MORE ADVENTURES IN THE SERENGETI, PART 2 BLOG 10, MARCH 30TH 2020

Trying to get the courage to drink

I have to retrace our steps this morning as I forgot to include some interesting behavior by a dazzle of zebra prior to our seeing more cheetahs. We were driving by a large watering hole and noticed a large number of the horse-like critters standing several feet away from the edge of the water. George stops the truck so I can take photos of the photographic animals. As we observe the zebras, we can see that they are trying to gather their courage to proceed to the water and quench their thirst. You can’t blame them for being cautious since they can’t know that there are no sunken crocodiles waiting for them in this pond.

I do see two hippos’ surface briefly so this is probably part of the reason for the zebra’s angst. When I comment that the hippos are making the zebras nervous, George asks in a surprised voice “what hippos”. As if on cue one of the bulbous animals briefly surfaces to prove I wasn’t hallucinating. George shakes his head and pronounces that when this water hole dries up the hippos will have a very long walk to find more water. I never thought about the hippos being miles away from any river, and it does seem strange for them to be in the middle of this vast plain.

The trailblazer

One zebra decides to leave the part of the pond where the hippos are playing hide and seek, and it walks to the end of the watering hole. He takes a tentative step into the water while staying alert to any danger that might be lurking. Soon another brave soul steps up to join him and the actions of these two trailblazers many zebras begin crowding into the water. At one point something spooks the thirsty zebras and they bolt towards dry ground, only to immediately return to drink. I guess they must have realized that the scary situation was a false alarm.

Follow the leader

Somebody cried wolf

The zebras mostly drink in an orderly fashion but occasionally a zebra will pin its ears back as a warning to its neighbor not to crowd him. I saw one temperamental beast lay its ears back and try to bite a zebra next to him, who knows why. Zebras really do have the temperament and actions of horses. Once the zebras have quenched their thirst they turn and begin walking back into the grassy plains. On the horizon we see many more zebra walking toward the watering hole and I suppose they will take the same cautious approach that this group of zebras did. Now I’m ready to pick up where I left off in the last blog.

Crowding in to drink

After we have tired of squinting through our binoculars at the cheetahs and the researchers, George decides it is time for lunch. Good because Paul and I are hungry, lunch is always in the early afternoon, not at twelve. George is driving towards a beautiful kopje and I decisively say that there must not be any lions here because there are a handful of zebras in the shade of a tree right on the edge of the kopje. George who is peering at the top of the kopje laughs and informs us that there is a lion situated at the top of the kopje. Good grief, A huge lioness is perched on a rock high above the zebras that are lounging under the tree. So much for my brilliant deduction that no prey would be around the kopje if there were predators here.

There won’t be any predators here with zebra under the tree. Ha. Can you see the lion? George did at this distance.

Lioness on the peak of the rock.

Zooming in on the lioness.

George decides we can’t eat by any of the nearby kopjes as members of a pride could be hiding in any of the rock formations. George decides to drive back to the kopjes we were at earlier this morning. We pass by a shallow watering hole and find three lions lying near the water. A big male lion and two lionesses. Naturally we stop and watch the trio for a few minutes. Paul comments on how poorly groomed the male lion is, noting that his mane is matted. A lioness gets up and steps over her sister as she walks to the water, lays back down and proceeds to lap up some of the muddy water. Now that is just lazy.

Trio of lions

Drinking while laying down.

We move on, still searching for a safe lunch spot, when I see something move on my left and call out “what is that”?  I have barely finished my query when George answers that it is a cheetah. Oh, for heaven sakes. Of course, we stop and watch the pretty cat for a bit. The cheetah is sitting up and staring over the expanse of grass but there isn’t any impala or Thomson’s gazelle to be seen. Since there seems to be no chance of a hunt by this cheetah we continue on our way.

I found this cheetah, sort of.

George chooses a beautiful kopje for us to have our lunch. George sets up the table under a lovely acacia tree with a slab of rock for the floor. As George is busily putting our lunch items out, Paul looks around and states “this is the life George” Then he asks our guide if he needs someone to help him with his job. George stops what he is doing and asks “what do you mean “with puzzlement in his voice. Paul replies that he wonders if George needs someone to help him on safaris, like hiring a spotter. George gets a mischievous grin on his face and turns around and points at me. I laugh and tell Paul that he stepped right into that one. Paul admits that as soon as the word spotter came out of his mouth, he knew he had lost the job. We all have a good laugh before we settle down to eat lunch.

Perfect place to have lunch

The lunch is very good but the best part is the ambiance of our dining room. We help George pack stuff up and load it in the truck. Before we leave on our quest for more wild animals, Paul gives George the gifts we brought for him. Paul hands over a battery for his Canon camera and a western leather belt. There is a KSU Veterinarian from Manhattan who had told us that George had looked at buying a leather belt when he came to Kansas in 2018 but settled on purchasing a Stetson hat instead! We tell George now he knows why we reacted the way we did, (softly chuckling at each other) when he gave Paul his belt.

The cheetah we saw before lunch

George tells us he wants to go back to the cheetah we saw before lunch to make sure it wasn’t one of the pair that were around the researcher’s truck. We want to make sure were not cheating on counting this cheetah as a new one😊. The cheetah has moved across the valley so we drive to the other side where another group of safarists are watching her. The cheetah cooperates by standing up and it is obvious this sleek feline is not one of the cheetahs the researchers were studying. This cat’s belly is not bulging like the two cheetahs’ tummies were that had made a kill. Hey, six new cheetahs today so we have tied George’s record of seventeen cheetahs on one safari!

George decides to detour to the area where we saw so many cheetahs yesterday as we head back to Nyumbani camp. That sounds like a great idea as we would love to see both mother cheetahs and their cubs again. Paul and I know when we are on the “cheetah” road because of an unusually shaped tree. According to George the tree was damaged by an elephant splitting it in half. The tree is still mostly alive and is an easy landmark to identify.

This tree makes for a distinctive landmark

As we are driving towards the distinctive tree, I spot a cheetah to our left and call out to George. The cheetah is in heavy cover but it is obvious that it is eating on something. George drives over to the cheetah and we discover that there is a satiated cub lying in the thick grass next to the mother who is enthusiastically eating on the Thomson’s gazelle she has killed. In fact, the adult cheetah doesn’t even look at us, she just keeps gnawing at the carcass. I suppose the fact that there is hyena around motivates her to eat as much and as fast as she can. This is the mama and cub we saw yesterday that were playing around the trucks. After her fruitless hunt yesterday, I am happy to see that she and her cub got to eat today.

The well hidden cub that is obviously full or it would be eating too

Mama cheetah so intent on eating she never even looked at us

We travel on to where we saw the big cheetah family yesterday. The cheetahs have moved but only a quarter of a mile or so. Mama cheetah is reclining out in the open but the cubs have hidden themselves in the ground cover a few yards away from mom. There are two other vehicles looking at the cubs and we join them briefly to take a few photos and admire the satisfied cats. We can only see four of the cubs which worries me a bit. George tells me that the guide he visited with just prior to driving out to see the cheetah family, had accounted for all of the cubs just minutes ago. The absent cub must have found a better hiding place than his siblings or we just can’t count.

Supermom relaxing in the open

One of the four cubs we found

We leave the satisfied cheetah family and George drives us to a region known as Zebra Kopjes. It is well named as when we arrive there are hundreds of zebras spread out in front of us. I try my best to get a photo representing the myriad of zebra in this locale but I can’t capture it. This scene just takes my breath away. We spend quite some time with the nonchalant zebra, just sitting and soaking in the surreal scene before us.

I couldn’t do this scene justice. It was breathtaking.

When we get back into the part of the Serengeti where the grass is so high, I sit back and relax. I should know better by now. George speaks almost to himself, saying “Is that a guinea”, then answers his own question with an emphatic “No, it is a Serval Cat”! George hits the brakes and we watch the elegant cat as he prowls through the grass on the lookout for a careless rodent.

Serval that George spotted

What a beauty

The speckled cat doesn’t find any thing for supper and to our delight walks out onto the road behind the truck. The fearless serval’s first order of business is to mark his territory, then he turns and gives us a curious look before ambling down the road. What a wonderful encounter and we had the exquisite feline all to ourselves!

We are delighted when the serval walks onto the road and turns to look at us.

The pretty cat saunters off

Tonight, as we approach Nyumbani camp the tsetse flies attack in an even higher number than the first time we encountered them. They are swarming into the truck, biting Paul and George and landing on me but they don’t bite me. I have no idea why but am very grateful that I escape their painful punctures. The darn things follow us clear to camp although the numbers thin out. When we get out of the vehicle there are still a few buzzing around us and all of us are wind-milling our arms around trying to shoo them away.

As we walk up to the community/dining tent we notice a young woman sitting on a couch, typing away on her laptop. It is great that they have another guest at this wonderfully isolated camp. Paul and I go to our tent to shower and do some packing since we leave for Ndutu in the morning.

When Daniel comes to escort us to the dining tent for dinner, we are surprised when the big man instead leads us to the bonfire. The staff have set up our table near the fire and they also have lugged the blackboard denoting our menu for the night down here too! Amani brings us the beer we asked for and then insists on taking our photo using Paul’s phone, the only light being the bonfire, some dim lanterns and the flickering candle on our table.

The photo is pretty grainy but I posted it anyway. We were spoiled rotten.

Amani seats us at the table and goes through the menu for us, then grinning sheepishly he picks up the cumbersome menu board and carries it up to the dining tent for the new guest to use. Paul and I find ourselves alone which is a bit creepy even with a nice fire crackling nearby. Amani returns after a few minutes with our potato and leek soup. The delicious soup is followed by a grilled filet, and yes, it is pretty good. The best is yet to come when Amani serves chocolate mousse for dessert. I have been craving chocolate and when I take the first bite I am in heaven. This may be one of the best desserts I have ever eaten. The even better news for me is that chocolate doesn’t agree with Paul so he takes one small bite and slides his plate over to me. Yes, I eat every morsel of Paul’s chocolate mousse too! Nancy

Next blog, Ndutu and Njozi camp

MORE ADVENTURES IN THE SERENGETI, BLOG 9, MARCH 26TH 2020

Leaving the cheetah family to enjoy their feast we go in search of a place to have our own lunch. George scouts around many single acacia trees but rejects them all due to the thick weeds that are growing underneath the thorn trees. George says the heavy undergrowth is due to the abundant rain the Serengeti has been having. George finally gives up finding a safe place to eat lunch in this area and we end up driving several miles to a valley. Paul is sure we were in this pretty valley in 2018 and George affirms that indeed we were. It doesn’t ring a bell with me though.

Our lunch spot. The swamp grass is a very strange color

George drives down next to a mostly dry swamp and parks the truck near a scraggly tree that offers a bit of shade. The grass and weeds are still thick but short so a predator couldn’t hide very easily here. We enjoy the wonderful lunch that the staff at Nyumbani camp packed for us while appreciating the serenity surrounding us.

George setting up our lunch. Paul wearing his new belt

After our late lunch George begins scoping out the Kopjes that are scattered through the plains. We see a couple of safari trucks near one large kopje so we decide to go and see what they are surveying. When we arrive, we see a huge male lion stretched out on one of the gigantic boulders. It is early afternoon so I am surprised that the handsome cat is comfortably lazing in the hot sun. As we drive around the rock, we find another lion sleeping at the top of the Kopje. The lion closest to us stands up, takes about four steps and promptly lays down again. The landscape around the kopje where the two lions are resting is absolutely beautiful and I find myself gazing over the grasslands almost as much as I am looking at the big lions.

Lion on Kopje

A second lion at the top of the Kopje

Lion and stunning vista

We must be out of the park by dark and we are a long way from Nyumbani camp so we leave the lions and begin our journey back to camp.  We enjoy plenty of wildlife as we drive towards Nyumbani. Not far from the Serenera airport we see a bunch of vehicles along the side of a road at least a half mile away across the fields. George brings the truck to a halt and all of us use our binoculars to scope the area. George finds the lion first but Paul and I soon see the majestic male lion. We watch as the big fellow saunters towards a single tree near the road. The big male reaches the tree, jumps into the trees ‘crotch, then he continues climbing up the tree until he reaches a thick lateral branch and lays down.

Elephants with a “Kansas sky” over them

There is a lion in this tree but even with my camera at full zoom you can’t see him:)

George asks if we want to join the crowd surrounding the tree climbing lion. I hem haw around not sure I want to be part of the madhouse. Paul says a lion in a tree is pretty rare and quite a photo op. In the end we decide to go but what we didn’t understand was the tree dwelling lion is across a waterway and we can’t get there via the road we are on. George says we will backtrack as there is a place where we can cross the waterway. The track is rough and we drive and drive which makes me question our decision. There are several other vehicles, some in front and others following us, that are obviously going to the crossing too. As we approach the crossing, we watch a truck that is attempting to traverse the rough crossing. As the vehicle lurches and bounces along it suddenly tilts heavily to one side. Ohoh, the driver tries all the tricks to free his stuck truck but it is obvious that he is going nowhere. All the other guides, including George, come to a stop and study the situation. Paul and I tell George trying to get to the lion isn’t worth the risk as it is getting quite late in the day. George seems happy with our decision and turns the truck around. As we are driving away a guide stops George and the two converse in Swahili. The man then drives on and evidently has decided to try and reach the mired down truck.

