The Amazing Serengeti, Part 3

Our final outing for the day was in the evening, to see if we could spot any leopards. That is the only “big” animal that we haven’t seen at all. They’re a little tricky to spot, because they hang out in tall trees with horizontal branches and you have to look for their tails hanging down. 

As it turned out, there was nobody home in any of the trees on our two hour drive. But we did see many other very cool things. There were some vervet monkeys hanging out in trees by the river, and olive baboons heading up into trees for the night. Mick spotted a Verraux’s Eagle Owl in a tree, and also a White-Backed Vulture nest with a baby vulture in it. Way to go, Mick! There were some lovely colorful birds called Little Bee Eaters, and a Bared-Face Go-Away Bird, named for its call. Steven, our driver, picked some Bushman’s Tea for us to smell – I think it was a member of the mint family because it had a square stem and a sweet citrusy-minty smell.

While we were driving around, Steven also told us about the hierarchy of predators:

  • Lions are number one. 
  • Hyenas are next, although sometimes hyenas will gang up on a solo lioness and try to steal her prey. 
  • Then leopards,
  • Then cheetahs,
  • Then the wild dogs (like jackals)

As a general rule, each predator can and will take prey from those lower on the list, and each has strategies to protect their kills from those higher on the list. Although sometimes that strategy is to just run away, and live to kill something else. Leopards drag their prey up into trees, and cheetahs eat really fast. Also, cheetahs will run away (no surprise!) if they are challenged by a leopard or hyenas or a lion for their kill. 

At sunset, as we finally gave up on seeing a leopard and started back to camp, we drove through an area that had been part of a controlled burn. These are done selectively to help get rid of the tall dry grass, which is not very nutritious, and make way for new green growth that is better for the baby animals. This area had been burned just a few weeks earlier and was already putting up new green shoots all over the place. 

Tomorrow, we head for the Ngorongoro region for our final three days of this adventure. Mick and I plan to get up at 5:00 AM to go out and star-gaze.

Sunset over the Serengeti

Sunset over the Serengeti

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The Amazing Serengeti, Part 2

It is astonishingly beautiful here. The word “Serengeti” is a Maasai word meaning “Endless Plains” and they do just go on and on and on…. Leaving the camp this morning for today’s game drive, we saw more hyrax, including babies, a red-billed hornbill, and a Klipspringer, which is a little antelope that stands and walks on the front edge of its hooves so it looks like it’s tiptoeing around.  

As we drove, we saw these amazing little communal spiders who build a giant web together between the tress and the ground, and all hang out in it waiting for prey. You really don’t notice the huge webs until you drive past and they catch the sunlight. Each spider has its own little section. We also saw weaver bird nests, which hang down from the tree branches like funny-looking fruit and have their opening at the bottom. They tend to cluster a lot of nests in a single tree.

In my last post, I included a picture of wild morning glories. They were a beautiful and unexpected grace note scattered across the savannah. Of course we saw many animals and birds, including: wildebeests, zebras, both Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelles, wart hogs, ostriches, hawks, Nubian vultures, Crested Francolins, a Martial Eagle (which are very strong – they can take a small lion cub), hyenas, buffalo, hartebeests, topi (a colorful species of antelope), Ground Hornbills, elephants, and giraffes. But the highlight of the drive was our visit to Pride Rock, where the name refers to the pride of lions that has claimed it as their own. How many can you spot in this picture? And there were several more scattered around on the other side and on the surrounding ground. All snoozing in the sun, just like the cats they are.

Lions sunning on Pride Rock

Lions sunning on Pride Rock

After spending some time with the lions, all three of our vehicles met up at the “Bone Tree” (my name for it) where three different skulls (lion, zebra, and mystery carnivore) and some animal’s spine were there for us to look at. We had some snacks and then moved on. As we went back past Pride Rock, we spotted one of the lionesses stalking a herd of zebras that were a few hundred yards away. She was downwind from them, like a good hunter, and kept flattening herself down into the tall grass every time they looked her way. Elphas, who is our guide for the whole trip, said they did not see her, because they did not spook and run, but they were moving away and she finally gave up. He also pointed out that she is hungry because you could see how her belly was sunken in. So we all got a little nervous when she walked right past our stopped vehicle on her way back to Pride Rock. He urgently told us, “DON’T MOVE” several times. And we did not, until after she had passed.

