The entries
from this trip are arranged to be in chronological order from the top down.
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We are abroad again.
THE FLIGHT FROM PORTLAND TO AMSTERDAM
Short story: Saw the Northern Lights
from the airplane on our way to Amsterdam.
Whole story: Prior to our trip I checked
SoftServeNews.com to see how active the Aurora Borealis was going to be during
our flight to Amsterdam. Turns out we were a day late to see it extremely
active, but it was still pretty strong. Fortunately I had the window seat
on the left side of the cabin. So I watched for it when we were in
darkness. That was between Hudson’s Bay and the southern tip of
Greenland. But through the windows (which are probably shaded and
polarized – and not exceptionally clean) I was initially able to make out a low
band of light that was parallel to the surface of the earth. A little
while later I saw a higher band. Unfortunately another passenger had a
reading light on so I had difficulty getting my eyes adjusted for darkness –
and the light was reflecting on the window. So I did what any geek would
do: I held a blanket over my head and around the window so I could view
the phenomenon in private. Diane was sleeping, but I thought she really
should see this so I offered her the opportunity when the Aurora appeared to be
as good as it was going to get. The blanket thing did not work for
her. So I kept watching. Since the aircraft windows are too low to
allow me to look horizontally without scrunching my neck - my neck
kept getting stiffer. I was unable to see the detail that is shown in
photos that are typically made from photographers on the ground. In fact
the blobs I saw all looked like white clouds with no variation in color and
poorly differentiated edges. There were moments, though, when I thought I
saw faint vertical bands of light above the main bands. On one occasion
two thick bands that were initially connected by a narrow band evolved together
in a space of about 15 seconds. My estimate is that the two thick bands
were initially 20 miles apart. So if my estimates are even close, the
speed of the advancement would have been over 3000 mph! That last part
was pretty awesome. But a friend of mine who went to Fairbanks, Alaska to
see the Aurora a few years ago confirmed that although he had also seen them
from a plane the viewing was much better from the ground.
AMSTERDAM
We bought the Hop-on, Hop-off ferry/bus
one-day pass and toured the city by riding boats through the canals. The
following morning we went to the Van Gogh museum – Diane’s favorite. This
stop helped us get accustomed to being in a time zone that is nearly the same
as our African destinations.
________________________________
Zanzibar
Short story
Two nights near Zanzibar City; had a city tour
and visited a National Park to see Monkeys. Rough crossing to Chumbe
Island to snorkel and to see Coconut Crabs.
Long story
We stayed two nights at the Mbweni
Ruins/Marriot hotel. Its dock is the departure point for the ferry to
Chumbe Island. Chumbe Island is the draw that attracted us to
Zanzibar. On our first afternoon we had a city tour. On our only
full day we visited the Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park. Red Colobus
monkeys and blue monkeys inhabit the park. These were well-mannered
monkeys. This is in contrast to the monkeys at tourist attractions in
China where the monkeys were very aggressive pickpockets and also unlike
monkeys in the wild in the Philippines where the monkeys were unwilling to be
seen by humans. The monkeys in the park were not afraid to be within two
feet of tourists and seemed not to be bothered by our presence. The Red
Colobus have long tails used for balance but they are not prehensile. So
they cannot hang from them. A few of them did not even have tails.
The blue monkeys were not quite as accessible. We were able to watch them
moving through the trees.
DIANE’S VERSION OF THE TRIP TO THIS POINT
FOLLOWS.
First installment: starting Thursday
Sept 5
“Jambo, Jambo (hello),
After a long flight
from Amsterdam, we arrived close to midnight in Nairobi. Customs and passport
control were confusing (note arrival time) but fairly straight forward, No
transport awaited us so we had to get a taxi - one of my least favorite things
to do.
A brief night's rest,
an early breakfast, a luggage drop off, and we were on our way again, this time
to Zanzibar in Tanzania on a short flight. We went through a health check
(forehead scanned for temperature and verbal check of where we came from)
before entering the airport building (glad we were not at the back of a 747).