No photos of the stuck truck so will insert a happier photo. I guess this elephant is carrying a snack on his back

We watch as the fellow steers his truck this way and that trying to find the best path to follow in order to reach the stranded guide. Oh no, the good Samaritan’s vehicle also falters and becomes stuck several yards away from his fellow guide. This is really bad. George shakes his head and says no one on this side will be able to help the stranded guides and they will have to have somebody that is on that side of the ravine to come and pull them out. As we begin to drive away, we see the guide who was the first to get stuck, talking on his phone. Hopefully, help is on the way.

Cool candelabra tree

We bounce our way back over the bumpy terrain and upon reaching the main road we notice two vehicles parked on a side road. The occupants of the trucks are peering intently into the high grass. Since there are only two trucks, we decide to see what has caught the people’s attention. We pull up behind the two vehicles however we can’t see the object of their attention. One of the passengers tell us there is a Serval cat that is in hunting mode.  The two drivers are kind enough to pull their trucks forward which allows George to drive up to where we catch a glimpse of the hunter just as it leaps at its unidentified quarry. We can’t tell if the little cat was successful as it has disappeared into the heavy grass.

I never took a photo of the traffic jam. Enjoy this Hartebeest photo instead

Suddenly a line of safari vans is streaming onto the narrow road. Oh crap, they are parking behind us and beside us so we are blocked in. George and the vehicles in front of us turn their trucks around and try to wind their way out of this mess. George is making slow progress and we aren’t far from the main road when another guide begins backing up and nearly hits our truck. George has a few words with the man who completely ignores George and continues backing up. He comes close to bumping other trucks and nobody can move their vehicles in either direction. The selfish man has literally put a cork in the bottleneck! The man backs all the way to the main road not caring that other people are having to do some hectic maneuvering to let him get through. This is a good refresher course on why you steer clear of these safari traffic jams no matter what has been found!

We are an hour away from Nyumbani Camp and by the low position of the sun, I don’t think we have an hour of light left. I ask George if we will make it to camp before dark, and he assures me that we will. George drives as fast as is allowed plus he takes a shortcut which proves to have better roads than the route we took yesterday. We arrived at camp at sunset and the good news is that we were late enough so the tsetse flies weren’t active.

Once we have cleaned up, we return for a delicious dinner of zucchini soup, pork chops and rice. Last night I asked Amani, he takes care of us at meal times, if they could fix me smaller portions. They actually listened to me and I have one pork chop where Paul received two chops. Paul and I comment to each other how personable and happy this staff are. While we are dining a burst of laughter drifts up to us from the food preparation tent. The laughter is so heartfelt that we join in even though we have no idea what is so funny.

After we are finished dining, we are escorted to the bonfire where we enjoy the brilliant stars while having a pleasant visit with Amani. Occasionally Daniel casts a beam of light over the thick, tall grass that is surrounding the fire pit area. I doubt you could detect any wild animal in that cover but at least it makes us feel a little better. Daniel leads us back to our tent and bids us goodnight. As Paul and I are drifting off to sleep we are serenaded by lions roaring in the night.

Another early morning and we are looking forward to what this new day will bring for us but it is hard to imagine that it could be as incredible as yesterday. Eleven cheetahs, I still can’t quite believe it.

Lion ten minutes from camp

George arrives right on time; we clamber into the truck and off we go. It is another wonderful morning and in the early morning light the countryside is aglow. We haven’t driven ten minutes when almost simultaneously we all exclaim “lion”.  As we draw nearer to the golden cat, I ask George what she is doing, as the lion is smelling then scraping at the ground. I have no more asked my question when we notice a zebra carcass behind the lioness. George explains that the lioness is trying to cover up the scent of her kill in hopes of keeping hyena from finding the carcass.

Mom joining skinny cubs at the carcass

George pulls the truck parallel to the lion and her kill and we realize that there are two cubs who are eating on the zebra. Only the back half of the cubs are visible as they are literally feasting inside the stomach of the unfortunate zebra. We can see enough of them to know that these poor things are in very bad shape. The cubs hip bones and ribs are visible and their hair coat is dull. The fact that they are gorging themselves and growling at each other at least means they still have the will to survive. At one point one of the cubs lifts its head out of the stomach cavity and I am happy to see that its eyes are sharp and bright.

The cubs eyes are still bright.

We study the lioness as she walks to the zebras remains and George brings our attention to a deep gash on the inside of her right back leg. It looks bad but it doesn’t seem to bother her. We also note that her right eye has been damaged at some point in her life. When the massive cat reaches the zebra, she grabs the dead animal’s neck and pulling with all her might moves the carcass maybe a foot. The cubs don’t seem to notice and keep right on eating. The lioness rests for a minute or so and then repeats this action. After the third bout of yanking the carcass forward, then resting, she walks back and begins smelling and digging at the grass trying to cover up the scent trail the zebra has left. Wow, we have never seen this behavior before and it is just fascinating. After her herculean effort the mother lays down for a well-deserved rest and we continue on our way. I silently wish for the mother to keep providing for her skinny offspring but know with the scarcity of game and the tall grass it won’t be easy.

Close up showing her damaged eye

Lioness pulling the carcass

Resting after moving the zebra carcass

We drive up behind a flock of guinea fowl and the adults and chicks refuse to move out of the road. The birds continue to run in front of us like feathered pace cars. Okay I stole that line but can’t remember if it was George or Paul that came up with the clever analogy. George keeps trying to bypass the trotting guineas with no luck but finally the birds give way and duck into the dewy grass. As usual there are a myriad of birds to look at. One of my favorites is a diminutive raptor with the descriptive name of pygmy falcon. What a beauty the little bird is. We also observe a few elephants and giraffe.

Move please!

Beautiful Pygmy Falcon

As we continue through tall grass country, I sit back and relax as I don’t see much in the way of wildlife here on the plateau. Suddenly I glimpse movement out of the corner of my eye and turn my head in time to see a huge lion running through the grass in the opposite way we are driving. All I can say to George is “whoa, whoa” although Paul has also seen the lion and coherently tells George there is a lion over here. By now, George has seen the beast, stops the truck and puts it in reverse. Paul and I have scrambled to the back of the truck and can see that the lioness is chasing something. The lioness is running but on occasion she rears up in order to see over the top of the grass in an effort to keep track of her quarry. Before we can catch up to the huntress, a warthog bursts out of the grassy field and runs full speed down the road. The lioness reaches the edge of the road but makes no attempt to go after the speedy hog. I think she has run out of gas. After witnessing this futile hunt, it is quite clear how tough it is for a predator to try and catch anything in this dense, lofty grass. The dejected lion stands still for a moment before turning around and walking back into the bush. We watch the majestic lioness meander throughout the area and George thinks she is looking for more warthogs. Eventually her wanderings take her far away from us so we continue on our journey. You just never know what awaits you!

Lioness after she gave up the chase

Look how easily the grass swallows the enormous lioness.

Our main destination today is the Gol Kopjes. It is mid-morning when we arrive in the Gol Kopjes and the vista is simply stunning. As George cruises down the road we are all checking out the rocks and kopjes for wildlife. Who else but George cries out, “there is a cheetah”! I can’t believe it. I had just scanned these rocks but somehow, I missed the sinewy cat that is lying on top of a solitary boulder. Paul and George have set a goal of beating Georges record of seeing 17 different cheetahs on one safari. Well, we only have to find six more😊.

Stunning landscape

A section of the Gol Kopjes, not sure I am spelling Gol right. Do you see the cheetah?

Zooming in on the cheetah

My gosh this landscape is beautiful plus it is accented by a “Kansas sky” today. George has stopped the truck and is scanning the endless plains with his binoculars. George often does this because there is just so much space out here that it is impossible to be able to see everything with the naked eye. After a brief search, George says “I see cheetahs”.  Following George’s instructions, we find the mother and cub sitting in a patch of weeds very far away from us. There are two grazing Thomson’s gazelles beyond the motionless cheetahs. George continues driving down the road which will bring us somewhat closer to the cheetahs but they are sitting several hundred yards away from the road. There is no driving off road here.

Road in the Gol Kopjes

Cheetah and cub after gazelle have walked away

George parks the truck once we are as close to the cheetahs as we can be. The adult seems to be eyeing the gazelles and even creeps a bit closer to them. There isn’t much for the stalker to hide behind and the cheetah has a lot of ground to cover to get close enough for an attack. Oops, too late as the antelope have noticed the cheetah as she is edging towards them and they begin to walk away. Now we only need to find four new cheetahs to break George’s record.

As we leave the failed huntress behind, George tells us he saw the cheetah research vehicle when he was scoping the plains with his binoculars. Since the truck was parked, he believes they are with a cheetah. We drive perhaps a mile until we find the white 4×4 in the distance. Unlike tourists the researchers can drive cross country which makes sense. The truck is indeed sitting still but it is so far away that we have to use our binoculars in order to see the researchers. There are vultures on the ground to the right of the truck and they appear to be feeding on a carcass. Guess who first sees the cheetah that is reclining by the front tire of the researcher’s vehicle? George of course. The cheetah stands up and it looks huge and very full, but we are looking through binoculars! I guess the spotted cat took issue with the vultures eating on its kill because it takes off running and chases the scavengers away from the carcass.

Full camera zoom of Researcher vehicle and a cheetah to the right of it. Thomson’s gazelle in front of cheetah. Sorry about the clarity, obviously wasn’t holding the camera steady.

The cheetah obviously isn’t hungry because it immediately turns away from the dead beast and walks towards a swath of dense grass. When the cheetah reaches the cover, we all realize that there is another sleek cheetah already laying in the shade of the bushy plants. This is almost surreal. I never dreamed we would see so many of these graceful cats in just one and a half days in the Serengeti. I think George is a cheetah magnet. Maybe we will break George’s cheetah record!

Later, Nancy

NYUMBANI CAMP AND A FULL DAY GAME DRIVE IN THE SERENGETI, MARCH 22ND, 2020

George pulls the truck out of the dirt parking lot of Seronera airport and we begin our drive to Nyumbani camp where we will spend the next three nights. Our friend George tells us the camp is an hour’s drive from here. It is a beautiful afternoon with a clear blue sky and puffy white clouds, what I call a Kansas sky! There is a lot of tall grass here so as it was in the Mara reserve the grazers are scarce.

Flirting elephants

We come upon a small group of elephants and there is some curious behavior between two of the pachyderms. One elephant is following closely behind one of his herd mates and occasionally rests his trunk or his head on the other ones back. Paul asks George if the elephants might be thinking about mating. George replies that yes, he believes they are. Soon the question is answered as the young bull mounts the small female and attempts to mate with her. Notice I said attempts to mate because the male doesn’t get the deed done. Paul and I have never seen elephants’ mate, well technically we still haven’t, but hey, close enough. So, we have seen four of the big five mating, lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant.  After consulting Paul on our big five mating list he remembers seeing Cape buffalo mating on one of our safaris. I don’t recall it but he is probably right so the big five mating list is complete!

Elephants mating so Paul and I have seen all of the Big 5 mate

One of many Kopjes we visit in the Serengeti

There are stunning kopjes scattered through these grassy plains and as we drive near them George is always scoping the rocks out to see if “anybody is home”.  At one of the unusual rock formations named Boma Kopjes, George announces that he has spotted two lions. Paul and I crane our necks trying to find the beasts as George tries to explain where the two lions are situated. Good grief, how did George see these cats, all that is visible from this angle are a tail and part of their back legs, and they are very high above us. George drives the truck forward and we are able to see a bit more of the snoozing pair. We sit there and stare at them for awhile but the lions don’t even twitch so we move on towards our camp.

Lions sleeping on the Kopje, I can’t believe George spotted them. Can you find them?

This photo is with a lot of camera zoom

What beautiful grassland

As we continue through the wild landscape, we gaze at hartebeest and cape buffalo in the distance and closer to us there are a few giraffes munching leaves from the thorny trees. One thing that there is an abundance of are birds and George frequently stops the truck so we can admire, identify, and photograph the different fowl we find. George had emailed Paul a couple of weeks before we left for Africa and he asked Paul to tell Mama Ndege that there were lots of birds in the Serengeti this time of year. He wasn’t kidding!

Browsing giraffe

Magpie Shrike in front and White-headed Buffalo Weaver

Usambiro Barbet, not a great photo but such an odd looking bird I had to include the photo

African Grey Hornbill

Just before we reach Nyumbani Camp we have an unwanted welcoming committee. Stinking Tsetse flies! Paul gets bit by the nasty insects a couple of times and the way George is slapping at himself I would guess he is being attacked too. The rotten flies buzz around me and even land on me but for some reason I am not bitten. We have rolled our windows up but of course the top is popped up and it doesn’t make sense to stop and put it down as we would trap many flies inside. I take my hat off and shoo the tsetse flies up and out the opening between the roof and the truck. I manage to escort several of the pesky nuisances out of the vehicle but they either fly right back in or new ones are replacing them. Just before we get to the camp entrance the insects seem to retreat thank goodness.