From there, we worked our leisurely way back to camp. Random observations:  

  • With the sun at our back, the tall grasses were silvery against the dark green trees on the horizon beneath the pale blue sky with puffy white clouds. Nature’s palettes can’t be beaten.
  • There are giant weathered rocks and boulders in isolated outcroppings (like Pride Rock) that almost look like someone placed them there. In fact they are clusters of metamorphic rock that long, long ago were underground, but have been gradually exposed over millennia of erosion. 
  • One type of fig tree grows on top of rocks and sends roots down around them into the ground.
  • Herd animals (gazelles, zebras, buffalo, topi, impalas, hartebeests) gather in twos and threes under shade trees in the heat of the midday sun.
  • Waterboks and Impalas are the only antelopes where the females don’t have horns. 
  • The horns of all the antelope species are ridged in some way, not smooth like cattle horns.

The last animals we saw as we approached camp were a herd of elephants, including several females with tiny babies, less than a year old. The babies were so adorable! One of them actually waved his little ears at us just like mama. 

We had one more outing after that, but I’ll save that story for another post. 

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The Amazing Serengeti, part 1

I can’t cover all of the last 24 hours in a single post. We arrived here at the Serengeti Migration Camp yesterday evening around 6 PM, a half-hour before sunset. Snacks and beverages were served on the sunset viewing deck, which also has an expansive view of the Serengeti. A sliver crescent moon was in the sky above the setting sun.

There are cute little animals called hyraxes all over this camp, They look sort of like groundhogs, but smaller, and are actually related to elephants and manatees. Lots of lizards, too, in all kinds of sizes and colors. A river runs right past the camp; it is home to hippos which come out of the water at night to eat. Because of them, and the close presence of other wild animals like elephants and lions, we once again have to have escorts to and from our tents when it’s dark. You can hear the hippos talking to each other all night.

One other exciting aspect of this camp is the presence of tse-tse flies. Most Americans do not pronounce this correctly, so I will help you with that: it is pronounced seh-seh. The “t” is silent and the “e” is short. Now you know! They are extremely annoying and their bite is painful. Fortunately, the ones in this area do not carry sleeping sickness. Unfortunately, they are so annoying that in the afternoon we had to shut all the windows and the roof in the Land Cruiser, which makes taking pictures difficult. 

Last night we went out on the deck at our tent and looked at stars – the sky was so clear and dark we could see millions of stars. I can now say I’ve seen the Southern Cross. Mick was up early this morning and he says the Milky Way is spectacular then, so I will be setting an early alarm for tomorrow to see for myself. 

This morning we started our game drive earlier than usual, to get as much in as possible before the tse-tse flies come out in force in the afternoon. The grass is taller here than anywhere else we’ve been, and some areas have trees as well (woodland savannah) and some do not (open savannah). This is the beginning of the Great Migration and we saw that with wildebeests and zebras. In that migration, the animals travel in a line and whatever the leader does, the ones behind also do, Our guide shot some sweet video of that that I will post later when I do my photo journal at the end. 

I leave you with a photo of wild Morning Glories.

Wild Morning Glories on the Serengeti

Wild Morning Glories on the Serengeti

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A Balloon Ride, Lions, and Petting a Rhino

Cheetah posing for us

Cheetah posing for us

Yesterday was a very long day. We got up at 4:00 AM to leave for a hot air balloon ride over the Mara Conservancy, which is right next to the Maasi Mara. This was my first hot air balloon ride, and it did not disappoint. Our pilot was Carlos, who is originally from Barcelona and has been piloting balloons for over 15 years. He made us feel very safe. We drifted at about 30-50 feet most of the time, high enough to clear the acacia trees but low enough to have a superb view of the landscape and wildlife. We saw quite a few hyenas, gazelles, giraffes, topi (a type of antelope), a couple of vultures, and there were quite a few songbirds welcoming the sun. Excitingly, when we landed the basket tipped sideways so the we were on our backs and had to scoot out that way.

