We had breakfast at 6:45 and left our hotel at 7:15. Bob and I were in the big van with Alan and Sandra today - we switch off with four in the big van and two in the luggage van so that everyone gets “good” and “bad” seats in turn.
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| Drying Peanuts |
We stopped to walk a ways on the Buhoma Trail, this time in the sun which made all the difference - birds began coming in and we could see their bright colors in the sunlight- much better than yesterday! The reason we started so late in the morning is that African birds don’t tend to get up early at daybreak as most other birds do - no morning chorus.
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| Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat |
Paul finally had to call a halt to our birding, as we had a long way to drive today, and we piled in for a long ride over rutted and newly smoothed dirt road. The kids were all out of school and waved and shouted enthusiastically as we passed! Large markets, which would have. been fun to explore, were bustling with people.
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| Marabou Stork |
Suddenly there was a dramatic change from villages and agriculture, and we found ourselves crossing a classic African Savannah of endless grasslands, flat-topped acacias, and a rocky escarpment in the distance. We stopped for lunch by a steam with picnic tables and a sign that said “STOP - Hippos are Dangerous!!’.
We thought nothing of it until a hippo drifted by, then he turned and slowly started plodding onto the beach! He snuffled in the sand, maybe picking up minerals, and then lay down!! I don’t know how such a huge (~3000 kg.) creature could stand up again! And then more arrived, clambering up the beach and all lay down clustered together in the sunshine! The last one arrived, after at first being scared off by the dominant male, who apparently relented, as the latecomer found a small space in the mass of hippo and backed in just like a school bus parking!! It will rate as one of the great animal experiences of my life!!
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| A Blout of Hippos |
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| Our Leaders: Brian & Paul |
Paul tore us away and we continued driving on various tracks across the large park.
We drove through a tiny bedraggled village which managed to have a small blackboard outside a hut advertising “Argentina vs. France at 5PM”!
We finally arrived at Mweya Lodge, a very grand safari lodge, at 7:15 and were given 30 minutes to clean up and return for dinner and the List - I know it was late, but Bob & I needed a bit of time to relax! Too much!! I showered and we joined the others at 7:50 and it was decided to do the List as it was going to be so huge - We had seen 130 species, and 30 more had been heard by Brian, who has an amazing ability to hear and ID bird calls! We got into dinner at nine and found an elaborate buffet. I only managed to eat a little /rice, cheese cake and ginger soda. I hope the Cipro and Imodium will lick this bug. Bob and I are the only ones who have been sick...wonder what we ate that the others didn’t? To bed and a good night’s sleep.
By the way, if you'd like to see just how a Gorilla Trek goes, check out the BBC TV program, "Last Chance to See" with Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine (available on Net Flix) and watch episode 2, "Northern White Rhino". They went on a trek in exactly the same place we were!
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