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.

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.

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.

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😊.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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