View from the dining tent

There is a welcoming committee waiting for us as is the standard for every camp we have ever been in. Refreshing drinks and damp washcloths are offered to us by smiling young men. We are escorted up to the community tent where introductions are made. Goodlove who is the manager, along with Anthony, Amani, and Bazille. Goodlove has us sit down on a comfy couch and goes over the things we need to know while in camp. He tells us that they have regular showers but asks us to still use the bucket shower protocol as they have to haul water from so far away. In other words, turn the shower on to wet yourself down, turn the shower off and lather up, then turn the shower back on to rinse off. Not a problem, were old hands at this showering method. When I ask about having our laundry done, Goodlove says they can do laundry but the water is not the best quality, adding that they definitely won’t wash white clothes as the water does them more harm than good. Well, we can survive until we get to Njozi.

Our tent is on the left from the dining tent

Goodlove takes us to our tent and shows us where all the light switches are, how to call them over the radio when we need an escort and so on. Once we are settled and have showered, we return to the lounge where Bazille takes our drink order, beer of course, and then he leads us to the bonfire before returning to the tent. Bazille returns in a few minutes carrying a basket of popcorn for us. Wow, this popcorn is really tasty. When we ask the secret, we are told that it is popped with ginger and sugar. Yum. As we sip beer and munch on popcorn, we have an enjoyable visit with Bazille. He is a personable young guy with a great sense of humor and we all do a lot of laughing.

Inside of our tent

Dinner is served at 7:30 and as we are seated at the table, Paul and I chuckle at the tall blackboard in front of our table. Written on the chalkboard in very good handwriting is the menu for our dinner. Amani reads the items to us as follows, butternut soup (our favorite), chicken with wine gravy/French fries/vegetables and for dessert, ice cream. Oh yes, we are the only guests in this camp too! The food is very tasty and I don’t ever remember having ice cream in a safari camp before. As usual the portions are large and also par for the course we eat too much. We don’t linger after we are finished eating. It has been a long day so our guard, whose name I can’t recall, escorts us to our tent and we crash for the night.

Paul and I are up at 5:30 and a bit before six, Paul uses the two-way radio to call our trusty escort (I am going to call him Daniel), to come and fetch us. Daniel arrives within minutes and we trudge up to the dining tent using our headlamps to light our way. Amani shows us to the small buffet where muffins, bread, fruit, cereal and yogurt have been laid out for us. Amani also gives us a choice of eggs (however you want them fixed), French toast, pancakes and of course bacon or sausage. We both opt for the French toast which is quite good.

George shows up at 6:30 sharp and we begin our first full day in the Serengeti. George told us yesterday that because it will take some time to drive to where the animals are, (to the short grass), that we would have to take our lunch and stay out all day. That is fine with us. Before we leave camp, George presents us with some beautiful gifts. A beaded belt for Paul plus six beaded placemats and coasters he bought at a shop in Arusha which is owned and run by Maasai women. How incredibly kind of George!

The Serengeti in the early morning light. Gorgeous

As we ride through the plains, we marvel at the lush grass sparkling with dew that surrounds us. True there isn’t much animal life to look at but it is still beautiful. We do see a lot of birds especially raptors. I believe it took us a couple of hours before we reach the part of the Serengeti where the wildlife is congregated.

Hot air balloons over the Serengeti

As we are touring down one road, Paul and I see a head pop up over the top of the grass and then quickly disappear. At first, we have the impression that it was a baby hyena but the creature raises its head briefly again and we realize it is a bat-eared fox. George drives the truck the short distance to where we glimpsed the shy animal and Paul and I scour the ground around us in search of a den or the fox. As Paul and I are surveying the grassy plot, George calls out that he has spotted two cheetahs. Are you kidding me! Following Georges directives, Paul and I see two cheetah a few hundred yards behind us, one sitting and one lounging in the grass.  We give up the hunt for the elusive bat-eared fox, George turns the truck around and we drive back to the cheetahs.

The pair of cheetah George spotted

Such beautiful faces

George has to do some cross country driving to get to the pair of cheetahs but he manages it just fine. The spotted cats pay little attention to us as George parks the vehicle a few yards from them. We have the gorgeous felines to ourselves for several minutes before other safari vehicles realize that we have found something. After two trucks trundle there way over to us and we can see more vehicles on the way, (obviously one of the guides radioed about the sighting of the cheetahs), we decide it is time to move on. That is the one thing I appreciate about George and Wild Source; they don’t use their radio’s if they find an animal nor to be informed when someone else finds wildlife.

The cheetahs getting restless as other vehicles arrive

Reveling in George’s spotting of the cheetah we can’t believe our luck when find two young lions lazing in some tall grass near the road not that far from the cheetahs. Cheetahs don’t care for lions so we are surprised that the two enemies are situated this close together. It is obvious the lions have nothing on their mind but relaxing so after taking a few photos, we continue on our game drive. We see several vehicles parked on the horizon in the direction we are headed. Usually when a flock of trucks are sitting together, they are observing one of the species of big cats.

Lounging lions

Handsome fellow

We probably are halfway to the throng of safari trucks when George exclaims, “there is a cheetah”. Okay, this is unreal, George is known for his ability to find cheetah and he is making a believer out of Paul and I. Again, I don’t know how the man saw this cat as it takes Paul and I a couple of minutes to find the cheetah. It is at least a quarter mile away crouching near a small water hole with a lot of weeds and grass for cover. George tells us that the cheetah is waiting for an impala to come for a drink and that the sleek cat will try to ambush the unsuspecting gazelle. There is no impala or anything else around right now so George decides to take a detour and get closer to the polka-dotted feline.

The cheetah doing his best to hide from us

Half way to the little pond we lose sight of the cheetah. When we arrive, we try to figure out exactly where the cheetah had been which isn’t easy because the whole area is a weedy mess. George of course finds the cheetah, well the little bit of the cat that is showing. I guess the cheetah didn’t want to have company because it has buried itself in the weeds leaving only its head visible to us. If a thirsty critter does trek down here for a drink, they may get more than they bargained for!

George starts back for the main road; it is just as well because another vehicle has seen us and is headed this way. George does stop to talk to the driver and tells him that there is a cheetah hidden near the water hole. I keep my eye on that vehicle once we are back on the main road. They don’t stay long so I bet they never found the elusive feline.

Mama cheetah strolling towards her human fan club

Baby cheetah

As we near the half dozen, parked vehicles we see immediately what has caught the people’s attention. Cheetahs!! A mother and her cub are strolling towards the road, heading right for the human spectators. Mom has no inhibitions at all and curiously walks next to her admirers. Oh no, the sleek cat crouches next to one of the vehicles and then launches herself upon the hood. The fearless cheetah has obviously done this before but that doesn’t make it a good thing. George tells us that you are to start your truck and move it if a cheetah approaches you but in defense of this guide, he is boxed in and couldn’t easily move.

Getting ready to launch herself on to the truck

Posing for the paparazzi

Once the spotted beauty tires of the paparazzi, she jumps down and entices her youngster to a game of tag. They dash around in play, entertaining their fawning audience whose cameras are furiously clicking trying to capture the show. As suddenly as the two began their antics they just as quickly stop and saunter away from the adoring crowd. As they wander farther away everyone leaves but us. George tells us that this cheetah is hungry and since there are impala not too far away, he wants to stay and see what might happen.

Playing tag

Cub jumping at mom

Off they go

We noticed while keeping tabs on the cheetah pair that in the distance a throng of vultures are feeding. This spectacle is so far away that even with the aid of binoculars we can’t see a carcass. I asked George if the cheetah would be going to feed on the carrion but he said no, cheetah only eat fresh meat. Suddenly we spy two hyena who have either seen the vultures or smelled the carcass. The hyenas break into a run and Paul and I are amazed at how speedy the slouchy critters are. As we watch the racing hyenas George tells us that the cheetahs will never hunt these impalas now because hyena are notorious for stealing a cheetah kill. Sure enough, the mother and cub turn around and begin walking back towards us.

Checking out the vehicles for the second time

Another round of play

As the cheetahs approach the road again, a few vehicles have assembled to greet them. The silly mother decides to play on another truck but this time she leaps onto the spare tire mounted on the back of the vehicle. After sitting on the tire for a couple of minutes, she jumps down and rough houses with her cub again. As before the two soon walk away but in the opposite direction from the hyenas. Everyone leaves but George tells us that the female is hungry and he believes she will try to approach the impalas that are grazing a quarter mile away, so we sit tight.

Taking one last look at us

We watch the cheetah as she slowly strolls away and begins to circle around so she is behind the impala. Unfortunately, (well depending on whose side you are on), there is one impala who has been watching the stalking cheetah the whole time. The gazelle turns in an arc following the path of the hunting cheetah so there is no way she can get near them undetected. We then realize that the cheetah isn’t interested in this herd. There is another group of impalas situated in a distant ravine, far enough away that we can barely see them. We keep watching our huntress using our binoculars, although the further away she gets we tend to lose track of her. We don’t see the cub so mama must have told the playful youngster to stay put. Eventually, mama has circled to the far side of the impala but one of them spots her and the impalas dash away. We spent around two hours with this cheetah pair. Think of the energy expended by the mother and in the end she and her cub have nothing to eat.

Moving into the bush.

A half-mile up the road there have been safari vehicles grouped in the same spot off and on the entire time we have been watching this pair of cheetahs. Our route takes us to the hot spot and when we arrive, we find the famous cheetah who is raising five cubs that George has told us about. To be able to successfully hunt enough game to feed this huge litter plus keeping other predators from killing any of her cubs, has given this cheetah superstar status among the guides here. The six cheetahs are dining on what is left of a young zebra.

Super mom and her five cubs

This cub has had its fill and moves away from the carcass

One of the cubs leaves the carcass soon after we arrive and waddles a short distance from his family to plop down on some grass. The rest of the bloody-faced cubs continue eating but occasionally stop and look around at their human audience. Mom joins in the feeding frenzy once in awhile but seems content to allow her little ones to finish cleaning the meat off the bones. George tells us the cubs are four months old and doing very well. We have seen eleven cheetah this morning!

Catching their breath

Keep up the good work Supermom

I will end this blog here as it is getting a bit long. Nancy

ONE LAST MORNING GAME DRIVE IN THE CONSERVANCY BEFORE LEAVING FOR TANZANIA, BLOG 7, MARCH 18TH 2020

Since our bush flight to the Kenyan border doesn’t leave until late morning, we have time for a short game drive this morning. We leave at 6:15 and Francis is on a quest to find the roaring lions that we all have heard this morning. I am not sure how you pinpoint where or how far away the noisy lions are but we are all ready for the search.

Francis drives around the perimeter of the camp until we reach the grassland which borders the observation platform. Our guide says this is the general area where he last heard the lions roaring. We search but don’t find any lions, so Francis moves on.

Male lion we parked next to

A handsome fellow

I don’t know if it was luck or intuition but after covering a lot of ground Francis finds the two male lions. The younger lion is lying by the rough road we are traveling on and Francis stops the truck right next to him. His buddy is thirty yards away lying near a small stream. As we sit and observe the sunlit lions, suddenly the older lion begins to roar, prompting the guy next to us to join in. Paul and I have heard plenty of roaring lions but never one that is only a few feet away. It is scary yet awesome. The pulsating roars literally gives me goose bumps. In the cool morning air, after every roar, the lions have a cloud of mist briefly hanging in front of them. I don’t have a good enough camera to capture the lions cooled exhalations in my photos however.

Roaring lion

Lion by water also roaring

When the lions have finished their impromptu concert, Francis shuttles us over to the red-maned male so we can have a close up look at him. I notice that his skin is very loose, so much so, that a fold of it is resting on the ground. As the sun warms up the lions, as the cheetahs did, rise to their feet and wander to some nearby bushes. As I suspected, they are very thin so the duo obviously aren’t having much success in hunting. As they disappear into the brushy cover we continue on our way.

The sun has risen high enough to light this guy up.

Definitely on the thin side

Since we are having breakfast in camp this morning, Francis starts driving back to Encounter Mara. We have been driving for a while when we happen upon a male and female lion. Unbelievable! There is a small stream separating us from the relaxed pair. After sitting with the lions for a few minutes, the female gets to her feet and strides to the stream, crouches down and laps up some water. The lioness then strolls to our truck and plops down next to our rear tire. Oops, I guess we are the nearest shade for the lioness but this feline obstacle will keep us from backing up to reach the road. Our dilemma is solved when the big cat rises to her feet and moves on. I guess the vehicles feeble shade didn’t meet her standards. The big male soon follows what we presume is his mate, to find shelter from the sun and we return to camp. What an incredible game drive we have had on our final morning here!

Male lion we found on way back to camp

Lioness lapping up water

Lioness lying by our vehicle

Edwin, one of the friendly staff here, leads the three of us to our breakfast table which is set up on the observation platform! It is gorgeous down here this morning albeit we have no giraffe or other wildlife to watch. I guess no one is feeling the need for salt this morning. The three of us visit as we enjoy our breakfast and the stunning view. Paul and I tell Jacob how much we have enjoyed being on safari with him. We also state that watching his genuine amazement upon our encounters with the array of animals here was really fun for us. Jacob replies that he is glad we were safari mates too. Once we have finished eating, we reluctantly return to our tents to finish our packing.

