7/15 - We set out for an all day drive. As we got started,
Elliot, our guide, stopped several times to explain various aspects of what we
were seeing, like a rough-barked tree that was bent and covered with mud about
4-5 feet up, due to elephants scratching their backs on it.
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| Tree bent and browned by elephant back-scratchers |
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| Dove? |
At the 3rd or 4th
stop, instead of looking at Elliot, I glanced up the road and saw a large male
lion crossing it. We tracked it visually (no off-roading here) until it was
clear it was cresting the hill, radioed the other truck, and set off to see if
we could find it again. At the top
of
the hill, he was stopped on the road facing us (both trucks), and then started
walking in our direction. I had my camera zoomed to 60X and pretty soon, he was close to filling the frame. Before it got
too scary, he turned off the road and continued
along the ridgeline, away from us.
Our next watering hole, about an hour later, where we had
lunch, was much more interesting. On the left side, several species came and
went, starting with impala, then kudu (the male tried to get it one with one of
the girls four times, each time rejected), followed by baboons, then the kudu
came back and wart hogs appeared. Just to the right was a crocodile, then a
clutch of hippos and four more crocodile. The middle, directly across from us was empty initially, but three nervous
kudu showed up, very wary due to the proximity
of the crocodiles. On the far right, wart hogs were playing hide and
seek with us behind a series of earth berms.
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| Hippos |
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| Impala |
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| Crocodile |
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| Kudu |
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| Kudu male |
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| Amorous but unsuccessful kudu male |
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| Baboons arrive |
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| Kudu chased away by baboons |
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| Baboon baby riding styles: horsy above, clingy below |
After lunch, as we prepared to leave, we made the mistake of
putting the trash (lots of food scraps from chicken bones) in a covered can
instead of taking it with us. It took a baboon about a nanosecond to run and
retrieve it and retire to a place of safety to enjoy his find.
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| Opportunistic baboon |
\
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| Enjoying his spoils |
On our two hour drive home, we saw a few interesting birds
and several herds of elephants, along with an occasional giraffe.
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| Tree gnawed on by elephants |
7/16 -- Today, we visited a family and their neighbors to
learn more about life in the villages. We stopped at a grocery store on the way
and bought grocery staples for our hosts and their friends. The economic
situation here is dire, with maybe as much as 75% unemployment and even those
with jobs not getting paid, in some cases for two years or more. This family
survives on subsistence farming, raising chickens (instead of eating them or
their eggs) and selling them, and what
they can make from hosting OAT guests
several times a year.
We were greeted by a woman who announced herself as the
owner of the compound and her husband. There are 5 others living with them
including children and grandchildren. The homes were simple but neat. Life is
hard, everything is done by hand, and
the women seem to work harder than the men. Despite the challenges, they seem
happy, though concerned about the future. Also joining us was the leader of the
village who was also a healer. Both positions are hereditary. We asked about
the length of his medical training and he said that it depends on the strength
of your spirits -- sometime 6 months, sometimes 12. Apparently the spirits of
the ancestors help him determine how to heal. There are also clinics in the
area, but they demand payment for treatment while he only asks that you
contribute to him at a time and in a way
you can afford.
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| Women and children greeting us |
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| Meeting house/summer kitchen on left, modern home on right |
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| Inside the winter kitchen |
Our long drive back was uneventful, as was the start of our
last game drive in the late afternoon.
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| Warthogs visible from our tent |
We spent nearly an hour getting to a
national park camp (lots of cabins, mostly empty) with a spectacular view of a
valley. Victor, our guide today, used the viewpoint to try to spot wildlife to
see, but it looked pretty bleak. Another half hour later, we arrived at an
overlook above the area where we saw a big herd of elephants yesterday. Because
of our protected position on a bluff top, Victor let us out of the truck to
take photos. The other group soon arrived and we decided to return to camp.
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| View from the park camp |
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| Finch at a bird bath in the park |
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| Baby elephant greets another |
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| Mom and baby |
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| Mom teaches youngster how to dig a hole to get to water. |
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| They sample it together |
We
stopped for a picture of four vultures in two tree tops and as we rounded the
next corner, came to a screeching halt almost in front of three lionesses
facing the road. We gleefully took pictures and they started to cross the road
in front of us and just kept coming. In all, there were 10, probably including
some juvenile males, all parading across the road for us to ogle.
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| Two Vulture with a tawny eagle in the middle |
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| Start of the lion parade |
Back at camp, we had our traditional last night
entertainment of singing and dancing before dinner.
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| Sunset |
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| Nearly full moon |
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