What our guests had to say..

This week we post comments from John and Jenny, who spent 4 days of their honeymoon here with us at Kungwe, and had wonderful sightings of both the males and females within the ‘M’ group.
And even though Jesper, Nicolas and Dharbar only had a short 2 night visit, they also managed to get some quality time with the chimps.

Their sighting was of Gwekulu, one of the oldest females within the ‘M’ group, and Puffy, a female youngster, for who Gwekulu permanently cares for since her own mother, Pinky passed away.

“We had to climb and crawl though the forest, and then all of a sudden they were right in the middle of the path in front of us - It was almost like they came down especially just to greet us. But every minute was worth it!”.

On the last evening of their stay, we laid out the fresh marinated Yellow Belly on the barbeque and enjoyed our dinner under the stars.
The evening ended off with a bit of singing, drumming and dancing (and a whole lot of laughter!) from the Kungwe Team.

“Of all the places we have visited, this has been the most perfect. Thank you to all the staff for such a memorable visit. We also loved the chimps!”
Jenny and John Fletcher

“Beautiful lodge, very good staff including management, thank you to all of you for making our stay a memorable one - Simply outstanding”
Dharbar, Nicolas and Jesper

Pongo, Our Resident Male

The shy and elusive bushbuck is distributed over sub-Saharan Africa and in East Africa, it is found in a variety of habitats, though rarely in open land. Bushbucks are forest-edge antelopes and live in habitat including Rain forest, Montane forest, forest-savanna mosaics and Bush savannas.

Bushbuck are solitary animals. Most group associations, except for a female and her young, are very temporary and only last a few hours or days. Most have small home ranges and which may overlap with those of other bushbuck. Even so, there is still not much contact and as adult individuals prefer to stay by themselves in their separate areas, mature males usually go out of their way to avoid each other.

In Mahale Bushbuck are often spotted along the edges of the forest, and here at Kungwe we have one resident male that has included the camp as part of his home range.

Pongo – as we call him (Swahili name for Bushbuck, or also referred to as Mbawala) is often around early mornings, strolling along the beach or feeding in between the tents at the forest’s edge. He seems to be quite relaxed around humans and will allow one to come rather close to him... During 2009 he appeared one morning with serious injuries, and from the injuries we concluded that he probably had a narrow escape from the male Leopard, which also often passes through camp. But this little male healed quickly and was soon healthy again.

Recently he disappeared for a while, after a few weeks had passed without seeing him around we thought that perhaps the Leopard finally got to him.

This morning we found him again in Camp feeding. And then we spotted a little female on our South beach! So it seems he is doing just fine after all....

Welcome back!

In 2009 we were blessed with early visits from some of the members of the ‘M’ group. In April they were rather scattered and we had several chimps travelling through camp to feed on the Lemon trees.

This year, after returning from our well deserved break, we heard the chimps were far South, feeding on the Mabula plum which seems to be fruiting early this year. John and Jenny, our fist visitors for the season, tested out their walking boots with their track’s ranging from five to seven hours to find the group.

They tracked south, with no luck, then between the northern and southern valleys as well as up Skyway and finally on day two managed to find the group. The remaining days gave them sufficient viewing time to make the trip worthwhile...Alofu showing off with charging displays, Pim and Kalunde grooming and even got to see the latest additions to the group, Fatuma had a baby recently and Vera also showed off her little one.

‘The group will be moving down soon’ Sixtus told us after returning to camp, and we hoped that when moving from south to north, they would take their usual route through camp.

Late that afternoon, we heard their calls coming from the forest and sure enough, there they were! We grabbed our cameras and headed out to the pathway behind camp. At first the forest was quiet, we thought they had passed already. Then we hear the tree branches breaking and know which way to head.

Once over the bridge we find Mitsuya, sitting quietly in the middle of the pathway, starting at us. A few feet behind her is Wakusi, Teddy and Zantip, relaxing in the afternoon shade of the trees. Wakusi points out something on the forest floor to Teddy, who then stares with interest. Mitsuya, enjoying the attention, gives a few turns for the camera. Zantip falls flat on her back, arms and legs stretched out... a lazy afternoon indeed.

