Simon Mattacks
speaker
2,982 appearances
18 recordings
3 series
first heard Dec 2024
last heard yesterday
Simon Mattacks’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 15 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 3.
Appearances
As you walk on, Tembo's pace is leisurely and his footsteps are gentle. His sound is that of a far lighter creature. The elephant seems content to plod along slowly, enjoying the views as much as the exercise. You lose track of time in such surroundings. passing more antelope and zebra than you're able to count.
Though eventually, the animals begin to thin in numbers, and your view changes to green, empty fields. So much of your route looks the same as elsewhere. If it weren't for the occasional thicket of bushes, you might think that you'd been wandering across the same exact spot. Trees and bushes form natural markers alongside the odd hill or mound of rocks. Tempo says these are called rock copiers.
formed 500 million years ago when a volcano erupted. The land was covered in ash and rock, which eroded over time, revealing granite below. The rocks form ancient islands among a sea of flat grassland in all kinds of unusual shapes and sizes. One large copier catches your attention. Huge granite rocks are layered across a hill.
Thick green bushes grow out from the bottom, while at the top, a lone tree emerges. A leopard lies across the stone, sound asleep below the canopy of the tree. One of its massive front paws hangs limp over the edge, while the other is bent for its head to rest on. Even in the shade, it's a striking animal. A big yellow cat with brown dots across its fur.
This majestic creature looks relaxed and untroubled. He doesn't even flinch when you and Tembo pass by. You walk on and on until it gets dark. At last, you settle down to sleep at a rock island. You sleep like a baby, leaning against Tembo. The elephant is so warm, he's like a blanket beside you. The next morning, after walking a little further, you come to the orchard mentioned by Zawadi.
Tembo wanders beneath the canopy of a tree with pinkish-green fruit dangling from its branches. Elephant is delighted because he adores fresh guava. Not only the fruit, but the leaves and tree bark. He doesn't seem fazed by the high-up branches, which are mostly out of reach for the young elephant. This, you soon learn, is because he has a plan. He'll shake the fruit right off the tree.
He suggests that you raise your arms above your head and keep a lookout for falling guava. Next, he moves forwards, pushing into the trunk, causing the tree to rock and wobble. The leaves rustle like a present being opened as a shower of guava falls to the ground. Tembo picks one up, using his trunk like an arm. He brings it behind his head and drops the fruit in your hands.
Then he turns his attention to the ground beneath the tree, bringing fruits to his mouth, one after another. The guava are the size of large green pears, They're pink inside, sweet and juicy. You take your time, savoring each mouthful. The elephant has cleared the ground by the time you've finished. The smell of the guava hangs in the air. It's sweet, musky, tropical, and creamy.
there's something else, too, carried on the breeze. It's the scent of water from the nearby pool. That's where Tembo takes you now, just beyond the trees. The edges of the water are bordered with rocks and woodland, and there's sand in places like a beach. The elephant brings you to stand by the shoreline, and you gaze out across the surface of the pool.
The water is dotted with huge, grey stepping stones, smooth and glossy, where they reflect the sunlight. At least, that's what you think you're looking at to begin with, until a second glance proves otherwise. Some of these stones have little round ears. Others have nostrils, breathing above the water. Tambo laughs, sensing your reaction. He confirms that this is the hippo pool he mentioned.
You aren't the first to mistake these massive creatures for stepping stones laid out across the water. Tembo likes hippos best when they're sleeping. When they're awake, they're a little loud for his liking. He's happy to tell you all about these creatures in a hushed voice so as not to disturb them. Unlike the wildebeest that move around the country, hippos tend to stay around the same place.
though they can walk up to six miles in a night, despite their short, stubby legs and large bodies. Most people assume that hippos are related to pigs, but actually their closest relatives are whales. Awake, they can hold their breath for up to five minutes. and they spend 16 hours a day resting and sleeping in the water.
You can hear the admiration in Tembo's voice as he describes how their bodies bob up and down automatically. That's how the hippos are able to keep breathing when they're asleep in the water. They don't even stir as they continuously resurface. As he utters these words, you see movement in the water. A baby hippo lifts up its head.
You think for a moment that it might be waking, but it lets out a yawn and returns underwater. Tembo takes this as his cue to leave. Places to go, people to see. He turns by the poolside and resumes his journey, trekking in what he says is a southeasterly direction. For a while now, you walk on in silence, happy to take in the views around you.
You pass more flat plains, more trees and forests, and more rock copiers dotted around the land. The Tanzanian air is fresh and lovely. You can still smell the fragrance of sweet, ripe guava. It hangs on the elephant, too, as if he'd sprayed it like a perfume. Tembo's footsteps are slow and steady and hushed slightly on the sandy pathways.
They echo quietly above the sound of the breeze that whistles through the grass. You also hear the songs of many birds cooing, chirping, and tweeting. No two voices ever sound quite the same, Some are deep and booming, while others are high-pitched and twinkly. The red-eyed dove looks a little like a pigeon, but its gentle cooing reminds you of an owl.
A colourful little bird, called a white-fronted beater, has a high-pitched squeak which reminds you of a mouse. Most of the birds that you hear along the way are hidden from sight or far in the distance. Their gorgeous voices echo across the land from bushes, branches, and the tops of the coppice. When you do occasionally see a bird close up, you're amazed by the colors and details.
The golden-breasted starling is mostly teal and purple, though its chest is as yellow as the fruit of a mango. Its two-tone plumage has a metallic sheen, so its colors look different depending on the light. You've never seen a bird with feathers quite like it. It's as if the creature were made of silk. The yellow-billed hornbill is admittedly less glamorous.
It has a snow-white chest with black and white wings. Its hooked beak is like a down-curved banana, yellow and striking. The large bird reminds you of a turkey, and it makes a clucking noise. It sounds like it's laughing. You watch the hornbill as it clucks from a tree branch, bent over slightly, as if it can't contain its laughter.
It's a sound that stays with you once the bird has long gone and you've traveled past hills and across plains and valleys. You feel your guide's pace slowing as you approach your destination. It's a place called Ngorongoro. Tembo explains that it's a conservation area where animals are safe and protected.
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