Day 20

Safari day. We got an early start, leaving the hotel to go out for game viewing at 8:00. Our guide was Donald, who was also the guide we had on the drive from the Seronera air strip to the lodge. He was funny and informative, so we were happy to have him again. The viewing started fairly slowly. We saw a bat-eared fox that we couldn't get a picture of because he disappeared into a termite mound. We saw a cheetah, but it was very far away and couldn't possibly get a decent picture of it. We saw a few zebras, but Donald didn't stop, and we weren't sure why. We found out in a few minutes when we came to the migrating herds of zebras and wildebeest. The lines were as long as the eye could see. The zebras and wildebeest move together because the zebras have keen eyesight, but poor sense of smell. The wildebeest have keen smell, but poor eyesight. So they work together. The gazelles also migrate, but at a different time than the others. We got lots of shots of zebras and wildebeest in various groupings. The sheer numbers were overwhelming—thousands. They got out of the way when the jeeps drove up, though. Even though they're migrating together, the zebras and wildebeest seem to stick to their own groups. We also got some shots of lions resting in trees. Donald said they get up there to try to catch a breeze when it gets hot. We also saw a "honeymoon couple" of lions that were sleeping under some brush next to a rock outcropping. While there's not much to write about, this was one of the most interesting and impressive stops we've had on this trip. I never imagined seeing the variety and multitude of animals that we were seeing. We saw monkeys, baboons, impala, eland, gazelles, and all manner of birds. Many of which I couldn't get a picture of because I was too slow, or didn't have good enough equipment. I still managed to get some decent shots, though.

By lunch time, the flies were starting to get bad. We were having a "bush lunch" outside. The food was good, but it was hard to eat for all the flies buzzing around. I put on some more insect repellent, and it helped, but didn't keep them all away. The table we were eating at was on a slope, and when I sat down, my knee bumped the leg and half the glasses on the table fell over. Leave it to me. After lunch some people went directly back to the lodge and the rest of us continued with the safari. Donald asked what we'd like to see. We all said elephants. So we took off to find them. As it happens, the driver heading back to the lodge spotted the elephants so we had to turn around and go looking for them. There was a family herd of about thirteen. The lead elephant is the family matriarch and shows the way. The male doesn't travel with the rest of the family. Another adult female travels at the rear of the herd and makes sure all the young ones keep up and don't stray from the herd. We followed them for a ways, and eventually cut in front of them on a road they were approaching. The jeeps left a gap which the elephants walked through, which was right behind our jeep. One of the babies was less than three months old and could walk right under the mother. She managed to not step on it, though, which was pretty amazing for a gigantic elephant. After all the elephants crossed the road, the last one stopped and turned toward the jeeps and lifted her trunk and flapped her ears and trumpeted. It didn't look that threatening from our vantage point, but the people in the jeep that was closest to her were fairly alarmed. The driver just drove off, though, and she turned around and went with the herd.

After the elephants, Donald tracked down a warthog for me. He put on a pretty good show, and I got some good pictures of him. Or her. It's hard to think of a female warthog, they're so fierce looking. We came across several areas that had mixtures of animals. One area had zebras and baboons. I couldn't tell if the baboons liked being around the other animals for protection or warning of predators, but they didn't seem to mind each other's company. Another area had buffalo, giraffes, and elephants. They were too far away to get a good picture of, but the combination of species was interesting. On the drive back, we went off the main road and took some bumpy paths. We saw some more monkeys and impala and baboons and buffalo. There was a group of buffalo quite close to the lodge.

When we returned to the lodge, Larry had apparently been to the gift shop because he knocked on the door to tell Jan the shop keeper was ready to resume negotiations. So she headed down to the gift shop. The shop keeper said he had talked to his manager and could come down further on the price. Jan came up some, if he would throw in a gold chain. So the bargain was struck and Jan ended up getting her tanzanite necklace for half of the original asking price. The shop keeper still seemed pretty happy with the deal.

Before dinner, there was another dancing demonstration. This time it was Masai dancing. It seemed comprised mostly of jumping up and down and stamping their feet. The bugs were starting to bother us, so Jan, Sam and I headed inside. Dinner was a buffet so no worries about being forgotten this time. The choices were more interesting than usual, with Moroccan lamb, and Arabian chicken, and an Ethiopian beef. It was pretty good, but not great. I guess we'll have to wait until London to get some great food.