Out of Africa - Nne (4)

August 21, 2016

Woke up early to catch the sunrise and see what was happening in the wee hours of the Serengeti.  The tents here have a cool little enclosed sitting room in front of the tent, so I was able to sneak out and see the huge Cape Buffalo grazing just a few yards away.  The buffalo is one of the big five, a label created by big game hunters as being the most difficult to hunt on foot.  These buffaloes can weigh over 2000 pounds, and are easily recognized by the huge horns that are fused together in the middle.  As the sun came up, one of the Maasai caretakers walked around and turned off all the lanterns.  He cautiously approached the area where the buffalo roamed, at one point waving his bright red shuka to warn the massive bovines to keep their distance.  They didn't pay him much mind.

We prepared for our scheduled shower, and a voice outside the tent said our hot water was ready.  We had plenty for both of us.  It was a bit strange to hear a voice just outside the shower, asking if we needed more water.  Walking to the dining tent, the walking path was now adorned with huge piles of (buffalo?) dung that were not there the night before.  We ate fresh fruits and pancakes from the buffet, then were offered eggs and meat as well.

After breakfast, we took a few group photos and piled back into our home-away-from-home, with the top up and ready for viewing.  Not far from the lodge, Geoffrey spotted a lioness and her cub lying under a tree.  A good omen for a great day of viewing, and the Serengeti delivered.  Soon after we came upon a skittish eland who decided it needed to run in the same direction as our vehicle to get away.  The race was on!  (Video included below).

We stopped at the "Hippo Pool," and could just see the tops of a couple of hippos that were submerged in this little oasis.  I imagined this would be the extent of our hippo viewing, but we were able to get out of the car a little later at a big mud pool with a huge bloat of hippos, packed in together like so many smelly, mucky sardines.  The occasional flick of a tail or ear kept the mud in place, like a "refresh" button.  As the dry season continues, they will keep moving into the scarcer pools of mud.  A claustrophobic hippo wouldn't last long here.  Not far from the hippos, a couple of huge crocodiles lingered, blending in expertly with the muddy shore.

Dik Dik

Glossy Ibis

Retima Hill

That same morning, we happened upon a fascinating scene: hyenas and vultures hovered nearby as a female lion finished up her meal of buffalo.  Across the road, several other females and a male rested under some trees with sated bellies.  The female finished up eating the last bits from the huge rib cage, and crossed to join the other lions.  Then the hyenas, vultures and some jackals pounced on the leftovers.  The hyenas argued with each other, and continuously chased away the vultures, who moved temporarily away, then pushed back in.  At one point, a female and a male lion stood up and walked back toward the carcass, their full bellies sagging.  The male stopped short when he saw the female moving in, and he watched as she charged at the hyenas, displaying her dominance and reminding them of the ownership of this carcass.  No sooner had she chased them away, and turned back to her tree, did the hyenas dive right back in on the remains.  We watched as more and more hyenas, jackals and vultures swooped in to get their share.

One lioness had a tracking collar around her neck, and from time to time during our visit to the Serengeti, we saw white trucks with neon orange flags appear in the vicinity of a collared cat.  They must have been tracking the lions, checking their activities and their viability.  Good to see the conscientious care of the wildlife here.  Tanzanians view their care taking role very seriously.  Aside from the moral responsibility, it allows them to benefit from the subsequent tourism attracted by a healthy wildlife ecosystem.  Win-win.

Tracking vehicle?

The safari "troops" mustered for lunch at a visitors center near a cool rock formation.

huge cactus

After a delicious meal, courtesy of Tortilis Lodge, we walked around a bit.  Several skulls and bones were on display, and we learned about the interesting-looking "candelabra" tree.  A small display honored Bernhard Grzimek, a renown German zoo director who, with his son, Michael, performed the first systematic wildebeest count from the air in the late 1950s.  They were instrumental in the conservation of the Serengeti.   Julius Nyerere, head of state in Tanzania at the time, recognized the importance of preserving the wildlife and worked with the Grzimeks.  At the age of 25, Michael Grzimek was killed in a plane crash while flying over the area, and is buried at the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater.

On our way out, we saw a hyrax sitting in a tree.  The hyrax look similar to the gopher, and colonies of hyrax all tend to use the same location to pee, leaving telltale white streaks on the big rock formations.

