The R&R Big Adventure

The lion didn’t sleep last night

There was more rain overnight on Saturday, and sure enough, as we set off the next morning, we could see the dirt tracks were filled with deep puddles. Our guide/driver did an expert job navigating our jeep out of the lodge grounds and into the main park, avoiding getting stuck in the thick mud. I suppose we should have been thankful that the cooler, damp weather meant the wildlife weren’t sheltering in the shade out of the usual heat: within minutes we were already spotting a lot, and it turned out to be our best day of sightings (so far).

First up were buffalo – one of The Big Five. We had seen these previously from a distance, but now we had a whole herd next to the track, including a couple right next to the vehicle, so we could see the intricate detailing on their horns up close. Slightly disconcerting was the way the whole herd – dozens and dozens of them – all turned and stared at us at the same time. Good job we were in a high sided  metal vehicle. We then saw dik-diks (yes their real name) – the smallest species of antelope, that were so cute. After an obligatory family of giraffes, more vervet monkeys were next (the scared looking, black-faced monkeys we saw at Lake Manyara) with yet more young; then some topi, a very elegant large antelope with beautiful brown and black colourings, two of them locking horns in play fighting; vultures surveying the plains from the top of a tree for any dead prey; a hyena mother and her cubs in the distance walking through the long grasses; and then, after a speedy drive through the grass plains to locate them, and with the help of other guides radioing in their locations on the walkie talkie: three lionesses and a young male lion, all dozing in the cool morning air. They really didn’t care that two vehicles (and eventually four, as more arrived) had pulled up next to them. They were yawning, dozing, slumped up against one another, their tails occasionally swatting bothersome flies. Not caring, that was, until one of the tourists made a sudden movement – for example, me leaning out of the roof to get a better shot – when their eyes would instantly open and lock on to me. God forbid someone had actually left the safety of their vehicle.

What you appreciate on safari that you don’t see in a zoo is how animals interact – both within a large group of their own, or with other animals. For example, seeing a large herd of zebra running with wildebeest, or grazing peacefully side by side with other herbivores. Or, as we were to see near the end of the morning’s drive, (after spotting a crocodile on the banks of the river) a large herd of hippopotamuses, probably forty of so, all bathing further up the river. A whole family, including some calves, would all submerge and re-emerge together. Occasionally a large male would appear out of the water and looked quite ferocious when he opened his mouth. You wouldn’t want to get near one on a boat, or indeed on land. At the ‘hippo pond’ we bumped into the Danes we saw the day before: in the Serengeti ‘theme park’ we would often see familiar faces at different spots throughout the day.

It was then back to the lodge to enjoy the facilities for the afternoon: a leisurely lunch (the waiters here don’t seem to understand we cannot eat a large breakfast and a three course lunch and dinner when we are just sitting in a van all day!) and then finally the sun came out.  We managed to get a decent sunset that evening. Sitting by the fire pit, one of the resident Maasai staff members (whose job it seemed was just to manage the firepit) started talking to R and me. Unfortunately his English wasn’t that good, (says me with three words of Swahili) and he also spoke softly, so R and I just nodded and said ‘oh really’ every now and again. He could have been telling us his grandmother had been savaged by lions and all the English tourists could do was nod along. When we eventually realized he had finished speaking we made our excuses to go back to our room.

We also had something of a sunrise this morning, although I was disappointed there were no animals outside our room when I looked out. We then had a long (five hour in total) drive out of the park to Lake Victoria – which is bordered by Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Kenya to the east. It is Africa’s largest lake (some 23,000 sq miles), and the world’s largest tropical water lake. Before we left the Serengeti though we got some dramatic viewings – firstly, (on the way to the Serengeti petrol station!) another leopard in a tree, this time tearing away at its kill, which you could see in all its gruesome detail through the binoculars. Later we spotted on the road, ahead of our vehicle, a hyena and jackal pulling at the carcass of a dead buffalo. The two of them moved off as we approached, but the fresh kill (from lions the night before) was also being pulled at by competing vultures, hissing at each other to get the best bits of remaining meat. Seeing such a large animal, many of whom we had seen the day before, lying eviscerated by the roadside, really brought home why lions are at the top of the food chain.

A few more baboon, gazelle, warthog and ostrich sightings further on our very bumpy ride (they don’t say you get a free African massage for nothing on these dirt tracks), and we were leaving the Serengeti. It seemed bizarre that a few metres from the gate, we turned left onto tarmac and suddenly we were back into reality, with shops, schools and petrol stations lining the streets. For some reason, a sign for the Fuku Fuku campsite caught my attention as we drove past.

We are now at a hotel off the main tourist route next to Lake Victoria, and I am watching the sun slowly set over the choppy waters. We had contemplated getting a canoe ride out over the waters, but on seeing local fisherman on a similar not-much-bigger-than-a-kayak sized vessel bobbing furiously, up, down and side to side, were glad we didn’t go ahead with it. 

Tomorrow we have another ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ exchange to a different driver over the Kenyan border, before we head to the Maasai Mara Reserve, for the last of our game viewing.