What a beautiful place to have our breakfast

Paul and I carry our luggage to the community tent and put money for the staff into the tip box. We then take the path down to where Francis is waiting to drive us to the airstrip. Several members of the staff have gathered here to say goodbye to us. Paul and I thank the crew for taking such wonderful care of us and also express how much we have relished our stay at Encounter Mara.  Jacob is taking the same flight as us so we all have one last drive in Naboisha with our terrific guide, Francis.

We haven’t traveled far when Francis stops the truck and turns to look at the three of us. He proceeds to tell us how much he has enjoyed being with the three of us and how happy it made him that we found all of the wildlife interesting. Jacob, Paul and I inform Francis what a pleasure it was being guided by such a friendly, knowledgeable young man.  We also say how impressed we were with his uncanny ability to predict a wild animal’s behavior.

3 of the lionesses we encountered on our way to Ol Seki airport

As we continue towards the air strip, we have a heck of a sendoff. A pride of seven lioness are lounging around a brushy patch not far from the road. We spend a few minutes with the lovely felines before moving on to catch our bush plane.

Once we get to the Ol Seki Airstrip, we find that our plane hasn’t arrived yet. There is a man driving a tractor which is hitched to a packer and he is pulling it down the dirt runway. There aren’t any wild animals on the airstrip though, which has happened to us before at these bush airports.

The runway being worked

A bush plane taking off from Ol Seki airstrip.

I forgot to include in my blog the reaction from the Maasai in our two Kenyan camps, when Paul showed them a photo of our cattle, with the Flint hills in the background. Let me just say that their faces literally light up. Suddenly they see us in a different light and many of them call us American Maasai. The photo often led to questions about our cattle and then having the Maasai tell us about their cattle at home. The funniest reaction we had, (our cattle are black and very big compared to Maasai cattle), came from an older gentleman at Encounter Mara camp. He took Paul’s phone, enlarged the photo and insisted that those weren’t cattle but buffalo!

Jacob, Nancy, Francis, and Paul

This dung beetle rolling up his dung ball was next to our plane. The last wildlife we saw in Kenya:). Paul took this photo with his phone

We board our small plane, take off and land ten minutes later on another dirt runway. This is Jacobs stop where he will board a bush plane that will fly him to Nairobi. We shake hands with our delightful safari companion and wish him well as he anticipates his next adventure, trekking to see gorillas in Uganda. Thirty-five minutes later we land near the Kenya/Tanzania border at Migori Airstrip. Our pilot apologizes for the bumpy ride. What bumpy ride? I guess I slept through it.

We depart from the plane, gather our luggage and follow the man who comes out to greet us. Dickson, (I think this was his name) will take Paul and I, a couple from Louisiana, and two women from Illinois over the border into Tanzania. Once we get through the red tape that will allow us to enter Tanzania, Dickson will drive us to another airstrip for our second bush plane flight of the day. Before we leave the “airport” Dickson leads us over to a gazebo type shelter where we sit on wooden benches and fill out forms that we will need for exiting Kenya and for entering Tanzania.

We arrange ourselves in Dickson’s’ van, and then we are off. I believe it takes us about an hour to reach the border. Paul and I cannot remember how or what was required to leave Kenya meaning it must not have amounted to much. Once we are in Tanzania, (I can’t remember what the towns name was), Dickson parks in front of a concrete building and instructs us to bring our bags with us. Before we are allowed to enter the building there is a huge tin can containing a strong hand sanitizer and we are instructed to wash our hands. The woman from Louisiana cautions us not to get any on our clothes as it will definitely leave a bleached spot. The stuff sure does stink and of course I find that I have dripped a small spot on my cuff.

Our luggage is put through a screener and we must take off our belts plus everything out of our pockets. Once we put ourselves back together, we proceed down a corridor to hand over our visas and get our passports stamped. Those of us who have e-visas end up taking much longer to get through the red tape than the two women from Illinois who buy their visas at the desk. When someone mentions how much faster it was for the two women who didn’t have a visa, Dickson shakes his head and tells us that you are better off to wait and get your visa at the border. Poor Paul, he spent hours on line getting our E-visas for Kenya and Tanzania.

When we have finished with this part of getting approved to be in Tanzania, we pile back in the van, drive up to a heavy wire fence where an armed guard opens the gate and we drive through. Dickson parks the car within a few yards of that barricade, we exit the van, and a female guard uses a security wand on we women and a male guard waves a wand over the two guys. Dickson leads us through a door where a woman takes our temperature and writes it down. I guess we all passed the screening for the Wuhan virus since we file on to another part of the building. Here two bored looking men are sitting behind glass and we must give them our passports to look at.  Everyone passes muster and we walk out the door and load back into the white van. Sigh of relief from all of us, I think.

The chatty woman sitting next to me starts to take a photo as we are exiting the Tanzania check point. I politely remind her that Dickson told us to not take photos of the border crossing or of armed police. The last thing we need is to tick an officer off!

Visiting along side the street

Common sight to see people carrying things on top of their head

Yes, that is a couch being transported on a motorcycle! Not a good photo but I had to include it.

I try to snap photos as we are driving down the city street and highway. I do manage to get a few pictures that are decent. I am always amazed at all the activity going on around us but also sobered by the poverty and uncleanliness too. After thirty minutes we arrive at a tiny air field, Tarime Airfield, where one plane is waiting. I don’t believe two planes could occupy this air strip at the same time. Our luggage is loaded in the belly of the plane, we thank and tip Dickson for all his help getting us into Tanzania, and then we board the small plane.

Scenery from the plane

Thirty minutes later we land on a deserted strip and the Illinois women leave the plane. As I am looking at the empty lot and vacant buildings where the women are now standing, it dawns on me that his is the “airport” where Paul and I and our four friends flew out of in 2018 at the end of our Tanzania safari. As we taxi down the runway, the two women wave goodbye to us. I hope someone is picking them up soon!

The airport we flew out of in 2018. I hope someone showed up to pick up the women.

Thirty minutes after our first stop we land at Seronera airport. This is where our guide George came to get a permit for one of the parks we visited in 2018. It really is a very nice building considering we are in the middle of nowhere. Of course, there are some really high-end resorts quite near to this airport so that probably has something to do with it.

I took a photo of George’s truck but not of George!

As we walk into the building, we see George, wearing his brilliant smile, waiting for us. After exchanging greetings and giving each other a hug, George leads us to his vehicle. We fondly remember this vehicle from 2018 and all the adventures we experienced through the truck’s windows. We laugh when George tells us he must return to the airport building to get us a permit for our visit to one of the Kopje areas, I think. Paul kids him a bit and wonders if we are going to have to lend him our credit card to pay the fee like we did in 2018. George laughs heartily and assures us that it isn’t necessary this time.  In 2018 getting a permit was a time-consuming ordeal but today George returns, permit in hand, within a few minutes.

Next stop, Nyumbani camp. Nancy

ENJOYING ANOTHER DAY IN NABOISHA CONSERVANCY, BLOG 6, MARCH 14TH, 2020

Sometime in the night I awoke with a start to the roaring of a lion that I swear is next to our tent. My imagination began working overtime when I heard something rustling outside our tent. Paul was snoring, (not as loud as he can😊), but his snores are deep and raspy. I swear the rustling animal was reacting to Paul’s growl like snores! I thought about waking Paul up but know he would scoff at my silly reaction partly because the electric fence around the camp is there to keep the wild animals out and partly because my vivid imagination can get a little wild. Eventually I go back to sleep but I am still convinced that we had a lion near the tent.

My internal clock has adjusted to our early morning rising so I am awake before the alarm buzzes. After the usual early morning ritual, Paul calls on the 2-way radio for an escort. After a few minutes, the guard has arrived and he delivers us to Francis who warmly greets us. I forgot to mention that Asilia has hot water bottles in the vehicle for these early morning drives. In all the camps there are hot water bottles in our beds when we return from dinner, but this is the first time I recall having the warm jugs in our vehicle. I think all three of us put them to use for the first twenty or so minutes of our morning game drives.

It is another beautiful morning and we enjoy the diverse herds of grazers as we drive through the short grass areas of the conservancy. We haven’t been out very long when Francis gets a report of a pride of lions that are in the open and still awake. When we arrive at the site there are five lions, sitting or standing, and the sun is lighting up their tawny coats which is just breath taking. Francis points out that four of the lions are sub-adults.

Pride glowing in the early morning sun

Enjoying the sun

Relaxing

After a few minutes another lioness appears from a stand of trees and walks up to the group. One of the youngsters goes to greet her but all he gets is a snarl from the grouchy lady. The upstart kid strikes out at the lioness and she returns the gesture causing their claws to become locked together for a brief moment, resulting in both of them snarling at one another. Francis quips that the old mama is unhappy that her pride has not provided any food and thus she reprimands rather than greets the youngster😊. I missed getting a photo of their altercation darn it.

Probably my favorite photo on our safari

Here comes the leader of the pride

Looking a little bit grouchy

The lioness’ that arrived is restless and after a few minutes she moves on and the rest of the group falls in behind her. Francis moves the vehicle ahead of the pride but because there are so many bushes around, we can’t directly stay with the big cats. There is a giraffe not far from the pride and the four half-grown cats decide to chase after it. We can only partially see what is going on but the adults stop walking and stare at the “kids” and I swear they are rolling their eyes. The four youngsters don’t chase the giraffe for long and soon return to where the adults are standing. Once the pride is reunited, they continue moving through the bushes until they disappear from our sight.

The pride on the move

I forgot that one of the lions approached our vehicle

One of the giraffe chasing youngsters reacting to a scent mark left by one of the lioness’

Interesting shot

Francis decides to explore another part of the conservancy that is prime leopard country. Whoa, this place is thick with brush, tall grass and in places very marshy. At one point I am convinced we will never make it across the boggy soil but somehow our driver gets to the other side. It is apparent that no one has been driving in this area as there are no tracks or roads. Francis decides that we had best vacate this desolate place and move on. I vote yes on that decision!

No leopards but we did find these baboons in the treetop

Another gorgeous morning for our bush breakfast

Francis drives us to firmer ground so to speak and we stop and have our bush breakfast. After our relaxing meal we move on to another area where leopards have been found. We don’t find any but we do see an ancient warthog who doesn’t even bother to run from us, a very unusual behavior for a warthog. We also find an unusually dark colored giraffe that is huge.

This guy is really old.

The big, very dark giraffe

As we enjoy our surroundings Paul inquires of Francis how he came to be a guide. Francis stops the vehicle and proceeds to tell us a heart-warming story about his path to becoming a guide. Francis tells us he was doing very well in school and was fascinated with electricity. He pursued this interest in secondary school but struggled with physics and decided that he wasn’t going to master this class. He was discouraged of course. A cousin, who was a guide, was visiting his family at home around this time and asked Francis to walk with him. During their walk and visit the cousin would point out trees and plants and tell Francis their scientific names and information about the vegetation.

Francis found himself intrigued with the information his cousin had shared and would pass this knowledge on to his friends whenever they were enjoying the outdoors. Several months later his cousin returned and again asked our guide to accompany him on a walk. When Francis began reciting names and facts that he had learned from his cousin the last time the relative was very impressed. He told Francis that maybe he should consider becoming a guide. After more talks and consideration Francis agrees to take up the challenge. Naturally we know the outcome but we didn’t realize how tough it is to get into the guiding school and how expensive it is. Francis did so well on his test/application for the guiding school that he was accepted on his first application and I believe it was Asilia that sponsored him helping with the tuition. I will say this, he is one of the most knowledgeable, personable, guides we have had in Africa. This is really high praise as we have had so many incredible guides while visiting this continent!

Ostrich grazing

After lunch, a variety of pizza, Paul and I walk the paths around camp for about thirty minutes to get some much-needed exercise. It is hot this afternoon so the fan in our tent is put to use once our exercise is over. As I alternate between reading and watching the bush beyond the fence, I see a few baboons running through the grass directly in front of our tent. I guess a fence can’t keep baboons out.

Baboons running in front of our tent, taking through the mesh of our tent so that is why it is fuzzy

As we are walking down to the vehicle pickup area for our afternoon game drive a young woman greets us as we pass by. We return the hello but after taking a few steps Paul stops and says, “was that Sarah”? I come to a halt and reflect for a second then exclaim, “that was Sarah”. We do an about face and catch up with our spotter from Enaidura camp. Paul greets Sarah and I give her a hug and an apology for not recognizing her.  We knew that Ping was bringing some clients to Encounter Mara today but didn’t realize Sarah was coming too.  We don’t linger for long as Jacob and Francis are waiting but as we are leaving Sarah remarks that they miss us at camp. What a nice thing to say.

A few of the elephants we were watching

Our rescue vehicle, Francis and the other guide are hooking up the tow ropes

The guides have an audience.

Our first encounter this afternoon is with a group of elephants varying in size from huge adults down to youngsters. Francis pulls up beside them, stops the truck and turns off the key. With the engine turned off we can hear in addition to observing the pachyderms as they rip off wads of grass and insert it into their mouths. After enjoying the elephants, Francis starts the vehicle up and starts to drive away but our tires just spin. What the heck, we all look down and realize that the mat of grass we parked on is oozing with water and we are stuck. Oops. Luckily, another guide is close by and comes to pull us out. The problem is that the elephants are really close, so both guides are very careful when they step out of the vehicles to hitch up the tow ropes. It doesn’t take much to pull us free but Francis must carefully exit the truck again to undo the ropes. Once the two trucks are unhitched and driving away, one of the young elephants’ mock charges our rescuers’ vehicle. The rascal.