Then we had breakfast out in the bush not far from the landing site. After that we were off to the day’s first game drive.

Male Ostrich

Male Ostrich

On that trip, we saw a Cheetah posing (seemingly!) for us at the base of an acacia tree, and then FINALLY a male lion. First one. He was sleeping off a meal of hippo (we saw the bones) and could care less about our presence. Also on that drive we saw a big troupe of olive baboons, three ostriches, and a large herd of zebras having a pool party at a watering hole. I got some great video of that.

On the afternoon game drive, we had our best view yet of some black-backed jackals, which are very dog-like. The big surprise was a visit to a place (it didn’t have a name that I ever saw) where there were two very docile white rhinos and their human friends. We got lots of close-up pictures and even got to pet one of them, who is named Kofi Annan. He was busy grazing and pretty much ignored us altogether, Back on the road after that, we saw a LOT more lions. Including an adorable appx 1 year old male lion cub. Later we saw a BIG male who was probably his dad. When the adult males face you straight on, it’s easy to see where the inspiration for Maasi Lion Masks came from.

Male Lion Cub

Male Lion Cub

At the end, we were treated to another “surprise” bonfire party way up a slope with an incredible view of the valley.

Today we proceed on to Tanzania, ending up at our camp at the Serengeti. Fortunately, they allowed us to sleep in this morning so everyone is blessedly rested.

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At the Maasai Mara

Today we flew to the Maasai Mara, which is different in many ways from our last location. It’s more tropical, more lush than the Laikipia region. I loved watching the terrain change as we flew south.

This will be a brief post because I’m writing it in main building: they only have wifi in this building, not in our tents. And we are getting up super early in the morning for a sunrise hot air balloon ride. Tomorrow afternoon we’ll have some down time and I’ll make up for today’s brevity. 

So I’ll just give you a picture of the mama cheetah we saw on our afternoon game  drive.

Mama Cheetah

Mama Cheetah

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Our Last Day in the Laikipia Conservation Area

A pack of hyenas, with warthogs in the background

A pack of hyenas, with warthogs in the background

Today started with a long game drive. We saw the “usual suspects” – warthogs, gazelles, elands, impalas, elephants, giraffes, guinea fowl, various kinds of plover, white rhinos, superb starlings, and zebras. In addition, we saw some black rhinos, which are much more aggressive than the white ones. I had a good opportunity to see how the head shapes are different between the two species. We also got a good closeup look at a pack of hyenas in their burrows, including young ones. They are really interesting animals and I could watch them all day.

At the Equator

At the Equator

Next we paid a visit to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, which was started with the assistance of Jane Goodall to provide a place for mistreated chimps to spend the rest of their lives. They live a quiet, safe, relatively natural life there. Then we went to the equator, and stood in that liminal space between the halves of our globe.

We also saw two more lionesses and two cubs. One of the lionesses wore a tracking collar for conservation purposes. On our way back to the camp for lunch, we saw some Sacred Ibis and Marabou Storks.

The second outing was later in the afternoon. We saw weaver birds and the nests they build in Acacia trees, got a good look at a jackal, and saw more of the usual suspects. The warthogs are really interesting because they hang out with just about all the other animals (except lions, that we could see), and nobody bothers them or minds, not even the hyenas. At the end of the drive, our driver surprised us by taking us to a sunset party that the Mutara Camp held for our whole Micato group. A fire, beverages, and snacks as we watched the sun set over a small lake. It was beautiful, and such a sweet gesture to celebrate our stay.

Tomorrow morning we head to the Maasai Mara.

I’ll just leave you with a photo of our bed as the turn-down service left it for us. There are a hot-water bottle and mattress warmer in there too, for these chilly nights.

Our mosquito-netted bed, lit up and lovely

Our mosquito-netted bed, lit up and lovely

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So Many Animals

I have to apologize up front for this being a sketchy kind of post. It’s been a huge day, and we get up early tomorrow for another huge day. I promise I will do a photo journal post at the end with better details.

