November 5 2005, East Africa
November 5, 2005 - Masai Mara
Morning game drive, we depart the mara at 1100, for Lake Nakuru.
Saw the cheetah mother and kits again, lioness and cub (eyeing a
thompson's gazelle with kid), then a solitary male cheetah.
It's a long, dusty, bumpy ride to Nakuru. How do the vehicles
survive? (Peter, the balloon pilot, ex of Virgin, said that the
balloon company has a fleet of 14 Land Rovers and 4 full time
mechanics to keep ~6 in working order.) Our vehicle (a Hiace)
doesn't survive the Mara unscathed: yesterday we lose a rear
suspension bolt, and Jimmy is forced to re-attach the arm with a
seat bolt. Today, we rushed to the aid of a Hiace which had lost
an alternator. Apparenly, the standard distress signal is a
client (pronounced "clown"), standing on the roof, waving a red
flag.
Susan, Mary and Fred leave us for Nairobi. Fred and Mary return
to Ryahd (where they live) in two days, and susan has grown a
little tired of the budget safari. Truth be told, so have I.
The safari consists of long hours spent driving on highways that
are more like 4x4 trails, followed by a couple hours of 4x4ing
in a mini-van clearly not built for the task. Mind you, I love
the game drives, and would be happy to spend my whole 3.5 weeks
doing this.
Our tentative plan in tanzania is to take a luxury safar, at
around twice the price. It'll be worth it if that only means a
clean room with running water.
Sunrise is at 0630, sunset around 1830. I've been waking around
0500 here, 8 hours time difference means that my afternoon nap
ends around early morning local time. Sunrise is the best time
to see game, especially predators, moving on the serengeti.
From 0900 onwards, things start to warm up quickly, and the only
things moving are safari vans and land rovers.
We plan a game drive in lake Nakuru tomorrow, at 0630, then
we'll have breakfast and I'll retrace my dusty trail back to
Nairobi. Hopefully in time to catch the 1400 shuttle to Arusha.
Susan's early return to Nairobi will mean that she can book a
lodge for our stay.
Seen today: Mongoose, tiny vervet monkeys, being chased away
from a nest by a small bird, savanna baboon, savanna hare, Masai
Ostrich, guinea fowl.
Last modified: Mon Dec 26 16:43:10 Eastern Standard Time 2005