The youngster pretending to charge

Francis drives us to a place in the conservancy that is new country for us, well I don’t think we have been here before. Full disclosure, all three of us are usually hopelessly lost and we are always surprised when suddenly we have arrived at the camps gate. In our defense, this camp is so well hidden in the natural growth you cannot see any of the tents until you begin walking on the paths. We are amazed how Francis and all the guides seem to know exactly where they are in this vast place. We even asked Francis how he seems to easily find his way around when we are off road. He smiles and points to his head proclaiming “google map” which makes us all laugh.

Brightly colored agama lizard

The grass is taller in this “new country” with large areas of bushes clumped together plus tree lined ravines. Ahead of us there is a depression where thick grass is growing and there is a lioness lying motionless amid the green blades. Because it is fairly hot and the big cat is laying in the full sun, I actually blurt out “is she dead”? Francis assures me that the lion is very much alive and as if on cue she stretches one leg into the air.

Lioness I initially thought was dead.

A big stretch

After some stretching and yawning the lioness gets to her feet and paying no attention to us begins to stroll away. Francis who is studying the feline decides to follow her and tells us he thinks she may be thinking about hunting. What? This lioness just woke up and Francis sees something in her posture signaling that she might be ready to hunt? Unbelievable.

This yawn is a bit intimidating!

On the move

We follow the lioness at a distance and Francis points out how she stops walking on occasion and peers into the distance. Finally, we see what the cat is looking at, there are impalas and zebras grazing perhaps a quarter of a mile away. Francis drives ahead of the stalking lion and positions us where we can watch the prey and the predator. The lioness comes into sight and hides under a clump of bushes checking out the animals that are still some distance away. Eventually our hunter moves out of our sight. After ten minutes or so Francis sees the lioness in front of us concealed in some trees and much closer to the animals who so far haven’t detected her. For some reason the lioness backtracks and disappears again. Not long after the lioness vacates her hiding place a wart hog and her piglets walk within a few feet of where the lioness had been hiding! The mother warthog must catch a whiff of lion because she begins twirling in a circle, looking in every direction. Once the warthog decides the danger is gone, she takes off on a fast trot, her little piglets in a line behind her. That hog is so lucky!

This isn’t the lucky warthog but the photo fits the story because of the piglets

Francis is still confident the lioness is stalking the zebra; (the impalas have drifted away) so we continue to patiently wait. Suddenly the zebra half-heartedly run in our direction and stop near our vehicle. Francis says that the zebra must have caught the lion’s scent and have thwarted an attack. Well it was still a neat experience to watch the lion strategize and stalk the striped beasts.

Zebra after they ran towards us

Tonight, when we arrive at the dining tent for dinner, Ping is standing near the fire pit and gives us each a hug and a hearty greeting. We visit a bit and then I ask the inevitable question, “did you find the leopard after we left”? I was sure what the answer was going to be and wasn’t one bit surprised when Ping laughed and said that indeed he and his new clients found the leopard by the river the very day we left the Mara. I just shook my head, said “I knew it” and joined in his laughter.

Paul and I sit across from Ping’s guests at dinner where we learn that not only did they find the female leopard but she was being pursued by an amorous male. The female wanted nothing to do with the male and the first-time safari goers watched as the male chased the female up and down trees in his futile pursuit. Are you kidding me!

Ping keeps us all entertained through much of the meal with a few tales of his adventures as a guide. At one point in our dinner conversation, one of the female staffers speaks up and informs us that a lion found its way under the fence last night and was prowling around camp. My jaw literally drops and I exclaim that I just knew I heard a lion roaring close to our tent. The young woman looks at me and says the lion was very close! I wonder what the guards did with a lion visiting the camp? I wished I would have thought to ask.

Paul and I excuse ourselves earlier than we want too, but it is getting late and we have to get our things organized because we are leaving this wonderful place tomorrow. Nancy

A MORNING AND NIGHT DRIVE IN NABOISHO CONSERVANCY, BLOG 5, MARCH 12 2020

The alarm went off at 5:20 a.m. and one of the staff delivered our tea and coffee at 5:45. Paul and I call for an escort shortly after six. A man arrives and escorts Paul, Jacob, and me to where Francis is waiting for us. Jacob is in tent 10 allowing the guard to collect all of us at the same time.

There is a gorgeous sunrise as we are leaving camp and we stop briefly for photos. Francis tells us he is going to try and find the lions that we all heard roaring very early this morning close to the camp. Once we reach the area where Francis believes the roaring was emanating from, he drives around the dense cover where the lions might be hiding but if the big cats are around, we can’t find them.

We leave this section of the conservancy and soon are driving in a more open, grassy region. Up ahead we see a safari truck parked next to one of the main roads and as we draw closer, we spot a male and female lion laying close to one another. The duo look exhausted and Francis confirms our suspicions that they are a mating pair. We sit near the large felines waiting to see if their ardor will surface but the two can hardly keep their eyes open.

Tired lion pair

While we are waiting patiently beside the two sweethearts, another lioness appears on the other side of the road. There are two jackals shadowing the beautiful cat and when she lays down the pair sit down a few yards away from her. We ask Francis about this behavior and he explains that the two opportunists were hoping the lioness was going to hunt and if she was successful, they would steal tidbits from the carcass. Paul and I have watched jackals dart in and grab scraps from a lion’s kill but we never realized they actually follow predators in anticipation of a kill. Eventually, the two trot away sensing that the lioness is not going to hunt.

Lioness that appears across the road, you can see a blurry jackal behind her

The lions seem to have no intentions of mating so when the lioness across the road stands up and begins walking away, Francis drives in the direction the lion is moving, stopping our vehicle several yards front of her. I don’t know how he knows her exact path, but the regal animal walks right up to our truck, goes behind it, then passes right next to our vehicle on the other side. This elicits a quiet “Oh Wow” from Jacob which makes Paul and I grin at each other. The close approximation of an enormous lion, even though you are sitting in a vehicle, definitely has that effect on you! The lioness has her eye on some nearby shrubs and once she reaches the thicket, the massive mama plops down in the shade.

Lioness right next to our vehicle, no zoom needed

Francis turns the truck around and starts driving back to the amorous lion couple, oh shoot, they are mating. Well, we arrive in time to see the end of the mating ritual which consists of the female plopping on her side and going to sleep while the male continues to stand looking at his mate with great satisfaction😊.

Lions after they have mated.

Francis decides we will motor to a valley that is lined with trees that leopards favor. He warns us that leopards are very hard to find, (yeah, don’t we know it)! We don’t see any leopards but there are elephants and a fair size herd of cape buffalo including one cute baby buffalo.

Elephant nicely framed

Baby Cape buffalo with an itch

Francis takes us to a hilltop where we have our bush breakfast. There had been a herd of zebra grazing when we arrived but once Francis began setting up our breakfast table they slowly drifted away. We enjoy our breakfast while gazing over the tree dotted plains.

Jacob, Francis, and Paul next to our breakfast layout. Paul is wearing the coat that Ping gave him.

After breakfast, we continue on our game drive. Francis sees a Thomson’s gazelle and a baby next to the road we are traveling on. Francis drives right next to the pair not realizing that the baby gazelle has just been born. Mom is vigorously licking her newborn who is trying to get to its feet. As we come to a stop the mother gazelle runs off maybe 50 yards and I am worried that we may have messed up the bonding of the mother and baby. Francis, while in the process of driving away, assures me that the mother leaving her newborn is a common practice when a gazelle senses danger. It is a tactic they use in the hopes that a predator will notice them and not see the helpless baby. Looking back, I see the mama gazelle intently watching her new baby but she hasn’t started walking back to the poor little guy yet.

Brand new Thomson’s gazelle. Look at all those flies!

Francis has informed us he is now taking us to where two cheetah brothers have been located. When we arrive the two sleek cats are sleeping soundly. The couple we visited with from Detroit are also here patiently waiting for the brothers to wake up. We knew that the couple were avid photographers but we are amazed by their huge lenses and the stands that accommodate their cameras. Not only that but they are using the Asilia vehicle that is made for professional photographers. I wish I had taken a photo of that vehicle but foolishly didn’t. The chairs swivel and there is a mattress on the floor where the front seats would be in a normal vehicle. This allows the photographer to lie down and get an eye view level with animals, like these cheetah. I’m not sure how the doors opened up but there is an unobstructed view for the prone person. I would love to see the photos these two took!

Cheetah brothers sound asleep

Waking up

Francis tells us to be patient with the two cats as it is still chilly and they will sleep until the sun warms them. Our knowledgeable guide informs us that once they begin to warm up, the cheetah will start to yawn, stretch, even do a little grooming. Once the handsome fellows feel it is too warm, they will go find shade under a tree or bush.

As we sit and wait for the sun to work its charm on the dozing cats, Paul asks Francis if the brothers have a name. Francis replies that they are just called Amani’s boys. Paul and I both gasp and tell our guide that we saw a pregnant Amani when we were in Kenya in 2016. Francis says that these cheetahs are around four years old so that would mean these guys were who she was pregnant with in 2016. How cool is that! Jacob has been listening to our excited chatter about Amani and her boys and asks why Amani seems to be famous. Francis informs our safari friend that Amani has made a name for herself because she has an incredible record of raising her cubs to adulthood which is very hard for a cheetah to accomplish.

This fellow decides it is time to find some shade

Soon Francis’ prediction of how the cheetah would act when the sun hit their spotted bodies is playing out exactly as he said it would. One of the brothers wakes up much faster than the other and after a couple of yawns and stretches, gets up and walks about fifty foot away to a narrow band of shade under an acacia tree. His brother has a much tougher time of getting up. He yawns, rolls on his back with paws in the air, hits the snooze button and flops back on his side and sleeps a bit, yawns, stretches, rolls around and finally gets to his feet and goes to join his brother in the shade. Paul and I marvel at how big and muscular Amani’s boys are and it is obvious they are very healthy meaning that they are eating well. We drive away and leave the two enjoying their sliver of shade.

Yawning

A little grooming

Dozing off again

Finally getting up

Joining his sibling in the narrow band of shade

As we make our way back to camp, stopping occasionally to take photos of the various wildlife we see, Paul asks Francis if we could go out on a night drive instead of the late afternoon game drive. Francis agrees and Jacob is fine with the idea too. Francis calls the camp to tell them we will want dinner at six o’clock as we will leave on our game drive at seven. Francis then reminds us that there are no guarantees on a night drive and we assure him we are fully aware of this.

Weaver birds busy constructing their amazing nests

Stream where the weaver birds were

After lunch, Paul and I go to the Wi-Fi tent to check our email and are happy to find no messages from home! We then decide to get a beer and enjoy it at the observation platform. When we arrive, we find there are other visitors already here. There are four giraffes licking the salty soil and the long-necked beauties take no notice of us. It is so beautiful and peaceful here and we enjoy the solitude as we sip our cold Tusker beer.

A cold beer and gorgeous scenery. What more could you want?

Three of the four giraffes getting their salt fix

Paul and I return to our tent, turn the fan on, and take a nap. I know, it isn’t exactly roughing it. After my short nap, I am reading and occasionally looking out the front of our tent into the wilderness beyond the fence. I happen to see a giraffe gliding by and a bit later I see another one walking in the same direction as the first giraffe. I tell Paul that I bet the graceful beasts are heading to the salt lick so we decide to return to the platform and see if this is indeed where the giraffes are going.  We run into Jacob at the community tent and he decides to join us.

When we arrive at the platform, we see that there are seven giraffes approaching the area. Five of them continue coming our way but an adult and a youngster are wary of us and refuse to join their friends. A couple of the giraffe are obviously drinking but this is happening behind a small grassy dam so we are unable to see clearly. The five move on to the dirt bank and begin licking the soil with there long black tongues.

Five of the seven giraffe

Edwin, a personable member of the staff, comes down to fetch us for dinner. He leads us to our table which they have sat up just outside of the main dining tent. It is very pleasant this evening so it was quite thoughtful of them to allow us to dine in the open air. They served us chicken which was very good.

I believe this is a white-browed Robin Chat. He was near the dining tent. There were so many birds in the camp.

A staff member escorts us down to where Francis is waiting for us. We greet our delightful guide then climb into the truck ready to experience the conservancy at night. Francis has brought a young man who will help him with the spotlighting. They pass the light back and forth so they cast the beam of light on both sides of the vehicle.

Francis and his helper find bush babies, which are not easy to see, a white-tailed mongoose, a bat-eared fox, hyena, elephant, and gazelles. When Francis calls out that there are some African kangaroos, Jacob reacts with an incredulous “What”! Paul and I laugh as we had the same prank pulled on us a few years ago. The strange animal is really called a Springhare but gets its nickname due to the fact that it hops around on its back legs just like a kangaroo. It isn’t a hare but a member of the rodent family. We also enjoy hearing a variety of frogs calling, the most interesting ones to me produce a crystal-clear sound as if the frogs are clinking glasses together.

