And now, for something completely different. Upon landing at Mt. Killamangaro "international" airport, we boarded a little 12 seat bush plane for our adventure into the wilds of Africa. This is the most efficient way to get to our lodging in the migration camp as the roads apparently are less than ideal.
Toyota Land Cruisers (the kind meant to climb rocks not drop kids off at school) picked us up from the grass landing strip to take us on our first safari. I'm not sure what I expected from Africa, but it is very green with trees and underbrush and water in small ponds. Herds of impalas, zebra, giraffe, topi, baboons and an incredible variety of birds are casually feeding everywhere we look. I know our guide is used to tourists being amazed at every animal we come across but he patiently stopped for photos whenever asked. He obviously is quite skilled at finding animals even though they blend quite well with their environment.
As in any civil society, drinks awaited us on the top of an observation deck where we were treated to a brilliant sunset and a roaring fire. The dinner menu avoided any of the animals we had just 'shot' with our cameras. Our accomodations are large one room tents that sit ontop of wooden floors. If this sounds like we're roughing it, think again. There are nice hot showers, a king size bed and even sherry for sipping as we sit on our deck. Our white noise for sleeping was the sounds of hippos in the river.
We were up early the next day for another drive looking for the big cats that had eluded us the previous day. One of the hardest to find is the leopard because they spend much of their days lounging in trees. After an hour of looking, our driver received word that a mating pair had been sighted. Hang on to your hats, we're in hot pursuit. We arrived just in time to see them coming out of their tree to lounge on the savana (and pose for our pictures). They eventually jumped back up into another tree where they were totally hidden from our view. Marvelous. Next, we found a pride of lions hanging out in an open field. They are as magnificient as you would expect, surveying their kingdom.
It took our third time out to find the cheetah. These cats are a little different than the others. They are extremely fast but are weak so they must use their speed to capture their meals. Apparently they make a barking sound. They were a little irratated by our intrusion but again posed for our cameras.
Toyota Land Cruisers (the kind meant to climb rocks not drop kids off at school) picked us up from the grass landing strip to take us on our first safari. I'm not sure what I expected from Africa, but it is very green with trees and underbrush and water in small ponds. Herds of impalas, zebra, giraffe, topi, baboons and an incredible variety of birds are casually feeding everywhere we look. I know our guide is used to tourists being amazed at every animal we come across but he patiently stopped for photos whenever asked. He obviously is quite skilled at finding animals even though they blend quite well with their environment.
As in any civil society, drinks awaited us on the top of an observation deck where we were treated to a brilliant sunset and a roaring fire. The dinner menu avoided any of the animals we had just 'shot' with our cameras. Our accomodations are large one room tents that sit ontop of wooden floors. If this sounds like we're roughing it, think again. There are nice hot showers, a king size bed and even sherry for sipping as we sit on our deck. Our white noise for sleeping was the sounds of hippos in the river.
We were up early the next day for another drive looking for the big cats that had eluded us the previous day. One of the hardest to find is the leopard because they spend much of their days lounging in trees. After an hour of looking, our driver received word that a mating pair had been sighted. Hang on to your hats, we're in hot pursuit. We arrived just in time to see them coming out of their tree to lounge on the savana (and pose for our pictures). They eventually jumped back up into another tree where they were totally hidden from our view. Marvelous. Next, we found a pride of lions hanging out in an open field. They are as magnificient as you would expect, surveying their kingdom.
It took our third time out to find the cheetah. These cats are a little different than the others. They are extremely fast but are weak so they must use their speed to capture their meals. Apparently they make a barking sound. They were a little irratated by our intrusion but again posed for our cameras.
After a good nights sleep, we left for our final drive. Our driver, Lema, hoped to find us elephants, but to no avail. However, we did happen upon a dead giraffe that was being picked clean by buzzards. This was mot as gross as it sounds, just a glimpse into the life cycle of the Serengeti. Our final find was a pride of 10 lions having a nice rest near the road. Africa had rewarded us with her great beauty and was a great respite from the crowded streets of India.
Sounds like a successful, albeit short, "hunt". Can't wait to see the pictures. Maybe we can replace some of our old Deck the Walls wildlife "art" in the office with some of your National Geographic skills photography.
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