Thursday, Feb 29 Serengeti All Day - Animals!

Thursday, Feb 29

Happy Leap Day!  

We rise around 6:15 as workers are pushing luggage carts on the nearby paths.  Seems another group is leaving early this morning.  There were quite a few night sounds last night, people and animals!   Cindy and Suzy aren't feeling too well this morning - intestinal stuff - but not terrible. Greg and I are fine.

Juices are interesting at breakfast.  There is usually orange, often mango and then some others like watermelon, avocado once, passion fruit and others.  Upon arriving at a new location we are often offered a small juice and a warm hand towel - nice!

We leave camp about 7:30 and it is a day full of wildlife.  We catch a glimpse of a mother and young hippo heading back to the water and are surprised at how quickly they move!  Later, in the park, we begin to take the Hippo Loop.  

There has been rain, and there is a fair amount of water going over the concrete "bridge" (slightly raised roadway).  I took the above shot as we approached, before realizing that the vehicle ahead of us is stuck in the middle of the bridge! Fortunately, George is able to move down and give them a push to get them going.  He then promptly backed out and took a different route.  Thank you, George! Those in the stuck vehicle who included Adam were a bit shook. Though we didn't see them, Adam says there were no doubt crocodiles downstream and he was "a little worried".

These banded mongooses (mongeese?) have taken over an abandoned termite mound.

 The first lion we see is still sleepy. She is aware that we are near, but doesn't seem to care a whit.

We are heading towards rocky kopjes - lion territory, but instead it seems to be a cheetah kind of day. This pair is using a termite mound for a little height as they check out the area.  What beautiful animals!  They are the only cat without retractable claws and they don't climb trees.

In one spot the road is impassable and George and the other driver just drive off and create their own way.  Someone spots these cheetahs which are making themselves at home on another vehicle!  Yikes! 

 There is even a foolish woman, imho, standing up taking pictures of them not five feet away!  They are uninterested in people, however, and continue to scan the fields.  One of them seems interested in the vehicle antenna and bats at the tennis balls a bit, like a playful kitten! 

 They soon move on.  George says not to publish any pictures that show the vehicle id, because they could get in big trouble and lose their license. You are supposed to rev your motor and move to keep them from doing this!

This interesting bee's nest is in one of the few trees in the area.  George thinks it is "dead", but someone says they see a few bees on a picture they took.  Interesting structure!

This secretary bird is probably over two feet tall as it struts along.

We soon come to an area with hundreds of wildebeest and zebras.  Adam says they are beginning to stage for the migration which will take place in earnest towards the end of Summer.  They graze here where the grass is good and when this grass becomes dry, they migrate to greener grass! The two types of animal travel together, with the zebras being the leaders.  A group of zebras is called a "dazzle" and they ARE dazzling!

The zebras tend to stand close to each other, draping their heads over each other's bodies and swishing their tails to help reduce pesky flies.  They often are nodding their heads as well.

We spot yet another pair of cheetahs, a mother and young one - 3-4 months old according to George.  They are traveling across the savannah, close by but not next to each other.  The young one decides to take off after some gazelles - wow is he fast!  But not fast enough. Adam says they have a quick burst of speed but if they aren't successful quickly they can't sustain the speed.  The mother joins the young one for a drink after his run.  

Cheetah are not territorial, as lions are, so they roam freely.

The young wildebeest is able to stand and run within a few minutes of birth.  

We have a box lunch in the field amongst the herds of zebra and wildebeest.  The animals move away from us, but not too far, and continue munching.

We continue winding around the various rock formations, as George says there are usually lions around here.  There are quite a few prides in the Serengeti,  and even a "super pride"  with nearly 50 members!  

There are many lizards on the rocks, including this colorful guy who is about 10 inches long. I think George is surprised that we want to take pictures of lizards.

Suzy spots another cheetah who seems to be waking up from a nap.  He stretches, yawns, rolls around a bit before moving off for some more stretching.

 The animal below is called a hartebeest.  It has a long head and a sloping back. The hyena and wildebeest also have a sloping back. 

And there were eland as well.

Lots of vultures in these trees as well as some storks.  Many on the ground too (mostly juvenile).

We do one bathroom stop among the rocks, with George checking and giving us an "all clear" to get out of the vehicle.

While beginning the ride back towards camp, we spot this leopard which has dragged his dinner into a tree. Not a good sharer I guess.  Hard to get a clear picture....

Flat tires are not all that uncommon.  Our other vehicle has had two, but in convenient areas and the drivers help each other change tires.  Each vehicle carries two. We have seen others changing tires or broken down along the road  and George says they will stop and help people if there is no one else helping.  I am not at all surprised because of the rough roads and many thorny plants and trees.  Adam commented that drivers try to avoid driving over elephant poo because elephants do not fully digest plants and thorns are common in it.

These ground hornbills were quite large.  A few giraffes including this cute baby, hyenas and distant hippos on the way back to Embalakai Camp. 

 Large birds and small.

Back at camp, there is a bonfire tonight and I wander down there for a while before dinner. 

 There is a couple there from near London, as well as a single guy from Austin, Texas.  We chat a bit and there is a Maasai man keeping an eye on the fire and all. We shake hands as he introduces himself and asks my name. Everyone here is familiar with the name Elizabeth so I use it.  I can't begin to pronounce his but it started with an "N". I compliment him on his English and he says he did not go to school but learned English from someone in his village who learned and then taught others.   He is one of the "guards" at night and is armed with a spear and a machete as weapons.  He says the buffalo come into camp sometimes because it is near a stream and sometimes the lions follow them.  He also mentions that he wears red because the animals recognize he is Maasai and won't bother him. He is quite pleasant.

Dinner is a barbecue.  Chicken and beef.  The chicken is very good and I hear that the beef isn't, but for the most part beef has been pretty tough so I've given up trying it.  The man from Texas and I commiserate  on missing Texas barbecue.  More tasty fresh fruit and fresh breads. The staff sings a welcome song - at least I imagine that is what it is! 

In the morning we check out and need to pay for laundry and a couple of drinks.  Interesting that these folks are very computer savvy and walk us through paying on line by phone.  We haven't exchanged any dollars for Kenyan or Tanzanian shillings - no need, as people are happy to accept US dollars.  But we try to use credit card when we can.  (If you take US bills, make sure they are newish and not torn or written on or they won't be accepted.)