Another scan of the luggage before leaving the airport, then we found our
transport.
The hotel is
mercifully close to the airport without the airport sounds. The trip to it
provided what our driver called an 'African massage' due to the road's
condition. After getting settled in, we had an afternoon walking tour of
central Zanzibar Town, the largest town on the island. Although it was Friday,
shops and markets were open in this Muslim-dominated country. Weather was warm
and humid so the market of vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish was probably
better seen and smelled in the morning.
Today we went to
Jozani National Park to see the forest, the monkeys (red back and blue), and
the mangrove. Our guide, Haj, gave us history and language lessons in addition
to telling us about the park. The monkeys were like safari animals - they
didn't care that we were around and didn't bother us. So we could watch them
without having to watch over our day packs.
Tomorrow we take a
ferry to Chumbe Island for several days with plans to snorkel and hike the
island. Internet connection might be iffy, so might the weather.”
Second installment: starting Sunday Sept
8
“The horizon remained
steady; the ferry did not. My eyes stayed focused on the horizon.
At 10:00 we were on our 'ferry' to Chumbe Island. Our boat (not a ship) was a motorized dhow with a rounded wooden top and open sides and front. Emphasis on open. Good news was that I could see the horizon. Less good news was that waves could and did come over the front and sides as the dhow worked its way across the channel.
At 10:00 we were on our 'ferry' to Chumbe Island. Our boat (not a ship) was a motorized dhow with a rounded wooden top and open sides and front. Emphasis on open. Good news was that I could see the horizon. Less good news was that waves could and did come over the front and sides as the dhow worked its way across the channel.
The crossing was expected to be one hour. At 30 minutes Chumbe looked no closer than when we started but Zanzibar looked too far to swim back.
The crew had two tasks. One was to navigate through the churning waves; another was to bailout the water. Both did their best. Thank heavens for quick dry pants and water shoes.
An hour and a half later we arrived. Clothes dried out not too long afterwards with help from the prevailing winds.
Coconut crab viewing last night. Snorkeling planned for today.
Snorkeling was calmer
than the ferry crossing but the water was churned up. So was my stomach. I
spent the rest of the day recovering. Almost 100% today but not pressing my
luck by going out in the boat to snorkel. Intrepid Doug is going out even
though the water is still a bit murky. We have a few more days to try our luck
snorkeling.
The rain might be
letting up. It came down and into our hut in buckets last night - briefly but
very effectively.”
_________________________
We have been on Chumbe
Island for 3 nights. The high points are the crabs! Hermit crabs
and Coconut Crabs. Hermit Crabs and their tracks are everywhere.
After a pre-dawn short but intense rain shower we found what appeared to be
Hermit crab conventions. There were probably about fifteen of them in a
square foot. Not just in one place but in several. We have to watch
very carefully where we walk because they are everywhere.
But the real
attraction is the Coconut Crabs. In some places these land crabs grow to about 10 lbs
and have an “arm spread” of about three feet. On Chumbe they are much smaller - possibly 18 inches across. They are nocturnal.
So after dinner each evening we go to where they tend to be. It is
typical to see about 20 along a 40 foot long trail. Fortunately they are
not aggressive.
Each day the water
clarity has improved so the snorkeling is getting better. There is a lot
of good coral and a large variety of fish, but most of what is to be seen is
about 10 feet below the surface so we are not seeing a lot of the small creatures.
We walked around the
island this morning at low tide. As we approached many areas the crabs
would head for cover en mass. It is pretty amazing to see an army of
crabs all heading for the same shelter. We collected garbage all of the
way around. Fortunately we only found a basket-full each time.
______________________________
Sometimes you are fortunate and you make good plans. Sometimes you benefit from just pure dumb luck. We enjoyed the latter at Chumbe Island. We happened to be on the island on the rare days when the tide is at its lowest. This allowed us to walk around the island, and to snorkel when the surface of the water is near the coral. So the snorkeling was at its best during our last day. On our walks around the island we found additional sea stars and crabs - and a couple of beautiful shells.
