We are all happy to be heading for our next destination with a game drive en route and 2 nights in the same camp site. The success of our previous game drives means we have high expectations of Queen Elizabeth National Park and we are still missing the leopard from our tick sheet of the Big 5, despite some very focussed searching of the acacia trees.
As we drive through the savannah landscape this afternoon though, there is little to see of wildlife on the horizon. The beautiful landscape is barren and it seems all animals are attending an important conference in the Maasai Mara. Only a few antelopes and warthogs (don’t you just love ‘em) remain to hold the fort and justify the high entrance fees.
We arrive at the campsite a little disappointed and somewhat sceptical of the claims that our site is frequently invaded by hippos and buffalo at night. Nonetheless tents are put in formation allowing sufficient space for any wayward animals to find their way out with strict instructions not to leave the tents at night FOR ANY REASON..
There’s just time for a ‘refreshing’ cold shower before dinner and then an early night as we leave for chimp trekking before dawn.
It seems no sooner am I tucked up in my sleeping bag when I hear strange noises outside. Hyenas, hippos and some I don’t even recognise. Toni wakes with them too. We peer through the mossie netting but can’t see anything. The Nokia ringtone of her mobile phone tho, is clearly distinguishable & we collapse in nervous giggles. That’s definitely going to scare the hippos off! I spend the next hour trying to convince myself I really don’t need to go to the loo.
Next morning, it’s still dark when I peer cautiously out of the tent to make a mad dash to the loos, ignoring the background noises. Fortunately, I am not alone, as the others are starting to stir. It’s a quick breakfast before we stuff ourselves into 2 tiny matutos for the Chimp Trek. Our drivers are obviously training for a future as Top Gear presenters. It’s 0-120kmph in 10mins but they’re not going to slow down for anything, on the dirt road, in the pitch dark. We swerve round potholes and the hippos scattered along the road as they forage in the dark before returning to wallow in the water during the day. Each driver thinks he should be the one leading the charge. I’m in the front seat of our vehicle so I can see that there is only limited visibility and am glad that our more nervous passengers cannot see just how scary it is.
We slow down momentarily, as we go through the village where people are starting their daily business. I turn round to ask our guide if there are any leopards in the area, then turn back to see one nonchalantly padding across the road in front of us. High excitement but our driver is still accelerating furiously. Stop. Stop! STOP! Eventually we grind to a halt 100m beyond. The other vehicle is some way behind us so we reverse to where we saw the leopard cross into the bush, then spin round to search further, but he has disappeared into the night.
Then we’re back on the race track for another 100km to the forest where we will, hopefully, see the chimps. Our guide talks us through the day before we are split into smaller groups. There’s brief warm up along the road and through the tea plantation before we enter the forest. We had been told that the walk would be flat and easy and with my stitches this had been a key factor, but the reality is far from this. We spend some time on tracks before going off piste through the undergrowth, up and down the valley sides, eyes skyward searching for the chimpanzees. Occasionally we hear the screeching and panicked cries of the chimps. Our guide is on his mobile phone and we set off in the direction of the cries. As we approach, I see a chimp rapidly descending a tall tree ahead. Then another. By the time I’ve bent to get my camera from my back pack they have disappeared. There are a group of researchers, who have been studying the chimps and the lady in charge is furious with our guide. They have ignored the guidelines on group numbers (max 6) and have crowded the chimps, scaring them away.
We spend another 6 hours, up and down the valley, tramping through the undergrowth, scrambling over fallen trees till we are worn out without any further sightings of chimps, just the cries in the distance. Eventually we give up and head back. The other groups arrive some time later. Chelle is in tears as she has dislocated her ankle and has had to climb the hillside after to forcing it back into position. This time we force our driver to drive ‘Pole pole’ (‘slowly, slowly’). For our cheek, he decides to crawl along at 40kmph, texting as he goes. Then he stops to top up his mobile phone. I draw the line when he decides he needs to go to the market to buy fish for his supper and we have words. Well, I do. Lots of them. More slowly and louder till he gets the message. And I don’t mean the text. It still takes us 2 hours to get back to the camp site.
