December 1, 2018 Serengeti Plains
It is early afternoon and I am sitting in our vehicle on the plains waiting for a coalition of male cheetah doing what appears to be nothing. They walk a few steps and look around. It is a waiting game. They are on the hunt for gazelle, but have not made a move. It is requiring much patience for us as well as the cheetah, and I now have a new appreciation for professional photographers. Fortunately for me, Brad brought his computer, so I am happily able to write.
November 28, 2018 was our second day in Ngorongoro Crater. Brad planned it this way so we would have more time in the crater than the usual tourists, who usually have one long day. On the 27th, we had 3.5 hours in the afternoon. On this day we had over 4 hours viewing in the morning and lunch. We reached the crater floor just before 8am and were soon spotting some of the many animal species in the park –numerous hyeana, wildebeest, cape buffalo, gazelle, ostrich, baboon and zebra.
Clouds build in the distance as we descend into the crater
Animals on the move in the early morning
We came upon a pond with a few hippos laying on the bank sunning and sleeping. Had rarely seen them so “exposed” and so close to us. While there a large male lion walked by. There was another vehicle near us and the lion marked the back of it. Fun to watch.
This was the first day we had experienced other vehicles and found ourselves watching to see where they were clustered. Even though we did not like having them around, we took advantage of the opportunity to see more animal action.
A lion marks new territory
Sure enough, the biggest event of the day was at the site of a cluster of 7 other vehicles. We arrived just in time to get a good parking spot and experience a very unusual sight.
In a narrow water drainage were the remains of a dead Cape Buffalo. It had been killed the night before by lions, who had had their fill and left. When we arrived there were at least 200 vultures and one hyeana fighting noisily over the carcass. Although they fought like crazy with each other, they seemed to all get something to eat. Once they had their fill of food or fighting, they moved off and others took their place. While we watched, three Black-Backed Jackel arrived on the scene and moved into the fray. They were more vicious than the hyeana and wasted no time getting into the middle of the carcass along with a few vultures. It was quite a scene. We watched for 30 minutes before leaving to explore the area further. It wasn’t long before we spotted a lone female lion walking along. We followed her and soon realized it was headed directly toward the vulture scene. So we drove fast back to the scene to get a good parking spot. The scene had not changed. We were in place only a few minutes before the lion came around the corner of a rock outcrop.
As soon as the crowd at the kill saw the lion, the scene immediately evaporated, the noise stopped and all that could be seen was the lion standing over her kill. It was amazing to see the effect of her presence. She hung around a few minutes, gave the vultures a glaring look as they backed even further away, looked around one more time and walked away. We waited to see what would happen. First back on the carcass were the three jackel. Ten minutes passed, but the vultures continued to hang back, while the jackel feasted. We grew tired of waiting and headed off.
Our driver, Ukadi, said he had a lunch site in mind so off we went. We drove quite a while and finally passed through a wooded area with a river course through it. We saw several vehicles stopped and having lunch and I thought we would stop there too. Instead we continued across the creek, around another wooded area and into a clearing. When Ukadi stopped, we could see several of our lodge staff waving to us and singing. What a surprise.
Our picnic complete with champagne and roses
Apparently, Starla Estrada, our GeoEx travel agent in San Francisco, had arranged for this affair and what a happy affair it was. Our first sight was a large champagne bucket filled with champagne and roses. About 6 staff greeted us with smiles, towels, champagne and mango juice, a better Mimosa than usual. When we had time to look around, we saw a lean to with a table set for four, a large buffet table filled with food, a BBQ cooking skewers of chicken and pork, a dessert table piled high with roses and sweets, an out house at a distance and a dressing table with more roses and a water basin for cleaning hands.
Brad enjoyed watching us be delighted. The meal was super and everyone had a good time, including the staff. There was way too much food, but Brad assured us it would not go to waste.
Feeling full and content, we climbed back into the vehicle and headed up and out of the crater, back to our lodge. We arrived about 2:30 with a free afternoon ahead. When we walked into our cottage, we found the floor covered with rose petals in the shape of three hearts leading us to the bathtub full of hot bubbly water. Although I had planned to spend the afternoon writing, I could not resist having a bubble bath with Mark. What a fun and delicious conclusion to a perfect day.
Rose petal hearts lead to our hot bubble bath.
When we went to dinner, we realized the lodge was full of guests, as they were all in the living room having drinks and visiting. The ambiance, complete with a crackling fire, was very pleasing. Dinner was a pleasant and uneventful affair. We depart for the Manyara airport first thing in the morning, so now to bed.
Adventures with Julia 