As we reported
earlier the day we arrived was less than optimum for a boat ride or for
snorkeling. We didn’t even try to snorkel that day. The next two
days provided satisfactory conditions for snorkeling but the snorkeling lacked
the WOW factor because the water was still cloudy and the coral was all 8 feet
or more below the surface. We could not see much of the small sea life
that lives in the coral. On our final two days the visibility
continued to improve and the tide was lower each day. There really IS
good coral and good sea life here to be seen.
But the best was yet
to come. Since Diane and I were the only night snorkeling visitors and we
had two guides – and the tide was a full-moon low and near the Spring equinox –
our private guided night snorkeling experience was as good as it could
be. In addition to many of the creatures that are viewable during the
daytime we saw multiple blue-spotted rays, 18” long lobsters, octopus and
lionfish as well as cuttlefish (I was disappointed that we were not able to
coerce them into color-changing displays). The night snorkel was the
highlight of our trip.
Fortunately we were
on the island for five nights so we were able to get the best view of the
underwater aquarium. During that time we saw a lot of people do day trips
to the island or stay just one night. None of them were able to absorb
the experience that was available.
In summary, our pure
dumb luck was to plan the trip to be at Chumbe Island at the best days of the
year for viewing the true underwater wonder that is there. What we did
right was to plan to stay 5 nights. That gave us better odds of having a
day when the conditions were good for island activities
_______________________________
Nairobi
I did not provide an update for our day in Nairobi. The following video is all I have to offer.
________________________________
Lewa Safari Camp
Lewa camp is in a very dry hilly area within one degree of the
equator.
There is a wetland and there are some small streams running
through it. I did not know what game we should expect to see. After
we entered the reserve, it was about a 30-minute drive to the Lewa Safari
Camp. On the way there, we saw a female Lion, some Ostriches, and some
Egyptian Geese among other animals.
The following morning, I got a glimpse of several Black Mongooses
crossing a road as we were leaving camp.
We were with Zachary, the guide known to be an excellent
birder. A short distance out of camp, he saw some birds so we stopped to
view and photograph them. Shortly after we stopped, he spotted a cat
walking through the dried brush that was about eight to 10 inches high.
It turned out to be a Serval cat.
These cats normally hunt at night and are rarely seen. The
guides had not seen one in years. The Serval looked like a small Leopard
except that he had stripes running down the back of his neck and his head was
disproportionately small compared with the head of a Leopard.
Then we found some giraffes and several Rhinoceroses. Rhinos
have been scarce and elusive in the places we have visited previously, but we
saw 28 that first day. Some were White Rhinos and some were Black
Rhinos. Overall, we saw more than 40.
We probably saw about as may Giraffes as Rhinos on our drives.
We also saw Gazelles in small groups and Impala in small and large
groups. Zebras appeared alone and in groups of as many as 10. We
spotted them more often than any other type of animal. Many of the Mares
appeared to be in advanced stages of pregnancy.
Wart Hogs, one of our favorite animals to watch, were much less
common. We only saw a group of four in the distance a couple of
times.
There are lots of birds. One of the more notable ones is a
Starling. They are multicolored, but what is most distinctive about them
is the iridescent blue on their backs and wings; their bellies are orange like
our Robins.
Another sighting that was a treat for us as well as our guides was
a very cooperative Cheetah. He was on a hunt and was not bothered by us
or the other four or five vehicles that were constantly repositioning to get
good views as he strode along his intended path. He might have been
auditioning to be a model. He was very handsome and an excellent photo
subject.
Elephants were found in groups of six or less. We saw about
10 groups.
From one of our vantage points, we could see a group of 50 to 80
Cape Buffalo in the distance. We did not go to them.
The Water Bucks were much darker here than the ones we saw in
South Africa four years ago. We saw several small groups of them.
We also saw a couple of groups of Red Hartebeests.
