We are getting accustomed to bush camping and the rain but even with our tents in a perfect D formation it’s been a nervous night with lions not so far and the hyenas whooping oh so close. Both hippos and elephants have been known to invade the camp. It’s still pitch black when we creep out of our tents to venture to the toilet, desperation finally overcoming our fears.
Our morning game drive to exit the Serengeti proves to be both the icing and the cherry on top of our game drive cake. These endless plains are so beautiful and oh, sooo deceptive. Just when you think all the animals are on vacation in the Masai Mara, you spot a few antelopes in the distance. Then, what’s that? A warthog? Or two... or more.. Screwing your eyes against the haze, there are giraffes in the distance. Easily missed as they amble, looking like the tall trees they are tugging the leaves from, so far away. Even the enormous elephants disappear into the long grass. Spotting lions, their golden pelts melding perfectly into the grass is a real mission. So, how considerate of the lioness and her cub to run along in the channel next to our track, their heads bobbing up from time to time as they peek over the top to take in their surroundings. And how considerate of the three male lions to decide to saunter over to a mound a few metres from our track so they can top up their tans in the sun. Not to mention the hyena, lolloping along the road before turning off the the track beside us so we can get a good look and a few close ups. And how considerate of the cheetahs who also decide that a rocky outcrop just within camera shot is the perfect place to survey the savannah.
All too soon we have to leave the Serengeti and head for our next stop....
As the truck labours up the stark slopes towards the Ngorogoro crater we pass by remote villages in the moonscape. Children minding goats and cattle far from home with no visible signs of water available, it’s hard to understand how they can survive.
Our campsite to night is perched high above the crater and is again open to the wildlife. There are, however, showers and toilets and after pitching camp I decide to try and remove the thick coating of dust with which my body appears to permanently coated these days. The water is ice cold as it hits my back and it takes me a while to pluck up the courage to put my head under to wash my hair. Little do I realise this is the precursor to the night ahead.
As the sun dips down below the horizon, we feel the chill of the altitude and are grateful for the camp fire round which we gather to toast marshmallows and look at the clear night sky full of stars.
Later, lying in my sleeping bag fully clothed and still freezing, I wake up suddenly to the clip clop of hooves and the munching of grass right behind my tent. I’m shivering and, of course, desperate for the loo. Hyenas are again calling in the distance, but what is about to trample me underfoot? Maybe it’s zebras? That would be ok. Maybe buffalo? Not so okay. Last time they had an elephant in the camp. No. Elephants don’t go clip clop. Lions don’t munch or go clip clop. The munching gets closer and all of a sudden I feel a body pushing against mine through the side of the tent. Eek. Please tell me I didn’t leave that apple in my bag. The body moves away and the munching ceases. I breathe out quietly and try, oh so hard, to go back to sleep.
Our morning game drive to exit the Serengeti proves to be both the icing and the cherry on top of our game drive cake. These endless plains are so beautiful and oh, sooo deceptive. Just when you think all the animals are on vacation in the Masai Mara, you spot a few antelopes in the distance. Then, what’s that? A warthog? Or two... or more.. Screwing your eyes against the haze, there are giraffes in the distance. Easily missed as they amble, looking like the tall trees they are tugging the leaves from, so far away. Even the enormous elephants disappear into the long grass. Spotting lions, their golden pelts melding perfectly into the grass is a real mission. So, how considerate of the lioness and her cub to run along in the channel next to our track, their heads bobbing up from time to time as they peek over the top to take in their surroundings. And how considerate of the three male lions to decide to saunter over to a mound a few metres from our track so they can top up their tans in the sun. Not to mention the hyena, lolloping along the road before turning off the the track beside us so we can get a good look and a few close ups. And how considerate of the cheetahs who also decide that a rocky outcrop just within camera shot is the perfect place to survey the savannah.
All too soon we have to leave the Serengeti and head for our next stop....
As the truck labours up the stark slopes towards the Ngorogoro crater we pass by remote villages in the moonscape. Children minding goats and cattle far from home with no visible signs of water available, it’s hard to understand how they can survive.
Our campsite to night is perched high above the crater and is again open to the wildlife. There are, however, showers and toilets and after pitching camp I decide to try and remove the thick coating of dust with which my body appears to permanently coated these days. The water is ice cold as it hits my back and it takes me a while to pluck up the courage to put my head under to wash my hair. Little do I realise this is the precursor to the night ahead.
As the sun dips down below the horizon, we feel the chill of the altitude and are grateful for the camp fire round which we gather to toast marshmallows and look at the clear night sky full of stars.
Later, lying in my sleeping bag fully clothed and still freezing, I wake up suddenly to the clip clop of hooves and the munching of grass right behind my tent. I’m shivering and, of course, desperate for the loo. Hyenas are again calling in the distance, but what is about to trample me underfoot? Maybe it’s zebras? That would be ok. Maybe buffalo? Not so okay. Last time they had an elephant in the camp. No. Elephants don’t go clip clop. Lions don’t munch or go clip clop. The munching gets closer and all of a sudden I feel a body pushing against mine through the side of the tent. Eek. Please tell me I didn’t leave that apple in my bag. The body moves away and the munching ceases. I breathe out quietly and try, oh so hard, to go back to sleep.
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