Kanyo has promised us a typical African meal when we get back and a goat has been slaughtered accordingly. There’s just time for a quick ‘refreshing’ shower before dinner, when someone comes out covered in soap. The camp site has run out of water. This is Africa.
As we drive through the savannah landscape this afternoon though, there is little to see of wildlife on the horizon. The beautiful landscape is barren and it seems all animals are attending an important conference in the Maasai Mara. Only a few antelopes and warthogs (don’t you just love ‘em) remain to hold the fort and justify the high entrance fees.
We arrive at the campsite a little disappointed and somewhat sceptical of the claims that our site is frequently invaded by hippos and buffalo at night. Nonetheless tents are put in formation allowing sufficient space for any wayward animals to find their way out with strict instructions not to leave the tents at night FOR ANY REASON..
There’s just time for a ‘refreshing’ cold shower before dinner and then an early night as we leave for chimp trekking before dawn.
It seems no sooner am I tucked up in my sleeping bag when I hear strange noises outside. Hyenas, hippos and some I don’t even recognise. Toni wakes with them too. We peer through the mossie netting but can’t see anything. The Nokia ringtone of her mobile phone tho, is clearly distinguishable & we collapse in nervous giggles. That’s definitely going to scare the hippos off! I spend the next hour trying to convince myself I really don’t need to go to the loo.
Next morning, it’s still dark when I peer cautiously out of the tent to make a mad dash to the loos, ignoring the background noises. Fortunately, I am not alone, as the others are starting to stir. It’s a quick breakfast before we stuff ourselves into 2 tiny matutos for the Chimp Trek. Our drivers are obviously training for a future as Top Gear presenters. It’s 0-120kmph in 10mins but they’re not going to slow down for anything, on the dirt road, in the pitch dark. We swerve round potholes and the hippos scattered along the road as they forage in the dark before returning to wallow in the water during the day. Each driver thinks he should be the one leading the charge. I’m in the front seat of our vehicle so I can see that there is only limited visibility and am glad that our more nervous passengers cannot see just how scary it is.
We slow down momentarily, as we go through the village where people are starting their daily business. I turn round to ask our guide if there are any leopards in the area, then turn back to see one nonchalantly padding across the road in front of us. High excitement but our driver is still accelerating furiously. Stop. Stop! STOP! Eventually we grind to a halt 100m beyond. The other vehicle is some way behind us so we reverse to where we saw the leopard cross into the bush, then spin round to search further, but he has disappeared into the night.
Then we’re back on the race track for another 100km to the forest where we will, hopefully, see the chimps. Our guide talks us through the day before we are split into smaller groups. There’s brief warm up along the road and through the tea plantation before we enter the forest. We had been told that the walk would be flat and easy and with my stitches this had been a key factor, but the reality is far from this. We spend some time on tracks before going off piste through the undergrowth, up and down the valley sides, eyes skyward searching for the chimpanzees. Occasionally we hear the screeching and panicked cries of the chimps. Our guide is on his mobile phone and we set off in the direction of the cries. As we approach, I see a chimp rapidly descending a tall tree ahead. Then another. By the time I’ve bent to get my camera from my back pack they have disappeared. There are a group of researchers, who have been studying the chimps and the lady in charge is furious with our guide. They have ignored the guidelines on group numbers (max 6) and have crowded the chimps, scaring them away.
We spend another 6 hours, up and down the valley, tramping through the undergrowth, scrambling over fallen trees till we are worn out without any further sightings of chimps, just the cries in the distance. Eventually we give up and head back. The other groups arrive some time later. Chelle is in tears as she has dislocated her ankle and has had to climb the hillside after to forcing it back into position. This time we force our driver to drive ‘Pole pole’ (‘slowly, slowly’). For our cheek, he decides to crawl along at 40kmph, texting as he goes. Then he stops to top up his mobile phone. I draw the line when he decides he needs to go to the market to buy fish for his supper and we have words. Well, I do. Lots of them. More slowly and louder till he gets the message. And I don’t mean the text. It still takes us 2 hours to get back to the camp site.
Kanyo has promised us a typical African meal when we get back and a goat has been slaughtered accordingly. There’s just time for a quick ‘refreshing’ shower before dinner, when someone comes out covered in soap. The camp site has run out of water. This is Africa.
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