Diane was fortunate to see three Dik-Diks on the path to our
bungalow. Male Dik-Diks look like miniature spike deer. The tops of
their heads were probably about 24 inches above the ground when they are
standing. Females don’t have horns or antlers.
For such a dry environment, it is hard to comprehend the amount of
game that survives here.
Late on the afternoon drive the second day, we found a female Lion
resting/sleeping on a fallen snag. We did not find the rest of her pride.
Another animal that is pretty scarce here is the Hyena. But
we saw one leaving the swampy area late in the first day.
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Elephant Bedroom
When you have to vacate your
table during lunch because an elephant is approaching your table – you know you
have come to a pretty interesting place. When the Elephant passed by our
table, he was less than 10 feet from it. We were able to reclaim our
seats at the table and resume our lunch a couple of minutes after he passed
by. Photo attached.
The Elephant’s Bedroom is situated
on the bank of a river whose banks are about 250 feet across. Water was
only flowing on a 50-foot-wide channel on our side of the river. The
remainder looked like a tidal flat. Since the camp was far above sea
level, that was obviously not the case. Apparently, there had been heavy
recent rains in the mountains that fed the river, and the water level had
temporarily been higher. Baboons, warthogs, elephants and other animals
frequented the “bar” on the other side of the river.
Unlike the friendly Red Colobus monkeys we
saw in Zanzibar, the Vervet monkeys here were thieving little rascals.
The “doors” to our tents had left and right horizontal zippers at the floor
level of the entrance and a vertical zipper. Those three zippers had to
be padlocked together to keep the monkeys from unzipping the entrance and
stealing our belongings.
We learned on the first day when both
of us were in the bathroom at the back of the tent -- for about one minute --
that we could not be careless with our entrance. During that minute, a
monkey was already in the tent and had stolen an envelope from Diane’s
backpack. Fortunately, Diane chased him out before he took anything that
mattered to us.
At Lewa, we sometimes had to drive a mile or
two between animal sightings. On our way into camp and during our drives
at Elephant’s Bedroom Camp, we could pretty much park anywhere and decide which
animals to watch. We were in one herd of zebras that probably contained
several-hundred animals. There were sizable herds of gazelles which we
had not seen before. Impala. baboons, oryx, giraffes, and
warthogs were also liberally scattered around the reserve.
I am always amazed to see giraffes
eating thorns as shown in a photo below. There were also many interesting
birds, including lilac-breasted rollers, yellow-bill and red-bill hornbills,
and secretary birds. Coverage of birds would require a volume of
information. Our guides are VERY knowledgeable about birds, and they
showed us many.
The breakfast and lunch meals were
served under umbrellas on round tables which stood on the sand near the edge of
the river. Squirrels and starlings kept the ground clean around our
tables. The squirrels were accomplished beggars. Elephants wandered
freely through the camp, sometimes interrupting our trips to and from our
tents. One of them reminded us that he was near at about 11 p.m. by
bugling loudly. Another visited Diane when she was on our front
porch/deck after lunch. He was close enough to rub on the railings.
We got a brief glimpse of a leopard as
he was leaving his kill. We were late to that party. There were
over a dozen vehicles there ahead of us and a half dozen behind us.
Unlike most wildlife parks we have visited, this one did not have any restrictions
on vehicular traffic when viewing animals. We encountered the same
situation the following day at a cheetah sighting.
We saw a number of miniature
antelopes, dik-diks, like the ones Diane saw at Lewa Camp. Full grown
dik-diks are about 12 inches high at the shoulder. The new animal for us
at this camp was an antelope called gerenuk. They are unique in that they
stand on their hind legs to browse from the trees. They are very slim and
quite handsome.
We had two nights at Elephant’s
Bedroom.
____________________________
Kichwa Tembo
Kichwa Tembo Camp is on the edge of a plain that is part of
the Maasai Mara. It was about an hour-and-a-quarter flight from an airport
near Elephant’s Bedroom in a single-engine Cessna Caravan. Both runways
were dirt/rock – no asphalt or concrete. There were no terminals, and our
destination airport did not have a restroom – only a gazebo filled with crafts
to sell. Our safari camp could be seen in the distance from the airport.
