Friday, Nov.10 Ikuka- 

One of the workers comes by our tent at 5:30 and says “hello, hello”, until we answer back. I’m not sure how many times he had to repeat it but I believe it was more that two or three times. We were out… Anyway, we crawled out of our massive bed, to a wonderful shower. Tea, juice and biscuits are left on a platter for us to have before our departure.

We meet Lazaro at 6 am. On our seats we find blankets with hot water bottles in them. WHAT? Why do we need those? We understood shortly thereafter. At that time of the day it is cooler and as we drive there is a breeze. It stays cool until the sun is higher in the sky, around 8, then it’s off with any extra clothes and on with the sunscreen, hats and sunglasses.

The first animals we spot are kudus about 15 minutes after leaving the camp. This is followed by a few giraffes. By the time we arrive at the river bed we watch about 500 Cape buffalo crossing. We continue to follow the river bed and see the same two lions who killed and ate the young giraffe earlier. They are snoozing nearby.

Our guide hears about two lions mating so we head out in that direction. By the time we arrive they are lying in a river bed in a shaded area. We are extremely close as our driver/guide will do anything to give us a good look. We are not always comfortable with that and we tell him so. We don’t want to disturb nor scare the animals.  

Beautiful sunrise from our camp

Giraffe in the early morning light

Difficult to see the female but the is lying on the other side of the male

Lots of shadow as they are lying beside a huge rock

We leave that area and see a White Belly Bustard and 5 Northern Ground Hornbills.

It is now 8:50 and we are on our way to find a place to have breakfast. This site has a picnic area with cement table and seats and a bathroom nearby. Luxury in the outdoors. We are by a river bed and eat while watching giraffes, impalas, zebras, elephants, and a variety of birds. What could be better?

After heading out around 10:15, we meet up with another jeep and the guide tells our guide that there are 5 Cheetahs not too far away. Well, our guide jams the jeep into first gear and we skid out of there. The roads are obviously not conducive to fast driving. We are bounced around quite relentlessly for the next 20 minutes or more. We find the Cheetahs lying under a bush. They are stalking two Impalas. The Impalas are snorting and moving around not knowing where to go. They know that the Cheetahs are getting closer. We stick near the cats and soon enough they start to move. There is a mother, 3 daughters, and a son. One usually gets up first and starts walking, then another, and another and so on. They don’t always move in the same direction. The impalas are still close. Then the Cheetahs lie down again. After waiting a bit longer, it doesn’t look like anything will happen so we leave the area. Our first Cheetahs, we are excited.

White-Bellied Bustard

There was a group of 5 Cheetahs

Two of them lying around

Lazaro laying out our breakfast

Elephants nearby

Giraffe eating its favourite food.

Elephants also love the leaves  and tree bark

We then see Giraffes, a mom and a young one approx. 3 months old. So cute. We are lucky to be here in this season as we there are many baby animals.

On route back to the camp for lunch, we see Elephants coming down a hill to a river bed. There is a baby here as well. They dig in the sand and spray themselves with mud and water, and drink also. It’s fun to see them drink with the trunk in the mouth and the head tilted back. We turn in the other direction in the river bed and see baboons and impalas. Something seems to be disturbing them and we hear snorting and other sounds. These two breeds of animals are often seen together as the baboons climb trees and are always on the lookout for predators. The Impalas appreciate the heads up. A few moments after, Wendy sees the reason for the unrest. A lion is hiding under a tree. Nothing seems to be happening so we continue our ride home.

Big size difference

Mom and baby

Baby

We have two crew members waiting for us upon our arrival. Tanya is there to ask how everything went and the other is one of the waiters with a cool glass of Hibiscus juice. We have about 25 minutes to cool off either in the pool or shower, then it’s off to lunch.

Lunch is absolutely fantastic. Wonderful salads, rolls, and some lasagna. They always serve some sort of fruit for dessert. Of course, you can have any drink your little heart desires so some of us have beer, wine, or just water or juice. Lunch is over around 2 so Andre, Wendy, Ron and I decide to cool off in the pool. There is one other couple there, Steve is in the water and his wife is sitting on a chaise longe. They are from Dublin. They are very friendly and chatty. We learn that he had a software business that he sold. They own another home in Italy, near the water, and they also have a sailboat. We really don’t fit in here as most people are very well off. There are also honeymooners who were here yesterday. After our swim, it’s a little down time before getting ready to head out again at 4 pm. 

Ron has a plunge in our private little pool

At 3:50 we return to the bar area where tea and coffee and anything else you might feel like to drink are served. There is also a cake as it is Tea time, mostly for the British folks. We are never hungry enough to have anything, not even a drink. We usually get a glass of water.

Lazaro is waiting for us at the jeep so off we go.

We see a herd of about 500-600 Cape Buffalo crossing the river bed. They are out for a drink. It’s so impressive to see them march in a long, long line. We also spot a group of Banded Mongoose. The viewing is not over. We spot a huge Masai Giraffe. What an amazing animal. So majestic. We see more elephants, a Redneck Spurfowl, and little bee eaters.

A huge Masai Giraffe

A Little-Bee eater

A herd of Cape buffafo

We return around 7:20 or so. A guard walks us to our tents. We are being picked up again around &:45 so we are quick to take a shower, change and be ready. Drinks are being served in the main building. Lots of catching up with afternoon sighting even though we do see the other guests when we are driving around.

Supper is served at 8 pm. It’s curried fish, potato salad, and a vegetable. Dessert is a gin and tonic ice cream. They really cater to the Brits. It’s their drink of choice. We sit around the table until 9:15 or so, get caught up with emails and post a few pictures on Facebook and it’s off to bed.