Underwhelmed

April 29, 2002-Jaded
(photos:Mt. Kilimanjaro "peaking" out,
Hippo on the move)

The hunt this morning was BORING. We came up dry as in zilch, nothing, nada. We didn’t even take one photo. The animals were either hiding or had moved out during the night. There were the few scattered wildebeest, gazelles, and zebras, but when Jackson stopped the van to look at birds, I knew it was going to be slow. When we cruised past a grassy area I recognized it from yesterday. It was the place where we’d seen the two female lions and three cubs. How did I recognize those clumps of grass from all the thousands out there, you may ask? Well, the area smells like chicken soup. I don’t know why, but it’s strong and distinctive to me. It may be a combination of grasses and damp earth at that particular place. None of the other vans found anything either. After 1½ hours of staring at grass and scrub, I fell asleep. David said we passed a herd of elephant, but we didn’t stop and he didn’t wake me. We’re getting jaded.

David also said I missed a Maasi running across the plain with his clothes flapping around him. Jackson said he was going to work at the lodge. They know the lions won’t bother them, but they’re afraid of Cape buffalo. We later caught up to the Masai on the road. We’ve been told not to take photos of them without their permission. This only makes sense as common courtesy. They’ll usually charge for a tourist to take a picture. Even if you set the price ahead of time, they try to extort more after the picture has been taken. Jackson said, “They’re young boys and it can be trouble.”

To sum it up, the most interesting critter we saw was in our bathroom this morning. It was a worm-like creature and we flushed it. So much for ecology.

We spent a lazy day after breakfast. We napped until lunch. I got my claws trimmed at the “beauty salon” and David opted not to have a massage. We sat on the porch until it was time for the afternoon game drive and visited with a man from New Jersey who has come as a visitor to Africa three times. His parents were missionaries and he spent his teen years here in the ‘40s. He’s a retired engineer and had aspirations of being a guide for game hunters but didn’t have the eye for it.

Redemption

With renewed enthusiasm we joined the caravan out of the compound and into the park. We’re so used to seeing rocks and thinking they are animals that we almost missed the Cape buffalo at the side of the road. It was his cud chewing that gave him away. I think David could have leaned out of the window and touched him. Jackson spotted three submerged hippos as we happened by a marsh. We watched them submerge and come up for air until it was obvious it was too early for them to amble out of the water. We also saw a very sad sight. A herd of zebra was on the move with a lame one at the rear. It was limping badly and probably wouldn’t last the night. It would become someones dinner and the cycle would go on. Few animals die of old age or natural causes here.

As luck would have it, Mt. Kilimanjaro made a brief appearance. The clouds at the summit moved just enough for us to glimpse the sun glinting on the snow. It was majestic in its brilliance and as imposing as I imagined it would be. At about 19,000 ft., it’s the tallest mountain in Africa.
Whenever there’s a cluster of vans, something exciting is going on. This time it was a pride of lions hunting. There were five females in the lead with two males sauntering along far behind. They walked right past a gnu and several very nervous gazelles, but their eyes and minds were riveted on a herd of Cape buffalo. Evidently gazelles are too small to bother with, as they wouldn’t feed a pride that size. The lions game plan was to stay concealed and circle close enough so they wouldn’t have a long run while exposed. It was getting dark and we were madly passing the binoculars around and giving each other a running commentary. The females occasionally changed positions with the eldest always in front. They seemed to know it would be a long process because one or the other would lay down to rest while the others continued. I can only guess how the night would end for one of the buffalo, but we had to return to the compound. The gates close at 7 PM and open for nothing. We’d have been locked out. It was quite a sight to see all of the vans scurrying to be in by curfew. As we turned for home I realized just how close we were to the lodge. It was less than ½ a mile away. Now I know one of the reasons why those gates get closed at night. We had those lions in our front yard.

Toby