Even though the outer walls were
canvas and screen, I would call the accommodation stylish and elegant.
Our tent faced the forest with only a screen between us and the trees. In
the night. the tree hyrax occasionally made sounds like a woodpecker followed
by a howl/scream. Around the reception/bar/pool area there was a
lawn. It was kept neatly mowed by the resident warthogs.
As we began and finished our drives, we
crossed a short concrete bridge over a tiny stream. In our four
crossings, we saw a large monitor lizard, a hippopotamus, and, on an after-dusk
return, a white-tailed mongoose. Upon one of our dusk returns, we saw a
hyena nearby. A small herd of impala was always nearby, too. But
there was a whole lot more to see beyond the bridge!
The white-tailed mongoose is
quite large compared with other mongooses we have seen, and it is reportedly
rarely seen. Including its tail, it looked to be more than three feet
long. I saw three more in the garden later that evening and was told that
they appear frequently near dinnertime when it is dark. Since I did not
have my camera or a suitable light when I saw them. I prepared myself with
video camera and light the following evening and waited for them to reappear.
I should have known better. My
observations of other mongooses have been that their movements appear to be
random depending on what they see at any given moment. In any case, they
did not appear when I was prepared to photograph them.
On game drives, we saw lots of
elephants. One group had approximately 50 members. Giraffes were
numerous; one Journey (term for multiple giraffes that are on the move)
consisted of about a dozen giraffes.
Zebras were scattered around, but multiple
hundreds of them were spread along the base of a mountain over a mile or two in
one continuous herd. Impala and Thompson’s gazelles were everywhere in
small and large groups. We also saw lots of birds; some in wetlands, some
in trees, and some on the ground. We also saw hippos in a river.
We arrived after several other vehicles
to see a female lion walk toward us and past us to rejoin her two cubs that had
been hiding while she was away – probably hunting. Shortly after that
sighting. we saw a cheetah posing on a termite mound.
Since we had not seen wildebeests,
our guides took us a long way from the lodge to see a herd of white-bearded
wildebeests. Along the way, we encountered our first rain. Shortly
before we reached our destination, we saw a puff adder in the middle of the
road. When we finally got to the wildebeests, we saw many hundreds of
them milling about and grazing.
On the way back to camp, we
encountered four female lions walking down the road. A few minutes
later, we overtook a herd of about 50 zebra going our way down the road.
There was a clan of hyenas in tall grass along the way back, too.
The type of antelope we found here
that was new to us was the topi. Topi are more reddish than the other
antelopes. They have large blue blotches on their shoulders and
hips. It appears that they are a little smarter than the average
antelope. Typically, while most of the herd is grazing, a couple of them
stand sentry duty facing opposite directions while standing on termite
mounds. They are reportedly very fast and can run long distances.
There were larger herds of eland
here than we had seen before. Elands are the largest of the antelopes in
Africa.
We encountered cape buffalo in small
herds on several occasions. Some were enjoying mud baths; many had
already had theirs - so they were shiny with gooey black mud.
Although rhinos are rare in this
location, we saw an adult with an offspring.
Secretary birds are large birds that
can fly but rarely do. They walk through the grass looking for large
insects, snakes, lizards, and other small animals on the ground. We had a
good look at a couple of them.
_______________________________
Mara Ngenche
Mara
Ngenche was our final safari camp. The trip from the Kishwa Tembe camp
was our extended morning drive.
As we
departed the gate into the Maasai Mara we were greeted by a Jackal, one that
was less elusive than others we have seen. Along the way we saw an
Egyptian Goose with goslings, a Saddle-bill Stork, a Troop of Banded Mongooses,
an immature hyena, a pride of lions, an Ostrich doing a mating display -
followed by the Ostriches mating, a herd of Topi with sentries, and Hippos.