Guides will almost always stop and talk to each other when passing, sharing casual greetings and locations of animal sightings.  In this way, our guide, Jeff, was able to elicit help from others in locating our tented lodge for the night, a lodge he'd never visited.  It was enjoyable to listen to the music of the Swahili and Maasai languages as they spoke.  Finding anything in the vast Serengeti is tricky, with very little in the way of signage, and many, many forks in the road.  We didn't want to wait until dark to try to find our place, and started heading that way after lunch.  Driving through an area of many kopjes, our amazing guide was able to find his way without much difficulty.  We were very impressed.

We arrived earlier than expected, and the crew at the Mawe Tented Lodge was caught a bit off guard.  At first we were a bit concerned they'd lost our reservation.  But they soon gathered together and sang their welcome song ("Jambo, Jambo" anyone?)  Then they led us into the lounge area and gave us a cloth to wash with and a glass of juice.  We sat and made small talk, wondering if they were scrambling to get the rooms ready.  Eventually we were escorted down to the Twiga and Chui tents.  The tents here are really spread out, so it was a bit of a hike.  The tents were stuffy until Ted rolled up the outside flaps to let some air in.  These tents were a little more bare-bones than the elegant Tortilis Lodge - the bathroom was attached, but outside a zipper, and without a roof.  The toilet seat was broken, we had just a trickle of water, and the flies felt a little too comfortable joining us.  The supplies were few - no washcloths, soap, or bottled water, and no one explained the requirements for getting hot water.  I think we were really spoiled by staying at Tortilis first.

We still had plenty of time before dinner, so we hiked back to the main tent, where some of the staff were hanging out.  The guys got into a fast-paced card game called Egyptian Rat Screw (I'm laughing right now, because I just googled the name and found out it wasn't Egyptian Rats Crew :-).  Some of the staff watched in interest, and soon joined in the game, catching on quickly.  We learned that this fairly new establishment was run by eleven young men, who "lived like brothers," and seemed to get along very well.  They were friendly, funny and courteous, and most willing to join in for some fun.  The facilities might have been a little lacking, but the staff was awesome - maybe the greatest asset of the place.

Assessing the straightaway

I took a walk to other end of the compound, when Tim came up behind and said Ted and Mike had challenged each other to a footrace along this long tract.  Someone said they could do it in thirty seconds, and the gauntlet was thrown.  Running in their hiking boots, with all kinds of ankle-turning holes in the track, the race was a close one.  One of the staff was itching to race somebody, and Tim was challenged.  He felt his only chance of winning was with his wits, and as they lined up, he pointed in the other direction and shouted, "Lion!"  His opponent turned, and Tim stole away.  Everyone had a good laugh, and his opponent said, "I liked your strategy!"

Chinese checkers were then produced, and our hosts enjoyed learning yet another new game.  Later, when I asked who won, one of them said, "I am the winner," delivered just like the movie line, "I am the captain now."  Ted and Mike had beers - a Serengeti and a Kilimanjaro.  Jeff told us you have to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to drink Kilimanjaro beer, and visit the Serengeti to drink that eponymous beer.  Well, one out of two...

Solar energy has probably revoluntized this business

A nice campfire was built, and we sat around it until dinner.  A huge tureen of zucchini soup was brought to each table, followed by the rest of the dinner, served family-style.  The guys headed back to their tent after dinner, while Jeff, Tim Sr. and I lingered at the table.  We decided to go back to the fire, and enjoyed visiting with some of the staff.  We could see a million stars, with a clear view of the Milky Way, but couldn't locate the Southern Cross like we could in New Zealand.  We told the staff how the campfire reminded us of home, and tried to explain the concept of roasting marshmallows.  They thought perhaps it was a fruit?  One of the guys googled "marshmallow" on his cell phone, and found a picture.  I must say, it was a little incongruous sitting at a timeless campfire in the middle of the Serengeti when modern technology was brought into the picture.

big bat in the tree

Dinner with "mood lighting"

At one point, we heard a lion roar.  One of the guys said, "Don't worry, it's more than two kilometers away."  Could he really judge the distance by the sound of the roar?  The staff kept flashlights with them, and swept the perimeter of the area every few minutes.  Once a beam of light caught a jackal skulking around the edge of the clearing.  Lama Salama (Sleep well).