Francis takes us close to the river where we find a few bulbous hippo grazing. The rotund animals are intimidating enough when submerged in water but you don’t realize how enormous they are until you see them on land.

It is time to return to camp and even though we didn’t see any rare nocturnal animals like an aardwolf, aardvark or caracal, it was still a wonderful experience. Nancy

ENCOUNTER MARA CAMP AND NABOISHO CONSERVANCY, BLOG 4, MARCH 10TH, 2020

After our orientation tour of the tent, Paul and I return to the community area as it is time for lunch. Paul and I line up with other guests to go through the buffet line. I prefer buffets as you can choose what you want and how much you want and I don’t end up wasting half my food.  All the guests are sitting at the same table except for one couple and their guide who have a table to themselves.

We return to our tent after lunch and get our things organized, dirty clothes in the laundry basket, clothes hung up or laid on the shelves, etc. I don’t think this tent is any larger than our tent in Enaidura camp, (which was a great tent too), but everything is laid out horizontally instead of vertically and it feels roomier for some reason.  Whatever the case it is a really nice tent.

A staff member preparing to welcome new guests in front of the community tent

Since our game drive isn’t until four p.m., Paul and I decide to go orient ourselves with the camp layout. It is a five-minute trek from our tent to the community tent but that is fine as we need exercise! Mercy had told us about an observation deck near the dining tent but we aren’t quite sure how to get there. A staff member, Joseph, notices that we seem to be a bit lost and comes to our rescue. Instead of just pointing out the path for us, Joseph leads us to the covered deck. The deck is very nice and has several comfortable chairs and a wide ledge that you can set drinks on. A small water hole is situated right below the platform but the main draw for the wildlife is the saline soil which they will lick to get their salt fix. Since our afternoon game drive doesn’t leave until four p.m., Paul and I just relax as we enjoy the view and the cool breeze that is wafting over us.

Paul enjoying the viewing platform and his Tusker beer

Just before four, we return to our tent to grab a backpack, our coats and water bottles, then return to the community tent where we are to meet our guide. I believe it is Sam who introduces us to our guide, Francis. Francis will be our guide the entire time we are here. There is only one other person in our vehicle, Jacob, a young man from New York who is on his first safari.

Mom and baby zebra with lots of company in the background

Wildebeest and babies

When we have situated ourselves in the truck, Francis asks each of us what we hope to see while we are on game drives. Paul and I both reply that we enjoy experiencing everything. Jacob says he definitely wants to see lions and Francis assures him that we will see lions.  Once we exit the camps fenced acreage, we begin to see lots of animals. Numerous zebras, large herds of eland, wildebeest including some babies, elephant, giraffe, impalas, and some vervet monkeys. As we are cruising by this menagerie of animals, I comment that there are a couple of running jackals in the distance. Francis corrects me and says those are bat-eared fox! Paul decides that Jacob is bringing us luck since bat-eared fox are not easy to see during the daylight.

I think this zebra was just relaxing but he does have a small wound on his ear and leg.

Vervet monkey. I believe this is the only place we saw monkeys

The lost baby impala. So sad.

Francis points out a lost baby impala that is feverishly running about while frantically bleating for its mother. This is so sad as in this area there are no animals close by and any predator, even the small jackals according to Francis, could bring the misplaced baby down. The real world of nature sure isn’t a Disney movie.

Francis seems very comfortable with this elephant a few feet away from our truck

Sometime during our drive Francis receives call from another guide who needs to be rescued. We drive maybe twenty minutes and see why our help is needed as the guide’s truck didn’t make it through a narrow and steep crossing. The vehicle is high centered and tilted to one side so far that one front tire is not touching the ground. Holy Smokes. There is no sign of any passengers so we assume the guide is alone. Backing up to the man’s truck isn’t all that easy but Francis manages to get close enough to hook the tow rope up. At first the tires on our vehicle spin but then gain traction and we pull the guy’s vehicle free. The driver comes over and thanks all of us profusely for coming out of our way to help. Everyone assures him it was no problem, (besides it makes a great story😊). As we drive away, we look back and see several people climbing into the freed truck, I guess the guide didn’t want them in the tilted vehicle for safety reasons.

One of the lionesses

Francis drives towards a couple of vehicles that are parked by a brushy area and on our approach, we can see a sleepy lioness resting under the foliage. Once we arrive, we discover four lions, three females, (two which are easily visible but the other mostly concealed in the bushes) and one male laying just at the edge of the bushes.  I would assume that Francis had radio confirmation of the location of the lions before our game drive and that is why he was so positive that we would see lions! We stay with the big cats for fifteen minutes and then move on. In the conservancy the rule of thumb is that four vehicles can closely approach animals such as these lions, and other arriving vehicles must wait at a distance until someone leaves. This is what I really like about conservancies, they limit the number of guests to begin with and they discourage the disturbing practice seen in the reserves where 30 or 40 vehicles may be jockeying for position to get near animals, usually big cats. Also, the conservancies work with the natives and allow them to graze cattle within the conservancy. This attracts the wild grazers because of the short grass where the land has been grazed but there are spots where the grass is very tall due to the rotational grazing practice.

The male who obviously has been in a few fights looking at the scratches on his nose

Something catches this lioness’ eye

Francis chooses a beautiful place for us to have our sundowners with hundreds of animals peppering the landscape around us. Paul and I enjoy a Tusker beer while Jacob opts for whiskey. A Martial Eagle lands in a tree very close to us which seems odd until Francis points out that his mate is perching in a nearby tree. When the big raptor goes to join his mate, he lands on a dead branch that promptly breaks forcing him to take wing again, and yes, we laugh at the bird’s misfortune. The eagle comes back and lands in the tree next to us making funny noises that sound suspiciously like embarrassed muttering.

As the sun is sinking below the horizon all the animals begin walking north. We ask Francis what in the world is going on as lines of zebra and impala file by us to join the large herd far below us. Francis says the prey animals are going to find a place to spend the night together. He tells us that the more eyes and ears there are the better the animals’ chances of surviving to the next morning.

The sun is setting

As we continue to watch the moving mass of wildlife, Francis steps forward studying the area below us. He then declares that there are two male lions running alongside the marching animals far below us. It takes a little while before the rest of us see the lions in the dim light. Francis immediately begins to pack up the basket of supplies and we soon are driving into the dusky evening in pursuit of the lions.

Once we catch up with the big males it is obvious that this is a territorial dispute and not a hunt. Both lions seem to be out of gas because they have stopped running. The alpha male occasionally stops to mark his territory in which he sprays but also drops to the ground and rolls in the grass. He will then trot to catch up with the smaller male, who often turns his head to growl at his pursuer but it is more to save face than to voice a challenge. Francis seems to know what path the two cats will take and he drives ahead of the lions a couple of times which makes them walk right by our vehicle. It is too dark for photos but we are able to watch the cats because Francis flicks a red spotlight over the feuding lions, (the red light doesn’t blind the cats like a regular spotlight would). This is so cool but it also is a bit more disconcerting encountering these huge predators after dark!

We leave the males to their posturing and begin the drive to camp. We have one more interesting encounter on our way back when we happen upon a trumpeting elephant who is chasing after two hyenas. Once the big tusker is satisfied that he has taught the skulking scavengers a lesson, he promptly begins eating grass.

No time for a shower before supper because of our unusual encounters after dark. That is another thing that is different in the conservancies, you can be out after dark and you can drive off road. We have ham and mashed potatoes for dinner which was tasty. We also enjoy visiting with a couple from Detroit whose travels and adventures make Paul and I feel like novices. It is nice to have other guests to visit with at our meals. Later, Nancy

OUR LAST FULL DAY IN THE MARA, BLOG 3, MARCH 7TH 2020

I woke up to the sound of pouring rain sometime during the night. I fell right back to sleep so had no idea how long it rained. Paul slept right through the loud drumming of rain on the tent canvas.

Our pre-breakfast arrived at six o’clock on the dot. We again enjoyed our hot beverages (Millers can you believe that I am drinking coffee!) and toast in the stillness of the predawn.

Our trusty Maasai escort takes us down to the dining tent to meet Sarah and Ping. We climb into the truck and are headed out of camp before the sun climbs above the horizon. We soon find that it rained enough last night to make the roads slick which makes Ping wrestle with a slipping and sliding vehicle. Thankfully the farther we get from camp the roads become nearly dry.

The water filled ruts were the state of many areas of the roads in the Mara when we were there. This wasn’t due to the rain last night

Ping is determined to find the leopardess that we looked for yesterday. I don’t think I wrote that she has two half-grown cubs. Evidently the trio tend to stay in the vicinity we were at yesterday and Ping usually can find them. On our quest to see the leopards we drive by two jackals that are lying by the side of the road. The early morning light is literally making them glow. We stop for photos and Ping pulls his camera out to snap some photos too. You know whenever your guide starts taking photos that the situation is special.

Jackals glowing in the early morning light. No computer tricks here.

Another look at the sunlit pair

As we drive and drive in our hunt for the leopard family we visit with Ping, (Sarah is very quiet and doesn’t talk too much). Paul had told Ping yesterday about his lost coat and asked if he might contact somebody that monitors the airport in the chance that they might have found his coat. This morning Paul asks Ping if he had the chance to talk to anyone about the missing coat and Ping shakes his head and laughs, we assume this means the inquiry would by useless. Ping tells Paul he has a “jumper” coming to replace Paul’s lost coat and it will be here before we leave tomorrow. Paul insists he will be okay with his raincoat and a blanket. Ping laughs again and tells Paul that it will be very cold in the mornings once we get to Tanzania and the Ndutu area. Well, it’s pretty chilly here so I hope it won’t be much colder!

Curious Baby Mongooses

As we continue to search for the felines, we happen upon a group of mongooses/mongeese(?) sunning themselves on top of their burrow. There are several babies who are very curious about us and we spend several minutes observing and photographing the cute little things. We also see lots of Impalas, Thompson Gazelles, and an enormous lone elephant.

This fellow is huge

Ping finds a place near a small stream where Sarah sets out our bush breakfast, Ping is busy talking on his phone. Ping is co-owner of Enaidura camp so he must tend to business even while guiding us.  As we are eating there are some Maasai cattlemen driving an enormous herd of multi-colored cattle through the water not far from us. There are several agama lizards sunning on a jumble of rocks nearby and a hamerkop briefly lands on a large boulder across from our dining spot.

Agama lizard

This morning as usual we see a myriad of birds including a Martial Eagle, Whydah birds, a Grey heron, a Green-backed heron, Secretary birds, and a pair of beautiful Crowned Cranes to mention a few.

Regal Martial Eagle

Preening Crowned Cranes

We finally have to cry uncle on the elusive leopardess and return to camp for lunch. Happy is waiting for us with a tray holding washcloths so we can wipe our faces and hands. As we use the refreshing cloths Happy wishes us a happy Valentines’ day. Paul and I had no idea it was Valentine’s day!

There is a Dik-dik standing behind the dining tent who gives us a curious once over before bounding a way into the bushes. The staff has placed our lunch table under some trees a few yards away from the dining tent. There is a baby woodpecker who occasionally pokes his head out of a hole in a nearby tree and watches us throughout our lunch.  Anthony has fixed lasagna for lunch and it is delicious. After we have finished eating, I decide to walk the path between our tent and the dining tent just to get some exercise. The Maasai guard tries to walk with me but I wave him off, it is broad daylight and there is no sense in the young man trekking back and forth with me.

Dik-dik

On my second round on the path, something moves in the bushes next to the trail and I jump in fright. The guard, who has been watching me, quickly begins walking towards me but stops when he sees that I am laughing. I have seen what frightened me and it is the tiny dik-dik that had greeted us on our return to camp this morning. I’m rather embarrassed by my reaction but hey, in this wild place you never know what might be lurking in the brush. When Paul and I are walking down from our tent for our afternoon game drive a wart hog near the path gives us a start as it runs away.

Ping takes us back to the river to resume our search for the leopard. He sees a herd of Impala that are staring anxiously at a cluster of bushes. We drive around the dense brush but find nothing. The impalas are very uneasy so Ping stops the vehicle and we sit and watch the nervous animals. Several of the gazelle sprint by us in single file as if something is spooking them but if there is a predator around, we can’t find it.

Sprinting Impala

We continue driving along the river peering into the underbrush and trees. There are a lot of hippos in the river and I catch a quick glimpse of a crocodile. That is the only croc we see on this safari. A troop of baboons are feeding in some of the trees and seem at ease which indicates there is no leopard around. Ping finally gives up on finding the leopard and he drives across a scary river passage that has me clenching the hand rail in front of me. There are a couple of grunting hippos on our left and faster water running over broken shelves of rock on our right. I was sitting on the left side of the vehicle but decide if we have problems getting through the river, I’d rather face the swifter water than the hippos!