More
about the pride of lions: During the drive we noticed several safari
vehicles on a hill ahead. With binoculars we could see that there was a
lion; no two; no more – including cubs. We bounced on over. As we
arrived it looked like a pride of lions – we could then see that there were
more than a dozen lions including a male, three adult females, two adolescents,
and at least eight cubs. We parked between the waterhole from which they
were leaving and the only nearby shade. The whole pride came directly
toward us. Some went behind our vehicle; some went around the
front. The male reached the tree first and claimed it as lions do; with a
squirt, some rubbing and clawing on the tree. One of the cubs showed us
his version. Eventually, the whole pride settled in for the afternoon in
the shade of the two small trees. By that time there were 10 or more
safari vehicles around the tree. We were fortunate to arrive at just the
right time and parked in just the right place. Our guides were good at
getting us the optimum experience at each animal sighting.
Mara
Ngenche was located at the junction of two rivers. Both rivers had cut
deeply into their banks so the ground on which our camp was built was about 30
feet above river level. The banks were too steep to climb. They
were steep enough that diving from the edge would have been feasible. But
it would have been a really bad idea since the waters below were filled with
Hippopotamuses and visibility in the water was probably less than 1 inch.
Our
sleeping quarters were tents erected on the ground. The floors were
canvas over rock. We had a shower outside the tent that was only usable
during the day because of possible mosquito contact. Inside we had a
4-leg tub with a shower nozzle on a hose. It was kind of awkward to clean
up there – but it was usable. We had a 5 foot square soaking tub outside
– with very cool water. But it felt good on a warm afternoon. Tents
were far enough apart to provide adequate privacy. The hippos
made noises during the day and night. They sounded like they were just
outside our tent – but they were not actually close.
The
road out of camp was along the river. There were Hippos in every pool
along it – at least a half dozen in every pool that was big enough to hold
them. Usually we also saw a couple of Cape Buffalo and some Giraffes
along the river on our way into and out of camp. Sometimes there was a herd of Impala
too.
On
our first morning out we revisited the pride of lions we had seen the day
before. They had moved a short distance. The adults were sleeping
on a rocky mound covered with small shrubs. The cubs were playing.
One of the cubs had found a rubber mud flap. It was his prize and he was
not about to share it with the other cubs. A few minutes after we left
this pride we found more Lions sleeping among some shrubs.
A
couple of minutes after we left those Lions to their naps we happened onto a
recently killed cow. (Some of the Maasai run cattle on the plains.)
It was unclear what had killed this animal. But the Vultures were busily
consuming it. Some, including the largest of the Vultures, the
Lappet-faced Vultures, had already had their fill and were standing nearby
while the White Back and Rüppell's Vultures were still fighting, each for
his/her own share. When most of the Vultures had had their fills a couple
of Jackals moved in and ran the remaining Vultures off.
At
lunchtime one day I found a Green Snake in a Hippo fence adjacent to a friend’s
tent. Hippo fences are fences built around our tents with intertwined
small limbs. They are visual barriers that apparently look like
substantial walls to the Hippos. The snake was about ¼ to 5/16 inch
diameter and about a foot long.
Male
Ostriches appear as big black rectangles when spotted in the distance.
They really stand out against the dried grass background. The females
blend in much better, but when you see a male, there is probably a female
nearby. We saw several pairs. Ostriches in the Mara have pink necks
and legs as opposed to others that appear to be to be whiter.
We
also had our second Serval Cat sighting of the trip.
One
morning five of our group opted for a hot-air balloon ride. On that day
the rest of us made a long drive to the Mara River to see a Wildebeest
crossing. Some of the hills on the plains only had the occasional Warthog
and no other grazers – in spite of the tall grass. Some had grazing
Wildebeests - in the thousands - and other grazers. While we were driving
through one of these well populated plains we noticed Hyenas milling about a
hole in the ground. Since there were little black cubs as well as adults
we realized it was a Hyena den. While we were watching, the adults
suddenly became very alert; then they started loping toward where Vultures were
circling. As we followed them we saw Hyenas going toward the same spot
from the left and right. When all of the Hyenas arrived they chased the
Vultures off the carcass of the Wildebeest and began feasting. There was
infighting between the Hyenas on the carcass while others chased Vultures
away. Eventually the Vultures and some Eagles got some of the remains.
