Big 5 Baby!

I think we're getting over the jet lag, finally. In the beginning, we were getting up way before "Jambo Jambo," now we're almost to the point of actually needing our daily "Jambo" call to wake up. It was quiet in camp last night, but I did hear Zebras and Hyenas off in the distance.

We rode with Roland and Sharon in John's jeep today. We made a stop at the Retima Hippo Pool, a fairly popular overlook to see hippos in their element: wallowing in their own filthy poop water. The odor was not pleasant. They were mostly just laying there, as though the energy expended getting from their nighttime sleeping spots was just too much and they needed a morning nap. There would be the occasional grunt or spit, but evidently they were too tired or lazy to see any cool aggressive behavior where I might get a shot of a gaping maw. Sharing the pool with the hippos were a couple of small Nile Crocodiles. There was one hippo in particular with a pretty bad gash on its flanks. Not sure if the gash came from another hippo or a croc, but neither of the crocs we saw were big enough to do the damage I saw.

We spent most of the day in the Seronera region looking for big cats, but before we got down there we were treated to a little show from two Defassa Waterbuck males looking to stake their claims to the local females. They spent about 10 minutes feinting then retreating until finally the challenger decided that he didn't have what it took and walked away.

Approaching on watering hole, we saw a pretty big croc; at least 15 feet long. It looked fake it was so still with its mouth open. As we rounded one particular bend in the creek, we were presented with a very interesting site: a dead hippo stiff as a board and resting on its side in the river. Quite the vignette. I assume it was inaccessible to the vultures (or they couldn't tell it was dead since there wasn't any blood for them to site in on) and other scavengers, but eventually the crocs will get to it. I sure don't want to smell it when they finally pop that fetid balloon.

We followed a small chain of watering holes watching the "beesties" and "zeebies" and Giraffes take their fill, no so secretly hoping to watch a crocodile explode from the water to take one unawares. The Giraffes were especially funny as they splayed their legs out so their heads could reach the water. It was an interesting site to be sure. They're so awkward and graceful at the same time.

The "Sausage Tree" is a popular hangout for Leopards because of their low, thick, horizontal branches. Every time we passed close to one, we'd all train our binoculars on it to try to find the telltale signs of the elusive cats: a tail wagging from a branch or the spindly legs of a dead baby "beestie" that had been dragged into the tree for safe keeping. Finally, John spotted something out of place in one particular tree. Turns out that it was a kill hanging from a branch. We approached as close as we could to try to get a better vantage point and after repositioning a few times were rewarded with our first Leopard sighting of the trip. What a magnificent animal. With all due respect to lions and their "King of the Jungle" moniker, Leopards are so much more beautiful and the fact that they hunt solo is way more impressive. With this Leopard, we can say that we've seen the "Big 5" of Africa: Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros, Elephant and Cape Buffalo. Still no Cheetah, though.

We had another outstanding picnic lunch. This time we had brownies and PB&J to go with our usual fresh fruit and vegetables. The PB&J's were a nice touch and they went pretty fast.

Is it bad that elephants have become somewhat passe'? We see them now basically all the time and we barely even notice any more, unless small babies are involved.

We came across a male and female lion resting in the grass and watched for a while hoping that we would see the mating ritual acted out in full. Again, no such luck. While our eyes were on the lions close by, John spotted a single male lion not far away eyeing some Zebra and Wildebeest. Believe you me that the Zeebies and Beesties were eyeing the lion, too. He decided that it was futile thinking he could take one, and so walked back towards his pridemates, but with a noticeable limp. That answered the question of why he made absolutely no effort to get lunch.

John took us out toward the open plains and one of the many large rock outcroppings here called "kopjes." This one in particular was called the Maasai Kopjes. Lions and Leopards like to use these kopjes as bases of sorts because they offer good vantage points for spotting prey. We drove around the various formations looking for cats but came up empty. After we had moved on to get closer to a large herd of Beesties, John got word on the "Bush Telegraph" that someone had spotted a Leopard feeding on an adult Wildebeest under a large bush where we had just come from. How did we miss it? We high tailed it back to the kopjes to find a dozen rovers all jostling for a spot from which to view this gorgeous male chowing down on a full grown Wildebeest. He either got full or a little spooked and so dragged the carcass deeper under the bush away from the prying eyes of the Vultures before climbing up onto a rock in the shade of a tree. You know was was interesting? There was a brass padlock in the bush.

With all that excitement, we almost lost track of time and it was time to head back to camp. We were treated to one final sight of the day when Nancy in one of the jeeps ahead of us screamed for Leonard to stop because there was a male lion striking a Leopard like pose on a large branch of an Acacia tree. Definitely not something you expect to see.

Back in camp, we met a couple who had just flown out this morning from Arusha. They were on their honeymoon and since their entire group backed out they basically were on a private safari. Apparently, they saw some Cheetah today, so they're out there.

Tomorrow is the hot air balloon flight for the 8 folks that booked it, so Angela and Michele and Bill and Nancy and me will ride with someone in the morning before meeting up with the ballooners at the Serengeti Tourist Center. Jambo Jambo for the ballooners is 4:30 (ouch!), but our wakeup is our usual 6:30.