The crossing I found quite scary

On this side of the river is another large herd of Impalas and again they are very agitated. The group wants to move to an open field about 50 yards straight ahead of them. However, the trees and brush that grow on both sides of the road come closer together at the edge of the meadow. This makes a perfect ambush area for leopards or lions. Ping believes the impala smell or sense that the leopard and her cubs are in the vicinity because it was reported that the mother made a kill around here last night.  We watch the anxious antelope approach the narrow entrance several times only to lose their nerve, turn around, and come back down the road. At times they swivel their heads in the same direction looking like a synchronized dance team. One of them will jump at some imagined danger and they will all jump. We watch the uneasy herd for forty-five minutes until one doe finds the courage to walk through the danger zone and everyone else follows. I wonder if Impala get ulcers, I tensed up just watching the frightened gazelle.

Impala that took 45 minutes to get up the nerve to walk through a narrow opening into a grassy field

We return to camp after dark. Anthony outdoes himself tonight with a chicken curry dish which was scrumptious. This man is truly a talented chef. At the end of our meal the staff come around our table singing and dancing. Anthony is carrying a heart-shaped cake in honor of valentine’s day! It was a nice gesture and the cake was very good. When Nicholas takes us back to our tent there is a bottle of wine with long stemmed glasses sitting on the table outside of our tent. How nice is that? We didn’t drink the wine though as it is late and we are ready for bed. When we walk into our tent there is a very nice, fleece jacket folded up on the bed. Thank you, Ping!

This morning the ritual is the same with Paul and I enjoying our drinks and toast outside the tent. It is so peaceful and as we finish sipping our drinks the numerous birds in this camp are beginning to greet the early morning with a few calls.

A beautiful sunrise on our last morning in the Mara

We are off at 6:30 and return to the river where Ping has learned that a fellow guide and his clients caught a brief glimpse of the elusive leopard yesterday. Well, for us it isn’t meant to be to see the wily feline because we come up empty again. Ping notices a trio of vehicles across the river in the distance. He drives along the river until we are directly across from the other trucks. We spot a lioness just as she is descending from the top of a termite mound. The vehicles start to follow the lioness that is on the move and now we see that there are three lionesses and two large cubs. Even though the lions are a long way from us I am able to get documentary photos to show that we indeed saw lions. Ping can’t drive across the river because the passageway in this area was completely destroyed by the floods. That’s okay, we were able to observe them with our binoculars.

Lioness just before she climbs down from the termite mound

The other two lionesses

We return to camp and have a huge breakfast at our table that is sitting close to the river. When we have finished breakfast, we return to our tent and do a walk through to make sure we haven’t overlooked any of our belongings. When we exit the tent some of the staff are there to help us with our bags. Most of the staff gathers by the safari truck to say goodbye. Paul and I thank everyone for taking care of us and Paul hands Happy the envelope containing a handwritten note and tip money for the crew. We climb into the truck along with Ping and Sarah, waving goodbye as we drive away.

Eating breakfast in camp on our last morning at Enaidura Camp

Ping, Sarah, Paul and Nancy

The staff of Enaidura Camp less Brian and our Maasai driver.

Ping is driving us as far as the nearby airstrip, not the one we landed at, where Brian and one of the Maasai guards are waiting. Ping has two clients flying in this morning but they weren’t sure what flight they were on so he needed the guys there just in case the guests arrived before we got to the airstrip.

The airstrip where we meet Brian and our Maasai driver.

When we get to the dirt airstrip there are a couple of planes that have landed but Ping’s clients aren’t among the passengers. Paul and I say so long to Ping and Sarah thanking them for the interesting game drives we had with them. Of course, we give Ping his envelope containing a thankyou note, tip money and some extra cash for the nice “jumper” he gave Paul. Ping insisted the coat was a gift and refused to take any money for it at breakfast.

With the young Maasai at the wheel and Brian riding shotgun, Paul and I wave goodbye to our guide and spotter as we drive away. Our new driver will be taking us to our next camp, Asilia Encounter Mara, which is in the Mara Naboisho Conservancy, which they estimate is a two-hour drive.

Ostrich on our drive out of the Mara, wart hogs in the grass behind the big bird

Since the grass is tall in this part of the Mara, there aren’t many animals to be seen as we motor along. When we reach the Mara’s border there is a ranger that lifts the barrier to let us drive through and we leave the Mara and its lush grass behind. We immediately encounter Kenyans going about their daily business. A small boy is driving a few cows and a big bull next to the road. I ask Brian if this is one of the new bulls from Pakistan that Ping was telling us about. He translates this question to our driver who says that indeed it is and he stops the truck so we can look the bull over.  Paul and I comment that it is a good-looking bull. I then ask Brian to tell the little boy that his cows are very nice. When the Maasai relates my comment, (he speaks Maa to the boy), to the young boy a proud smile lights up his face.

I didn’t take a photo of the young herd boy for some reason. Here are some calves drinking out of a mud puddle in the same area.

The large herd of Eland in the distance as we drive into the Conservancy

We probably drive another hour to reach the gates of the conservancy where a guard must check our permits and papers have to be signed. Once we drive through the gate, we immediately encounter zebra, the biggest herd of Eland that we can recall seeing, numerous impala and Thompson gazelles. It isn’t far to the entrance of the camp which is surrounded by an electric fence. Our driver and Brian deliver us to where camp is set up and there are some of the Encounter Mara staff waiting to greet us. Paul and I say our goodbyes and thanks to Brian and our driver, then follow the staffers to the community tent.  Mercy, has us sit in some comfortable chairs and instructs us on how the camp runs. We are then escorted to tent number nine and shown all the light switches, how the bucket shower works etc. We even have an electric floor fan in this beautiful tent.    Adventures in the Conservancy in the next blog. Nancy

Tent number 9

Bed room

Washroom with shower and toilet to the left

EXPLORING THE MARA AND THE COMMUNITY LAND, BLOG 2. MARCH 5TH 2020

Our tent

Behind the bedroom were shelves and hangars for clothes, a big area with sink and shower and a small curtained off space for the toilet. Rough huh?

The Alarm clock buzzes us awake at 5:30 and I jump out of bed and begin to get ready for the coming day. Paul gets another fifteen minutes of lounging since he can get ready in half the time I can. We hear the clinking of dishes outside our tent at six o’clock and then Nicholas’ softly informs us that our tea, coffee and toast is ready. We unzip our tent flap and walk out into the dim light and Nicholas’ points out the coffee pot, the tea pot, creamer and sugar plus a basket of toast with butter and jelly all arranged on a small table. As Nicholas turns to leave, we thank him and then sit down and enjoy the hot beverages and toast by the light of a burning candle.

We leave our tent, escorted by a Maasai man, and walk to the dining tent. It is cool this morning and Paul has donned his rain coat which helps cut the chill of the early morning air. We meet Ping who will be our guide for the next two and a half days. Ping was actually supposed to meet us at the airport yesterday but he stepped on a nest of ground dwelling bees the morning of the day we arrived. The poor man was stung repeatedly and had to see a doctor for the pain. The doctor gave Ping an antihistamine which ended up causing him more trouble than the bee stings. Ping had a severe reaction to the medicine and was bed ridden for the rest of the day. He insists he is doing fine now. There also is a young woman who will be with us on our game drives. Sarah will help spot wildlife and assist Ping in serving us our bush breakfast.

Sarah

We drive to an area named Topi Plains and it is well named as there are Topi scattered everywhere. There are areas in these plains where the grass is not quite so tall and this is where you see most of the Topi.

Topi in the area named Topi Plains.

We are on our way to the community land; this is where the Maasai can graze their cattle. Because the grass is short here most of the wild animals have migrated to this area. Due to the floods that have occurred in the Mara many of the river crossings have been destroyed. The crossings that we do use took a lot of hands on work to make them more or less passable. I think it took us nearly an hour of driving to arrive at the community land.

Good grief. Now you know why the hyena is part of the Ugly Five. Wipe the drool off your chin buddy.

Although we saw plenty of animals sprinkled through the Mara before we crossed the river to short grass country the difference in the number of the grazers between the Reserve and the community land is stunning. A myriad of zebra, Impala, hartebeest, giraffe and so on are enjoying grazing in the safety of the short grass. We spot a tailless zebra on our drive and I can’t imagine how trying it must be not to have a tail to shoo away the relentless flies.

The tailless Zebra

Ping sees a giraffe and her baby in the distance so we drive over to have a look. Ping immediately notices that the little giraffe has a terrible head wound. Now that we see the injury it explains the odd stance and tilted position of the baby’s head. Ping surmises that a leopard must have leapt on it possibly from a tree and somehow the protective mother fought the predator off. We watch the pair for a bit and it is tough to see the week-old giraffe tremble in pain and rub its forehead against its hip in a vain attempt to get rid of the horde of flies that are covering the deep wound. As horrible as it sounds, I am afraid it would have been more humane for the baby giraffe if mama hadn’t rescued her offspring.

Mother and baby giraffe

Poor baby with head wound

Because the wound is so fresh, Ping thinks the leopard that attacked the giraffe is probably close by. The pair are very near the river, and the mother giraffe keeps staring towards some brush that is growing along the riverbank. Ping drives slowly along this area but we see nothing that resembles a lurking leopard, although the brush is so thick a leopard could easily disappear from sight.

Ping decides to drive across the river and look for the leopard on the other side. The crossing is a bit dicey but Ping seems to know where the big boulders are and we make it to the other side. Unfortunately, we don’t make it up the incline as the left rear tire becomes buried in sand and mud. The normal ritual of backing up and going forward to free the vehicle only results in a spinning wheel that is soon buried up to the axle. Oops.

There isn’t a shovel in the vehicle, (I think there was supposed to be), and even though several other safari vehicles drive by no one stops to help which really shocks us. I remember when we were stuck in the Serengeti in 2018 and there were people that came to help immediately. Ping says that the guides have had such a bad morning, (to most people if you don’t see big cats that is a bad morning), and they feel pressured to keep searching for leopards in the woodlands along the river. We don’t feel that way at all as there is wonder and beauty in everything if you just look!

Ping calls back to the camp and tells some of the staff they need to come and pull us out. There is a curious audience gathering across the river. They happen to have four hooves and black and white stripes😊. Truthfully, I believe they would like to come down to the river and drink but they don’t quite have the guts to do so with we humans standing outside of the vehicle.

We have quite an audience gathering across the river.

In the meantime, Ping decides we may as well have breakfast while we are waiting to be rescued which suits Paul and I as we are hungry. Anthony the chef, filled the breakfast box with crepes, sausage, bacon, boiled eggs, fruit and yogurt. Sarah and Ping set everything out on a table that they cover with a table cloth and then invite us to help ourselves. There is just nothing more satisfying than enjoying a bush breakfast with wild animals to watch as you eat.

Sarah and Ping setting out the breakfast. Our stuck truck is in the background

When we have finished breakfast, there are natives that are coming across the river on motorcycles. Often the driver has one or even two passengers but at the water’s edge the passengers have to get off and traverse the river on foot. The rocks where they are crossing look very slippery but the half dozen who wade across stay on their feet, including an older woman. One of the first motorcyclists that arrived on the scene has rather taken over and seems to be giving orders not only to Ping but to the motorcyclists who are fording the river. He shouts and gestures to the motorcyclists what path they should take to avoid the rocks. The drivers follow his advice and make it across without too much trouble. At one point there are a group of natives that decide to physically try and push our truck backwards. They literally lift the front end off the ground a bit but cannot dislodge the buried tire. Rats.

The water was pretty deep on these motorcycles.

Passengers had to walk through the river rather than ride.

Once they had sloshed through the river the waders situated themselves back on the motorcycle and off they would go.

The camp vehicle finally arrives and we find out that they had to come via a longer route because the closest route to us had two vehicles blocking it. They were stuck I know it isn’t funny for the guides but we couldn’t help but chuckle at the situation. As the guys from camp begin backing down into the river, Ping is telling them to go one way and the bossy fellow is yelling at them to go another way. Well, I’m not sure whose direction the driver followed but they took the wrong advice as they get their truck high centered on a rock! I’m pretty sure some of the zebra staring at us are braying with laughter. Three men, including Ping wade out into the river and begin rocking the vehicle while the driver tries to drive forward. By gosh it works. I think Ping gets into the rescue vehicle and backs it up to our stuck truck. In the meantime, someone has taken the shovel that our rescue crew brought and removed some of the sand and muck from behind the buried tire. The winch is attached to our truck and Ping tells us to load up. It doesn’t take much of a yank and our vehicle is pulled free. The camp rescuers pull us just a little way then unhook the winch. Ping then maneuvers our vehicle around and we drive back across the river into the dazzle of zebra who are patiently waiting for us to leave.

Our rescuers have arrived and must back into the river to pull us out.

Trying to free the high centered truck.

Soon they have pulled us out of the sand/mud.

We wave so long to our camp rescuers and continue our game drive. Paul asks Ping about the man that was giving out all the advice. Ping laughs and says that this was his cousin and that before long the whole village will have heard the story of Ping getting stuck at the river crossing! That explains why the man stayed for the entire ordeal. Ping says he will have to put up with a lot of guff from his family and relatives over his bad luck. Paul and I suggest he tell them that it was the American client’s fault as we insisted in crossing there to search for the elusive leopard😊.

I guess this is a zebras version of a thumbs down on our predicament

After this little blip in our morning game drive, Ping takes us to a bushy area not far from the river. Here there are lions doing what they do best, which is sleeping. There are supposed to be five but we can only locate four of the lazy beasts. We also enjoy a herd of elephants with two tiny babies, one of the youngsters is feeling very frisky and makes us all laugh at his or her antics. We also see Grant gazelle which to me are the loveliest of the antelopes.