Suddenly there is a call from further down the pathway, the females quickly gets up and moves into the trees. ‘The males are coming’ Sixtus said and after a few minutes Christmas comes strolling along the path, with Fanana following close behind him. They stop for a few seconds to finish off the lemons they have been holding, and then pass by close to us. Then Orion appeared, followed by Darwin, Michio and also Kalunde, who never seems to miss a visit to Kungwe.
Once all the males passed, the females came down and decided to join them and soon they continued on their route north...

Wakusi is the large, old female in the first picture, she is the mother of Alofu and sitting next to her is Teddy who is the daughter Toxi. Zantip, relaxing behind them, is the daughter of Christina and Mitsuya, the little one with the pose in the other pictures, is the daughter of Mia.

Kalunde

The oldest male in the group by 14 years, this is one incredible chimp and a favourite of many staff and visitors in Mahale.

Kalunde is the first chimp we encountered after arriving in Mahale over a year ago. One afternoon we found him quietly feeding on tree bark in the bushes along the beach. This old, bald and grey chimp immediately stole our hearts.

But we soon realized that there's much more to him than just a gentle face. He is also known as 'The King Maker' because of his successful political techniques, and the influence that he has on the rest of the group.

He is the only survivor from the Ntologe regime and although he might be thought too over the hill to be considered a ranking male these days, (and on a one to one basis, most males could beat him) he tends to control the group through the others.
He is also a favourite amoungst the females in the group, and has a special friendship with Mkobo, and older female.

Kalunde often visits Kungwe, we often find him at the camp in one or two of his favourite spots. In this picture he is relaxing on the beach in front of the Managers tent.

The Kungwe blog is online!

Mahale and the Chimps
During this time of year it is not unusual to wake up to the sound of thunder and the sweet smell of rain, dark clouds hang overhead and sunsets over Congo Mountians are wild with colour.

As we now reach the end of our closed season, we know that slowly the heavy rains will also be coming to an end.
We prepare for June and July, knowing that these are the months that our guides and trackers are put to the test and have to be at their best to find our habituated group of chimps, known as the ‘Mimikere’ group.

The home range of these chimps covers a very large area, rising up from the lakeshore through the forest to the top of the Mahale Mountians. Normally from late May to July it becomes quite tricky to find them because food is scarce, and this group, consisting of about 60 individuals, are spread out through the forest. During these months they also prefer higher parts of their home range.
Our guides and trackers, Sixtus, Given and Samjee, are not intimidated by the climb though and will readily set off into the forest in search of clues and the whereabouts of the group.

Then from August all the trees start bearing fruit, making Kungwe a hotspot with activity for a few months, as during this time the chimps are often found feeding in or around the camp.

Our camp team is currently working on our ‘M’ group Family tree, which we are hoping to complete soon. The Tree we will not only be giving information about the birth dates, but also the characteristics, behaviour and pictures of each chimp, which will make it easy for guests to read up about their favourites. We welcome any suggestions, and will be happy to receive any photo’s that you would like to share with us.

Kungwe, a Season of change
Our team have been working hard to prepare the camp, which is now ready to receive our first guests later this month. Last year we slowly started with small upgrades in and around the camp, with which we will be continuing throughout the season. There are quite a few projects in the pipeline which we are very excited about, and will be posting regular updates and pictures about this too.

After all, apart from the rewarding chimpanzee experience that has become synonymous with Mahale, it is also the time spent at the lodge and the small things that makes your stay unique and memorable....
Watching the sun set over the Congo Mountians and sipping on a cool drink around a crackling fire. Evening forest calls of Frogs, Insects and even a Bushbaby or two. An afternoon Kayak trip on the lake, or snorkelling in the shallows along the shoreline. Having the feeling that you don’t have to do any activity at all, and simply relax on the beach.

All of these things, and of course not forgetting the great taste of Tanganyika Perch or Yellow Belly straight from the lake to the barbeque, is what makes Kungwe a truly personal experience.

We look forward to the season ahead of us and will keep weekly updates on the blog of our sightings and Camp news. So be sure to check back often as these and other posts are added.
If you would like to share your images of Kungwe or Mahale with us, or comment on our news we will be posting, simply scroll down and use the link below.

So until next time, we look forward to hearing from you!

The Kungwe Team