracks nearby. Some speculate that it’s actually footprints of hunters stalking the eland.
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The buffalo I took on the side of Pinyini. You really work for them here.
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Part way up Longido, the environment is dramatically different. It looks like you could find Yoda in here is you hunt hard enough!
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The view from the top of Longido, with Kenya is the distance.
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It’s always nice to stay in a tented camp.
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Sunset from the Longido camp, with Mt Kilimanjaro in the distance.
