Safari Day 1 pt 2

Lunch was served at a small series of cocrete tables, about 15 feet from the base of the hippo and crocodile infested pool. we could hear the Hippos splashing water on their backs as we ate. The first day's lunch was on us, so had packed a bunch of pbj sandwiches as well as some left over beans and Chipate (a flat fried bread sort of like a pita but greasier) from dinner the night before. We each topped it off with can of Tusker beer, which everyone is rather fond of (we had purchased a case for the trip).

The afternoon kicked off with some more monkeys and baboons initially, as well as my first Tsetse fly sighting. Tsetse flys are these large, half brown, half black flies that transmit a parasite that causes Trypansomiasis, or African Sleeping Sickness, which can be fatal if not aggressively treated. We were advised to not wear blue or black clothing, as this can attract the flies.

We soon saw our first lions in the afternoon, a pair by the side of the road. Being most a predator at night, most of the lions appeared rather lazy during the day. There was both a male and female within maybe 10 yards of each other, about 15 to 20 yards off the road. We stopped for many pictures from the safety of our vehicle. We also saw a massive hippo jogging along the roadside. We asked Moshaka if lions ever attack hippos. Apparently this is extremely uncommon (which is unfortunate, because we were eager to capture some animal violence). Hippos are massive when not submerged in smelly ponds, and can move quite quickly! We saw several more giraffe, zebras, and monkeys before the last big sight of the day.

Around 5:30pm moshaka got a call over his rdio that there was something important to see. He drove very quickly over this muddy, rough terrain, and in the distance we could make out the silhouette of 4 or 5 other jeeps sitting still. in the same spot. As we cgot closer we slowed for our final approach and we could make out the barrels of some lenses which must have been quite impressive ;) In the grass, about 25 yards from the road side, was a large cat, which we soon learned was a leopard. Leopards are much larger than their couosin the cheetah, and are powerful climbers as well. I managed to get a few pictures at a distance. According to Moshaka, seeing a leopard is extremely rare, as they usually hide in the trees or brush during the day, far from the road.

After the leopard we looked for some more lions, but ended up settling for some more hippos, as well as some rare birds, whose names escape me. (Can you blame me, given everything else i saw that day?) We drove off to our lodge, which was only about 30 minutes away, in the middle of the Serengeti.

Seronera Lodge was amazing. It is literally right in the middle of the park. It was great enjoying some tasty food, as well as a few more Tuskers and a hot shower, we were all covered in the reddish dust that was constantly blowing about. We called it a night around 11pm, and had to be up around 6:30 am for day 2.


Barry If you are reading this- Have u seen the finale of Battlestar Galactica by now? I've missed the last 4 or 5 episodes over here, but, without spoilers, how bad ass was it?