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A Day on Safari
There’s nothing like the exhilaration of being on safari. Upon return from Africa, you may tell a story like this...
“Knock knock, good morning!” calls my guide—I’m greeted at my tent door with steaming coffee and a light snack, then it’s off into the bush in the pre-dawn light. The jeep ride is cool, so I’m wrapped up in a snug poncho and look for the animals which should be active at this time. After driving slowly, carefully watching, we’re rewarded this morning to find a leopard enjoying the fruits of his hunting efforts. Later, as the sun rises over the plain, we observe a herd of elephant quietly feeding on vegetation. At one point, our guide stops driving and we step out on the plain. Closer to the ground everything looms larger—the scent of lavender and wild basil stronger; all of our senses are on alert. After a ways our guide points out the hanging nests of weavers up in the trees and we delight in their chattering.By this time we’re ready for a break and brunch is waiting our arrival back at camp. Some of us linger after the meal for journal writing, napping or swimming. The rest head back out to search for more animals.
Two hours in one of the hides overlooking a watering hole uses up several rolls of camera film, as we watch the herds of elephant come down to bathe and drink. Timid kudu and bushbuck emerge from the thickets, braving the open ground to slake their thirst. Several baboons keep us all entertained in between the big guys, with their antics and games and the stately giraffe are amazing as they reach down almost 18 feet to get their drink.
Back to camp in time for afternoon tea (very properly served no less), then out we go again. We find great a watering hole alive with elephant—big herds, lots of youngsters—all playing and drinking. Then, in a lull in the noise of the splashing and trumpeting, a low moan is heard—it’s our first lion! We follow the sound and watch the sun setting golden behind a big male, reclining under an acacia tree, while his females and their cubs play around him. As the sky darkens, the females are suddenly alert to the sight of an approaching herd of wildebeast. They follow and move into the bush. We follow with a spotlight and the next hour reveals behavior that we’d never see in the daytime. The hunt is a bust, but on the drive home, the spotlight picks out the eyes of other nocturnals about—a civet and an owl, accompanied by the sounds of giggling hyena on one of their scavenging trips.
Back at camp, there’s time for a hot shower under the stars in a clear African sky with the sounds of hippo in the lagoon not far away. Dinner is sumptuous, and after, by the fire nursing my nightcap, listening to the tales all around, my thoughts are of the next day and another adventure and how could it be more exquisite or thrilling than today’s. |
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