This lion managed to raise its head

This lion never moved a muscle. Well his ear might have twitched once.

Baby elephant feeling his oats.

The little guy was so cute I will post another photo of his antics.

We return to camp around two o’clock and have lunch. Anthony has fixed us pork chops which are very good. Ping tells us the harrowing story of how he was attacked by a Cape Buffalo several years ago. The only thing that saved him was that the buffalo threw him into an acacia tree and the wicked thorns entangled his coat and kept him from falling back to the ground which would have been a sure death. A friend was walking with him and ran to the village telling everyone that Ping was dead. The village people came back and killed the buffalo which was still waiting under the tree to finish the job and rescued Ping. Ping shows us the scars from the thorns that had imbedded into his skull and chest, plus a deep notch in his ankle where I would guess he had a compound fracture caused by the horns of the buffalo when it threw him into the air. Holy Cow, that is so scary.

The dining tent

We retire to our tent and rest before our late afternoon game drive. A thunderstorm blew through mid-afternoon but it didn’t last long and the storm didn’t produce much rain thank goodness.

We left on our game drive at 4:30 and Ping took us to a place next to the Mara River across from the Tanzania Triangle. There is a leopard in this area and we drive around looking for the secretive cat. Ping stops the truck so we can admire a majestic Fish Eagle perched in a nearby tree. Paul sees another Fish Eagle in a tree farther down the river. Ping is looking at the second Eagle when he yells out, “there is a leopard”. No way! The sauntering feline is across the river in Tanzania and to far away for a photo. We watch the cat through our binoculars as it leisurely strolls along. The nonchalant leopard seems to be angling closer to the river. Ping is sure that the leopard will cross the river as its territory is on this side of the Mara river.

The first Fish Eagle that we stopped to look at. Sorry about the glaring white head.

Ping drives away and stops at a bend in the river where he thinks the leopard will cross. He gives the animal ten minutes to reach the crossing area and if it isn’t here in that time period, Ping remarks that this means the cat went somewhere else(😊). We wait and stare across the river into Tanzania hoping to see the spotted cat walking our way. While we wait, we also watch two hippos in the river that are either fighting or attempting to mate, with those critters it is hard to tell.

Love or hate. Who knows with hippos.

Fifteen minutes later we give up on the leopard and start back to camp. We have driven half way to camp when Sarah quietly tells Ping that there is a Serval cat up ahead. The small cat is a beautiful golden color but unfortunately it won’t hold still long enough for me to snap a photo. Oh well. I commend Sarah on spotting the little cat in the tall grass.

After returning to camp, Paul and I shower and boy is that refreshing. We are escorted to the dining tent by our trusty Maasai. The bartender, Brian, asks what we want to drink and we decide to have gin and tonics. Brian asks what we saw on our game drive and we tell him about the leopard that didn’t cross the river. Paul jokes that the leopard couldn’t cross because he didn’t have a passport. This strikes Brian’s funny bone because he laughs out loud! Then he jokes back that perhaps tomorrow the authorities will grant the leopard a temporary immigrant visa.

For dinner we have a tasty carrot soup and wonderful rolls. This is followed by thin slices of steak on mashed potatoes which is quite tasty. Ping ate with us and regaled us with more stories about his adventures as a guide and in getting this camp started. The man really is a great story teller.

Time to retire for the night so we are rested up for another adventure tomorrow. Nancy

BACK TO AFRICA, PART 1

The good news is that Paul and I leave for Kenya today, the bad news is that with three different flights and layovers it will take us around twenty-two hours to get there. Ugh.

As we wait to board our KC flight to Atlanta, we strike up a conversation with two couples that are going to Costa Rica. I had commented on their unique footwear which led to a pleasant visit as we waited for the boarding call. Having a conversation with fellow passengers before boarding is unusual anymore so this was a pleasant surprise. Paul had surveyed the crowd prior to our visit with these friendly folks and found only eight people who weren’t glued to their phones!

As usual we are in the last group to board the plane but luckily, we find room for our luggage in the overhead bin, no check through luggage for us. About 40 minutes into our flight the attendants make an announcement to ask if there are any medical doctors on board. Two men answer the call and begin attending to someone a few rows behind us. There is a lot of hustling up and down the aisle by the flight attendants, at one point they ask if anyone has a glucose monitor but, in the end, decide it isn’t needed. At one-point Paul can see that the patient is laying in the aisle and they are administering an IV.

I keep expecting to hear that our flight will be diverted to a nearby airport but this doesn’t happen. Eventually the man is able to sit back in his seat. When we are preparing to land in Atlanta an announcement is made asking us all to stay seated and allow medical personnel to board and take the sick person off first. It is good to see the man is able to walk off under his own power albeit he is gripping the shoulder of the medic in front of him for stability. His wife is following behind and we are dismayed to recognize her as part of the group we were visiting with in KC. Oddly we happen to see her after we leave the plane. She tells us that her husband is dehydrated and that this has happened to him before. He didn’t want to go to the hospital but the medics insisted so they will be delayed in getting to Costa Rica. We feel so bad for them but are thankful that he will be okay.

We have a reasonable layover in Atlanta before we have to board for our overnight flight to Amsterdam. Thankfully Paul and I manage to sleep a few hours on the long flight to Europe. Once in Amsterdam we have a long layover, (this airport is quite cold by the way). We strike up a conversation with a mother and daughter that are on their way to Kenya too. Eventually the duo lay down on the bench-like seats and fall asleep. When the call to board comes Paul and I get in the queue but Paul realizes the two women we had visited with are still sleeping. Paul goes back, wakes them up and informs them our flight is boarding. We have settled into our seats as other passengers continue to file on board. Suddenly we hear someone in the far aisle call out “Thank you Kansas for waking us up, we would have slept right through the boarding of the plane”! We laugh and wave at them.

After what seems to be endless hours of flying, eight or nine but who is counting, we finally touch down in Nairobi. At this airport you have to walk across the tarmac to the terminal building and Paul and I by walking fast, manage to overtake a lot of the people who got off the plane ahead of us. We have no problem in getting through immigration and then we join the line for people with E-visas, (it took Paul hours to get our visas on line). This line is much longer than the line for people who are getting their visas on arrival but fortunately we don’t have many people in front of us. Once we hand over our visa to the official and get our passports stamped, we head for the exit. We have to put our suitcases through a screener one last time, hand over our customs form and then we walk out into the Nairobi night. There are two people holding up Crown Plaza signs and I sigh with relief at the sight of them.

Norah from Crown Plaza leads us to the parking lot and says the hotel van will be here in ten minutes. Norah then looks us over and asks us where our big suitcases are. We explain that we don’t have any and she literally takes a step back and gives us a skeptical look. We explain that we don’t need that much as the camps we stay in do laundry. I am not sure she really believes us. The van arrives and within a few minutes we have arrived at Crown Plaza Hotel. The security people stationed at the gate inspect our vehicle and then open the iron gates and allow us to enter the premises.

We enter the really nice hotel and get in line behind a flight crew who are also checking in. The friendly woman who helps us seems to be having some trouble and calls the manager over. After conferring, the young lady informs us that this is our lucky day because we are being upgraded to a Club Room. Great. As we finish all the paper work the woman than asks us how we want to pay for our room. We look at her blankly for a minute and then Paul informs her that it should already be paid for. She asks us if we have a reservation number. No, we don’t but we get out our itinerary and point out that our tour company, The Wild Source, arranged and paid for this room. There are a couple of numbers for emergency contact with the contract company here in Nairobi but no one answers. The woman and the manager scroll through their computer and somehow find a booking number by the included breakfast on our reservation. Whew.

By now it is very late and we are happy to get to the spacious room. A shower is a must after our marathon travel and then we collapse into bed shortly before midnight.

Paul and I are up at six o’clock as we are being picked up at eight by a Safari Trails driver. We go down to the breakfast buffet and it is quite a sight. About everything you could want for breakfast is set out on the various buffet bars. You can also step out on the patio of the dining room and have a chef make you a made to order omelet or eggs. Paul goes for an omelet but I gorge myself on all the goodies on the buffet.

We return to our room to brush our teeth and gather our luggage. It is early but Paul prefers to sit in the lobby to await our driver. We have no more than settled into the comfortable chairs when one of the hotel staff approaches us and asks if we are the Millers. We affirm that we are and the young man informs us our driver is waiting for us. Great. We are escorted to the safari vehicle where we meet Carlos our driver. He tells us that he is glad we are ready to leave as today the body of ex-president Moi is being flown from Wilson airport, (where we fly out of), to his small village for burial. Carlos explains that he expects traffic to be even more congested than normal. Well our flight doesn’t leave until 10:20 so we should be fine.

Stuck in traffic. Not sure what this person was selling.

The traffic moves along at a slow crawl most of the time, occasionally becoming gridlocked. I am amazed how polite all the drivers are for the most part! We see people walking through the stalled traffic plying anything from snacks and drinks, racks of ties, and one enterprising man is trying to sell a bright blue hall tree!

Carlos is a very affable and interesting man. He talks about many topics, including the late Moi, the new president, identifies the occasional bird (I like this man!). one of the most interesting topics to me is when Carlos points out the beautiful braided hair styles most of the women are sporting. He tells us his wife has her hair done in this style. Carlos says that several stylists will work on one woman and that it takes a few hours to finish the job! He tells us that it is a good deal though as the cost of this popular hairstyle is thirty dollars but the hairdo will last for thirty days.

Mosque in Nairobi. Paul took the photos with his phone. My camera is still packed!

We arrive at Wilson airport an hour and half after we left the hotel. I think we were only ten miles from the airport so that gives you an idea of how slow our journey was. Carlos makes sure all our paperwork is in order and then says goodbye. We enter the small airport and check in at the desk where we are given an orange wooden slat which is our boarding pass. Other people are getting green slats which designates a different flight. Hey whatever works.

Map of the Mara. It was hanging in Wilson airport

The fumes from an idling plane are filling the building and it is not pleasant but there is no escaping it. We watch as a helicopter lands and a group of people prepare to board. They are surrounded by media people filming them and we assume this is part of Moi’s family. This delays our flight by thirty minutes but soon we are airborne over Nairobi. Forty-five minutes later we have landed on a dirt strip in the Mara. We gather our luggage and step off the small plane where John, Sarah and a young Maasai man are waiting for us. They grab our luggage and head for the truck.

Maasai tending to his cattle

Paul marveling at the tall grass.

We are driving on the edge of community property so see herds of cattle being attended to by a Maasai. The roads are rough and rutted due to the excessive rain Kenya has received lately. In many places the ruts are filled with water. Paul and I can’t believe how tall the grass is, standing five or six feet tall. We find it absolutely beautiful but unfortunately the grazers don’t like this lush grass at all as a predator can easily hide from them. We still see plenty of wildlife, they are just thinly scattered over this huge expanse of a park. There are Topi, Impala, Thompson gazelles, several groups of elephants, giraffe, ostrich, wart hogs and of course lots of birds.

Cape buffalo belly deep in grass

Impala nearly lost in the tall grass. Those are butterflies not spots on my lens!

A baby elephant

When we reach Enaidura camp there are three young women, Happy, Gladys, and Lillian, waiting to greet us. As we climb out of the vehicle, we hear in the distance the singing of Maasai. A group of Maasai appear and dance and sing up to us and then dance in a circle around us, one of them emitting that deep guttural sound that sends shivers down your spine. The young men stop and take turns springing into the air which always amazes me.

Happy, Lillian, and Gladys

Maasai that sang and danced for us

Leaping into the air from a complete standstill.

The leaping Maasai is Nicholas who was the young man that supplied our shower water and brought us tea and coffee in the morning. A delightful young fellow.

Once the show is over, we are shown around the camp which is situated by a river. A couple of hippos are residents in that river but the bank is so steep that they can’t get into camp. Our tent is really nice and spacious. We are told that we are the only guests which makes me feel bad. Once we are settled, we return to the dining tent for lunch which is delicious. Chicken with a nice sauce, fries, avocado/tomato salad and zucchini.

This giraffe has a entourage of red-billed ox-peckers hitching a ride.

A few of the many elephants we saw.

Hyena peering at us over the top of the grass

We left on a game drive at 4:30, it is so warm Paul and I are in t-shirts. We find the same variety of animals as when we drove into camp except, we did see Hartebeest and Southern Ground Hornbills. Paul and I marvel over the lushness of the landscape and I can’t help but think how much hay this grass would yield.

Southern ground Hornbill

Gorgeous Blue-breasted Bee-eater, I think?

We showered on return to camp then went down to eat again! Anthony the chef had butternut soup which is Paul and I’s favorite African soup, though they are all good. The main dish was lamb and though I am not partial to lamb this was tasty. The dinner rolls are excellent.

Paul realizes when we get back to our tent that his coat is missing. We know we had it on the plane from Nairobi to the Mara. He had fastened it to the back of his pack so it must have come loose after we got off the plane and is lying somewhere on the “airstrip” Hopefully a person will find the coat that is embossed with the “certified Angus Beef” logo and not some hyena who will try and eat it! Nancy