Saturday
Mar172007
Africa in March: Update #5
Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 04:22AM
Sorry for the gap in posts...I just couldn't justify the $20/hr charge for internet use while on safari.
In my last post I mentioned the Korogochu slum and saying goodbye to the kids. I'm going to wait a bit longer to go into detail about these aspects of the trip because I think having some photos to accompany the post will be more effective.
On Wednesday, we all left Nairobi and flew to the Masaia Mara, the Kenyan, northern part of the Serengeti plain. We were met by 4 Toyota Land Rovers specially designed for safari trips. We split up into the 4 vehicles and traveled to our lodging, the Sarova Mara. The Sarova is a group of about 40-50 "tents", a nice lodge, a restaraunt, a pool...hardly roughing it. The tents are permanent structures which include a nice wood floor, electricity and a very nice little adjoining bathroom/shower. After unloading our stuff, we moved back to the vehicles for our afternoon safari. As we moved across the (seemingly) endless grasslands of the Mara, we could see different types of animals all around. Some of the animals are quite common, such as the Thompson Gazelle, Topi, Heartbeast, etc. You just look around and there they are. Other animals are more rare, but not too hard to see - elephants, cheetah, giraffe. Finally, there are the very rare animals, such as the Leopard and Rhino, which you usually don't see. On this day, though, we had some amazing luck. First of all, we came across a very large male Lion (harder to find than the females) who was hanging out around a Cape Buffalo it had killed. We were able to get quite close, which is a big thrill. Secondly, we were moving over to look at a cheetah some other drivers had spotted, when suddenly the cheetah took off in pursuit of a Topi. At first the cheetah seemed to barely be gaining ground on the large anetelope, but all of a sudden the cheetah put an the most amazing burst of speed I've ever seen. I mean, it was like the cat was suddenly shot out a cannon! In the blink of an eye, the cheetah closed the 20 yard gap between it and the Topi, launched in the air, and dragged the big animal down from behind. By the time we got close enough to see the result, there were 3 cheetahs already beginning their meal, the primary hunter still firmly locked on the Topi's throat. Seeing a live cheetah hunt and kill was a site I'll never forget....
I'll have to finish later...out of time.
In my last post I mentioned the Korogochu slum and saying goodbye to the kids. I'm going to wait a bit longer to go into detail about these aspects of the trip because I think having some photos to accompany the post will be more effective.
On Wednesday, we all left Nairobi and flew to the Masaia Mara, the Kenyan, northern part of the Serengeti plain. We were met by 4 Toyota Land Rovers specially designed for safari trips. We split up into the 4 vehicles and traveled to our lodging, the Sarova Mara. The Sarova is a group of about 40-50 "tents", a nice lodge, a restaraunt, a pool...hardly roughing it. The tents are permanent structures which include a nice wood floor, electricity and a very nice little adjoining bathroom/shower. After unloading our stuff, we moved back to the vehicles for our afternoon safari. As we moved across the (seemingly) endless grasslands of the Mara, we could see different types of animals all around. Some of the animals are quite common, such as the Thompson Gazelle, Topi, Heartbeast, etc. You just look around and there they are. Other animals are more rare, but not too hard to see - elephants, cheetah, giraffe. Finally, there are the very rare animals, such as the Leopard and Rhino, which you usually don't see. On this day, though, we had some amazing luck. First of all, we came across a very large male Lion (harder to find than the females) who was hanging out around a Cape Buffalo it had killed. We were able to get quite close, which is a big thrill. Secondly, we were moving over to look at a cheetah some other drivers had spotted, when suddenly the cheetah took off in pursuit of a Topi. At first the cheetah seemed to barely be gaining ground on the large anetelope, but all of a sudden the cheetah put an the most amazing burst of speed I've ever seen. I mean, it was like the cat was suddenly shot out a cannon! In the blink of an eye, the cheetah closed the 20 yard gap between it and the Topi, launched in the air, and dragged the big animal down from behind. By the time we got close enough to see the result, there were 3 cheetahs already beginning their meal, the primary hunter still firmly locked on the Topi's throat. Seeing a live cheetah hunt and kill was a site I'll never forget....
I'll have to finish later...out of time.
in Africa
Africa
Reader Comments (2)
dave,
we have been keeping up with your posts and praying for you! please keep the updates coming! we love and miss you!
brad & ana
Wow!! How amazing! I bet that is something unbelievable to see!