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Published: September 17th 2016
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Day 4
Another wake-up call
at 5:45am for another early start to a full game drive day. Naturally I started to get around, but Matt came to get me and say "stop getting around and just come outside for a minute. There from our porch was the vast African valley ahead of us just beginning to be dimly lit by sunlight. We sat there and enjoyed our cup of coffee and tea just taking it all in...it's so remarkable to be here!!
We set off from the camp for our day, and wow was it gorgeous! This morning was sunny, so the early morning sunlight just bathes the landscape in the most beautiful golden hues and even gives the animals a luminescent quality that brings a smile to your face. Even before getting to the national park entrance, we saw a ton of wildlife: Elephants, Giraffe, and our first Hyena. I was actually thinking to myself how much easier it felt to ride standing up. We all seemed so relaxed rolling with the rough road and the dips and bumps.....at least that's what I thought. Then I found out Babenga had another agenda, LOL! Training Day!!
We went to another area of the park we hadn't been yet and the roads were ROUGH...I mean like flying off the ground, slamming into the sides rough. We sounded like a group of hippos with our grunts as we struggled to roll with these new punches. That's when Babenga called out from the driver's seat, "You need to get used to these roads...it's worse in Ngorogoro and Serengeti." Wait What??? How can they be worse??? None of us can comprehend this...yet, LOL. Babenga said it's like riding a 3-legged horse??? Oye!
Bumps and dips aside, it was an amazing morning of game viewing. I cannot even tell you how many elephant and giraffe we saw in what seemed to be very large families! So up close and personal with these animals that it still leaves us in awe. One of the highlights of the morning was a small elephant family with a little guy (about 3 1/2) eating on the side of the road. The two adults crossed the road in front of us and continued eating on the other side. The little guy hung behind a bit and then stepped into the road, pausing to
turn to us with his ears flared and do a little trumpet, and stamp his foot before he moved on. It was so adorable, we all began cracking up.
After our amazing morning, the afternoon was feeling like more a bust as we weren't seeing much. We stopped for our picnic lunch which was packed from the camp and honestly a bust as well. International interpretations of 'picnic lunch' definitely do not align to ours, LOL. Babenga decided to take us back towards the swamp area that we went to previously since it was hot and likely many animals would be heading there to drink and cool off. Along the way we finally got to see what we had all been waiting for...lions! Two cubs up in a tree just hanging out. They were adorable and when we pulled up they almost seemed like they were posing for us!
Once we hit the swamp area it was clear Babenga had been right, there were animals a plenty and again LOTS of elephants. We even saw once giving itself a dirt bath! Seeing that made me feel better about our own dirt baths! Yes, we
too are being bathed in terra cotta soil as being here in the dry season means dirt and dust is blowing everywhere and we are all constantly coated in a layer (or two). But hey, if it's good enough for the animals, it's good enough for us! We passed by the area where we had seen the dead Cape Buffalo to discover that it was gone with absolutely no remains left?? This means he was actually asleep and not dead like we thought!
On the way back, we had our first real encounter with the tsetse fly! They had been around in very small numbers but we really hadn't had any problem with them. The national park has worked very hard in trying to reduce the numbers by hanging huge sections of blue & black fabric to attract them and then hit them with a dose of insect killer. Babenga stopped the car and said we were getting ready to enter a bad area and that he was going to try and drive fast? He advised we load up on the bug spray and we hit road and WOW! They were all of a sudden coming into
Boabob tree
This is the poachers tree. They used to hide in there and hide the tusks up in the hollowed out trunk the car like crazy. I got two bites that do sting a bit like the pinch of a bee sting. They aren't toxic in this area, just a nusance. The problem is they are persistent as hell and don't die easily. You can literally smack them and smash them on your arm or whatever and they still don't die. You have to rub and smash their wings by rubbing your fingers together...eeewww! I will say Babenga was hot-tailing it down the road and said at 30 kmh they can still almost keep up and he can see them chasing us in his side mirrors. Crazy!! I am so glad we are here in the lowest season for the flies or I think I could run the risk of going mental!!!
We made it back to camp, showered ourselves the human way with water and then enjoyed dinner and sitting by the fire. There are still so many things photos or videos cannot capture....like the way a place looks at night lit by the moon and lantern lights, or the smell of the burning acacia wood fire, or just the magic of sitting in a place where it
truly feels like you are connected to the earth....in a way you never have been before....
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