Mick and Ann in Kenya, with a mama elephant and her baby in the background

Mick and Ann in Kenya, with a mama elephant and her baby in the background

Today we flew from Nairobi to Laikipia, about a 45-minute flight. This area is a combination of open plains and scrub land. The landing strip was gravel, and there was one tiny building. Zebras and gazelles greeted us on landing. We split into three groups and boarded the three Land Cruisers that awaited us. The three-hour drive to Mutara Camp was full of wildlife, and we stopped and watched and took pictures the whole way. Our driver was Dennis, and he not only drove, but spotted animals and birds for us. Our companions were fun and interesting. Susana kindly took a picture of Mick and me with elephants in the background, which I’ve posted.

On that drive, animal life included elephants (a family group), Thompson’s gazelles, wart hogs, zebras, Cape buffalo, white rhinos, elands, impalas, reticulated giraffes, jackals, and Grant’s gazelles. Birds included lilac-breasted rollers, crowned plovers, superb sparrows (which have the most gorgeous blue wings and are indeed superb), a Kori Bustard, Egyptian geese, and Guinea fowl.

Our “tent” at Mutara Camp

Our “tent” at Mutara Camp

Our accommodations at Mutara Camp are truly luxurious.

After lunch at the camp and a little break, out we went again for another game drive. More elephants, this time 8 single males, a black-headed heron, a hyena, some Olive baboons (which sleep at night in utility towers), some Dasa waterboks, and THREE LIONESSES!!! A mother and her two half grown daughters. Incredible.

Tomorrow will bring a whole new set of adventures.

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A LONG Travel Day Followed by Giraffes

It’s Saturday evening, and I’ll just start by saying that I am still jet-lagged and not totally together yet, having arrived last night at midnight after a 29-hour travel “day”, in this time zone 7 hours ahead of home. 

Appetizer course - Dinner on Qatar Air

Appetizer course – Dinner on Qatar Air

We flew from Columbia to DFW (yes, that seems like the wrong direction!) and then caught our Qatar Air flight to Doha, Qatar. That was the longest leg, around 14 hours. But we flew business class, where you get private pods. Mick and I had pods next to each other with a divider that could be lowered.  The seats can flatten out into beds, and they even give you pajamas (that you can keep). The flight attendants were wonderful, and the food was both beautifully presented and delicious.

In Doha, we transferred to our flight to Nairobi. The Doha airport is probably the most organized airport I’ve ever been in. When we went to our gate, they checked our passports and scanned our boarding passes, then sent us into a departure lounge where the seating was set by boarding group. An eagle-eyed flight attendant was ON IT regarding keeping everyone in order (while remaining completely polite and professional). 

The last flight was “only” 5 hours, and everything went smoothly. Business class again, but no pods this time. We are so spoiled now….. Once in Nairobi we had no issues getting through passport control. Before we left home, we had had to do two surveys online about COVID and our vaccine records. We had to show proof that we’d done those in DFW before getting on our flight to Doha, and again getting off the plane in Nairobi. But that actual information was tied to our passports and made getting into Kenya painless in that regard. We just had to show our passports and visas.

We were then met by Micato staff, and they whisked us and our bags through customs and onto vans and away to our hotel. Interestingly, there are armed guards outside the closed gates to the hotel driveway, and our luggage got sniffed by a dog checking for drugs, explosives, who knows that else? before we were allowed through the gates. Then we had to send our hand luggage through an x-ray scanner and walk through a metal detector before we could enter the hotel. Fortunately, after all that, our room is VERY nice and we managed to get a few hours of sleep. 

Honey straight from the comb

Honey straight from the comb

Today’s adventure started at 7:00 am local time, when we got up, got dressed, and had an amazing breakfast at the hotel buffet. Beautifully arranged, incredible variety, and even fresh passion fruit, which I LOVE. Honey was provided by a honey comb dripping over a v-shaped trough which ran down into a bowl. Then our safari group met for the first time, and headed out to the Nairobi Giraffe Centre. There we got to pet and feed giraffes, and I am in love now with their soft dark eyes and gentle demeanor. In this picture, I have food in my right hand and you can see her tongue sticking out for me to put some on there for her.

