Happy Birthday Mama B!

Although the cake didn't rise as much as perhaps hoped, I took a cunning picture from above so you can't tell. Otherwise all went well! And I even produced scones fora  birthday tea this evening too. Hope Mama B has enjoyed the weekend as much as me!

Nice day ar rivertrees

We had a fun time at Rivertrees today, just relaxing and hanging around. Some braver folk braved the pool, I chickened out and took photos of wildlife in the garden. Now Mama B is out with a bunch of ladies forr a birtday meal and I've been trying to back a cake... Here are a few pics from the day, if you know the mystery butterfly or dragonfly, do let me know!

Brown Pansy

Anyone know this? Maybe a Charaxes

Another dropwing perhaps?

African Dusky Flycatcher

We had a fun time at Rivertrees today, just relaxing and hanging around. Some braver folk braved the pool, I chickened out and took photos of wildlife in the garden. Now Mama B is out with a bunch of ladies forr a birtday meal and I've been trying to back a cake... Here are a few pics from the day:

Beach wildlife

Mama B decided to leave it to me to put some wildlife pictures up, so here they are. The beach is always fun! I've also put a few up on the safari blog if you want more biology (and I'll add a few more on this theme there in time too...).

Prize for anyone who can spot the White-fronted Sandplover on it's nest (first breeding record for N coast of Tanzania, it seems)

Black-bellied Startlings are a good sign you're at the coast too.

Flower sp. Quite pretty.

Mating millepedes. Look where they keep their genitalia! Very inconvenient, I should think.

Sunrise makes pretty pics

Another flower sp. Butterflies liked this one.

So, African Monarch, or it's mimic, the (female) diadem. Prizes here too!

Dark Blue Pansy

Bronze Mannekins are very cute, especially newly fledged.

These guys liked the early morning sun and were nesting in many trees.

Acraea calderena, Black-tipped Acraea

Acraea serenna They're very diverse!

African Cuckoo-Hawk

Odd snail. After buying himself in the sand he popped both eyes out to watch us. Can you see them?!

Pretty shells!

Ushongo Beach

Back this evening after a long drive home from Ushongo beach where we had five nights with friends in their banda aka 'Susan's beach house'. Lovely time. Lots of wave jumping, sandcastle building, shell-hunting, dancing on the sand, bird and butterfly-spotting and beach wandering. Added highlights included watching a Green Turtle nest being relocated to safety, numerous pairs of mating giant millipedes and a sundowners trip in 'The Grasshopper' (the bounciest open landrover I've ever experienced) to see Hippos. The heat of each day was happily frittered away dozing, reading, stickering and playing bananagrams. Thank you so much Susan and co. for sharing your holiday with us!

I'll let Mr B do a beach wildlife post tomorrow and share some kid shots (and, of course, obligatory sunset) today.

Relocated nests carefully marked. The original nesting site is now regularly inundated, killing the eggs.

The nest is normally about a metre down, so a similarly deep hole is dug.

173 eggs carefully 'laid'

Last evening dip

The Friendly Eland place

Yesterday we took our friends with the gorgeous one year old to the Friendly Eland Place (aka Mount Meru Game Lodge) for the first time. Fun feeding the Friendly Eland and a Porcupine and generally getting dirty (the kids that is) rolling and spinning on the grass and creating a 'mouse restaurant' in a thick clump of bushes.

Arty Zebra shot courtesy of Kitty (Mother and Baby)

Tomorrow off to the beach, so no more posts till Monday night at the earliest.

Shop names

One of the things that frequently amuses us about Tanzania are the delightful names that shops get here. I finally managed to get a picture of the third on my list of names I wanted before posting the blog a couple of days ago, so here, in reverse order, are the three best-named shops I've found in Tanzania so far.

(3) For cuteness value alone, who wouldn't want to shop here?

(2) But if you're interested in somewhat more unusual purchases, this is probably for you

(and they are rather adorable, it's true, but I won't let Mama have one)

(1) But my favourite of all isn't actually in Arusha, but down the way in Mto wa Mbu. To go with the Sham, the car salesman, would you be buying electrical goods here?