Lions and hippos and water buffalos, oh my!

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Woke up at 5:20 to get ready for our morning game drive, and could hear the hippos grunting and groaning all night. Andrea and Rhonda next door were actually woken up to a hippo eating grass right outside their tent, they were scared and excited and awe struck all at the same time. My animal experience that morning was a beetle big enough to be considered a low flying aircraft by the bathroom; welcome to the African jungle!



Morning game drive was absolutely spectuacular, well worth the 5:30 wake up. Watching the sunrise (I got an awesome photo of it), and seeing the warthogs, 2 different kinds of antelope, water buffalo, a variety of birds, prey and non, and lions and elephants – well what can I say. I’ve been lucky to have done a safari before in Kenya and Tanzania, and honestly didn’t think I would get that excited but boy was I wrong. I was squealing like a school-girl, giggling away, taking photos like a Japanese tourist that had never been anywhere before. And I don’t care. Wildlife photography is not my specialty; so when I saw them, I used my SLR. Over. And over and over. And I’m blessed that I was able to capture the moments on the odd time, including when we saw a small herd that was protecting a baby elephant, completely surrounding it, and when a bull elephant came over, they made quite a loud fuss and literally picked up the baby with their trunks and started walking away; while completely surrounding the baby by their bodies and legs.







The end of the day I had aggravated my whiplash by looking up so much with my camera (trying to get a Fishing Eagle in flight), my eyes were utterly exhausted and my arthritic thumb was cramping like crazy, as was my shutter finger. And I couldn’t be happier J







After the game drive we stopped at a local crafts shop, took a break, enjoyed the view of one of the 7 salt lakes in this region, and then continued on towards the 5 star Lodge, that is on the Kazinga Channel which connects Lake Edward to Lake George. We were going to take a boat ride along the channel and the girls had heard it is a spectacular game viewing experience, so we all happily signed up as it was an optional excursion. But first, lunch in a 5 star resort WITH ICE!







OMG we were so thrilled to see ICE and that we could use said ICE and have a cold drink. So we all went a little overboard and had frozen margaritas. YUMMY. Well truthfully I don’t think they were that yummy, it was simply that it was ice cold. And cold. AAAHHH…… Did I mention the temperature here? Insanely hot and dry but mid 30’s for sure. And equator sun is like no other sun if you’ve not experienced it. You burn in a fraction of the time and the intensity of it is well, intense. So suffice to say not having ice (power is often on generators here and they don’t always work, so trying to keep anything frozen is far to much a challenge) is more than common. Our 3-course lunch overlooking Lake Edward in our 5 star stop was lovely.







The boat cruise was amazing. After a spectacular morning game drive I didn’t think I could get happier, but I did. The wildlife was different, the setting was different, and once again I became a crazy photographer, cramping my hand and neck even more taking a zillion shots once again. But how can you not with the beautiful, unique birds, and the BABY hippo hanging out with his mom – so so so cute! And the birds on the water buffalo’s face, cleaning them up. And did I mention the hippos coming in and out of the water, groaning, splashing, hiding, playing. Oh, splendid, absolutely splendid and the weather was perfect. This trip was turning into a wildlife mecca; and for those of you that know me, I couldn’t be happier then surrounded by animals. J







After a sleepy group of girls went back to their lodge to chill out, have dinner and get ready for our next day. Sadly several of the girls started getting sick to varying degrees. But suffice to say we were fairly certain it was something from the 5 star lodge – oh the irony of it all. Ice? Maybe, but I had some and didn’t fall ill (and usually I’m the first). Could have been something at lunch time as there were 2 options for each appetizer and 3 for main course, but again we will never know. It was a quiet dinner as quite literally people were dropping like flies and retiring to their tents early. Given my early wake up and my over enthusiasm and excitement all day; I was also exhausted, but incredibly content with such a magnificent day. MORE PHOTOS BELOW - keep going trust me, it's worth it !!!!!

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Photos

Hippo
Early morning hippo on route to our safari

Kitty snack
How to be a dorky tourist - selfie with a lion 20 feet away.

Comments

[Wolf]

Great read of a fantastic game driive
Really enjoyed your post today. Clearly, an inspiring day with lots of unique moments. Photos are great; well worth cramped thumb and sore neck. You are a fun story teller Ned ( not that I didn't know it). Keep travelling!

[PurpleNed]

Thank you Wolf I love writing, I Love taking photos and I love traveling. It's a great combination; now if I was only independently wealthy :-) OH well, makes each trip that much more special!