Feeding and Petting a Giraffe

Feeding and Petting a Giraffe

Then, after a leisurely three-hour lunch, we headed over to Karen Blixen’s house, who was the author of the memoir “Out of Africa”. She wrote that book under the pen name Isak Dinesen in order to be taken seriously as a writer. Can you spell “sexism”? I knew you could. Anyway, that home is now a museum and was lovely and interesting. 

We were back at the hotel by around 4:30, greeted by a different sniffer dog and another trip through the metal detector. A quiet evening is just what we needed, since tomorrow we get up REALLY EARLY so we can have room-service breakfast and leave the hotel at 6:30.

The bush adventure begins!

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Getting Ready for Africa

Map of Safari Itinerary

Map of Safari Itinerary

I woke up this morning with a million things racing through my mind.

Thursday – that’s tomorrow!! – we are going to Africa. A luxury safari starting in Kenya, to be specific, followed by Tanzania.We are traveling with Micato Luxury Safaris, going on the Hemingway Wing Safari.

We’ve been preparing for months: getting visas and appropriate clothing; shots for typhoid, yellow fever, and hepatitis; and acquiring malaria medication and a large variety of first-aid kit supplies. Micato has been truly wonderful about providing everything we need to know. They even sent us suitcases that meet their size requirements for the bush planes. Yesterday the real frenzy of “what are we packing, and how, and what did they say about…??” and detailed review of packing lists truly set in. 

There are a lot of things that have to be in order. Paperwork including passports and visas and of course our proof of COVID-19 vaccinations. Tanzania requires proof of yellow fever vaccination, so we have that. We will have both printed and e-copies of everything. No plastic bags: Kenya does not allow any kind of single-use plastic bags in the country, not even ziplocks for liquids to go on airplanes. The penalties are very steep if they find even one in your luggage. So we have had to find reusable alternatives, which is actually good.

There are strict weight requirements for what we can take on the safari itself (33 lbs for bag & carry-on combined), so we are weighing everything as we go. “Excess” baggage with things we want only for the flights between home & Nairobi can be left with Micato staff in Nairobi for the in-country duration, so there’s leeway in that regard.

I think at this point that everything we need has actually been acquired, and we can start packing and checking things off the list. Our flight out from Columbia isn’t until early afternoon, so the more ready we get today the more relaxed tomorrow morning can be. A friend will be coming over to feed the cats and check on the house every day, so that’s taken care of.

I will be blogging about our amazing trip every day. You are welcome to subscribe (even temporarily) if you don’t already and would like to get those posts emailed to you. Just use the “subscribe” function over on the right.

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My New Love – Encaustic Painting

I just got back from another wonderful class at John C. Campbell Folk School – this time it was encaustic painting. Now, I am not a painter, per se. My only 2D art endeavors are collage and making my own papers for collage, book arts, etc. But this looked like an interesting class, and even better, my sister was also interested. So she flew in from Texas and we took the class together.

For those who are not familiar, encaustic painting is an ancient technique that uses paint made from a mixture of wax, pigment, and resin. You melt that and apply it to your surface, then use a heat gun (or propane torch, for the brave and experienced!) and melt it to varying degrees of liquidity depending on the effect you want to create. It allows for layering, surface texture, image transfer, use of oil paint, India and alcohol inks, and even embedding objects in the wax. Everything you know about color mixing and composition comes into play, with the addition of the chaotic flow of melted wax. It is completely entrancing.

As a beginner, of course what I am creating right now is clumsy (at best). But I am enchanted enough that I’m willing to keep playing with it and learning more. I’m finding lots of inspiration on Pinterest. And my guiding light right now is Ira Glass’s advice to beginners, about being willing to keep producing “bad” work and accept that it will take a while before my skills match my taste.

So I’ve committed to doing some encaustic something every day now, in those morning art hours that I talked about earlier in the year. I kind of got away from that for a while, but I’m back. Today’s picture is of a piece created by our instructor, Brian Dunning, that he made to illustrate many of the techniques we learned last week. I was so inspired by it, and love it so much, that I bought it from him.

Balloon Girl Encaustic Painting by Brian Dunning

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