There
were waterholes a short distance from the Wildebeest carcass.
Yellow-billed Storks were probing the mud on the bottoms of the waterholes for
food while a Heron waded nearby.
Then
we met the people who had taken a balloon ride at a shady spot where a Cheetah
was resting. After a few minutes the Cheetah apparently decided that he
was not getting enough shade and he wandered off. Or maybe he just wanted
a more private spot.
We
finally made it to the river where the Wildebeests and other animals make their
famous “crossings”. The “gatherings” and “crossings” occur randomly over
several months. We were not fortunate to be present for one. But we
did see Crocodiles in the river. And we did see lines of Wildebeests
forming a couple of miles away. They might have made a crossing within the
following few days.
On
the way back we saw another type of antelope that we had not seen before.
We only saw two Reed Bucks during our trip. Both appeared to be
alone. In this locale they appear not to collect into herds.
Also
on the way back we saw an animal that is currently unique in the world.
Our guide told us several times that it is in the international media.
Our guide heard from another guide that he was nearby. Our guide found it
pretty quickly. It was a spotted Zebra colt that was approximately six
months old. The video is at: https://youtu.be/otw0gjMUAqY
The video is 7½ minutes long. You can watch however much of it you want,
of course.
On
the way back we saw a large number of Wildebeests lining up and moving on –
apparently to head to the river where they would cross to the Serengetti.
That
evening we set out to see a leopard. Our guides had word that one had
made a kill. It was late when we got to her and the Leopard was leaving
the kill. The Impala buck was on the ground, well hidden from scavengers
so the Leopard did not need to haul it up into a tree. Our views of her
were limited by the brush. She left the Impala for a while and then
returned. We saw her ripping at the buck and later cleaning as cats do
after a meal. Others tourists from our camp arrived after we left and saw
the Leopard and her two cubs eating. It was getting pretty dark by then.
The
following morning our first sighting was of a male and female Lion walking
through tall grass. After they went past us we saw the female make a
quick hunt. She caught a dwarf Mongoose and threw it into the air.
The male picked it up, held it for a few seconds; then dropped it. An
ungrateful male!
Later
on the drive we saw a den of Hyenas with a cub; then another Secretary Bird;
followed by a Cheetah that had already attracted a crowd of tourists.
Fortunately, all of us kept our distance. There were a lot of zebras and
Wildebeests nearby and a few Topi. They were keeping an eye on the
Cheetah but kept grazing. Cheetahs generally hunt smaller animals.
Somehow, the larger grazers know that.
As we
finished that drive we saw Warthogs, zebras taking a bath, a smaller Monitor
lizard, a Tower of Giraffes, a Goliath Heron and a Leopard Tortoise. The
Goliath Heron was probably 4 to 5 feet tall.
On our way to the airstrip the following morning we
saw two Towers of 12 Giraffes each and a hippo that was far from water.
He was walking – and sometimes running – across the plain. But when the
airstrip was almost in sight we were told of a Lion sighting. We turned
back to see them. Our guide parked in the perfect spot (again). The
Lions were heading toward us. One of them walked between our vehicle and
the one in front of us and “marked” the one in front of us. Then he laid
down to rest in the shade of our vehicle. His tail was under the back of
the rear tire. He was directly under me as I (in straw hat) leaned out
over the top of the vehicle. It was a memorable Grand Finale to our
safari trip.
This
update includes a small proportion of what we saw from and at this camp.
One last thing: we have come to appreciate Warthogs. Most of
them we saw on this trip were grazing – often they were among other animals and
at other times they had whole plains to themselves. Our memorable Warthog
moment was when we saw a Warthog chasing a Hyena (the predator). The
Hyena was running – not loping. It happened so fast I was unable to
record it.
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