Safari Adventures and Misadventures

Ouch! Oh, sorry. You caught us pinching ourselves again, checking that what we have been experiencing is real. We’ve returned from four days on safari, and to our amazement, it was even more stunning than what we experienced last year.

It started with our first trip to the Serengeti. This vast national park has an amazing diversity of wildlife. The challenge is to be in the right place at the right time. People can drive for hours and see nothing but pretty birds (a worthwhile experience on its own; the Serengeti has more than 530 species of birds). For most people, the goal is to see the most elusive species, including lions, cheetahs and leopards, especially the last two which are often not seen.

The first afternoon we spotted a leopard in a tree. A short time later we saw another prowling in the grass. It was an exciting start. This day and the following we saw elephants, hippos, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, several varieties of gazelles, hartebeest, topi, eland, impalas (not the car!), reedbuck, dikdik, crocodile, jackal, hyenas, warthogs, baboons, monkeys, and an amazing variety of birds, including ostriches.

This was a camping trip. Our organization has tents, sleeping bags, air mattresses and the other necessities. We had a guide and cook, making this a bit decadent. The first evening we sipped wine and watched as they set up our equipment. Sharon organized the menu, and we supplied the food to keep the costs low. However, the cook wasn’t used to the choices we made (not surprising, some of you will say who know our tastes), and so Sharon had to do a lot of coaching.

We also had two other travel companions. Dorothy is the finance director for WellShare International, and was visiting to introduce the office here to new accounting procedures. She quickly signed on to the trip. In addition, we brought along Rehema, our invaluable coworker for the village assessments we are doing. She is from a larger city east and south of where we work, had never camped, and had never seen an elephant in the wild, let alone some of the other creatures we saw.

The first evening, a group of elephants wandered by our campsite at dusk, one less than 50 feet from our tents. They got Rehema’s attention, and she didn’t sleep much. That night, with a new moon, clear skies and less atmosphere since we were at about 5,000 feet, the stars were astounding.

The next day was probably the highlight of our trip. We went by a group of six adult female lions and two cubs. They were well hidden in the grass and didn’t seem about to move. So, off we went to see more of the Serengeti.

We were surprised by the diversity of the landscape. From movies and other images, we thought it was a vast, flat savannah, endless grasslands dotted with acacia. It is certainly that, but so much more. There are the remnants of ancient volcanoes, hills, areas of forest, and something called kopjes. The latter are sudden outcroppings of rock that surprised us each time we saw one, looking so out of place poking through the flatlands. The amazing sunlight in this part of the world is even more pronounced in the Serengeti. The film “Out of Africa” captured this caressing, glowing quality of the light very well.

After a couple of hours and of course more views of so many animals, we returned to where the lions had been resting in the grass. We were the only vehicle, and they were now alert. What appeared to be the lead lion was very interested in a herd of cape buffalo (yummy). The lions began to creep forward and it appeared there might be a hunt on. However, the buffalo seemingly sensed danger and nearly all of them fled.

Rather than drive off, our guide decided to wait. After some time, the lions apparently decided hunger was setting in and it was time to act. Instead of waiting for the buffalo to wander closer, they moved forward; much to our surprise it was more like a line, rather than a pack. The lead lion finally made her move, all alone, and the chase was on as the buffalo were off in a cloud of dust.

For whatever reason, when the lion stopped her chase, a number of the buffalo went after her! A new chase was on. Then, the pursuit was reversed, and she was chasing her pursuers. Again, there was a change, and the buffalo chased her. It was fascinating.

Meanwhile, to our curiosity, the rest of the lions had held back. Fortunately, Sharon turned away from the various pursuits and looked back. One buffalo had stayed behind from the pack. We had noticed this and found it curious. Suddenly, another lion went after this loner, and Sharon called our attention to this amazing spectacle. The lion jumped the buffalo, and over time, she brought the victim down. Animal Planet couldn’t have gotten a better view. The rest of the lions joined in and brought the inevitable to a conclusion.

This may sound gruesome, but somehow in that setting it doesn’t seem so; it is simply how life is on the Serengeti.

By now we had been joined by another vehicle, who radioed others, who talked with others, and now there were more than 40 vehicles watching nature unfold. It got crowded.

The next day, we were fortunate enough to see a cheetah. They are elusive and beautiful creatures, and we were very lucky.

Alas, it was time to leave the Serengeti. On the way out, we passed by the site of the kill. In a tree were four of the lions, now with very full bellies. Nearby were two males, yawning but otherwise overseeing the carcass of the buffalo, having done nothing to help with the hunt. Oh my, did the women in the group have something to say about males!

Next, we drove across the area between the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, retracing our steps. Here, there were tens of thousands of animals, truly countless. There were wildebeest, zebras, Thompson gazelles, Grant gazelles, impalas, elephants, giraffe, and thousands of storks. It was an amazing site.

That night we camped on the rim of Ngorongoro crater, with a beautiful view. It is the world’s largest, intact volcanic caldera not filled with water. It was quite cold, and we were decked out in stocking caps and gloves. It is a lovely place.

The next day in the crater (called the Garden of Eden by A Thousand Places to See Before You Die), we were again treated to wondrous sites. Because of the steepness of the caldera along with rich grasslands and available water, there is a rich diversity of wildlife that mostly stays year round. For example, located here is the endangered black rhino, with only 30 in the crater. We saw five! We were fortunate to see another cheetah, along with many thousands of animals. Here we were, again in a zoo, except we were in a cage called a Land Rover, and the animals were free. The whole trip was phenomenal.

And the misadventures? Well, we were doing it on the cheap, and the provider sent along a wonderful guide with a truly awful vehicle. There probably had been no maintenance in a long time. Soon, we found that to start it, we had to push the Land Rover so the driver could pop the clutch. Imagine that in lion country! The list of other problems is long, but there are some funny stories along the way with pictures. If you are curious, we will be happy to ramble on when we see you.

Now, we are back and plunging again into our project. It feels as though we are having an impact, and making progress. But this entry is too long, and so that report will have to wait until our next update.