Where do you pee at the savannah?

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Early morning rise and time for the first safari. After a quick and cold shower we are on the way, and it is still quite cold before the sun will rise. You might want to bring a sweater. Finally the chance to see some animals in action. Not really knowing what to expect we sigh with amazement and look around at every creature we see, stopping to take pictures like crazy. This would be the make or break for me trying out my brand new camera, my first auto focus SLR. Every time we stopped to take a picture six of us would be facing on side and this little old woman would look to the other side. We would stare at the animal in question, drop comments like "oh, it is so beautiful" and snap more pictures. Then two minutes later she would start calling on our attention to the very same animal that we had already discovered. It happened a lot of times and was equally amusing and annoying.

We drive around a couple of hours in the morning and then return to the camp for a proper brunch. The sun stands high and by now it is quite hot, although not as unforgivingly humid and hot as it can be in some places. While most of the group have ventured inside to rest a while I sit outside on the porch with a book and try to read a bit about the animals we have spotted today, but keep getting constantly interrupted by the colourful and curious birds that stroll around the lawn or hide in the bush next to me. Some of them are very cheeky and like to hang around in the restaurant as well. At one point one hungry bird almost dropped a load on my plate. Still the company is much appreciated.

As the temperature has dropped somewhat in the afternoon we head out again. This time we encounter a group of elephants and start following them. At one point one of the bigger females looks rather pissed off and I wish the guide would stop talking and pull back a bit before we get big footprints all over. Another interesting feature on safari is the fact that sooner or later someone will want to make a toilet break. You are not supposed to leave your vehicle at any give time, since the animals are quite used to the cars but don't react well to people walking outside of them this poses an interesting dilemma. Will you stick around close to the car and a group of impatient tourists with big cameras or shy away and hide in a bush only to be charged/consumed/bitten/whatever by one of the local inhabitants? Sitting quietly and enduring was my recipe for success...

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Photos

Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus)
The face only a mother will love...

Ruppell's Long-tailed Starling (Lamprotornis purpuropterus)
Amazing metallic colour and a newfound love